10 Benefits of Bookkeeping Services from a Virtual Assistant

  1. Pay only for the work needed – The virtual bookkeeping assistant can come in handy when you have only a couple of tasks to be done, when you need it done.
  2. Cost-effective solution – Save money by not having to spend on office space and supplies (computer, furniture, utilities, etc.), employee benefits, and other things that come with full or part-time employees.
  3. More time for you – Outsourcing accounting services can save you hours crunching numbers on your desk. Think of all the things that you would have time to focus on now! You can have more time with your family, or more time investing in your business.
  4. Be updated on payments – You can also give your bookkeeper VA access to take care of your invoices on creditors and suppliers. He or she can also check the effective balances of your accounts online to help with the flow of the business.
  5. Organize income sources – In a growing business, it’s ideal to maintain each of your client’s account as its own profit center so you can measure their individual performance. But organizing each of these accounts can be cumbersome. An efficient VA is well-versed with one or two small business accounting software that can track all transactions.
  6. Fully managed and monitored – When you hire a virtual bookkeeping assistant from a virtual assistant outsourcing company you are also assigned a project manager to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
  7. Monitor Your KPI’s – Know your company’s financial standing. There are three key reports that must be submitted to the business owner: cash flow statement, income statement, and cash disbursement schedule
  8. Certified and trained – Virtual Assistant Talent (VAT) will give you VAs with a strong education (VAT assistants have college degrees) and a competitive work experience and skill set.
  9. Keep track of the flow of money – One of the top benefits of outsourcing bookkeeping is that you get to keep a clean and orderly record book. Tracking receipts, noting accounts payable and receivables, taking care of quarterly tax returns are just a few of the things a bookkeeper is responsible for.
  10. Focus on your core function – Bookkeeping is a vital back office task that becomes a casualty if your have more core functions to attend to. At first you will assume this responsibility but as you gain traction, it’s better to go for outsourced bookkeeping services for small business.

If your business does not observe efficient bookkeeping processes, you will be at risk of compromising all the efforts you have done to grow your company.

Managing a business alone is a difficult and understandably time-consuming task. Hiring a virtual bookkeeper can help you make sure your books are being done accurately and timely. CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 to learn more.

We would love to hear if these tips worked for you! If you have questions or any business outsourcing related success stories, please leave a comment below.

References:

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Last Updated: May 15, 2018

Online Marketing

How To Hire A Great Social Media Manager

Depending on the needs of your company, bringing in someone to jumpstart your social media marketing is something that you shouldn’t decide in a rush. Whether you are running solo or have an expandi...

12 Reasons Why You Need a Website Redesign

1. You have set new marketing goals for your site

Business owners often change strategies to meet certain goals, so each time you adjust your marketing plans, make sure that your site aligns with these new goals.

Ask yourself…

  • How often do you modify your marketing strategy?
  • Do these updates affect your conversion funnel?
Updating your website layout is important if you often change marketing strategies to meet your business goals. Click To Tweet

For example, if are now to provide more lead generation content (like “How-to” blog posts), you should include CTAs on your homepage and other high-traffic webpages.

2. Slow site speed

Site speed is one of the leading factors that can make your site visitors stay longer or leave right away.

The user-experience you offer can affect your online presence, so if your website is slow, chances are, you’re using a slow hosting platform and it is poorly developed. Remember, users are not patient—they expect instant activity at the click of a button.

3. You aren’t getting the results you want

Now, it doesn’t matter if your website is all tart up and functioning well. If you still aren’t getting the results you want, it’s close to being useless. Your website exists to build your digital presence and customer base, and if you aren’t happy with the return, then it’s time to redesign.

Here are a few things to guide your website redesign process:

  • Does your call-to-action (CTA) convert visitors into leads and customers?
  • Is your site too text-heavy or full of technical/corporate jargon?
  • Do your landing pages motivate people to learn more by navigating deeper?
  • Does your website’s look and feel match your company’s voice?
  • Does it speak directly to your target audience?

Analyzing your conversion rates such as visitor-to-lead and lead-to-customer can provide you with a clear idea of what needs to be adjusted on it.

4. An overcrowded homepage

Ever read a website with just pure, never-ending text with no images? Overwhelming, right? And quite boring, too! A common mistake entrepreneurs make is putting excessive content right on the homepage of the website.

It’s understandable that you want to fit as much information as you can to sell your products or services, BUT it can increase your bounce rate too. You have only a few seconds to capture the interest of an online visitor, so you must be direct to the point with the message on your homepage.

A web designer virtual assistant (VA) can put together a layout that will express your core value proposition and single differentiator in the marketplace. Then, your landing pages will showcase additional features that the users may find relevant as they move down the sales funnel.

5. Your website just doesn’t work

Your site might still not be as user-friendly as it could be as there can be other elements of it that aren’t effective—and they can make your online store a bit dysfunctional.

Answer these questions to help with redesigning the website functionality:

  • Is your site navigation confusing?
  • Can a visitor easily find the most basic things YOU want them to find?
  • Are your product and service offers completely up-to-date?

6. You still don’t have a responsive design

In 2016, 82.5% of the US population were mobile users. ~ eMarketer Click To Tweet

With this in mind, consider that most first-timers coming to your site are on their mobile devices. And it will only increase in years to come.

A responsive design provides customers with a great experience regardless of the platform they are using. This allows you to accommodate them all whether they are coming from mobile, table, or desktop.

This should also be a top priority for your company, because your competition already has an advantage over you if they have a responsive design.

7. You want to execute a better content strategy

With the constant changes to the algorithms of search engines, you’d be smart to incorporate an efficient content plan for your website. It can improve everything from customer retention to SEO.

A web redesign can help if you’re planning to make some big changes to your content strategy like boosting your blog production or making room for more ebooks, and other downloadable pieces.

8. You’re eyeing an effective website layout

So, if you’re already considering a redesign, most likely you’ve learned a fair amount about what does and doesn’t work well in the process. It is recommended to take the interactive approach instead of implementing one massive goal all by yourself.

A web design VA can help you use the information you’ve gathered about what works on your current site and together you can plan accordingly. You can have your tech assistant handle all the small changes and every little detail.

9. It’s difficult to contact you

Since most people are using mobile devices to shop online, having a phone number on your landing page is a must. In this way they can do a quick screenshot of the web page to contact you later or while they’re on-the-go.

Aside from that, potential customers feel more comfortable when there is a way for them to reach you, inquire more before making a purchase, or speak to a virtual support.

10. Your third-party tools are outdated

As time goes by, you may need to replace or remove some of the third-party tools you’ve embedded in your site such as shopping cart widgets. You need to determine first which ones aren’t up to modern functionality standards.

To do this, have the Tech VA examine the following…

  • Are these third-party tools still working?
  • Are new-and-improved versions now available?
  • Are they slowing your site speed down?

Nothing drives customers away like outdated features in terms of function or design or just don’t work at all, so make sure you talk with your webmaster to handle these tools.

11. Poor product / service graphic presentation

Poorly designed imagery can give the impression that you don’t care about your brand or your customers. While stock images will do in showing your products and services, people may want to see authentic visuals of what it’s like to use your products, or to work with your services.

Avoid using or low-quality images. There are many alternatives to stock photography, from photos taken on an iPhone to inexpensive illustrations done by a graphic designer VA.

12. Your competitors push you down in the search rankings

Well, you don’t need to change your site every time one of your competitors changes theirs. But if they make changes that improve their rankings and end up pushing you down in searches, it’s likely time to do some redesign on your end.

Maintaining a findable and high-ranking website should also be one of your goals. An SEO Virtual Assistant can help you by conducting an audit report on your site and analyzing what adjustments you can make.

8 Factors to Consider in Revamping Your Website

  1. Functionality first – Put your customer’s hat on and browse your site as any visitor would. Is it easy to get from the home page to the product you’re looking for? Are answers to your most common questions readily available?
  2. Do a thorough site audit – Have an expert perform a complete SEO audit. The analysis will guide you of what you should keep and what you can remove such as inbound links or long-forgotten pages.
  3. Consistency is key – Though revamping your website gives you a new look and feel, you don’t want to stray too far from your current branding.
When doing the #WebDesign, maintain the same theme colors, typography, and imagery so that customers can still recognize your business when they visit your site. Click To Tweet
  1. Draft a detailed plan for your content – This is also the best time to generate new content for your website. Use the SEO audit to find out what generates the most attention and what doesn’t. Expand on the article topics and posts that do well.
  2. Don’t forget the redirects – Maximize all the pros from your previous site and carry these over to the new one. Hold on to valuable content and set up a redirect so your inbound links and established SEO aren’t completely lost.
  3. Interactive desktop experience – Instead of cramming in information in a whole landing page, designers can make it more visual, elegant, and entertaining with width-hugging videos and interactive platform.
  4. Don’t overdo it – Redesigning a website isn’t a strategy that you want to use often since it requires a lot of time, money, and effort. Your revamped website should have the staying power to last for years. It’s important to make sure your regular marketers and content management team can update it easily within the existing framework.
  5. Pros do it best – Don’t struggle to finish a mediocre do-it-yourself job if you’re not equipped with in-house web design experts. Understanding where you need to outsource is crucial, especially if it will create a better and stronger output that will give you the results you need.

Revamping your website can seem like a complicated task, but it can be very rewarding along the way. Start planning your re-launch that will help boost your company and online presence.

As soon as you develop a solid plan and identified goals for your new website, get the right talent to work on the revamp. A topnotch web design virtual assistant (VA) can do the following:

  • Design and create your website
    – Blog and personal sites
    – Real estate sites
    – Portfolio, multimedia, news and magazine sites
    – Business and e-commerce sites
  • Web maintenance
  • Custom logo design
  • Custom product design
  • Additional custom pages
  • Mobile-responsive web design upgrade
  • Additional revisions depending on your web project requirements

Virtual Assistant Talent offers free consultation to discuss your website requirements with the Tech VA, HR manager, and project manager us. CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 to learn more.

References:

hubspot.com
huffingtonpost.com
upwork.com
blog.livehelpnow.net
americanexpress.com

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Last Updated: November 16, 2017

Outsourcing

How To Market Your Business During the Holidays 2017

‘Tis the season of celebrations and joyous gift giving and business owners are leveraging these feelings to put their brands on focal point for all shoppers. Find out how you too, can come up with s...

What is Virtual Customer Support?

A virtual customer support is simply a personal assistant who works remotely to do basic business tasks. He or she can be your virtual secretary taking care of all the repetitive admin work that normally forms part of your day-to-day activities. Virtual assistants or VAs help you leverage your time so you can focus more on profit-producing, high priority activities.

Top 10 Reasons Why Hiring A Virtual Customer Support Is Beneficial

  1. A Very Cost Effective Way to Add Help

Obviously, the number one reason is you can save money. When you outsource virtual assistant who is working from his or her own location, you don’t get to spend on overhead expenses in the process.

Think about the primary needs you don’t have to worry about when you don’t need a physical office–rent, utilities, office furniture, supplies, and other necessary things for your customer support team.

Talented #virtual professionals are already built tough to operate independently. Click To Tweet
  1. You Can Better Manage Your Time

Rather than being tied to your desk answering customer queries, you can have your calls taken for you. Using a virtual CSR can be very beneficial to your time and you can still stay in touch with what’s been happening throughout the day. You can also prioritize the issues based on what needs to be attended to first.

  1. Ability to Work Anytime When Needed

Because of the availability and affordable cost, the dedicated provider of virtual assistant services can be a huge improvement to your business. Customers can get help even when the owners and other office staff are off from work.

With virtual executive assistants, a business can easily cover the 24-hour time span during the day. This will allow customers to access full support any time they need.

  1. Improves the Quality of Your Customer Service

General admin assistants offer support with everything from basic tasks to project management. Today’s virtual support agents can provide you with a resource that is knowledgeable, experienced, and profitable.

The type of VA you hire should depend on what skill sets you need to achieve your business goals. If you have multiple customer support needs in your business such as taking orders and technical support, you should tailor your job request to find the person that is right for the job.

I found that using a #VA was so much more productive that it was well worth the additional investment. ~Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Click To Tweet
  1. Customer Inquiries Are Always Handled

Worrying about the office receptionist going on vacation? Calls not always answered during and after business hours? Worry no more.

Outsourcing your phone/email support ensures your customers receive the help they need when they need it. This will make them more satisfied with your service!

  1. Reduces Workload on Full Time Staff

Keep everyone happy by outsourcing your virtual customer service representative. Your full-time employees already have enough work to fill up their work plate and adding more can make them resent their jobs (see #8).

  1. Maintain a Professional Brand

A prompt service will always give clients and customers a good impression. Calls that are answered quickly and professionally give your business a great image that they love.

A virtual customer service assistant not only brings professionalism to your client base, but they also represent the name of your company and will either take a message or relay the call to you or anyone in your team.

FACT: There are a million things that need your focus and #CustomerSupport can easily fall low on the priority list. Click To Tweet
  1. Reduces Turnover Rates

A stressful environment is one of the factors that trigger employees to seek work elsewhere. That’s why every employer or business owner strives for creating a happy and relaxing workplace for his or her people.

For example, the daily grind of commute can put your staff in a bad state of mind before they even get to the office. Cutting the lost free time, cost of gas, and bus fares, from daily travel out of the equation can make your team work happier everyday.

Adding a virtual customer service agent who work from the comforts of his or her home can help you retain the support you need for your business operation.

  1. Flexible and Scalable Enough to Suit Your Business

The good thing about working with independent contractors is that you can easily scale the size of your support team to suit shifts in your company operation.

If the need arises, you can expand your staff for specific assignments or long-term projects. Better yet, you can choose to condense your customer support team into a streamlined operation by assigning multiple tasks to these talented VAs.

  1. Accelerates the Hiring Process

Many of the HR Managers have observed that the traditional hiring process can be a very time-consuming task compared to hiring an online assistant.

This is because they have to juggle several face-to-face interviews and long waiting periods between candidates. Sometimes, it can take up a couple of months to fill a position when hiring locally.

But hiring online customer service only takes about two to three days. You can review their CVs and setup an interview via phone or Skype – a much faster way to build your team, right?

If you are overwhelmed by the clutter in your life and work, you can start utilizing virtual customer assistants to help with your daily activities.

The Virtual Customer Support Assistants Handles the Following:

Virtual Assistant Talent is one of the leading providers of talented and efficient customer service virtual assistant services. CALL US at 1-866-596-9041 to learn more.

We would love to hear if these tips worked for you! If you have questions or any Business Outsourcing related success stories, please leave a comment below.

References:

upwork.com
customerthink.com
aircall.io
taskbullet.com
socialmediaweek.org

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Why Your Website Needs to be Mobile Friendly

1. Most people choose to use mobile than desktop

More and more people are using mobile phones, smartphones, and tablets for years so you want to make sure they can access your business through their mobile devices.

About 2/3 of Americans own a smartphone and 87% of millennials have their phones at their side day & night. Click To Tweet

2. Reduced load time

We all want to provide a good user experience. And one of the reasons why people leave the website sooner is due to its long loading time. Mobile optimized sites load faster so you’re one step away from losing a potential customer.

48% of users say they feel frustrated and annoyed when they get to a site that’s not mobile-friendly. Click To Tweet

3. You’ll attract more visitors

Around 40% of the traffic to most websites is now from mobile phones. That means that almost half of your users need a mobile friendly website to engage with your business.

Many mobile users will simply click away from a page if it doesn’t respond the way they want it to on a mobile device.

79% of people who don’t like what they find on one site will go back and search for another site. Click To Tweet

4. SEO benefit: Google ranks you higher

Another reason why you need a mobile optimized site is because it makes it easier for people to find you in online searches.

Google announced that from April 21, 2015 its new algorithm favors mobile-responsive websites. Also, in this way you won’t be penalized for having duplicated content.

5. Makes it easier to manage your content

Having a mobile friendly website allows you to save time, energy, and resources on publishing your content online. Aside from that, duplicate copies of your content is just hard on your search rankings so it’s better to have one website and develop a responsive design from it.

61% of people said that they’d quickly move onto another site if they didn’t find what they were looking for right away on a mobile site. Click To Tweet

6. Mobile users are bigger buyers

Because of the fast-paced generation we are currently in, there’s a basic need for people to be informed instantly.

One of the benefits of mobile optimization is it makes mobile users want to read product reviews and compare brands faster and purchase whenever they want or need to.

67% of users are more likely to buy from a mobile-friendly site than a non-mobile friendly one. Click To Tweet

7. Social media shares are huge on mobile

Using mobile devices makes it easier for website visitors to share interesting posts, pictures, and videos with friends. Notice how social media buttons are everywhere when you browse with your phone? Otherwise, the word SHARE is featured prominently on the article.

8. Lower maintenance cost

A mobile-responsive website may cost you upfront, but it has definitely much lower maintenance cost. For instance, you do not need to reformat, duplicate or add features to your content twice, like you would do using a desktop and a mobile site.

Consult some website technical virtual assistant services – they will help you transform your website and optimize it for mobile-viewing

9. Better back-linking

Aside from better search engine rank, a unique URL results in a stronger linking setup. All your backlinks will point to the same domain instead of being split between desktop website and mobile website.

10. It will help your website prepare for the future

As mentioned, increasingly more individuals are choosing smart phones and using tablets. It’s definitely a good business sense to provide them with the service they need to keep using your website.

50% of people said that even if they like a business, they will use them less often if the website isn’t mobile-friendly. Click To Tweet

11. Don’t fall behind the competition!

Be ahead of the game. You don’t want to be the last one to update your website.

7 Examples of Excellent Mobile Website Design

1. Google Maps

The mobile website has the speed and functionality of the app.

google maps mobile

Source: blog.hubspot.com

2. Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch uses simple color palettes with beautiful photography to draw the visitor’s eyes to the products, rather than the elements of the site.

Abercrombie

Source: impactbnd.com

3. Huffington Post

Huffington Post actually alters their headlines slightly for mobile users so their content is more easily scannable.

huffington

Source: blog.hubspot.com

4. Texas Roadhouse

This mobile website does a great job of encouraging users to find a location nearest to them to visit.

Texas Roadhouse

Source: impactbnd.com

5. Nationwide Insurance

This one nails down the simple user experience. You can get an auto insurance quote right away by entering your zip code; or you can “Find an Agent” to learn more information about their services.

nationwide insurance

Source: blog.hubspot.com

6. Booking.com

This popular booking site grabs the users’ attention and directs them to the form with a clear call-to-action.

booking.com

Source: impactbnd.com

7. Shutterfly

Shutterfly is an online service where you can create photo books, personalized cards and stationary, and more. Their mobile-friendly website is:

shutterfly

Source: blog.hubspot.com

Final TIP: There’s an easy way to check your website using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. See if there’s some work to do in order to maximize the mobile user experience of your website.

Need help with building website mobile-friendly? Our Web Design & Development packages can match you with a dedicated Web designer/ Tech virtual assistant to help create responsive-design websites for your business or personal page.

Talk to us today and let us know what you want to accomplish. CALL 1-866-596-9041 to learn more.

We would love to hear if these ideas worked for you! If you have questions or any business related success stories, please leave a comment below.


References:
https://blog.hubspot.com/
https://www.impactbnd.com/
https://www.godaddy.com/
https://blog.wsol.com/
http://www.seorankmonitor.com/
http://blog.pixelfish.com.au/

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Explainer Video Facts: 11 Types of Animations You Can Make

Explainer videos serve many purposes and can be produced in-house so you can try to make one yourself. You can also search online for apps or hire a Technical Marketing VA service.

These are common types of explainer videos:

Why Your Company Needs Explainer Videos

1. They showcase your product or service in seconds!

Only 28% of website content is read on average. Click To Tweet

These marketing videos explain your product or service fast, and in an entertaining way—delivering a perfect pitch every time. See how this cute animated video shows a service in just 30 seconds:

2. Boost conversion rates

According to a survey conducted by Video Rascal,

85% of people are more likely to buy a product once they see an explainer video. Click To Tweet

Explainer videos help small business owners keep track of what product or service prospects are interested by checking the number of views on each video.

3. Emphasizes the pain points that your business can solve

One of the reasons why you need an explainer video is that people are buying based on how you’ll solve their problems. Focusing on pain points is a compelling way to invite your target audience because they NEED your product or service, on both a practical and emotional level.

This Tripcase video is a particularly strong example because it makes the pain point really hurt—the hassle and chaos of travel experienced by other tourists, while the Tripcase user remains cool.

Customers are 50% more confident with their purchase after watching a video, and cart sizes can increase up 174%. Click To Tweet

4. Generate more interest

More and more companies are utilizing images and animation videos to spread the word about their businesses. Check out this really interesting product video by Dollar Shave Club:

5. They help to build your brand

Explainer videos give you an opportunity to connect with your audience on a personal level and allow them to know everything they need to know about your brand. See Pinterest’s video:

All of this will help grow trust within your existing and potential customers.

Businesses using video grow company revenue 49% faster than those without video. Click To Tweet

6. Increase web traffic

More website traffic means a potential to increase conversions & sales with professional explainer videos. Old Spice generated over 54M views and according to Ad Week, Old Spice’s sales have increased by 107% using viral video.

Companies using video enjoy 41% more web traffic from search than non-users. Click To Tweet

7. They make your visitors take action!

Speaking of web traffic, when visitors land on your page, what do you want them to do? You want them to take THAT action.

Whether it’s buying your featured product, downloading a free trial, or subscribing to your newsletter, it all boils down to getting them to click your call-to-action (CTA) button.

See how Amazon encouraged people to use the AmazonGo app in their shopping.
70% of marketers say video produces more conversions than any other type of content. Click To Tweet

8. Easily shareable

Social video generates 1,200% more shares than text and images combined.

Free video hosting sites such as YouTube and Vimeo have useful tools that allow you to upload your videos and use keywords to make them more findable.

Explainer videos are also easily shareable, unlike text web pages. People are more likely to share and watch videos online than read paragraphs on a website.

Sham Wow video was so popular that there are 64K of views on it and tons of remakes and parodies:

59% of C-suite executives prefer watching video to reading text on a page. Click To Tweet

With all these benefits right before your eyes, it’s definitely time to consider that your business needs a marketing explainer video.

We provide virtual marketing assistance to help create and design animated videos and for your business needs.

Talk to us today and let us know what you want to accomplish. CALL 1-866-596-9041 to learn more.


Reference:
blog.hubspot.com
www.videobrewery.com
smallbiztrends.com
go.yumyumvideos.com
www.crazyegg.com
skeletonproductions.com

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Top Tips to Create an Effective Newsletter Content

Here are some great pointers and e-newsletter examples to help you create a newsletter that gets results for your business.

1. Focus on a specific topic or area of business

Concentrate your newsletter topic on a specific area so that you can appeal to a niche audience. This gives you the opportunity to get higher engagement rates than you would if you produced a one that featured all of your products or services.

Here’s an example of a topic-based email newsletter from BuzzFeed: “This Week in Cats” where they offer up one specific publication for people who love reading about cats…

Focus on a specific topic or area of business on your newsletter

Source: BuzzFeed via HubSpot

2. Be informative and interesting

Always make sure that…

75% of your newsletter content is all about helping the audience, and 25% promoting yourself. Click To Tweet

What do people consider valuable content?

According to the Nielsen Norman Group, 40% of users considered the following aspects make for valuable email newsletters:

One of the newsletters samples is Hungry Girl’s Food Finds and Diet News

Newsletter Example - Hungry Girl’s Food

Source: hungry-girl.com

3. Value statements

Display a brief list of statements that explain the benefits you provide to your audience. These key phrases should explain what sets you apart from others and why your expertise is so helpful.

Here’s what we’ve done with one of our newsletters:

statements that explain the benefits on newsletter

4. Keep it short and aim for a click

The average person spends only 51 seconds reading a newsletter. Click To Tweet

Keep your content scannable is the key to making your newsletter more effective. Using content blocks, snapshots, takeaways, bullet points, and call to action (CTA) buttons, will give your readers’ tired eyes some relief.

But remember, the goal is to leave the subscribers eager to learn more. Lead them back to your website, blog, or service/product page for more info. InVision’s newsletter is a great mix of content—a nice balance between images and text, and CTA buttons.

InVision’s newsletter

Source: InVision via HubSpot

5. Choose catchy subject lines

Keep your email subject lines as creative and attention grabbing as possible because it can be a focal point as to whether or not the reader opens your email. Always make sure that they are true to your content to avoid misleading readers.

6. Be true on your “Subscribe” page

Clickbaits are widely used by everyone to get traffic. BUT be careful not to mislead your subscribers. Your goal is to properly communicate your newsletter’s focus and content on your “Subscribe” landing page.

Get specific. Tell potential readers exactly what will be in the newsletter and be true to your words. Take a look at SmartBrief’s page:

SmartBrief’s page

Source: SmartBrief via HubSpot

7. Be reliable and consistent

Pick a frequency and stick to it. It can be daily, weekly, or monthly. So if you tell readers to look for your newsletter each week, you’d better be there. Set expectations on your opt-in page on how often they will receive something from you. Some people don’t like surprises, no-shows, or last-minute drop-ins.

Based on Nielsen Norman Group’s report,

69% of users said that they look forward to receiving at least 1 newsletter, and it had become part of their routine. Click To Tweet

8. Featured product

Show a small picture and provide brief description of a featured product, such as a webinar, book, PDF, video course, etc. Tip: Create urgency by offering a promo code or discounted price if they order in a limited time that you specify.

Here’s HubSpot’s take on featured product:

HubSpot’s Featured Product

Be sure to include a CTA or website link to purchase your products, and test it for accuracy before sending out.

9. Professional-looking layout

Many people read email newsletters using their smartphones and tablets. If possible, use a template that displays ONE column. Don’t use 2-3 columns. Also, compliment your good content with good graphics.

If you’re knowledgeable with publishing and graphics tools, try doing it yourself. Or, use a newsletter marketing service to make a template for you. Then, you can easily customize it with new content for each of your future issues. Check out Second Glass’ colorful and informative email newsletter. Plus, it has a very clear CTA that urges people to purchase tickets.

Second Glass

Source: Second Glass via HubSpot

10. Test everything

Find out what works for your business and your mailing list. And before you send a newsletter, test all functionality such as the links and CTA buttons; as well as run it through a spam checker.

Experiment with the following best practices:

Need help with crafting your company newsletter? We offer marketing virtual assistant service to work with you step-by-step in creating, designing and managing newsletters. CALL 1-866-596-9041 to learn more.

We would love to hear if these ideas worked for you! If you have questions or any email marketing success stories, please leave a comment below.


Reference:
https://www.8ways.ch/
http://www.verticalresponse.com/
https://blog.hubspot.com/
http://www.startawildfire.com/

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Working with a Web designer and developer allows you to discuss your specifics when creating a landing page because it truly is one of the factors that can make or break your business in the online arena.

Buffer saw a 16% increase in landing page conversions when it changed its home page design. Click To Tweet

Top Tips to Create an Effective Landing Page

Here’s a sample from WordStream of what an ideal landing page looks like and some samples of best converting landing pages…

best converting landing page

Source: WordStream.com

 

1. Clean and Organized Design

Whether it’s making a purchase, filling out a form, downloading a PDF, or signing up for a newsletter, always make sure for a visitor to convert.

A smart use of the following will help you design attractive landing pages:

Here’s an example from Hotels.com

attractive landing pages

Source: Hotels.com via Buffer Social

2. Clear Call To Action

The mantra of your landing page should be as simple as ‘ABC’: Always Be Closing.

Buy Now. Learn More. Sign Up. Contact Us. See Our Samples. These are just some of the CTAs that are pretty straightforward. What do you want your visitors to do? That’s what you should be asking them, persuasively.

Don’t distract them with lots of other requests.

Below is a sample from Pocket. Notice how your eye goes right to the CTA?

pocket

Source: getpocket.com via Kissmetrics

3. Detailed But Well Packaged Information

Rich and informative content will give your page an SEO boost and helps people who need to know more about your business before handing over their information.

converting landing page sample

Source: Unbounce via Hubspot

4. Broadcast Offer Value Using Header

The headline and sub-headlines is broadcasting opportunity to promote the value of your offer.

For example…

Free LinkedIn Marketing E-book

Get more quality LinkedIn connections – fast!

Remember, you have about 8 seconds to convince users your offer is worth pursuing. Click To Tweet

Some landing pages choose the main headline to contain their main value proposition and use the sub-headings to discuss the actual offer. So it’s absolutely important that your value is clear and convincing.

5. Neat and Enticing Opt-in Forms

Take a look at WebDAM’s landing page. The form itself has an excellent contrast of colors and neat features like the little icons next to the info you need to put in. The form is also shaped like an arrow pointing down as a cue that you’ll progress to the downloadable guide.

Source: WebDam via Hubspot

6. Narrow Focus – Keep It Simple

Research shows that the more choices you offer people, the longer they take to make a decision.

webdam

Source: Salesforce via Kissmetrics

See how Salesforce did it. There’s no navigation bar at the top, the few company links are placed at the bottom, and the CTA is a bright, catchy, offer. Even the social links are small and grayed out so that the focus is narrowed to the form.

7. Testimonials and Trust Signals

Trust badges and user testimonials give visitors impression that your offer and brand are trustworthy. It works best if you display logos of well-known brands you’ve worked with in the past, certain endorsements and recognitions you’ve received, or groups/associations that you are a member of.

Testimonials and Trust Signals

Source: WordStream.com

8. High-quality Resolution Layout

Always keep in mind the user experience and how visitors would see your landing page. Keep the most essential parts of your message such as the logo, headline, CTAs, at the center top of the screen, with supporting features on the rest of the page.

hbloom

Think of an inverted pyramid where the most important elements are at the top. H.BLOOM’s landing page is an eye candy because it uses high-resolution photography and lots of white space.

Need guidance on crafting effective landing pages? We’re here to help! Our virtual assistant service will provide you with a dedicated web designer so you can see the most important features of your business come to life in PC, mobile, or tablet. CALL 1-866-596-9041 to learn more.

We would love to hear if these ideas worked for you! If you have questions or any website related success stories, please leave a comment below.

Reference:
wordstream.com
blog.kissmetrics.com
blog.bufferapp.com
blog.hubspot.com

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11 Virtual Assistant Internet Marketing Services

1. Prospecting

Got a long list of qualified leads? A virtual assistant can easily make calls to identify which ones are ready to purchase your product or subscribe to your service.

This way, you only spend time pitching to true prospects that you can lead down the sales funnel. An assistant can also schedule those interested prospects on your calendar to set appointments with you.


Related Reading: 137 Tasks You Can Outsource To A Virtual Assistant in 2017


2. Competitor or Target Audience Research

One of the top virtual marketing assistant jobs is competitor analysis and research. Now you don’t have to spend hours in front of your computer trying to figure out where and what your competitors are doing.

3. Email Marketing

Marketing communication is all about making sure that your customers/clients remember you and the perfect way to do this is through email marketing. Stay in touch with your existing and future target market by having a VA handle the following:

Remember, communication is core in building up a business relationship and it is important that you get a well-rounded VA.

Human resource virtual assistant services can be a great help if you need get down to the nitty-gritty of finding the perfect virtual marketing assistant.

4. Inbound or Follow Up Calls

Need to pursue a sale? Hire a virtual assistant to send a reminder or call to follow up with your warm leads. Answering all further questions can also take time so hand it over to your assistant. He or she can do both inbound and outbound calls.

5. Blog Management

Another integral part of marketing virtual assistant services but takes up too much time is blog management. Thankfully, a VA can do this by…

Do you find it pesky to manage your editorial calendar? Have virtual assistant create one for you and then execute it.

6. Search Engine Marketing

Search Marketing is all about attracting traffic and increasing visibility through major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Two major categories under this marketing strategy are Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Both can be achieved using SEO Complete Package Solution.

SEO is the process of generating free or organic traffic from search engines while SEM means getting paid traffic from search engines.

SEO virtual assistants can help you with tasks such as:

7. Social Media Marketing

If you are a busy entrepreneur or professional, chances are, you don’t have the entire day working on your social media marketing. After all, posting and engaging on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn will keep you busy 24/7.

Creating a buzz about your business involves plenty of tasks that you’ll need to perform on a daily basis. Work with virtual assistants who can implement social media management packages such as the following:

8. Real Estate Marketing

9. Website Update and Maintenance

There are various web development services a VA can help you with along with your existing marketing strategy. Tasks include adding new images, videos, content; adding meta tags and descriptions; linking to other posts, etc. A web developer virtual assistant can also do regular maintenance on your website so it runs smoothly and give an excellent user-experience.

10. Content Marketing

Creation and sharing of value-added content is essential to win over prospects or customers. That’s why content marketing should not be overlooked.

Competition gets tougher everyday so you need to beef up your content strategy. Work with your VA to provide fresh, informative and interesting content to your audience on a regular basis.

He or she can help in every step of a content marketing strategy – planning, creation, publishing, distribution and performance tracking.

11. Networking

Making connections online or in person can lead to mutually beneficial relationships. Though there are some networking activities that you really do have to do yourself, pretty much all online connection can be done by a virtual assistant.

He or she can start by researching online communities for you to join as well as networking events to attend. You can even hire VAs to search for call for speakers.

Virtual Assistant Talent, LLC is the number one virtual staff finder dedicated in providing top-notch virtual assistants for Entrepreneurs, Real Estate Agents/Investors, Small Business Owners, and Professionals.

See how our highly qualified and trained VAs can assist in your everyday tasks and objectives. CALL 1-866-596-9041.

We would love to hear if these ideas worked for you! If you have questions or any virtual marketing assistant related success stories, please leave a comment below.


Reference:
www.ducttapemarketing.com
apexassisting.com
virtualhelper247.com

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11 Reasons Why You Should Hire Social Media Marketing Expert

1. Stay ahead of trends

A savvy and dedicated social media personal virtual assistant actively keeps up with the latest happenings in the social media world. He or she is then able to identify the best channels for your business and make smart decisions that will ultimately bring in more prospects.

2. Consistency of the brand’s voice

Your business’s message might easily go out inconsistently when more than one person handles your social media profiles. Hire social media marketer to make sure that your brand’s voice is on a par with your branding strategy and marketing campaigns.

3. To develop a social media strategy

Find a social media manager who will set out a strategy that is directed towards achieving success in the online market. With a great social media strategy in place, you can make sure all your efforts are at work and not in vain.

4. Represent your business online

Additionally, a social media virtual assistant is your main representative when it comes to the social community. He or she reaches out with your clients/customers on a regular basis through posts, comments, and direct messages.

It is vital to hire a social manager solely for this purpose instead of delegating the responsibilities across your current team because this activity can make or break your business’s online reputation.

5. Clever and efficient copywriting

Copywriting is paramount to your social brand content. This particular skill for online marketing is effective for driving engagement and clicks. Social media VAs can craft good copy, whether it be writing up your social media profile description, or posting status updates and tweets.

6. More creativity and diversity

In 2017, social media managers are no longer just content marketers. ~Melbourne Social Co. Click To Tweet

They are community managers, photographers, writers, stylists, publicists–the list goes on.

Hire a Social Media Manager responsible in creating amazing content for your business. Because let’s face it, in the overly populated social media market place, you need creative content to stand out from the crowd.

7. Attract NEW customers

Almost EVERYDAY people shop online and discover new businesses and products that they are interested in. This is where hiring social media specialist come in handy. With a strong knowledge of marketing, he or she can create online advertisements, promotions, campaigns and other postings to help build brand awareness attract new customers.

8. Community engagement

A great social media consultant can facilitate engagement for people to understand more about your product/company. He or she can ask the right questions and answer inquiries promptly through comments and messages.

This helps create a loyal following and trust so that the target audience is more likely to interact and potentially buy from you.

9. To boost SEO and increase conversion

A social media manager VA understands search engines so he or she can create content that is optimized to your niche. A virtual assistant company can also refer an SEO VA for this purpose. This marketing campaign can turn leads to actual conversions for the business.

10. To save time

Truth be told, social media management (SMM) takes time. Assigning your team to contribute posts without a defined schedule or strategy can be a waste of time and won’t even help your marketing efforts. This is primarily the social media manager’s job—dedicated to lead the digital marketing side of your business.

11. Handle post automation/scheduling

Last but not the least, a social media virtual agent uses a variety of tools and techniques to create and schedule posts accordingly. These methods can save time and money in the process. Grow your business socially without having to put your entire effort and attention to it.

Do you know what is the best time of day to post particular content online? Outsource or hire you social media manager today. Virtual Assistant Talent has social media management packages to fit any budget.

See how our highly qualified and trained SMM assistants can assist in your everyday tasks and objectives. CALL 1-866-596-9041.

We would love to hear if these ideas worked for you! If you have questions or any Social Media related success stories, please leave a comment below.

Reference:
emaginemore.com
www.wildweb.co.za
www.melbournesocialco.com.au

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