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DECEMBER 2008
DECEMBER 2008
WAHMZONE.COM
Where Business and Motherhood Meet
Well, the holidays are officially upon us. This is good news for your business. November and December account for a large percentage of annual retail sales. And, particularly, online sales. For the past five years, approximately 22% of holiday sales were attributed to the Internet. I know I contributed my share of that number!
What does that mean for you? A lot, if you happen to have a website and if you're active in promoting your product online. If you don't yet have a website, it's not too late! Be sure to check out this month's WahmZone FEATURE OF THE MONTH for an easy way to create a website for your business!
Also this month, WahmZone talks to Angie Green, a WahmZone member who works as a Virtual Assistant. If you've thought about becoming a VA, or are just curious as to what's involved, be sure to check out the details in the DECEMBER FEATURED WAHM.
Finally, the ARTICLE OF THE MONTH gives us ways to maintain a busy blog through the holidays. Learn some ways to keep traffic flowing to your blog through this busy holiday month.
WAHMZONE FEATURE OF THE MONTH
As mentioned above, WahmZone offers a wonderful site builder so you can create a professional website for your business.
The WahmBuilder is an ONLINE site builder, which means there is no downloading required. And it's so easy! Choose from over 1,500 templates, add up to 500 photos, and receive over 30 additional features. You will also receive FREE e-Commerce and Shopping Cart so your customers can shop online! Also, 24/7 web/technical support and site hosting are both INCLUDED in the super low monthly fee!
Give your customers what they want - the ease and convenience of shopping from the comfort of their own home. You won't find an easier way to do that than with WahmBuilder. Sign up today: http://www.wahmbuilder.com.
DECEMBER FEATURED WAHM
Angie Green joined WahmZone just last month and jumped right onto the message boards. Find out what she has to say about her work-at-home job career of Virtual Assistant.
WAHMZONE: How long have you been a Virtual Assistant?
ANGIE GREEN: I have been a VA for 4 years. I started my business in 2004 after my first child was born.
WZ: How did you first hear about Virtual Assisting and what made you decide to give it a shot?
ANGIE: I decided that I wanted to stay at home, so I began researching on the internet options for moms to work at home. I wanted to find or create something that utilized my administrative experience and my interest in computers. Also, a flexible schedule was very important to me. After discovering the field of Virtual Assistance, I saw that it also would give me an opportunity to build my resume and stay connected to the professional world as a business owner. All of those factors really appealed to me, along with the low start-up costs.
WZ: Do you work for one business / entrepreneur or do you take on a variety of jobs? And where do you find work?
ANGIE: I have 4 or 5 long-term clients that provide a steady flow of work. I began working with my former employer, doing overflow assignments and helping with projects they could not get to. She, in turn, referred me to others. I also attended Chamber of Commerce meetings in my town. I have connected with all of my clients in the offline world, and I'm a firm believer in face-to-face networking.
WZ: Tell us a little about what your job consists of.
ANGIE: I have chosen to be a "jack of all trades" type of VA, so I have done a little bit of everything including travel planning, transcription, website development, survey administration, and meeting planning. Other VA's choose to offer a specific skill-set or focus on a particular industry.
WZ: How many hours do you work per week, on average, including all aspects of the job?
ANGIE: I do about 8 to10 hours of billable work per week, and an additional 2-5 hours on marketing, bookkeeping, and planning. This is definitely a part-time career for me, and I work during naptimes, evenings, and on weekends. If clients have more work than I can handle at a particular time, or if I will be travelling, I have developed a strong relationship with 2 other Virtual Assistants and we subcontract work to each other and help each other out.
WZ: How much do you earn in a typical week? And how do you get paid - Per hour? Per assignment?
ANGIE: I have chosen to charge for all of my work on an hourly basis, and I charge $30 per hour, billed in 15-minute increments. I have done two large projects that I completed for a flat fee, and that worked out well too. According to surveys, most VA's charge $20-$40 per hour, and work between 10-40 hours a week.
WZ: What is your favorite part of the job?
ANGIE: My favorite part of being a VA and owning a business is that I get to try a little bit of everything and be my own boss. I have fun with marketing and networking, and I enjoy figuring out things like how to create my own blog or send an e-newsletter. Even something mundane like bookkeeping is rewarding when I know it's for the benefit of my company.
WZ: How about the most challenging part of the job?
ANGIE: I have three young kids, not yet even in kindergarten! It is a challenge to navigate the week to make sure that first I am meeting the needs of my kids and family then meeting the needs of my business. Between preschool drop-off, making snacks, doing art, emailing a client, doing client work…it just takes planning, planning, planning. And a sense of humor!!
WZ: Why should other moms consider looking into becoming a Virtual Assistant?
ANGIE: As a business owner, you will absolutely find it rewarding to work for yourself. You can create your own niche, choosing the type of services you provide or the industries you would like to target. You also have complete control over the number of hours you want to work in a week, and when you will work. One of the most important things, too, is that you will continue to build your resume as a business owner and stay connected to the professional world in the event you want to return to a full-time job one day.
WZ: What are some of your favorite websites?
ANGIE: To learn how to become a Virtual Assistant: http://www.vamanual.com
To get weekly tips on how to jump-start your VA business: http://vamanual.wordpress.com
To network with other VAs: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com
To network with other work-at-home moms: www.WahmZone.com of course!
WAHMZONE ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
Are you looking for tips on how to attract more visitors to your blog? Do you wonder if you'll even have enough time during the holidays to maintain your blog? Then read on. It really is possible to have a successful blog during the crazy holiday season.
How to have a Busy Blog during the Holidays
By Lynette Chandler
You've got your business blog going and people seem to like it. The traffic, comments and sign-ups to your newsletter are growing and you've put in a lot of work to get it this successful. Now that the holidays are upon us you'll likely have little time to keep your blog up to date, especially if you sell consumer products. You do know that you want to keep this great thing going though. Besides, it's the long term marketing that will help you over the slower periods of the year. What can you do?
Try pre-scheduling your posts. This is the single most effective method. Do this over the rest of the year to save time when you need a break or are too busy. You can do this by using your blog's scheduled post feature or you could blog by email and set your email client to only send the mail at a pre-set date and time. If you're using Outlook, there are plugins you can purchase to help you send scheduled emails.
Something else you could do is invite some guest bloggers. You can hire someone. Many times people are more than happy to blog on sites for an affordable fee. You could also invite owners of related businesses to post. This is a great idea because you may not need to pay out any cash and you can return the favor when they get busy. Guest writers are a good way to get some time away from your blog, allow you to concentrate on holiday sales and a wonderful way to introduce a fresh perspective.
Here's another idea. Have an assistant post some holiday articles related to your business for you. Articles about the holidays that people find useful such as shopping and budget tips, recipes and etiquette do very nicely. More affordable and enjoyable holidays are something everyone can use to hear about. If your assistant can add information to relate those articles with your product, the better. With that holiday feel in the air, you may be surprised to see how much traffic you end up getting. Possibly more than normal.
If you post tips, make sure they're not all at once. Publish some quick, interesting tips over a period of days or even weeks. Tell people they are reading on of a series of tips on "X" topic. This gives your prospects reason to return and you something to blog about on a regular basis.
Try audio. Speaking comes more naturally to us than writing and it also requires less effort and time to make a post. Record a short under 5 minute clip about what's happening during the busy holiday period. Tell people about your sales, share how you helped a customer out of his holiday shopping dilemma. There are many tools you can use for a small cost such as AudioAcrobat and HipCast. You can record it and have it posted to your blog immediately.
There's no need to abandon your blog at this very busy time of the year. By using the advice in this article you will ensure your blog isn't neglected as you continue to build relationships with your prospects though posting.
About the Author:
Lynette Chandler helps entrepreneurs recognize and apply the power of technology to their marketing. Discover how web conferencing can work for your business today at http://www.webconferencingworks.com
Printed From: http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/
how-to-have-a-busy-blog-during-the-holidays-80009.html
And that wraps up the final newsletter of the year. We want to THANK YOU for choosing WahmZone.com for all of your business and motherhood needs.
HAVE A BLESSED AND PROSPEROUS HOLIDAY SEASON!
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