AMVA - Amanda Moore Virtual Assistant

By: Bob Withers

Online newsletters are used for multiple reasons and in multiple ways. Online newsletters are used to increase sales to current and new customers and generate new leads. They are gaining in popularity and for good reason. They are a great way to build and manage effective relationships with your customers and they are an effective fast and affordable method of communicating to your target audience on a regular basis.

Online newsletters are formatted for your Web site and are usually delivered via email, however, some are sent as HTML pages located on a web site. They are contained within your website and offer a great way of keeping your website fresh and up to date. Online newsletters are a great way to gain instant market feedback either through surveys or by response to articles.

Newsletters are a way to lock in your consumers and remind them on a periodic basis of the value you provide. Newsletters once required expensive printing and mailing costs, but today’s online newsletters have changed the rules of the game. They have four times the readership of a traditional ad and can be instantly delivered to readers throughout the world.

Online newsletters give you reasons to send potential customers emails packed with informative articles and, of course, one or more carefully crafted sales messages. They are great for building trust and relationships online if your newsletter provides regular, quality content which your subscribers can really use. Newsletters allow individuals and groups to control messaging and deliver it with great precision to a target audience.

Online newsletters are often made available free of charge to subscribers who complete a short profile and they produce targeted leads as a result. As the number of Internet surfers using the Web for gathering information and making purchases increased, many businesses began using online newsletters to promote company Web sites, products, and services. Businesses also use them to provide information and as an additional source of revenue through advertising.

As well as being environmentally friendly, online newsletters save the publisher time and cut costs by reducing postage, paper, and other supplies costs. Along with being less expensive and easier to produce, online newsletters can also reach a much larger customer base. While many newsletters exist solely as an information source and do not utilize advertising, many others are published as a source of revenue.

With an increasing number of online newsletters in circulation and online traffic increasing, businesses began viewing the electronic medium as an attractive place to advertise. In fact, advertising in online newsletters is often more effective than placing a banner ad on a Web site. According to Forrester Research, advertisements in email newsletters had an average response rate of 18 percent in 2000, versus a banner ad click through rate of less than one percent.

Online newsletters are considered to be the best marketing tool to promote small business over the World Wide Web. They are an internet phenomenon and they can be crucial to the success of your enterprise. Newsletters have been, and continue to be, one of the most efficient marketing and communication tools used by both small and large companies alike.

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Author Resource:-> Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about sales and marketing please visit:

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Article From Niche Article Directory

Welcome to the June 15, 2008 edition of the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival. We received a ton of entries this week, unfortunately several were unable to be included for various reasons. But, we still have a great carnival for you this week so hopefully you enjoy!

Steve Oliphant presents Free Backlinks! Woo Hoo! posted at Steve Oliphant’s Musings.

Patrick Schwerdtfeger presents How I use Twitter and Utterz posted at Tactical Execution, saying, “This post describes how you can use free micro-blogging platforms like Twitter and Utterz to build a following and push value to your audience, all without leaving home.”

Webmaster_1 presents Avoiding Make Money From Home Scams posted at The Entrepreneurs Online Magazine, saying, “Tips on how to avoid money making schemes”

Diego Norte presents Internet Business 101 posted at Internet Business 101.

Jose DeJesus MD presents Business Startup - Testing Your Idea and Yourself posted at Physician Entrepreneur.

Steve Faber presents The Steps to Starting an Internet Business posted at Home Based Business Success.

Laurie presents Law Practice and Life Balance posted at Halo Secretarial Services.

Fiona Lohrenz presents Why Your Day Care Needs A Website posted at Child Care Only.

Social D presents Social Marketing Traffic Experiment Updated Results Video posted at Social Networking Bookmark Domination.

Jose DeJesus MD presents Business Document Resource posted at Physician Entrepreneur.

Janet Barclay presents Keeping Track of All Those Blogs posted at From the Desk of Janet Barclay.

Tammi Metzler presents My journey from full-time employee to full-time entrepreneur posted at Writeassociate’s Weblog.

Jennifer Naughton presents Day One Of A New Life posted at Jennifer Naughton — Virtual Assistant.

Mary Havlicek presents I’ve Got Spirit, How ‘Bout You? posted at Hours by Design.

Raymond presents Internet Service Is More Important To Me Than Phone or Cable TV posted at Money Blue Book.

Amanda Moore presents 10-Second Must-do SEO for Bloggers posted at AMVA - Amanda Moore Virtual Assistant.

SJ Yee presents On Becoming A Full-Time Blogger/Internet Marketer posted at Personal Development for the Book Smart.

Mark Riffey presents Who has time for marketing? posted at Business is Personal.

Jimmy Sansi presents A Big List For Improving Article Marketing posted at The Kaizen Business.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the June 1, 2008 edition of Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival.

Terry Dean presents Quality Website Traffic posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Webmaster_1 presents 5 Reasons Why Blogging Is Beneficial posted at The Entrepreneurs Online Magazine, saying, “An article on why blogging is beneficial to any internet business”

Jose DeJesus MD presents Defending Yourself Against Time Thieves posted at Physician Entrepreneur, saying, “Here are some ways to become more effective by avoiding things that steal or waste your time.”

Colleen M. Johnson presents Web Database Management Tools posted at cmjoffice.com Blog, saying, “Discover some information on web-based database options.”

John W. Furst presents Aweber – A Marketing Lesson And Smart Pricing posted at E-Biz Booster Blog, saying, “Are you freaking out? One of the popular Email Marketing Tools provider — AWeber — has new features and new prices. What’s in it for you?”

Jimson Lee presents Free or Cheap Help Desk Support Software posted at CRM Help Desk Software.com, saying, “A quick review of the 2 best free Open Source Help Desk Support Ticket software for your business.”

Cindy King presents How To Use Online Translation Tools posted at Cindy King, saying, “I think free online translation tools are great… for certain tasks. Never use them to write any sales content or sales materials. And think twice about relying on them for any other translations.”

John Crickett presents How To Start A Blogging Business posted at Business Opportunities And Ideas, saying, “A guide to starting a blogging business”

Terry Dean presents From a Sale to An Experience posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Craig Andrews presents Small Steps for a lot of Traffic Generation posted at Craig S. Andrews.com.

Laurie presents Lawyers and Technological Change posted at Halo Secretarial Services.

Janet Barclay presents Business Lessons Are Everywhere posted at From the Desk of Janet Barclay.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Welcome to the May 25, 2008 edition of the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival.

Monique Terrell presents 15 Tips to making the Transition from Employee to Business Owner posted at Virtually Speaking.

Craig Andrews presents Proper Direct Email Marketing For An Internet Business (Don’t Kill Off Your Email List!) posted at Craig S. Andrews.com.

Anya Portnik presents Who cares about Web 2.0? Sales training & business development tips for the uninitiated posted at Gavin Ingham.

Terry Dean presents 7 Step Easy Writing System posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Wendy Piersall presents Important Benefits from Working with a Virtual Assistant posted at Sparkplug CEO.

John Crickett presents How To Turn Your Home Business Idea Into A Home Business posted at Business Opportunities And Ideas, saying, “a guide to taking the step from home business idea to home business.”

Steve Faber presents - Free Blog Traffic - How to Get More Traffic to Your Blog posted at Home Based Business Success.

Woman Tribune presents I am Addicted to Entrecard posted at Woman Tribune.

Brianna Young presents Naming Your Virtual Assisting Business posted at Young Fox Consulting.

Raymond presents Nigerian 419 Scams and Spam Emails Are Funny But They Make Me Paranoid posted at Money Blue Book.

Yvone M. Kon presents Marketing - it is not all about YOU! posted at M.Y. Blog - M.arketing for Y.our business.

Janet Barclay presents The Status of Ezines posted at From the Desk of Janet Barclay.

Caroline Melberg presents Can A Home-Based Business Blog? posted at Small Business Mavericks.

Caroline Melberg presents Networking Groups Help You Grow Locally posted at Blue Chip Marketing Tips.

Mary H. Ruth presents Blogging and Branding Consider This… posted at Consider This ….

Cindy King presents Write A Better International Website posted at Cindy King, saying, “One of the the things you need to do when communicating with any prospects or clients is to think about what they want and need to hear from you. You need to look at your business offer, communication or message from their point of view.”

Rich Maltzman, PMP presents The Big Yellow Taxi of Project Management posted at Scope crêpe.

Vera Lang presents How To Insure A Home Business posted at Be Safe Insure.com, saying, “Insuring a home business is in no way less important than insuring a big corporation. However, there are many differences when you go to insure a home business and a corporate business. This article sets out the details you should know.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

by Nicholas Nanton

If you’re looking to grow your business, then a BLOG is a great tool to add to your tool chest. In this article we will discuss BLOG basics and how you can use them in your business.

1. What’s a BLOG?

What’s a BLOG you ask? Well, let me tell you. According to Wikipedia.com:

A blog (short for web log) is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order [newest entries are at the top].

So, its really just an online journal or diary that is written by anyone who wants to tell the world what’s on their mind. (Side note: When I say “the world” I really mean it, so be careful what you write.)

Ok, so how can this help you grow your business? Great question. To understand the answer you have to know just a bit about how search engines work.

2. BLOGs and Search Engines

Search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and all the others use what they call “spiders.” Spiders are software programs that “crawl” the internet looking for new content, and rank it based on its contents and its relevance to a certain topic. This is all done by some very complex math, but the important thing you need to know is that if you write often and/or discuss topics that are getting searched online a lot (i.e. topics in the news), the search engines will consider your site “relevant” and if you include “key words” (popular search terms) in your content, that you know your potential customers are searching for, there is a much better chance that they will actually be able to find you.

So to recap, my 3 Principles of BLOGging for Search Engines are:

1)Write Often

2)Write Relevant

3)Write Using Key Words

3. What makes a good BLOG?

This is a rhetorical question. The only thing that really matters is the opinion of the audience you are trying to reach. So here are a few tips that will help you stay on track.

1. Know who you are writing for - If your audience is 13 year olds, writing about retiring next year probably isn’t going to get you a lot of return visitors

2. Keep it short and to the point - 100-300 words is all most people will have the time to read, so keep your articles short and to the point. Over time this will build a great deal of credibility with your readers.

3. Write actionable content - “How To” and “Top 10″ lists are great. It gives your readers action steps they can take to use your content in their everyday lives. Think about ways to use these to point out how you are different from your competitors.

4. Don’t be afraid to tell some of your secrets - People love to hear about how to make something happen, then they love to pay someone else to do it. Let’s be honest, even though you just told me how I can edit my html code on my website to make it stick out like neon lights in a search engine, that doesn’t mean I want to do it myself. Just give me a way to contact you to hire you. After all, you just showed me that you are the expert.

5. Allow Comments - Consider allowing people to post comments about your BLOG. In fact, you should be the first one to post a comment after each blog, pose a question or comment to simply getting a discussion started. If visitors are interacting and writing comments about your BLOG, they are actually adding relevant content that the search engines are going to like.

Well, there you have it, BLOG basics.

JW Dicks & Nick Nanton, founders of TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com, publish the Business Growth ezine monthly covering topics that every business, start-up to international powerhouse, needs to know. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, get more FREE info now at www.TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com
Article Source: Keyword Articles

By: Kevin Sinclair

Just like any other method of getting the word out about something, self promotion is advertising oneself. A more delicate approach must be taken lest one seem like a braggart. There are different ways to go about this; the best place to start is to gather and create content relevant to the subject of the promotion which is not always easy to do.

In this connected world, having a website for your business is an absolute must. Of course, this has become easier as more and more people have learned web design, bringing prices down for getting a professional looking site. There’s many different kinds of website you could have, but aim high - a one page site isn’t going to get you too far. Graphics need to be incorporated to grab the attention of visitors. However, the most important element of a website is the content.

Hire the services of copywriters who specialize in search engine optimization (or SEO). This will help your site achieve a high page ranking among the search engines: Google, Yahoo! and so on. Having your site show up high in a list of search results is vital. Get your site noticed by the search engines or you are likely to flounder on the web. Make sure to update your content often to keep attracting new visitors and retaining repeat visitors to your site. A well designed logo is also a must - it is one of the most important parts of building a brand image for your business.

Besides using articles as content on your site, you should attempt to get them published anywhere you can - newspapers, magazines and the like. Try a “ten reasons to try this product” angle. Getting your articles widely disseminated over the web will also lead to better search engine rankings, helping your business to continue growing.

Television is another venue in which you should advertise if at all possible. A commercial aired during prime time will reach a lot of people. If you can, get celebrity endorsements for your product or service and use them in the commercial.

Don’t be afraid to admit it when a part of your advertising campaign isn’t working. You need to continually refine your approach and use what works while dropping what does not. Be sure to spotlight any notable successes of your firm, this will bring in customers.

Keep on top of what the competition is doing. You can examine them and learn from what they do. Your aim should be to fill niches they do not, as well as trying to improve on their product or service.

Direct mail, while a more costly and time consuming angle to advertise can be very effective. People do read their mail and it is an opportunity to inform the public about new products or services your business can offer them. There is of course the updated approach of an email list, which can serve the same function at much lower cost. After all, you can email as many people as you like at once - and with the post this can become prohibitively expensive.

Remember to engage in product test marketing. Give out free samples of any new product before you offer it for sale. Get feedback; this will let you know if the public is interested in your product, whether the product needs some fine tuning and so on. Ask friends, relatives and clients to test your product before turning to the public - you want opinions from people you trust.

The occasional gift to your customers is a good way to retain customer loyalty. Thank them from time to time for using your product or service and offer a discount or a gift. Remember, once you get to the top you want to stay there!

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Author Resource:-> Discover Kevin Sinclair’s system for making profits regardless of whether anyone joins your network marketing business.

Article From Niche Article Directory

Welcome to the 2nd issue of the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival. Last week was a rousing success and this week is even better. There are 16 great posts below which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Please feel free to spread the word!

• Terry Dean of Integrity Business Blog provides of list of 21 Free Software Resources.

• Cindy King provides a book review of Letting Go Of The Words - Writing Web Content That Works By Janice Redish.

• Kathleen Gage of Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions wonders Internet marketing is all about luck….or is it?.

• Anya of Gavin Ingham presents The Sales Apprentice 2008: Sales training & business development tips from the hit TV show, part VIII.

• Stefan Töpfer of THE SMALL BUSINESS BLOG presents Small Business Lists – Start-Up on a Shoestring.

• Timothy Yordy of I’m Not A Rat talks about the Perseverance of the Enslaved.

• Liz at Nitro Marketing Blog asks Are Higher Gas Prices Driving People to Cheat on Their Partners?

• Colleen Johnson of CMJ Office presents Ten tips for blog writing.

• Heather Johnson gives 6 Steps to Keep Employee Complaints from Escalating.

• Janet Barclay presents Highlights from the 3rd Annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention.

• Cindy King talks about Buying Logos For International Websites.

• Keiron of Full Time Blogger wonders A Virtual Assistant - Do I need one?. (See my response to his challenge here. Make sure you read the comments on both.)

• Amanda Moore (me) gives 4 Tips on Responding to RFPs.

• Edith of Edith Yeung.Com talks about Happy Hour Marketing

• Shari Sultana of Modern Marketing Support tells you to Hire a VA: Build More Time, Freedom and Money into Your Business.

• Monique Terrell of Virtually Speaking gives you 15 Tips to making the Transition from Employee to Business Owner.

If you would like to participate in future VA/HB Blog Carnivals, please feel free to submit your article using the following link: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4185.html. If your submission is not received in time for the current week’s carnival it will automatically be included in the next one - so submit whenever you would like.