Internet Marketing

I first learned about Dave Navarro, AKA The Launch Coach, while researching how to motivate affiliates, and I was instantly taken aback by his wealth of knowledge, charm and brashness. He’s a perfect example of how to motivate your audience to buy simply by giving them what they want — and plenty of it!

He teaches his readers to give-give-give in order to lucratively receive the results you want and the spirit of giving spills over into his Launch Coach Library where he GIVES AWAY obscene amount of free workbooks that will teach you how to sell more and play a bigger game.

Dave is gearing up for the launch of his very popular “Creating Products That Sell” and “Building A Responsive List” workshops on Thursday, May 27th, so I took this opportunity to asked him to explain some of the marketing mistakes he sees out there. Dave answered these questions and gave tried-and-true advice on how to learn what your audience (really) wants from you.

Get ready to stop selling your products the tacky, over-the-top way and start selling with the classy, Dave Navarro way….

1. What can people expect from the two workshops: Products that Sell and Building a Responsive List?

I basically lay out a step-by-step course for going from “nothing to something” – in the case of product workshops; it’s how to take the shortest path to getting some in-demand stuff out there and setting up your sales systems. I give the basics of audio / video / PDF / teleseminars / webinars and show how to add features to your products to boost sales and reduce refunds.

Basically, I take all the reasons that making products seems hard and scary, and give you options to defuse the pressure and get your stuff out there and selling.

Same with the email workshop – I’ve distilled what I’ve learned over the years to create a shortest-path plan for attracting an audience of buyers who like you and respect you, without having to do any of the cheesy stuff you see most internet marketers do.

2. Most of the people I work with have a problem: creating products that sell; I suggest doing a survey or posing questions to identify pain points their target audience is experiencing via social media—does that seem to work for you as a starting point for identifying an idea for a profitable product?

If you have an audience who responds to you already, surveys are fantastic, but if you don’t, it’s great to look at social media – especially blog comments – as an indicator. I like to look at other people’s posts where the comments are on fire and I say, “That’s something people really want answers to.” My first really successful product, How To Launch The **** Out Of Your Ebook, came about that way, by following the comments on an Ittybiz.com post.

3. What other advice can you give for creating a product?

Don’t over-think it. Focus on giving people solutions that work, not on being impressive. If somebody at a party needs a bottle opened, they don’t care if you have a Swiss Army Knife, they’re happy with the bottle opener. Same with products. Don’t try and make the Swiss Army solution when you can please your customers with a simpler deal. Because the time you free up doing that can be spent making more solutions to other pressing problems.

4. Can you identify the most frequent mistake you see people do when creating products and/or building their lists?

They create the product and then build their list. I did that for 5 years and it’s an uphill battle. But if you build your list by targeting an audience and getting to know their needs, you can find out what they’re hungry for, make that, and start making sales instantly.

5. What advice do you have for some one that has many friends or followers and now wants to create a responsive list from their networking efforts?

Focus on helping people, not chasing numbers. The more you give, the more goodwill you get. And that is what gets people responsive. You don’t need clever headlines to attract attention if people like you and trust you. So if you have a following already, find out what’s their big pain point, make a free resource or two around it and build goodwill and people sharing your stuff (exactly what I do in the Launch Coach Library).

People think I’m a master marketer, but I’m not. I’m a highly skilled helper, and that means people are willing to trust me when it’s time for the sale. You can cover over a multitude of copy-writing and marketing weaknesses just by being respectful to your audience.

6. I assume your workbooks are your pink spoon offer? Will you be going into how this “just a taste” strategy can help build your list and also provide research for products?

Exactly. If I can get people to taste the goods, so to speak, and get results with my free stuff, then they’ll stay on my list and communicate with me. I go into this in detail in the Building a Responsive List workshop.

7. Who is going to benefit the most from your workshop?

Anyone who has an online presence and wants to be able to grow their business by staying classy. There are plenty of products out there for the “yellow highlighter”, pushy-marketing crowd that just wants to get rich quick, but I think these workshops are the best fit for people who want to play at a higher level – especially if their audience demands respect and a more civilized marketing message.

Basically, if you want to finally sell more of your stuff without doing anything tacky or embarrassing, this is for you.

8. LOL, you told me you don’t have a VA! I was a Virtual Assistant and am growing into a Virtual Business Manager role, so that admission from you hurts my ears and intrigues me! Seeing all the great information you pump out with your social updates, blog, regular interviews and products you offer– what steps or processes do you use to keep on track, see your progress and thus motivate you to keep going??

I don’t have a VA because it puts pressure on me to simplify my processes and focus on only doing the 80/20 stuff. I think VAs are great, don’t get me wrong – I just know that in my case, I’m trying to build a business with as few moving parts as possible, and since I have these time constraints I have to always ask “do i need to do it this way”?

This is important to me too, because a lot of my audience has a day job they’re working their way out of and I need to be able to teach people how to make progress when they’re on a shoestring time/money budget. (I just quit *my* day job last month, so it’s an issue that matters to me).

My biggest process is tracking the time I spend in a time log. If I have to write down what I’m doing every 15-30 minutes, it forces me to stay on track.

Want to learn how Dave manages to rocks my (and many others) day? Stop by his Launch Coach Library and get your learn on!

P.S. Although Dave doesn’t have a virtual professional assisting him ( gasp ), I am truly thankful to him for sharing some of his expert advice with me! Get your daily dose of Dave via twitter @RockYourDay

Have you noticed that everyone is doing “it” online? People you pass by on the street and individuals in the media are talking about how they are doing “it”. The “it” they are talking about is online marketing.

As a successful business owner, you may say to yourself, “My staff and I have more things to do and not enough people to do them! How am I ever going to find the time or energy to market me and my business on the internet?” I am here today to answer this question for you.

As a dedicated virtual assistant, I have had the pleasure of assisting wonderful entrepreneurs accomplish more on the internet. My savvy experience with 2.0 technologies has given me the know-how that many business owners need to deliver their products and messages to a broader audience. I am compelled to share three of top services I provide for my clients with you.

Theses tools should be implemented in your overall marketing objectives to attract more people to your website, increase customers and enhance branding for your company and products.

The Top Three Tasks for Online Marketing:

• Newsletters

Email Newsletters are critical to your marketing campaign. They are customizable and low-cost solutions that allow you to immediately deliver your message. Your customers can receive a monthly or bi-monthly message from you that outlines what you are doing, what promotions you have running, upcoming events and client testimonials. As a bonus you can add affiliates (product recommendations) that enable you to generate revenue simply by suggesting a product to your readers.

• Telecalls

Got more tips, tricks and new products then you can shake a stick at, but don’t have the time or energy to organize a community meeting? Now you don’t have to. You can have a party-line with a purpose! This allows you to actively engage with your buyers and offer success stories and hands-on guidance to your listeners. Telecalls allow you to define what makes you the “expert”. To maximize this tool you can have guest speakers and promotions that are only available to your listeners.

• Social Networking

Lately social sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube have been saturating the airwaves. Everyone knows how cool and hip these networking sites are, but can they bring in business? This is the million dollar question. The answer is-not really. These sites deliver on brand awareness and are a vital part of relationship building, reputation management and communicating with your target audience and clients. If social media is used correctly, you will gain referrals and leads that will drive traffic back to your site-where the selling is at.

Are you asking, “This sounds wonderful but how do I get “it” done?” The secret is, you don’t. Successful entrepreneurs are building their online business with minimal distraction to their ‘real-world’ lives. The way this is accomplished is by outsourcing tasks that do not have to be performed in-office. Partnering with a virtual assistant allows you to continue to do the leg-work while you rest assure that the desk-work is being handled by a like-minded professional business owner. VAs understand you, your goals, and your message.

My hopes are that I have sparked your interest and you want to hear directly from me! Please click play and let me explain further what having Virtual Raven as your VA can do for your business.

[wpaudio url="http://www.vadiary.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/varaven1.mp3" text="Click the Play Button to Listen to Raven"]

Sincerely,

Raven Howard
Virtual Raven Business Solutions
Email me so that we can find a time to chat. You may also want to visit the VRBS site to learn more and complete the Free Consultaton Request Form.

A Virtual Assistant is Robin to the Business Owners’ Batman…The Ultimate Guide for Business Owners selecting their Virtual Assistant partner

As a successful business owner there will come a time when you will have to admit that unlike Superman, unfortunately, you do not have special powers. You are more like Bruce Wayne. You’re a courageous leader that is answering the call of your target audience with a service or product you are passionate and committed to producing. Successful business owners are gifted “thought leaders” who have found the keys to getting paid for what they love to do. However, it is unlikely that you have all the tools needed to deliver your goods to the masses. There are weak spots to every business owner’s armor.

Your business is built around your strengths but can very well fall to your weaknesses.

You must be willing to admit this and then determine who can carry that load for you.

Back in the good ol’ days, you would have enlisted an Alfred to sit in your cave and handle the administrative duties but due to the recession, green-living and the internet you no longer need an 8-5 secretary to solve your riddles.

What you need in this day and age is a highly skilled Robin. A sidekick that is ready to perform only when you need them to. Your Robin is your virtual assistant.

A virtual assistant is a highly skilled professional who is determined to pick up where her leader drops off.

Our passion is to overcome your weakness and protect your vision. As a bonus we have our own unique capabilities that you can utilize to make your business even stronger and broader in scope.

Although virtual assistants may be an unfamiliar term to you, we are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. We all have the administrative skills of an “Alfred”, but we have pin-pointed our own individual strengths and welded our own special belts of web 2.0 super tools!

…but which virtual assistant is right for you?

You need someone to bring out the best in you and your business. You need a confidante, a team player and someone that can fill-in-the-blanks to take you from a successful business owner to a rock-star business owner.

To help you identify the skill-set that will best compliment you, you should write down the tasks that you need to delegate ASAP.

• Are you needing someone to pick up your slack or are you looking for someone to take the lead on tasks that you don’t have the knowledge to do yourself?

This list of tasks are wearing you down-time and morale-wise-and need to be your virtual assistant’s first priority.

Put out your Robin signal—your Request for Proposal.

Leading networking sites for locating your Virtual Assist –>VA Networking, VACOC, VA Forums, VA Classroom, and IVAA.

Once you have received bids on your proposal, you will want to schedule a consultation.

5 Tips to Guide You Through the Consultation Process:

1. Does she (or he) have the training and or professional experience that you are specifically looking for? Ask probing questions and seek thorough answers. (Some Virual Assitants frown on being asked for references, I personally do not).
2. Do your personalities mesh well? This is not to say they must mirror each other, opposites do attract. This means, “Can the relationship be rewarding?” You will need a virtual assistant to stimulate your best qualities and vice versa.
3. Before committing to a contract, test our services out! Ask for a 2-3 hour paid trial. This will let you know if the virtual assistant “gets you”.
4. Don’t look for the cheapest virtual assistant. The saying is true, “you get what you pay for”! If you are not ready to commit to a 20-30 hour monthly retainer with your virtual assistant (our rates range from $25-$75/per hour), then ask for 5-10 hours to start. Build the relationship and the tasks. The ability and need to delegate more hours will come naturally.
5. Above all, trust and respect your virtual assistant! As a virtual assistant, we are committed to you and it is your success that ultimately determines ours. We ask that you give us the courtesy that any right-hand counterpart deserves and we will gladly find ways to make you better.

Would you like to learn more about how a virtual assistant can build upon the success of your business?

Join the #smbiz Twitter Chat Tuesday August 4th from 8-9 EST, where you will be about to able to participate in a virtual chat and learn the answers to your questions about partnering with a virtual assistant. This chat is hosted by John Sternal (@SternalPR) and Chrisanne Sternal (@SternalMrktg). John is a PR professional of nearly 20 years and Chrisanne is a marketing expert for almost as long. John and Chrisanne are also the creators of Understanding Marketing and The PR Toolkit.

The expert guests virtual assistants will be Michelle Mangen (@mmangen), Dawn Pigoni (@dawntrenee) and myself (@VirtualRaven).

I hope to “see” you there!

Yours,
Raven Howard
Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant

My Super Powers : Internet Marketing, Event Coordination, Email Marketing, HTML, Social Networking, Google Tools, Creative Documents and Personal Assistance

My Ideal Super Heroes: Event Planners, Women, Entertainers and Athletes

Fellow Virtual Assistants…please feel free to leave your own Super Powers and Your Ideal Super Heroes in the comments. Business owners…I would love to hear what your “Kryptonite” is and what your Ideal Sidekick should be able to do!