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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

Starting an affiliate program is an awesome way to build a sales team that you don’t pay until they sell for you. However, it’s not that easy! Setting up an effective affiliate program takes time and hard work.

1. Don’t Skimp on the affiliate center setup. Have all the rules, promotional materials, creative ads ready to go. This makes it easy for your affiliates to get in and get out. This is probably the most overlooked steps by business owners because quite simply they don’t understand how to actually set it up.  I suggest business owner’s sign up for relatable affiliate programs and do a bit-o-homework to get some ideas on how other business owners motivate their affiliates. Having a great affiliate center DOES require you to do more than just have an affiliate link. It involves:

- Creating affiliate links directly to each of your products
- Hosting your products on individual pages
- Offering a great training guide—when creating an affiliate how-to  guide assume all of your affiliates are new to this rodeo!
- Having great promotional content ready to go, such as: pre-written emails, blog posts, tweets, Facebook updates. (This may require the use of a creative designer for ads)
- Establishing easy to understand rules and have them easily accessible. *Don’t forget to mention spamming and false endorsements are no-nos per you and the FTC
- Customizing your initial welcome letter to your affiliates. The welcome letter is your affiliate first impression of your time and effort into making them feel valued

2. Personally contact people who you would like to see promote your product. Write down your Dream Team of Affiliates and begin doing your research on them.  Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and subscribe to their newsletter. Comment on their blog and then once you see your opening—a related blog post, their own upcoming product launch, an interview, etc., send them an email and say that you are impressed with their product or service. Point out exactly how your product fits in with their audience. Let them know what you find interesting about them and give details on commissions. You could even ask them to review your product. If they are doing a launch, offer to include your product and promotion on their thank you page for their orders.

 

3. Offer interviews and freebies bonuses to key affiliates. In additions to letting everyone know you are “interviewable” by setting up a media page so that you can easily be contacted; be sure key partners know your areas of expertise and they will welcome you to speak on your topic-of-choice to their list.  Offer reductions of your products for key affiliates, as well. There are many people out there that make a living reviewing other’s people products, be sure to reach out to them and sweeten the offer by giving them your product in exchange for an honest review and some exposure on their blog/email campaign.

 

4. Be respectful of your affiliates own promotional calendar and be sure to give them a quick heads up (insider’s scoop) on what is on the horizon for your business, well before the official launch date.  This  allows your affiliate to mark their calendar and ensures they have ample time to set up their affiliate promotional activities. Your affiliates will be grateful for the content with benefits you eagerly share with them. Also, your affiliates are given the opportunity to become your eyes and ears with their own audience and will let you know if they have someone they think you can connect with, in order to help you have greater success. Be sure your “heads up”  includes:

- How excited you are to be offering this product
- What issue your product/service solves
- Official launch date
- Any special pricing

5. Keep in Touch and be responsive! You must take the “following up” with your affiliates as serious as you do with your own list of potential buyers. Send reminders, extra promotional material, encouraging words, thank you messages, success stories and offer to help in any and every way you can to ensure your affiliates have success with promoting your product. When you receive a question from an affiliate place on your customer service hat and resolve the issue quickly and thoroughly.

 

6. Consider additional incentives to have extra fun with your affiliates.  How about offering seasonal promotions, such as an iPad for your highest earner during the holiday season? Also you can create a newsletter and openly dote on your best earners with case studies and links to their own products. Your affiliates will be eager to learn how others are doing so well and truly appreciate the extra gifts of gratitude!

 

7. Hire an affiliate manager to ensure your affiliate center offers much more than just a cookie capturing link. In my opinion, the only affiliate work that a business owner needs to be directly doing is making personal connections with key affiliates. The rest of the work is best left to someone that understands affiliate set-up and can save the business owners time by managing their affiliate system for them. Your affiliate manager, ensures all the pieces are in place so that you achieve your goal for having affiliates: raising your exposure and profit line by creating a group of people who are compensated for selling your products/services to their audience.

So there you have it–7 Secrets to Jumpstarting Your Affiliates Desire to Sell for You. Remember setting up an affiliate system take stime and effort, but the more planning you do know, the better chances you have of putting together a winning affiliate program that will serve you long into the future.

If you have any comments, I invite you to share them here or email me directly!

“As the winner of the ‘Most Inspiring to Follow’ category in the Open Web Awards, loraandlayton has been voted among the best of the Web in 2009,” Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore said in a press release.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Midland, TX–we are most infamously known for being where the Presidential Bush family hails from, where Baby Jessica fell in the well, and well… “wells”. We love our oil here!! Truth be told, the majority of people still sit around and watch the local 6 o” clock news and wouldn’t know a Tweet if it bit them   

 It blows my mind that a Midland, TX couple won an award from the un-arguable LEADER in the social media revolution Mashable.com! Go, Tall City, Go!

Read more on MyWestTexas.com

As a business owner, your main goal is to get paid by positively impacting your target audience. That is what it boils down to. You have a message, an idea, a product, or a service to offer and you are in constant pursuit of ways to share it faster, further and for the most profit.

No doubt in your businesses’ early stages, you learned that you can’t be Ms. All Knowing and All Doing! This may be, SHOULD be, a point of initial relief. Reaching out to a web designer, a marketing company, a copywriter, a shipping company, a virtual assistant will help you achieve more impressive results, in less time. (YAY!)
However, as they contribute to the success of your business, you become stymied in the day-to-day operations of being the only one to manage your team.

• You spend huge chunks of your energy delegating.
• You oversee the progression of tasks and projects.
• You must determine what goes where, to whom, and when.
• You are thwarted by a MIA team member and must desperately search for a replacement and (GASP!), re-teach her on the way you like things done.
• You’re alone in keeping your ship sailing.

This is the time that you need a business manager, someone to oversee the company’s procedures, operations and team so that you can once again focus on growth.
Yes, your online business manager keeps the business bus moving! Your Online Business Manger not only understands the sum of all tasks, we are responsible for the results.

• My job is to proactively take operations off your plate and to streamline the journey to completion.
• I am committed to seeing the owners’ business hit higher profit margins by possessing a “marketing mindset”.
• I make decisions to make the clients life easier.
• I coordinate the team’s efforts in achieving the business owner’s goals.
• I make sure there is a Standard Operating Procedure Manual in place so that everyone understands the process of tasks.
• I establish an online system where projects are easily managed, therefore making sure all files, tasks and communications are kept in a centralized location.
• I seek the answer to the question, “Is there a better way to do this?” when looking at your business procedures.

Knowing that an Online Business Manger will take over the day-to-day operations and allow you to continue growing your business, is no doubt a relief.  But handing over the reins to your company can seem scary, if not impossible, for you to do. It Is OK! When searching for your OBM, I suggest looking for someone that will compliment your best qualities while balancing your sub-par aptitudes.
When you do find someone that seems to be a good fit for managing your business, do a trial-run before committing! Tina Forsyth, the CEO of OnlineBusinessManager.com (and my trainer), says, “You’ll never know if it’s a match until you get into a working relationship…” 

• Do you want to launch a new product?
• Do you need to create an effective social profile for your brand?
• Are you needing to set-up a shopping cart that can effectively handle your internet marketing dilemas? 
•  Is your business desperate for some organization?
• Maybe you just need an overhaul of your current customer relations procedures?

 These are all great initial projects for your Online Business Manger to take on! I would love to hear about your next move as a business owner, please contact me so we can arrange a chat.

The first time I heard the word ‘Online Business Manager’ was when I applied for Heike Miller’s, PA Excellence team. She needed multiple Virtual Assistants to help her take care of her clients tasks. I submitted a proposal for her shopping cart needs, but my mind wondered, “Is this the only task that I would be doing for a client!?”

As an Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant, I was- and still am-used to taking care of all my clients’ needs. Yes, it got hairy when they all were launching, yes there were elements I was more comfortable with then others, but I thought that was just the way it was. I trained and learned a multitude of different tasks and enjoyed growing into a comfortable relationship with each of my fabulous clients.

However, I must admit, there was times I could have used an extra set of hands, or a well deserved nap for that matter! I haven’t had a full day off since I started as a VA in 2008! There simply was no one that knew my clients business like I did. In short, I had built my business so that I could be the only person to satisfy my clients. My clients often state, “I don’t know what I would do without you Raven.”

Even though I was only responsible for the shopping cart part of the PA Excellence’s clients needs, I am a “big picture” person and so, I asked Heike to allow me to sit in on her new client consults. WOW! Talk about an eye-opening experience. I listened to Heike and her client discuss every last detail of the clients business, the goals they wanted to accomplish and the strategies that we would implement to reach our clients goals. Most importantly, Heike explained, which member of her team would oversee each tool we needed to get the job done! One- by-one Heike ticked off our clients’ needs into smaller sections and delivered them to the team! Talk about done and done!

The system worked, even with so much to do, there was so many EXPERT hands in which to get it done. As time went on, I enjoyed playing “sit-in” for Heike when she was away on vacation. Oh how I was envious. Things were still getting done, the client’s needs were being met, all while Heike enjoyed some R&R.

At the start of this year, Heike asked me to become her Project Online Business Manager. I didn’t hesitate. I wanted to do it because Heike lives in New Zealand and so, at times, she can’t be readily available to her clients. I also had just learned Tina Forsyth’s Online Business Manager certification course would be starting in February. This was the course that Heike completed in order to build her PA Excellence business.

The price tag of the certification is mind boggling, but it’s an investment in mine and my clients’ future success.

However, before I committed to it, I bought Tina’s book: Becoming an Online Business Manager and laughed out loud. I felt like she was writing about me. Most of the requirements that she stated a Online Business Manager needed to be comfortable doing, I was already doing or wish I had the “ok” to do. I was operating as an Online Business Manager, I just hadn’t made it official. Now I am. With my enrollment, I state firmly, I am serious about mine and my clients business.

So how is my business changing and how is it staying the same?

•  As I step into this larger role for my current and future clients, I do it with the notion that I am going to be the driving force for the business. We will discuss their strategy and what it will take to accomplish their business goals.
•  No longer will my client have the headache of finding all the hands to complete their puzzle, I will oversee that. I will gather together the contractors and sub-contractors my clients needs to get the job done efficiently and effectively.
•  No longer will my client have to wait their turn, while I focus on another clients’ needs. By having a team readily available, we will be able to deliver more work, in less time.
•  I will have the ability to do the tasks that I do best and share the load with trusted associates to take care of the tasks that they are best at accomplishing.Stepping into the role as an Online Business Manager is a “win-win” for me and for all of Virtual Raven Marketing clients. Certification training starts in a mere 2 weeks, I look forward to embracing my role as an Online Business Manager and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

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!

Four Quick Answers:

1. Unlike Webex or HyperOffice, it’s free!
2. You can upload and export.
3. There are size limitations, so unlike your inbox and documents folder, you will have to keep it up-to-date!
4. Your documents can be shared with the world or selected few.

~ @VirtualRaven