How to Earn Cash With Online Surveys

With the economy in the dumps and not getting better anytime soon, there are many people looking for good ways to earn extra money. Do you need a few hundred extra each month? What about a thousand dollars a week?

You can make this type of money pretty easily by using online surveys. Earning with online surveys is an easy way to make some good extra money or you can make it a full time job. Here is what you need to know about how to earn online surveys cash.

First, you have to know that if you join a survey network your chances of actually making money are much better than just counting on free surveys. You will not be taking a survey for $5 or for a chance to win money with a survey network. Plus you will have surveys to take on a regular basis.

There are quite a few different paid survey networks out there and it will only be a small investment to get you started. You can make your money back within an hour if you get right to taking surveys. Then, everything else is your profit from there.

Second, you should know why the paid networks are so much better. Sure there are small companies that need surveys done, but they are the ones that cannot afford to just pay cash or give out gift cards for taking a survey. They are the ones that give you a lotto ticket to enter a drawing or something of that nature.

The larger corporations like Coke and Pepsi will use the paid networks and pay between $20 and $100 for you to take a survey. This is all depending on the length of the survey and the information they are after. This is why the paid networks are the only way to go.

Last, could you imagine paying under $50 to join a paid survey network, then you earn online surveys cash of between $25 and $90 per hour? Most people would be able to live very comfortably off of taking surveys for a few hours a day at that rate. This is very possible.

There have been some that can make nearly a six figure income from taking surveys and you can be one of them. There is a lot of money out there to be had and you might as well get some of it by taking online surveys. What else are you going to do with your free time?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1918720

Earn Online Income From Your Blog With an Email List

Having a blog is one thing, and having it designed in such a way that people feel valued and important, is another.

Sure, having great content and exciting information on your site is one way to draw people to your blog, and then you hope they remember to bookmark your site to come back again.

But on the other hand it is always a better idea to make it as easy as possible for those people to come back again, and one way of doing this is to have the opportunity for them to sign up to your newsletter, or simply as a member to your blog.

Remembering that subscriptions make it easier to earn online income, you can construct your blog in such a way that people cannot comment or contribute unless they are members, and although this may not be suitable for every blog, it can certainly be suitable for some.

By having a "Subscribe Now" button on your blog, with the offer of maybe a free gift or something else of value that the normal visitor does not receive, you make it more appealing for the blog visitors to become members.

If they understand that they can unsubscribe at any time, and that you will not use their email details for spamming or passing on to others, many people will sign up. This is the very start of your relationship with your members, and it should be a great experience for them from this point forward.

With Auto Responders, and other email programs, some compatible with your blogging platforms as plugins, you can pre-program welcome messages, newsletters and other communication to go to your members at the touch of a button.

Sure they have RSS feeds and can subscribe to this feed via email, but having their permission to send information about other things you may be offering, and to communicate with them generally, takes you a step further in the process of being able to earn a good living from your blog.

Subscriptions make it easier to earn online income. In days gone by this same concept was used by many companies, particularly those who did and still do use "mail order" as a means to sell product. It is still as effective today, and easier to implement.

An email autoresponder is your greatest weapon to to make money from your blog and in fact, many of the professional bloggers who earn multiple six figure incomes from their blogs attribute the majority of their income to their email list! If you want more information on how you can turn your blog into a successful, list building machine, I reveal the answers in my FREE ebook Stop Slogging Start Blogging [http://www.stopsloggingstartblogging.com] as well as many other secrets the six figure professional bloggers use to make huge sums of money from their blogs!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2784874

The Importance of Backlinking

In the world of SEO, there are several techniques that people utilize to get a better ranking, In the midst of all these techniques, it's very important that you "link" or "hook-yourself up" on the techniques that are considered of high value to increase your marketability as a freelancer. Carefully choosing the right SEO technique to learn can jump start your business or freelancing career since SEO as you know it, is selling like "hotcakes". When earning online for beginners, the best most effective technique that you should know is the use of back-links. Understand that proper back-linking has immediate and long term benefits to your clients' website or to you if you are freelancing. So what exactly is back-linking?

Back-linking in a nutshell is adding or posting links of your website to other sites, so when these links are clicked, it'd route the web user to your own site thus creating traffic. Some of the ways to do this is through writing comments on other blogs, writing as a guest author, joining forums etc... When earning online for beginners, if you have this skill, it'd be a major plus to your credential as a freelancer since your clients (or prospect clients) sees how important the value of this skill is. Here's why they think so highly of back-linking.

It Generates Remarkable Traffic

Imagine... Your article is on a directory site w/c normally has high traffic. A lot of people go to these directory sites to look for information. Now supposing your article is on that site and it is of great quality, what do you think will happen if we add-up all the scenarios? You go that right! We're talking about huge traffic! When earning online for beginners, being able to do something like this is sure to increase your value as a freelancer.

It Establishes Credibility/Branding

If back-linking is done correctly, people would know you and your website. That's simply because, everyone who'll read your article or off page comments will recognize your name (or your clients if you write for them), but that's of course, if you write ample amount of quality articles and comments. And I emphasize on the word QUALITY!

Creates Good Relation with other Bloggers or Website Owners

Writing quality comments and guest writing on other peoples blogs actually drives good traffic to their site and yours. Doing something like that is sure to please the other owner of the site thus creating good relation between you and them. From there, you can create links between each others sites and reciprocate the benefits of having connected to each other.

Being able to capitalize on a specific high value niche is very important when earning online for beginners. Sometimes, quality can or will out-do quantity. So if you're worried about knowing only a limited number of skills as a freelancer online, you have to add back-linking as one of your skills. When you do this, I can assure you an increase of demand on your skill.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7232375

Guidelines - Earning Online

Everyday, millions of people coming to find ways to earn extra few bucks working online.

So, how exactly do you make substantial profit on internet?

Well, there are literally thousands of ways to earn a living working online. It will take you days to keep trying out for a home based business, which really works for you and in that process you might get frustrated halfway and give up the whole process. I too have gone through the same phase but never loosen my heart, which finally paid up. I have spent lots of money in that process, read lots of e-books written by "gurus" and tried out all the ways I came to know about. I have spent lots of sleepless and frustrated nights and almost gave up. But, once it started working, I never looked back.

A home based business has no FAST and EASY money for sure.

You need to have patience and learn the trade religiously to start earning online. Without the correct knowledge you will waste precious time and load of money. If you are on the right track , you reach faster to your goal.

Getting into any available programs on "Home based business" or "Earning online" is not the right way to start with. You might land up into something which won't motive you.

What you would like to do is a very important factor of success. If you work on something you are passionate about , you will have fun and the motivation to do it. Look for business where your passion is.

As an example , you might like to sell products online. In that case , you better join an affiliate program which have products of your likings. Affiliate programs can vary from web site to web site but the main idea behind affiliate program is that a web site will pay you for sending them buyers. There are thousands of affiliate programs out there to choose from. Any product you can think of has an affiliate program. This is what most of the Home-Based Entrepreneurs are doing right this moment to earn working online. You too can do it from your home at your own convenient time.

While choosing an affiliate program to earn online, you need to check out the followings.

1) High pay out

2) Effective product sale page

3) Competition of the product

4) Pay out dates

5) Minimum pay out

6) In demand products.

You will come across lots of programs offering to join free. Sooner or later, looking at the limited scope of earning as a free member, you going to upgrade yourself paying a fee.You then will start looking for promotion of the products. The fact is ,you do not start earning online unless you invest. Frankly , if you are unwilling to invest money to start your own home based business, you don't need a business , you need a job. If you are new to the business , you just need to learn to invest the money judiciously.

The key to earning online is knowing how and where to start. Earning online or a home based business is not as easy as it sounds. It is again not as difficult as you believe.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/514620

Great Ways to Earn Online

If you are one of the many thousands of people who want to switch careers and prefer to work for themselves and earn online, the good news is that if you are prepared to listen and take advice, earning cash online isn't really that hard to do.

Ok, all those who have so far struggled and failed to make a go of it would disagree whole heatedly with that opening statement; but the fact is this, if you are prepared to do your homework and learn right from the very basics then earning cash online is relatively easy enough to achieve.

That's my viewpoint on using the internet as a means of financial gain and I'm sticking to it, so maybe it's time to put up or shut up and reveal what I consider to be the easiest ways to earn online these days, even though the world market as a whole is down and business maybe a darn site tougher right now than in better times.

So, here goes, recession or not, try any of these 5 ways and providing you do things right you'll definitely earn money online.

• Creating an Online Shop on eBay 

• Purchasing a Turnkey Website

• Being a Freelancer (Selling your Talent, skill or Knowledge)

• Specialising in your own Niche Website

• Affiliate Sales and Marketing

Take those five topics in any order you like; I've not listed them in any particular degree of success. Working online is better and is going to be far more successful and lucrative for you if you eventually settle on doing something you really enjoy doing. That's the real key to internet success!

Choosing to go into a business that you enjoy and take an interest in wins every time over choosing to earn your corn by doing something that doesn't interest you, or worse, even bores the hell out of you. After all, how many times have you heard friends and relatives complaining about their own line of work saying they hate every minute of it but have to keep going because they need the money?

If you take the time to look round at people who are successful in life and those who merely struggle along the major difference will be that the winners are those who are doing something they are passionate about and therefore they can easily put in the extra time and effort it takes to be successful as opposed to those who don't give a rat's buttock about their job or career and feel that they can barely cope with the basics never mind going the extra mile.

Want to join the ever growing earn online [http://www.earnonlineguides.com/] bandwagon? Read how you can do it right here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6019068

Earn Online Through Photography

Online world is full of opportunities. There are millions of ways to broadcast yourself and similar number of ways to earn online. a person who spends some time on internet searching for online jobs he will immediately realize that there are many simple things which can earn him better than other stereotypic jobs.

One such way of earning online is through photography. You might have noticed that every website needs quite a number of original and unique pictures. This is how the need of good creative photographer rises. For all those who love photography must try earning some money through their skills.

Avenues in this field are obviously very large. You can never be stagnant and can only grow.

Earning money online through photography is a very lucrative option. Since not many photographers are aware of this option there is a huge demand of photographers online.

For earning money through photography does not need any technical expertise. You should be able to click good quality photos with high digital camera, should be able to upload them on your computer and then edit them using photo editing software. The basic reaction that any aspiring photo photographer will give will be why will anyone buy pictures clicked by me, I am not as good as a professional photographer. To all those who are feeling this way must understand that internet is a cast market where talent is appreciated not the number of degrees you posses.

If you can click good photographs then you are surely required online. No need of underestimating yourself because you might perform better than any other professional. So if you want to earn well while operating from home and doing what you love -photography then you will get hundreds of worthwhile offers. Let your talent is appreciated and paid well.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3337924

The Most Requested Services

The Virtual Assistant (VA) is not only a secretary that provides online services, but a professional prepared to provide a range of services essential for an entrepreneur or anyone who carries out activities on the Internet and want to increase and optimize their online presence.

Let's see what are the services:

Creating and maintaining blogs

WordPress platform, without a doubt the most used, but I suggest you begin to learn other applications such as Joomla. The VA can provide services that include installation and configuration of a blog, the installation of any plug-ins (for backup, spam, the blog for socializing, etc..) And writing articles. And 'required basic knowledge of HTML, for example, to modify and customize header, footer, etc.., And of course an excellent domain of WordPress (or other platform).

Creating and managing profiles on social networks

When we speak, we usually think of social networks Facebook and Twitter, sometimes neglecting other networks that have excellent potential in terms of professional networks like LinkedIn and Ning. This service provides for the creation of content that looks and highly professional profiles, in terms of management, and provides interaction with other users and the promotion of products or services. Must know the most important applications "social", or applications created for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, which could add further value to the profiles created.

Article Marketing

It is a fundamental part of Internet Marketing, which allows you to spread viral content by publishing articles in specialized directories that usually have good search engine indexing. There will also help to create an image of "expert" in a given field for the author of the articles. In this case you can hire a VA to write articles and publish them, or simply to modify, adapt and publish them. It requires knowledge of the main article directories, their standards of publication, and of course an excellent preparation and knowledge of SEO to create a quality article and that it is able to "sell".

E-mail marketing

You must know the system, email marketing in general, and the operation of the main programs autoresponder (Aweber, MailChimp, GetResponse, Constant Contact, etc..), And be able to create a quality newsletter from the graphic point of view and content.

Affiliate Programs.

It is a great promotional tool for companies wishing to promote their product through the affiliate system. An assistant Virtual providing these services, will have to know how 1ShoppingCart software and networks such as ClickBank Affiliate.

Virtual Events

Webinar, teleseminar, courses, meetings, etc.. All these events can be made online today. Companies need to connect more with their audience, and in a way more personal. And 'therefore very important that they are able to offer webinars and other events online, and to do that they need to organize virtual assistant work before and after the event, as well as support during the course of the event itself. The skills required are: knowledge of programs such as GoToWebinar and modalities to promote an event after its completion.

The mode of work has changed, the entire system "work" changed, especially for secretaries need to adapt to change, and indeed suggest, try to stay one step ahead.

Steve Arun is a SEO/ internet marketing professional and founder of VA Business Services. He has been helping small businesses, B2B and B2C websites to achieve long term SEO success over a decade through his India-based company providing affordable virtual assistants specialized in SEO, Internet Marketing and website administration tasks. You can visit his website to learn more on how to hire a affordable virtual assistantthat helps you to meet your business goals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6512229

How To Find Work As A Virtual Assistant In The Real Estate Market

The real estate market continues to grow as it heals from the crash that caused such a housing crisis in 2007. As the market grows, so do job opportunities in the real estate field. Real estate virtual assistants are becoming more common in companies all over the world, and depending on your skill set, you could find yourself working for a highly respected company and taking care of a number of important duties. If you are interested in finding a job in this field, there are several ways that you can both improve your resume and increase your presence in the job market.

Making Your Resume Work for You

Many companies that are involved with real estate, whether they are large corporations or smaller, locally owned ventures, are using real estate virtual assistants to take care of a number of administrative tasks, as well as e-solutions and Web content building. The more skills that you can list on your resume, the better the chance you have to find a job like this.

However, if you find that your resume is a little thin, there are ways to beef it up without having to resort to lies and half-truths:

• Don't forget to include all of the skills that you have taught yourself or learned on your own. Just because you didn't receive any formal training doesn't mean that these skills aren't worth mentioning. If you're a fast typist and are self-taught, time yourself and list your words per minute (WPM) on your resume. If you are very familiar with certain operating systems and software, such as Microsoft Office or Excel, then make sure that each skill is listed. Some of the most sought-after computer skills today are graphics ability, Web content creation, and the ability to navigate WordPress to make original websites.

• While you should list your education on your resume, you should avoid listing awards or extracurricular activities unless they are directly related to the position you're trying to fill. In most cases, they should be left out because most human resource managers don't have time to read 500 resumes about how people were the secretary of their college fraternity or were in the drama organization. Instead, focus on the particulars of your education and experience that you believe make you a good fit for a job as a virtual assistant. For example, if you took computer classes that taught you how to run software and operating systems that make you a good match for the job description, then make sure that you list them.

Real estate virtual assistants are becoming more of a fixture throughout the industry, and if you're looking for a job in this area, then you should be aware of which skills are in high demand. If you already have some of these skills, you can create your resume and start submitting it. Remember, however, that it's a combination of skill, education, and experience that employers are looking for.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7736182

What Sets You Apart From Your Competitors?

The virtual assistant industry is growing by leaps and bounds on a daily basis. Business owners have discovered that hiring a virtual assistant can be both cost-effective and instrumental in helping business owners accomplish their goals. Likewise, individuals in the workforce are realizing that they have a marketable talent. The skills that they have developed in the administrative field can lead them to a profitable future as a Virtual Assistant. However, with the virtual business industry expanding, there are more virtual assistants competing for contracts and projects. Here is where you need to determine what makes you different and makes you stand out in the crowd. 

It is essential to your success to develop your marketable brand. Branding is your trademark for the products or services that you offer potential clientele. It is how business owners perceive your professional identity. It is a combination of your skills, integrity, and how you present the services that you offer to clients. Branding is more than just your name; it includes your credentials, your qualities, and characteristics that make you unique. A strong brand will make the difference between being noticed or overlooked. 

Develop Your Niche

A niche, by definition, is a subcategory of the whole industry of virtual assistance on which you are specifically focusing. Your niche will be your unique features and services that you offer that are aimed at satisfying specific market needs.

Simply put, if you are a virtual assistant, what services do you specialize in? Do you offer bookkeeping, internet marketing, copywriting, or some other skill? 

To take it a step further, a niche is also what services you offer that are in demand within your field. By seeking out smaller segments of larger markets, your business can be developed and promoted especially to uniquely serve a targeted and usually loyal customer base, which can help increase revenue. 

When determining your niche, choose a target that you not only perform well, but also one for which you have passion. This can make all the difference in the world between being perceived as mediocre or phenomenal.

Putting Yourself Out There 

Once you have established your niche market, put forward a plan of action to market yourself. This is where you want to project yourself beyond your competitors. Identify the needs of your target audience. Once you have done this, develop a marketing plan that is unique. This is your opportunity to illustrate the value or efficiency you can offer your clients.   

There are several marketing techniques to demonstrate your creativity, enthusiasm, and distinctive characteristics that will help you conquer your niche market. Take advantage of the resources available on the internet; create a blog, submit articles to online directories, participate in online forums, offer a free downloadable e-book, or offer a free consultation to prospective clients. 

Take advantage of the resources available on the internet:

* Create a blog 

* Submit articles to on-line directories 

* Participate in online forums 

* Offer a free downloadable e-book 

* Offer a free consultation to prospective clients. 

Once you have created an online presence and have begun to build your client base, you will have an overwhelming feeling of achievement! Yes, it does take time, patience, and understanding, but all your hard work will pay-off the first time you are hired! Remember, this is your time to shine - you have officially opened the door to new possibilities!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2713035

Accessing Your Skill Set As a Virtual Assistant

How does your personal and work experience add to your skill set as a virtual assistant?

I want to begin with the definition of a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant (VA), through the medium of the computer, internet and phone, is one who assists clients with various tasks and projects. Because everything is done virtually there is no need for clients and VAs to work within the same office space. The client submits tasks and/or projects to the VA usually through emails or phone calls.

A few of you are probably shaking your heads, asking yourselves, "how do my work and personal experiences translate to a resume?!" Think of it like this, basically a VA is an assistant, many times an administrative assistant, who works from their own [virtual], remote office as opposed to the office of their client. Did you catch the key word, "...administrative assistant?"

There are many individuals out there who don't have the time to accomplish all they want or need, whether personally or for their business, so they hire an assistant. Some assistants are administrative while others are more along the lines of being personal assistants.

Do you have administrative skills? If you have worked in an office, be it home or business, you have administrative skills. All of these are within the skill set of being a virtual assistant. You have many more VA skills than you probably realize.

Now, as I stated earlier, how does this translate marketable skills on your resume? We're getting there, I promise, but before we do, let's break down HOW business and life 'experiences' are administrative skills. For that, I'm breaking it down into six main categories, including: communication, computer and Internet, organization, planning, research and scheduling.

COMMUNICATION

• How many letters or emails have you sent?

• How many times have you had to visit the school counselor or principle?

• Do you know how to use your phone and email?

COMPUTER AND INTERNET

• How many letters, emails or even reports have you typed?

• Ever made a purchase online?

• Do you manage a social profile, whether LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace or Twitter?

• Have you written articles or blog posts?

ORGANIZATION

• Have you filed away misc. documents for records?

• Do you have a bank account you manage?

• How many spreadsheets (Excel documents) have you designed for use around the house, including your husband's collection of signed baseball bats?

PLANNING

• How many hotel, car or flight reservations have you made on the internet for yourself, a friend or a family?

• Do you have a meal plan? Have you scheduled the meals you make for your family, including the purchase of the ingredients?

RESEARCH

• How many terms have you 'googled' to learn about a topic you did not previously know?

• Do you know how to research a topic you're interested in or that a client might have a question about?

SCHEDULING

• How many doctors' appointments have you scheduled?

• How many trip itineraries have you put together to help your family vacation glide as smoothly as possible.

So, what might this look like on your resume?

Key Skills:

- Office Management 

- Telephone & Email Etiquette 

- Word Processing 

- Data Entry 

- Management Skills 

- Social Networking Profile Maintenance 

- Spreadsheet & Database Creation 

- Ghostwriting 

- Copy Editing/Proofreading 

- Academic Writing 

- Records Management 

- Meeting & Event Planning 

- Inventory Management 

- Research 

- Customer Service

Computer Programs, Sites and Applications:

- WordPress/Blogger 

- Microsoft Word/Works 

- Microsoft Outlook 

- Microsoft Excel 

- Microsoft Publisher 

- Google Docs 

- Skype/Google Talk 

- Photoshop/Picasa 

- QuickBooks/Peachtree 

- Facebook/Myspace/LinkedIn 

- Mozilla Firefox/ Internet Explorer 

- Google/Yahoo/Bing

If you're thinking about setting up shop as a virtual assistant, the next step would be for you assess where you are now. A great way to do that is by taking an inventory of the skill set life has already given you! Start a list of the various tasks you do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. In the right hand column you can list which of the main six categories your task falls under.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5213090

Virtual Assistants: Five New Services You Can Offer

Virtual Assistants, or VAs as they are sometimes known, provide administrative, secretarial and creative support and lifestyle management for businesses and individuals. VAs normally work remotely from home and are self-employed professionals, not employees. If you're a VA, you may have started out providing the sort of standard business support that a small business might need: typing, transcription, diary management, appointment bookings and travel arrangements. But the business world is changing fast, both online and offline. Have you considered expanding your skillset and offering some of the following services?

Website Design

All small (and indeed large) businesses need an online presence. If you can learn HTML and webpage coding, this might be a very lucrative service to offer. Even if you're not technically minded, the growth in content management systems such as WordPress means that, with a little training and knowledge, anyone can create an attractive, functional and fully search engine optimised website.

Social Media Updates

As a virtual assistant, you are probably adept at using social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook but you can appreciate just what a 'time-suck' they can be. Could you assist your clients by posting Facebook and LinkedIn updates, and scheduling Tweets in advance?

Blog Post Writing

This is another necessary but time consuming marketing task. Obviously if your client has a very distinctive writing 'voice' it might be hard to replicate that in your own writing, but as you become more immersed in your client's business, you'll find it easier to emulate their blogging style. As most blogging software allows you to preschedule posts, you could write a month's worth of blog posts for your client in a fairly short space of time.

Affiliate Schemes

If your client has products to sell, you could set up an affiliate scheme for them to enable them to maximise the use of their time and start building some passive income revenue streams. Creating sales page and landing page text, advertising banners and dealing with the administration could be a very useful service to offer and if it allows your client to make more money, then that's bound to be good for your business too.

Information Products

Information products such as eBooks, eCourses, video tutorials and podcasts can all be very good ways to earn extra money, or to use as a selling point (many businesses give away free eBooks as an incentive to capture email addresses, for example). However, they are very time consuming to create and distribute. This might be another great service for your virtual assistant business to offer as it could be a very good return on investment for your client.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6939267

5 Powerful Reasons for Using Wordpress for Your Virtual Assistant Website

As you may know search engines love WordPress websites that are regularly updated. WordPress is a powerful CMS that is ideal for any small business website. It is also being increasingly used for e-commerce sites. Here are 5 reasons why you should use WordPress to create your website:

Learn A New Skill

WordPress is a skill that can be learnt quickly and easily. The basics of WordPress can be learnt in 1-2 hours. You could have a 5 page website up and running within one day.

To create a WordPress site you will use a theme. Themes are built using the programming language PHP. Themes are designed to be user-friendly and you are able to build a site without learning the language. This is done using widgets, menus and options on the dashboard.

This is a valuable skill to learn and potentially it could lead to a service you could offer as a virtual assistant.

Cheap but not FREE

When building a small business website you should not opt for a free option. This is your business and you want to be professional.

So, what costs are involved in creating a WordPress site?

You will need to buy a domain name. The cost depends on what extension you decide to go for e.g. a dot com or co.uk. It is often debated as to what are the best domain extensions to use. I believe it is the content of your site that matters. I have recently set up a site with a dot cc extension. It is ranking well due to the content and the Search Engine Optimization that has been performed on the site.

You will also need to pay for hosting. This is where all the website files will be kept. It is cheaper to host your website in the US.

WordPress is a CMS

WordPress is a content management system. This means it is designed to be extremely easy to update. Even if it was produced by a website designer you could easily update the pages yourself.

Being able to update your WordPress site will give you freedom from your web designer. You would need to specify at the start of the project that you want to be able to update the website yourself. This means you don't have to wait for the website designer to become available. It could take a couple of weeks to have updates done on your website whereas you could do it in a couple of minutes.

WordPress Themes

There are a great number of both free and premium WordPress themes that you can use for your website. The WordPress site offers a great number of free themes and it is perfectly fine to use a free theme. They are all checked by WordPress to ensure there is no malicious code in them and they are produced to a good standard.

Plugins for WordPress

The great thing about WordPress is that it allows developers to create plugins. Plugins offer added features to your website. These include plugins that will help with the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and allow you to easily add a contact form to your website. There are over 17,000 plugins at the time of writing and they do every function that you could possibly need for your WordPress website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6833633

How Do You Get Someone To Agree To A Joint Venture

I thought this would be an interesting topic to share on, especially for those who are new to internet marketing and have no track record or huge list to offer. You may wonder how you can get someone to say yes to your joint venture proposal.

Before I go any further, when internet marketers talk about joint venture (JV), we are referring to a partnership between two marketers to do some kind of joint promotion together. Usually this takes the form of one party agreeing to market another party's product to his huge list in exchange for some benefits, and vice-versa. The key here is to understand this benefit.

Let us look a little deeper into what drives internet marketers. What do you think? Why are we all in this business? Obviously we want to make money. However that is not looking deep enough. We need to look at the specific motivation and concerns.

First of all recognize that internet marketers are really businessmen online. They would always look at a proposal from a business standpoint - what is in it for me and does it make commercial sense?

Of course besides making money, there could be other considerations like his reputation, branding, customer service to his list, etc. However just focus on the primary motivation for now, convince him of the commercial value of your proposal and the rest of it will fall in place somehow.

How can you wow him with a strong and viable commercial benefit? There are only 2 things - profits and more traffic for him. So let us look at the 3 specific things you need to do before approaching someone for JV.

1. Show Proof Of Your Profit Potential

Profits is a given for all businessmen. And in internet marketing we all know how big money is made - not from the front-end sale (1st product bought from you), but the huge pipeline of back-end products you are going to "push" to your list over time. That is why it is so vital to build relationship and trust with your customers over time.

Your job is to convince him that you have a worthy product to add to his pipeline amongst so many out there. And what is best way for you to do that?

a. Be generous in your proposal.

Give away 80% referral fee is if you can. Remember again it is not the front-end sale you are after, it is the opportunity to build your list.

Better yet, give away resale rights or master resale rights. That would be an article topic in itself.

b. Substantiate your conversion rate

Tell him how many people will buy out of 100 that he is going to send from his huge list. And do not just tell him, show him proof like your web statistics report, or Clickbank account sales figures.

It does not take a genius to work the numbers and see what is the expected profits from doing JV with you.

Now this is where it is tough, you need to have a winning product to start with. To achieve that focus on enhancing your conversion rate before you even start approaching people for JV.

2. Have A List

If profit potential is not great enough, you need to convince people that you can help drive great traffic to his website. The best way to do this is to offer your list as a reciprocal gesture. Once again this suggests that you need to have some basic success as a pre-requisite for JV.

While it is true that there is a huge value exchange disparity if you are offering your list of 1000 subscribers to someone with a list 10 times of that, do not be surprised some list owners will still go for it if you have a good product to offer. Reason is simple. Besides adding new customers at zero cost, they have a chance to create more perceived value of being a subscriber in their list - getting recommendations on the best and latest products online.

3. Show Your Sincerity

I am a firm believer in business ethnics, and being sincere in your business dealings. Everyone likes to do business with someone who is honest and trustworthy. They will even refer more JV partners!

Start by writing a JV proposal in an email. A good tip here is to include a specific mention of your admiration and respect for his business. People will naturally be more receptive when you sing their praises or accomplishments. However do not overkill.

After getting through to him, be sure to stay professional and sincere in all your dealings. You will certainly make more friends as well as business partners along the way.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/464058

The REAL Meaning Behind Virtual Assistant

I get asked quite often, "What is a virtual assistant?" I respond with the same information about what we do. But I was thinking the other night, what does it really mean to be a VA? So I sat down and figured out what being a VA really means.

Being a Virtual Assistant means: 

Virtual - You can work for anyone, anywhere. 

Integrity -You have high work standards and adhere to a strict ethical code. 

Radiant - If you love what you do, it shows. 

True - True to yourself and true to your clients. Honesty is key. 

Under promise - and over deliver. That makes your clients happy! 

Asset - You are an asset to your clients. They need you as much as you need them. 

L oyal - Always be loyal to your clients. Treat each one as if they were your most important

Astute - Don't just do the work. Be clever, be smart and be the best! 

Sincere - Mean what you say. Do what you say. 

Stylish - You get to work in your pajamas! 

Ingenious - Keep researching for better ways to do things; for you and your clients. 

Student - A good VA should always be learning the latest and greatest in technology. 

Teacher - A good VA should also be able to teach their clients various things. 

Assistants - VA's are an assistant. We are here to assist! 

Necessary - VA's can be vital to the growth of a small business. 

Trained - VA's should have some level of experience being an administrative assistant.

To be a VA is more than doing the work. It's about the precious gift you give back to your clients, TIME.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1689659

Full Time Online Income

Interested? :)

The Secret to Virtual Assistant Success is in the Numbers

So, if you have a couple of hours to spare during the break, why not spend it reviewing how you have done, and decide what changes you want to make in the coming 12 months?

Being a Virtual Assistant, just like any other business, is a numbers game. How many contacts you have made over the last year? Of these, how many have you turned in to prospects? And, how many clients you have secured as a result? You should also know the average value of your clients and their average lifetime value. These figures can tell you some really interesting things.

For example, if you know that over the previous 12 months you made:

• 300 contacts, of whom

• 100 became prospects (by showing a real interest in what you offer), which resulted in

• 15 new clients, each of whom spent an average

• £15,000 per year, and stayed with you for an average duration of two years

you will know that your clients have an average lifetime value of £30,000. And, to generate each client, you need to make 20 new contacts (15 clients from an original 300 contacts: 300/15). Suddenly, the prospect of attending a few networking events over the next couple of months to find 20 new contacts does not seem such a drag, as you know that, on average, you will make £30,000 for your efforts.

What you can also do is add up what you have spent on marketing, networking and other business-generating tools during the year. This will show the return on investment these have made. If you spent £2,000 on marketing your business and generated 15 new clients (with an average lifetime spend of £30,000), you know that that £2,000 has resulted in £450,000 worth of sales. That's a return of £225 for every pound spent... Excellent! You can break that down further if you have monitored where these contacts learned of you. You can then identify exactly which marketing, networking and advertising methods have given the greatest returns.

When it comes to planning for the next year, armed with this information, you can invest more in your most effective marketing methods, and less on the less effective. So, if you spent £1,000 on a networking group, which achieved one client, but only £50 advertising in an online Virtual Assistant directory, which resulted in three new clients, it does not take a genius to work out that spending more on advertising in the directory might be a better idea than renewing the membership of the networking group.

Also, take a long hard look at your 'sales funnel' - the process that people go through from being contacts to becoming clients. What are your conversion rates from contact to prospect and from prospect to client? Where are you losing people? If you find that you have lots of contacts but few prospects, are your contacts fully aware of what you do? Are you tailoring your offering to appeal directly to these people? If you have lots of prospects, but they are not turning into clients, are you following up properly? Do you need to set up a better relationship-building system to develop their confidence in you? As you identify these gaps and plug them, you will need to spend less on generating contacts, as more of your existing ones will become clients... Happy days!

Justine Curtis is the director of My Virtual Assistant Ltd (my-va.com) and is recruiting a team of licensees to establish their own virtual assistant businesses under the My Virtual Assistant brand. She is the founder of The UK Association of Virtual Assistants offering free resources and information to both new and established virtual assistants and is the author of Setting Yourself Up As A Virtual Assistant.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4572038

J is For Joint Ventures

Joint Ventures is a concept that has probably been around for a long time, but only seems to have become mainstream over the last few years. They can work in several different ways, but essentially means that two or more businesses will have an arrangement whereby they'll promote each other's businesses and profit from this whenever anybody buys.

At first glance, this seems similar to referral partners, but actually it's a completely different concept. In referrals, although there might be a formal agreement to refer clients in exchange for money between two or more businesses, referrals tend to happen on an ad-hoc basis.

In joint ventures, both parties agree to promote each other on a very regular basis in exchange for money when someone buys. Let me give you a few examples.

1. I set up a workshop. You agree to promote this workshop to your list and your contacts and whenever someone books onto the workshop from your contacts, you get paid a percentage. 

2. We both write an e-book and jointly promote this to our lists and our contacts. Whenever someone buys, we get a share of the money at a 50/50 split. 

3. You create a membership programme. I tell my list about this and drive traffic to your site. If anyone buys, I get a percentage commission.

This concept works incredibly for products and tangible services. The relationship is almost always automated - in other words, I would get paid a percentage automatically using a payment system rather than you having to send me money every month. And unlike referrals, where payment can take months to come through, with a joint venture relationship, payment is instant.

Joint ventures are also incredibly easy to track too - the payment system you use for your joint ventures will allow you to see when your contacts have bought a product or service and give you statistics on how much you've got paid. In referrals, it's not 100% clear because the parties concerned may not be completely honest with you.

So, if this sound like something that might be of interest to you, where do you start?

Well, the first thing to do is to create a list of possible partners - who appeal to the same sorts of customers as you do and has complimentary products or services?

Once you've identified possible partners, you need to think about what you'd like them to promote for you; what percentage commission you're willing to give them and what promotional material you're going to provide them with.

Your partners are unlikely to do anything for you out of the goodness of their heart - they're going to want to know what's in it for them and they're not going to want to have to do a lot of work. That means you're going to have to provide them with everything they need in order to get going.

You're also going to need a payment system that can handle joint ventures so that any payments are automated and send to your partners automatically.

It's only at this stage that you'll be ready to start talking to your potential partners. Don't forget to have a written agreement in place too.

Yes, I know that sounds like a lot of work to get it all set up, but the benefits can be enormous. If you want to start smaller, consider writing articles for the newsletters of potential partners to build your relationship or maybe doing something like a free teleseminar together to build both of your contacts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4412066