Email Marketing and Newsletters

Looking for a new way to market your business that is simple and cost effective? Consider electronic or emailed newsletters. They are a great way to increase customer loyalty, enhance your customer branding, and also attract new customers.

To get the most out of a newsletter, it is a good idea to keep it simple. People receive a lot of email and they don’t have the time to read over alot of text. Short and to the point articles with relevant and enticing photos work well! Newsletters must be current and timely.

What makes newsletter valuable to your readers? Information about:

• Work-related news and activities
• Prices and sales-don’t forget the coupons!
• New products, services and opportunities
• Personal interests and hobbies
• Events, deadlines, and important dates

There are many low cost and easy to use newsletter creation services available. You can upload or enter your mailing list and it will store it for you. Not creative? Not to worry they all have numerous templates that are easy to use. You can customize by using your logo, picture or any other image. There are many services out there to choose from, so do your research as to which one would work best for your product or service. We have worked with and we recommend the easy to use Constant Contact and Icontact .

Most programs also come with a free form for your website that allows visitors to subscribe to the newsletter, all they do is enter their website and it automatically stores that information within the contact database. In addition most will offer statistics after a mass mailing with such information as, how many emails were bounced back, how many opened, how many forwarded and who unsubscribed? This information can be helpful in analyzing which campaigns work the best.

Remember however that you can only send emails to those that request the newsletter or people you have done business with before. For more information, visit the FCC’s Can Spam website.

We have experience is setting up, creating and maintaining newsletters to your clients and potential customers. Whether you are interested in monthly, quarterly, or just for special events or seasonal promotions we can take care of it all. Take advantage of this effective and proven return on investment marketing tool!

Holiday Client Gifts

Now that Thanksgiving is over the mad rush to the next holiday is upon us. Gift giving is on every ones mind, but don't forget your clients-both small and large. Client appreciation gifts can be as small or as large as you like ( or as your budget can allow). Simple boxes of holiday goodies or larger scale gift baskets show your clients appreciation and lets your clients know that their patronage is important to you, and helps cement your business relationship. The best client gift takes your client's personal interests into account, and impresses them with your thoughtfulness and sincerity. While giving client gifts at Christmas is popular, you'll find that recipients appreciate them any time of year.
If giving holiday gifts to all your clients is out of reach, an easy and inexpensive token of appreciation is to send a holiday card. This simple method of spreading cheer is a good way to reconnect with all your clients and let them know how you appreciate them and perhaps how you can help them with other needs they may not even know you offer.
If you do decide to give gifts to clients, you don't have to break the bank with expensive gifts, there are many reasonable items available online that can be shipped directly to the client. Visit this link for some great gift ideas for under $25! For potential new clients who are local, consider droping off a Holiday cup full of wrapped candy with your business card or some goodies from a local bakery. You can't go wrong with food, the whole office will be appreciative and will remember you!
Remember, the holidays are a busy for everyone, but don't use lack of time as an excuse to pass up this opportunity to show your clients gratitude for their business. We would love to help-we specialize in client gifts, we can research, order and ship them right to their door, we can also help with the holiday cards!
Happy Holidays!!

Managing Your Business Virtually

You may be considering using a virtual assistant, you know you need the help. But you may be asking yourself, how can a virtual assistant help me with the things I need when they are not actually on-site?
Obviously we have computers, faxes and phones but thankfully we also live in a time where there are many web based resources out there that allow users from all over to access email, calendars, files, databases and much much more! Most are easy-to-use, affordable small business solutions. Many have business tools include intranet software, business email service, document manager. The best thing is that most virtual assistants already are proficient with such programs and can start managing the workload right away (and can even teach you the basics and tricks)! Below are some programs that are useful, check them out!

Hyperoffice.com: Offers a simple solution for your email needs. From web-based email, email hosting to online address books, this program gives you a professional look by assigning email domain names of your choice to all your employees. An added bonus is they offer a 60 day free trial.

Smartoffice: This program offers contact database, online calendars as well as provides valuable reporting capabilities that drive better business decisions, and create a customer-centric environment that helps increase sales revenues.

Salesforce.com: This is a versatile web-based program that is popular for (CRM) customer relationship management. In addition to CRM, this offers a online calendar, customizable email options and several other customizable services. This program also offers a free trial.

GotVMail.com: Need a toll free number, calls forwarded to an assistant or a professional sounding voicemail system with mailboxes? GotVMail offers all this at a very reasonable monthly cost, starting at $9.99 with a 30 day money back guarantee.

These are just a few of the hundreds of programs available to make a virtual office 'appear real' and make running a business easy and inexpensive. Not sure what program you need? Just ask us and we can not only recommend one for your needs but set it up for you!

Why Do I Need A Press Release?

When some people hear the word press release they think they are only for large companies releasing the latest and greatest product and that their business is too small of a company to release one. That is most certainly not true. A press release is a fantastic way to announce a grand opening of a new business, or to let people know about a large sale or promotion being offered on your website.

If your site offers a unique tool, feature, movie file, content or other resource, a press release will help your site with awareness in your industry. In addition, if you distribute your press release on the web and you use keyword phrases that get searched for frequently in the major search engines, a press release can also help you with search engine visibility by ranking high in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

Because of the online news distribution, sending out your a press release is an effective marketing tool, and to get an idea of how popular online news search is, comScore has reported that half of all Internet users visit an online news site in a given month. Also, of all the online news sites including MSNBC, the New York Times, CNN, etc., Yahoo! News is the number one online news destination.

Keep in mind you do NOT need to hire a PR company to write and distribute your press release, nor should it cost you hundreds of dollars. There are many sites that provide simple but free distribution. You can upgrade if you wish to have your site linked in the release or choose to include a logo or picture.

Call or write us today and let us help you write your press release and get it out there to the world! Questions? We offer a free consultation!

Virtual Assistants Featured On Good Morning America

ABC featured a great segment today on the growing trend of virtual assistants and how businesses can benefit by using their services instead of the traditional employee.It is great to see the media featuring this profession and showing mainstream American all that we have to offer and all the positive aspects! Please read more about this on the Good Morning America website

Virtual Assistants Are Eco-Friendly

It seems today that the terms 'going green' and 'eco-friendly' are buzz words and are widely used in many industries. Virtual Assistants have long been living up to these terms long before they were the latest hot topic. If you are interested in 'going green' or already live an environmentally responsible lifestyle you can learn why working with a virtual assistant can help incorporate your values in your day to day business dealings.

• Virtual assistants do not commute to an actual business office, thus there is one less car on the road on a daily basis, cutting down on gasoline consumption and vehicle exhaust pollution.
• Because virtual assistants conduct business 'virtually', they tend to typically use less paper than a traditional employee in-house. Because such a large amount of our work is done through the computer via the Internet and much of our work files are transferred and stored electronically. Clients can view this data and decide at that point if this is something that needs a paper document created or can remain stored electronically.
• Utility consumption is many times cut in half by using the services of a virtual assistant. Clients save both time and money as a virtual assistant can complete work in half the time as a traditional on site employee. This reduces the need for the client to furnish an actual physical location for the work, as the assistant does this at their own office. This factor right there eliminates electricity, heating and other utility bills.

These are just a few ways that using the services of a virtual assistant can not only save a client money but also help the environment. Every little step counts, whether you recycle, plant a tree or use our services!

Real Estate Blogging- A New Approach To Marketing

Real Estate professionals all over the country are using blogs as a new alternative to get their name out there and market their services. In addition, blogging helps with search engine placement for their website-top rankings means more visitors!

Blog content can range from local real estate news to helpful hints for both buyers and sellers, visitors to the site appreciate the info and it adds credibility and character to the agent. With the addition of bookmarks and RSS feeds, visitors to your site can subscribe to your blog and receive the updated postings. Keeping blogs fresh is the biggest challenge to busy real estate professionals, it is important to post on a regular basis usually on a weekly basis. That is where a Virtual Assistant can help keep the blogs updated and interesting to your target audience.

Offsite Business Solutions specializes in blog creation and management for all businesses who want to go the extra mile and add a new dimension to their marketing plan, especially Real Estate Professionals. Adding a blog to your website with useful resources and valuable links to your target audience is a easy but very powerful tool that can be set up quickly. Ask us how we can get you started with this valuable marketing strategy today!

Networking--We All Need it!

No matter what type of business you are in networking with your peers is always a win win situation. Networking is an essential skill for most business people, but especially for entrepreneurs both new and just starting up or seasoned professionals who have been there and done that. Networking provides real life situations that help answer questions, provide advice, brainstorm solutions as well as enable a group to build relationships with trust.
In today's busy world online networking has become very popular, people can network when their schedule permits and virtually anywhere! A powerful networking platform for Virtual Assistants is VANA (Virtual Assistant Networking Association Forum), which is available free for all, a global meeting place and portal for aspiring and successful Virtual Assistants. They can be located at http:/www.vanetworking.com
This is a valuable resource is not only for Virtual Assistants but also business owners looking to learn more about the trade and how a virtual assistant can benefit them as well as how to find one that best suits their needs through the directory or they can submit a request for a proposal!
If you are a business owner you know that things come up, situations you may have never thought of before, but there is usually someone out there who has been in your shoes and would love to talk about it. That is where networking comes in and can be a beneficial tool, words of wisdom from VANA "no question is ever stupid, stupidity comes from not asking when you have the opportunity to do so."

Real Estate Assistants-An Agents' Right Hand

As a busy real estate professional, you know there are many administrative tasks on a day to day basis that must be tackled. Answering phone calls, returning emails, updating your website, keeping your files organized and your database up to date, scheduling open houses, showings and more - all of these are things that a real estate assistant can handle.
Offsite Business Solutions now offers certified real estate support as a REPA (Real Estate Professional Assistant) awarded through the National Board of Realtors®.
Becoming successful in real estate is hard work, even more so in a slow market so you’ll want to be sure that you’re doing everything-getting the word out, making sales for sellers and finding homes for buyers - and making a name for yourself and establishing your reputation.
Don't try to do it all-focus on getting the sales and leave the administrative tasks to a professional real estate assistant, call Offsite Business Solutions today for a quote on your real estate needs!

Summer Vacations and your Business-Can you take the time?

The first day of summer is today, for many this means taking the long anticiapted summer vacation. But wait, before you pack your suitcases and book the hotel can you afford to be out of contact from your business while you take some time to relax? For some the answer is no, of course you can always take your work with you but your family may groan and answer then ask your self the question, why am I taking a vacation?
If you are a small business owner taking time off is not as easy, you are concerned with how things will get done while you are away, who will answer the emails, the phone calls, follow up with the potential clients you have worked so hard to get to this point. A great solution would be to hire a virtual assistant-someone who can take over these tasks for a temporary amount of time while you are away. Reasonable in cost and because you only need to use their services temporarily you wont need to worry about locating, interviewing and training a new employee or temp. Virtual assistants specialize in short term projects such as covering while you are gone and because you only pay for the time they spend on the task you wont have to worry about what your employees are doing while you are gone.
So go ahead and book the hotel and pack your swimsuit and most importantly relax...your virtual assistant is taking over where you left off, and who knows you may be so impressed with their service, you will use them on a regular basis!

What is a Virtual Assistant?

You may have heard the term on TV, seen it on the web or maybe by word of mouth and wondered, what exactly is a "Virtual Assistant?"
According to Wikipedia, A Virtual Assistant (or simply VA), is an independent contractor providing administrative, technical, or sometimes creative assistance to clients such as entrepreneurs and solo and small business practices. Virtual assistants work from their own office (hence "virtual"), thus making it a fairly popular (and growing) profession. It is estimated that there are about 5,000-8,000 virtual assistants worldwide. Common modes of communication and data delivery include the Internet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and fax machine. Although the occupation gives a degree of independence, work is on a contractual basis, and a long-lasting cooperation is standard. Many virtual assistants have their own specialized niches in where they focus and specialize to a particular industry such as the legal field or real estate.
There are different reasons as to why companies and individuals decide to hire a virtual assistant, the main being that the services they receive are cost efficient and they pay only for the time spent on the task, not coffee breaks, personal surfing of the web or socializing with other office workers. Another reason companies hire a virtual assistant is that they can hire them for as little or as many hours as they need, and on a 'as needed' basis, allowing full control and freedom. The fact that a virtual assistant does not need formal training and also has all the needed equipment such as computer software, phones and other necessary items needed for operation also makes it a smart and economical choice.
If you are a business owner or simply an individual who needs an extra hand with a particular task, consider using a virtual assistant, it may be the right and best choice you ever made!

Signs That You Might Need A Virtual Assistant

You know you are busy and there never seems to be enough hours in the day, but do you need a virtual assistant? If you think you do, the answer is most likely yes, but here are some guidelines to help you out.

• Your business is growing and your "to do" list is getting longer and longer
• You simply feel exhausted and frustrated from all the emails and calls that need to be answered
• You missed out on sales opportunities because you didn't have time or simply did not remember to follow up
• You have been working nights and weekends just to keep up, you have not been on a vacation since-well you can't remember
• You have great ideas to grow your business but can't seem to find the time to implement them

If you answered yes to any of these, you need help! That is where a virtual assistant can step in, get you organized, take over the tedious day to day tasks and allow you to not only take a breather but to focus on your clients and take your business to a new level.

Virtual Assistant featured on Today Show

Karen Reddick a virtual assistant based in Colorado was featured on MSNBC's Today show on Thursday, May 24. View the below video for more insight and information into the field of virtual assistants.



http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm??g=fda5aec6-5250-43c2-936f-dfac1ec2033d&&

Benefits of Hiring A Virtual Assistant

Are you a small business owner or entrepreneur? Is your business growing faster than you can keep up? That is a great thing! But it can also mean many hours spent doing tasks that are preventing you from growing you business. Administrative tasks such as contact updates, market research, billing and general business administrative duties are necessary but time consuming. Full or part time employees require you to pay taxes, benefits and training to name a few. Temps sound good in theory but are costly and if you run your business out of your home where do you put them? Factor in equipment and down time and you are spending more than you are saving. That is where a virtual assistant comes into play.
Virtual assistants have all the equipment and training necessary to get the job done. Plus you only pay for the time on task. No taxes, benefits or equipment is necessary. It is the smart decision for growing businesses.
Offsite Business Solutions can fill your needs. We customize all our services and are effective, reliable and cost effective. Visit http://www.offsitebusinesssolutions.com today for a customized quote and begin saving time and money today.