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One of the services I offer as a virtual assistant is blogging and article marketing. It is a valuable resource that is in great demand in our virtual industry as more clients understand the potential for good SEO.  As article marketing increases online presence it also helps to classify the client as industry experts.  Additionally, articles can reap a ‘better bang for the buck’ as they can be repurposed into blog entries, newsletters and press releases.  Strategically placed, one article can have many lives.
 

I recently had a very intuitive consultation call with a potential client who is interested in blogging and article marketing. The client asked an interesting question, “How do you create topics for articles [when the virtual assistant is not familiar with the client’s industry]?”

I have been asked this question on previous occasions by other virtual assistants as well, so I created a client questionnaire for VAs, which is available for download here . (Click on the star logo). 

Ideally, a virtual assistant partners with a client on an ongoing basis to develop a relationship where communication between the parties is regularly maintained.  If the opportunity for a good partnership develops, the best way to write thought-provoking articles for a client is to be privy to their business happenings. This occurs only through good, two-way communication.  It is not unusual for a client to ask a question or share a piece of information with me, which can easily be turned into an article. Consequently, I’ll often reply with, “This can become a good blogging topic”. 

Another means to develop good article topics is to ask the client to check his Sent Box. What kind of questions is the client answering to his own customers?  Whatever information the client’s customers are asking certainly makes for great article topics.  Give the readers what they want to know… write about what your client’s customers are asking.

VAs, ask the client to send you urls to the online newsletters which are relative to your client’s business.  I often subscribe to the same blogs, newsletters and ezines my clients read. This is another means to find great ideas for articles and blogs. One long-term client regularly sends me real estate articles from which I have been able to construct good articles.  Keep them in a folder in your favorites entitled, ‘Blogging Topics’.

I often find subject matter on other people’s blogs which I send to my clients requesting that he respond with a brief reply.  Sometimes the answers are a few lines which I can expand upon, while others are complete responses which I can post in varying blogs or article marketing sites.

A long forgotten source for good article topics is the local public library.  I will often visit the library and sit down with several magazines and publications related to my client’s businesses. I jot down the publication name and look it up online when I return to my office.  Ask the librarian for other sources such as newsletters and flyers which are not available online. The librarian is another valuable tool to good research…and, the librarian’s services are free!

If a virtual assistant is not familiar with a client’s industry, there are numerous means to learn about his business. Asking questions, creating Google Alerts with keyword relative to the client’s business and keeping abreast of the client’s products and services are other important options to good article marketing as a virtual assistant.  Download the Questionnaire for Virtual Assistants to Ask Their Clients Regarding Article Writing and Blog Ideas for more options.

 Janine Gregor

Recently, I have ‘been on’ a few back-to-back consultations with potential clients. Each conversation had to be fine-tuned on the spot depending upon the clients’ expertise with working with a VA and in regard to his/her use of the internet.  Since consults are not ‘one size fits all’ this post can help VAs to customize the conversation to achieve maximum results.

*note RFP used herein is a Request for Proposal. This is the form that potential clients complete with information regarding their virtual assistant needs.
*Letter of Intent is the reply letter a VA writes in response to the RFP.

1)      Research, Research And More Research – If there is any tidbit of information you will take away from this post this will be it:  Research the client’s website and business as much as possible before dialing the phone. I suggest going one step further and research as much as possible before hitting the send button to reply to the initial RFP itself.  Although each Letter of Intent should be customized to the client’s requirements, take more time than usual to know the client because you may not have much time to do the research between the time you hit send and the time the client replies back to your customized letter of intent.  I have been in close-timing situations and have had mere minutes to vamp-up my research before I called the client back. Being prepared ahead of time will thwart being caught off-guard because you may need to book an immediate consult. It happens.

2)      Be Careful How You Phrase Your Opinions – Before making the consult call (and creating the Letter of Intent), make a list of what you think can be improved on the website or blog but do not come forward right away with a critique while on the phone with the potential client. Wait until the client asks for your opinion and phrase your critique as such, “If your website heading is decreased in size you can offer more information about your business above the page fold” or “If you add your social marketing badges to your home page, you can increase your membership”.  Making suggestions as opposed to saying, “The header is too big” or “The web page is messy” may make for bad vibes during the consult. Diplomacy is key.

3)      If the client indicates that they do not know how to do something while you explain what services you can provide, offer to show them how to do it. You may think that offering to train a client, for example how to post a blog will take away work from you; I actually believe that this leads to more work, which is what we all really want as virtual assistants.  I believe in offering to share my knowledge with a client for three reasons:  First, you will get paid for training; Second, once you spend more time teaching the client a task, this helps to build a relationship and solidifies you as the expert and, Three, these tasks lead to more work because then you can make suggestions as to how the task can be fine-tuned. The latter is much easier to do when you have built a rapport with the client.

4)      During the consultation call, be keen and listen to the client as they speak. Clues to how much expertise they have will be apparent just by listening. It can be embarrassing for the VA to review services the client is already familiar with.  In fact it is a waste of time.  Some clients know what ftp might be, while others have no idea.  Do not assume a client knows the entire internet ‘lingo’ so it pays to be clear during conversation without being too ‘techie’. It is easier to consult with client who has already worked with a VA so be sure you know this information in advance. 

5) If the client is seeking to replace their VA, it pays to know why but never be intrusive by asking outright. Most clients will say if they are replacing their VA upfront.  Use that information to your advantage.  For example, if the client states, “My VA does not know how to post a blog”, that would be your cue to indicate this is a service you offer (if you do, of course). But do not ask why the VA is being replaced. Only use the information if offered to indicate what you can offer to fill that hole.

Finally, evaluate each consultation call immediately after hanging up.  What could you have done better? What did you do well that you can use for the next call?  Consultations calls can improve over time.

Janine Gregor