|
October
2004
The
Virtual Advantage, TVA, is a free ezine published bimonthly.
|
|
Mission:
TVA is
for independent professionals including virtual assistants,
VAs, who are dedicated to the working virtual relationship.
Virtual means employing technology to participate, collaborate,
and contribute to another's business without being present
physically.
|
|
Your
Volunteers:
TVA is
edited by three volunteers, all AssistU (www.assistu.com)
VAs. They are:
|
|
Upcoming
Issue:
 |
Virtual
Spotlight: VA and her attorney client. |
|
Tools
for spyware and adware. |
|
|
Article
Submissions :
We welcome
article submissions if you are an AssistU VA or a client of
an AssistU VA. Please contact one of the three editors above
with your article idea.
|
|
Great
ability develops and reveals
itself increasingly with every new assignment.
Baltasar
Gracian, The Oracle
|
|
|
 |
|
Welcome
Welcome
back! Here we are as promised to our readers in July
2004, that our next issue would be distributed
with the option of reading us in HTML or plain text.
We certainly hope you enjoy our new easy on the eyes
format. If you experience any difficulty, have any questions
or comments, contact us at: TVA@assistu.com. We want
to hear from you! TVA is dedicated to the working virtual
partnership and this communication is one way we demonstrate
our commitment to further its development. Join us and
learn the many ways VAs and their clients get the job
done.
|
|
|
|
The
Good, the Bad, and the "Don't Do Its" of Link
Exchange
by Kathy Sparks, CPVA, Your Virtual Resource
Like
everything else associated with building an online presence,
there are about as many opinions on what to do and what
not to do as there are SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
companies. And there are lots!
My
experience in the past five years has led me to believe
that indeed links still count toward ratings in search
engines--and yes, some disagree with me. But let's continue
and I'll tell you why I still believe exchanges are
important when used correctly.
Let's
start with the "Don't Do Its"
1.
Don't sign up with a company that promises to link your
site to thousands of other sites automatically or that
promises hundreds of links to yours. This will fill
your email box with more emails than you would ever
know what to do with.
2.
Don't get hooked into joining with a "Link Farm"--this
is just a long list of totally unrelated links--this
will get you no where and lots of advertisements and
spam email.
Web
Ring Links
I'll have to admit I don't know if Web Ring LInks really
do any good. Although the purpose is to create a link
of webs in a "ring" that are common in product
or content, the ones that I have researched lately included
some very unfavorable links. Needless to say, I haven't
entertained Web Ring Links lately and they don't seem
to be popular currently.
Resource
Page Link Exchanges
Resource Page Link Exchanges are a little better than
Web Ring Links. If you choose to add a page to your
site with a list of great resources, please make sure
they are all relative to what you and your web site
are about. You wouldn't want to recommend a service
for cruises on a computer cable site. So make sure they
fall in line nicely. And you do want to give your visitors
quality places to find related resources that you may
not offer. It's friendly.
Getting
Published
Another great way to look very important in the eyes
of the search engines is to request a highly ranked
company on a Google search, for instance, to publish
your articles on their site. That means several links
back to your site, using your content and coming from
a very good source, the highly ranked company. You,
of course, put on your site something like "contributing
writer to TheBestCompany."
Content
is King!
Why do I say that? The absolute very best way to exchange
links is to create content for your web site explaining
something and then include a link right in the content.
Well, this is good for the site you are linking to but
not much good for you, so how do you benefit? You make
an agreement with the web site owner to do the same.
And I would suggest they do it within an article. If
they don't agree, find another source.
Example:
I have a VA Assessment page on my web site for people
who are looking to partner with a VA to determine if
he/she is ready for such a partnership. You might have
an article or a page about partnering with a VA in which
you would say something like, "see if you are a
good candidate for partnering with a VA" and link
to the assessment page on my web site. I could include
a line that says,"see how the cost of a VA compares
with the cost of hiring an on-site person" and
link it to someone who has the chart on their site.
This
takes some personal research and agreements, but it's
well worth it. If we can get by the worry of competition
and do some link exchanges, it would help the whole
community, whether it be coaches, VAs, entrepreneurs
or travel sites.
I
consider with whom I exchange links by using the Google
Page Rank. My qualifications are, 1) if they do not
have a Google Rank of at least 4 or extremely focused
on my content, I don't exchange links; 2) if I do a
search and if they do not come up on the first page,
I am reluctant to exchange links. Again, Content is
King and if the content is what I love, I'll exchange.
Final
note, this really becomes fun when you already have
achieved a high Google Page Rank , then you can choose
the exchanges you want.
|
|
|
|
The
Ps and Qs of Ems and Ens
by Kristy Schnabel, MBA, It's Virtually Done
|
|
What is
an em and en anyway? If you guessed a rap artist, you might
be close to something, but I'm talking dashes in punctuation,
not popular music. In short, an en dash looks like the hyphen
(-) and the em dash is twice as long like two hyphens together
(--). But how do you know when to use which?
Em
Dash
Use the em dash in place of the comma, semicolon, colon, and
parentheses. Examples:
Comma:
- Comma:
"At the picnic, the food, and the weather, were great."
- Em
dash: "At the picnic, the food--and the weather--were
great."
Semicolon:
- Semicolon:
"You set the table; I'll make dinner."
- Em
dash: "You set the table--I'll make dinner."
Colon:
- Colon:
"Keep this in mind: practice makes perfect."
- Em
dash: "Keep this in mind--practice makes perfect."
Parentheses:
- Parentheses:
"The salad dressing (creamy Italian) was fabulous."
- Em
dash: "The salad dressing--creamy Italian--was fabulous."
(Sabin, 1996)
It's important
to remember that the dash is used for emphasis. Since it breaks
up the flow of the sentence, only use the em dash to stress
a point. Also note that there are no spaces on either side
of the em dash.
Grammarians
agree that the em dash is overused and should be used sparingly
to create an effect. (Sabin, 1996; O'Conner 1996) When setting
off parenthetical information in a sentence, Lois Johnson
Rew in Editing for Writers created a hierarchy of emphasis:
- Strongest
emphasis: use em dashes.
- Equal
emphasis: use commas.
- Reduced
emphasis: use parentheses.
En
Dash
The en dash, on the other hand, is used in place of the word
"to." For example, "Read pages 45-90 for your
homework assignment." However, when a range of numbers
is preceded with the words "from" or "between,"
don't use the en dash. Instead, use "to" or "and"
as in, "We were the reigning champs from 1998 to 1999
and between 2000 and 2004. (Sabin, 1996)
Summary
Besides learning two new small words for Scrabble, you now
know the difference between an em dash and an en dash. You'll
do your English teacher proud if you know when to use your
em dash for emphasis--and when to use another punctuation
mark instead.
References:
O'Conner, Patricia T., Woe Is I, The Berkley Publishing
Group, New York, 1996
Rew, Lois Johnson, Editing For Writers, Prentice-Hall,
Inc., New Jersey, 1999.
Sabin, William A., The Gregg Reference Manual, Gencoe/McGraw-Hill,
Ohio, 1996.
|
|
|
VA
Spotlight: Barbara Lochen and Her Client
|
|
VA:
Barbara Lochen, AssistU Virtual Assistant in Illinois:
www.simplifiedsupport.com.
Client: Beth Samuelson, owner Student Organizational
Services (S.O.S.) in California: www.sos4students.com.
Barbara
the VA speaks first:
I have been working with client Beth Samuelson for close to
two years. When Beth and I first met, she was experiencing
a business growth spurt that was too much for one person to
handle. Like many entrepreneurs, she had been doing everything
herself for years.
Beth,
the owner of an Academic Coaching firm, works closely with
students and parents to develop and implement study strategies
to make more successful students. Her business is hectic,
emotional and requires diplomacy and sensitivity when working
with anxious parents who are desperate for help for their
child.
We began
to work together using an Exchange Server. I connect via a
VPN (Virtual Private Network) and have access to her databases,
email and calendar. Using Outlook through Exchange makes the
detail work we do together seamless. Having access to Beth's
calendar allows me to book time for calls and appointments
effortlessly. When she is on vacation, I can easily go to
her in-box and see if anything needs immediate attention.
There
is one component in this relationship that's important to
mention. This client "gets" the VA-Client relationship.
She is also extremely open to allowing someone in to help
with her business. You can have all the systems in the world
at your disposal, but if the client is not ready, it will
never work.
Next,
the client Beth Samuelson weighs in:
"Barbara
is wonderful!" "What a catch; she really enhances
your business!" "I see how she adds tremendous value
to your practice; do you think she'd be interested in helping
me with my business?" These are just a few of the compliments
and comments I've had about my VA Barbara Lochen. She is an
integral member of my company and a key factor in its growth
and success. While my California clients can't quite fathom
why they must call Chicago to speak to my assistant, they
are invariably delighted with the quality of support and care
she provides.
In 2002,
my educational coaching practice, S.O.S., took off. My business
coach was adamant that I must contact AssistU and find a VA.
I confess here that I had a problem giving up control and
delegating and the prospect of a primarily long distance relationship
with a so called virtual assistant seemed not only surreal
but untenable.
Of the
VA applicants I interviewed, Barbara was the one with whom
I connected instantly. Perhaps it was the fact that we both
eat dark chocolate under stress and own too many shoes that
brought us together. Ultimately my relationship with Barbara
has changed the way I run my business and freed me up to do
what I do best: build client relations, brainstorm new ideas,
develop contacts, and launch new projects.
Barbara
and I work mainly by phone and email. Here's a short list
of the types of jobs Barbara has done:
- Handling
in informational calls and emails
- Scheduling
- Developing
marketing materials for workshops
- Registration
management
- Ordering
supplies
- Helping
in logo design
- Writing
up and editing contracts
- Managing
credit card payments and billing
Additionally,
she's worked closely with my husband, the company's technology
whiz, to streamline and improve the website and all on-line
communication. She is a terrific source of business ideas
and knows I welcome all of her suggestions for improving our
business. For example, she suggested that we needed to develop
a summer one-on-one coaching program, which we did, and it
brought in considerable income during the normally quiet summer
holiday season.
We speak
generally every day to check in on our joint "To Do"
list, which frequently overwhelms us both, sending us out
(for chocolate). I delegate much of the administrative aspects
of my day to day work life to her through forwarded emails
and quick calls.
The two
hour time difference works well; she's usually already accomplished
a great deal by the time I start work! She then sends me a
recap at the end of each day to fill me in on what's been
done and what I need to take care of.
Barbara
seems as enthusiastic about my business as I am and is truly
a partner in its success. Sometimes the idea that I've never
met Barbara is still surreal to me because I can't believe
my luck in finding such a terrific assistant who has become
absolutely integral to the workings of my company.
|
|
Online
Classes Part II
by Diana Baker, CPVA, Key Triad™ |
| In
the June issue, our TVA co-editor, Kristy Schnabel shared her
personal experience on the topic of Online Learning. The article
discussed the advantages and disadvantages of online learning.
If you missed this article or are interested in reviewing it,
contact me at diana@keytriad.com and I'll forward it to you.
We promised
to bring you more information on this topic and I'd like to
begin by differentiating online learning from the more broad
term, e-learning. Online learning is exactly as it states--online--through
the use of the Internet or intranet. E-learning encompasses
this all including the use of CD-ROM and tutorials. There
are a lot of self-directed courses and tutorials out there
so choose well according to your learning style. Think of
it as a guided obstacle course--the more you work it--the
more you get out of it.
For more
information about e-learning, here are a few sources to check
out:
http://www.discoveryvip.com
Discovery Video Instruction Products
http://www.learnthat.com
This is a personal favorite, be sure to check this out and
once there, look to the left under resources for ExplainThat
and LearnthatQuick. This site offers free online computer
courses and free tutorials.
http://www.educateu.com
Dell's online training. They offer a 90 day trial with 2 courses.
http://www.cbtcafe.com
Free tutorials available.
http://www.learn2.com
Extensive list of streamed tutorials.
http://www.ozgrid.com/TrainingLessons/MicrosoftExcelTraining.htm
Excel Training
http://www.ed2go.com/
See the Demo Course to see what it's like.
|
|
