Has there been a time when you've walked into a professional business event and the first 30 minutes are for networking?  I attended such an event yesterday.  It's certainly not my first time at such an event but it was the first one where no matter who you looked at, they smiled, introduced themselves and welcomed you.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) - Charlotte Chapter knows how to network!  I went as a guest to expand my knowledge and connections in the PR community in order to learn more about one of my clients industry's.  So, I do not know any of these folks.  I met and talked to 7 to 8 people in a very short period of time.  I realize this is what a group should do for a guest but I've been at many professional networking events where that does not happen.  I've also been to events where many people are on their 'smart' phones checking emails, texting or posting to social media sites to let their followers know where they are. They are far from networking.

Now, perhaps it's the profession of these folks that makes networking easy for them.  Not only do they promote their clients and company's brand but themselves, as well.  Whatever the case, it was a great networking experience.  And the speaker, Geno Church from Brains on Fire...well that's another blog. But this guy is not only creative but inspiring and a great teacher.  I walked away with my 'brain on fire'!

I target my networking towards groups or associations that attract my ideal clients or that I have a common interest with.  I have met some amazing business people who have either taught me something of value or have been great people to work with.

Lately, I've noticed practices of some attendees that I think sabotage their networking efforts:

• Checking and responding to emails on your 'smart phone' during a networking event.  Have you seen these folks? The point of attending a networking event is to meet people.  I've seen people come in, sit down and immediately start checking email or sending a text.  It's almost as if they are trying to avoiding people. And then the guest speaker begins and again, on the iPhone, Blackberry or cell phone. If you are so busy, don't go to the event.
• Building the contact list for your newsletter or other mailings should be with names and emails of people you actually talked to at an event, not the event roster.  Most people get irritated by receiving emails from someone they never met.  If you keep sending emails to people you don't really know, trust me, they will remember you now!  You are now on their list of people not to do business with.
• Sending an email to more than 5 people in the TO field.  I received an email that had over 50 email addresses in the TO field inviting us all to their event.  Put the email addresses in the BCC field, please!
• And for goodness sake, don't hit REPLY ALL on an email that is sent do dozen's of others who don't need to know your response.

Who do you admire in the business world and why?  If you want to attract the people you admire, then you have to incorporate the same practices they have into your life. 

Wishing you success in all you do,
Barbara  T

Lately there have been many new email providers ready to take on Constant Contact , iContact , Vertical Response and others.  I have used and continue to use these three and researched some of the newer ones.  I've looked at others such as MailChimp and Emma .  All have features that are similar then they have that one or two other features that are unique.
So when a client wants to know "which one should I use", that's when you start making a list of the goals and objectives of the email newsletter.  There has to be a strategy to email marketing and once you have that in place, then look at design.  What do you want the newsletter to look like?  Keep in mind branding.  Does the tone, colors and message match and align with the business name, logo, website and/or company colors?  What is your budget?  How many in your contact list?
Answering these questions will help you get started when deciding the best provider for you.  How will you measure the success of your email newsletters?  A very important question but that's another blog for another day.  Just get started!

Remember, delegate when you can!


Barbara Trulby
Virtual Assistant Plus
www.VirtualAssistPlus.com
BarbaraTrulby@VirtualAssistPlus.com

As unemployment grows, the trend towards starting your own business grows.  As I network in the Charlotte area and talk to people throughout the country, the new businesses that crop up are a result of a creative person who was laid off and that person is not going to wait for someone to hire them.  They are taking the 'bull by the horns', using their talent to create something of their own.  This is so exciting!  But usually when a person is starting out, they try to do everything themselves.  Understandably, they want to minimize expenses and keep whatever profit there is for themselves.  With the number of hours in a day staying the same but the work load growing, something has got to give.  This is where a virtual assistant can take some of those administrative or marketing tasks off your plate and free up the entrepreneur to continue with building the business.  As the business grows, the income should grow, which makes a virtual assistant worth their weight in gold. 
To learn more, go to www.virtualassistplus.com and see what a virtual assistant can do for you!
Peace,
Barbara T.

As a Virtual Assistant, I've had clients who say to me 'don't look at my Inbox'. Why? Because there are over 200 unread emails within the 450 emails sitting there.  I just mention 'Inbox' and I hear groans. Here are some tips to getting control over your email:

scan emails and immediately delete emails that you are not going to read

create an ACTION file and place those emails that you need to respond to in that file

unsubscribe to newsletters and advertising that you no longer read or want

create a separate email address for newsletters and social media accounts that are not critical to your day-to-day operation

 Does it sound reasonable to do this?  Can you see the positive impact and productivity gains?

 Does it sound time consuming to go into each newsletter and social media account to change the    email address?

 If you answered 'yes' and added 'but I don't have time', then call me to do this for you.  I give free consultations so that you can see the benefits a VA will have on your productivity.

 Welcome to my blog.  A blog is critical to marketing your business and yourself.

Having a blog if you are job hunting is a way to establish yourself as a professional in your field.  Employers, HR (human resource) departments and staffing agency will type your name into Google, LinkedIn, FaceBook and other websites to learn about you before the interview.  Your blog is a great way to show case your expertise and knowledge.

And a blog is a marketing tool that is critical to a companies growth.  I am excited about building my business, blogging about the Virtual Assistant industry and how I can help people like you.

Wishing success to you,

Barbara T.