According to VA Classroom, Businesses are adapting to Virtual Events at a record pace! 67% of professionals responsible for physical events report that overall attendance has dropped, and 76% of businesses say they have already begun using or plan to start using Virtual Events in 2012. In fact, 70% of Corporate Event Organizers predict a reduction in live events in 2012, and forecast major growth in virtual conferences and webinars.

This means that many businesses see Virtual Events as a way to expand their reach, increase their sales, cut their costs and build their passive revenue.

In order to get good results from Virtual Events, it takes time and specialized skills. This means that businesses are looking for virtual professionals who are sufficiently trained to help them.

VA Classroom have now introduced a quick and easy way to learn the most in-demand Virtual Event Specialist skills—and get a certificate that proves your mastery!

Click here to learn more about this course Building a Profitable Niche as a Virtual Event Specialist (Even in a Down Economy)

Do you have a blog that you are extremely proud of? Would you like to share it with other people? If so, there are many free ways to promote it and get it noticed.

One of the best tips is to promote your blog via something you do every day and which you may not yet have considered as a way to share it – Add a link to your blog in your email signature.

Consider how many emails you send out each day, and each time you send one out, you could be promoting your blog.

It’s also always a good idea to write something catchy like “See what I am up to now“, or “Read the latest chapter of my blog here“. Of course you could also vary it, but always remember to keep it short but eye-catching.

You want people to be interested enough to want to click on it, but you don’t want to put them off. Remember to give them just enough information to make them interested and want to take a closer look at what you are promoting.

Think carefully what your blog is about and what would make people want to visit it and include THAT in your signature.

The Internet is a remarkable tool for many people but it is not necessarily easy to decipher. A Virtual Assistant who has the skills to find relevant information and ignore the hodgepodge could specialize in research. Internet researchers are in great demand by a variety of people.

At school students are taught to pick out the central theme of a paragraph or story and then figure out the most important parts of what they have read.  As a researcher, that is what you will be asked to do for others who do not have the time or the skill to find it themselves. Compiling information that is useful to others is an important part of your business.

The Market

The Internet provides access to a enormous amount of information. Experts in different fields post their knowledge in articles and blog posts. Governments, agencies and professional organizations have digitized their databases and directories for use on the Internet by anyone who requires the information.

It is easy for the average person or business owner to get lost in the sea of information. Who uses that information? Businesses use the Internet to compile statistics and to learn about their competition. Writers, authors, journalists and television professionals use information from the Internet for their work.  Most of these busy professionals just don’t have the time to do their own research.

Conducting research can be a lengthy process. On the Internet, it begins with knowing how search engines work and the best way to find exactly what you are looking for from them. Most people use Yahoo!, Google or MSN but there are plenty of other search engines that the average person has never heard of. An Internet researcher is familiar with all of them and uses the one that will yield the greatest harvest of useful information.

Virtual assistants who want to niche into Internet research could provide some or all of these services to their clients:

• Compiling current statistical data
• Knowledge of all relevant databases and search engines
• Use proven methods for information gathering (relevant use of keywords)
• Spreadsheet and Word document expertise for presenting information in useful manner
• General and specific knowledge of client subject matter

Writers may ask for research on specific subjects like snake venom or 18th century London for their next novel. A business client may want statistics on auto maker revenue in the last ten years. Each is a different subject, but methods of researching are similar.

As a Virtual Assistant Internet researcher you may find that you have a niche subject in mind for your business. Maybe statistical information gathering and analysis are your forte. You could build a client base around just that for small and large corporate-type businesses. It is not easy to perform research and your clients will want the best.

Medical professionals have been using Dictaphone and dictating services for years. These notes are then later transcribed for patient and hospital records. The same is done for legal proceedings. It is more convenient to use a recording device and later create a written copy.

The Market

Online businesses have also found ways to market their products via audio and video. Tutorials, how-tos and interviews are uploaded to websites for viewing and listening (podcasting), but it is good practice to have a transcribed version available as well, as you might have a hearing-impaired visitor to your site.

In order to increase your marketing efforts, audio and video can be translated into other languages. Many business owners would like to do this, but they don’t have the means to transcribe or translate. They need the help of a professional like a Virtual Assistant well-versed in transcription and translation.

Transcribing recordings is not as easy as you might imagine and it is a time-consuming task.  Using your transcription software you will be able to handle all sorts of recordings for your clients using the format that they choose for the written copy.

Some of your services can include:

• Medical Transcription
• Legal Transcription
• Video Transcription
• Podcast Transcription
• Transcription Translation
• Audio transcription for business meetings

Clients can email their work to you as audio or video files according to which file extensions you accept. They may even want to mail CDs for non-rush jobs. Depending on their needs, you can provide verbatim transcription or cleaned-up transcription that is grammatically correct.

A Virtual Assistant/Transcriptionist who is also fluent in another language, could also offer translation services to their clients. This would give them the opportunity to expand their customer base with products for non-English speaking customers. If you wanted to specialize even further, you would make each area of transcription a sub-niche. Medical or legal transcription alone can turn into a lucrative business.

Transcription services are one area that a Virtual Assistant can specialize in as a business idea. As more and more online businesses use other media as marketing tools, they will need the skill of a transcriptionist and even a translator for their work.

Have you heard the phrase, “Less is more”? This is particularly true when you are talking about a Virtual Assistant. A general virtual assistance (VA) business lets you take in clients from all walks of life. That’s all good and well, but when you specialize, the client gets the benefit of your accumulated knowledge on each and every project.

One of the main reasons you probably started your VA business is so that you could work for yourself.  As the person in charge, you have the right to decide what work you do or do not do.

Take your virtual assistant business to the next level by selecting a niche you would like to concentrate on.  Niching involves tightening your business plan to include one main area of expertise. When you stick to one thing, you become good at it. You could even call yourself an expert in the field. Clients are prepared to pay good money to work with someone who knows their stuff. You can be that person.

Specializing

How do you specialize? First, decide which services you enjoy performing for your client. It could be website design, social networking, handling personal matters or another area altogether. Many virtual assistants have worked in the public or private sector before becoming entrepreneurs. Use that knowledge to create a niche for your new business.

Reasons to Niche

The first reason is more money for your services. Because you provide the same services to all your clients, you can ask for a higher rate. This means that you could make the same profit that you did before but with fewer clients.

Secondly, niching lets you work at something that you love to do. It is a proven fact that when you are happy, you work better. That goes for employees and business owners. You gladly answer questions for customers or take on a trying task.

Thirdly, you can keep your clients satisfied with great customer service and job integrity. Your clients are assured of your best work and will recommend you to others. You build a solid faithful client base.

Specializing as a Virtual Assistant is a way to increase your business. Clients get an expert in the field and you get to work a business that you love. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Why is video marketing so powerful? Primarily two reasons: a) People like to know who they are purchasing from. A video provides the opportunity for the viewer (and hopefully customer) to see your face, hear your voice and build
trust; b) search engines, especially Google, love video content and index them rapidly.

YouTube receives over 1 billion views a day. Imagine what this can do to promote your business? Here are some ways to put YouTube to work for you and your business.

• Utilize your keywords when uploading a video. When you upload a video, use keywords in your title, make sure to place your URL first in the description and include keywords in your description as well. Tags are also
  important so be sure to complete that section as well. A video that does not include these items will not drive the type of traffic you want.

• Spread your videos across the internet. Use other social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to make your video go viral. Embed your video into blog posts, Squidoo lens and website.

• Remember to include branding in your video. Add your logo, website address and distinct colors to your video.

• Create a series of videos. A powerful way to engage viewers is to create a series of videos on a specific topic or topics. Create a series of videos answering the top questions you receive about your product or service. Another idea would be to create a series of videos showcasing your products and the benefits viewers receive by using them.

Video marketing is here to stay and so the sooner you put it to use for you, the faster you and your business will benefit from it. Remember to keep it simple, use a script and keep it short and soon you’ll be reaping the benefits on video marketing yourself.

Next is the final part of this series and we’ll tie it all together and help you start to develop your social media strategy.

From April 2010 Ning introduced 3 pricing plans with something to suit everyone.

Ning sites are particularly popular for niche based conversations and networking, and there are many ways you can use Ning to benefit your business and community, including:

1. Open a dialogue. Ning networks are a wonderful place to ask members for feedback about your products and services.
2. Make connections. Ning networks connect people worldwide with a mutual interest. Individuals, organizations and businesses can create a Ning network to connect people with similar interests or concerns. You can create your own network or get involved in one of the thousands already in existence.
3. Organize an event. Ning networks are a wonderful way to coordinate an event and keep participants involved. You can create pages for speakers or presenters that are private as well as areas for all participants to view.
4. Inspire Fans and Customers. Many businesses are using Ning networks to create a hub for fans and customers. For instance, if you create cookbooks you could build a Ning network around customers who have purchased your cookbook and made your recipes. It’s a great way to showcase what your products can do and what other people are doing with them.

Never forget that you never know where you might meet someone with an interest in your business. Ning networks are a wonderful way to get involved in niche specific groups for both your business and your personal interests.

Next we will discuss how you can use YouTube to effectively promote your business.

Here are 4 strategies to make the most out your Squidoo lenses and get the visibility you desire for your business:

1. Ensure you include a compelling description and table of contents in your lens. It is your description that will draw people in and ensure that they will want to read more.
2. Take full advantage of Squidcasting. Squidcasting is they way you let your readers know that you have published a new lens, update readers about an upcoming event or announce the results of a contest or special promotion. Anyone who has joined your fan club, signed up for your Squidoo RSS or favorited your lens will receive your Squidcast.
3. Cross promote. In order to maximise your efforts you should promote your Squidoo lens on Facebook, Twitter and your blog or website.
4. Make sure you add a Guestbook to your lens.  This will help to increase communication between you and your readers.

In addition to generating traffic and helping to establish yourself as an expert in your niche, Squidoo shares profits with its lens creators. A great way to generate some extra cash while building your business.

Next we will learn about how creating your own social group on Ning can positively impact your business.

There is no hard and fast rule but if you are a business or organisation that wants to build your brand and engage with your targeted audience, it is best you have a Page. If you are a community-based enitity wanting to promote your particular group – then a Group is for you.

One advantage is that a Group can send messages directly to their members, but this is limited to 5,000. Pages cannot send messages directly to their Fans, but their updates (notifications) will appear in their members’ stream and they do not have restrictions of the number of Fans they can have.

In my opinion, one of the most significant advantages of a Facebook Page is that you can use applications to extensively customize your page. Pages can also have a Vanity URL (once they reach 25 Fans).  If a Page wants to convert the visitors to their company website, Facebook provides a Fanbox Widget you can use.

If you would like more in-depth information regarding Pages vs Groups, read these two great posts:

Facebook Pages vs Facebook Groups: What’s the Difference?

Facebook Page Or Group: Which Should You Use?

With over 400 million active users, and 50% of those logging on every day, Facebook remains a powerful Social Media tool to build your brand and engage with your followers.

Here are a few tactics that you can use to maximize your StumbleUpon efforts for your business.

1. Complete your profile thoroughly. Your profile will help the StumbleUpon database identify which niches are of most interest to you and what you will likely have to offer visitors. In addition, when someone clicks on your profile, you want them to have a good idea of who you are and what interests you.
2. Install the StumbleUpon tool bar. When you review a site that is of interest to you, you can add it to StumbleUpon via this toolbar. Your StumbleUpon friends will then also be alerted that you have added new content.
3. Be active. Stumble around, add links, review sites and give thumbs up. Always remember to reciprocate and thank the people who stumble your blog posts.
4. Diversify. Regularly add content, photos, video and audio. The more diversified and interesting your content is, the more traffic you will receive.

Using StumpleUpon is a proven wayof increasing your website traffic and thereby the visibility of your business. Over time, and with a good strategy, you will reap the rewards of being an active member in StumbleUpon.

Next we will talk about creating Squidoo lenses and how they can positively impact your business.