blogging, businessbuildingstrategies

Why You Need A Blog For Your Business

With the ever-changing styles of marketing methods, it is hard to keep up with what the best techniques are for growing your business.  Blogging can be one of the most effective ways to increase brand awareness while simultaneously providing useful information to your target audience.

Now more than ever it is important for small businesses to have an online presence. Being a consistent blogger can take your business further than you thought possible. Content is still king when it comes to online business building. Consistent content on your social media channels, through email marketing, and through blogging can greatly increase your visibility online. Here are a few reasons why you may want to consider adding a blog to your business’ website.

1. It helps your audience know what is going on in your business: If you want to build customer loyalty and keep happy customers coming back, you’re going to need to keep them updated. Having a blog can work as a great tool to keep your customers in the loop. A blog will help also your customers relate to you on a more personal level, as they are able to give you feedback and have direct communication with you. You’ll keep the old customers coming back and new customers eager to learn more.

2. SEO boost: A great boost to SEO is increasing the outflow of fresh content, relevant topics and engagement. When you write blog posts consistently, this will generate traffic to your business. By utilizing relevant key words and creating new content, you are heightening your chances of appearing more frequently in search engines. Blogging is one of the most inexpensive ways you can increase SEO.

3. Build an email database: Email marketing is still a very important tool you can utilize to keep new and old customers updated. However, many customers are reluctant to sign up because they don’t enjoy spam mail. A blog, however, can build credibility and likability for your brand. If people enjoy your content, they are more likely to sign up for your newsletters. The main goal is to build trust between you and your consumers.

4. Pass Along Effect: If you are releasing valuable information that people enjoy reading, odds are they will want to share this information with others. A blog can highlight valuable information that relates to your niche. Once one person enjoys it, they are more likely to pass it on to others who share the same interests, therefore bringing attention to your business.  

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to add a blog to your website today and start posting. If you don’t have the time, or the desire to, we can help! That’s one of the services Life By Design Virtual Services offers to business owners. We can write and schedule content as often as you’d like. Reach out and schedule your free consultation today to see if we are a good fit!

blogging

Common Mistakes Business Owners Make

Running a business, large or small is hard work. You plan and schedule your time to the best of your ability yet find yourself working more than you would at a typical 9-5 job. You ask yourself why you now have less time for the things you love. So many of us put our energy into the wrong things and miss the right opportunities. Here are a few common mistakes business owners make during the first 5 years, and how you can avoid them:

  • You do not set a clear plan and/or vision for your business. While you may have the next million dollar idea, if you do not have a clear, thought out, plan that you can easily relay to your clients it will be hard to find them. This is best done by taking the time necessary and not rushing the process. While there are always exceptions, business longevity requires a lot of nurturing. 
  • Find your target demographic. This will take time as well as trial and error. Initially, you will want to broadly market your products/services. As you go through the paces you will find a specific niche of clients you prefer to work with and can narrow your focus. This will not only help you focus on the things you enjoy doing, you will also be using your resources in the most efficient way.
  • Building a significant Social Media presence. The average length of time a person  spends per day on social media is 2 hours and 24 minutes. In that short window, you are literally competing with millions of influencers and small businesses to make your product or service known. You can expedite this process by reaching out to friends and family, finding influencers to promote your products and/or creating paid ads (not recommended until well established-utilize what is free until you begin bringing in a profit).
  • Have Patience. Finally, whether you are building a million dollar business or a coffee shop on the corner, please remember that everything worthwhile takes time. Setting the building blocks to success and nurturing your business through the growth stages is the most important thing you can do. 

Deciding to start your own business and pursue your passion is a huge, life changing decision and one you should always be proud of. Perfecting these key points will eventually make your business drive itself to success.  Life by Design VA Services can help during those times when you find the need for navigating through your unique business journey. 

A few things our Virtual Assistants can help you with:

  • Social Media – We can create graphics/captions and schedule posts. Consistency is key!
  • Website Management – Updating content, photos and links can take a lot of time that you don’t have. A VA can edit and update your website as needed.
  • Blog Posts and Other Content Creation – Creating eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing, and thought provoking captions, blog posts, articles, newsletter and info on your website is so important. 
  • Online File Organization – Whether you need help with organizing your emails and creating filters, or organizing your Google Drive or OneDrive files, we can help!
  • Email and Calendar Management – Keeping up with your email and calendar can take time you just don’t have. Our VA’s can help by replying to and sending emails, creating and sending calendar invites, schedule meetings, add appointments to your calendar, set reminders, and more. 

These are just a few ways Life By Design Virtual Services can help you grow your business in 2021. If you are to the point of not enough hours in the day, let us help!  Schedule your free 15 minute consultation HERE.

Let’s see if what we do is a good fit for you!

businessbuildingstrategies

What is a Virtual Assistant and Why Would I Ever Need One?

Whether your business is a one-man show that’s just begun or an established company with more than one team member, a virtual assistant may be in your best interest. Their purpose is to allow you to focus on what matters most, your passions and running the business you love. 

No matter if your business is completely online, in person, or maybe both- tremendous benefits come along with hiring one. 

Managing a consistent/cohesive brand image across all of your social media platforms, website, local listings, and more can become a serious challenge. Alongside keeping up with all of your clerical/general administration tasks can seem nearly impossible. That’s why Virtual Assistants are there to help you! 

Save Money 

Most brands like to outsource when it comes to hiring someone to handle all of the busy work because it normally results in a profit save. As well as cutting back on things like training costs.  Virtual Assistants are already knowledgeable in everything that comes with the job. 

Save Time

Starting a business can be so exciting and gives you the opportunity to make a profit from something you truly enjoy doing, but will soon be followed by busywork. These amazing assistants truly will take a tremendous amount of pressure off your back so you can stop sweating about the small things and dive deeper into your passion. 

Virtual Assistants are becoming more and more acknowledged today, especially with everything starting to be done remotely. Most assistants work from home allowing a very flexible schedule to fit all of your company’s needs. 

Social Media

  • Content creation 
    • Using your brand colors, the content will be created to match your brand image and engage your following. 
  • Grow Your Following 
    • It’s a proven fact that when business social media accounts post consistent and engaging content- follower counts go up. 

General Admin  

  • Email Marketing / Regular Usage 
    • Including management and cleanup, sorting, scheduling newsletters and general emails, email autoresponders, automations, as well as mailing list setup. 
  • Proofreading 
  • Basic Bookkeeping 
  • Calendar Organization
    • Including management and appointment scheduling, creating daily to-do lists, and creating employee schedules. 
  • Media Creation 
    • Including slides for presentations, word documents, spreadsheets, and more. 
  • Research 
  • Data Entry 
  • Website Management

Life by Design is known for exceptional customer service and guaranteed client satisfaction. Each one of our team members has the same goal in mind – making your life easier while you continue to dive deeper into your passions. Hear from our past clients on our home page where reviews are located. See them here.

2021 can be your best year in business yet, with a little help. 🙂

To your success,

Genean