I have a client who put up his own WordPress site.  It’s nice and functional – the problem is he copied and pasted all his content into WP pages from another site we built about 2 years ago where we had put everything in from Dreamweaver or Word (and that worked – it was a Sitesell site).  So the formatting is askew in some cases since he’s not allowing the css built into his template to do its job.  His other site did well with some tables we had set up – WP not so much.  Most of the pages are ok because they are static. 

There are a few pages that we change monthly based on his upcoming teleseminars.  Every time I update those pages, the formatting goes bonkers again – bolds show up where they shouldn’t, font sizes change and things that were left justified are centered, etc.  Every time it’s something different and the page keep morphing like a bad Sci Fi movie.   I’m thinking it’s because everything originally came from another site and wasn’t entered into the page allowing for css to do its thing.  Is that the case, oh WordPress Wizard?  

I have to fix this page and I’m thinking I will just do it from scratch and manually put the content in a new page using the WP formatting.  If I do that, how do I get that page to be named the same as the old one without removing the old one (in case he decides he wants to go back to the crazy page)?  Also, I assume if I change the font style and size in the css for say the paragraph format or the Header 2 format, that will filter through the entire site, correct?  (He seems to think if I do it will change for THAT page only – he’s a dabbler and drives me crazy cleaning up after him.)

Thanks for your advice, Denise – I appreciate you and value you very much.

Blessings,

Brenda Zeller

Answer

Hi Brenda, 

YES – copying and pasting content from an old site is the problem and I would recommend rebuilding that page (or those pages) from scratch. 

As for creating a new page (without removing the old one) – what you will need to is change the permalink for the OLD page, then publish a NEW page and make sure the permalink is set to be the same as the old one.

And yes, any changes made to the main theme stylesheet (style.css) will apply to the whole wordpress site, not just an individual page.

Hope this helps! 

Denise

Denise, I have looked at all of your websites and understand that you are a professional web developer as well as a virtual assistant. Very impressive!

My question to you is this. My website is not professionally built but I did what I could with the limited resources that I had at the time. It is an HTML site. Do you recommend that I move to WordPress.com?

Thank you in advance for your answer.

Monica, San Diego, CA

Answer

WordPress.com versus WordPress.org

Hello Monica and thank you for stopping by. If you could send me the URL to your website I will be happy to look at it and make recommendations for you.

I can answer your WordPress question though. You NEVER want to have your business or professional blog on WordPress.com.  The distinction between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is a very important one and one that tends to confuse a lot of people.  WordPress.com allows you to build a blog but you are hosting your site on their servers, meaning that you cannot upload critical plugins, or post links to affiliate programs. Without the ability to upload plugins you will only have a blog. You cannot make it look or behave like a true website. There are also many miserable stories of people having long-time blogs hosted on WP.com only to have them shut down for a program violation. You do not want somebody else to be in charge of your business presence.

What I recommend you do is to do is install WordPress on your own server and use your own domain name. WordPress.org is free blogging software that you should be able to install directly from your C-panel. You will need a solid web host and for this we recommend HostGator.

If this is a project that you will be undertaking on your own, there are many great WordPress tutorials and forums available on the internet. Ben Cope, “The Internet Genius” offers a great FREE WordPress Tip of the Day series that are very helpful.

I hope this answer helps you and please visit again and often to submit questions about the Virtual Assistance Industry.

To train with Denise Griffitts to become a highly technically savvy, highly paid, highly sought-after Virtual Assistant please visit Virtual Assistance University.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Denise Griffitts found on this Website as long as Denise Griffitt’s name and contact information is included. Denise Griffitts, Virtual Assistance Industry Expert, http://askdenisegriffitts.com, info @ virtualassistantindustry.com.

Hi Denise.

What do you tell people when they say they can hire virtual assistants overseas and pay them $3.00 an hour? What are the pros and cons of that? Have you posted any blogs on the subject? Do you have any good articles I can read so as to know how to respond to people when they say this?

I also have had people tell me that they have tried to use virtual assistants in other countries and that they experienced problems in communication because they didn’t speak good English and they also received documents that were full of language, punctuation and formatting errors. I believe you get what you pay for and I don’t know how anyone can expect to receive quality for $3.00 an hour.

I would really appreciate anything you could tell me on this subject and any blogs or articles you can refer me to. 

Thanks!

Debbie Forte

Answer

That is a great question Debbie and I will do my best to answer it for you.

My motto is and will always be, “Do What You Love and Outsource the Rest!” Now that is an easy premise for me to put forth, but what does it actually mean to the entrepreneur who badly needs ongoing assistance to build and grow their business?

As a business owner you realize by now that running a business, be it a traditional brick and mortar business or an online endeavor is one of the most time-consuming things one can think of. Your life as you knew it changed dramatically the moment you became self-employed. Being your own boss and enjoying creative freedom is for many, a dream come true. But honestly, how many hours have you spent on the dull, uninspiring, and extremely time-consuming work of keeping a business running? Across the board, entrepreneurs of all descriptions describe the biggest drawback in their business life as the drain of the daily minutia that chews through hours and drains creativity.

As a business owner, you end up wearing multiple hats. You are your own accounting department, marketing department, sales, tech support and customer care. On especially bad weeks you might find yourself spending more time on these tasks than on actual billable work.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant, someone who can take care of things you don’t have time for, can help you build and grow your business while retaining the creative passion that launched you into entrepreneurship in the first place. You can now find Virtual Assistants offering pretty much any service you might need assistance with, from administrative to social media marketing to web design.

If your business is in its infancy, or if you have a very limited budget you may be considering outsourcing some of this work to other countries. At this point, especially if you’ve read Tim Ferris’s The 4-Hour Work Week, you might be thinking about hiring an offshore Virtual Assistant, probably based in India or Philippines. You can find many of these “Virtual Assistants” on Elance.com, Guru.com and similar sites. You can also find them by performing a simple Google search by using the term “offshore Virtual Assistant”.

Offshore VAs can offer a wide variety of services, including some very technical ones such as web design. And their rates are incredibly low compared to their colleagues in the US and Canada. It is not uncommon to post an RFQ on Elance and receive bids with rates as low as $3 per hour. Virtual Assistants in the US and Canada, on the other hand, set their rates to an average of $30-35 per hour and some go as high as $70 per hour, depending on their core competencies.

Given these wildly different rates, making a choice seems like a no-brainer. Pick an offshore VA and save both time and money, right? You might feel a twinge of guilt over sending work overseas, but then you have to think of what’s best for your business, don’t you?

You’re absolutely correct – your business interests should be your top priority. That’s exactly why the “no-brainer” choice, the one based solely on cost differences, might not be a good one for your business, and may actually hurt it.

Most bestseller business books and top-of-search-engine articles on the subject will wax eloquent about all the potential benefits of cheap overseas labor. But search for “offshore outsourcing problems”, dig deeper into Elance reviews, and talk to fellow business owners who tried this option and you start getting a more balanced picture.

Most of the complaints about offshore vendors in general and Virtual Assistants in particular mention issues such as language and cultural barriers; inadequate communications from vendors; lack of experience or specific skills, especially when it comes to creative services; cost and time overruns; lack of project and process continuity; and need for close and continuous supervision.

While some services might be well-suited for offshore outsourcing, others simply are not. Consider content creation – all those articles, press releases, blog posts, newsletters that businesses now use as part of their marketing. Even if, and it’s a big if, the content is grammatically correct, there’s still the relevancy issue. It is unrealistic to expect an offshore Virtual Assistant to communicate effectively with target audiences that are distant in terms of geography, language and culture.

Cost and time overruns are not unique to offshore vendors. But they become much more difficult to control when combined with inadequate communications and cultural barriers. If choosing an offshore Virtual Assistant, you need to make sure to communicate early, often and state your concerns or requests in a very clear way, all of which can become very time-consuming.

Another very common complaint is the amount of close supervision, if not scrutiny, that is required when working with offshore assistants. Sure, even if you hire a local VA, you might have to do a bit of hand-holding at first, just so that your assistant learns the ins and outs of your business as and your management style. But any close supervision beyond this adjustment period defeats the entire purpose of hiring virtual help. Keep in mind that the VA you decide to work with is ultimately going to help you build and grow both your business and your online presence. A highly technical, highly competent Virtual Assistant actually partners with you to help you meet and exceed your business expectations. You should be able to have complete confidence that your VA is treating your business that same way she/he treats their own business. As if it was the most precious thing in the world!

The extremely low rate of offshore services is the reason behind yet another commonly-cited problem. Virtual Assistants who charge such low rates make money on volume. With hundreds and even thousands of clients and projects, they simply don’t have time to ask all the questions, review the alternatives and advise you of the best ways to handle specific tasks. Another issue is that they primarily work on one-off projects. For example, instead of dealing with just one project manager for all your tasks or projects, you might end up communicating with several people.

This is exactly the opposite of how higher-paid Virtual Assistants approach their clients’ work. Even though many accept occasional projects, they build their businesses around ongoing work with a handful of clients. These Virtual Assistants go beyond simply completing the tasks assigned to them. They approach each task while keeping the bigger picture – their clients’ business goals – in mind. As small business owners, they relate especially well to their clients’ concerns.

On the other hand, offshore VAs are mostly employees of virtual assistance companies. It is simply unrealistic to expect an employee in India to really understand the issues facing a business owner in the United States or Canada.

We all look for bargains. Keeping costs down definitely helps maintain a healthy bottom line. But when looking for a Virtual Assistant, a business owner needs to remember that a VA is much more than simply an implementer and that price and value are not the same. There are potentially many hidden costs and lost opportunities hiding behind a low rate offered by offshore Virtual Assistants.

To train with Denise Griffitts to become a highly technically savvy, highly paid, highly sought-after Virtual Assistant please visit Virtual Assistance University.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Denise Griffitts found on this Website as long as Denise Griffitt’s name and contact information is included. Denise Griffitts, Virtual Assistance Industry Expert, http://askdenisegriffitts.com, info @ virtualassistantindustry.com.

Denise, I paid a relative to build my WordPress blog but it is not getting any traffic at all.  Would you be able (or willing) to look at it and make some recommendations?

Thank you, Ranisha 

Answer

Hello Ranisha. I would be happy to look at your site if you will contact me with the URL. Please use the contact form on this site to contact me.

Without actually seeing your site, I can only tell you the most common problems are with new sites are the following:

Page Content. Create compelling content. Period. If you don’t have content that draws and pulls visitors in, you will ultimately wind up with what is termed a “brochure” site meaning that it is simply an online business card.

Post to Your Blog at least Twice a Week. Your visitors will not know what you are expert at, what your passion in business is and who you are as a person if they can’t hear your voice in writing, in audio, or in video. You must be visible and offer really good content and insight.

Submit Your Website to the Search Engines. There are many free submission sites. Just do a Google search for the term “free URL submission”.  Many of them want you to agree to receive their free newsletter, so my best advice here is to use a junk email address at Yahoo or Hotmail for this type of work. If you give them your real address you will be immediately inundated with junk mail.

Meta Tags. We use and recommend All in One SEO Pack. You can download it here or login into your control panel and “Add New”. This is a essential plugin and will ensure that you have the correct title and meta tags in each page and blog post. Your meta title and description will appear in the search engines so be sure you craft your page and post descriptions carefully. The keywords that you use in your content and your meta tags will determine how you are found on the web.

Other Essential WordPress Plugins.

1. Be sure that your website and blog is updating to Twitter with the plugin of your choice. I like Twitter updater w/TinyURL.
2. Do you have a contact form on your website? Easy Contact and cformsII are great plugins.
3. Do you have a means for people to bookmark your site or share with other people? Choose your social bookmarking plugin and get it up and running as quickly as possible.
4. Google SML Sitemaps. This plugin will generate a special XML sitemap which will help search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask.com to better index your blog.

To train with Denise Griffitts to become a highly technically savvy, highly paid, highly sought-after Virtual Assistant please visit Virtual Assistance University.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Denise Griffitts found on this Website as long as Denise Griffitt’s name and contact information is included. Denise Griffitts, Virtual Assistance Industry Expert, http://askdenisegriffitts.com, info @ virtualassistantindustry.com.

Denise, I am looking at some career choice options–How does one get job experience or training as a VA?

Thanks, Michelle 

Answer 

This question requires a two part answer so I will tackle the training part of the question first. As in any career, or job change, training is exceedingly important. You would not walk into a doctors office and simply announce that since you have spent some time on WebMd researching heart disease that you are now ready and able to discuss heart disease with patients.   What is important that you understand about the Virtual Assistance Industry is that it is a highly technical industry that in my professional opinion requires constant and on-going education as the internet changes at what seems to be the speed of sound. As Virtual Assistants we are working via the internet for most of our working hours. What this means is that a system, process, online tool or site that you may have used as little as a month ago may be considerably different than the last time you accessed it. 

The first step is to visualize what your Virtual Assistance practice is going to look like. You will need to determine what your hard and soft skills are and what niche or areas you are interested in.  Are you primarily interested in working with clients to build their social media marketing strategy? Are you a brilliant copywriter or technical writer? Can you assist your clients in editing, writing, re-purposing content and disseminating it across the web? Can you see yourself positioning yourself as an online research specialist who can ensure that the information you deliver to your client is both authoritative and accurate?  Are you familiar with HTML and feel comfortable working in the WordPress platform? What are your skills and why would somebody be wildly excited to work with you? Don’t make the mistake of trying to be “everything to everybody”.  It is the rare VA who can offer everything from web development to product launches and everything in-between. Those of us who can, wisely build our teams to ensure that our service offers are always top notch and delivered on time.   

Once you have decided on your career path within the VA industry, it is a good idea to begin to network with other successful virtual assistants on social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. There are also several really great Virtual Assistant communities such as Virtual Assistance Industry – Where Online Entrepreneurs Collaborate and Find Virtual to name a couple.  Network with us, chat with us, follow us around and see what we are doing and sign up for as many free (and paid) teleseminars and workshops that you can find from people who’s work you admire. And never be too shy or too embarrassed to ask questions.  Visit our blogs, ask questions, make comments. Connect with us on Facebook, ask questions, make comments.  After you do this for a period of time you will have a much better sense of what your service offerings will be and who your ideal clients will be. Then, and probably only then, will you be able to decide what type of training, coaching or mentoring you will require in order to build and grow your VA practice to a healthy six figures.

I am a firm believer in seeking out help, guidance and mentoring and always seek the wisdom and practical experience of someone who has walked down the same paths that I am traveling. Seek out a coach or mentor and give serious consideration to joining a mastermind group who can motivate and nurture your brilliance. 

The second part of the question is about gaining job experience. Once you can clearly list your skills, hard and soft, have your elevator speech perfected so you can quickly and confidently explain to somebody in just a few sentences just what your business offers then it is time to offer your services to other VA’s.  Working with an experienced VA or multi-VA firm on a project-by-project basis will allow you to try something new and stretch beyond your current experience or knowledge. As you build your network of practicing VA’s who find you delightful to work with you will find your Virtual Assistance practice filling up in short order.

To train with Denise Griffitts to become a highly technically savvy, highly paid, highly sought-after Virtual Assistant please visit Virtual Assistance University.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Denise Griffitts found on this Website as long as Denise Griffitt’s name and contact information is included. Denise Griffitts, Virtual Assistance Industry Expert, http://askdenisegriffitts.com, info @ virtualassistantindustry.com.

Question

I have been researching the Virtual Assistance Industry for quite some time now and notice that most well-known and well-established VA’s have blogs.  Is this a critical component for my business success?

Rochelle, Modesto, CA

Answer

There is no hard and fast rule on this.  However… I do recommend that as you gain experience and confidence in your industry that you begin to speak about it and share your knowledge. And this is another “however”; unless you are willing to put in the time and effort required to update your business blog with great content, it is better not to have a blog than to have one that hasn’t been updated in months.

• Blogging demonstrates true commitment and passion to your industry.
• By writing knowledgeable and insightful articles you are building your reputation and creating a name for yourself within your industry or niche. A great blog can position your firm as thought leaders, creating greater authority within your industry.
• Blogging allows you to build your network, and let’s face it, people do business with those they know.
• Ideas spread. Blogging is viral. A properly built blog will notify Twitter of new posts, allow readers to “re-tweet” or share the post with their connections or communities, and subscribe to your feed.
• Blogging allows you to remind people that you and your products/services exist. Research shows that blogs are influencing purchasing decisions, which is critical for your VA practice.

A Few Things to Think About

If you are still on the fence about blogging,  here are a few things you can do to overcome your doubts.

1. Start a group blog with several authors to spread the workload. Do you have several team members or other Virtual Assistants that you work with? Arrange with them to share the responsibilities of publishing great and informative content.
2. Recruit guest bloggers whose work you respect.
3. Offer to write a blog post or two for a thought leader in your industry. The offer may, or may not, be accepted but you will never know unless you try!
4. Monitor popular blogs, news sources and events in your industry or niche and respond to what others are saying about the topics.  In other words, join the conversation.
5. Be sure to create a gravatar that will help people identify your posts on blogs and web forums.

To train with Denise Griffitts to become a highly technically savvy, highly paid, highly sought-after Virtual Assistant please visit Virtual Assistance University.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Denise Griffitts found on this Website as long as Denise Griffitt’s name and contact information is included. Denise Griffitts, Virtual Assistance Industry Expert, http://askdenisegriffitts.com, info @ virtualassistantindustry.com.

Question

I recently lost my job as an Administrative Assistant in a small company and decided to become a Virtual Assistant. I have been trying to find clients and recently downloaded one of your teleseminars where you were talking about niches.  How do I find a profitable niche?

Karen, Bronx, NY

Answer

Good morning Karen. This is a question that we hear frequently and as I hear it, you are actually asking two questions even though one may be undefined, and that is “How do I find clients?” We will tackle that thorny question in future posts so please bookmark this site and return often to ask questions and browse the answers that other Virtual Assistants are asking. You can also get blog updates delivered to your email box by subscribing to this site.

The first request I would make of you is that you sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and clearly determine what both your hard and soft skills are as well as where your true interests and passions lie.  By  assessing your own interests, work style, skills, and personality characteristics you will see patterns emerge that offer clarity about which services you would be passionate about offering. It will also offer clues to where you may need further training in order to achieve the success in your industry that you crave. Keep in mind that working in a traditional brick and mortar office is vastly different then working with a client, or clients, remotely. I cannot stress this enough!

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

In the business world, “hard skills” are technical or administrative procedures related to an organization’s core business. For example if you are a Excel spreadsheet expert, this is a skill that is easy to observe, quantify and measure. 

“Soft skills”, however are difficult to observe, quantify and measure. Soft skills can be defined as “people skills” and are very critical to your Virtual Assistance practice either growing and thriving, or never becoming a viable practice at all.

When assessing your hard and soft skills, be very honest with yourself. On the hard skill, or technical side of the sheet, are you listing systems or processes that you have worked with a little but are by no means expert in? List them, but make a note letting yourself know that if these skills are what you would like to base your Virtual Assistance practice on, that you will enroll in a training program that focuses on the area of highest need.

Soft skills are needed for everyday life just as much as they are needed for business. Honestly assess how well you communicate with other people, with emphasis given to telephone and email interaction. Remember, you are working remotely and this is how you will communicate with both your clients and other team members or consultants if you are in a multi-VA team environment.  Give serious consideration to the following soft skills and add your own where appropriate:

• Communication
• Listening
• Engaging in dialogue
• Giving feedback
• Cooperating as a team member
• Problem solving
• Conflict resolution
• Proactive innovation
• Decision making
• Planning
• Delegating
• Instructing
• Observing
• Coaching
• Encouragement and motivation
• Team building

Once you have clearly defined what your current skills are, what areas require further training or coaching and most importantly, where your true passion lies, you can formulate a plan to focus on those clients/markets that most interest you and will continue to interest you over the life of your practice.

To train with Denise Griffitts to become a highly technically savvy, highly paid, highly sought-after Virtual Assistant please visit Virtual Assistance University.

**You have permission to reprint in your publication or to your website/blog any articles by Denise Griffitts found on this Website as long as Denise Griffitt’s name and contact information is included. Denise Griffitts, Virtual Assistance Industry Expert, http://askdenisegriffitts.com, info @ virtualassistantindustry.com.