How to start your small business quickly and effectively

Hi guys, I’m  Adrian Cahill. Going to share how to start your small business quickly!

 

One of my highest values is Community. Everyone that knows me, knows I’m a sharer.

The more we share resources, the more we can all enjoy our lives. 

Here are a couple of things that may help you start your small business quickly and effectively. I use this for my personal coaching business, MOTIVATE Shanghai & MOTIVATE Community. In my opinion, these solutions fit most freelancing, consulting or small businesses.

 
1. My IT Guy’. Junaid Ali Syed has been with me since about 2012 and you can use him too.

  • He has made webpages for me and a lot of my clients. Trustworthy! I give him full access and Logons. Even my personal email. To be secure, change your password after.
  • Here is a live website he made recently for a client in Australia. www.bellingerselectrical.com.au 
  • He is based in India with clear communication. I appreciate his excellent resourceful skills most. Also, he is very upfront saying what he can and can not do
  • He can make logo’s and graphics however he is not an expert in that field. 

To use most efficiently,

  • Send him all text that will be on your webpages as text that he can copy/paste.  
  • Consider writing your webpage in Word Document or similar. 
  • Have him do logo’s, graphics, and making connections to AgileCRM, MailChimp, Zapier/IFTT, Zoho all that so you can start with your business.
  • Launch fast, come back and improve after. Many people get stuck trying to make the perfect webpage/funnel/webinar. JUST DO IT. 
  • To use him, you can email him directly:  sjunaidali@gmail.com   or add him on Skype: sjunaidali   

 

2. CRM. AgileCRM
AgileCRM

CRM stands for customer relationship management. It’s a category of integrated, data-driven software solutions that improve how you interact and do business with your customers. CRM systems help you manage and maintain customer relationships, track sales leads, marketing, and pipeline, and deliver actionable data. I used MailChimp from around 2010 to 2016. MailChimp and it’s alternatives are ok, but why spend the money and time with them when you can build a CRM. For basic use, AgileCRM may take an extra hour to learn. But you can easily schedule Zoom Screen Sharing sessions with the Tech Team for free to solve your challenges. Because AgileCRM is newer, it’s in my opinion that they are focused on Growing and customer success. The difference in cost between AgileCRM and Mailchimp is similar.

I was being coached by an amazing coach/financial lady from Sydney, UltimateCFO, she is a CFO (Cheif Financial Operator) you can hire her to be a CFO for your business. Anyhow, I hired her, it was great and she recommended ZOHO. ZOHO is better and more developed. After trialling ZOHO and trying to sort out connection issues, I prefer AgileCRM for small businesses, consultants, coaches, speakers, but ZOHO maybe better for those with 250k + Turnover, or a small business aiming to develop into 250K+ businesses and willing to put the manpower into working ZOHO.
 

 
3. How to start your small business quickly  – get the Mindset for success!

If your parents were Entrepreneurs, or you grew up around millionaire business owners don’t worry much about this point. If like me, you didn’t grow up with millionaire parents, you need to realise how we are programmed. In a nutshell, without interference, we are destined to be like or the opposites of our parents (or those we saw most of growing up). It is highly UNLIKELY that we will develop the mindset to be rich and successful by chance. We should, therefore, be taking the actions to make it happen.

Reading biographies, modelling, spending time with more successful people give us an insight into their beliefs, strategies, ways of being. For most of my life, I was an avid reader/modeller through literature. It helped me with my first investments but I wasn’t getting the ultimate results I was after so I sought out coaching and later became a coach. Coaching/mentoring is far faster. It may appear to cost more, certainly more than the cost of a few books, however, what my average client accomplishes in 6 sessions around wealth creation, or building business is often what takes most people years reading books. Calculate the cost of the time involved and coaching is suddenly very cheap. For those on the edge, or really striving for greatness, feel free to check out my course and packages. You can find them on my homepage.
 

4. Outsourcing. 

I Adrian Cahill, made this article. It took me 45 minutes. I’m a touch typer (Colemak).  I’ve chosen to do it myself because it’s 45minutes, done and I can send it to my buddie Kai (who is an excellent business trainer in Germany). Kai just asked me about Junaid and why I choose AgileCRM over it’s competitors. Besides the above tips, a big one would be to start using outsourcing. Get a VA Virtual Assistant, and others to help you. Get used to the process of delegating and handing over control!

I have several assistants. Junaid my ‘IT Guy’ and the others were all sourced from ODesk, now known as Upwork.com (How to start your small business quickly = Outsourcing)

It’s a bit old now, but here are some articles my team and I wrote years ago to assist you in outsourcing. Apologies they are old now, but still very relevant and based on my desire to assist and share.  www.adriancahill.com/outsourcing/ 

Note:   Some people use Content Writers. I have an article on how to use them but I don’t recommend them if you are a real expert or you want to share real expertise. I had a coaching call this morning from an Entrepreneur who is launching a brand. He and others like him, tried to hire content writers but found he spent 20-30minutes editing each article. (+hours hiring, training, firing them). Meanwhile, I’ve finished this in 55minutes! Now I look forward to lunch than phone coaching with a gentleman who works for one of the worlds biggest finance companies on how to be twice as effective with his new VP and Team. Bon Appetite, Guten Appetite, Preetno, 

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Procedure for Employing Virtual Staff: Content Writer

Content Writer:

A content writer is an individual who specializes in providing relevant text and picture content for websites. They are a time saving asset for helping develop specific and regular content for your site. They can also be utilized to turn interviews, recordings, short stories into more relevant blog posts. Another possibility is the reverse. Your Content Writer, if skilled, could even turn your existing blogs into material for books or short stories. Of course this depends on their skills which may also affect their cost.

 content writer

Typical Tasks of Content Writer:

  • Research, write and edit web and intranet content from scratch.
  • Write web content based on material supplied by client or found elsewhere.
  • Edit print documents for publication online.
  • Edit web pages for on-screen readability.
  • Proofread to final copies depending on skill level.
  • Test and edit forms for usability.
  • Evaluate web sites for strategy, readability, legibility, find-ability, usability, interactivity and credibility.

 

 

 

 

JOB ADVERTISEMENT SAMPLE:

 

Content Writer:

We are looking for a self-motivated individual with experience and skills in web content writing. In addition to writing, editing, and proofreading site content, this person will also work closely with the technical team to maintain site standards with regard to new development.

Applicant must have an understanding on the significance of keyword research and being familiar with the various online tools, knows to optimize each page for one or two keyword phrases and must be able to empathize with the needs that led your potential customer to the page your writing. This goes hand in hand with keyword research. Applicant must have the ability to meet project deadlines, exceptional English communication (both written and verbal) and organizational skill and has the ability to work quickly without sacrificing quality.

 

Requirements:

– Applicant must be willing to work for a Long term (6months +).

– Expected to work on a regular basis of (10-15 hours per week).

– Complete tasks within 48hours (preferably 24hours).

– Willing and ready to start ASAP.

– Able to communicate with us over Skype during standard business hours (AEST or London time). This is a must. We may give instructions verbally as it is quicker and more efficient. You can work at your own time provided you can complete tasks within our deadlines.

– Must provide sample of previous work.

– Prepared to undergo a 10-20minute Test.

– Successful applicants will then are required for a Skype interview.

 

Please ensure you include your Skype name, examples of your previous work, and any questions in your reply to this position. Thank you and have a great day.

 

PS. Who are we?

We are …… (2-4 sentences about your organization and its goals)

 

 

 

PROCESSING JOB APPLICANTS:

 

1. Eliminate Time wasters, focus on possible applicants:

a)      Ignore any applications that clearly do not fit our listed criteria.

b)      Any quotes outside our Minimum – Maximum Pay.

c)      If requested English level required is high-exceptional, no major errors acceptable.

d)      If requested English level required is medium, no more than 3 errors acceptable.

e)      Choose before hand, if using experienced staff or willing to try new members.

f)       Applications must show some evidence of being unique, showing that they actually read our advertisement, not simply copy pasting to every job position.

 

2. Asses remainder of applications based on our job description:

a)      Look for those fulfilling all requirements.

b)      Look for evidence of Pro-Active or other important behavioral qualities.

c)      Asses their personality. Staff needs to be focused on achieving tasks, making things happen and going the extra mile, rather than staff that will do the minimum. Staff that do only the minimum may still be capable, however not ideal.

 

3. Send 2-3 short questions to any suitable applicants:

a)      Availability, desired work hours (time and duration).

b)      Future Goals, aspirations.

c)      Experience, evidence of their experience or questions about their previous work.

d)      What makes this job attractive?

e)      Send more information on the position and your organizational.

f)       Request they complete basic test if everything is suitable.

 

4. Send test for all continuing prospects:

a)      Hi, thank you for your application and time. In order for us both to save time would you mind completing a 10 minute test? It is for testing our ability to work together.

b)      Please also add the time it took, all the answers to our previous questions, along with your Skype and email address to the bottom of your test.

c)      We want to include this. Perhaps a 3 minute Audio file or picture saying, thank you for applying, please write out for us your top 3 goals for the next year, your first and last name, your email address and Skype name, and then we will be happy to talk on Skype. Simple, thank you and have a good day.

 

5. All completed and returned Tests are now the job application:

a)      Looking at who has fulfilled task 100% with all details. Including their details.

b)      Who has made sense of the document?

c)      Who has presented it in a reasonable format with heading, bold, italics, etc?

d)      Thanks and apologies to those that is under skilled. Let them know why nicely.

e)      Thanks and move on to the Skype Interview for your final candidates.

 

6. Skype Interview:

a)      Before starting ask them to install, Ifreeskype recorder (to record the conversations which can be replayed at later date or for training).

b)      Start with general chat as they are often nervous.

c)      Develop and understanding of their situation.

d)      If suitable, provide information on our goals.

e)      Thank them, any questions. If unsure, let them know we will get back to them in the next 10 days. (This way if we hire someone else, and it falls through we have this candidate still possibly available.)

f)       If applicant suitable, proceed straight away so that we can have them start their first task which also tests them further before we say no to possible applicants.

g)      Set out your first clear tasks for them straight. Have them reply with an email outlining what the task is, any questions they may have and how they are going to achieve them. Highlighting deadlines and priorities. Short deadlines.

 

7. On receipt of this email:

At the receipt of this email, it should be really clear if the staff understand the tasks given from the Skype interview. If this email is very off track or wrong there may be big problems ahead. Having staff confirm tasks in detail is vital in Outsourcing. Provided they understand your tasks set out in Skype or Email, you can now start the contract.

 

8. In the first week:

Start tasks clearly, and build up from there. It is possible that your Staff will understand everything and your intent clearly. However, start small and build up. Also look at awarding a quick bonus to make up for excess time spent in the interview. Emphasize fair pay for fair work or your best work for the best bonus.

 

9. Longer term:

Look at other ways to keep staff motivated and happy. We have a few suggestions you can email us for them. Once you have spent a lot of time with your staff they become more valuable and harder to replace. Take care of them. They are real people with families, lives and dreams of their own too.

 

 

 

 

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Saving $16,000 by Hiring a Virtual Assistant

There are millions of examples where Virtual Assistant  have saved businesses and ordinary people countless hours, energy and money. Unmeasurable success.

virtual-assistant

Two years ago on a trip to Australia I caught up with my cousin Andrew we spoke to him about Outsourcing. He was interested and had open ears so we had a great couple of hours of discussion about where and how to start. Soon after, Andrew began hiring. This a superb example I take great pleasure in sharing with you.

 

Here’s how my cousin saved $16,000 (AUD) by Hiring a Virtual Assistant:

Andrew started with a Virtual Assistant. Well, Andrew actually started with mine and Tim Ferris’s advice. But then he started by hiring a simple VA from Odesk.

 

Online Personal AssistantAt first, he made errors and wasted time; however, it wasn’t a complete waste as as he learnt from his mistakes. Andrew had his research (I hadn’t written these articles at that point) and started his Odesk advertisements smartly like he would in a newspaper. Lots of people replied. Too many he says, far too many. So he cancelled the job and re-posted with significantly more information. Like our VA Article. He proceeded with testing, interviewing, and hiring multiple VA’s for short periods of time keeping the best ones until he had just 2 good ones left. Andrew says, “What we need is the right people, not the right skills.”

“The personalities are most important to me. I can train them or even leave them to learn the required skills. But I can’t teach them to be motivated and diligent.”

 

Andrew learnt how to hire and manage his VAs effectively. With these VAs, he began using them to outsource more and more. Andrew and his VA together created guidelines, roles, responsibilities, and procedures which laid the path for effective Virtual Staff Management.

 

Nine months later Andrew had put on 18 full time Virtual Staff from the Philippines and India. Andrew is saving his company $16,000 AUD per month. And that was just nine months after starting. These figures are still rising.

 

Andrew has since been featured in the Australian Papers as an upcoming business success star. However, it is still not widely known that a large part of his business success comes from hiring Virtual Assistant. His competitors haven’t caught on yet and it remains one of his business secrets. For this reason, I keep all details of Andrew’s company confidential.

 

For a lot of people, hiring, delegating, and managing are totally new skill sets to discover and to master. Doing this online can make things both easier and harder. If you learn from your mistakes, it will get easier and easier. It’s when you don’t learn from you mistakes that you have a problem. So give it a go—make errors, learn, make system, and develop. Simply don’t let your lessons become too expensive.

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Introducing Odesk: The No.1 Outsourcing Site

Odesk

In case you haven’t heard of it, Odesk is probably the no. 1 website for Outsourcing. For those unfamiliar with the term, what we are talking about is sourcing Virtual International Staff.

It lets small businesses hire, manage, and pay remote contractors as if they were in their own office. More than 200,000 businesses seeking skilled workers, and 800,000 service providers are registered from over 150 countries. It is changing how the world works. With Outsourcing, you can easily allocate specific tasks to people who have a lot of knowledge and skills in that area at the most competitive rates.

 

I’m a busy guy, I have lots of opportunities and not enough hours in a day. So I have my own Virtual Assistant (VA). My VA does a variety of tasks for me such as:

Before booking international flights, my VA will spend around 2 hours looking at possible flights for me. My VA then presents results in an easy-to-read spreadsheet listing routes and costs (including taxes and my VA knows if I’m carrying luggage or carry-on).

Before booking accommodation, my VA can research, select, and email suitable places in advance asking for availability and a discount price.

When writing for my webpage, my VA does the editing, looks for pictures, checks for grammar, makes suitable links, and uploads it all for me.

Sometimes people ask me about the most random things. If I want, I can just ask my VA to research or find solutions for them.

 

As a Consultant, I can provide solid valuable advice and connections to clients. With my VA, I can turn that advice into an easy-to-read, fact-filled, verified .pdf, .doc, or .xls for clients while I talk face-to-face or over the phone to ensure that the deals can be completed smoothly. As my VA handles the paper work, I can focus on bringing results.

 

If you’re a Consultant, Self-Employed, Writer, Blogger, Ebay Seller, or anything of the kind, on or offline, it can easily help increase your bottom line.

 

Other things Outsourcing can do . . .

 

Here are some of the tasks you can Outsource on your blog for faster results and save your time:

  • outsourceWriting Blog Posts – The most time-consuming part of running a blog is blog post writing. If yours is a personal blog, you probably shouldn’t outsource the writing however, you can outsource the editing. You can also record your voice or interviews and have a VA or Content Writer transcribe and edit it into a blog.
  •  If you have an Information Style Blog, you can get a capable Content Writer to produce new content for you, preferably a Content Writer whose passion is in your field.
  •  Social Media Management – Find someone who understands how social media marketing works and what techniques are most helpful.
  •  Link Building – Help develop your page rank fast and get the traffic you need to make your blog successful by quality links such as press releases, guest posts , and organic links to content.
  •  Blog and Forum Commenting – Make sure you hire someone with the understanding and reputation to give you the results you need.
  • SEO, Data Mining, Data Entry, Calendar Management, Scheduling, Answering Incoming Calls, 24/7 chat or voice support, and much much more!

 

Read all our articles on Outsourcing here. Go on, GIVE IT A TRY! Sign up to Odesk and give it a go today.
Please leave feedback if you have experience in this field. Thanks, guys!

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The Benefits of Outsourcing and its Disadvantages

Outsourcing Around the World

When we talk about Outsourcing, we are referring to a business in a country which hire people from another country to work for them. Although Outsourcing often takes place in the same country or even town, we will now talk about International Outsourcing, predominantly in the IT world.

A lot of businesses outsource to save time and money as well as to get the same quality of service by paying less. This kind of outsourcing gives many new small ventures and everyday people the opportunity to be employ an IT team; turning their passions, ideas, and hobbies into a possible cash flow generating career.

When I started outsourcing, it was a big help to me. I wanted to start a blog; however I was always too busy. Then I looked into it and realized I didn’t have the skills or time to learn how to properly do it. After reading the book ‘The 4 Hour Work Week’, I was inspired to start hiring and making it work for me.

Despite the fact that I have been doing a 30 minute work week for the last 4 years, I am still driven to make a good blog site and share the information I have learned and continually learning on a regular basis.

Without Outsourcing, it would never happen.

Imagine how much more you could achieve with one or two virtual staff  helping you?

 

The following are the benefits of outsourcing:

Advantages of Outsourcing

  • Access to Skilled People – You can easily find very high quality specialists. There are specialists in Quicken, Video Editing, Copy writing, Accounting, Social Media Management, you name it!
  • Cost Savings – When you outsource services like data entry, reception duties, cold calling, etc. to a low-cost country like Philippines, you are getting access to services that are available at a much lower cost (You can save 40-80% of western salaries).
  • Reduced Overhead – You don’t have to lease or build an office space for your staff. You don’t have to be obligated for holiday or sick pay, mandatory insurances, training costs, and much more. Plus you can simply hire people per task. With your current hiring methods, can you easily hire someone to work for you for just 10 hours? With Outsourcing you can!
  • Labour Flexibility – Outsourcing allows you to access extra staff resources whenever you require them. Then you can free them when the tasks are completed.
  • Process and System Standardization. I recommend a systematic approach. It’s really easy to have all of your staff spend a little time creating ‘how to’, ‘roles and responsibilities’ documents so that their duties become standardized systems for the future staff.
  • Level the Playing Field – Most small businesses can’t afford to match the in-house support services that bigger companies maintain. Outsourcing can help small companies act “big” by giving them access to technology and skills that large companies benefit from. 24/7 phone or online chat support is a perfect example.
  • Receptionist at a fraction of the price – Basically you can have a full time receptionist that will answer calls via Skype, receive and send faxes, make orders and process data entry for as low as $120USD for a 40 hour week. But it’s not just about how much you can save. Of course, we still want good and reliable staff.

 

There can be disadvantages:

  • Renewing contracts. Staff can leave for higher paid jobs. This is very common if the staff do not receive enough regular or rewarding work. 
  • Confusion with contract, roles and responsibilities. Out sourcing allows you to be the manager. If you haven’t had managerial experience or staff  before, there could be challenges here. However, wouldn’t you rather have challenges with a team of staff costing you on average $3-8USD p/h than a team of staff costing you $15-40USD p/h? Not to mention legal liability is greatly reduced with Outsourcing. Australia and America has unfair dismissal work and contracts protecting employees. I think I would rather develop managerial skills and define roles and responsibilities of staff with an Outsourced work team any day.
  • English levels vary. English level greatly vary around the world. Native English speakers are often unaware of their own accents. Most Filipino and Indian staff can understand clear English very well, you must speak clearly with them. Your staff may have strong or weak accents too (actually accent training is very common in Philippines). Some new staff may lack the confidence in speaking English with you, but you can help and encourage them.
  • Changes in communication. Talking face to face is very rare so you need to be really clear with instructions and ask for regular updates. Most online staff can talk to you over Skype. I strongly encourage this. All of my staff log into Skype when they are online, even if their not working.
  • Poor quality and tardy services among others. Poor quality is common when ever a staff works without supervision or desired levels of skills. This happens regardless of where a staff is working. Sometimes, staff may misrepresent their skills or enhance their resumes. You may need new systems for quality control or simply hire a online project manager.

 

online services

 

By having good strategies and knowledge, these disadvantages can be avoided. It will take some time to develop and get a good hold of everything; however the results are well worth the initial effort.

If your organization is genuinely interested in outsourcing, don’t let these few disadvantages stop you. You will have some problems but they are opportunities to grow! Sort them out and learn from them. Create strategies and procedures or better yet, have your Outsourced staff write these up themselves as their starting task. 

 

 

There is more in the Outsourcing Game you need to know. I strongly suggest:

  • Read all of our articles on Outsourcing.
  • Use our VA (Virtual Assistant) guide to start with your first online staff member.
  • Outline very clear tasks and responsibilities to your VA.
  • Build up tasks and responsibilities one at a time.
  • Have your VA re-write their roles and responsibilities to ensure there had a complete understanding. Also if your VA leave, or get promoted, a new VA can easily take over their roles.
  • Re-read our articles and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
  • GIVE IT A TRY!!! Sign up to ODESK and give it a go today.

 

Have a great, happy and productive day!

 

Adrian and Yves (VA)

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The Different Roles of Commonly Employed Virtual Staff

The different roles of commonly employed virtual staff: Virtual Assistant, Website Manager, Content Writer, Ghostwriter  and Search Engine Optimizer

Seriously, I have made lots of mistakes with Outsourcing. Wasted countless hours trying to automate sometimes the most simplest tasks such as starting a contact list or sorting emails.

I have learned from the mistakes though. It is my pleasure to share my knowledge with you to help you gain more free time and a higher quality of life— the ultimate goal of Outsourcing.

 

Most recently I have used my Outsourced Team to present a collection of functional and usable information for you. This exact article is to explain the different roles of commonly employed virtual staff.

 

The Different Roles of Commonly Employed Virtual Staff: 

1.      VIRTUAL ASSISTANT (VA) – Provides administrative, secretarial, technical, or creative services to businesses externally. A good VA can save you a lot of time and energy. VA’s can also save you from hiring real staff. Imagine working at home with a VA taking care of the repetitiveVirtual Assistant | Outsourcing tasks. From orders, phone calls, sourcing, mailing lists, you name it. If your VA doesn’t have the skills, there is also the possibility of training them just like a real assistant, at a fraction of the cost.

 

TYPICAL TASK OF A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT:

  • Calendar Management / Schedule Online Marketing
  • Data Entry
  • Transcribing
  • Link Building
  • On and offline Research
  • E-mail Response / E-mail Sorting
  • Blog Postings / Article Writing
  • Initiating and maintaining Customer rapport
  • Updating / Record Management
  • Booking Transportation
  • Reserving tables and tickets to events

 

 

2.      WEBSITE MANAGER – The Website Manager will be responsible in developing the  organization’s online presence. A website manager can be used to develop and maintain various sites together. The Website Manager can work closely with other Virtual staff and can even manage other staff such as SEO, Content Writers, or required Technical Specialist.

I feel that one of the main benefits of a Website Manager  is that they can keep all of your site content up to date. Often we all see outdated information website contents, it doesn’t look good. For a small regular amount of money you can have a someone take care of this for you.

 

TYPICAL TASK OF A WEBSITE MANAGER:Website Manager

  • Sustain a constant awareness of all web properties
  • Build up and maintain all websites in a method that is pleasing to targeted viewers
  • Develop, sustain, and make certain reliability of discussion posts, such as blogs or forums
  • Responsible for crafting site promotions, email newsletters, and online outreach campaigns
  • Guarantee web-based information is archived for potential requests and indication
  • Create, widen and supervise content for organization’s web presence.
  • WordPress design and layout
  • Theme customization
  • Installing and managing plug-ins
  • Other WordPress site management tasks

 

 

3.      CONTENT WRITER – A Content Writer is an individual who specializes in providing relevant text based content for websites. A content writer can also help quickly expand your content or process excess sting material into fresh content. A good content writer can also quickly turn audio recordings and interviews into articles for you.

A Content Writer may help automate your business by having articles regularly written, sent to the Webpage Manager and submitted on your site.

 

TYPICAL TASK OF A CONTENT WRITER:Article Writing

 

  • Research, write and edit web and intranet content from scratch
  • Write web content based on material supplied by client or employer
  • Edit print documents for publication online
  • Edit web pages for on-screen readability
  • Proofread final draft of web pages
  • Test and edit forms for usability
  • Evaluate web sites for strategy, readability, legibility, find-ability, usability, interactivity and credibility

 

 

4.      GHOST WRITER – A writer who writes books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to anotGhost Writerher person. Now, more than every everyday people writing extra ordinary books.

Writing and publishing has been made much easier with the rapid acceptance and use of Ebooks. If your writing, look at a how a ghost writer can help speed up your results.

 

TYPICAL TASK OF A GHOST WRITER:

  • Research topics
  • Write article or blog for the topic given in behalf of the client
  • Transcribe
  • Followed the writing style of the client

 

 

5.       SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZER (SEO) – SEO exist to draw more traffic to your site. If you have an online presence or at least a webpage. Why not consider using a SEO to boost your traffic.  As most internet users simply use Google or similar search engines, the SEO will take actions to make your site appear higher and higher in the search results. This will help by drawing more traffic to your site. However there is more to it than just that. For example, we don’t actually want traffic, we want customers. For this reason you will need your goals defined and to make a SEO plan with the Website Manager and SEO candidate.

 

TYPICAL TASK OF AN SEO:SEO

  • Perform keyword research in coordination with client business objectives to optimize existing content and uncover new opportunities
  • Provide SEO analysis and recommendations in coordination with elements and structure of websites and web pages
  • Provide recommendations and execute strategies for content development in coordination with SEO goals – general and keyword specific
  • Administer search engine programs (XML site-maps, shopping feeds, webmaster tools) for purposes of diagnostic reporting on client projects
  • Help to create and support marketing content to socialize and use for social media purposes (such as; customer videos briefs, customer case studies, blog posts, posts from analysts and customers)
  • Implement link building campaigns in coordination with client SEO goals
  • Research and administer social media tools in support of clients’ social media strategy

 

Note: I strongly advise, do not just hire and start a SEO guy. It can really cause damage to your site. It’s important to understand the basics of SEO first and make a plan with your Webpage Manager or VA to outline what the SEO can do.

 

 

As a westerner or someone focused on achieving goals, Virtual Staff can be a golden opportunity. I would most strongly recommend reading our following articles on Outsourcing and look at hiring your first VA soon.

 

 

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Procedure for Employing Virtual Staff: Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant (VA):

A VA refers to an independent service provider, who provides administrative, secretarial, technical, or creative services to businesses externally. Since ‘The 4 Hour Work Week’ use of VA’s has dramatically risen. Basically for the business or webpage owner, you source online assistants at a fraction of the rate those similar staff would cost you in your own city. In places such as America, Australia, England, Western Europe, and other highly developed countries the minimum Pay for a Receptionist for example could be $8-18USD. An Outsourced VA on the other hand range from $2-8USD depending on the level of skill and experience. Not only price, VA’s can actually do a massive variety of tasks and of course, can learn new tasks for you.a

VA’s are most commonly found in India and Philippines, however many more nationalities are available. Philippines being the most popular as they have high English skills and ethics. Philippines are already having well established outsourced IT and Call centre head quarters for many global companies. For many of them, being a VA makes an ideal home based business or work in a nearby shared office environment. Many VA’s are quiet entrepreneurial and able to help with much more than the simple expected tasks.

Indian VA’s are also highly regarded. From my personal experience many Indians are easier to understand language wise however many ‘Westeners’ do not like the ‘typical’ Indian accent. I have used a variety of Staff from India and Philippines and speak highly of both countries.

A VA should be the first person you hire if you’re new to Outsourcing. If you’re just thinking about it, why not give it a try. Allocate a few hours per week and see what can be achieved. We can also assist you if you’re really too busy but want to give it a shot.

 

Typical Task of a Virtual Assistant:

a)      Calendar Management / Schedule appointments.

b)      Online Marketing.

c)      Data Entry.

d)      Transcribing.

e)      Link Building.

f)       Online Research.

g)      E-mail Response / E-mail Sorting.

h)      Blog Postings / Article Writing.

i)        Initiating and maintaining Customer rapport.

j)        Updating / Record Management.

 

 

 

JOB ADVERTISEMENT SAMPLE

 

Virtual Assistant:

We are looking for a self-motivated individual with experience and skills in Virtual Assistant.

Applicant must have 2 years or more experience in VA or other related marketing strategy, able to write articles and blog posting, has knowledge in Online Marketing, Data Entry, Web Research and E-mail Response. Applicant must have the ability to meet project deadlines, exceptional English communication (both written and verbal) and organizational skill and has the ability to work quickly without sacrificing quality.

 

Requirements:

– Applicant must be willing to work for a Long term (6months +).

– Expected to work on a regular basis of (10-15 hours per week).

– Complete tasks within 48hours (preferably 24hours).

– Willing and ready to start ASAP.

– Able to communicate with us over Skype during standard business hours (AEST or London time). This is a must. We may give instructions verbally as it is quicker and more efficient. You can work at your own time provided you can complete tasks within our deadlines.

– Must provide sample of previous work.

– Prepared to undergo a 10-20minute Test.

– Successful applicants will then are required for a Skype interview.

 

Please ensure you include your Skype name, examples of your previous work, and any questions in your reply to this position. Thank you and have a great day.

PS. Who are we?

images3We are …… (2-4 sentences about your organization and its goals)

 

 

PROCESSING JOB APPLICANTS:

 

1. Eliminate Time wasters, focus on possible applicants:

a)      Ignore any applications that clearly do not fit our listed criteria.

b)      Any quotes outside our Minimum – Maximum Pay.

c)      If requested English level required is high-exceptional, no major errors acceptable.

d)      If requested English level required is medium, no more than 3 errors acceptable.

e)      Choose before hand, if using experienced staff or willing to try new members.

f)       Applications must show some evidence of being unique, showing that they actually read our advertisement, not simply copy pasting to every job position.

 

2. Asses remainder of applications based on our job description:

a)      Look for those fulfilling all requirements.

b)      Look for evidence of Pro-Active or other important behavioral qualities.

c)      Asses their personality. Staff needs to be focused on achieving tasks, making things happen and going the extra mile, rather than staff that will do the minimum. Staff that do only the minimum may still be capable, however not ideal.

 

3. Send 2-3 short questions to any suitable applicants:

a)      Availability, desired work hours (time and duration).

b)      Future Goals, aspirations.

c)      Experience, evidence of their experience.

d)      What makes this job attractive?

e)      Send more information on the position.

f)       Request they complete basic test if everything is suitable.

 

4. Send test for all continuing prospects:

a)      Hi, thank you for your application and time. In order for us both to save time would you mind completing a 10 minute test? It is for testing our ability to work together.

b)      Please also add the time it took, all the answers to our previous questions, along with your Skype and email address to the bottom of your test.

c)      We want to include this. Perhaps a 3 minute Audio file or picture saying, thank you for applying, please write out for us your top 3 goals for the next year, your first and last name, your email address and Skype name, and then we will be happy to talk on Skype. Simple, thank you and have a good day.

 

images45. All completed and returned Tests are now the job application:

a)      Looking at who has fulfilled task 100% with all details. Including their details.

b)      Who has made sense of the document?

c)      Who has presented it in a reasonable format with heading, bold, italics, etc?

d)      Thanks and apologies to those that is under skilled. Let them know why nicely.

 

6. Skype Interview:

a)      Before starting ask them to install, Ifreeskype recorder.

b)      General chat, understand their situation.

 

Here are 5 questions you NEED to ask during an interview with VA applicants:

1.      Why do you think you are perfect for this job? This helps you identify, the applicant’s skills that would benefit you or your company.

2.      What are your proudest achievements? This helps you identify the applicant’s priorities, or the things he/she considers important in life.

3.      What are your goals for the next 6 months? This helps you identify whether this VA has goals that is in line with yours.

4.      How would you describe yourself? This helps you understand the applicant’s attitude and how he views himself in general, and whether it fits the job and your personality altogether.

5.      Where did you work previously and what was your reason for leaving? Knowing the applicant’s work history tells a lot about themselves. It tells you if the applicant is most likely going to stay on longer, or move on to another new opportunity quickly.

 

c)      Thank them, any questions. If unsure, let them know we will get back to them in the next 10 days. (This way if we hire someone else, and it falls through we have this candidate still possibly available.)

d)      If applicant suitable, proceed straight away so that we can have them start their first task which also tests them further before we say no to possible applicants.

e)      Set out your first clear tasks for them straight. Have them reply with an email outlining what the task is, any questions they may have and how they are going to achieve them. Highlighting deadlines and priorities. Short deadlines.

 

7. On receipt of this email:

At the receipt of this email, it should be really clear if the staff understand the tasks given from the Skype interview. If this email is very off track or wrong there may be big problems ahead. Having staff confirm tasks in detail is vital in Outsourcing. Provided they understand your tasks set out in Skype or Email, you can now start the contract.

 

8. In the first week:

Start tasks clearly, and build up from there. It is possible that your Staff will understand everything and your intent clearly. However start small and build up. Also look at awarding a quick bonus to make up for excess time spent in the interview. Emphasize fair pay for fair work or your best work for the best bonus.

 

9. Longer term:

Look at other ways to keep staff motivated and happy. We have a few suggestions you can email us for them. Once you have spent a lot of time with your staff they become more valuable and harder to replace. Take care of them. They are real people with families, lives and dreams of their own too.

 

 

 

 

 

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Procedure for Employing Virtual Staff: SEO Specialist

Roles of an SEO

Hiring an SEO Specialist

SEO Specialist:

     

a)      Perform keyword research in coordination with client business objectives to optimize existing content and uncover new opportunities.Web Traffic

b)      Provide SEO analysis and recommendations in coordination with elements and structure of websites and web pages.

c)      Provide recommendations and execute strategies for content development in coordination with SEO goals – general and keyword specific.

d)      Administer search engine programs (XML sitemaps, shopping feeds, webmaster tools) for purposes of diagnostic reporting on client projects.

e)      Help to create and support marketing content to socialize and use them for social media purposes (e.g. customer videos briefs, customer case studies, blog posts, posts from analysts and customers).

f)       Implement link building campaigns in coordination with clients’ SEO goals.

g)      Research and administer social media tools in support of clients’ social media strategy.

 

 

Typical Tasks of an SEO:

On-site SEO:

a)       Review your keyword density; title tag, image alt attributes, and meta tags.

b)       Make the page attractive with images that complement the content.

c)       Add appropriate and informative links to other great on-site content as well as links to highly-authoritative websites. This will achieve SEO co-citation, but in a very natural and user-friendly fashion.

d)       Apply authorship code and schema.org attributes for any special features on the page such as videos.

Off-site SEO:

  • Micro Blogging
  • Blog Commenting
  • Forum Posting
  • Article Submission
  • Press Release
  • Social Bookmarking
  • Guest Posting
  • Participate in Social Networking Sites

 

 

 

JOB ADVERTISEMENT SAMPLE:

 

SEO:

We are looking for a self-motivated individual with experience and skills in SEO.

Applicant must have 2 years or more experience in SEO or other related marketing strategy, able to write articles and understand the Google algorithm updates (2013 Penguin and Panda). Applicant must have the ability to meet project deadlines, exceptional English communication (both written and verbal) and organizational skill and has the ability to work quickly without sacrificing quality.

Requirements:

– Applicant must be willing to work for at least a medium to long term (6months +).

-Expected to work on a regular basis completing tasks within 48hours (preferably 24hours).

-Complete tasks within 48hours (preferably 24hours).

– Willing and ready to start ASAP.

– Able to communicate with us over Skype during standard business hours (AEST or London time). This is a must. We may give instructions verbally as it is quicker and more efficient. You can work at your own time provided you can complete tasks within our deadlines.

– Must provide sample of previous work.

– Prepared to undergo a Link Building Test.

– Successful applicants will then are required for a Skype interview.

Please ensure you include your Skype name, examples of your previous work, and any questions in your reply to this position. Thank you and have a great day.

 

PS. Who are we?

We are …… (2-4 sentences about your organization and its goals)

 

 

All about SEOPROCESSING JOB APPLICANTS:

 

1. Eliminate time wasters, focus on possible hires:

a)      Ignore any applications that do not clearly fit our listed criteria.

b)     Those who has salary expectation outside our minimum – maximum pay.

c)      If requested English level required is highly-exceptional, no major errors is acceptable.

d)      If requested English level required is medium, no more than 3 errors is acceptable.

e)      Choose before hand if you want experienced staff or willing to try new members.

f)       Applications must show some evidence of being unique, showing that they actually read our advertisement, not simply copy pasting to every job position.

 

2. Asses the remainder of applications based on our job description:

a)      Look for those who meet all of the requirements.

b)      Look for evidence of being proactive or other important behavioral qualities.

c)      Asses their personality. Staff needs to be focused on achieving tasks, making things happen and going the extra mile, rather than staff that will do what is easy and comfortable. Staff that do only the minimum may still be capable, however not ideal.

 

3. Send 2-3 short questions to any suitable applicants:

a)      Availability, desired work hours (time and duration)?

b)      Future goals, aspirations?

c)      Experience, evidence of their experience?

d)      What makes this job attractive?

e)      Send more information on the position.

f)       Request that they complete basic test if they meet the initial requirements.

 

4. Send test for all continuing prospects:

a)      Hi, thank you for your application and time. In order for us both to save time would you mind completing a 10 minute test? It is for testing our ability to work together.

b)      Please also add the time it took, all the answers to our previous questions, along with your Skype and email address to the bottom of your test.

c)      Test is at the end of this article.

 

5. All completed and returned tests are now the filtered job applications:

a)      Look  who has fulfilled task 100% with all details. Including their details.

b)      Who has made sense of the document?

c)      Who has presented it in a reasonable format with heading, bold, italics, etc.?

d)     Give thanks and apologize to those who didn’t qualify. Let them know why nicely.

 

6. Skype Interview:

a)      Before you start the interview, ask them to install”Ifreeskype recorder,” a simple free program to record the conversations which can be replayed later and can be used for training.

b)      Start with general greeting because they are often nervous.

c)      Develop an understanding of their situation.

d)      If suitable, provide information on our goals.

e)      Thank them. Ask if they have any questions. If unsure, let them know we will get back to them in the next 10 days. (This way if we hire someone else, and it falls through, we have this candidate still possibly available.)

f)       If an applicant is qualified, proceed right away so that we can have them start their first task which also tests them further before we say no to other suitable applicants.

g)      Set out your first  tasks for them clearly. Have them reply with an email outlining what the task is together with any questions they may have and how they are going to answer them. Highlight deadlines and priorities. Short deadlines.

 

7. On receipt of this email:

At the receipt of this email, it should be really clear if the staff understands the tasks given from the Skype interview. If this email is very off track or wrong, there may have big problems ahead. Having staff confirm tasks in detail is vital in Outsourcing. Provided they understand your tasks set out in Skype or Email, you can now start the contract.

 

8. In the first week:

Start tasks clearly, and build up from there. It is possible that your new staff will clearly understand everything including your intent . However, start with small tasks then build up. Also look at awarding a quick bonus to make up for excess time spent in the interview. Emphasize fair pay for fair work. Match the best work for the best bonus.

 

9. Longer term:

Look at other ways to keep staff motivated and happy. We have a few suggestions that you can give them. Once you have spent a lot of time with your staff, they become more valuable and harder to replace. Take care of them. They are real people with families, lives and dreams of their own too.

 

Search Engine Optimization ProcessIn addition, for SEO we suggest:

  1. The applicant should produce a previous proven track record as an effective SEO specialist.
  2. Give a new 2 sets of exam. (Exams are in the last page of this document) the first set of exams – we will test them if they truly understand the Google algorithm updates (Panda and Penguin) and if they know how to build quality links. The second set of exam – we will test their SEO strategies.)
  3. You will give the applicants 2 sets of exam before hiring them. A VA who has a knowledge and skills on SEO or an SEO expert can be the one who will check their exams if they really have SEO skills. If you have no experience in SEO, we strongly suggest that you research what it all means first, or have a VA/Web Manager advise and test the candidates. A bad SEO can damage your business, you must be careful.

1st set of exam:

3.1.     What’s with the little wingdings? What’s the difference between  “no-follow” and “do-follow” links?

3.2.    Discuss briefly the Google Algorithm updates. (In your own words)

 

2nd set of exam:

  • Backlink 1
    • Link Promoted: https://adriancahill.com/2012/06/22/being-rich/
    • Keywords: How To Get Rich
    • Backlink URL (site):
    • Type of Site Where Link is Found:
    • Reason for using the keywords, site, Methods Used
    • Time taken to promote this link:
    • Username Used:
    • Password Used:
  • Backlink 2
    • Link Promoted:  https://adriancahill.com/2012/06/22/being-rich/
    • Keywords: How To Get Rich
    • Backlink URL (site):
    • Type of Site Where Link is Found
    • Reason for using the keywords, site, Methods Used
    • Time taken to promote this link:
    • Username Used:
    • Password Used:
  • Backlink 3
    • Link Promoted:  https://adriancahill.com/2012/06/22/being-rich/
    • Keywords: How To Get Rich
    • Backlink URL (site):
    • Type of Site Where Link is Found:
    • Reason for using the keywords, site, Methods Used.
    • Time taken to promote this link:
    • Username Used:
    • Password Used:

 

NOTE:  TIME FRAME FOR THIS TEST WILL DEPEND ON THE TYPE OF SEO STRATEGY THAT THE APPLICANT USED. WE WILL NOT COMPENSATE THEM BECAUSE IT IS PART OF THE TEST (TO TEST THEIR SEO SKILLS).

 

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The Key to Successful Outsourcing

Communication

Key to Successful Outsourcing : Effective Communication!

One of the key to successful outsourcing is effective communication. Effective virtual staff / client communications can totally change the way that you and your business work. Leveraging through staff is a key which ultimately can save and make you a lot of money, time, and resources. However, it can also be disastrous. I learned this lesson myself the hard way. I asked a new guy about developing an SEO plan, the next thing I knew, instead of a plan, he started spamming my full real name across the web. This really made me realise that poor communication can actually cost you so much more than simply the hourly rate that you pay that staff member.

 

For several people, hiring, delegating, and managing are totally new skill sets to discover and to master.  There are certain tasks that look so easy but maybe confusing if you don’t understand. Hiring an SEO worker without understanding the basics can be disastrous as I found out.

 

Effective CommunicationAlthough it often seems like it is the staff making the mistakes, ultimately the problems are with the employer. There is no point blaming the staff for doing the wrong thing if sufficient guidance wasn’t given. A good boss in outsourcing knows or quickly learns to double check that the staff not only has a map, but the right map and the skills to read it.

 

Complete information and instruction are required. Do not worry if this sounds daunting, once you have the complete instructions written out, you and your staff keep the instructions for following staff or events. You save all your maps right. Then have or ask the staff to put more detail into them like my VA did with this article on finding pictures, or his article on The Different Roles of  commonly employed Virtual Staff.

 

Building maps or templates is a key and we have some here for you.

 

1.      Asking the VA to book an airplane ticket from Shanghai to Sydney, Australia.

           

Task. I would like you to book a flight from Shanghai to Sydney, Australia. Please give me the best 3 options to choose from. I will then choose, and you can then complete the booking.

Deadline.  Present 3 options by close of business today. I will choose, then please book straight away. Note: If I do not reply tonight, please call me and we will choose over the phone.

Details:

Date of Departure: 10 June 2013

Preferred Time of Arrival: Arrive at Sydney Airport before 10:00 AM on the 11th of June. (I will be conducting a seminar on George Street, Sydney City at 01:00 PM. Please double check all timings to ensure I have enough time to catch the airport train and whatever connection to get to George Street by 11.30 AM.)

Preferences:

1. I would prefer Airline A and Airline C. Please focus on these Airlines.

2. I have carry-on baggage only. Note: Whenever I have carry-on baggage only (no checked-in bags), I’m prepared to pay up to 5% extra to sit at the front of the plane so I can get off first.

3. I always like window seats.

4. I don’t want insurance.

5. I want the healthiest full meal possible. If we cannot choose meals in advance, please tell them I am a vegetarian.

6. The date is fixed. There is no need for flexible ticket. Cancellation policy is irrelevant.

7. Best website to use is <www.skyscanner.net>, also look at Airline A and Airline C  websites directly.

8. Produce all results in an Excel spreadsheet, with the total costs in USD. Ensure Tax, Meals, any Extras are included in the price.

 

 

2.      Asking the VA to find and hire a Content Writer.   

 

Task: I would like you to look for a Content Writer that would help in providing relevant text content for a new travel website. I would like you to do the recruitment procedure yourself and present to me the 3 best candidates. We will then discuss the 3 candidates over the phone and choose which one to hire.

Deadline: We need the content writer ASAP. Do not cut corners on hiring though. In 5-6 days time (Date), I would like your report on the best 3 candidates via email. We should be able to put the new Content Writer on by the . . . (Date).

Details:

This person must have embodied the following / job qualifications (full list article for Content Writer is coming soon):

  • A self-motivated individual with experience and skills in web content writing.
  • Will also work closely with the technical team to maintain site standards with regard to new development.
  • Salary: $2-4 USD per hour. Please look for a Filipino or Westerner living in South East Asia.

. . . . . . . . . . . . etc.

Applicant must undergo the following before hiring them:

  • Complete a 10-minute test.
  • Send 2-3 short questions to any suitable applicants relevant to the work.
  • Skype Interview.

For more detailed instructions. look in our Outsourcing Blogs for the Content Writer article. Take instructions from there. Note: It’s for Travel website; we want them to start ASAP.

Additional Notes:

You will do the entire selection and interview process yourself. Email me if you have any problems; however, I prefer you to figure it out. Email me after you have selected and interviewed the best 3 candidates over Skype. We will then discuss them over the phone and choose the best one.

 

3.      Asking the Content Writer to write an article on dating websites.

 

I found that when I gave my Content Writer a topic, often it would come back completely useless. I realized though that I didn’t give him much guidance, so how could I expect him to make something that I wanted. Now my Content Writer works in strict guidelines. Most of what you read on my site is by me. In fact, almost everything is. My Content Writer helps though and occasionally he will do an article completely and independently.

Task: Please make an article about “Dating Websites” and the advantages and disadvantages of using them.

Deadline: Post to draft format on my blog  by Friday (date).

Details:

  1. You may start your article with: Through the internet, you can meet a lot of possible partners . . .
  2. On the second paragraph, you can write its advantages.
  3. Third paragraph disadvantages.
  4. Fourth paragraph, how to overcome the disadvantages.
  5. Refocus on positive, how fun it is.
  6. Ask the reader to share their stories on online dating with us: Feel free to share with us your story . . .

Additional Notes:

You can get ideas on these links: <www.LinkA.com>   <www.LinkB.com>

 

 

 

Whenever required or if there is doubt, you can also add the following line which I frequently use for larger tasks.

 

Communication ProcessBefore starting this task, please email me in your own words:

a) The steps you’re going to take to complete the task, in order.

b) What are the most important aspects of the task?

c) What’s the purpose of the task?

d) What’s your time frame? When do you expect to complete the task?

 

As we have said at the start, and time and time again, leverage from Outsourcing is a must. Start with good communication, clear time frames, tasks, and boundaries. Also let them know the intent behind the task. Letting them know the intent or purpose helps keep them align with the purpose rather than the details. After all, it’s the purpose that’s most important. The details are the map to get there. Your staff wants to do a good job. They want to make you happy and proud. Give them the knowledge they need to do it, be patient, and enjoy the rewards.

 

Revised: Aug 1 2013

Now what I do is really cool. From my Smart Phone I simply record detailed Audio Instructions for each of my staff and have it upload immediately to their Drop Box folder. I have set up a Drop Box folder for each of my staff. My Project Manager (my first VA) and I share a Drop Box Folder with each separate staff member. Its really simple and super fast process now. Record voice, upload to specific folder, that member, and my Project Manager both get notifications of it and act on the message. Sometimes I may work with somebody on a new website concept or advertisement using pen and paper. At the end, simply take a photograph and upload that to the specific Drop Box folder too. Extra options include: a message for them to call me, once they receive or complete the task,

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Interested in outsourcing your blog or small business?

blog writing

Building a booming blog takes a lot of work. Growing your blog into a money-making venture  can take you months or even years of full-time work. You may not have the time you need to invest to make your blog successful, or you may naturally want more success. Outsourcing some of your blog tasks may be the easy smart answer.Blog Writing

 

If you want to Start Outsourcing, we are here to help you. In 2013, we provide help for free. Later we may take our material offline or for members only.

Since reading ‘The 4 Hour Work Week’ in 2011, I have put on over 30 staff. I have fired or no longer use 25 of them. Many of them were simply using Facebook while logged on, or unable to fulfill roles adequately. I have learned a lot and share this information in my Outsourcing blogs.

 

Currently I have my staff doing about 80 hours per week. If not for me, for my they also work for my friends websites. My Outsourcing team have helped a lot of my friends create their personal and business web pages, manage their social media and sort their business email accounts. If you want to hire my team and we are good friends, it’s really possible. If you’re not a close friend, then perhaps my staff can help you with your needs; however you will have to pay them or provide donation for the time used.

 

Before you even begin to look for Outsourcing Staff we recommend the following procedure:

 

  • Make a list of all the tasks you have to do through out the week.

If the task is the kind of work you truly hate doing, or something really simple but time consuming, then it’s a possible  good candidate for outsourcing.

  • Look at tasks that are easy to outsource first.

The easiest are regular familiar tasks such as adding friends on social media, and sending birthday wishes. Most Virtual Staff have Facebook so its very easy for them to manage this task. Then you can go into compiling contact lists, and building new contacts. You can also outsource other simple tasks such as researching an item, creating accounts, becoming active in specific groups and the like.

  • Make some decisions.

Manage your list of tasks to outsource into urgent, short term and longer term categories. Once you’ve made a list of what you’d like to outsource, you’ll be able to tell just what you need like it was in the office set-up. Perhaps one Virtual Assistant would be enough but one VA and one Content Writer would be more appropriate.

  • Start your Search.

We have already shared information on individual roles and even included example job advertisements, it doesn’t get much simpler. You would probably start with a VA first, however sometimes it would also be easy exploring other options.

  • An even easier way.

You can even make it even easier by asking my staff to do the sorting for you. For a small commission they can take care of your recruitment for you. Philippines, India and China are covered by my dedicated staff.

We are also  in regular contact with a very experienced company which can take care of all your sourcing, interviewing in Philippines for a fee of $395 USD. Complete with guarantee.

WIth my Assistants we have a much better option, much cheaper of course. It will be guaranteed by my name and pride, which is just as good if not better. We currently are looking at ways of effectively finding, processing and training staff to work for clients at a high standard. We may soon be able to offer a complete service we’re you can easily hire Virtual Staff through us so we can guarantee the work and staff, for a much lower fee or rate than anything currently available on the market. We already havye a Lawyer, Accountant, Bank Account, and multiple staff working in Philippines and I will be there for the month of July 2013. 🙂

 

 

Outsourcing is a great way to save yourself time and to get results for your blog more quickly.

Do you Outsource tasks for your blog? Tell us what you outsource and how it helps you?

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Finding Free Images Online

searching

Finding Free Images for your Webpages

For any website or blog, graphics and pictures are important. A great picture can help capture a reader’s interest, inviting them to stay longer and read your content. Yet, there are a lot of measures in finding images – particularly legal issues. They cannot be used for business or personal purposes without the permission from the copyright holder.

I would like to share some guidelines on where and how to find free images to use in your blog posts. You can use this with your Virtual Assistants if you are training them from scratch.

A lot of people think you can just look for Google Images and use those images on your own blog.  In most cases, that is probably illegal. When it comes to the images you must:

 

No Copy Paste1)      Own purchased rights to all images you use, and know the license limits.

2)      For free images, you can use public domain images.

3)      You can use “commercial use allowed, creative commons, attribution required” and provide a link from the author’s page.

 

Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization from the United States, devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share.

 

When you have an option to use free photos that are accessible, why risk using copyrighted images? Thankfully, there are plenty of sites that offer free images that can be used on blogs and business websites like ours.

 

For your convenience, I have compiled a list of free image sources. Check them out below.

 

 

  • PixelPerfect – This interesting site includes over 4,000 stock photos, neatly ordered in categories from Abstract and Animals to Places and Transportation. The best part of Pixel Perfect Digital is the collection of digital art and illustrations, though; stylish images that are hard to find elsewhere.

 

  • CCSearch -The organization behind the creative commons licenses, provide a search engine on their website. This search engine, called CC Search, is one of the best ways to find royalty free images that you can use legally.
     
  • Flickr – You would have to ask permission from the photographer if their image is “All Rights Reserved”. There are some images on Flickr under ‘Creative Commons’ where the owner of the image allows limited use (usually with a credit but you MUST check).

 

  • Google Advance Image Search – The Advanced Search is your quick bet because it is familiar and allows you to filter your search by license. You can search for only images that can be reused (free to use). 

 

  • Sprixi – Sprixi sources shareable images from Flickr and OpenClipArt.

 

  • Pixabay – Pixabay searched for both photos and clipart from other public domain websites. The image information tells you about the source, the type of license, and the important EXIF information. You can also view photos by the camera used.

 

  • Pinterest – It gives you a roundabout way to search for free images. Log-into Pinterest. Use the search box to type in “public domain” and view the results. Click on the specific image and then click on the source to view the license and verify if it’s truly public domain or at lease Creative Commons.

 

  • Morguefile – Looking for high resolution stock photos for your illustration, comp or design needs? Search Morgue File for free reference images. Yes, they’re all completely free; whether you’re an illustrator, art director, instructor or looking to add a defining visual to a presentation.

 

  • Free Photos Bank – The Free Photos Bank site provides a typical range of free photos – people, animals, landscapes and so on. They’re better at abstract shots, though, backgrounds and digital artwork, so this is a good place to start looking for those more unusual images. There’s no registration required so downloading is easy, whatever you’re after.

 

 

Do you know of any other great sites to find free images for your blog? We would love to hear about them. 🙂

 

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