One of the most important aspects of establishing a profitable VA practice is determining your rates and how to transition those rates into your package pricing.

Many of the newer VA clients I work with usually establish their rate by looking at other VA websites, or talking to other newbies and asking them what they charge.  Some even set their rates by asking prospects what they’re willing to pay.  YIKES!

So what’s wrong with that thinking?  Unfortunately, in most cases, you cannot sustain yourself and grow a profitable business without determining exactly what YOU need in the way of income, and what your expenses are, in order to keep your head above water.  This can be almost as disastrous as not marketing your business.

Here are my Top 3 Mistakes:

1. Not understanding what goes into setting your rates.As with any business, to be profitable and to stay in business long-term, you need to be charging rates that allow you to pay for general expenses (telephone, Internet connection, business insurance, website hosting, computer equipment/software, printer supplies, etc.) before you can set rates for what you need to take as an income, what you’ll need to budget for marketing, and what you’ll require as profit to continue to grow.  Don’t just guess, take the time to really figure out what that looks like.
2. Setting package pricing without clear package details. So many of my coaching clients get hurt when setting package pricing because they aren’t detailed enough in communicating what will be included in the package.  It’s not enough to say, “we’ll promote your blog post to your LinkedIn groups”, but to say how many that could be.  Some of my clients have 8-10 LinkedIn groups, some have almost 50.  It would be difficult to calculate the time difference in posting to that number of sites, so your package outline should include something like “promote your blog posts to your LinkedIn groups (up to 20)”.  Now you’ve set specifics you can calculate within the package and set clear guidelines for the client.
3. Not listening to the client’s needs and understanding how to quote them – by the hour, by the project, on retainer, or with a package.I recently signed three new clients from a popular RFP system.  This was a little above the norm, but all three of them came to me with a similar issue. They had been quoted by several VAs and all of them were insisting on packages.  They didn’t understand it, and wanted to have an hourly rate.  The answers they got were all across the board from $25-65/hour with some of the $65/hour package quotes being less expensive than those quoting a lower hourly rate.  They were all pretty confused.

Unlike other VAs, I don’t quote pricing in my initial RFP response, but prefer to get up close and personal with them on the phone.  It’s just always been a much better way to find out if they’re the right fit for me, and vice versa.  Not to mention being able to listen to their needs, and understand how best to quote them based on those needs.

If I’m able to get a prospect on the telephone, my rate of closing on the sale is about 85%.  That really tells me that it’s important to get a better understanding of the prospect and how they look at working with a virtual professional.

My preference, and lead in, is always to try and quote package pricing, but I’m also flexible enough that if the projects fit our expertise, and the client seems to be a good fit for our business style and personality, it’s worth considering payment options that are comfortable for them.

Also be sure to take the time to connect with the prospect by telephone, be open to considering several payment options, and you’ll create wonderful long-term relationships with ideal clients that will sing your praises and provide you with referrals.

I speak to virtual assistants all the time, both new and veterans. One of the  things I hear most often is how they want to make a change. They want to transform themselves or their businesses to better fit their needs, their lifestyles, their abilities, or their preferences.

I’ve been lucky enough to experience several positive transformations in my life. Professionally, I turned my virtual bookkeeping firm, OffAssist, into a mid six-figure company after a rocky start as a small, one woman, $2,000/year business. Personally, after a lifelong battle with a personal and family history of obesity, I decided to transform my body and have lost over 220 pounds (no, that is not a typo).

Saying I’ve done it makes getting to where I am now sound easier than it was. It was hard work. It’s been scary, and, at times, daunting. What I see most in people wanting to make a change is fear. They aren’t really sure where to start or they’re paralyzed by their fear of “doing it wrong.”  Eleven years ago, when I started down this road, I was afraid, too.

I knew I couldn’t achieve my goals all at once. I also knew I’d never achieve them at all if I didn’t get started. That’s why I put together real, solid, actionable steps to take me from where I was to where I wanted to be.

1. Realize a change needs to be made – pick ONE thing to focus on at a time
2. Prepare to change – do your homework, commit the time, make a plan
3. Take action steps – put the plan in motion, don’t be afraid to ask for help
4. Maintain your change – tweak the plan as your needs change
5. Move forward – go back to step 1 with a new goal in mind

Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. Join me during my presentation this at 5pm CDT Friday at vavirtuosos.com to learn more about how I used these steps to transform myself, my business, and ultimately, my life.

Want to have the best relationships with your clients? As your grow your virtual assistant business, it’s important to build solid business relationships with your clients.  Then these clients will not only keep coming back, but also refer others to you.

Here are ten fun tips to help you establish a great working relationship:

#1 – Come Again?   It’s critical to establish right from the beginning how you will handle the communications with your clients. If e-mailing, what is the standard turnaround time that you respond back to emails.  If phoning, what are your hours?  Once a client knows when they will hear from you, then they can plan their day and work accordingly.

#2 – No Surprises – Nothing is worse for a client than to discover four hours before you leave that you are heading out on a week-long vacation.  That’s stretching it a bit and you probably wouldn’t do that, but think about other ways you might be surprising your client and not giving them the advance notice they need.   Keep in mind that they are probably under pressure too to get their work done.  Always give as much advance notice as you can when things will disrupt the business flow.

#3 – Where’d She Go?  For building good client relationships, try not to disappear off the radar screen.  Check in with your clients often.  When a client writes and they don’t hear back from you for days (or weeks), they fear the worst.  Even if you are working on a large project and the deadline is weeks away, e-mail them and let them know “All is going well.”  That builds confidence and security.

#4 – OOPS, Where Did That Come From?  We’ve all been there.  You get the email from the client saying they found a typo or typos.  Ouch.  We can’t be perfect, but try and be as close as you can.  Proof and reproof your work.  Also, if possible wait until the material is fresh and reread it again.  Determine the time when you are at your best, and use that time to do your proofing.

#5 – Super Size It Please -  Always give your clients more than they ask for.  You will be rewarded with not only more work, but lots of word of mouth referrals too.  And there are so many ways to do it.  For example, 1) Set up an Autoresponder for them so they can sell more products; 2) Set up Google Alerts under their topic or target audience so you can find websites or blogs that will help them spread their message; 3) Help them produce a newsletter or blog; 4) Send them more clients or referrals; 5) Ask them directly what you can do to better the relationship; and 6) Most importantly, listen to what they say. It’s so easy to get busy and listen with half an ear, or try and talk too much about your business.  Being a good listener is a valuable asset.

#6 – Short and Sweet – Make sure that all e-mail correspondence is typed accurately and is short and to the point.   With everyone having busy schedules, this helps your clients save valuable time. One thing you’ll discover is if you write too long of an e-mail often your main points will be missed.  This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t strive to get the answers you need, but keep in mind that their time is valuable and to use it wisely.

#7 – You Need it WHEN? – Determine exactly when work is to be completed or when the order is to go out.  This will save a tremendous amount of problems down the road if everyone is in agreement.  It’s also good to have a written contract. Be specific.  Once everyone knows what is expected, things run so much more smoothly.

#8 – My Dog Ate It – One thing you want to do is always try and make your deadlines and avoid excuses.  We all know that things come up and that’s okay if it happens occasionally.  However, if you make it a habit of needing additional time or not finishing projects, that client will fear sending you more work.  Not a good thing.

#9 – Saved by the Bell -  Make it a point to back-up your work on a regular basis.  And test those backups.  Can you imagine even losing a week’s worth of work?  Your clients are counting on you to protect their work so you want to make sure it is.

#10 – Howdy Partner – Remember that you are establishing a partnership relationship with your clients.  You want to help their business grow because as you do, your business grows too.  Let them know you value them as a client and are glad that they have entrusted you with their work.  In other words, you appreciate them.  Also, let them know that you appreciate referrals so that they can help in your success.  It can be a two-way street with this partnership.

And finally, enjoy.  Start a friendship with your clients and let them know that you care about them.  Most of my clients today are good friends.  This isn’t to say that I’m not professional and don’t conduct myself professionally, as I do. However, I let them know that I’m also interested in them personally and how they are doing.  I take time to know their birthdays, their kid’s names, etc.  Think how you feel when something lets you know they care about you.

Hope you enjoyed these ‘fun” tips.  As our Industry continues to thrive, it’s important to earn the respect and trust of our clients and also fellow Virtual Assistants.  When you set up your business with the goal of doing a fabulous job, you’ll end up with fabulous clients, and fabulous friends.  It’s a win/win for all.

Stress: a constraining force or influence; a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.

Whether you are an entrepreneur, an employee, a stay-at-home parent, or a student, you have stressors in your life and you need to schedule time to relieve the tension or your health will suffer. Our society has reached the point where only the best and the fastest is acceptable; how can we take time off and “unplug” from our technology?  We might miss a client’s text, an important email, or what about a phone call? It’s maddening.  Years ago, I swore I would not let work or clients become a deterrent from my exercise, my health, or my family. Guess what? I did.  In rebuilding/rebranding my business after 17 years, I found myself involved in this “insanity” again.  I fell back into the craziness of it all.  For the past several months, I spent at least 12 hours a day at the computer, hunched over the keyboard, taking every class known to man, doing everything I could to “land” new clients and all for what?  Sore shoulders, tingling down my arms, irritability, and weight gain (after losing 12 pounds last spring).

I decided in the last few months to put my foot down and make time for me and my family first (after God) but what I’m trying to say is while my business is important, in the long run, clients will come and clients will go, but if I don’t take care of myself, I’ll miss out being around for my family and enjoying life, and we all only have one life to live!  Here are some thoughts for destressing and living your life to the fullest:

Unplug for a few days – Your clients will be there when you return.  I did this a couple of months ago for four days.  I emailed all of my clients to let them know I would be out of the office for four days and if they needed anything urgent to please have that work to me by a certain time or else they would have to wait until the following Monday to have something returned.  I really did unplug for the most part. I was proud of myself and I did relax. I do have team members so it makes it a bit easier but you can still make it happen.

Exercise at least four times a week – I am actually leaving my office at lunchtime and going to the gym to work out; swimming or doing the rowing machine.  Guess what?  The work is still there when I return and I feel 100% refreshed for the afternoon’s work list.  I’m also taking off at 6:00 one evening a week (no matter what) for my Zumba class which I didn’t attend for over six months.  Exercise lowers your blood pressure; over time exercise will lower your cholesterol and help you lose weight, or help you maintain your weight.

If you aren’t able to exercise 30 minutes at one time during the day, do 10 minutes three times a day.  This is known as a metabolism booster and it works.  I did this a few years ago when my schedule didn’t allow me to take time off for 30 minutes at one time (I don’t recommend this every day but once in a while do it if it’s all that works!).  Walk in front of the TV for 10 minutes, run in place for 10 minutes, or walk up and down the steps for 10 minutes (contact me for more suggestions if you want).  The important point here is to move!  Don’t be a couch potato!  Somehow, my husband is even walking with me now! He really understands now that when I move I’m less stressed.  Last week he agreed to train with me to do a MS bike ride this summer.  It’s a two-day bike event where we’ll train and do either 25 or 50 miles each day. Our friend’s child has MS and we’ll be on his team.  This was kind of easy because he loves to ride bikes.  Find something you love to do!

Laugh – Laughter gives us an instant happy perspective.  Watch a funny TV show or movie.

Sing out loud/listen to music – Listen to your favorite music and sing!  If you don’t want to sing then listen to music and dance and just enjoy it.  My favorite quote is “Music Makes Us Human.”  I don’t know who quoted that but it’s true.  If you don’t feel less stress after listening to music and your heart doesn’t feel happier, then my heart feels sorry for you.

Meditate – If you meditate correctly, you feel in touch with yourself, will relax and feel confident.  It only takes 10 minutes to breathe, relate to yourself, and clear your mind.

Make a list – I started making a list at the end of my day for the next day so I know where I need to start the next morning.  It helps me take my mind off of work for the evening and I can clear my head for at least 12 hours or so.

Happy April Fools Day! I love April 1st – for so many reasons, the least of which is to see what Google and the usual suspects are doing this year. As per usual, they managed to make me crack up. Love it!

In that vein, we’re doing something a little C-R-A-Z-Y! Want to be a member of the Virtual Assistance League? You can for just $29.99 for the first year! Just go over to the JOIN US page and use coupon code NOFOOLIN – it’s that easy. Done!

This offer is good for ONLY new members and it expires on April 1, 2013 at 5pm Eastern (4pm Central). So, don’t delay – join us before we realize just how nuts we are Ya know what? I used to live in Hawaii and I HATED stuff like this because it was like 8am and things were “expired” because of those people on the East coast monopolizing the time zones. So, guess what? I’m going to extend it until 6pm Hawaiian time on April 1, 2013! Take that, East Coasters!

A while back, someone asked how to clean up disk space and remove duplicate files from a system. I’m going to answer that question, but first I have to explain a little bit about how operating systems behave with disk drives.

The operating system and the disk

Each file on disk has at least two parts. The first part is the metadata, or inode. This part of the file has information about the file.

• What’s the name of the file?
• Who created the file?
• When was the file created?
• When was the file last changed?
• When was the file last accessed? (Someone could have looked at it without changing it.)
• How big is the file?
• Where is the file located on the disk?
• Who is allowed to read the file? Who is allowed to write to the file? Who is allowed to run the file, if it is a program?
• What type of file is it? (Is it an image, an audio, text, a PowerPoint, …)
• Did the original file come with a checksum or hash tag?

The second part of the file contains the data. If the file is really small, it might only require one block of data. Bigger files require more blocks of data.

All of that metadata is stored in a catalog, or a directory, at the beginning of the disk. The actual content of your files is spread over the disk.

What happens when you read a text file?

When you instruct your computer to open a file, the operating system looks at the disk catalog and finds the file name. (Depending on your caching setup, the operating system might need to read the catalog from the disk.) It then checks to see if you have permission to open the file. If you do, the system looks for the pointer to where the file is located, travels across the disk to that location, reads the data, and sends it back to you.

What happens when you delete a file?

When you delete a file, all the operating system does is to delete the metadata. The actual data, the red blocks in the diagram above, are still on the disk, at least until they are  overwritten. However, the system has no idea where those data blocks are, so the operating system considers the file deleted. The operating system writes over the data blocks as time progresses. If you really want to delete your files, you need to format your disk. And, this metadata deletion and not content deletion is why undelete sometimes works. Lifehacker has an article on free software that helps you to recover lost files.

Get rid of duplicate files

So now that you understand a bit about metadata, I can explain how the different tools work to find duplicate files.

The only 100% sure way to tell if files are the same is to compare the content of the files, and that would take a long time. So, programs make use of that metadata. What do you think? If a program has a similar file name, the exact same size, and the exact save creation timestamp, what are the chances that the files are the same? They’re pretty good. If you add to those checks a checksum or hash tag and modified date, you’re even more sure the files are the same. If you’re really in doubt, you can compare data blocks.

The Internet boasts several free programs that look for duplicate files. I’m going to show you Duplicate Cleaner Free 3.0, but remember that all of these programs basically work the same.

Step 1: Download and install Duplicate Cleaner Free 3.0 or higher.

Step 2: Launch the program.

Step 3: On the Search Criteria tab, set your search criteria. Refer to the figure below.

Red Circle: Decide whether you’re going to search for audio file duplicates or not. For this example, I’ve selected regular mode. Next, select same content or ignore content. Selecting same content will cause the program to compare data blocks. Ignore content will let the program rely on the creation date, file size, and other information.

Blue Circle: What type of files do you want to search? Everything on the disk or just your pictures? Set up your filters here. Also, you can tell the system to ignore tiny files or large files and files with certain dates.

Green Circle: You can probably just use the defaults for this section. Zero size files are files that have metadata in the catalog but don’t use data blocks. While they aren’t using your disk space, they’re still using catalog space. System files and folders are programs like Windows. NTFS is NT File System. Hard links are copies of the metadata, or inodes.

Step 4: Set the Scan Location in the second tab.

If you don’t want to search your entire disk, this is where you can narrow the search. In my example, I’m only looking for duplicate photos, so I limit my search to the “Pictures” directory.

Step 5: Hit the Scan Now button.

Step 6: Once the program is done scanning, look through your duplicate files list. Click on the duplicate files tab.

Files that have duplicates are shaded the same.

Select the files you want to delete. Remember to leave at least one file in each group unchecked!

Hit file removal.

Decide if you want to delete the files straight away, or if you want to move them all to one location to deal with later.

Then, close the dialog box and you are done.

A Publicity VA is a virtual assistant who adds the niche “Publicity” to their VA business. It’s basically working to get more press for your clients. It can be as simple as sending out articles and press releases, to providing more complex services such as creating entire media campaigns and pitching the media. It’s effectively promoting a business, a book, a speaker or coaching program, whatever your clients need that will get them more exposure in the media. To be most effective for your clients, a Publicity Virtual Assistant needs to know how to do it right.

Here are 7 common mistakes Virtual Assistants make in doing PR.

Mistake #1: Not getting enough traction with the releases you write.

Don’t be a one-pitch wonder. Know that PR takes time and if you only write one release and send it out to one or two places, you won’t see results.  Plan an aggressive PR campaign.

Repurpose your material.  Your press release can be made into an article, blog posting, added to a media kit, sent to clients, added to your website, newsletter, Twitter, etc.  Social bookmark it as well. Get the most exposure you can.

Mistake #2: Your media is not interesting enough.

Address a problem. Your release or article needs to address an audience problem. It should be attention grabbing, create curiosity and finally it should entice the reader with a strong reason to continue to read further.

Make it newsworthy.  Talk about why this release would benefit your audience.  Make sure to provide value and a solution to your reader, and why your expert information will make their business run better or make their life easier.

Mistake # 3: Not using social media.

Share, Digg, Tweet, and Like: It’s important to do as much as you can with all media you send out. Add all media coverage to your blog, site, newsletter, etc.  Also, add a share button so that you can share all the media.  Ask friends to Digg it, Tweet it, Facebook it, etc. Share other articles and press releases that you find on the industry. This also adds to your rankings and expertise.  People will want to read what you find interesting.

Mistake #4: Not doing a keyword search analysis and not using the right keywords.

Use the correct keyword phrases. Before you send out any releases or articles, do an SEO search first; Google Adwords, Word Tracker, etc.  Also look for search topics in Twitter. Now see how you can incorporate those keywords into your release, title and summary. Even add keywords to image links when possible.

Mistake #5: Not submitting at the appropriate time.

Timing is critical. You don’t want to be pitching a business lead when the media is experiencing an influx of other news. Pitch during the slow news spells.

Be familiar with editorial calendars.  Publications routinely write on topics months ahead and often talk about the same topics during the same time frames. Also, know the lead times for magazines and other media.

Mistake #6: Pitching in the wrong format.

Follow submission rules. Most media will tell you how they want their material to be sent to them, as an email pitch, a completed form or some other method. The most important thing is to know the different methods and submit the release using correct one. Follow the accepted guidelines for writing an article or press release: including overall word count, punctuation, newsworthiness, etc. Using improper format can cause your work to be rejected.

Mistake #7: Not checking the status and rankings

Know rankings and change in rankings. It’s important to know your client’s Google Status as well as Amazon Page Rankings, etc.  This allows you to follow results of the media you submit for your client. Also, make sure to check stats when submitting articles and press releases.  Have the articles been approved recently? How many hits did they get?  This tells you whether you want to do more.

Finally,

Adding publicity as a niche can be exciting and rewarding for a virtual assistant. The key is to learn as much as you can about the field so you can offer top-notch services. Understanding these common mistakes will help you to fine-tune your expertise and allow you to provide your clients with the quality of service they need to promote their business or products.

On March 14, 2013, Google announced that it is closing down Google Reader on July 1.

Some people probably heard that news and didn’t care, or didn’t know what it meant to them. I heard that news and immediately started wondering what I was going to do to compensate for the lack of Google Reader. I put all my other tasks aside and spent several hours researching this.

What is Google Reader?

So, first off, what is Google Reader? Google Reader allows you to keep track of all the blogs you read. If you’ve haven’t read an article, Reader bolds it. If you have, the article is not bold. Reader goes through all your blog subscription and tells you what is new and what you should read. Reader makes it possible for people to sift through a lot of content and keep up on news that’s interesting to them.

Why don’t people just use other RSS readers?

Yes, there are alternatives out there. I’m trying out one right now called NewsBlur, and I have to say I like it a lot. It’s easier to tweet and Facebook share, but it is more difficult to email a story to a specific person.

There’s also Feedly, The Old Reader, NetVibes, Pulse, and TinyTinyRSS. Lifehacker has a good article about alternatives.

My question is this: How many current Internet Sifters won’t bother with a new RSS Reader (especially since not all of them are free) and their informal job? How many Internet Sifters will turn into Everyday Users?

What’s Google thinking?

I’m not sure anyone outside of Google knows. Some people think that maybe Google has finally decided that they don’t need to have a tool for every need, so they’re purging Google Reader, along with 70-ish other tools this summer. Some speculation states that Google couldn’t monetize Google Reader. Other people speculate that Google Glasses, due out this spring, is supposed to replace Google Reader and others hope that Google+ will replace it. Some people feel that Google Currents is a good replacement.

The big difference between RSS Readers and these other applications though is control. With the RSS readers, I see everything I have subscribed too, not just the stuff that makes it to the top. I like to decide what I like, and not base my likes on other people’s likes.

Most of the potential Google products to “replace” RSS readers don’t offer that control.

There’s potential and opportunity here

I’d like to see Google+ and Facebook support RSS feeds, but who knows if that will happen. Either way, there’s going to be a vacuum in products for Internet sifters.

Maybe Google has a new plan up its sleeve. Maybe someone else can come up with a cool idea and be David to Google’s Goliath.

I’m sad that Google Reader is going and I have to adapt. (I’m lazy. I don’t like changing things that work well.) However, I’m also rather excited to see what comes next.

When I got around to starting the newsletter this month, I was dismayed to see the theme of “Social Media Stand Outs.” I am not a social media guru, and I didn’t see any social media articles in the basket ready to go. I moaned and groaned and then my husband said “Isabella Gucci Jones,” and I cheered up and decided I could write an article on standing out in the social media scene, even if I’m not great at it myself. I know people who are great at social media, and I know how to research and analyze. (That’s what I’m good at: researching and analyzing.)

Let’s start with something basic.

How do you tell if someone stands out in social media or not? Who will be the basis for this research?

The easiest way to determine if someone is a social media stand out would be to look at their Klout scores, I suppose. However, for a ton of reasons, I don’t particularly like Klout, so I’m going to do this from scratch.

According to Pew Internet, as of May 16, 2012, the average Facebook user had 229 friends, with the younger the person being, the more friends they have. I’m in Gen X. We average 198 friends.  According to my stats I have 266 friends right now, despite regular cullings, so I’m ahead of my age group. However, I’m not a social media stand out. For the sake of this article, I arbitrarily declare that you must have at least 1,000 friends for me to look at what you do.

Now, I don’t think the sheer number of friends you have is the best indicator of social media stand out-ism, but it’s probably good enough for the purposes of this article.

Who has more than quintuple the average Facebook friends? Well, Isabella Gucci Jones does. And so does John Scalzi, along with Candy Beauchamp, Lanel Taylor, Marta Costa, Sharon Hunt Broughton, and Pam Ivey.

Now Facebook isn’t the end-all, be-all of Internet Life. John Scalzi is a strong Internet personality and he doesn’t like Facebook much at all. He uses a good, old-fashioned blog that got 5 million hits last year.

Felicia Day and Robert Scoble are in the top twenty Google+ users, so I’ll throw them into the mix too.

So, for my research, here’s what I’m going to look at:

• Isabella Gucci Jones on Facebook
• John Scalzi on Whatever.Scalzi.com
• Candy Beauchamp
• Lanel Taylor on Facebook
• Felicia Day on Google+
• Robert Scoble on Google+

(If you don’t like my choices, do your own research and write your own article next month!)

What do these social media stand outs do?

• They all have strong brand identities that are not directly related to anything they sell. Isabella Gucci Jones is in fact a character, and the person who plays her always stays in character.
• It’s rarely about self-promotion. John Scalzi rarely directly promotes his books on his site. Isabella Gucci Jones has less than 1 of 7 posts being about anything she’s selling or a charity she’s promoting. (The 1 in 7 number came from me examining her page and making tally marks.)
• They give back to the community. Candy Beauchamp provides honest reviews that people appreciate. John Scalzi lets other authors promote their books on his 8-million views a year website.
• Their regular posts provide a service or value. Isabella Gucci Jones provides entertaining and whimsical posts that ferret people love. Scalzi gives well thought out opinions on controversies in life. Candy Beauchamp gives honest reviews. This is why these people have followers that stay.
• They are all active and post regularly. And by regularly, I mean daily. In fact, if Scalzi gets mail asking if he’s healthy and alive if he misses a day.
• They don’t just use text. All of these people have completely text updates and posts, but they also post a lot of pictures and videos.

My take on this

My take on this is that if you want to excel and stand out in social media, make your interactions with the virtual world be about helping the virtual community. Don’t make your interactions about you.

If you want more detail on how I came to those conclusions, here’s more detail.

Isabella Gucci Jones

Isabella Gucci Jones is a ferret. Actually, she’s a dead ferret. She’s a dead ferret with about 4,000 friends on Facebook. But, more importantly, she’s a character April made up. She’s created this ferret persona that’s cute, childish, whimsical, and loves pink and pink flamingos.

If you check Isabella’s wall, you’ll quickly notice that more people post to her wall than Isabella does. People, at least ferret lovers, adore the Isabella character.

What does April do for the Isabella character?

• Isabella is an extremely strong brand identity. This character follows April from job to job, but is April’s invention and not an employer’s. April uses the character to promote causes she’s interested in (like Black Footed Ferrets) and now her own store.
• April posts cute, whimsical updates that are all in character with the ferret persona. Each update is either funny or engaging, thus making people laugh, or serious pointing out something relevant to the ferret world.
• Only 1 of 7 of April’s posts ever promotes her store or her charities.
• April regularly posts, to the tune of several times a day.

John Scalzi

John Scalzi is a science fiction author. (He’s one of my top five living authors, actually.) His blog hit 8 million views last years and he has incredibly active comment threads. His posts are whatever he feels writing about, but rarely just promote his books. In fact, he lets other authors promote their books on his site with a tagline of “The Big Idea.” Scalzi takes positions that could be considered controversial, and these articles are frequently picked up by the bigger blogs and news organizations.

What does Scalzi do?

• He has a great product (his books), but he assumes people know about those if they have found his blog. He doesn’t do much promotion of his books on his site. His self-book promotion is way below the 1 to 7 ratio Isabella Gucci Jones has.
• He gives back to the community with his Big Idea guest posts.
• He posts regularly. In fact, if he goes a day without posting, he starts receiving emails asking if he’s okay.
• He has guests cover for him, and post, when he’s on vacation.
• He uses his Internet cred to help his friends and charitable organizations along with promoting values he agrees with.

Candy Beauchamp

If I didn’t “know” Candy from VALeague and IVAA, I’m pretty sure I would have come across her on the Internet anyway. Why? Candy’s an Amazon Top 100 reviewer. Think about that for a minute. Amazon is a giant company with a lot of customers. I’ve written reviews on Amazon.  In fact, I probably write reviews for at least a third of the stuff I acquire via Amazon. But I’m on the bottom of the list as far as Amazon reviews go.

What’s the difference?

Firstly, Candy reviews everything. She has a lot of review content out there.

Secondly, she’s been reviewing everything for a while. I’ve written 55 amazon reviews. Candy’s done 717. What’s more, 86% of the people who’ve bothered to hit an up thumb or down thumb on her reviews have hit the up thumb. So, people consider her reviews worthwhile. Candy’s reviews are a good product.

What else?

Candy is not limited to Facebook and Amazon. She tries out every social media thing out there.

Felicia Day

Felicia Day is an actress, but also a producer for YouTube videos. She’s very big in the indie movement of film production. Her audience is not mainstream. She’s noted for being the girlfriend in “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along,” and popping up in shows like Eureka and Supernatural. She also has several of her own shows.

What does she do on social media?

• She talks about games she’s played that aren’t hers.
• She posts links and starts conversations that have nothing to do with her and her video making.
• She does post her videos (which for her audience, are not really considered self-promoting, even though they are).
• Forbes actually did an article on her.
• I know she twitters a lot too, but I don’t twitter so I didn’t research that.