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MAY 11, 2009
ISSN 1947-105X | Vol. 3, No. 19
Don't forget to add "newsletter@virtualassistantnetworking.com"
to your email friends list so you won't miss future issues!
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ISSUE
In This Issue:
A Note from Danielle...
Did you know that you could be driving some poor unsuspecting person
insane without ever knowing it? Whodda thought?! Of course you'd be aghast
to learn that and it certainly wouldn't be intentional. And that's exactly
what etiquette is all about. Making sure that we are considerate of our
fellow human beings just as we'd like them to be considerate of us. This
week, I've got a few pointers for you when it comes to subscribing to
email lists.
Yours in goodness and success!
Danielle Keister
Founder, Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce
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FEATURE ARTICLE -
Mailing List Etiquette
 As
someone who manages and works with autoresponder services every day, I'm
constantly dealing with frustrated recipients who aren't getting their
intended mail. Most of the time, the problem isn't the autoresponder service,
it's something the subscriber did or didn't do themselves.
If getting messages from a particular subscriber list is important to
you, here are some Dos and Don'ts to ensure you get them.
- Do sign up with an email address you check regularly.
Otherwise, you might miss important news, information or deadlines.
- Don't sign up with an email address that forwards somewhere
else. If you forget how you've configured things, you can't
expect list managers to spend their time trying to figure out where
your messages are going.
- Don't sign up with an email address to which you have attached
an autoresponder. There is nothing more crazy-making for a
list manager than having a million autoresponder replies fill up their
IN box every time a message goes out to the list. Many will simply delete
the offending recipient out of sheer necessity.
- Do sign up with an email from your own domain if at all possible.
You might even set up a special address in your domain just for your
email subscriptions. The reason? Many of the freebie email services
are overzealous in their spam filtering and often prevent your legitimate
and wanted mail from reaching you. Their spam filters are often set
to capture any auto-generated or script-based email traffic, which includes
most forum, listserv and autoresponder services.
- Don't use an email address that has a spam filtering service
attached to it. Programs like Spam Arrest require a live person
to submit a form in order to get messages to you. When a list manager
is dealing with thousands of subscribers, this just isn't going to happen.
- Do check your spam/junk mail folders before contacting a list
manager. If you aren't getting mail, it might have landed in
one of those two places for whatever reason. It may be that your spam
filters are set too high. Or the message might simply have had a spam
trigger word or two.
- Do add the list's email address to your white list/approved
senders list. This will help ensure you get the mail you signed
up to receive more consistently.
RESOURCE: A mailing list is one where
you subscribe to receive information (such as a free report) or news on
a regular basis (such as an ezine) via email. If you're thinking of starting
your own mailing list (and you really should at some point), Aweber
is tops in my book. It's both versatile, flexible autoreponder and list
management service all in one!
 About
the Author: Danielle Keister is a business advisor, innovator
and thought leader in the Virtual Assistance profession. A veteran Virtual
Assistant of 12+ years, her logical, no-nonsense approach to business
development has gained her recognition as one of the leaders in the field.
She loves what she does and is passionate about sharing her knowledge
and know-how with the world. She’s all about inspiring others to
reach for their highest excellence. When not taking care of clients in
her own Virtual Assistant practice, The
Relief Virtual Assistance, she is busy leading the Virtual
Assistance Chamber of Commerce.
© Copyright 2009, The
Portable Business™. All U.S. and International rights
reserved. You are granted permission to republish this article only if
used in its entirety with this copyright notice, title, article content,
resource, author's bio and links left intact.
VACOC NEWS
New Service for Clients: Quickie Gigs
The VACOC has a new service for clients we call Quickie Gigs.
Here's the idea:
The core business of a Virtual Assistant is providing one-on-one, ongoing
administrative support to clients they work with in long-term, continuous
relationship. We always encourage clients to go that route because it's
where you are going to reap the most rewards in terms of value, continuity
and cost-effectiveness. However, if you have not yet found your right
Virtual Assistant or you are between Virtual Assistants, but still have
occasional tasks and projects you'd like completed, we can help you out!
Quickie Gigs is primarily for simple, straightforward
administrative tasks and projects that can generally be completed and
turned-around in few days with no fuss or muss. You fill out our online
form with the project specs and once the preliminary account set-up is
completed, we'll get to work right away.
Everything is simple! You sign only one contract (this will cover our
terms for one year in case you have other occasional projects that pop
up) and each project will be quoted on a flat fee basis (easier for you
to budget). For more information, be sure and check
out our Quickie Gigs page.
Let's Connect!
Reader Raves
 "Excellent
article in an excellent publication!"
— Ishaka
Greenwell regarding "Is
the Virtual Assistant/Client Relationship Right for You?"
on 4/20/09.
Hey! Send us your feedback. Did you find an article
insightful, helpful and informative? Have topic ideas you'd like to see
covered in future issues? Let us know! We'd love to hear from you.
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NO-COST TELESEMINAR -
Defend Against Plagiarism in 3 Easy Steps: A Practical
Guide to Protecting Your Work on the Web
 Have
you ever had your content reused without permission? If so, you know how
frustrating it can be. Whether you are posting a blog, marketing copy
or images on your site, tracking your content on the Web is crucial to
Internet success.
If you've ever been a victim of plagiarism or want to know what
you can do should plagiarism ever happen to you, you'll want to join us
for our next no-cost VACOC Guest Expert Teleseminar on Thursday, May 21,
with plagiarism consultant Jonathan Bailey. In this teleseminar,
Jonathan will share with you the techniques and strategies he has used
to stop over 700 plagiarists of his own work and show you how to reduce
the time it takes to handle a case of plagiarism to under 15 minutes.
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