OCTOBER 19, 2009
ISSN 1947-105X | Vol. 3, No. 42

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TECHNOLOGY ISSUE

In This Issue:

• A Note from Danielle
• Grateful Moment
• FEATURE ARTICLE: Making MS Outlook Work for You
• VACOC NEWS: 2009 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey
• Marketplace
• Find a Virtual Assistant
• About the VACOC

A Note from Danielle...

Are you throwing the baby out with the bath water? Wait, I don't mean literally! I'm talking about email. We can get so overzealous in our spam-fighting efforts that we end up making it vexing for our clients and prospects to deal with us. That also got me to thinking about how we may not always be taking full advantage of the tools and simple organizational tricks our email programs offer that make managing this area of business less of a headache. Read on...

Yours in goodness and success :)

Danielle Keister
Founder & Virtual Assistant Expert
Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce

This week I'm grateful for...

Sarah Greene of Greene Business Support Services. Sarah added her eagle eyes to proofing my new book. Thanks, Sarah!

We Love Hearing From You!

“I wanted to let you know that I find your newsletters informational and enjoyable and look forward to their arrival!”

— Denise Haney.

How did YOU like this issue or a past teleseminar? Was it insightful, helpful or informative? Have topic ideas you'd like to see covered in the future? Let us know!

- FEATURE ARTICLE -

Making MS Outlook Work for You

You know, I'm not one of those people who thinks email should be managed to the point that it doesn't serve its purpose. We can get so preoccupied with spam filtering that we actually make it more difficult for legitimate email to get through and harder for prospects to reach us. And I can't begin to tell you the ill will it can create when someone trying to connect with you thinks they are being ignored. Personally, if I get someone's automated spam blocker message asking me to jump through hoops, well, I just say sayonara.

There's lots you can do to make your email client work for you, not against you. I happen to use Microsoft Outlook so I'm going to focus on how to make use of some the tools that program provides. What little junk mail does end up getting through after that is not enough that it would ever prompt me to forego easy, open communication lines for my clients and prospects. So here's how I use Outlook:

1. Set up folders. I know there's a whole Get It Done crowd who thinks you only need three folders. If that works for you, beautiful. I use a version of that system myself, but I also still find value in creating specific folders for clients, vendors and other important people I want to save email chains for. The difference is that I set up my folders under the "Deleted Items" section so that they don't clutter up my In box area. You can still use the search function, but the first time search doesn't pull up that particular message you needed because you aren't plugging in the right terms, you'll thank yourself for having all your conversations organized tidily and made instantly retrievable in the folders you've created.
   
   
2. Set up rules. I don't know that anyone can ever fully exhaust all the possibilities when it comes to utilizing the "rules" feature in Outlook. Using rules, you can have incoming messages sent and sorted into certain folders in the Inbox section of your mailbox. You can sound-code them if you like. You can even set up payments to arrive with a cash register "ka-ching!" By the way, color coding folders and clients is a great tool as well.
   
   
3. Add clients and friends to your "Safe Senders" list. To organically aid and facilitate legimate email, be sure and white-list your clients, vendors, associates and any other email addresses you definitely want to hear from.
   
   
4. Set up templated messages. You know when you have certain stock messages you send out over and over? Well, you can set those messages up (formatted and including graphics, even) in the "Autocorrect" feature. Create your message, format it, add whatever other images you want, and then give it a quick, easy-to-type-and-remember word code or abbreviation. Next time you have to send that message out, you just type in the code, hit "enter" and voila! There it is in your email.
   
   
5. Set up signatures. Outlook gives you advanced capabilities for creating customized signatures for different email addresses. For each email address, you can create a separate, unique signature. Once you set up one signature, you can assign that signature to any number of other email addresses, or create completely new ones. When you go to send out a message, you simply change the "account" and the correct signature will automatically appear.

RESOURCE: David Allen's "Getting Things Done" Outlook add-in offers a wonderful tool that makes managing your email to-dos a breeze.

About the Author: Danielle Keister is an author, business advisor and innovator in the Virtual Assistant profession. Through her organization, the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, she is passionate about helping Virtual Assistants grow stronger, more financially successful practices that lead them to greater personal happiness, freedom and client satisfaction. An administrative professional of 20+ years and veteran Virtual Assistant of 12+ years, her no-nonsense approach to business development has gained her recognition as one of the leaders in the field.

© Copyright 2009, The Portable Business™. All U.S. and International rights reserved. You may print this article for personal use or republish it online only if it is left unaltered and used in its entirety, including bylines, links, copyright notice, resource and author information. Contact the author for any other permission.

- VACOC NEWS -

Take the 2009 Annual Virtual Assistant Industry Survey

UPDATE 10/19/09: 543 participants so far—only 457 to go! We're shooting for 1,000 so if you are a VA, be sure and take the survey and keep those promotions going. They really, really help. And if you are a client, please forward this email to your Virtual Assistant. :)

Each year, the VACOC conducts an industry-wide survey with the purpose of taking a representative, group snap-shot of those who are in the business of providing ongoing administrative support. Virtual Assistants who participate get the survey results report absolutely free! Our goal this year is 1,000 participants. Judging from past years' surveys, the report will be about 75-100 pages chockful of useful, fascinating, eye-opening data. So don't delay—the sooner we hit the mark, the sooner YOU get your copy!

Take the survey >>

- VACOC NEWS -

Join the VACOC Virtual Assistant Ethics Pledge

Did you know the VACOC offers Virtual Assistants the most highly used and respected ethics pledge in the industry? Lots of VAs use our Virtual Assistant Ethics Pledge on their websites to demonstrate to clients their commitment to integrity and excellence in business. If you are a Virtual Assistant reading this ezine, you can, too!

It doesn't cost a dime--just your promise to honor and abide by these ideals. Simply place the badge on your website and you're good to go! The coding includes a link that opens the full Ethics Pledge in a new window so you don't have to type everything out yourself. How convenient is that?

Click here to get your badge today!

- 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 for simple, straightforward administrative tasks and projects that can be completed and turned-around in a day or so (24 to 48 hours) with no fuss, no muss. All you do is 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. Simple as that! For more information, be sure and check out our Quickie Gigs™ page.

Let's Connect

Marketplace

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Find a Virtual Assistant Today

You don't have to live in overwhelm! Find yourself a great Virtual Assistant today, and go from struggling by yourself to enjoying more time, freedom and success.

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ABOUT THE VACOC: Founded by industry veteran Danielle Keister in 2006, the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce™ is the Virtual Assistant professional association specifically for solopreneurs. Our passion is helping Virtual Assistants run smarter, more successful businesses that bring them more money and greater personal happiness, freedom and client satisfaction.

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