Your clients are asking for it …

Your competitors are charging handsomely it …

You never thought YOU could do it …

UNTIL NOW …

One of the things we LOVE to do is to help Virtual Assistants with learning new skills, finding new clients and building their business.

When it comes right down to it, we’re pretty lucky ladies.  See, while we connect with Virtual Assistants all over every day, we also are fortunate enough to connect with business owners on a daily basis.

Why is this beneficial?  Because we hear first hand what they LOVE about their Virtual Assistants … but also what they DO NOT love so much.

One of the things we hear over and over again, is that business owners wish that their Virtual Assistants could help with writing and editing on their behalf.

We’re not talking about writing information that is related to the client’s expertise.  And we’re not talking about full-out copywriting.

What we are talking about are the day-to-day writing tasks that a Virtual Assistant could easily take over … with the right training.

We know that in most cases, Virtual Assistants are insecure about their writing skills.  There’s really nothing worse than struggling over what to write, then having your client rewrite the entire item from scratch - right?

But what if I told it’s easier than you think and that your clients would be more than grateful to have you take over the writing and editing of:

• Welcome messages

• Short webpages

• Brief product/service descriptions

• Ongoing reminder and follow-up messages

• Testimonials

• Customer service emails and general correspondence

• Social media updates and blog posts

On Monday, April 26th (yes, this coming up Monday), we’ll be starting a 5 session “Writing and Editing Basics for Virtual Assistants” program with writing and expert Linda Dessau.  Linda’s no stranger to the online world … she’s
helped people you know with writing and editing their book … namely Tina Forsyth.

If you’d like to

• raise your confidence in writing and editing …

• be very comfortable with applying your mindset and initiative and telling
  your client you will take over the writing of the items above and

• experience a whole new level of appreciation from your client for you
  skill and
  your support,

then join us starting on Monday, April 26th for this 5 session (over 3 weeks) program.

>>> I want to learn more about the ‘Writing & Editing Basics’ training program

This article was written by Linda Dessau, an editor, ghostwriter and writing coa’ch.
Linda is the lead trainer for the HotSkillsVATraining ‘Writing & Editing Basics for Virtual
Assistants‘ training program.

In the last V-Scoop, Linda talked about how writing issues like grammar errors, misused words, typos or readability problems could be affecting your credibility, your clients’ success and the growth of your business.

Today she’d like to turn the tables and look at what is possible when you write well and use writing effectively in your business. Here are examples that apply equally to the writing you do for yourself and the writing or editing you may do for your clients:

1. When you write about what you know best and help other people understand it better, you build your status as an expert in that area.

2. When you write all of your marketing messages about that same topic, you strengthen the unity (and results) of your message.

3. When you write about the answers to your readers’ questions, they will think of you first when they need more help.

4. When you write about solving these problems, you awaken your creativity for other new ideas.

5. When you write for the way people read on the web, they will keep reading.

6. When you write a clear set of instructions, people will follow them.

7. When you write each email as a precious conversation, people will always be glad to hear from you.

8. When you write out the details instead of assuming someone knows what you mean, you minimize the risk of false assumptions or misunderstandings.

9. When you write with a unified voice, you and your client are a powerful force.

10. When you edit with an eye for professionalism and readability, you and your client both look better!

We’ll be covering all of these points and more in the upcoming Hot Skills VA class – Writing and Editing Basics for VAs, with Class 1, Claim Your Expertise (points 1-2), Class 2, Writing for the Web (points 3-5), Class 3, The Basics of Clear Communication (points 6-7) and Class 4, Basic Editing. I hope you can join us!

Linda Dessau, CPCC, is an editor, ghostwriter and writing coach. She is the author of The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write, and the editor of VOICE, the newsletter of the International Association of Coaching. Linda has been writing for the web since 2003, and created “You Talk, I’ll Write” in July 2005 to combine her passion for coaching with her gift for writing.

You don’t need to be an expert writer to be able to help your clients.  By just understanding the basics, and understanding your client, you can support them with all kinds of day-to-day writing tasks ranging from autoresponders, to blog posts to ezine content.

This article was written by Linda Dessau, an editor, ghostwriter and writing coa’ch. Linda is one of our experts in the Virtually Successful Telesummit.

You may not think a lot about it, but writing is a part of your work life as a VA or OBM. Writing issues like grammar errors, procrastination, misused words, typos or readability problems can have a detrimental effect on the success and growth of your business.

Writing is so intertwined with your daily tasks that the work you’ve been so passionate about is turning into an ornery chore.

If that weren’t serious enough, consider this: You are often the last stop between your client’s words and their audience. Are those words put together in
a way that will achieve their intended result?

Here are five signs that your writing skills are limiting your success:

1. You spend a lot of time emailing back and forth with clients and prospective clients.

Whether it’s to hash out times for a meeting, clarify project details or re-explain your terms of service, you could be sending the wrong message—that working with you will be time-consuming or frustrating. People may wonder if you really do know your stuff.

2. When you (or your client) send an offer to your mailing list you get no replies.

A mailing list won’t do you any good if you don’t reach out and offer your help. But if your writing is bland or confusing, your offer won’t do you any good, either. And even a well-worded offer could flop if it’s diluted or masked by competing content.

3. Your mailing list (or your client’s mailing list) is shrinking.

Everyone loses the occasional subscriber, but if new people aren’t discovering you there is no place for your list to go but down. Great written content gets passed around because it is so valuable. Without new content, there are no new reasons for someone to get in touch or stay in touch with you.

4. You spend so much time perfecting your writing that your other work is falling behind.

Whether writing is a struggle or you actually really enjoy it, it’s taking up too much of your precious time. You’re constantly running up against phrases that just don’t look right, but you’re not sure how to fix them.

5. You’re embarrassed to send people to your website because it doesn’t reflect the quality of your work.

Maybe you’d rather talk than write, so your website features audio, video, presentations, you name it! But there are still some basic details that people want to read on your website. Beyond the basics, you’re missing countless opportunities to draw your reader in and encourage them to take action.

If you see any of these signs in your business life, take the steps now to address your writing skills. You can take a class or check online for resources—and don’t forget about the library or bookstore. If you’re willing, you will find lots of help out there. Your clients will thank you, your business will thank you, and your old English teacher will finally stop haunting you.

Linda Dessau, CPCC, is an editor, ghostwriter and writing coach. She is the author of The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write, and the editor of VOICE, the newsletter of the International Association of Coaching. Linda has been writing for the web since 2003, and created “You Talk, I’ll Write” in July 2005 to combine her passion for coaching with her gift for writing.