Virtual Assistance and You

We had a discussion recently about targeting your market; about how it’s important to be as specific as possible about who your market is and how they act. We noted how the more specific you are about this market segment, the better for your business; but that does not at all mean that you only do business with your target market. To the contrary, you’re likely to serve many different kinds of people. Nonetheless, if you deliver your message with a certain, finely-etched individual in mind, you’ll attract the returns you seek.

I’ve often wrestled with this phenomenon. Defining your target market means envisioning your ideal customer in every detail, and keeping current with the experiences of that individual, so that your conversations with them are vital and effective.

During that recent discussion, though, I had a realization: defining your target market is a tool for you, as the seller, much more than it is a way to get customers. That is to say, in the end, the exercise is likely to give you increased business. But going through the process of imaging and defining and following your target market is not about knowing who to court, it’s about knowing who you are.  It produces for you a much sharper picture of your product/service; a much more clearly defined idea of the value you offer.

Let’s consider an example. A cake maker wants to boost her sales, but getting past the gatekeepers to reach decision-makers in her industry is proving troublesome. Then she takes some time to flesh out a picture of her ideal customer. With this information, she realizes that the associated social venues, connection points, and networks are suddenly definable as well; and from that data, she can design communications that speak intimately to the viscera of her audience.

The process she sets in motion then renders the gatekeeper problem irrelevant because her communications are so precisely targeted.

But our baker’s new clientele may, in actuality, be a mish-mash of a multitude of types. All sorts of different people may resonate with her targeted messages. If, for instance, she targets women 40-60 years old, income $100,000+, USA and Canada, she might easily attract women outside that age or income range, men who appreciate the female sensibility of her messages, or people from France or China.

They all come to her, though, because her message is crafted with careful specificity. It’s deftly branded. Its integrity captivates.

This is an ancient rule in fine art: that great art exists in the specific, not in the general.

The baker is speaking from her heart to a certain person in her imagination, a flesh-and-blood vision of someone who could be real. She speaks with respect, passion, and generosity, and her message hits the spot.

Defining her target does not necessarily deliver those exact customers to the baker. What it delivers is her own self-knowledge and ability to express. And with those skills come profits.

As a website builder, I had to smile with a wince when I read this question in a forum recently:

“…what does one do when their designer doesn’t seem to be listening to them? One of my sites is being rebranded and we’ve hit a snag 3 weeks in – every time I say I want a certain colour, I get something different … I’m at a loss as to how to proceed – don’t want to end the contract but when I say turqouise 3 times & I get green instead (after saying I don’t like green) I’m not sure how to communicate! Really could do with some ideas / insights here thank you so much!”

Communication. Nothing works without it.

The challenge is magnified enormously when you’re working location-independently. While this style of business is increasingly attractive, the temperament and protocols to operate properly are by no means set.

If you’re standing at the counter of your local printing company, you can point to their color chart and say, “This one.” When communicating virtually, you need the hexadecimal or RGB number or whatever. Unfortunately, we don’t all share the same level of technical know-how. Not so many have ever heard of hexadecimals.

Using digital means to communicate requires at least one of two things: a parity in knowledge about any fields discussed and technology used; or extreme skill in listening, articulating, educating, and empathizing on the part of the virtual worker.

Virtual assistance is all about the latter, of course. It’s incumbent on us, the individuals who call ourselves virtual assistants, to acquire (yea, master) the skill of virtual communications.

And it’s no slide, believe me.

In the above example, the customer was incensed that the word, “turquoise” didn’t seem to be communicating. The designer was likely thinking, “I keep giving her turquoise and she’s still not happy.”

How can this discrepancy be resolved?

The seller has to take total responsibility, of course. It’s a very cool opportunity to develop your service to your customers and fellow human beings. You must listen and provide with true generosity. And in the process, you will likely profit.

You have to recognize where the barriers lie (confusion about colors, for example)   between you and perfect understanding on your clients’ part and work your way through them. Provide charts, samples, other resources and guides. Over-communicate. Know that “turquoise” is not a sufficient identifier for a color.

You have to help your clients become your ideal customers.

And just so you know: I am preaching to myself. Doing business increasingly becomes a matter of communicating better with my clients. I’m thinking about checklists, guidelines, questionnaires, introductions of many sorts: ways to make the process of building a website or producing copy or establishing a social media presence much simpler for the site owner. The more streamlined for them, the more pleasant for me!

As a caveat, I know the marketing world doesn’t recognize perfection in any lasting sense, and every design is a new challenge. So it remains that each job is unique. But the more we can eliminate unnecessary misunderstandings, the better.

Finally, I want to note that the ultimate value of virtual assistants may well be our expertise in virtual communications, since we fundamentally depend on it. We can serve as guides for our clients in the intricacies of being digitally understood.

We editors are a cranky bunch, always hacking away at misspellings and grammatical errors. Our rules, I’m sure, seem arcane to many.

As I’ve often pointed out, excellent written English is so far from the norm online that proper use of the language would seem to have lost all value amongst us.

There’s a core problem with ignoring good language, though: when ‘anything goes’ in language, communication is compromised. We could go so far as to say, the more tightly disciplined the language, the more powerful the communication. So when you start accepting any number of variations on the rules, you must also accept that you will not communicate as well.

Imagine saying something to another person and you really really care that the other person hears and understands. Do you speak differently than when you are not so intent on communicating something?

When representing your business in public, for marketing or any other reason, how much do you care that your audience (those who ‘audit,’ who hear) really gets your message the exact way you intend it? If you care much at all, then use of language is your central concern.

Communicating well is far different from merely spelling correctly or using complete sentences. It’s so much more than your spell-or-grammar-checker can catch that it belongs in another world entirely. The nitty gritty rules of writing are foundational, to be sure. But communicating well is where the pedal hits the metal.

Please consider these samples. Though well-meaning, each of these misses the mark the writer intended, and ends up instead conveying only a lack of careful proofreading or, it must be admitted, a lack of intelligence.

“With a Methodist mother and a Southern Baptist father, Clinton’s fiancé, who is Jewish, will invite another religious perspective into the family.”
What’s wrong: Clinton’s fiancé (subject of the sentence) is Jewish; it is Clinton who has the Methodist mother and Southern Baptist father.
Said properly: Clinton has a Methodist mother and a Southern Baptist father.  Her fiancé, who is Jewish, will invite another religious perspective into the family.

” … looking to ameliorate my skills and further my experience in the financial domain.”
What’s wrong: it would be very bad for you if you ameliorated your skills. Best to be sure you can state the definition of a big word before you use it – especially in any branding statement!
Better way to say it: “… looking to build my skills and experience in the financial domain.”

“I love Chocolate and it was just like , no better than most!”
What’s wrong: Was it really no better than most?
Better way to say it: “I love chocolate and it was like – no, better than most!”

” … he attributes Kurlan & Associates as a large part of his success.”
What’s wrong: ‘Attributes … as’ doesn’t make sense.
Better way to say it: ” … he attributes a large part of his success to Kurlan & Associates.”

“I’m in the business of helping independent professionals maximize their billable hours by handling their administrative support needs.”
What’s wrong: I hope you can see that though we might infer the meaning here, the language tries hard to obscure it.
A better way to say it: “I handle administrative support needs for independent professionals so they can maximize their billable hours.”

Note that in each of these cases, the best use is that which serves the reader’s understanding with most power and precision – and often the most simplicity.

Writing should be used to communicate, if you’re going to publish it. Do it with your reader firmly in mind. Serve his/her interests and nothing else. Create and polish your messages like love letters, because if you are selling anything, that’s what they have to be.

Look out, here comes one of those writing posts. I didn’t plan this, but today I ran into such an obvious example of mindless writing online that I have to go there with you for a minute.

Because communicating clearly is what writing is all about. It’s not a bunch of rules to frustrate you. Good writing respects the reader to the extent that it strives to communicate as easily, as seamlessly as possible.

You would not prepare a soup and serve it without giving it a taste, would you?

If nothing else, good writing requires, demands, and mandates proofreading, absolutely every time without fail. Please take that statement as verbatim, irrefutable law.  Part of my living is made by writing, and it’s still necessary for me to proof at least once, every email, update, and other iota that’s published online or elsewhere.

Because if you want to communicate and not just waste your time and everyone else’s, you must take the time to proofread.

Consider this sentence, culled from a news article I browsed today:

They also predicted using genetics alone many of those among study participants would be a centenarian.

Go ahead, read it again. See if you can make certain sense of it.

This was an article on CNN.com. Official sort of piece. Completely lacking proofreading, and therefore incomprehensible. What a shame. The news is confounding enough in its own right. Must its communication to me be equally garbled?

Okay, here’s what I think the author meant.

They also predicted, using genetics alone, many of those among study participants would be a centenarian.

Knowing that the article was about how scientists are now claiming to be able to predict which people will reach 100 years old in their lifetime, I can hazard a guess that the sentence and its sense might have been far better served stated thusly:

Using genetics alone, they also predicted that many of those among study participants would become centenarian.

And we sigh with relief. Here is language we can understand, language that cares enough about us to make sure it communicates cleanly, language that discretely disappears behind meaning.

Nobody really cares about grammar and proper usage, but we sure do care about understanding. It’s a fundamental need that can be satisfied by dedication to proofreading.

Like slow food, taking the time to proofread is a lifestyle choice that can boost returns in every area of your endeavor.

Today, I’m going to return to my foundation in copywriting as the focus of this post. For the most part these days, I work on and talk about inbound marketing. But despite my infatuation with how the internet works, old fashioned written communication remains my most true love.

There are two reasons I’m choosing this theme today. For one, I worked a long while yesterday on some editing and rewriting and was again reminded how much I love doing it. Some may consider it torture, but I love seeking the perfect word and rhetoric. For me, this is work that is fun.

The second and much more important reason to re-visit copywriting is the sad state of so many blogs and websites I visit, so many emails I receive. These are major vehicles for communicating the offerings of their respective enterprises, and yet the lack of decent written communication serves to obliterate the messages. Note, I’m looking for decent writing; not necessarily expert or brilliant writing. Just communication that accomplishes – however humbly – what it sets out to do.

Copywriting commands marginal respect, as is clear from any sampling of websites. Seems businesses consider it to be a luxury, something they can do without.

I’m not going to cite specific examples, because I’m not out to embarrass anyone. But if your readers have to go over your sentences multiple times to figure out what you mean, you’ve lost them before they even get a whiff of your offer. A misplaced or missing comma can totally confuse your reasoning. A there when it should be their, or a your when you really mean you’re can require careful dissection before the reader gets your point.

And we have neither time nor patience for such painstaking reading. There are enough choices: we simply move on.

Good writing is an invisible thing: we skip right over it and plunge into the soul of the message. Isn’t that what you want your readers to do?

Since the English language is so pervasive, those whose native tongue is something else are especially challenged in these internet times. So many wish to communicate with and sell to English-speakers; and though they may evidence great intelligence and creativity, if we have a hard time reading their thoughts, we’re off somewhere else at one click. And thus it is that potentially great resources, exchanges, and collaborations can be eclipsed, summarily pre-empted by poor communications. It’s a shame!

In the end, valuing good copywriting and other forms of written communication is a matter of respect for your reader. Especially in online marketing strategies, in which providing useful content is paramount, a key part of making content useful is ensuring that it’s easily consumable.

Communication is an exchange between people. You probably want your exchanges with others to be fair, clear, profitable on both sides. When your web presence is characterized by poor writing, you are not fully respecting the people who visit you there.

It seems a little thing, and it is! Especially when you take care to attend to it. When you neglect good copywriting, your business and brand eventually suffer. Eventually, that ‘little thing’ becomes an insurmountable barrier. But if you tend to the excellence of your copy, if you learn how to make the writing invisible, you’ll immediately find yourself at a new, higher level of opportunity and profits.

And if you think you might benefit from the services of an editor or ghost writer, please contact me right away.

As a VA, I’ve been working by the hour for most contracts. I’ve been offering services. But lately the effectiveness of selling products has been hard to ignore.

Yesterday, I was privileged to participate in a teleseminar given by Allison Nazarian. Exceedingly well-organized and articulate, Allison made many valuable points during the call, which was focused on improving business practices amongst copywriters.

One of the several aspects of the call that impressed me was Allison’s willingness to state her strong opinions, with total respect for others, but without apology. So many over-polite presenters tell you all about the options, but offer no actual guidance. Another cool thing about strong opinions is that they make sharing opinions something that’s okay to do. Peeps may disagree with you, but if you don’t share your beliefs, how can anyone benefit by them?

That said, I’m devoting this post to an examination of one of Allison’s opinions, because it’s an issue I’ve been pondering for my business as well. Most of my work centers on writing and editing or on social media marketing. So the question here is, am I selling products or services?

You may wonder what difference it makes. Often, the distinction is obvious. If you provide widgets, you sell a product; if you drive a taxi cab, you sell a service. But for such people as virtual assistants and copywriters, the definition blurs.

Take a look at this recent article from Dean Rieck, evangelizing the service term. The author goes so far as to say that telling people you provide a product, if you’re copywriting for them, makes you more like an employee than a contractor. I wonder if he would make the same suggestion to virtual assistants.

But a few days ago, I read an article by C.J.Hayden in which she made the opposite claim, saying that packaging your services as products will boost your sales and credibility enormously. (I’d give you the link, but after 30 minutes of searching for it, I’ve given up.) Allison Nazarian, in the call yesterday, shared Hayden’s viewpoint.

It’s difficult to sell your work by the hour, since that’s asking the client to take a risk, betting that you’ll deliver as you promise. Customers can kick the tires of your widgets before they buy, but services – by definition – don’t exist at all until they’re paid for, or at least under contract.

You can package your widget as a service providing happiness:  you don’t sell a bed, for instance, you sell a good night’s sleep.  On the other side, you can package your service as a product providing tangible returns:  for example, you don’t sell virtual assistant services by the hour, you sell newsletter production or reports from competitive market research as products for flat fees.

Lawyers charge by the hour; doctors charge by the operation. Artists get paid for their products; consultants get paid for their time. Hmmmm …. Does this issue tangle up your brain the way it does mine?

I’ve lately caved, and structured a few of my offerings as products on my websites. A hefty chunk of my work remains in the service category, however, for now. I’m really curious: whether VA or other business person, do you sell products or services? Have you thought about the distinction, and the difference it could make to your sales? Please comment!