Online Marketing Tools for Today’s Small Businesses

Filed Under Miscellaneous

Rita Cartwright stopped by to talk about her informative new e-book “Online Marketing Tools for Today’s Small Businesses”.

MP: Why did you write this book?

RC: My goal was to create a handbook, which entrepreneurs and small business owners can refer to when they are searching for online marketing tools and/or new marketing ideas. I wrote it for new entrepreneurs and small business owners, as well as for those who have been in business a while.

MP: Tell me about yourself.

RC: I’m originally from Arizona and now reside in California. I earned my bachelor’s degree (with Magna Cum Laude honors) from Arizona State University when I was 44 years old. After graduation, I couldn’t find a job; therefore, I decided to start my own business offering online word processing services, which was 6 years ago. At that time, I was not aware of the virtual assistant industry, which I am now a member of. So, I guess you can say I was ahead of the curve.

MP: What qualifies you to write this book?

RC: Approximately 2 years ago, I started maintaining a blog and writing articles in order to implement the article marketing strategy. (I talk about using this strategy as a marketing tool in my e-book.) Also, while attending college, I learned how to write. I had to write. I remember my English professor saying I should be a writer, because he thought I had the skills. I didn’t take him serious. I was just trying to get through college.

In regards to the subject matter, my background and education in marketing and my experience from operating an online business provide me with the necessary qualifications to write this e-book on the topic of online marketing tools.

MP: How long have you been an entrepreneur?

RC: I have been an entrepreneur since October 2002. Although I started out as a small business owner, I have become an entrepreneur. There are differences between entrepreneurs and small business owners. In fact, I wrote an article on the differences. It is titled, “Are There Any Differences Between an Entrepreneur and a Small Business Owner?” Ezine Articles is one of the article banks where you can find it.

MP: What is the e-book about?

RC: This e-book contains information on various online marketing tools, along with some examples and in-depth descriptions of the tools. There is also a resource section that lists websites where you can find the online marketing tools, including “live” links to the websites. The resource section will save your readers a lot of time in Internet research when they are searching for information on online marketing tools.

MP: What do you want the readers to get out of this e-book?

RC: I wanted to provide those readers, who have a shoestring marketing budget, with information they can use in their online marketing plan or, at least, generate new marketing ideas. Most entrepreneurs and small business owners do not have a large marketing budget. The marketing tools I discuss costs little to no money.

MP: Can we look for more books from you in the future?

RC: Yes. One of my clients, who is a coach of Christian leaders, and I are currently working together on an e-book. It will be geared towards Christian leaders and Christian virtual assistants. So be on the lookout for that in the near future.

MP: How can the readers contact you if they have any questions?

RC: Your readers can reach me at 760-631-1335 or toll free at 866-651-3073 or send me an e-mail at rjcartw@rjswordprocessing.com.

MP: Where can the readers purchase your e-book?

RC: They can click here to purchase it.

MP: Rita, thank you for stopping by my blog on your tour.

RC: You are very welcome. Thank you, Melodee, for having me.

Don’t forget – Rita will be giving away one of her books to one lucky commenter of this blog so leave a comment or question for Rita. You’ll be glad you did :-)

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New Online Marketing E-book Release

Filed Under Books R Me, Virtual Assistance

Rita Cartwright of RJ’s Word Processing Services has released a great new e-book called “Online Marketing Tools for Today’s Small Business”. I enjoyed my copy so much that I’ve decided to host Rita’s Virtual Book Tour here on October 28th!

Entrepreneurs and small business owners in any industry can use this e-book as a reference guide. Whenever you need fresh online marketing ideas or need online marketing information, you can refer back to this e-book. Nowadays, we are so overwhelmed with information, Rita wanted to simplify the search for online marketing techniques by organizing some of that information together into one location, her e-book. Pick up your copy today at the low price of $3.98.

Rita’s background in marketing and experience in conducting her business online qualify her to write an e-book on the topic of various marketing tools and strategies. Having to operate on a shoestring marketing budget, provided her with necessary knowledge and skills, which were required in order to implement these same strategies into her online marketing plan. For more information on RJ’s Word Processing Services and Rita, please click here.

Rita J. Cartwright is a Virtual Assistant and owner of RJ’s Word Processing Services and has been in business since 2002. In 1998, she received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Marketing from Arizona State University with a minor in Spanish. She is also a member of Virtual Assistant Networking Association and Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. In order to offer her clients quality service, Rita continues to enhance her skills through various teleseminars and webinars, as well as network online and offline with fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Stop back on October 28th to see my interview with Rita. NOTICE: Rita will be randomly selecting a participant at each of her tour spots to receive a free copy of her e-book! To qualify, you’ll need to post a comment or question on this blog on October 28th. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by :-)

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Wisconsin Virtual Assistant Network

Filed Under Miscellaneous

Are you an established Virtual Assistant living in Wisconsin? Or are you looking for a VA that can provide a specific skill set for your business? If so, read on…

A few of the Madison area VAs (Rachel Rasmussen of Rescue Desk, Jessica Maes of Maes Consulting, and myself) decided to turn our unofficial get-togethers into an official networking group. We wanted to promote local VA talent and provide information about the VA industry. We also wanted to give businesses a site to help them find a Virtual Assistant who fit their support needs.

And so the Wisconsin Virtual Assistant Network was born!

The WVAN Website

The WVAN website gives information about our members with links to their websites, provides information on the VA industry, and links to resources on how to become, as well as how to hire, a Virtual Assistant.

Other Benefits to Joining the WVAN

There will be networking events and workshops geared toward virtual assistance that members will be able to attend.

How to Join the WVAN

If you are currently working as a VA in Wisconsin, please visit the WVAN website and fill out the membership form to become a part of this exciting endeavor. It’s completely free!

Are you looking for a Virtual Assistant?

The concept of “buying local” is not confined to Wisconsin, but we do take it seriously. If you are a Wisconsin entrepreneur or company that is looking for a professional VA to provide you with top-notch assistance without the overhead of an employee, check out the WVAN VA Directory. It will provide you with information about the Virtual Assistants that are local to your area.

Of course, you don’t need to live in Wisconsin to take advantage of the experience and knowledge of the Wisconsin VA Network members. We’ll be happy to help, no matter where you’re located!

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Infomaniac Update

Filed Under Virtual Assistance

It’s been tough trying to keep up with Janet Barclay and her Information Diet, but I have managed to curb my intense desire to information gather, at least over the past couple of weeks.

First, I had so much work two weeks ago that I didn’t have TIME to read all my RSS feeds, Google alerts, e-zines, and emails from a nice guy in Nigeria who wants to give me $12 million. It would be great if that could be a weekly occurrence, but unfortunately, I’m not usually THAT busy :-)

Last week I was on vacation without Internet access. Now that REALLY slowed down my infomaniac impulses! I had to settle for flipping through the stack of magazines that I had brought with me, and reading the ebooks that I had downloaded previously and stored on my hard drive. (Thank God I had thought ahead!)

While on vacation, I did have time to think about how much time I did waste on aimless browsing and unfocused research. So I created a list of changes that I’m going to implement this week. That includes:

The hard part is fighting the temptation to add more alerts and feeds and what-evers once I have the old ones cleaned out. OK – now that I think of it – that would be impossible. They don’t call it Infomaniac “addiction” for nothing. I guess I’ll try to schedule time every 6 months to do an information search and purge, and hope for the best.

What is your favorite recovery program for Infomaniac addiction?

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Virtual Assistant Vacation

Filed Under Virtual Assistance

I’m not a good vacation-taker.

I was on vacation this past week. I stayed at my brother’s summer trailer at Crystal Lake. No Internet access and poor cell phone reception. The perfect vacation for a Virtual Assistant who spends her life online, right? You would think so…

Here was my week:

I probably won’t be on vacation again until next spring when we go to Brewers Spring Training, visit my brother, and then my son and his wife. Fortunately, there will be WiFi all along the way, and I’ll be able to take my laptop (and my work) with me :-)

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Infomaniac Gauntlet

Filed Under Virtual Assistance

Apparently, Janet Barclay wasn’t REALLY expecting to get her Infomaniac addiction under control, so I’m throwing down the gauntlet!

I’ve organized my Outlook InBox by adding “Needs action”, “To read/review”, and “Waiting for reply” folders. Now, when my email comes in, I answer it promptly, if needed, and then place it in one of those three folders. That way I will have all of my e-zines and Google alerts in my “To read/review” folder, ready for me to peruse them when I have the time, rather than interrupting my workday to read them as soon as they come in.

Also, I am now checking the weather only once a day…first thing in the morning. Unless it looks like there’s a big storm coming in. Or I want to see pretty pictures of autumn leaves.

So, Janet, I’ve taken steps toward curbing my information addiction. Now it’s your turn…

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