Starting up a blog is probably one of the smartest ways a Virtual Assistant can invest their time and effort. It’s the first thing most people will see of your business, so there’s absolutely no margin for error. Trying to make it too extravagant or complex is largely futile. These days, you don’t need a computer expert to do the job for you, because everything necessary is readily available, most of it for free.
The one thing that I would suggest, if this is going to be your main web presence as a Virtual Assistant, then you should have your own Hosting Package and a domain name that mirrors your business name, or as near as you can get it. The steps you need to follow when developing your blog are:
First of all, before you begin, here is a big warning: Keep your site classy and uncluttered, simplicity is everything! Make sure that the site is simple for your users to navigate, so that they can easily find what they’re searching for. While in technological terms it may be state of the art, your blog should still have a professional appearance.
1. The first thing to do is to pursue some keyword research around the topics you are going to talk about on your blog. From this you can identify the most optimised names for the blog. From this project you can find out some of the most beneficial titles for the blog.
2. Your next step is to research the blog platform that you are going to use. There are a great number of choices available, offered by providers such as WordPress.org – the Moveable Type for the self hosted option, or the likes of WordPress.com, Typepad, Blogger, Blogspot or Blogsmith for hosted platforms. The things you really need to make sure that you do are:
* Use a platform that is widely support by a very active community.
* Use something that is portable, and always keep a back up should anything go wrong.
3. Once you’ve selected a platform, sign up using one of the preferred names that you picked for the blog, or install the site onto your own domain.
4. Select the template that you want to utilise, and ensure that:
* It ’s appropriate to your topic.
* You fully customise it with headers, pictures, buttons and so on to make your blog stand out.
* The end result suits your style and brand.
5. Once you have completed this see what else you are able to add to your site, i.e. available widgets and plug-ins.
6. When you’re pleased with the overall style, you should add some new posts to get an idea of how the blog will look once users begin to utilise it. Once you’ve done this, make any tweaks necessary to improve the appearance and layout.
7. When you are happy with the overall look you can then publish your blog.
Maintaining your blog can be a bit of a challenge as you really need to post at least once a week, two or three quality posts would be better. You should be displaying something that visitors will want to return for – and motivate these users to opt-in to your feed.
Remember that this is an online business blog and you’re displaying your corporate image, so keep the discussions agreeable, as you want to put forth your individuality while still remaining completely professional. Don’t mix business with pleasure on your site, and as you don’t want to alienate anyone, try to keep away from any kind of controversial topics.
Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, a state of the art Executive Virtual Assistant Service which assists businesses and individuals with every aspect of their enterprising requirements. Do you want to explore these inspiring online business building success strategies? Check out the Campaign for FREE Virtual Assistance right away!
