I often fly for business and thought I’d share with you some travel tips I’ve learned upon the way that have helped me travel more productively and stress-free

1. Scope the airport terminal for someone interesting to talk to be it a oriented business person who may look like someone you can learn business tips from to maybe just cute guy/girl you’d like to get to know, HA! Whatever your networking mission scope out new connections and start talking ahead of time. It’s amazing how much you can learn from someone you don’t even know waiting in the terminal to pass the time away. If you do make a connection with someone, often times you can trade seats with a person on a long flight to sit next to them to continue the conversation where it left off. This can make an 8 hour flight fly by and is much more interesting than sitting beside a sleepy snorer whose head ends up wobbling to the side landing on your shoulder, dropping wet drools on your jacket during the flight.

2. Personally, I like to sit in the exit areas as that provides me with a bit more leg room if I plan to sleep. The chances of a flight going down and me having to direct passengers to the exit door are probably slim to none (or at least I hope so). One caveat to sitting in an exit area, if you want to watch the movie sometimes you cannot comfortably see the screen from the exit seats. With no seat ahead of you, you may also not have an individual TV to watch.

3. Recently many of the airlines are catering to parents of small children which I think is a fabulous idea. Kids can be so sweet as they giggle at you between the seats. After all awhile however you’ll find it becomes a full time commitment to entertain them. Flying is tough on most children and more than likely within about 2 hours of the flight they will all be screaming and wanting to be fed which doesn’t contribute well to my quiet flight. That said, I now totally avoid the last 4 rows specifically on American Airlines (not sure of the other airlines) as that is where they like to seat the babies and small children. It is cute in the beginning but on long flights the crying and smell of poopy diapers plus the throw up spasms is enough to make for an unpleasant flight.

4) If you are on a long flight and want to indulge in a couple of drinks, order two the first time around because the staff seldom come back to give you another one. There is always the flight attendant button you can push to get their attention but easier just to order it all in one shot. If you are heading to Vegas, no worries! They will spoon feed you with booze the whole flight there.

5) I always bring my own food on board as the food is usually pretty shabby in comparison to what you could get at the airport terminal.

6) I like to read the airline magazine you find in the front pocket of the seat ahead of you. That way I can lay out my plan of where my next gate is and visually be ready if I have a bunch of transfers. Also, at the end of each flight during taxi, the Pilot will announce your next gate or baggage claim area so listen up!

7) I love to get a window seat and look out at the world below me. It’s not only breathtaking but humbling too. Plus if I want to fall asleep, it’s not too hard to lean against the window and do just that. I always travel with a beanbag neck pillow.

Speaking of pillows, pillows and blankets are not supplied anymore so make sure you travel with a neck rest and blanket. Or at least bring a heavy hoodie as it can get cool flying.

9) I like to have a stash of hard candy, mints or gum when flying to suck/chew on take off and landing which prevents my ears from getting plugged. Sometimes I’ll even pop an antihistamine before the flight which not only makes me sleepy for a long flight but allows my sinuses to breath easily during the flight.

10) I love to network/socialize with the person I’m sitting with as you never know what might come of it. An easy icebreaker is “so where are you flying to? Is that your hometown or are you vacationing?

Flying can be frustrating only if you don’t prepare. Bring plenty to read, your iPad or laptop to entertain yourself. Better yet, practice your networking skills and get to know a new person that may bring forth a business opportunity your way.

Here’s a couple of fun travel videos during my last business trip to Tennessee to visit Lynn Terry of ClickNewz who I’m working on a new project with.

And on a more personal level as I always try to throw some leisure into my business trips:

Have some flying tips? Share in the comment area below…

What’s the first thing you think of when writing with keywords?

Probably one of the first is that keywords and phrases are descriptive of the products and/or services you’re writing about. But, what happens in those circumstances where you can’t (or don’t really want to) use your chosen keyphrases descriptively?

Is Your Product/Service Really Cheap?

One of the primary things that causes this dilemma is the word “cheap.” There’s a big difference between somebody typing “cheap travel insurance” into a search engine query field and you calling your own insurance cheap. Nobody really wants “cheap” insurance. That brings up images of companies that go out of business, don’t return calls, fight you on paying claims, etc.

What customers want is inexpensive or affordable insurance. Problem is, in their haste, they type in the first thing that comes to mind. Average Joe doesn’t understand that search engines are (in part) matching the words in their query to words on web pages. “Cheap travel insurance” may be the keyphrase you want and need to target, but you certainly don’t want to label your own product as “cheap.” What else can you do?

Use that search term with the opposite meaning.

Perhaps your copy could read something like this:

Affordable? Budget-friendly? Absolutely! But this is certainly not cheap travel insurance. Coverage is underwritten by one of the most trusted and well-respected companies. With this policy, you’ll find benefits comparable to more expensive coverage, but with rates at or below what the cheap travel insurance companies charge.

See the difference? Instead of writing “We sell cheap travel insurance,” and degrading your product in the eyes of your customer, you actually use the search term to elevate your product to a higher level of quality.

Legalities That Get in the Way

Another issue with many keyphrases is that they violate government regulations if used to describe a product. You find this often with health supplements. The FDA (and other such agencies around the world) has a long list of what manufacturers can and cannot say with regard to their products. This is mainly in an effort to protect the consumer against snake oil salesmen who make fraudulent claims.

For instance, you cannot call your supplement a cure. In many countries you can’t even call your product a remedy. And so, you face the issue with those ever-popular search terms that use “remedy” and other such words within them.

One of my favorite techniques is to ask questions that incorporate these keywords.

You can’t legally say, “Here’s a new heartburn remedy we’ve just released.” But you can ask questions like:

Tired of that same old heartburn remedy that doesn’t work? Wish someone would create something new?

Looking for a heartburn remedy that doesn’t require a prescription?

Is your heartburn remedy falling short?

You’re not saying *your* product is a heartburn remedy; you’re just asking questions about what the customer might want or need.

When you’re writing with keywords, you really have to think outside the box. We typically get stuck and have tunnel vision when we write SEO copy. The keywords get inserted the same way over and over. But there are so many different methods (like the one listed above) for using search terms when you write.

If you diversify your SEO writing skills, you’ll find your copy becomes more natural-sounding and is able to communicate its message better. Why stick to just one ordinary way to write with keywords when there are so many to choose from?

Author: Karon has owned her own full-time copywriting agency since 1999. During that time, she has authored and self-published several books including the popular Step-by-Step Copywriting Course (5th Edition), Writing With Keywords, and How to Write Successful PPC Ads . She has also written two ebooks for the Wordtracker Masterclass Series; Ecommerce Copywriting and Article Marketing: The Write Way to Build More links.

Karon is currently the Copywriting Moderator of the High Rankings Forum and has spoken at Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing Expo, NAMS and Internet Summit conferences.

Now she is sharing her knowledge with you through this insightful course available exclusively through VAnetworking.

Seats are limited so REGISTER EARLY to hold your seat!

It’s that time of the year again and we are taking stock of inventory at VAnetworking headquarters and putting 2010 stock on sale.

Each product may be slightly damaged as described but they are still 100% functionable and usable for your VA business.  This is a great opportunity if you have been eyeballing one of my VA products over the past year but were not in a financial position to purchase it.

We have the following products for sale (up to 60% OFF) on a first -come, first-served basis:

VBSS Systems (6 Available) - I have 6 Virtual Business Startup Systems that have very slight water damage to corners of the inserted page dividers within the workbook.

Regularly $997 >> On Sale for $397 (includes shipping costs within North America)

Includes everything described here

Coupon code: yearendvbss

The VBSS System Template CD-ROM (5 Available) - This is the 2010 Version of the VBSS template CD. Includes over 125 business templates, legalease contracts, e-books, tutorials, charts, articles, coupons and even Virtual Assistant business contracts that are necessary to operate a Virtual Assistant business.

Regularly $397 >> On Sale for $77

Read more about it by clicking here

Coupon code: yearendvacd

Softcover Books: How To Build a Successful Virtual Assistant Business (3 Available) – Corner has been ever so slightly bent on the cover.

Regularly $49.95 >> On Sale for $24.95

Click here to order

Coupon code: yearendvabook

The following VAgear is being discontinued (perfect condition and not damaged in any way) and is on sale as follows:

VAdala Necklaces (3 Available)

Regularly $27.95 >> On Sale for $12.95

Click here to order

Coupon Code: yearendvadala

VAdala Earrings (4 Available)

Regularly $27.95 >> On Sale for $12.95

Click here to order

Coupon Code: yearendvadala

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE NOTE: All products are available on a first-come, first-served basis only while supplies last. There is no guarantee of availablity of any product upon ordering.

From your VA family at VAnetworking, here’s wishing you a prosperous and Happy New Year!

Warmly,
Tawnya

As virtual entrepreneurs it is very important to our business success to continually educate ourselves so we stand out from our competitors.

Every six months, I do this by attending NAMS (Niche Affiliate Marketing System) workshop in Atlanta.

This workshop has been more valuable to my business success than any other event I’ve ever attended and I attend about 5-6 conferences per year.

Watch the video here to learn more

The first year I attended NAMS as a student and my business skyrocketed from all the resources, networking and knowledge I learned from the specialty niched instructors.  The second year, I attended as an instructor and taught everyone the value of utilizing a Virtual Assistant in their business.  The third year I am attending as an aid helped attendees, one on one, to help kick their online business up a notch or two or four!

My daughter Danielle attended with me and even WON the contest at NAMS4 for HIGHEST SALES!  Did I tell you she just started her online business one week before attending NAMS4? 

This year I’ll be attending as an instructor again and look forward to sharing my knowledge with you to help you kick things up a notch in your business. It would be super cool if you could make it so I could meet up with you there.

Attending this NAMS marketing workshop has been the best investment I have ever made in my business. And we all know you have to continually educate yourself if you want to be competitive in the online world of e-commerce.  You’ll learn everything you need to know to make money online with your website at this event.

What’s really cool this year however is that NAMS will also be going virtual.  You’ll get access to the virtual NAMS5 workshop virtually plus get to attend the NAMS6 in Atlanta in August all for the price of one live workshop.

Watch the video here to learn more

For the price of one workshop, you’ll get 6 months of top-notch instruction from 20 instructors including 3 days of virtual workshops, and 18 weekly sessions before attending NAMS6 in real-time in Atlanta.

This is definitely a virtual and real-time business getaway (Tax Write-off!) to Atlanta that will make your business a smashing profitable success. Don’t miss it! Register today. Even if you aren’t sure about attending Atlanta next August, the virtual workshops are so worth it!

REGISTER HERE

I truly hope to meet you in person so sign up today! It is a marketing event not to be missed if you are serious about making money with your online business.

To your virtual success,

Tawnya Sutherland

PS: Tickets for this event always sell out early and with this special offer of 2 NAMS for the price of 1, it will go quick.  Don’t wait, click here to register today!

As many of you know from my Twitter feed this week, I had two business computers crash on me this past week. Anyone in business virtually will agree, this can totally abrupt the cash flow in your business until you are up and running again.

Thank goodness my computer guy was right on top of it!

He remotely fixed my main computer for me so I was up and running again within a few hours. As for my 2 year old laptop that died, he researched online and found a way to get it replaced for free through a manufacturers litigation proceeding! Had it not been for his diligent research, I would have had to spend $1,000+ buying a new laptop this week.

Then we got to talking and I mentioned to him that it’s too bad that every Virtual Assistant couldn’t make use of his wonderful computer repair services when he said “They still can >>> remotely!”

The result of our conversation?

He put together a specialized remote service package just for our members at VAnetworking.com. YAY!

SO without further adieu, I’d like to introduce you to Michael Van Ert, better known as The Computer Guy, who will share with you all the details of this unique remote service package. Take it away Michael…

Why would anyone want to have their computer remotely serviced every month? Because ‘stuff’ happens and when it happens to you it can be very expensive in lost revenue, down time, possible data loss and just the anxiety that comes from wondering how long it will be before you can resume your business.

Everyone reading this would benefit from the computer services I am offering, a type of insurance really, at a very reasonable cost (Over 55% off my regular rates).

Here’s what I’ll do, what I am doing, for others every month >>>

• I’ll keep your computer equipped with the best freeware available
• I’ll clean your computer of spyware, malware, viruses and Trojans through the above set of freeware programs
• I’ll speed up your system by removing hidden program start-ups and services you’ll never use
• I’ll keep you informed of recalls, promotions, tips & tricks related to your computer through my newsletter ‘The Byte Line’ (NOTE from Tawnya: Thanks again for finding that recall on my laptop and saving me $1,000+ this week!)
• When asked, I’ll advise you on hardware and software choices and pricing
• I’ll keep your computer’s hardware and software up-to-date
• And I guarantee you will not pay for any software repairs because of a virus, Trojan, spyware or malware for the entire time of the contract should your computer become infected

HOW DOES IT WORK?

I use a program called LogMeIn to access your computer(s) so you’ll have to sign up for their FREE account (or their paid one, it’s up to you) and send me the login information for your account and the user name and password for your computer(s). Once a month I will contact you to remind you that I will be performing my service and maintenance on your computer the next day. You’ll need to have your computer turned on and ready at the appropriate time. The first time will take 3-8 hours per computer, depending on the state of your system. Some of the programs I use take a long time to run and I’ll be on and off your computer during the maintenance stage. When I am done I will leave a note on your desktop telling you I’m finished. You will NOT be able to use your computer during this time.

Make no mistake, I do want you to buy my services, I just don’t want to bore the heck out of you in the process. Here’s what I am offering, one year of computer servicing & maintenance for $384.00, a $900.00 value per computer saving you $516.00 per year.

My SPECIAL Offer to you…

>>> 1 year of computer servicing & maintenance regularly priced at $900 for just $384!

ORDER HERE >> Remote Computer Maintenance Package

That works out to a savings of $516 per year and only $32 per month to remotely protect your business computer. (NOTE from Tawnya: Super duper deal here VAs, you won’t be disappointed, I promise you that!)

YEAH, BUT… COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Who are you?
A. You can learn more about me, read testimonials and learn how my remote maintenance program works by visiting my blog site at http://mvanert.com.

Q. Can I use my computer when you are doing your work?
A. No.

Q. I have more than one computer; can I get even a better deal?
A. Yes, see the drop-down menu for further discounts if you have 2 or 3 computers.

Q. Can I pay you monthly instead?
A. Yes, the retail cost is $75 per month per computer, discounted to $65 per month for a second computer and less for 3 or more, ask me for details. The only way you can get the $32 per month deal is to pre-pay for one year.

Q. What if I want to quit after 3 months, will I get a refund?
A. Yes, but it will be based on $75 per service, so $384 (one year) – $225 (3 x $75) = $159 refund. If you cancel after five months or more there would be no refund.

Q. Can I try your services out first before paying for the year?
A. Sure, the cost is $75.00. If you decide you like what I did and want to go ahead with the one year contract you will be invoiced for the $384.00 less $75.00 already paid and payment would have to be made within 7 days of the first service.

Q. How do I install LogMeIn?
A. Go to http://mvanert.com to get complete instructions on installing LogMeIn and to find what your User name is. Look under the tabs “Free Computer Tips & Tricks” for LMI installation and “Free Video Help” to find out about User accounts.

Q. How do I pay?
A. You can pay using PayPal, Visa or MasterCard from the invoice that will be sent you.

Q. Can you see everything on my computer?
A. Yes. So if you have plans for world domination with the help of the super aliens from planet Necromenrtias I could find it. If you have a secret fetish about Bart Simpson on your computer I could find it. If you have photos of a secret hiding place for your Lego recreation of Bart, I could find it.

But I won’t.

Let me be brutally honest and blunt, I don’t care what you have on your computer. I really don’t have the time to look and unless there is the secret for turning Rice Krispies into gold sitting on your desktop, I won’t be looking.

Besides, you can watch what I’m doing for the whole 3-8 hours and if you, at any time, see me doing something you don’t want me to do you can terminate the LogMeIn session and you can either remove your computer from LogMeIn or cancel your LogMeIn account and I’ll never be able to access your computer(s) again. YOU, not me, are in total control at ALL TIMES.

SUMMARY

So, that is what My Computer Guy, Michael, is offering…

>>> 1 year of computer servicing & maintenance regularly priced at $900 for just $384!

ORDER HERE >> Remote Computer Maintenance Package

Important: This offer is time limited to the first 20 people.

If you have questions please contact Michael directly at mike@mvanert.com and to talking to you through Skype “mvanert”.

Oh and while you are at his website, subscribe to ‘The Byte Line’, his monthly newsletter on all things computer. You’ll love it!

AND thanks Michael for this special offer for the Virtual Assistants at my network. If it wasn’t for you Michael, my business would have crashed long ago…love ya and thanks!

To your virtual success,

Tawnya Sutherland

PS: Ask Michael how you can partner with his business to offer these remote computer maintenance services to your clients on your website service list. Make more money doing joint ventures!