I am in on a lot of discussions about spelling and grammar and the importance of paying attention to these details in your written correspondences and in your documents, web pages, blog posts, print books and ebooks and more.

I belong to several proofreading, editing and/or writing groups on LinkedIn as well as connecting with people in this niche on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more.

My best friend, Sharon McPherson, who built this beautiful web site for me and has been my soul-mate running buddy, so to speak, for 13 years shared this video with me from her Google+ account and I wanted to pass it on to my readers.

I would love to hear your comments after you listen to and watch this video.

My main point with sharing this is to let you know that even if you THINK readers really do not care, a LOT of us DO. Fair or not, your credibility and professionalism can be hurt by bad grammar and spelling or using the wrong instance of a word and my goal is to help you concentrate on the wonderful message you have to share and you can let ME worry about the little details.

Some of the most common, as I shared in an earlier post, are: their / there / they’re, its and it’s, your and you’re and then and than.

Their belongs to them. An example is, “They took off their coats as they entered the room.”
There is a place, for example, “He is standing over there.”
They’re is a contraction for They are. “They’re all hanging up their coats over there.”

Its belongs to it. It’s is a contraction for it is. “It’s a well trained dog that can wipe its feet when it comes in the door.”

Your belongs to you. You’re is a contraction for you are. “You are going to learn to wipe your feet when you come in the door.”

Then is a time. Than is an option. I would rather read than do anything else. I force myself to do my chores so that then I get to have reading time.

I hope you enjoy the video and that these tips might help you avoid some of the most common, and to ME, annoying, errors in your writings.

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing and proofreading assignments along with research, blog posts, article submissions and social media maintenance!

Why not Schedule a Project now?

A Facebook fan page is more than just another way to connect with prospects and customers online. Your Facebook fan page can:

· Drive more traffic to your website

· Build your email list

· Sell more products/services

· Announce special offers and promotions

· Announce events

· Share news

· Provide value to your prospects and customers

· Share photos and videos

· Get feedback from clients and prospects

· Improve your relationships with your prospects and customers

· Improve Search Engine Optimization

Additionally:

· Facebook fan pages are public

· You can communicate directly with your “fans”.

· When a person joins your fan page, it’s published in their News feed – this gives a viral quality to your fan page.

· You have access to more than 500 million active users who log onto Facebook regularly and spend an average of 55 minutes per day on the site.

· Facebook is now the 2nd most visited site in the world after Google

· And Facebook fan pages are free!

Plain and simple, Facebook offers a huge potential to profit and grow your business.

I have a great workbook and checklist to help you with this process AND it is only
TEN BUCKS! Imagine what a great benefit this information can be for your business!

Remember, if you need help maintaining your Social Media accounts for Facebook
and/or Twitter and/or Linkedin , that is a service that I provide with my new
Social Media Helper Packages!

Guest Post by Donna Toothaker

It wasn’t too long ago that small business owners could put up a website,
maybe add a blog, submit an article or two to online directories, do a
little search engine optimization and they would do fine getting website
activity and making sales. That process just doesn’t work anymore.

You can no longer BE online without being ACTIVE online.

And here’s why – you need to build relationships now, not just show your “brochure”
and wait for sales to come to you. These days, when people are cautious about spending,
they want to feel more comfortable about what they are purchasing. They want to “know, like, and trust” before they’ll purchase a product or service.

Here are three things you can do immediately to start building relationships,
become known as the expert in your field, and create the “know, like, trust” factor.

1. Ezine: Most businesses already have an ezine.

BUT – many are not utilizing it to its fullest potential.

If you’re not in front of your readers on a weekly basis at MINIMUM –
you’re missing the boat. Monthly ezines don’t work like they used to.
You MUST stay in front of your audience more regularly.

Your weekly ezine should be brief. A personal introduction, an article of relevance
on your area of expertise, an “about you” section and a recommendation are all
you need.

You need to show your personal side in your ezine.

People want to know YOU and get a sense of your personality and values.
Often I talk about my family in my ezine because family is my number one value.
People will resonate with that, or they won’t, but the point is, I’m sharing
what’s important to me and people want to buy from people with similar values.

2. Blog regularly: Sure, most business owners have a blog, too.

But it’s important to be blogging regularly.

People won’t subscribe to ezines quite as much anymore, due to email overload,
so it’s important to blog. Posting three times per week is ideal – but at a minimum
you should be posting once per week.

There are other benefits such as SEO (search engines LOVE updated content)
but for the scope of this article the primary benefit is relationship building.

Blogging is another avenue of building “community.”

Having comments open will allow people to ask questions, and share
their own opinions. Blogging is another way to show your personality.

3. Social media: Every business owner MUST be on Facebook, LinkedIn
and twitter. If you’re not – you are missing out in a big way.

Social media marketing is so important for building new relationships.
From these new relationships you’re able to generate activity to your
website, create interest in your products, and become known as the
expert in your field. Not only might you generate new business,
but you may create some joint venture opportunities.

Social media isn’t what “the kids are doing,” it’s what serious
business owners are using now to build important relationships.

Don’t wait for people to find your website – get active online,
build new relationships and watch the sales and new opportunities
come rolling in.

Donna Toothaker is CEO, founder and coach of Step It Up VA Coaching.

These highly sought-after VA coaching programs have been created
for established, successful VAs who wish to create the 6-figure
business of their dreams. Visit to receive the free report,
Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid in Creating a 6-Figure VA Business.

I have added a brand new Social Networking package
with two different options for those who want to break
INTO this very necessary stage of their businesses or
for those who have but find the maintenance part
to be too time consuming.

AND, I got the idea FROM Donna! Thanks, Donna!