Articles By Heather Jacobson

Below is a listing of articles that I have written over the past years. Please feel free to use these articles on your website, in your newsletter, or on your blog, but I ask that you leave the resource box in tact and do not change the content of the article in any way.

I'd love to know where you're posting them, so please drop me a line at heather@valleyva.net and let me know!

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6 Red Hot Tips To Get Your Article Read

Let’s face it…you struggle with writing papers. You didn’t like it in high school and college and you don’t like it now. You’re not alone! Why is it that you don’t like to write? Is it because you think no one will read it; that there are too many articles out there on the ‘net? Are you someone who doesn’t read articles so you don’t think others will? Here’s the deal – articles are supposed to be read, but they won’t be unless you make it worth the time to read. If you don’t then writing articles is a waste of time and effort. (more...)

Does Your Thank You Page Redirect Potential Profits?

Your thank you page is a valuable piece of intenet real estate. Use it to your advantage and give yourself a raise!

Marketing Must Haves (part 1)

Your business is up and running, you're ready to go, but you need work. But, to get work, people have to know you exist. Although it's great that the VA community knows about you, you need your target market to know about you.

What kind of marketing materials do you need? The list is simple, however, it's time consuming to put together. Why? This is your first impression on a potential client and as we all know, we only get one chance for that first impression. (more...)

Marketing Must Haves (part 2)

Last time I mentioned the basics you must have in your marketing arsenal. You need those to advance to the items I wish to discuss in this article, which are "gimmicks", your marketing kit, and direct mail (or email) campaigns. (more...)

Marketing Your Info Product...Frugally

You've created an informational product. Now, what do you do with it? Whether you've created it to give away or for profit, you must market it; otherwise, you've just wasted a lot of your time. What good is your information if no one knows that it's there?

There are several ways that you can market your product inexpensively. These are tried and true methods to get the word out there about what you have to offer. (more...)

Do You Have Entrepreneurial Spirit?

I'm convinced that you're born with it.  I'm also amazed that I gave birth to two completely different children.

Let me explain. 

I have two children - Matthew is 9 and Samara is 6.  Talk about night and day!  Matthew wants to run his own business.  He's been talking about starting a lemonade stand for years now but I can't get him to grasp the fact that we live at the end of a dead end street and it's all about location, location, location. (more...)

The Top 5 Misconceptions About Working From Home

Let’s face it…I love to tell people that I work from home. The looks are priceless. You can see the envy in their eyes. What I don’t love, or even like for that matter, is people who don’t understand what working from home means. Therefore, I’ve come up with the top 5 misconceptions about working from home. (I could go on and on, but 5 filled up my space!) (more...)

Finding That Balance

Balanced life…is that an oxymoron? Life is just that…LIFE! You never know what’s going to come your way, but as a business owner, spouse, parent, friend, etc. you must attempt to find that balance.

Running your own business can take a toll on you if you aren’t careful. I like to call it between a rock and a hard place. Why? Answer this question…what’s more important -- the kids that want attention or that 5 o’clock deadline for a client? Toughie, isn’t it? That balance is what I couldn’t find and it almost cost me everything. (more...)

Your Business Is No Different Than Your Garden

As a society, we have come to expect things instantaneously. We have microwaves to cook meals faster, online banking to expedite money transfers, and email to eliminate the time it takes for a letter to make it through the Postal Service. As a whole, we want things now.

Properly Panning a Product Launch

It’s no secret…I think big. I have more ideas than I have time to implement. And often, it’s easy to get caught up in them.

There are many things in my business that I have thought up and run with only to find out that I didn’t put enough thought into them and that they weren’t planned properly. They didn’t go over well because I was too excited to focus on their proper implementation. (more...)

What Do You Mean You Don't Have Anything to Write About?

One of the questions I'm repeatedly asked is how to use article marketing when you're not a writer and don't have anything to write about. If you say you have nothing to write about, I think you're wrong. I'm willing to bet you have more topics to write about than you have time. But, here are a few suggestions to help you get over that writers block. (more...)

Is There Too Much "noise" In Your Message?

I am all for advertising. It’s a way of life, and it is needed. I know that without advertising, my local broadcast channels would not be free. I know the power of advertising. I have used advertising in various methods, and I place other people’s ads on my blogs, websites, and in my newsletters.

However, there comes a time when it’s too much. (more...)

The Way To Your Customers' Wallets is Through Articles

One of the best ways to promote your website and knowledge is free. That’s right, I said free. The bonus? This “free” method can elevate your website traffic, increase your sales, and double, even triple your income.

And what is this free method? Articles. (more...)

What Goes Around Comes Around...in Business Too!

I have a confession to make. I am notorious for meeting people, liking them, and then when they realize what I do and that I could help them, I end up giving away my services…for free. I have this uncontrollable urge to help people, especially when I know it's something that I am good at and enjoy doing.

Now I don't do this all the time, but occasionally I will, and I will tell you why. It comes back to me tenfold. (more...)

Get Xsited with XsitePro (special offer included!)

There's a buzz floating around the internet about a new web design software called XSitePro.

When Is the Best Time To Email?

As an online newsletter publisher, I care about open rates and click-through rates. If I didn’t, there would be no point in publishing a newsletter. If people aren’t reading it, then why bother? It would be a waste of my time.

I keep up on current marketing trends, and studies have been conducted to determine the best day to send out a newsletter for a better click-through rate. (more...)

Your Time Is Money

How much time do you spend maintaining your business instead of building your business? Are you spending all of your time working on administrative stuff instead of doing what you love; doing what prompted you to start your business in the first place? Have you thought about hiring help but think it’s too expensive? (more...)

Use It Or Lose It

Let’s face it…people like free stuff.  You probably know people who attend Home Shows and Expos and go from table to table with a bag and gather as many freebies as they possibly can.

Because we know that people like free stuff we often try to send our own products to them as a sample so they can see what we have to offer.  Many times we even take it a step further and personalize it for them.  We have the mindset that just because they like free stuff, it’s an automatic in.  That pen or calendar we send will last a while and, in turn, our telephone will ring off the hook with their orders. (more...)