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Survive til '25, or THRIVE in '25?

"Survive til '25"To a large extent, I agree. Right now, many businesses are struggling. It's harder than it's ever been for a lot of us, and it feels like all we can do is hang on for dear life, because "2025 HAS to be better, right?" I'm still holding on to that hope. But I heard another saying recently, and it makes me feel a lot more positive, something I have more control over. Thrive in '25What if instead of just surviving, we have a strategy to thrive? This year has brought ...

What's coming up for Pinterest? An overview of Pinterest Presents

Keeping up with Pinterest (and all digital marketing...) can feel like a never-ending task, right?The constant need for fresh ideas, creative visuals, and ensuring your brand is always in front of the right people—it’s a lot, and it can be pretty overwhelming. And let’s face it, with AI playing a bigger role, it’s changing even faster.But now, Pinterest is upping its game (some might say "finally!"), making things a lot easier to navigate). A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to attend&...

13 Industries that NEED to be on Pinterest

In the world of digital marketing, Pinterest often flies under the radar compared to the behemoths like Instagram and Facebook. But, Pinterest is an incredible visual search engine that can drive real results for businesses, especially in New Zealand. With its focus on discovery, inspiration, and long-lasting content (much longer than any Facebook post or even reel), it’s the perfect platform for many industries to showcase their products, services, and expertise. When people as us about it we...

Ongoing Pinterest Management

Your Pinterest account is up and running, it's optimised and has a few posts on it. Now what? Pinterest favours fresh, new content. Can you keep it up?What is "Pinterest Management?"It's all very well to set up your Pinterest account and have it looking fresh and tidy, but the very nature of Pinterest is that it likes tasty, fresh content. That will help your older content also be seen so like Reels on Instagram, the new content helps increase the views on your older content. So, you have a...

New Pinterest Accounts

If you're keen to jump on the Pinterest train, but you have no idea where to start, this is for you. This is also the way to go if you have a personal Pinterest account and you would like to keep it, we can create a whole new business account for you.Need Help With Your Pinterest Strategy and Account Creation?You know your business should be on Pinterest, and you've heard it could really help with gaining website traffic, but you've had a look, and the whole thing is an absolute minefield. Creat...

What is a Pinterest Audit?

A Pinterest account audit is for existing Pinterest business accounts.You've already got a Pinterest account, maybe it's already for business, or maybe it's that personal one you planned your wedding or holiday on and you'd like to turn it into a business Pinterest. How do you make it relevant to your business, and use it as a tool to drive more eyes to your website?When we complete a Pinterest audit, we run through an extensive list of checks, documenting everything we find and reporting b...

What is Pinterest, and why do more businesses need to be on it?

Unlike social media platforms that want you to stay on their platform, Pinterest WANTS to send searchers to your website!Where it can be really tough to direct shoppers away from your social media page, and where you are often tethered by adding links to your website to send people away from your social media page, Pinterest WANTS you to link to your website, and it wants to send people there. There is a bit of an art to it, however. It's not just a case of "pin it and they will come", not ...

Why Consistency Matters

Showing up online consistently can feel like a never-ending battle, right?What to talk about, when to post, writing the words, creating the images—it's hard! And to do it every week, without fail? Who has the time?Well, we do, as luck would have it 😉Imagine this: you sit down for a few hours at once, plan out your content, create the images and videos, get everything scheduled, and then relax, knowing it's all under control. Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? But let's be real, finding the time to...

8 Reasons Why Your Business Needs an Online Presence (Now More Than Ever)

These days, having a strong online presence isn't just a luxury - it's a must have.With the current economic climate creating more competition than ever, making sure that your business is visible and engaging online can make all the difference. You have to stand out. Here’s why being seen online is more important than ever and how it can keep you front of mind for potential clients....

Why No One Should Do Business Alone (even now)

Yes, even in these particularly hard times. Now more than ever. While it's tempting to believe we can handle everything on our own, the truth is that having a support network is crucial for success. That's where having a reliable team, whether it's staff or outsourced contractors, comes into it. Even in times of financial uncertainty, investing in help can be a game-changer for your business.I used to feel huge pride in saying “I’m a one-woman band, I do it all” like it was a status t...

Avoiding Burnout

Let's be honest. Burnout SUCKS. I was super sick in 7th Form (Year 13) and my body never really recovered fully. I get run down and sick easier than the average person, and I need to remember that. Burnout....I've been there a couple of times in the past, and both times I ended up not taking a break until my body forced me to stop and I ended up being sick for months afterward. Never again, I said. 🤣Through those times, I learned to listen to the signs my body gives me and I'd been ...

Why AI Shouldn't Write Your Entire Blog Post (written by AI)

I've been writing a few blogs lately for clients, which I always love doing. Today, though, we tried something a bit different. We got Chat GPT to write the blog, and then I went through and "de-robofied" it. Made it sound human, and also made it sound like more a New Zealander. It came out pretty good, but it definitely required the human touch. So, once that was done, I got it to write ME a blog. On why they shouldn't be used without some serious editing and personalising. The below ...

Then and Now: A Nota Bene Reflection

As my Nota Bene birthday month winds up, when I look back to June 2020 when I first started working as a Virtual Assistant, it really is crazy to see the changes. It's easy to sit here today and think I've not come very far, or I'd like to be earning more money or have more clients, but if you compare June 2020 and June 2023 what you see is completely different.I started out on $25 an hour and I was amazed that people would even pay me that! That quickly moved to $30 an hour, and I was even more...

Why Virtual Assistants NEED To Be On Pinterest

When I was thinking about who our target market was going to be when I launched my Pinterest Management plans, I didn't really consider other Virtual Assistants, but I did think about coaches, course creators, bloggers, and other online service providers. Why was that? Why did I not consider my own people?As I was thinking about it this morning, the most inquiries I've had so far have been from Virtual Assistants/Executive Assistants wanting to know how it could work for them. I think I had...

10 Ways To Get The Most Out Of Pinterest

Pinterest is an amazing platform and it can help businesses of all sizes to reach new customers, increase their online presence, and drive traffic to their website. By incorporating search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies into your Pinterest strategy, you can improve the visibility of your content and increase the likelihood of it being discovered by the right people. Below is 10 ways Pinterest can help your business, with a focus on SEO to get the best results:Direct traffic to your we...

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs An Email List

Let me start by saying this. Don't get me wrong, in 2023 I firmly believe all businesses should be on social media, purely from a brand awareness perspective. You want to stay top of mind with your clients and potential clients. But you probably hear people talking about how you must have an email list, and you have to contact them regularly, and it is very much true. Do you already have an email list, or is it one of those "I'll get to it one-day" type jobs?Despite always offering ser...

What is User Generated Content? (And How Can It help Your Business?)

User Generated Content (UGC) is content that is created by people, rather than brands/businesses. It's created by your clients and ambassadors or brand reps. It can be anything from reviews and ratings to social media posts and videos, to blog comments and forum threads. UGC is invaluable to businesses because it provides an authentic, honest, and unbiased look into the experiences people are having with their products or services.Does It Work?When used correctly, UGC can help businesses build t...

Why It's Not Ok To Do Everything Yourself

Stop trying to do everything yourself! If you are, you can probably feel it in yourself already why you need to stop. Burnout is a hot topic these days, and for good reason. Ever been there? I have. 0/10, do not recommend. You Don't Have To Do It All!That constant feeling of exhaustion, even if you aren't flying from place to place doing all the things. Sitting at your desk trying to do everything yourself is just as overwhelming and exhausting! Just five more minutes, just one more li...

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Virtual Assistant

You've signed on with a Virtual Assistant, you're all ready to go. What next? How do you make this a valuable, productive relationship? This year Nota Bene is all about increasing productivity and efficiency, so this is an important topic. Here are our top tips.1. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!Don't waste your (or their) time fluffing about trying to decide what you need from them. Go into any calls or emails with a clear idea of what you want to be done. Where possible, provide the information you know they...

What To Expect When You Start Working With A Virtual Assistant

Sometimes the unknown is enough to put you off taking a big step in business. Your business is like your baby, and handing it over to someone for certain tasks can be more than a little terrifying!! So I thought I would write a quick post on what to expect when looking to hire a Virtual Assistant or Freelancer.I will use my own process as an example, but most Virtual Assistants that I know use a very similar process. The Discovery CallWhen you first book a Discovery Call with me, this is ou...

5 Reasons NOT To Hire A Virtual Assistant

As much as I think most businesses need a VA in their life, not everyone does. Maybe.....🤯 You LOVE being stressed out. It could be your jam? That constantly on edge feeling that comes from trying to plan and schedule your social media or get a newsletter out. Some people like to live on the edge. 🤯 Maybe you just HAVE to do it all yourself? The short time it takes to teach a skilled VA how you like things done isn't worth it. It's just easier to do it all yourself (Or, more to the point, ...

Social Media Package - What Does That Actually Mean?

It's all very well for me to say "I do social media". That doesn't always mean much to people. So I thought I would take some time and put it out there - what it is that I actually DO for the social media package. This is not exclusive. More often than not, prospective clients want a more personalised package. Something with more posts, less posts, or for me to also do newsletters, blogs or other tasks, in which case I would go away and put together a bespoke plan for them. But th...

Hiring Your First VA - What To Expect

I've just hired my first Virtual Assistant (VA), what happens next? Hopefully you've already had a video call or a face to face meet up with them, to discuss your expectations, and what you need from them. If not - That's a very good place to start! Get to know each other, and get a feel for how each other works. Make sure it's compatible with your own style.  They should have sent you through a Statement of Work, or a Service Agreement, laying out exactly what tasks they will be performing...

How NOT To Treat Your Staff: 7 Lessons From A Former Employer.

This is the second time I've written this. Note to self: If you're writing something and you get interrupted... PUSH SAVE BEFORE YOU WALK AWAY.  Now I have to remember all the pearls of wisdom I was imparting.  How NOT To Treat Your Staff: 7 Lessons From A Former Employer. While I work for a couple of VA Agencies as a Contractor as part of my work as a Virtual Assistant, I've not had a "boss" in about 11 years. But the bosses I had back then taught me a lot. Sadly, most of it was abou...

Self Care - Avoiding Burnout

I'm going to share a little behind the scenes with you. This is a topic that is so close to my heart.  Burnout. Been there 2x myself, and I have no intention of being there again. I had 3 very small businesses, a cleaning job and mum/wife life. I was far too busy and I felt myself getting dangerously close again a few weeks ago, so it's timely that we are focusing on self care this month.  We might define "burnout" differently, but at the core of it all, it's the same thing. Always fee...