Hello and welcome to all. It's great to see a number of new subscribers on this list.

October is here already. Less than 12 weeks to Christmas. eek!

This month I have the following for you.

• Updates
• Article - Brand Awareness
• Affiliates
• AVAC - Australian VA Conference
• Need a speaker?

Updates

September has been a bitter sweet month for my family. If you were on this list 12 months ago you would have heard about the loss of our darling daughter, Miriam. Yes, 12 months have passed already. For us much of that time has dragged and we've felt like we've dropped out of society. But for many of you it has probably passed quickly. Thank you to those who have sent us cards and flowers, or notes via Facebook, email and messages on the phone or by text.

Our lives have changed dramatically during this past year. Three of our daughters have shifted house, one of them interstate. One of our married daughters announced she is to have a baby this coming November and so Graham and I will become grandparents.

To add to that, Graham and I are moving to the foot of the Dandenongs. We found a lovely 2 acre property in Selby only a few weeks ago, amazingly on quite flat land for that area. We'll be 15 mins away from our two married daughters in opposite directions. This will be our retirement home, although we're still some time away from being retired. It was always our plan to return to country once the girls had grown up and left home. Wish Mirri could see it - she would have loved it. We shift on 31st October and, as such, I will most likely be offline from around 29th October to 3rd November while we go through the packing/moving/unpacking/reconnecting process.

Where is Selby? It's just to the right of Belgrave before you pass through the Sherbrooke Forest Park.

There will be a new postal address and phone/fax details listed on the website from end of this month. My email address and website addresses remain the same.

Brand Awareness
By Sharon Housley

Brand awareness is the recognition of a specific brand name or logo, along with the traits associated with that brand. It is difficult to benefit from having a brand unless consumers are aware of the brand and the traits associated with it.

What Is A Brand?
A "Brand" helps position a product in the marketplace. Brands are often linked to things that are key motivators when a consumer is considering a purchase. In other words, a brand may be what makes a consumer purchase one product rather than another. A strong brand will convey the values you want associated with your product or service.

Brand Preference
Brand preference is when preference is given to one brand over competing brands, or to a recognized brand over unfamiliar brands. Brand reputation often influences consumer choice. Buyers often prefer one brand over another because they admire the traits associated with the preferred brand.

Brand Equity
Brand equity is the value associated with the brand. It is often difficult to assess the value of brand, because much of a brand's equity is the goodwill established with or perceived by consumers.

Brand Recall
Brand recall simply refers to the ability to recall specific details associated with a particular brand. Part of building a successful brand is being able to have consumers recall the traits associated with your brand. The easiest way to have a brand recognized and recalled is from repetition. This is why advertisers will so often repeat certain phrases associated with a specific brand over and over.

Quality Guarantee
A successful and well-known brand will often reassure the buyer with an implied quality level. A perceived level of quality is typically associated with a brand. Take the company "LL Bean" for example -- LL Bean is known for their impeccable customer service and a great returns program. There is a perception that if someone purchases something from LL Bean, not only will it be of high quality, but any issues or problems that arise after the purchase will be dealt with quickly and without problem.

Dynamic Branding
Branding is dynamic and constantly changing. Every interaction that a customer has with a brand can impact their opinion of that brand. As a result, it is important that such interactions be consistently positive, as this will help build a long-term customer relationship.

Brand Extension
Brand extension is the act of taking an existing and established brand and lending it to a new product. Brand extension is beneficial, but can also be dangerous. Extending a strong brand to new product lends that new product an automatic level of credibility... but if the new product is inferior or not up to the customer's expectations, the brand's reputation can be damaged.

Branding helps differentiate products. Learn how to use branding to establish your product in a niche.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Affiliate program

Have you explored our Affiliate program? With Christmas not far away we're sure to have items of interest to people you know, or who visit your website. why not drop by our site to explore the program and sign up? You could earn some extra $$ before Christmas!

VA Trainer Christmas Special

If you know someone who wants to become a Virtual Assistant but feels they need some training first, then point them in the direction of my VATrainer website. I have a pre Christmas special on that is just too good to miss!

Australian Virtual Assistant Conference

I'm thrilled to announce that we are holding the Australian Virtual Assistant Conference (AVAC) in Melbourne March 2010. We are currently accepting proposals for presentations from speakers for topics that aren't yet covered. Details can be found at the Speakers page on the site.

We also now accepting registrations for attendance at the conference and have an early bird fee of $140 till 15th November.

Feel free to forward this newsletter on.

"Australian of the Year"
nominee 2009

LinkedIn

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Cafepress store

Want to see what I get up to when I'm not working?

Blog
(A Photo a Day): KathiesPhotos

New photography site:
PhotosByKathie

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Thought for the month:

""Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
~Ralph Waldo Emmerson

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[Affiliates]
For those who
want to promote our products.

[Bookstore]
For those who
work at/from home.

[Case Studies]
Wondering how we
could assist your
business?

[Membership]
For prospective virtual
assistants.

[Newsletters]
Read our previous
issues.

[VA Blog]
Topical discussions
and more...

[VA Directory]
For a full list of our team

[Web Hosting]

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If you received this newsletter from a friend and would like to subscribe please see below.Feel free to pass this newsletter onto a friend! Why are you on this list? You could be any of the following: a client we swapped business cards you subscribed PO Box 2918, Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia, 3192 Ph:  +613 9585 5780 Fax: +613 9585 3785 Web: www.vadirectory.net www.vatrainer.com www.acs-webhosting.com

Domain Names

Web Hosting and Web Design Services acswebwervices.com

Great networks to join:

Women's Network Australia

 

Need a speaker for your event?

Are you working for your family or because of your family?

This topic really hit home for me. It made me feel good about working from home, I felt validated. Kathie's stories about her family and what it meant for her to work from home and what it meant for her family to have her there just made the whole conference worthwhile. Everything else was a bonus.
~ Suzie, proudly working at home on http://www.suzs-space.com/ selling pre-loved books

Where is Kathie speaking this year?

• OIVAC 1st/2nd October
• Available for bookings.

Kathie can speak at your next meeting, seminar, conference or church and you can find her full itinerary at her site. She speaks on the following topics:

• Email Etiquette
• Blogging for business or a book/Social Networking
• Hidden Benefits of Working at Home
• Mothers are Worth More Than Rubies
• It's a Virtual World

About Our Organisation…

What is a Virtual Assistant?

It's a term for home-based secretaries, administrative and secretarial support, and others who supply remote or virtual office support.

Think of a corporate office with a Personal Assistant or Secretary who sits outside the bosses' office providing him/her with admin/secretarial support. Now place that PA or Secretary in a different building - still providing that support but contact is done via email and phone instead of face-to-face. Well, that's how a Virtual Assistant (VA) works.

We are as close to you as your computer and can do almost anything traditional support staff do - except virtually. You don't need to provide office space, equipment, software or furniture - we have our own!

Location no issue as the work is carried out 'virtually' no matter where you are!  However, if you need someone locally we can supply. See our list at VA Directory.

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