One of the hottest outsourcing trends taking shape in 2008 is hiring Virtual Assistants to perform crucial and time-intensive Internet Marketing Services. Small Businesses are swamped trying to keep up with all these activities such as updating their various Social Networking profiles, managing affiliate programs, tracking website stats, perform ongoing keyword research, setting up shopping carts and managing their email campaigns and autoresponders - phew!!! This is just a snapshot of the many Internet Marketing services that are fast being delegated to  web savvy Professional Virtual Assistants.

So where can you find these types of Virtual Assistants who have current, up-to-date Internet Marketing know-how? There are many freelancer sites like Elance, Guru, Ifreelance as well as Virtual Assistant related networks like VAnetworking.com - those are all great resources. But a new marketplace at VAClassroom is quickly becoming the one-stop center for recruiting Internet Marketing Virtual Assistants. Their marketplace showcases the profiles of their graduates who have completed their popular Internet Marketing VA Training Program. In this program, VAClassroom members are being trained in Affiliate Marketing Research and Management, Keyword Research, Social Media Marketing, Blog Management, Web Content Submission, Email Marketing and many other "in-demand" areas. The Marketplace is solely focussed on Internet Marketing related projects and is broken down into a number of skill-specific categories including:

- Affiliate Marketing

- Search Engine Marketing

- Web Analytics and Testing

- Blogging

- Social Media Marketing

- Email Marketing

- Web Content Editing and Submission

VAClassroom also offers a handy Search Tool to look for VAs with particular expertise.  For example; let’s say you are seeking a Virtual Assistant to manage your Word Press Blog, you could type in "Word Press" and will receive the listings for those Virtual Assistants with that respective skill.

If you are serious need of delegating some Internet Marketing support services for your business, then the VAClassroom Marketplace will give you the ideal Virtual Assistant community you are seeking!

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Well, I am typing this post with “Frost-bitten” fingers as a serious cold front and snow storm has rocked my neck of the woods in British Columbia (Canada). I also experienced a lesson in futility this morning as I shovelled my whole walk for an hour only to have a nice strong cross wind blow all the snow back on the driveway. Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me

Now, on to the topic at hand….

With the rapid evolution of the Internet Marketing landscape, I am seeing first hand the growing challenges ebusinesses are facing in maintaining a current, competitive and cutting edge emarketing platform. Not to mention….it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire and retain talented Internet Marketing Specialists that have the diversity of skills they need. Companies are experiencing continual skill and services gaps. As an avid subscriber to many emarketing publications, I have to say my head is spinning at the continual flux of this industry…it is truly hard to keep up!

As a result, we are seeing more and more ebusinesses outsource certain Internet Marketing tasks and functions in order to keep competitive and cost-effective. We are seeing progessive businesses transition to a dual staff approach - an inhouse team and virtual workforce. This is quickly becoming the norm!

As mentioned a couple posts ago, I promised I would give you a “behind the scenes” look at our new outsourcing portal and the unique role it will place in the Internet Marketing Space. Our web service, www.esalesguru.com has been specially designed by Internet Marketing Professionals to specifically target the existing and emerging trends in the Internet Marketing industry. Businesses using our service will be able to quickly fill skill and service gaps by outsourcing certain functions to a network of talented Internet Marketing Specialists. Our outsourcing solution will serve as a one-stop shop for accessing the A-Z of Internet Marketing Projects and Services including such skill areas as:

• Affiliate Marketing Managment
• Search Engine Marketing (PPC and SEO)
• Marketing/Sales Copywriting
• RSS/Email Marketing
• Blog/Viral Marketing
• Social Networking / Mobile Media
• Online Media Buying/Planning
• Online Lead Generation
• Internet Market Research, Analysis and Planning
• Website/ Landing Page Design
• Advertising Design (HTML, Rich Media, Banners)

So you might be saying to yourself…so what. There are already outsourcing solutions like www.elance.com and www.rentacoder.com on the market. While this is certainly true and I actively use those web services myself, ESalesGuru.com is all about Internet Marketing and connecting ebusiness with highly skilled Specialists and Firms to meet their evolving emarketing needs. So, a service like rentacoder will build a software or web app for you. Our service will in turn provide the marketing arm for the web product.

One other distinctive feature of Esalesguru.com is the pre-screening process we have put in place for Professionals/Firms applying for our Elite Membership. As I read through some of the forums pertaining to Outsourcing Marketplaces, one common thread I continue to hear is the time and effort it takes businesses to weed through the “so so” contractors before they find the “Gems”, so to speak. Our pre-screening process is intended to enhance the quality of Internet Marketing Professionals we are retaining in our marketplace. Our hope is that this initial pre-qualifying process will eliminate some of the legwork involved in securing the right contractor.

So, as I banter on, you probably can see that I am rather excited about the upcoming launch of esalesguru.com in January. I will be sure to keep you in the loop on further details as we get set to launch here. Until next time…

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After being an avid reader of many insightful and interesting Internet Marketing Blogs for the last couple years, I have felt it was due time that I make the leap into the almighty blogosphere and begin to share my own insights, thoughts and passions!

My name is Craig Cannings and I consider myself to be a life-long student and enthusiast of the rapidly evolving Internet Marketing landscape! We have all heard the saying, “Do what you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”. Well, I joined the ranks with those minority that are passionate about their work, when I transitioned into the Internet Marketing Industry a number of years ago.

I have worked in a number of different capacities in the Internet Marketing industry over the past few years including Affiliate Marketing Management, Online Media Planning/Buying as other Online Business Development activities. I have also had the opportunity to manage multiple Outsourced partnerships in the Internet Marketing Space, which has inspired my latest business endeavor which I will share with you shortly.

As much as I love working in the Internet Marketing industry, my greatest joy and treasure in life are my 4 girls - My wonderful wife and 3 daughters (ages 4, 2, 10 months). My wife is a passionate entrepreneur who has been involved in patenting a product and taking it to market. She is my inspiration for all my web business endeavors!

My passion and experience in the Internet Marketing Space, combined with my background in Employment Recruitment has become the catalyst for my new ebusiness endeavor that is slated to be launched in January, 2007! I am the Owner and Managing Director of www.eSalesGuru.com, an innovative auction-based marketplace entirely focussed on addressing the growing outsourcing trends taking shape in the Internet Marketing industry. I will be providing a “behind the scenes” preview of this new ebusiness shortly…

Now, before I run, I must emphasize that this blog is not designed for the ”shameless” self-promotion of esalesguru.com! Yes, this is a business blog and I will discuss esalesguru.com from time to time as it relates to relevant discussions in our Blog topics. But, more so, I want this blog to be a interactive and authentic dialog involving fresh Internet Marketing ideas and insights as well as the current trends and topics surfacing in the outsourcing and freelancing realm. In my next post, I will share more of ALL that you can expect from regularly visiting our blog! Until next time…

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