The Importance of Editing (and Some Resources) [Video]

Sue has a conversation with Anna Scheller of USABizparty about the importance of good editing, and some resources to get it done.

Following Up on a Media Pitch

“I sent an email two days ago and haven’t heard back. Should I send a follow-up email or call the journalist?”

Have you wondered when and how to follow up when you’ve sent a media pitch? Here are a few tips on how to follow up.

  • Don’t email or call “just checking to see if you got my email…“ Media persons receive hundreds of emails a day and who knows how many phone calls. They don’t need one more cluttering up their inbox or voicemail. If you decide to send a follow up email, forward your original one with something added. You want to provide additional information and not just resend what you’ve already sent. Have you created an infographic to accompany your pitch? You could send that. Perhaps you’ve found another source or two who have agreed to be interviewed on the topic or additional statistics and you can send that additional information along.
  • Journalists are very busy, but they also need good stories. If you have a great pitch and want to follow up with a phone call, make sure you have practiced the message you want to leave – because you’ll probably get their voicemail. Write it up and practice it aloud so when you leave the message you sound confident and at ease, and don’t forget anything. Keep it brief.
  • You want to build relationships with media persons. So always be respectful of their time. When you do connect with one, especially if they run with your pitch, be sure to thank them for their time. Send a follow up thank you email or if you have their address, send a thank you card in the mail. You’ll stand out and be remembered the next time you contact them.

Keep Your Publicity Efforts Professional

This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series Book Publicity Mini-Course

Media jumps on the big news story. If that big news story comes along when your interview was planned, your interview may be bumped, delayed, rescheduled. It’s important to stay professional and not get upset. Be flexible and work with the media to reschedule.

Don’t follow up too much. When you do follow up, provide new information that adds value and you’ll be more likely to get your interview rescheduled.

Your professional efforts are also reflected in your spelling. No typos! Have someone else proofread your pitch, press release, and articles to make sure they are accurate. Take time to reread your emails before you send them. Double check that important information such as your contact information, website address, social media links, etc. are all accurate.

Benefits of Working from a Professional Office

The following is a guest post.

officeProfessionals work more productively when they work from a space that has everything they need spaced out around them. From the equipment they need to the people they should talk to if something were to go wrong, when you work from a professional office your work flow is instantly increased and your productivity starts to fly through the roof.

Of course, your success as a virtual assistant doesn’t rest entirely on the environment in which you work. If you’re looking for success as a virtual assistant there are a number of other pointers you must first pay attention to, but once these points have been met you would do well to look into the possibility of moving your main workspace from your home to a shared, professional office, for the following three reasons:

You Can Provide a Greater Range of Services

When you choose to work from a shared space rather than your own home you’ll all of a sudden have the ability to offer both current and new clients a greater range of services while significantly reducing your cost of using the equipment needed to provide these services.

Virtual assistants are unique in that their abilities span a vast range of needs, and often we have clients coming up to us asking whether we can do something for them that we’ve never done before. In the past we would often have had to say no to these requests, but when working from a serviced space you’ll have the ability to provide a wider range of services as you’ll instantly have access to much more equipment that you’re able to use to see to your clients’ needs.

Another benefit to being able to provide a greater range of services is you’re able to bundle your services together, possibly on a retainer, meaning your clients’ have full access to your abilities as and when they need you, with you being able to charge them a higher price for the privilege.

Technical Support is Just Around the Corner

As a virtual assistant, one of the worst things about working from home is having your computer or other necessary equipment break, just while you’re in the middle of completing some important work for a client.

When you work from a shared serviced office space, technical support will always be just around the corner, saving you time, headaches, and frustration – and getting you back on track so you’re able to complete your work by deadline.

Often, you’ll find you can even utilise technical support staff while conversing with a client online (while explaining the reason for your slight delay, for example), as these staff are more than happy to work in the background to see to fixing your problem as quickly as possible.

You Can Request Assistance from Your Fellow Workers

Working as a virtual assistant from home can sometime be a lonely line of work. Though you will interact with your clients online on a regular basis, there’s nothing like having a group of your peers nearby as you work so to help you out when you need a moment of assistance, and to simply shoot the breeze with, enjoying working in each others’ company.

You may even decide to take this one step further and create a mastermind group with some of your fellow workers at the shared office space. The benefits of mastermind groups are numerous, but at it’s core a mastermind group will help you to keep pushing yourself forward with your virtual assistant work, always looking for greater opportunities, and never settling for what you have, outwardly improving both your life, and the lives of your clients.

In conclusion, virtual assistants may work more productively when working from a professional office, as you’re able to provide a greater range of services, technical support staff are just around the corner, and you can ask for regular assistance from your fellow office workers.

Author bio:

Juliet Mann is in digital marketing and works with Regus, the world’s largest global provider of flexible workspaces.

4 Website Marketing Makeover Tips

Your website is one of your greatest marketing tools. Has it been around for a while? Are prospects intrigued by your website or does it drive them away? It may be time for a makeover. Here are 4 website marketing makeover tips:

1. Professional design. Ask a couple of trusted colleagues to review your site and give you their honest opinion as to its attractiveness and professionalism. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to have an attractive, professional looking website. However, you do want a website that shows you are a professional. An obviously ‘home-made’ website turns prospects away.

2. Targeted, clear marketing messages. Ask these same trusted colleagues for their feedback on the marketing messages on your website. If it’s unclear what your services are or they seem unfocused, prospects will look somewhere else for what they need. Your website messages need to clearly show prospects what it is you can do for them.

3. Concise content. Short, punchy sentences and bullet points work much better than long rambling paragraphs. Your content should let visitors know why they should do business with you. You may want to get some assistance in writing compelling copy for your website.

4. Call to action. Is it clear and obvious what you want your visitors to do? How can they contact you? A clear call to action is vital to convert prospects to clients.

Additional tips for your website can be found at an earlier blog post.