Loading ...Dear Gritty VA:
I emailed a newspaper reporter asking for information regarding an article she wrote. She noticed my signature line and now wants to do a story on my Virtual Assistance business. But I’m still working at a regular job and not quite ready to take on clients that might contact me after reading the article. What do you think? Should I do it anyway? –EA
Newspaper interest and coverage is like gold. And if you aren’t quite ready in your own business, you could still do the story as an ambassador of Virtual Assistance.
In fact, that’s how I recommend people engage in their PR efforts anyway–talk about the industry overall, explain the concept, describe all the benefits and how it helps small business owners and professionals.
Educating the community about Virtual Assistance overall instead of just talking about your business makes it informational and educational, rather than advertising or selling. It’s easier to establish rapport with an audience when that’s the case, and in the process, you have a great deal of control in creating the understandings and behaviors of the people you educate–turning them into the kind of prospective, receptive clients you want to hear from.
In turn, those efforts are going to help turn Virtual Assistance into a household name (just like bookkeepers or accountants), or at least more of a known value in the business world. And when that happens, it’s going to be that much easier for everyone to get clients.
The bonus is that if you are the one doing the educating, you position yourself as the expert and that’s who those folks will call first when they need our brand of services.
Let me...
