The Savvy Entrepreneur

Click here for the audio version of this post.

Welcome to this edition of Weekly VA Marketing Tip! This series is specifically designed to help virtual assistants avoid marketing insanity. Every Monday, my posts will prompt you to accomplish one specific marketing action to promote, brand or position your professional virtual business.

Implement these tips each week and I guarantee you’ll sustain your marketing momentum, increase credibility and visibility in your field, build stronger relationships, boost your ‘know, like and trust factor,’ get more ideal clients looking for you, and have a consistent marketing game plan for your virtual assistant business.

You might even start to like marketing!

Make ‘Em Famous

I hope you don’t mind, but this week I’m getting away from the whole turning your speaking topics into an article, into a blog series and into something else — but keep your notes handy because we’ll be coming back to them later.

This week, I’m going to show you how to build your reputation as a trusted resource and become a hero to the people in your network — by helping them get coveted media attention.

Sound interesting?

It’s super easy (and free):

• Go to Help A Reporter Out (HARO).
• Subscribe to the list (yourself, not your client).

You’ll get 3 emails per day (morning, afternoon and evening), each containing a dozen or so requests from reporters, journalists, authors, freelancers and all sorts of writers needing help with their stories. They listed by category (urgent, business, general, health, family, etc).

Look at what’s listed each day.

The only “rule” is (quoted from HelpAReporter.com):

“By joining this list, just promise me and yourself that you’ll ask yourself before you send a response: Is this response really on target? Is this response really going to help the journalist, or is this just a BS way for me to get my client in front of the reporter? If you have to think for more than three seconds, chances are, you shouldn’t send the response.“

Use common sense and be professional. This isn’t about giving a pitch-fest. This is about journalists and writers who are looking for good stories, leads, quotes, stats, comments and experts to help them do their job. They are interested in writing a great story, not in promoting anyone’s business, products or services.

If you or your client can sincerely help, this is a perfect opportunity. You’ll start gaining the ‘Know, Like and Trust Factor‘ with the writers you’re helping. Give without expecting anything in return; if you are offered an exchange in the form of promotion, it’s what I like to call  gravy!

As you peruse each HARO query, think “Who in my network could constructively and intelligently contribute to this story?”

Once you’ve thought of someone (or several people) who is (are) a good fit for a media query, send a short, personalized email to the person (people) with:

• why you thought of them for the story
• details of the query (including how to contact the reporter)
• let them know you’ll be following up by phone (especially if it was listed ‘Urgent’)

Follow up by telephone within 30 minutes.

1. Did they read your email?
2. Are they interested in replying? Do they want you to do it for them?
3. Would they like to be informed of future media queries?

(Could this be a new service offering?)

This week’s marketing assignment: Follow the above steps and forward a media query to at least 3 different people in your network.

People like:

• Prospective, past and current clients
• Potential, past and current referral and/or JV partners
• local and online networking contacts
• your competition (other VAs and online professionals)
• industry-leaders
• whomever you want to create and build a relationship with, and be known as a resource

Keep an eye out for stories you can contribute to, as well! HARO listings will have media opportunities for you too!

NOTE: If the thought of getting 3 emails a day sounds like a lot, hire a professional reader to go through each HARO listing and forward you only the queries that match your specifications. I personally recommend Lara Nieberding, The Data Digger as your professional reader. She’s already familiar with, and subscribed to, the HARO list.

Let us know how this marketing strategy works out for you!

Have an AWESOME week!