Weekly VA Marketing Tip: Turn It Into An Article
May 11th, 2009 by Cristina Favreau
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!
Turn It Into An Article
Ask anyone who consistently implements article writing to promote their services and they’ll tell you it’s one of the most powerful marketing tools they use to establish themselves as an expert in their field. You can too, whether you’re an experienced virtual professional or new to the VA industry.
This week I’ll show you how by simply turning one of your speaking topics into a Top 5… or How To… article.
If you haven’t already developed speaking topics, stop reading now and take a few minutes to list 2 or 3 of the most challenging issues your current or potential clients face — you know, the ones that keep them up at night, the ones you have solutions for.
Remember, this marketing series is all about differentiating yourself from all the other independent virtual professionals out there. Don’t waste this credibility-boosting opportunity by writing ineffectual articles like Top 5 Ways To Delegate To a Virtual Assistant or How to Use a Virtual Assistant To Increase Your Productivity.
Like I said before, it’s been done to death. This cop out approach certainly won’t make you stand out. And because it doesn’t communicate a solution to the pain your audience is feeling, your article won’t get a second glance. The math is simple: They don’t read your article = You don’t get known, liked or trusted = You don’t clients.
Here’s how you do it:
- Focus on a specific audience — even if you haven’t yet claimed your target market (this is key to leveraging; I’ll explain why and how in future issues of Weekly VA Marketing Tip).
- Pack your article with useful, practical, and relevant content (offer concrete solutions).
- Come up with a compelling title (highlight the key benefit).
Here are 2 article heading examples:
- How Real Estate Agents Can Use Social Media To Get Known Locally
- Top 5 Ways Real Estate Professionals Can Use Twitter To Get More Listings
OK, so I’m no article title expert, but I hope it demonstrates the importance of narrowing your focus (real estate agents), delivering a solution (how to use social media), and stating a clear benefit (to get known locally or to get more listings).
If you’re not in the habit of writing articles or if writing isn’t your strong point, don’t let this stop you. The key to article marketing success is simplicity :
- Write a short introduction.
- Expand each of your main points in a few sentences.
- End with a short ‘n sweet concluding paragraph.
Write as if you’re helping a current client overcome the challenge you’re writing about.
Credibility Tip: Tangible solutions showcase your knowledge, abilities and experience. NEVER make the focus of your article about signing the reader up as a client.
Attention procrastinators: Aim for completion, not perfection.
Here are some resources to help you succeed at article writing:
- How to Get Free Traffic with Ezine Articles by Jimmy D. Brown
- How to write an article in 20 minutes by Copyblogger
- Write Smarter – 3 Strategies for Content Development by Linda Dessau
- How to stop knocking on client’s doors, and get them to call you instead! by Psychotactics
- Article Writing: Seven Mistakes To Avoid by Men With Pens
(I’ll add to this list as I find more.)
Once your article is written, get it proofread and ask someone for constructive feedback (use me for feedback if you have no one else).
Now you’re ready to show it to the world. Here are some ways to get your article out there:
- Send it to your mailing list as a newsletter.
- Print your article and mail it to past clients.
- Hand it out at your next networking event.
- Offer it as a guest article for someone’s newsletter who’s mailing list consists of your target audience.
- Present it as a guest post on someone else’s blog (a blog where your target market hangs out).
- Submit it on a few of the top article submission sites (choose from Top 25 Article Directories and Free Content Sites).
Notice I didn’t say anything about posting it on your blog? That’s because we’re going to cover that next time.
Don’t put off completing this cost-effective marketing tip! Have fun with it!
Have an awesome week!!
Weekly VA Marketing Tip is now posted on my blog: http://ping.fm/s6yJD
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Weekly VA Marketing Tip: Turn It Into An Article – http://bit.ly/FcnW4 (via @brainstormist) I’m really enjoying this new series!
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
How to write articles that effectively boost your marketing efforts: http://ow.ly/6db2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
The current edition of Weekly VA Marketing Tip is now posted on my blog: http://snipr.com/hsm4k
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Thanks for this information, this is exactly where I am at on my biz strategy…I have built it and now I need to lead them to it!
Cristina,
I'm enjoying your Weekly VA Marketing Tips, and I'm happy to see you're covering article marketing early in your series. It's an extremely effective way to gain an audience and engage your target market.
I appreciate that you wrote, “Tangible solutions showcase your knowledge, abilities and experience.”
So many people have the wrong idea about what makes article marketing work. They know they aren't supposed to promote their businesses in their articles, so they go to the other extreme and avoid talking about themselves completely.
Some business owners proudly tell me they never use the word “I” in the articles they write. But used carefully, that's not a bad word. Your readers want to know who you are, that you can identify with their problems, and why they should care about what you have to say about it.
To build credibility with your audience, you need to give your readers a reason to trust you. Which means revealing something about your own experiences or background to convince them you're someone that should be listened to. It also means including the word “I” once or twice.
Denise
CassidarInk.com
Right on target Cristina. It has been on my “TO DO” list for weeks and weeks. I want to repurpose every Blog I have written into Articles to be posted. And thanks so much for all the resources you have provided.
Being seen as an expert is a huge step in being successful! I've looked at “successful professionals” work sometimes and wonder how they charge what they do… until I realized it's because they are viewed as an expert and that's what some people rely on more that actually reviewing their work!
I attended a fabulous talk by Trisha Torrey (EveryPatientsAdvocate.com) – it was very empowering to learn how to position oneself for success in any area with this concept… and, as you say, writing is a great way to do this!
Thanks for all the great tips!
V-
Thanks for the simple, easy steps to creating articles.
Great tip, Cristina! There are so many ways we can “repurpose” our work. I'm in the process of combining some of my articles and workshop handouts to produce a new e-book which I'll be launching this month.
Oooh!!! I can’t wait to see your ebook, Janet…rnrnYes, repurposing is an underused tactic by many virtual assistants. My hope is to train you to leverage everything you do to reach as many people in your target market as you can.
You'll hear me say this a lot… but it bears repeating: It's all about building relationships and communicating how you help people solve their problems.
You gain trust much faster when you give with no strings attached.
Let us know how your article writing goes! Share the link with us once you have an article up!
For sure, you do NOT want to leave yourself out of the equation. The whole point of using article writing as a marketing strategy is to showcase your expertise without blatantly promoting yourself.
Denise, thanks for reminding us that using “I” in our articles is NOT a dirty word.
I so hear your challenge of trying to get all these things done.
Diane, one small suggestion: For this week's marketing goal, say “I want to repurpose ONE blog I have written into an article to be posted.” Then do it.
Chunk big/overwhelming goals into bite size pieces and your chances of procrastinating are lessened.
Veronika, you make an interesting point… It sounds like these “successful professionals” are charging the high fees but are not delivering value. Am I reading that right?
You gotta walk your talk. If you SAY your an expert on your topic, then you better BE the expert. If not, word will quickly spread and cause irreparable damage.
I struggled with trying to keep this one simple (I tend to ramble…) so I'm glad you found this week's marketing steps easy to follow.
Oooh!!! I can't wait to see your ebook, Janet…
Yes, repurposing is an underused tactic by many virtual assistants. My hope is to train you to leverage everything you do to reach as many people in your target market as you can.
The quality of their work is questionable, but since they are seen as experts people hire them without question. I wouldn’t publicly share an example because a) it’s not nice and b) they probably don’t think their work is substandard…rnI’m just amazed sometimes at the power of the word & notion of an “expert”… and strive to live up to the term.rnI think the lesson is to strive to be an expert at something you’re truly passionate about and constantly improve/update your skills. Also, focusing on your target market – the ones your skill set is equipped for.rnSorry if I’ve pulled this too far off topic – I’m just fascinated with the notion of experts… and I think that e-books and blogs are a huge part of that positioning… which is probably why I bought your e-book, right? ;>)rnV-
The quality of their work is questionable, but since they are seen as experts people hire them without question. I wouldn't publicly share an example because a) it's not nice and b) they probably don't think their work is substandard…
I'm just amazed sometimes at the power of the word & notion of an “expert”… and strive to live up to the term.
I think the lesson is to strive to be an expert at something you're truly passionate about and constantly improve/update your skills. Also, focusing on your target market – the ones your skill set is equipped for.
Sorry if I've pulled this too far off topic – I'm just fascinated with the notion of experts… and I think that e-books and blogs are a huge part of that positioning… which is probably why I bought your e-book, right? ;>)
V-
Are you using article writing to gain expert VA status in your field? This week, I show you how: http://snipr.com/hsm4k
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
How did you do with this week’s VA marketing assignment? http://is.gd/z3Fu
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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