I am just starting out and doing lots of research. I was wondering if anyone has tried using classifieds and yellowpages for advertising. Also if anyone could let me know other forms of low budget advertising, I would greatly appreciate it.

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S. Richardson, Owner officehelpers@yahoo.ca
Office Helpers, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hi there - my suggestion would be Facebook.

The side PPC ads, they are super affordable and highly targeted.
Plus, they are not over saturated just yet. Use a catchy headline and you might be surprised. Everyone seems to use FB now.

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Melissa
Virtual Assistant

Thanks for the advice. I have always wondered how many people pay attention to the ads of facebook, now is my change to find out.

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S. Richardson, Owner officehelpers@yahoo.ca
Office Helpers, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I think that for both classifieds and the phone directories, a potential client has to "know" what they are looking for, before they reach out for either of those options. The VA concept is still too new to most people, for those avenues to work.

I agree that social media, especially if you work it properly, can give you a big boost. Other options that involve little or no start-up expenses are offline networking, blogging, and word-of-mouth.

Thanks. I have been thinking of doing some flyers or brochures, but I am not sure how to find the appropriate place to get mailing lists...... any ideas? I appreciate all the help.

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S. Richardson, Owner officehelpers@yahoo.ca
Office Helpers, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I would advise you NOT to buy mailing lists. They, generally, are a waste of money, because they have been mailed to so many times that they are not receptive to any additional appeals. In addition, there is no way to know whether they would be a good match for you, in terms of the services that you offer.

I would recommend developing your own list, through networking and using other methods for capturing contact info. For instance, approach the leadership of the various networking organizations in your area (e.g. Chamber of Commerce) and offer to provide a door prize (5 or 10 hours of service, or one free project), in exchange for being able to collect people's contact info, when they register for the prize. You can also do the same thing with your website. Post an announcement on your site that you will be conducting a random drawing at the end of the month, for all people who have provided their e-mail address, for 10 free hours of service.

The bottom line is, there are more effective, less expensive methods for obtaining a list than purchasing one.

I have posted ads on craigslist with not much success. All i have gotten is junk mail in return.

Did the ads work for you? Please give us an update.

Thanks, Nellie, for mentioning your experience with Craigslist, as I was considering doing this. Now I am thinking direct marketing to potential clients via a mailed postcard, something I haven't done but always wanted to do.

In an earlier post on mailing lists, I believe it was Office Goddess who posted about using ReferenceUSA. You can create a targeted mailing list for free. Just get a library card at your local library and then log into their website and find ReferenceUSA.

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Chela Lucia
www.LucentAdminSolutions.com The Bright Choice for Virtual Assistance!

Hi
I'm from Canada and we have some VA sites you can advertise and be a member as well as LINKEDIN.
As far as Craigslist, I heard the same as some of the other posts that its not a real good source of advertising.

Hope this helps,

Good luck
Mary