Has anyone of you ever tried to get an article about the VA business into a local paper or business journal? I think it would be great PR to get one of the writers of our local paper or business journal to write an article about the great advantages a partnership with a Virtual assistant can bring and how the business works. But I'm not sure how to get one of them to listen to me.

If you had success with this, can you tell me how you went about doing it?
Thanks a million.

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Tanja
http://www.englishgermanvs.com

I tried with on of my local paper but got into a heated debate with the editor about what is a virtual assistant and he said that I was just trying to get free publicity which I answered that I was willing to pay for a space but he got me so mad that I didn't want to do it anymore. He also told me that a virtual assistant was simply a freelancer and that he didn't think that doing a job unsupervised makes business sense. What a goof!

More than likely, you would have to buy a space in the paper.

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Genevieve Lachance
VA Simple Services

Tanja,
I was actually contacted by a freelance reporter for our local Business Review paper back in 2007. We had a wonderful discussion and I asked how she had heard of me, she said the PR announcing my company I sent to her editor got forwarded to her to follow up on. She did a great write up and we became friends and she became a client of mine for a few months till cancer took over her life and prevented her from continuing her business.
Write up a simple press release announcing your company to the local area, search your local papers online and find out who the best person is to send it to (call if you have to). Then just send it, you never know whose hands it'll fall into.
Good Luck,
~C

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~Christina|BD Mag|VOSTeam

Oh my gosh, I can't believe he responded like that. You're right, what a goof ! This is interesting. Thanks for the feedback.

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Tanja
http://www.englishgermanvs.com

Thanks Christina. Good for YOU ! That is awesome. I definately have to try that.

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Tanja
http://www.englishgermanvs.com

Hi

Wow, I bet that editor doesn't have his job long. That's terrible the way he responded.

I have had good success with getting local PR. The key for me has been to connect it to what's in the news now and use that angle. For example, today with so many layoffs you could go with how a virtual assistant can help businesses still survive with limited staff. Just make sure you go benefits and not sound too adsy. Also, if you offer bookkeeping services this is a great time to get out there. Anything related to how businesses can prepare for taxes, save money, etc.

Hope this helps!

Diana Ennen
Virtual Word Publishing
www.virtualwordpublishing.com

He is an editor for a small news paper with a small town attitude. He actually went on to say that to collect an hourly wage, employers need to be able to supervise output and shift focus without having to natter away on e-mail or check up on the phone. The best part is when he said that working as a virtual assistant is nothing new, "We used to call it telecommuting, but most employers have scrapped it because it creates dissention among employees who still have to show up for work".

I learned a lot from talking with him. I was able to respond to him honestly and made my points very clear. I was lucky that I was using emails so that my answers were well thought out and didn't reflect my anger. I probably wouldn't have done so well in person or over the phone. I strongly believe that I will be better prepared next time someone comes up with such comments. What we do is not for everybody and we can't please everyone. That's also why we need to get the word out about what we do and who we are.

Good luck, I hope you get the message out.

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Genevieve Lachance
VA Simple Services

Diana/Genevieve - good points. Yes, I would approach the subject based on the benenfits and how in this economy everyone tries to save money, but shouldn't have to sacrific quality work. I do agree the word needs to get out more as to what exactly all we can do. The few prospective clients I have been able to approach didn't really have a clue as to how they could utilize my services. One gentleman is in ATL and I thought I might go there in the spring for a long weekend and see if he would like to meet in person and to discuss what type of help he could use and how we could go about doing that long distance. Maybe that will convince him that this can be done.

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Tanja
http://www.englishgermanvs.com

I hope that editor never loses his job because he'd never survive in the new reality. Once you get past the nastiness you can really see what a tiny, scared person he actually is.

I've heard, but never tried it myself, that sending out press releases about milestones and other interesting tidbits is the best way to get the newspapers to print anything about your business. If you want to go the press release path, you should check out: http://www.avangate.com/articles/pre...ibution_69.htm. They have 50 different submission sites that you can use to get the news out about your business.

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Cheryl Henderson-Khalid
KAFE, LLC