The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

If you’ve hired a virtual assistant, or you’re considering hiring one,  let your VA help you with more than just your business. Delegate many of your personal calls to her.

Here’s an example. 

When my local Pick ‘n Save supermarket stopped carrying Jennie-O turkey sausage links, one of my favorite breakfast foods, they told me that if I wanted to continue buying them, I’d have to call the meat department and place a special order for an entire case.

So every few months, I do. But making calls like that chips away at time I should be spending on my business.

Now, I turn over calls like this one to my virtual assistant, Christine Buffaloe. Yesterday, she hunted for the cheapest 16-foot USB cord she could find online and ordered it. She orders my books from Amazon.com and researches where I can get the most inexpensive office supplies.

This afternoon, she’s calling the sewing machine repair shop to see if my sewing machine is ready to be picked up. When that’s done, she’ll make a doctor’s appointment for me.

I can’t tell you the number of hours she’s saved me, not only doing business tasks, but making personal phone calls that eat up my precious time.

Last year, I hosted a teleseminar on “How to Find a Virtual Assistant to Help with Your Publicity Campaign.” My guests, virtual assistants Diana Ennen and Cindy Greenway, explained that VAs often relieve their clients of personal calls like the ones I’ve mentioned. Once I started delegating many of my personal these calls to Chris, it suddenly dawned on me how time-consuming these calls can be.

VAs, by the way, can help with many aspects of your publicity campaign such as:

—Writing and distributing your press releases.

—Updating your online media room

—Updating your profile on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn.

—Calling newspapers and asking for permission to reprint articles they’ve written about you

—Researching media outlets and bloggers you want to target with your pitches.

The training program I conducted last year for VAs, interns and assistants on “How to Help Your Boss or Client with a Publicity Campaign” discussed hundreds of ways you can use VAs or assistants. Many VAs signed up for the course, have added publicity tasks to their services and, as a result, have been able to raise their hourly rates.   

Posted In: Blogs, Media Kits, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity Resources, Social networking
posted On: 4/8/2008: 4:57 pm: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

Angie Dzalamanow of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina writes:

“I am the public relations manager for Sylvan Dell Publishing, a children’s book publisher committed to exciting children’s imaginations with artistically spectacular science, math and nature themed stories.  We’re doing fairly well at securing reviews for our 29 titles with key trade publications, regional parenting magazines and bloggers, but we would like to create a bigger buzz and score some national attention.

“In the back of every book, we include a ‘For Creative Minds’ educational section with fun facts, crafts and other educational activities.  We also offer free supplemental parent/teacher resources on our website, including 30-80 cross-curricular teaching activities, child-friendly learning links, audio readings, interactive quizzes and a bi-monthly e-newsletter.

“However, our books are first and foremost fun-to-read picture books, and we want parents and educators to understand that there doesn’t need to be a strict line between educational and entertaining.

“The public relations team consists of me and two interns, and our budget is limited.  We need some creative, affordable ideas for media kits and pitches, but we’ve yet to think of that ‘big idea’ we need to garner national media.  Help from your Hounds would be greatly appreciated!”

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Media Kits, Pitching the Media
posted On: 3/11/2008: 1:35 pm: By Joan
Comments: 9 Comments

Gail Sideman of Milwaukee, Wisconsin writes:

“I’m what the business calls a veteran publicist and media relations professional who has landed quality hits, and believes she does a good  job in explaining how a PR or publicity campaign works to those who  have never been involved in one.

“I outline the fact that an online newsroom is necessary and why, and that a foundation and reputation must be built before reporters have enough trust to include or feature  the client in a big story. I also explain the differences between public relations and advertising. 

“Despite all of this and making sure potential clients know what they’re getting into before they sign on the dotted line, I have found that some people, two or three months 
into the effort, maybe while we’re still trying to build a quality online press room, question why I have not been able to score that  ‘big story’ for them.

“How do other media relations professionals deal with  complaining clients after they’ve already explained the industry to them and they’re working diligently to do things in step?”

Posted In: Media Kits, PR Consultants/Publicists
posted On: 1/15/2008: 10:35 am: By Joan
Comments: 4 Comments

If you’re looking for a freelance writer writer for your press releases, articles, a bio for your media kit, or anything else, Angela Adair-Hoy offers free classified ads in her excellent ezine, WritersWeekly.com.

Send her an email and let her know what you need. Her ezine is one of the few I stop to read, no matter what I’m doing.  (Note:  Don’t bother contacting her if you aren’t willing to pay.)

Don’t forget about Craigslist, the world’s largest online bulletin board which is also great for publicizing a product, service, cause or issue for free. (See “How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool.”)  , as well as my own Publicity Hound Resources List which includes a vareiety of other vendors selling publicity related products and services.  

Posted In: Media Kits, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity Resources, Writing Articles
posted On: 10/29/2007: 8:32 am: By Joan
Comments: No Comments

The image at left accurately portrays what my life was like before I hired Chris Buffaloe of Serenty VA Services as my virtual assistant.

She relieves me of tiresome grunt work that sucks energy from me. That frees me up to think more creatively and create multiple streams of income.

If you’re frustrated that you don’t have time to implement all the great ideas you see here, consider hiring a virtual assistant to help with chores like:

—Regularly reading the blogs of journalists who you want to get in front of

—Submitting your press releases to press release distribution services

—Updating copy at your website, particularly in your online press room

—Updating your media contact lists

—Creating Google Alerts for specific keywords and keyword phrases, and then flagging you to the high-page-rank blogs that are writing about your topic, so you can post comments.

—Posting articles to article directory sites

—Proofreading your articles, press releases and website copy

—Researching media outlets that want your story ideas

—Uploading videos to sites like YouTube.

—Researching podcasts that might welcome you as a guest

—Finding ways to recycle publicity

—Looking for book reviewers

—Finding content for your ezine and blog

—Ordering reprints of articles

—Doing keyword research

Once that work is off your back, you’ll have time on your hands. Finally, you’ll be able to write more articles, start a blog, get onto the speaking circuit, or take a long weekend or even an extra vacation.

During the teleseminar I conducted called “How to Find a Virtual Assistant to Help with Your Publicity Campaign,” I explained that VAs can do far more than just what you assign. They can suggest ways to streamline your business, for example. Chris does that all the time because she knows the best software programs and other tricks to work efficiently.

If you’ve hired a virtual assistant to help with publicity, I’d love to hear your comments about exactly what your VA does for you, and how it’s helped you.

Posted In: Authors & Publishers, Blogs, Business Promotion, General, Media Kits, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity Resources, Writing Articles, YouTube
posted On: 9/13/2007: 8:01 am: By Joan
Comments: 1 Comment