CBS 4 News Explores Thriving Virtual Assistant Industry –The Solution to a Gloomy Economy

CBS 4 News Explores Thriving Virtual Assistant Industry –The Solution to a Gloomy Economy.

Margate, FL (September, 2008) With the downturn in the economy and pink slips a way of life today, more and more are turning to working at home. In fact, CBS4 News recently did a segment entitled “Working From Home Can Rake in Big Bucks” http://cbs4.com/consumer/economy.job.home.2.792216.html in which it features the thriving virtual assistant industry and how becoming a virtual assistant can be the solution so many are looking for today.

As the segment states, “It's one of the fastest growing home based businesses and getting even bigger. Virtual assistants or VAs, as they're known, are independent contractors who work from home and offer clerical support, administrative help, sales assistance or personal services to companies large and small. These can be anything from typing, medical or legal transcription, website creation or marketing.“

Diana Ennen of Margate, Florida was featured in the segment and states that after it aired she received a tremendous response from those who have been out of work and looking to supplement their income. Ennen states, “It has been fabulous to be able to help those in my community get back on their feet. One benefit of being a virtual assistant is that you can work globally so your local economy doesn’t affect you as much as you can secure clients from around the world. Also, in addition to the services CBS mentioned, you can also do publicity and marketing, bookkeeping, database management, etc. “

Ennen started her own company Virtual Word Publishing in 1985 offering her skills in publicity, online marketing and book promotions to clients. She has also co-authored a book Virtual Assistant - The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA with the Founder of the Academy for Virtual Professionals, Kelly Poelker.

Both agree that starting a Virtual Assistant Business is truly one of the best ways you can survive in this gloomy economy. Virtual Assistants are independent contractors and their rates start at approximately $35 dollars an hour but can increase to $95 dollars an hour depending on the services you offer. Ennen says for those who want it, there's more work than you can handle.

Stop by Virtual Word Publishing at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com for additional information on starting your own virtual assistant business or to find out more about the virtual assistant services we offer. Also, look to the Academy of Virtual Professionals at http://www.academyvp.com/ for their September classes.


CBS4 News explores starting a virtual assistant business as the perfect solution for those facing tough times in the economy. Virtual Assistants work globally so you can target clients worldwide and be quite successful.
.
Margate, FL (September, 2008) With the downturn in the economy and pink slips a way of life today, more and more are turning to working at home. In fact, CBS4 News recently did a segment entitled “Working From Home Can Rake in Big Bucks” http://cbs4.com/consumer/economy.job.home.2.792216.html in which it features the thriving virtual assistant industry and how becoming a virtual assistant can be the solution so many are looking for today.

As the segment states, “It's one of the fastest growing home based businesses and getting even bigger. Virtual assistants or VAs, as they're known, are independent contractors who work from home and offer clerical support, administrative help, sales assistance or personal services to companies large and small. These can be anything from typing, medical or legal transcription, website creation or marketing.“

Diana Ennen of Margate, Florida was featured in the segment and states that after it aired she received a tremendous response from those who have been out of work and looking to supplement their income. Ennen states, “It has been fabulous to be able to help those in my community get back on their feet. One benefit of being a virtual assistant is that you can work globally so your local economy doesn’t affect you as much as you can secure clients from around the world. Also, in addition to the services CBS mentioned, you can also do publicity and marketing, bookkeeping, database management, etc. “

Ennen started her own company Virtual Word Publishing in 1985 offering her skills in publicity, online marketing and book promotions to clients. She has also co-authored a book Virtual Assistant - The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA with the Founder of the Academy for Virtual Professionals, Kelly Poelker.

Both agree that starting a Virtual Assistant Business is truly one of the best ways you can survive in this gloomy economy. Virtual Assistants are independent contractors and their rates start at approximately $35 dollars an hour but can increase to $95 dollars an hour depending on the services you offer. Ennen says for those who want it, there's more work than you can handle.

Stop by Virtual Word Publishing at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com for additional information on starting your own virtual assistant business or to find out more about the virtual assistant services we offer. Also, look to the Academy of Virtual Professionals at http://www.academyvp.com/ for their September classes.


CBS4 News explores starting a virtual assistant business as the perfect solution for those facing tough times in the economy. Virtual Assistants work globally so you can target clients worldwide and be quite successful.

Virtual Assistants Excel in the Publicity and Marketing Niche

Virtual Assistants Excel in the Publicity and Marketing Niche

We all realize how Virtual Assistants have revolutionized the way we work today. Most businesses now count on their Virtual Assistant the same as they used to count on their secretaries, only so much more. VAs are a prized and respected part of their client’s team, and unlike secretaries, who often were taken for granted, Virtual Assistants are praised for their professionalism and skills. Most businesses today can’t imagine where they would be without their VA. And as the potential for success in a virtual assistant business continues to explode, so does the need for good Virtual Assistants.

Today’s Virtual Assistants need to take pride in their business and also to learn as much as they can about their niche, which is the specialty they have chosen to specialize in. One niche that I highly recommend is to offer publicity and marketing services to clients. This is an area that is growing in leaps and bounds as more and more authors, businesses, and other professionals realize the need to market their business to get good publicity. A business can expand tremendously when hiring a Virtual Assistant to help them spread the word about their products or services. Also, authors today aren’t aware that once they write a book, that’s when the real work begins. They need to get the word out about their book in order for it to be successful. That’s where a good Publicity Virtual Assistant comes in.

Publicity and marketing is thrilling to say the least. There’s such a great rush when your client gets recognized in national magazines, or a TV station wants to do a segment on them and you helped them achieve this success. Or better yet, when your efforts start resulting in substantial increased sales for them. Clients will not only keep using your services, but also tell others about this new positive addition they have to their business. And best yet, you too get to feel that satisfaction as you are helping them achieve their goals.

One of my most successful tips is learning how to effectively use any publicity that a client receives. When clients get national attention in a magazine, newspaper, or TV Segment, or even on a popular website, it’s important to make sure that everyone is aware of this. A press release should immediately go out to announce their accomplishment. This release should be added to their website and also should go to all their local papers, radio stations, and TV networks. Media loves to highlight a success story of their locals, so make sure you get this out there as soon as you can. And you don’t have to wait for the publicity to happen. If your client lands a major TV segment, you can start sending this press out beforehand in order to get more media for when the event happens. You just want to make sure that the client is fairly confident the segment will air. Also, don’t worry if the segment gets bumped back, that often happens as breaking news takes priority. This can almost be a blessing, as then you get to do more publicity before the airdate.

It’s also important to follow-up with the reporters and let them know how much you appreciate the acceptance of your quotes for an article. When you go the extra step to show them your appreciation, they remember you when the next article comes up and they need help with more expert advice. Many reporters work for multiple magazines so one good ally can lead to lots of media exposure. Always keep your PR hat on. Learn to take any situation and turn it into good press for your clients and your business as well. Stay on top of current events and see if you have anything to offer. Whenever a story hits the press that any of my clients would have a connection to, I’ll send it right away. Having press releases already prepared for clients on their business is always a great help. How do you know about these events? Sign up for Google Alerts under the topics of interest and then whenever a story is written, you can follow-up with your press release or article to the reporter. It works! I also use ProfNet from PRNewswire, which allows me to get daily leads from major news outlets. You can also consider PRLeads.

It’s also important to learn how to write a good press release and article and also where to send those. Make sure that your press releases and articles are newsworthy and also something that interests the readers. When I write a release, I always think would I read this release? Would it interest me? If not, I doubt your target audience would be reading it either. Plus, be careful to sound too promotional. You can easily get your message across without sounding like an ad.

Publicity is a great niche for Virtual Assistants. To learn more stop by my site at www.virtualwordpublishing.com or contact me for a free 10 minute call on PR tips or my free PR Informational Package.
**

Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and accompanying Workbook; Words From Home, Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business. She specializes in publicity and book marketing and is president of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and http://www.virtualassistantstartups.com. Stop by our site for free booklets and reports on business startups.