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A Conversation with the Publicity Hound, Joan Stewart Melanie O'Kane: Please share a little of your background with us (your story in a nutshell). Joan Stewart: I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 22 years and left the media in 1994 to start my own business. My experience gave me a solid base from which to teach other Publicity Hounds. Melanie O'Kane: In your experience, what types of small-business publicity campaigns get results and what types do not? Joan Stewart: Those that get publicity: Campaigns in which the business owner's message dovetails perfectly with the wants and needs of the audience that is hearing, watching or reading about it. Offer lots of free advice to common problems. Talk about your business problems and what you have learned from them. Be willing to share trends in your industry with your media contacts and bloggers. Campaigns that do not work: Those that sound like free commercials with the business owner offering nothing of substance. Melanie O'Kane: How can a small virtual assistant company "stand out" in a sea of corporate competitors with bigger advertising budgets? Joan Stewart: Be willing to talk about how VAs are the solution to a business owner's problems. Also, don't concentrate so much on what you do (post articles to article directory sites, keep the client's schedule, balance the client's checkbook, etc.) Instead, put the emphasis on how you help them (eliminate their time-consuming grunt work, free them to take a vacation or work a shorter day, give them time to concentrate on generating new streams of revenue). In other words, concentrate on the benefits, not features. Melanie O'Kane: What is the best way to establish one's business as the "local expert" in any given vocational field? Joan Stewart: Optimize your Web site according to your region. For example, if you're a VA in Dallas, you'll want the keywords "Dallas VA" in a prominent place on your Web site. Since VAs can work for clients on the other side of the world, about the only time you'd have to worry about being the "local expert" is if you want media attention. If that's the case, start forming strong relationships with local media people or with bloggers who blog about your city. Also, another power way is to get onto the speaking circuit and talk about VAs in general and how they can help businesses. There are probably dozens of business groups (e.g., Rotary, Jaycees) in every community, and all are looking for good lunch and dinner speakers. Join Toastmasters in your community, and it will make you more comfortable speaking to groups of people. Melanie O'Kane: Relative to writing press releases, what is the best way to move from "shameless self promotion" to a positive "newsworthy" spin? Joan Stewart: Sign up for my free e-mail tutorial, "89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases" and stick with the course straight through to the end. It will walk you step-by-step through the entire process and give you wonderful examples of terrific press releases. Melanie O'Kane: During your time as a newspaper editor, what was the most common mistake you would see small businesses making when trying to publicize their respective businesses? Joan Stewart: Calling and pitching their businesses for a story but offering no news hook or angle; they simply wanted a story about their businesses. Melanie O'Kane: What are the best forms of paid advertising for small businesses on a tight budget? Joan Stewart: I am a firm believer that in most cases, small businesses with tight budgets do not need paid advertising. But they must market aggressively in other ways and use free publicity to generate a buzz about their businesses. Also, do joint marketing ventures with other small-business people who you do not compete with, but who target the same audience you do. Melanie O'Kane: Do "trash and trinket" promotional items like magnets, pens and coffee mugs really work to drive new business? Joan Stewart: I don't think so. They help in a branding campaign by keeping your name in front of people. But building relationships with potential clients and word-of-mouth referrals are the best ways to drive new business. Melanie O'Kane: Is any publicity good publicity? Joan Stewart: Bad publicity is not good publicity, which is what businesspeople might get if they are ever tempted to say "no comment." If you ever learn that the media are doing a story about you, and it isn't positive, always comment. If you don't, you're relinquishing all power to control the message. Melanie O'Kane: In general, do you believe the business world has caught on to the concept of using virtual assistant services? Joan Stewart: Along with the advice I gave earlier about small businesses standing out in a sea of competitors with larger budgets, I also would say:
Melanie O'Kane: What are the three key marketing strategies for a successful online marketing campaign? Joan Stewart: There are many. Here are the four most powerful:
Melanie O'Kane: How can virtual assistants capitalize on high-profile publicity they have already received? Joan Stewart: Even before your publicity campaign begins, start capturing e-mail addresses at your Web site so you can market to your visitors over and over again, until they say "stop," and without spamming. Melanie O'Kane: What are the most affordable resources for small-business market research Joan Stewart: The Internet. It can keep you busy researching for years, and it's free. Melanie O'Kane: What special insight can you give us about approaching newspaper and magazine editors with stories about a virtual assistant business? Joan Stewart: In June I did an entire weekly training session (11 hours in all) called "How to Help Your Boss or Client with a Publicity Campaign." It's actually a graduate-level course for VAs and assistants on how to get publicity for their bosses, clients or themselves. It covers every aspect of how to approach not only traditional media, but bloggers. And it explains how to create a huge presence for yourself online. You can read more about it on my Web site. ___________________________________________________________________________ Melanie O’Kane is President of MAD Typing and Consulting, a virtual assistant company based in Madison, Wisconsin, that provides administrative, creative and business writing services to clients throughout the United States. O’Kane is a 20-year administrative veteran and successful e-book author and columnist. Learn more about Melanie O'Kane and MAD Typing and Consulting by visiting http://www.mad-typing-and-consulting.com. ### |