Developing a Virtual Assistant Niche / Expertise A...

When you setup your VA business, one of the things you will quickly hear people talking about is the idea of a niche or a target market. There are two schools of thought when it comes to virtual assistance businesses.

The first says that choosing a niche is smarter – that you will be able to focus on a specific target market, industry or client type and attract more business.

The second says that targeting a wider audience will bring you in more business and that instead of diversifying your niche, diversify in your service offerings. For example, becoming known as a creative firm versus an administrative one.

I prefer a combination of both.

It is important to develop an idea of your ideal client and create an ideal client profile. That way, when you develop your copy, website offerings, etc. you can write it to a specific person versus an unknown person.

If you haven’t yet, create that ideal client profile and tape it or post it up somewhere in your office. Then, re-read your website copy and your marketing materials to see if it effectively speaks to that ideal client. If not, make some changes in your business now.

VAs: Learn to Rock the Blog Tour, Establishing You...

Once again — before I start writing this — I just have to say how much I love Erin Blaskie. There is a whole back story here. Some years ago, I joined Erin’s team as her transcriptionist. What happened was I listened to all her teleseminars and webinars on creating a multi-VA practice as I typed out the pages. Think about this – she actually paid me to do that, when I would have done it for free! The knowledge stuck. I became quite Internet marketing-savvy myself and branched out into the niche of assisting authors with their online publicity efforts. Buh-bye transcription!

A lot of you might think it is very glamorous and fun to work with bestselling authors. Guess what? It is! Collaborating with these creative and talented writers is truly a joy, and I’m grateful I had the foresight (and a loving push from a wonderful author friend) to enter the field of assisting authors. And just a note here. Not every author I work with is a bestselling author. But in coordinating their publicity efforts, it’s certainly a goal I aim for.

What is the best tool to use in obtaining online exposure for a new book that’s been released? In my experience, it’s the book blog tour. A blog tour, in a nutshell, consists of scheduling a predetermined number of blogs to feature that book for a period of – let’s just say – about a month with reviews, author guest posts or perhaps q&a with the author. Let’s not forget a book giveaway to the blog’s readers as well! Some studies have shown that online word-of-mouth (WOM) is more effective than even social networking. While you want your authors to be on Twitter and Facebook as well, you definitely want them taking advantage of the exposure a blog tour affords.

But how do you really rock the blog tour? Hint: it’s in your relationships with the bloggers. These relationships begin the moment you pitch them, i.e., send them an email query asking them to consider reviewing your author’s book. I’m going to give you one solid tip here for you to always remember when writing out that pitch. Never, ever address these busy book bloggers as the dreaded “Dear Blogger.” If you take out time to research the blog – as you should, including carefully reading the Review Policy to check that the book you’re pitching is indeed in the genre the blogger enjoys – believe me, you’ll find out the blogger’s first name. Personalizing the pitch goes a long way towards developing a pleasant professional dialogue with discerning bloggers.

If you enjoy reading and working with creative types, or just want to add to your skill set, consider adding author assistance services to your offerings. I’m so glad I did, and have never once looked back.

VAs: We’re Going to Have a CONTEST!

Diane is going to give away one copy of her e-book, “Best Practices: Pitching Book Bloggers” to someone who comments on this blog post!

Just leave a comment about how the content of this book would help you in your business by Friday, May 21, 2011 and Diane will pick one random winner from that list!  Not sure how it would help?  Click on over to her e-book page (link above) and find out more!

Be sure to leave your e-mail address along with your comment so we have a way to get in touch with you!

About the Author

Diane Saarinen can be found at the Saima Agency (http://saimaagency.com) which specializes in author services such as book blog tours, virtual assistance, copywriting and book trailers. Their ebook, BEST PRACTICES: PITCHING BOOK BLOGGERS is available at http://bit.ly/et5fWu.

Choosing a Target Market for Your Virtual Assistan...

A target market, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, are the people you plan to market your services to. The more specific you are, the more successful you will be.  The reason is is because you can target your services, your writing and your marketing efforts to one group of people. A lot of virtual assistants don’t target a specific market but as the industry becomes more and more saturated with VAs, it’s going to be important for VAs to get specific and choose a target market.

Here is an exercise that one of my past client’s, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero of Red Hot Copy uses. I want you to grab that pen and for the next minute, I want you to write about your target market. Now, don’t just do a specific group. I want you to think about your ideal client, that one person you want to market to and I want you to write about them. A short example would be:

Bright woman entrepreneur in her thirties who is on a path to success. She enjoys her work her fashion and loves to take time off to travel the world. She’s technologically savvy and understands the power of delegating.

The key is to be specific. Don’t hold back and describe everything about your ideal client – your target market. The more specific you are, the better. Describe the type of business they would own, what talents they would have, whether they are male or female, etc.

Do the exercise now.

The reason we get so specific is because from this point forward, everything you will do will be to make THAT person, that ideal client you’ve described, want to buy your services. When you are writing your website copy, write it as though you are speaking to that person. The more personal you are and specific you are, the more you will sell because when people meet you, read your website copy, read your materials, they will feel as though you are speaking to them.

The next step is to think about the industry you want to target. Some people target the law field. Others target finance and some target coaches or speakers. In my business, I primarily target internet marketers and small business owners.

Is there a specific industry you wish to service? Industries could include fashion, beauty, info-products, health, fitness, marketing, etc.

Once you know what industry you want to target, you can start making your marketing related to that industry.

Did you find the information in this post helpful? If so, check out our Build Your Virtual Assistance Business course! The course contains information like this to help you build, grow and manage your virtual assistance business.