Posts Tagged ‘business cards’

What Goes in Your VA Marketing Package?

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Reprinted by permission from WAH Adventures.  All rights reserved.

Understanding Virtual Assisting – Part 6 – What Will You Put in Your VA Marketing Package?

If you have been following this series, then you’ll recall that to date we have discussed what a VA is; how to decide which services to offer; whether or not to become certified; how much equipment is needed; and how to structure your VA practice.  Now the question is, what materials will you put in your VA marketing package?

First of all, what is a marketing package?  A marketing package includes marketing materials for both online and offline marketing that you will want to use to introduce your business to potential clients.

A good marketing package may be mailed to a client via postal mail or emailed as a WinZip file or electronic folder.  A typical offline marketing package may appear to be a glossy pocket folder with your company name and logo and contain a business card, letter of introduction, brochure, flyer, recent press release, and a copy of the last company newsletter.  Large multi-VA practices might even want to include a white paper or recent case study as well as an annual report.

While these marketing packages can be impressive, they can also become expensive.  The cost of designing, printing, and mailing all of these out does not come cheap.

Again, I am going to give you the same advice as I did with your equipment list.  Don’t over do it.  Start small and build.  Please don’t price yourself out of business.

Here is my advice.  All you really need is a web site for online marketing and a business card for offline marketing.  Really.  That is all you really need.  Now, that might not be all you want, but that is all you need.

On your web site, you should have five pages: Home, About Us, Contact Us, Services, and Blog.  You can list your services under Services just like you would in an offline brochure.  You may also introduce your company  with similar language to a sales letter in About Us with contact information appearing under Contact Us.  Put samples of your work under Services or you may want to create a separate Portfolio page.

Just starting out, you won’t have an online newsletter.  You may want to write a press release, and send it to your local newspaper or online to one of the many online press release sites such as PRWeb.  You could even put a copy of your press release saved as a PDF somewhere on your web site.  I would recommend the home page in the left side bar.

Also, if you could barter your services or volunteer your services to collect one or two testimonials to place on your web site–perfect.  This will also boost your credibility.  Place the testimonials in text boxes on your web site or somewhere in the sidebars.  I would recommend doing this on both the home page and in the Portfolio or Services page.

You may also create a signature file in your web site.  This way whenever you reply to an email, your name along with your title and company name will automatically appear in the email.  You can even include your company logo with your email signature file and make it look more like an e-business card.  For offline business cards, Vistaprint has the some of the best prices.

Again, all you really need is a business card and a web site.  Why is this?  The answer is simple, but please don’t misunderstand what I am about to say.  Until you develop an online presence and have accummulated at least six-months’ expertice, you won’t really have much to write about, tweet about or video about.  Therefore, people are less likely to want to hear what you have to say, because they have never heard of you.

However, do not let that discourage you.  Instead use this to become more determined than ever to get out there and get experience and learn this industry!  Look for opportunities to sub-contract under other VAs, volunteer or barter your services.  You can do this!

In future articles, I will be talking to you about how to name your company (if you haven’t already), how to market your services, and how to promote your web site.

As always, feel free to ask questions.

Leisa Good is the owner, VA, and “Diva of Done”™ at GBS Virtual Office Solutions. She opened her virtual assistant practice part-time in 2006 when it was then named Gemstone Business Solutions. In 2008 her VA practice became full-time, and in 2011 the name was changed to its current name. Recently, she has added VA coaching to her services. She lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley and within walking distance of the famous Shenandoah River.  Leisa’s Blog

What will you put in your VA marketing package?

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Posted in business planning, marketing, virtual assistance | 13 Comments »

Making Your Business Card Your #1 Marketing Strategy

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Think it takes longer than 30-seconds to grab the attention of a new prospect? Not with the right kind of business card.

Read below to learn the 10 strategies for marketing with your business card.

10 Strategies to Make Your Business Card Work Harder

A business card is one of the most cost-effective marketing tools you have at your disposal. It will be handed out at networking events, put into business correspondence, and placed in presentations. Next to a web site, a business card is something no business owner should be without.

When was the last time anyone complimented you on your business card? Is it visually appealing? Does it clearly identify what you do? Are you proud when you hand it out?

If you answered “no” or “can’t remember” to any of the above questions, then let’s take a closer look at 10 strategies to improve this powerful marketing tool.

1. Your business card should stand out in the crowd. Having a business card that is a plain/text only card will get put in the stack with the rest of the cards. It must stand out.

2. Your business card should be good quality. This sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many business cards that I receive with that homemade ink jet look. You can still see the perforations around the edges and the ink is even smudged on certain words. With so many affordable printing options available, you can easily afford to have a stack of about 250 business cards printed. Vistaprint.com is the one that I use.

3. Your business card should be double-sided. One the backside you need to have either an appointment reminder, a map or information about a referral bonus. What happens many times at networking events is the potential client will become so excited that they will begin writing questions on the back of the card. Then they hand it back to YOU defeating the purpose you handed it to them. A double-sided business card will make it impossible for them to use your business card as scratch paper.

4. Your business card should be in plentiful supply. Don’t make the mistake of just handing out one business card. Hand out several. Tell the potential client that you would appreciate he/she handing these out to staff members or other colleagues.

5. Your business card should not be oversized. It should be the standard size (3.5″ X 2″) to easily fit in a wallet. If it is oversized it will either end up in the trash can or in some other “fitting” place.

6. Your business card should not be an unsolved riddle. Potential clients should be able to glance at your card and figure out what you do either by the name, tagline, logo or brief description.

7. Your business card business card should declare one benefit of doing business with you. Wording such as “all work guaranteed” “insured and bonded” or “20 years in business” are good examples.

8. Your business card should not be cluttered. This is another reason to use the backside of the business card. It will keep the clutter down. Your company name, contact information, logo, and tagline are vital. Remember if a client is truly interested in your services, they will contact you.
 
Don’t try to squeeze too much contact information on the card. If you must choose between your post office box and street address to keep the clutter down–do so. The same is true for your cell phone and office phone.

9. Your business card should not have print that is too small. With 90% of the age 35+ population using reading glasses, try not to use below a point 9 font. If they can’t read it, they probably won’t call either.

10. Your business card should not be an afterthought. Nothing is worse than to have someone fumbling for his/her business card only to find out that he/she didn’t bring them. Always carry a stack with you.

If you can begin applying these 10 principles to your business cards then your business card will become one of your best strategies in your marketing plan. It certainly will be one of the most affordable in these tough times.

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Posted in Business Research, marketing, networking | 2 Comments »