Tips for writing a winning award submission

Participating in Business or Industry related Awards can be a great marketing tool for businesses of any size.  Increased brand awareness, greater employee morale, as well as PR, marketing and networking opportunities are all benefits of being a finalist or winning an award - not to mention any great prizes associated with winning.  But the Award submission process can be tricky so here are a few tips to help make your entry stand out from the crowd.

• Be concise - there is no need to be wordy, just think how many entries the judges need to read, so be concise to get your message across.  
• Provide statistics and evidence to back up any claims in your entry. 
• Follow the judging criteria carefully - if the questions have a word limit of 200 - keep to that word limit, more is not better.
• Make sure your information is true - check your facts and present the evidence if possible. If not, have the evidence available as the judges may ask!
• Where possible provide photos, graphs and testimonials to enhance your submission.  Even consider the inclusion of a video - pictures can speak a thousand words. 
• If you need to provide references, ensure you have their permission and they have been briefed on what you are entering. Also ensure you include their current contact details. 
• Get your submission in on time - no matter what the excuse late entries are not accepted. 
• Often there is a discount on entry fees for getting your award submission in early.
• Ensure the entry is in the format requested eg length of document, printed or soft copies etc.
• Make sure to have copies of your company's bio, logos and staff profile pictures for any media opportunities presented by the Award organisers.

Awards are a great way to raise the profile of your business and build your network.  Our team have a fantastic track record in writing winning Awards submissions so contact us today for a quote.

An upcoming blog will look at ways to make the most of becoming a finalist or winning an award.

Tools to help you work remotely

Thursday 15th April 2010

As a virtual assistant I need the ability to work anywhere at anytime for little or no cost, just as if I was sitting at home at my desk. Here are 3 great tools I can't live without.

1. Dropbox - A tool that allows you to sync your computer files across many computers as well as being able to access them from any internet connection.  Automatically syncs the files whenever you work on them making sure you have the most up to date information every time.  Best part - 2 gig free storage!

2. Delicious - online bookmarking tool so you can access your favourite websites on any computer. 

3. LogMeIn - This program allows you to access your home or work computer from an internet connection - even your iPhone.  To work however the computer you are trying to access must be connected to the internet also. Great if you need to access a particular application or program.

What's the strangest place you have done work from? 

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How to Get Your Small Business National Media Coverage For Free

Thursday 25th Feb

One of my favourite websites for small business is Sourcebottle.

It is a free subscription service that emails 'call outs' for sources from journalists and bloggers. This is a fanastic way to help your small business get potentially national coverage for free. 

Just a month after starting my business, Sourcebottle got my business mentioned in Cleo magazine which lead to a 200% traffic increase to my website!

Increase your chances of success by following the site on Twitter for up-to-the-minute call outs. 

Of course if you need more help with your PR or Marketing Strategy, mi virtual pa can help!

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11 ways a virtual assistant can help your business - Grow Smart Business

Monday 1 Feb 2010

I would like to share with you an article from Grow Smart Business on 11 ways a virtual assistant can help your business. Read the full article here.

Their top 11 ways include:

1.Marketing support and publicity helping you to spread the word about your product or services


2.Web design and search engine optimization but this one can be tricky and is a very specialized skill. At a basic level you can get help updating content on web pages and simple SEO tasks.


3.Polishing, Printing, Binding and if necessary, shipping your presentations


4.Proofing, editing, and typing your business communications


5.Managing your calendar and schedule your appointments


6.Meeting and travel planning which can be amazing if they know how to find great deals and you communicate your preferences


7.Transcription of Your Recorded Notes – If you like to dictate, this can be an amazing solution. I have personally used Evernote to record the notes and filed them in a folder to be processed


8.Good old fashioned data entry – you might need business cards added to your address book or info added to your CRM system


9.Bookkeeping, payroll, creating and managing financial reports


10.Keeping Your Social Meda accounts up to date – this means getting blog posts published or updating your Facebook Fan Page and Twitter accounts


11.Good old fashioned call management – this can be your normal voice mail and other channels like Skype
 
mi virtual pa can help with all these tasks so please contact us for more information on how we can help you grow your business.
 
Comment or view mi virtual pa previous blogs
 

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Save money on 'Sickies'

Monday 25 January 2010

According to Sky News, a record number of people (around half a million) are taking a 'sickie' today to have a long weekend for Australia Day.

The beauty of working with a virtual assistant is that our sickies don't cost you money.  We charge you only for the time actually spent working on your business giving you 100% productivity.

Other benefits of hiring a virtual assistant can include;


•Save time and money with no workers compensation, super, holidays or sick leave entitlements to pay. Just one flat hourly rate

•Develop a long term partnership with the same personal assistant unlike a temp agency

•No expensive outlay for office equipment and space

•Flexibility to suit your changing business needs, no lock in contracts or commitment required

•Convenient operating hours - we are available seven days a week, 24 hours a day for urgent or international projects and communications

•We run a business, just like you so we understand the need for a high level of customer service always.
 
Happy Australia Day!

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Eight Ways a Virtual Assistant can help you this Christmas

Sunday 11th October 2009

It's been a long year.  One full of late nights, hard work and lost weekends.  For your sanity you have decided to take a break this festive season. 

But are you going to take a real holiday?  One with no emails, phone calls or meetings?  To make it through yet another joyous year of being a small business owner, it is important you detach yourself and be able to lie on the beach without your laptop, even for just a few days.

This is where a virtual assistant can help save the day! While you sip on cocktails at the pool bar your trusty assistant can be working for you assuring your business doesn't skip a beat.

1. Update your social media networks - Twitter, Facebook and all the other wonderful web 2.0 portals out there don't rest over Christmas, so a virtual assistant can help you stay in touch with your social community.

2. Process orders - hopefully while you are sleeping in, orders are still coming in to help pay off the credit card.  A good virtual assistant can learn your order management systems and procedures and continue the process streamlessly while you are away.

3. Customer Service- whether it be answering your phone or following up on email queries, a virtual assistant can ensure that your customers are well looked after throughout the holiday season.  

4. General administration - anything and everything including mail redirection, phone diversion, email management, setting up templates, sprucing up your presentations plus all those jobs you kept putting off all year.

5. Research - Start the New Year off in the right direction, with some updated market research or competitor analysis.   Renew your focus and get started on the right track with the latest information about your product, competitors and consumers.

6. Database Management - If sending out your Christmas card list this year was a nightmare, a virtual assistant can help you updated your databases.

7. Publicity - As things are slowing down in the government and corporate world throughout December and January, this is a great time to pitch stories to media as content can be hard to come by.  A virtual assistant skilled in public relations will be able to help you find the right media hooks, prepare press releases and distribute to media.
8. Book your Easter Getaway! Now you have seen the benefits of working with a virtual assistant you can take a holiday more often!

So have you booked your Christmas holiday yet?

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Why Blogging is good for small business

I didnt realise the true benefits of Blogging until I started doing it. Yeah everyone was raving about it, but I used to think that those people had way too much time on their hands with lots of things to say about the world.

These days I believe it should be a critical part of your communication and online strategy. Starting out as a virtual assistant, I was looking for cost effective ways to market my business and blogging was a big part of that initial strategy. My blog has lead directly to securing ongoing and profitable clients for my business.

For me a good blog is well written, informative, personalised, current and most importantly, not the hard sell.

Cameron Strachan from Cameron's Golf Blog has been successfully writing a blog for nearly three years now.

"Blogs are great for credibility - almost like having a book. But you need to write great content. You really can't hold anything back - and people will. I've had people telling me (and I've listened to them) that I gave too much away - but it's the best thing to do. Write with passion and tell lots of stories but most of all help people with a need or problem. No fluff and none of the my cat died type of stuff" he recommends.

Benefits to your business for blogging can include:

Increases traffic and attracts new visitors to your website

Blogs certainly give new reasons for people to visit your website. Providing informative and fresh content regularly will conitnually attract people to your site. Posting your blog links in your social media networks is a good way to start getting your blog out there.

Helps to demonstrate that you are an expert in your field

Blogs are a great way to show people you do know what you are talking about.

Allows you to explain your products and services in more detail

You can communicate a lot more information about what your business can offer in a blog than a 15 sec radio commercial or ad in your local paper. Plus it's a lot more cost effective - just your time.

Helps you differentiate yourself from competitors

Blogging about your unique selling points can go along way to making you stand out from your competitors.

Provides a forum to voice your opinion on current affairs affecting your industry

This again is a great way to demonstrate you are an expert in your field and lets customers know you are up to date with the latest news affecting your business.

Can help increase your website ranking in search engines

Blogging while incorporating your key words will help you with your search engine presence and may just be the thing to help you to get to Page 1 of Google.

Generate income through advertising on your blog

If your blog becomes popular, placing advertising on your site will form a new stream of income for your business.

Builds networks and interactivity

Blogs allows you to interactive with your modern day customer as well as build referral networks which are all good for your buiness.

So now you understand the importance of a blog but don’t have the time to write it? Hire a virtual assistant to help you spend less time on administration tasks and more time selling your business through regular blog updates. A good virtual assistant will also help you promote and maintain your blog with the latest features and techniques.

See previous mi virtual pa blogs

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Things to consider when planning 'Stunts'

Monday 31 August 2009


Having worked in radio promotions and marketing for 6 years you can only imagine the amount of stunts I have organised.


Stunts, if planned and organised correctly, are a great way to generate free publicity for your business. Just think of all free publicity Richard Branson has gotten over the years.


For a stunt to be successful there are a number of important factors to consider:


*Be creative and think visual - media love a good picture or audio
*Make sure you have the correct insurance, permits and legals done
*Think of signage opportunities and logo placement
*Use Web 2.0 to promote your stunt - video updates, blog entries, twit your pictures etc
*Allow yourself enough time to promote it properly
*Try and plan stunts around special events or occasions eg Valentines Day, Fathers Day. Media are always looking for new angles to cover such events.
*Use locations that already have a built in crowd factor
*If you have a marketing budget, consider planning your other marketing activities around the stunt
*Consider using a PR professional or virtual assistant that has experience organising this type of publicity, as a stunt-gone-bad can have a lasting negative impact on your business image.
*Stuck on ideas for your stunt, consider breaking a world record.


So grab some friends, a glass of wine and get creating that next great stunt.


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55 Twitter update ideas for small business

Monday 24 August




Ok so as a small business, you get the need to be on Twitter. But just getting onto Twitter isn't enough to help you connect with your customers, and build relationships with the wider community.


Providing regular and informative Twitter updates is the key. Remember it is about building relationships and not directly selling your products or services (well most of the time).


So here are some ideas for Twitter updates that can help you connect with and attract more followers.


1. Announcement of sales, specials and discounts
2. Welcome a new staff member
3. Promote a new product line
4. Recruit members for a focus research group
5. Run competitions and giveaways
6. Recruit new staff by listing job vacancies
7. Post industry articles that support your products or services
8. Promote happy hours for online stores
9. Retweet your supplier messages
10. Welcome new clients
11. Promote your next event
12. Get customer feedback
13. Welcome new suppliers
14. Comment on current affairs in relation to your industry
15. Share useful websites for your business
16. Link to your new blog posts (yes its time to get a blog as well)
17. Broadcast updates made to your website
18. Lessons learnt from business that day
19. Promote your other social media networks eg. Facebook, LinkedIn
20. Conduct customer surveys
21. Notify customers to changes in upcoming events
22. Showcase your new TV, radio or print ads
23. Tell your customers about great service you have received from another small business
24. Get feedback on any new systems, software or equipment you plan to purchase
25. Search for new suppliers and contractors
26. Notify customers of product recalls
27. Promote associations and organisations your business belongs to
28. Appointment availabilities caused by last minute cancellations
29. Give tips to show you are an expert in your field  - yes free advice, no catches
30. Broadcast news in relation to your industry
31. Highlight your business's recent media coverage
32. Highlight your Twitter milestones eg. 1000 Followers
33. Profile your staff members
34. Celebrate company milestones eg. 25 years in service
35. Post changes to schedules, timetables or opening hours
36. Update stock information and shipment arrivals
37. Discounts for mentioning your Twitter posts
38. Any appearances you are making eg. trade shows, workshops, seminars
39. Link to any instructional videos you have created
40. Seasonal greeting to customers eg. Merry Christmas, Happy International Left Handers Day
41. New address and phone numbers if you have moved
42. Any unfortunate outages or delays in customers getting service or products from you
43. Promote your client's product, event or services
44. Highlight any community involvement or charity associations
45. Send reminders to your customers eg. end of financial year approaching, Father's Day
46. Going on Holidays- set automate Twits to connect to your customers in your absence
47. Give your business a personality - share a joke or two.
48. Link to photos from your latest event, staff party or networking function
49. Promote a business award nomination or achievement
50. Link to forums you regularly participate in (yes you should be doing that as well as Twitter updates)
51. Share cost savings you have made in your business
52. Use twitter as a customer service/help desk for your business
53. Fundraise for a local community organisation
54. Encourage people to follow some of your favourite Twitters
55.If all else fails, make a comment on the weather, that is always an ice breaker!


Don't have time to even think about Twitter? mi virtual pa can help you update and grow your Twitter and other social media accounts so you make the most out of this very powerful and free marketing medium.


So how do you use Twitter for your small business?


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