"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."          

       -- William Feather

Welcome. . .

Increasing Web traffic is a continual goal of small businesses. Learn one way to enhance your website's ranking in Kristy Schnabel's article What You Need to Know About DMOZ: Open Directory Project.

You say you have a Press Release?  Now what?  Kathy Sparks shares newsworthy developments on this important topic for small, medium sized businesses and organization. Chocked full of the insider's tips with helpful hints and suggestions that educate us on what it's used for (news), the mistakes most often made (advertising) and how to overcome those challenges successfully without blowing your budget.

TVA is dedicated to the working virtual partnership, and in this issue we are delighted to bring you a spotlight with Susan Sullivan, VA and her client, Cheryl Mann, who is a certified business and life coach. If you would like to share the methods and technology you employ to make your virtual working partnership work, please contact us at tva@assistu.com.  

Technical note: We send our newsletter only to those who have requested it. If for some reason you would like to unsubscribe, please click on the links at the end of this issue. If you did not receive the link, please email us at tva@assistu.com. Thank you.

What's DMoz?
DMoz is short for Directory Mozilla also known as Open Directory Project (http://dmoz.org/). Mozilla, a green lizard/dragon/alligator thing, is the mascot for the multilingual open content directory that's maintained by a community of volunteer editors. Editors, like myself, edit, approve, and reject website submissions to the directory based on editor guidelines. Ideally, editors seek out new additions to the directory as well.

I was surprised to learn that the ODP is owned by Time-Warner, but if you follow business acquisitions, it makes sense: Time-Warner bought AOL, which bought Netscape which bought the ODP from its creators.

Fast ODP Facts:

• Launched in 1998.
• Founders: Rich Skrenta and Bob Truel.
• Website submissions are free. (Yahoo! charges about $299 annually.)
• Submissions may take months to be approved, if ever.
• Directory size: over 4 million sites (Source: http://dmoz.org/ 1/6/2005.)
• Number of volunteer editors: 66,270. (Source: http://dmoz.org/ 1/6/2005.)
• Approximately 90% of editors are turned down. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Number of categories: 590,000 (Source: http://dmoz.org/ 1/6/2005.)

Put Yourself in Your Customer's Shoes
When you look for a plumber or an electrician, don't you look in your own home town first? I do. Even though people work virtually and don't need to be in the same town, state, or country, one has to start looking somewhere. That's why a directory that sorts geographically is so invaluable. For example, my website's listing is in this category:

Business>Business Services>Office Services>Secretarial Services and Virtual Assistants>United States>Oregon

Sure I get listed with my colleagues who some may call "the competition," but we offer unique services within our category and many of us are happy to cross refer. But do people really use directories much with the popularity of Google? I confess that I use search engines like Google over directories to do my research, but the great news is that a listing in the ODP increases my visibility and page ranking in Google (Source: Wikpedia).

If I do a search in Google for "Oregon virtual assistant," unfortunately neither my name nor business is in the top 10 listings. But the third listing (as of 1/6/2005) is Google's Directory which comes straight from the ODP category that I maintain and in which I appear.

Submit Your Site
Remember that it may take months for your website to get listed in the ODP after submitting it, so there is no time to lose. I recommend these steps:

1. Explore the ODP thoroughly to find the best place in the directory for your site.
2. Completely read and follow the directions for submitting your site to enhance being approved.
3. Wait.

Want to really increase your chances of your website appearing sooner? Consider applying to be an editor, if the job isn't taken, for the category in which you'd like to appear. To do so, you'll need to disclose any conflicts of interest you have and put aside any feelings of competitiveness. For more information about becoming an editor, look here: http://dmoz.org/help/become.html.

If you are a small business owner, consider submitting your site to the ODP today or asking your VA to do it for you. If you are a VA, you may want to offer this service to your clients as well.

Resources:
DMOZ Open Directory Project: http://dmoz.org/ (1/6/2005).
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Directory_Project (1/5/2005).

Does this scenario sound familiar? You've looked into submitting a press release, but the expense drives you away from the idea. Don't allow it. My budget-friendly solution is a press release service that you pay only what you can afford or submit it for free. The more your contribution, the better exposure you receive. The service I've used for years is PRWeb at http://www.prweb.com.

PRWeb has been around since 1997. They are one of the largest online press release newswire services catering to small and medium-sized companies and organizations.

PRWeb offers templates for writing a press release, reviewing the press release before going live, and a user-friendly fill-in template. Although I have found PRWeb a good service, there are other places online such as PRNewswire, emailwire.com, free-press-release, BizWizWire.

Getting started:

1. Go to www.prweb.com

2. Sign up for a free account. You can send all of your clients' and your press releases out from one account.

Follow the instructions. All of your work is maintained in your account and you can go back and review it at any time. If you choose to contribute to the service for a release, you will be provided statistics for the number of views of your press release.

As an example, I currently have 36 press releases sitting in my account. The statistics for one of them reads: 25,000/134/0/1. Translated, the 25,000 is the number of times the press release was accessed from the PRWeb site. Just getting your information in front of all of those eyes is easily worth the $10 that I contributed for this particular example. The next number is an estimate of the number of times the press release was picked up by a media outlet. The third number is the number of times it was printed and the final number is the number of times it was forwarded to someone else. I've had press releases that have 74,500 accesses.

Reasons why or when you could write a press release:

1. Launch of a web site, new features of a web site or newsletter.

2. When a partnership has been created in a businesses.

3. Announcing new services and or products.

4. Launch of a business, business expansion or relocation.

5. Announcing a new book or an event.

Important items to keep in mind when writing your press release:

• Write a compelling story. If it is not interesting, it will not get read.

• Make sure it is newsworthy. Opening an online store isn't new, but perhaps the experience your visitors will have in your store may be special.

• Use real life examples of the benefits of your news.

• Stick to the facts. Make each word count, tell the truth and no bloviating.

• Make sure you've edited it thoroughly. Once it is released you can go back and edit it, but the first viewers might not use your press release because of the error.

• Remember this is not an ad, it is an informational piece.

• Keep jargon to a minimum and explain acronyms.

• Avoid the hype. Never do this!!!!!!!!

• If you include information about other companies, be sure to get permission.

• Don't forget an ending with a short paragraph that describes your company.

Resources to help you create your press release:

http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com/how-to-write-a-press-release.html
http://www.lunareclipse.net/pressrelease.htm
http://pandecta.com/write_press_release.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_8793_write-press-release.html

Don't forget to distribute your press release to your email newsletter distribution list. Good luck with your announcement.

Contemplating a Press Release? © 2005 Kathy Sparks

VA: Susan Sullivan, Innovative Concepts Virtual Assistance.

Client: Cheryl Mann, Founder / Certified Business & Life Coach, Goals InSight Coaching.

One day, nearly a year ago, an e-mail appeared in Susan Sullivan's inbox from Business & Life Coach Cheryl Mann saying she was ready to take her business to the next level and she needed a VA. After some enthusiastic e-mails and phone calls, the Sullivan/Mann "success team" was born.

Susan says she was very impressed with Cheryl's grasp of the VA/client "partnership" concept even though she had never worked with a VA previously. "Cheryl's openness and excellent communication skills have made working virtually a breeze and such a pleasure. Cheryl is truly one of those 'dream clients.' She responds quickly to e-mail, gives clear direction, welcomes my ideas and is respectful of my time. We have lively brainstorming sessions, develop marketing strategies and then each of us participates in carrying out the plan. We truly are a team."

In addition to coaching, Cheryl is also a keynote speaker, workshop leader and has produced numerous CDs. Cheryl was at a point in her business where she realized she couldn't do it all and have the quality of life she wanted. She knew she wanted a team approach instead of being the only one working in and on her business. She recognized that she was the only one who could do the coaching, but others could help in other areas. She brought on a PR person, a web designer and a virtual assistant to form her success team.

"Susan has become a HUGE asset to my company, as she is more than just a Virtual Assistant. As a VA, Susan saves me a lot of time by handling my administrative projects so that I can spend that time on revenue-generating activities. Susan adds the most value by using her business expertise as my marketing partner. She manages my marketing campaign, researches and develops speaking opportunities, all of which brings in new clients. In addition, Susan's excellent customer service skills give me complete confidence in knowing that all of her interactions with my clients represent my business in the way that I want -- my clients receive the same high-quality service from Susan as they do from me!"

"Peace of mind is another huge factor. I know I can hand off a project to Susan and it will get done. I can cross it off my mental to-do list and it frees up my time to focus on other things."

"I love knowing that Susan is my business partner and is invested in the success of my business. She knows the most about my business by taking a genuine interest and isn't afraid to get involved. She gives me tremendous support and I don't feel like I'm going it alone. Susan is the most important member of my success team. She is a peer and has experience in many areas so I often use her as my sounding board. I rely on her to be my collaborative partner."

Cheryl says that by delegating projects to Susan, her time is freed up to:

• Attend more business development events.

• Develop audio and workbook products.

• Lead more workshops.

• Take on more speaking engagements.

• Focus on revenue-producing activities.

"During the first 5 months that we worked together, my e-zine subscribers grew by 33%, my web site traffic grew by 56% and my speaking engagements increased by 66%, so more people are learning about my business through our marketing efforts. Now that I'm working with Susan, I couldn't run my business effectively without her!"

Cheryl Mann is a certified business and personal coach who founded Goals InSight Coaching in 2001. Cheryl specializes in helping health care professionals and organizations achieve their desired goals offering a holistic approach to her coaching clients. http://www.goalsinsight.com.

Susan Sullivan is a virtual Assistant and marketing partner, an AssistU graduate and founded Innovative Concepts in 2003. Her specialty is working with coaches, authors, speakers and entrepreneurs. Susan brings over 20 years of professional administrative and management experience in both the public and private sectors. http://www.innovativeconceptsva.com.