a sample post on ShareUrMeal.com

The WilsonVA Blog will profile an organization doing good works each month.  If you know a organization doing good works that you’d like me to profile, please contact me at Carla@WilsonVA.com.  This month we feature ShareUrMeal.com.

If you consider yourself a foodie and use Twitter, you’ve probably seen the hashtags (#foodporn, #sexonaplate) and photos of food.  Foodies love food and are not afraid to show it – especially on social networks.  One local non-profit took what we foodies were already doing – posting photos and commenting on food – just one step further to help those in need.

I’m speaking about ShareUrMeal.com, which launched in October 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.  I spoke with Gloria Bell, one of ShareUrMeal’s 15 volunteers, about the organization because I wanted to bring awareness to the good works of their organization.

Here’s how ShareUrMeal works – and how you can help them help the hungry.  Take a photo of a dining experience with your digital camera or phone.  Email the photo to post@shareurmeal.com.  For every picture posted, $1 or unit of food is donated to the hungry in the metro Philly region.

ShareUrMeal’s organizers, headed by Devon Segel, partnered with local corporations and the United Way to make it all happen.  ShareUrMeal coordinates the movement, and the United Way coordinates distribution to local food pantries and organizations for the hungry.

Although based solely in the Philadelphia region, ShareUrMeal hopes to expand this movement to other cities.  I asked Gloria if there was a goal for the number of posts, or amount of money they wanted to raise.  She replied, “We intentionally did not make a public goal – and we don’t want to make an effort to start creating goals.  Feeding the hungry is an ongoing problem, so we want ShareUrMeal to be an ongoing effort.”

Gloria volunteers with ShareUrMeal.com because, “…for every minute we donate, it’s helping someone else.”

Want to help ShareUrMeal, too?  You can post pictures of your dining experiences on ShareUrMeal.com.  Simply email your photo to post@shareurmeal.com to post anonymously or create your own profile page (like I did) and post there.  If you want to help ShareUrMeal.com with donations, you can find more information on their website.

Please leave me a comment below and let me know your feedback!

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As part of a VAClassroom assignment, I had to record a live streaming video show. I created a show on Ustream and discussed 5 benefits of hosting virtual events. To follow is the recorded version.

Shortly, I will be able to announce that I have earned my Virtual Event Specialist certification through VAClassroom. I want to help entrepreneurs implement the use of multimedia in their marketing efforts, and felt a live stream video was one method of demonstrating the ease of use.

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In this last audio, I teach you Secret 3 for Turning Contacts into Sales. After organizing, and planning marketing, it’s necessary to track your efforts to know if they are effective. In this audio I discuss some ideas for tracking your marketing.

Please let me know your thoughts by adding a comment below.

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This secret for turning contacts into sales has several parts. First you must decide the action plans for keeping in consistent contact with your prospects and clients, plus you need to schedule your overall marketing plan. In the audio to follow I mention the use of a spreadsheet to help you organize your marketing. Please email me (Carla@WilsonVA.com) if you’d like a copy.

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Those who have worked with me know I am stickler for organized databases.  A database is the backbone of your business – it’s your bread and butter – so take care of it.

When I consult with clients about their databases, the first thing we talk about is the contact types, or categories, in which the contacts are organized.  Here is an audio about organizing contacts into contact types.  Ideal Contact Types.  Ideal to you and your business.

Please let me know your thoughts by adding a comment below.

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How do you host your own teleseminars?  With all the conference call resources that are available today, it couldn’t be easier.  Two such resources are  FreeConferenceCalling.com and InstantTeleseminar.com.  As you might expect FreeConferenceCalling.com is FREE for your use, and a monthly service fee is charged by InstantTeleseminar.com.

Do your research, and choose a vendor based on your needs.  Some options to consider: Do you need a back-up phone line?  Will your callers be using VoIP service to call in?  How many callers do you expect?  What is your monthly budget for this service?  Bells and whistles cost money, but if you don’t need lots of bells and whistles, then you can save yourself some budget dollars.

After choosing your vendor, you will set-up an account with them.   A unique conference call line and PIN will be assigned to you.   (These details are what you will share with your audience prior to any teleseminars you offer.  )

Decide what day and time will be best for you – and your audience – to deliver the teleseminar.  (Remember that with recording capability, you won’t have to try to coordinate the schedule of your whole audience.  Simply offer them a recording of the call to playback at a later time!)

Send out an email invitation to your list giving them the call-in information.  Don’t forget to send them a couple of reminders (1 week out,  3 days out, 1 day out, and the morning of…) to ensure that the callers have all the details to attend the call.

On the day of the call be prepared with your information, a glass of water, and a cheery attitude!  Call into the teleseminar line about 15 minutes early.  Welcome callers as they come on to the call.  Start the call recording.  Introduce yourself and deliver your information.  After you have delivered your information, have a Q&A session.  Thank the callers for attending.  Stop the recording.  Download the audio file of the call, and follow-up with an email to your list to send them a recording of the call.

….Or hire your Virtual Assistant to manage all these details so you can prepare more information to present ;-)

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If you have training information or information to sell to your target market, the teleseminar is a tech-easy way to enter into offering virtual events.  As you have learned, virtual events are presentations that provide information without the need for the host or attendees to travel to the event.

What is a teleseminar (aka teleclass)?    Typically teleseminars are training or sales information delivered via a conference call.   A day and time for the call is scheduled.  Attendees are sent invitations to the teleseminar and are given the conference call number to dial.  On the day and time of the call, the host and attendees call in to the conference call line.  The host presents the material and answers questions from the audience.  After the event a recording of the teleseminar is sent to attendees (to benefit those that could not be on the call live).  Voila!  Information delivered, call recorded, your time is leveraged!

Tomorrow you’ll learn how to host your own teleseminars.

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I am currently in a class to receive my Virtual Events Specialist certification. What are virtual events? Think teleseminars, webinars, screencasts, podcasts – events that are live or recorded, but the audience doesn’t have to travel. Think about the leverage of time and money for hosting and/or attending these types of events. No travel expenses, no lost luggage, no travel day before and after the event, no time away from your family.

According to a VAClassroom.com presentation I attended:
“Businesses are adapting to Virtual Events at a record pace! 67% of professionals responsible for physical events report that overall attendance has dropped, and 76% of businesses say have already begun using or plan to start using Virtual Events in 2009. In fact, 70% of Corporate Event Organizers predict a reduction in live events in 2010, and forecast major growth in virtual conferences and webinars.”

Think about how much information you have to share with your target market.  Wouldn’t a virtual event of some kind help you leverage your time and money to share your information?  Of course it would.

In my next posts, I’ll outline some of the virtual events you can consider for your business.

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Woo Hoo! It was six years today that I began this journey of self-employment when I officially “opened” Wilson Virtual Assistants for business! It was a step I took in faith, following a Zen saying I had read, “Leap and the net will appear.”

I am grateful to my family, clients and colleagues for your continued support. I appreciate every minute of brainstorming, strategizing and collaborating that you have provided. Thank you for helping me help the world understand what a ‘virtual assistant’ is and does.

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