Take the Stress Out of Author Marketing

Take the Stress Out of Author Marketing Weve all heard it: You need to spend time building and interacting with your audience. You need a website and a blog. And dont forget about book signings. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn social interaction should all be regular parts of your weekly marketing habits. They dont happen Im a writer, not a marketer, we complain. Some have hired a publicist to handle all these marketing details, but that can become expensive. There is another option that many writers are now utilizing. Its the growing league of Virtual Assistants (or VAs}. As the title implies, a VA operates virtually, via online and telephone interaction with their clients. Each VA has a unique skillset which she employs, but most are very Internet savvy. The primary function of a VA is to take on tasks delegated to them from their client, so their client can spend their time on their primary focus, in the writer’s case, writing. Taking on social media posting and interaction is a common task delegated to a VA. They can create your author Facebook page, Twitter account and LinkedIn profiles. Once these are setup, they can create appropriate posts to each of these accounts on a frequency schedule that fits your preference and your budget. Need to create a webpage to announce your next book? Can’t keep up with your blog postings? Your VA can take care of that for you, too. VA skills are not limited to these types of online marketing tasks. A VA could also arrange for book signings or speaking engagements. They could design postcards or posters to promote a book signing or book release. They could track the status of your submissions to agents and publishers. They could even be your research assistant, collecting data for your historical novel or hunting down sources for a magazine article. Now that I’ve gotten you all excited about the possibilities of unloading some of those time consuming tasks off your to-do list, the next question you’ll have is – â€Å"How do I find a VA?† There are lots of ways to do that. There are companies online that specialize in providing VA services. HireYourVirtualAssistant.com is one, ContemporaryVA.com is another. If you’d prefer to hire an individual directly, you could post an ad with WAHM.com, a job service newsletter that many VA’s subscribe too, or on one of the online bidding sites like elance or Guru. Simply inquiring among your network of writers may turn up names of VA’s that others have used and have been happy with. How much will a VA charge for their services? That can vary greatly. Many will charge Haven’t you always wanted your own personal assistant? Delegating some of your marketing tasks to a VA can unload a whole lot of stress and be profitable, as well. After all, marketing is all about increasing sales. Hiring a good VA can be one of the best investments you make in your career.

Test Taking Tips for Parents to Help Your Kids

Test Taking Tips for Parents to Help Your Kids With increased emphasis on standardized tests in todays schools, helping a child navigate the demands of taking tests is a necessary task almost every parent has to face. It may be your child taking all the tests, but youre the one who needs to help him through it. Here are some test-taking tips for parents to help you get your child ready. Test Taking Tips For Children Tip #1: Make attendance a priority, especially on days that you know standardized testing will be administered or there is a test in the classroom. Though its important for your child to be in school as many days as possible, making sure hes there when the test is taken helps to ensure he wont lose more learning time because he has to make up a test during school. Tip #2: Make a note of test days on the calendar from spelling quizzes to big high-stakes tests. That way both you and your child know whats coming and will be prepared.​​ Tip #3: Look over your childs homework daily and check for understanding. Subjects like science, social studies and math often have cumulative exams at the end of units or chapters. If your child is struggling with something now, it wont be easy for her to have time to try again to learn it just before the test. Tip #4: Avoid pressuring your child and provide him with encouragement. Few children want to fail, and most will try their hardest to do well. Being afraid of your reaction to a bad test grade can increase anxiety, which makes careless mistakes more likely. Tip #5: Confirm that your child will be receiving any pre-determined accommodations during tests. These accommodations are detailed in his IEP or 504 plan. If he doesnt have one but needs some assistance, make sure youve communicated with his teacher about his needs. Tip #6: Set a reasonable bedtime and stick to it. Many parents underestimate the importance of a rested mind and body. Tired children have difficulty focusing and are easily flustered by challenges. Tip #7: Make sure your child has enough time to wake up fully before he has to go to school. Just as rest is important, so is having enough time to get his brain engaged and in gear. If his test is first thing in the morning, he cant afford to spend the first hour of school groggy and unfocused. Tip #8: Provide a high-protein, healthy, low-sugar breakfast for your child. Kids learn better on full stomachs, but if their stomachs are full of sugary, heavy foods that will make them sleepy or slightly queasy, its not much better than an empty stomach. Tip #9: Talk to your child about how the test went, what he did well and what he would have done differently. Think of it as a mini-debriefing or brainstorming session. You can talk about test-taking strategies after the fact as easily as beforehand. Tip #10: Go over the test with your child when he gets it back or when you receive the scores. Together you can look at any mistakes he made and correct them so he knows the information for the next test. After all, just because the test is done doesnt mean he can forget everything he learned! And perhaps most important, watch your child for signs of stress and anxiety, which is an all-too-common occurrence among children today. The stress can be caused not just by tests and test-taking, but by increased academic demands in elementary school as well as increased amounts of homework and decreased time spent on stress-relieving activities and recess. Parents can help by keeping a close eye on their children and stepping in when they see signs of stress.