Many virtual professionals don’t realize all the details that need to be looked after in order to host a kicking virtual event.

But it’s easy to make yourself look polished and professional.

For instance, a common event setup has you interviewing someone else. Here are a few tips that you should be sure to use to make an interview event setup go smoothly, and to encourage a guest to do a reciprocal event with you (or even a repeat event)!

Get contact information – when you first get in contact with someone to plan an event, be sure to get their email address, mailing address and phone number. When you have any questions during your planning, production or promotion phase of the event, you will easily be able to get in touch with them.

Handle scheduling – before you start any planning, get your guest’s schedule information. If they will be travelling, away, or just busy during your planning or promotion phase, you will lose valuable time and it could delay your promotion of the event. Don’t forget to confirm their speaking date at the same time.

Gather all information at once – you will need a headshot, biography and (possibly) a topic description in order to get your registration page set up. You will need this information from your guest before you can do anything.

Put together promotional tools – build your registration page and your promotional materials, and be sure to get them to your guest with plenty of time prior to the event. Promotional calendars can fill up very quickly for many people so it’s important to be sure your event will get fit into the schedule as soon as possible!

Follow up – be sure that you continue to contact your guest prior to the event, to ensure that they are promoting and to be sure that they remember.

Provide script or questions – it is often a great gesture to send along a script of your interview, or a list of questions that you intend to ask someone on the call. It shows that you have planned your call well, and it also helps the guest feel at ease if they can somewhat plan their responses.

Plan for technical difficulties – be sure your guest has a landline or mobile phone number to contact their host if anything goes wrong before or during the event. Discuss what you will do if something goes wrong.

Bonus Tip: Thank them – be sure to be grateful to your guest for taking the time to attend your call. You can thank them by sending them a small gift (you have their mailing address after all!) or with a reciprocal call (where they interview you!)

Paying attention to these details as you are setting up your event really helps you put together a polished and professional event. You will have all the information you need to build your promotions, and you will be prepared for a smooth interview session, and you will be prepared if anything goes wrong.

So what are you waiting for? Plan your first (or next!) event now!

I have taken big courses like my Internet Marketing VA certification and my Social Media Specialist certification, but I am always on the lookout for those mini-courses or bits of information as well as teleseminars and webinars that are relevant to the work I do with my clients.

Some of my favourite people (and places) to learn from are (d’uh) VAClassroom, VANetworking, CVAC, Erin Blaskie, AutoBurstWebs … just to name a few. They each have a way of delivering great information in an easy to understand format, and it’s always all relevant to my business.

It has been some time since I have had the time to look for these events, much less attend them. That is my next phase focus, as I brush up on my skills in a few areas. But it’s more than improving my skill set, really. It’s about studying the new features of the programs that I currently use on a daily basis and being able to suggest new and exciting ways for my clients to benefit from these tools.

I specialize in using 1ShoppingCart, Aweber and WordPress as software, and of course I also use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Ning for social media. These companies are constantly updating and upgrading their products, and it is really important to keep on top of their latest features.

I’ll keep you posted with anything new that I learn!

Teleseminars, webinars, podcasts, online radio or talkshows, and webcasts are really changing the way many business owners conduct their meetings and training sessions.

Setting up, managing, and delivering virtual events is one of the newest service offerings on many Virtual Assistant menus these days, and VAClassroom is right up there again, providing this new Certification course.

From organizing to repurposing content, you’ll learn everything you need to provide your clients with the expertise they deserve. Check it out! I sure intend to!