Create an Opt-In Incentive for Resume Prospects On Your Website in Under an Hour

Right now, I'm running a Challenge for Bronze members of BeAResumeWriter.com -- and one of the projects (As outlined in my Dead Week post) is to create an opt-in incentive for visitors to your website.

It's a great idea to collect the email addresses of resume prospects, because it allows you to develop a relationship with them -- and the best way to get their email address is to provide them with an opt-in incentive (an immediate gift they receive for providing their email address).

Here's my step-by-step for it:

1. Pick one of the PAMs to use.

2. Re-name it. (Here's a free tool-- click on the FREE WIZARDS tab -- to help inspire you!)

3. Order a cover on Fiverr.com (it's $5.50) (if you're new to Fiverr, your first Gig is free using my affiliate link: https://www.fiverr.com/s/6hjwbp). I use Vikiana for my cover designs, but there are others on there. She's currently working 5 days out, so you might pick one that delivers in 2-3 days if you want to get finished faster!

4. Edit and format the PAM content. Insert the cover design (flat image) on page 1. Create a title page with your contact information (you can copy the format in my Special Reports, or just open the nearest book and use that format). Change the font. Add footers. Add design elements, if you'd like. (I recommend graphics from Fotolia.)

5. Save as a PDF.

It takes me about 45 minutes to create one, start to finish (not including waiting time for the Fiverr cover ...)

Then, set up an email list contact form and autoresponder to deliver the report.
This is easy to do in Constant Contact or AWeber.

Why A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words on Your Blog

The truth is that content (articles, blog posts, social media posts) works to get you visibility for your resume writing business … and new clients. This is the content that will attract visitors via the search engine traffic that the keyword-rich content will generate when jobseekers make a search.

Studies show that blogging about your services at least 20 times per month will allow you to get 5 times more traffic than if you don't. This is according to a study done by HubSpot.com. You can literally double your website traffic in six months if you keep it up.

But, if you want the visitors to stick to your blog and read it more than once, it's important to make your blog posts visually pleasing. Putting images in your blog posts will break up the text to make your blog more attractive. In addition, it can help further explain the meaning of the content that you place on your blog. Taking the time to choose a relevant image will make your blog look more professional, too.

There are many ways you can find appropriate images.

Take Photos Yourself
You can produce perfectly good images by using your iPhone to take relevant pictures. If you have a digital camera, that is another way to take pictures.

Get Creative
An image doesn't have to be a photograph; it can be an attractive arrangement of a quote from your blog post made into a .jpg file with a beautiful and colorful background. This is a great way to add interest as well as call out an important point within your blog post. It looks attractive and helps explain meaning to your readers.

Hire Someone
There are plenty of graphic designers on sites like Fiverr, as well as other sites that you can hire to help you come up with appropriate graphics for your blog posts. They may be better at coming up with ideas than you, and it's perfectly okay to hire someone.

Look on Stock Photo Sites
There are quite a few stock photo sites that you can use to find appropriate images to use on your blog. My favorite is Fotolia.com. Some of the sites are free, and some are paid. Just check the license rules to ensure that you have a right to use the image. It's also good practice to give credit for images. You'll notice I use the Fotolia link on my blog post images (it also includes my affiliate link).

You want to use images, but don't go overboard with them. Remember to consider loading time, so use smaller images. As well as that, remember to use the "alt" tags on the images so that if the image doesn't show up for some reason it will tell the reader what the image is. This is also another way to alert search engines about the subject of your website.

RESOURCES:
You can purchase individual graphics from a site like Fotolia.com
Or subscribe to a service like Image Monthly from Kelly McCausey

Don't Steal Your Graphics

You wouldn't dream of walking into a store, picking up an item, and walking out without paying. Yet people do this every day with online content -- especially graphics. But using images you "find" online is not only stealing, but you could potentially be sued by the owner of the content.

In yesterday's blog post, I recommended Fotolia.com, a website where you can purchase photos, illustrations, cartoons, graphics, and even videos. Depending on what you want to use the graphic or photo for, the cost can be as little as $1 per illustration.

In contrast, if you "borrow" a graphic online without paying for its use (or making sure you have the rights to use the photo), you can be sued for thousands -- even tens of thousands -- of dollars.

Don't think it can happen to you? It happened to my brother-in-law, who is a web designer. He received a demand letter from Getty Images for $1000 because Getty Images had discovered a graphic on the previous version of a website he was working on that they did not show as being licensed to the website's owner. (The illustration in question was on the client's old website; he was revamping the website for the client, but he was the one who received the letter.)

Graphics and Plagiarism
How many times have you heard someone say that, "since it was on the Internet, it's public domain, so I can use it?" I suspect a lot. Well, in case you didn't know, this is not true. Even if some images are available for free online, they are free with limits. It's important to read the fine print to ensure that you don't inadvertently plagiarize someone else's work. In some cases, even when you pay for an image you can still commit a violation if you use it for an other-than-intended purpose.

Graphics and images help make your website, blogs, and other online content stand out. In fact, if you choose images that match the content, it can even make the content more understandable. This is especially true when creating infographics. But, you cannot just take the graphics from any website and use them for any purpose without permission. 

Read the Fine PrintWhen you download a graphic from any place online, whether free or paid, read the fine print. It is likely that much of what you buy or get free on the net cannot be used for producing a "logo" without buying a higher level of rights to the image. When using free images, some sites say that you cannot use it on any product for profit.

Fair Use
There are some exceptions to the basic copyright and plagiarism rules called fair use. Essentially, it's okay to use someone else's work if you transform it enough to make it original. The definition of transformative though, varies with different courts. Or, you simply use the idea of the image to create your own unique image.

For instance, maybe you like a black and white portrait of a baby where the colors pink are highlighted? Then you use that idea to do a family portrait. Or if you are commenting on and reporting on a story and use the image to report on the story, that is fair use.

One thing to remember is that words can be plagiarized but images cannot be. However, you can infringe on someone's copyright when you use images without permission or outside the parameters of legal use described in the fine print of purchased images. Also, there are always exceptions to everything. Be very clear on the differences before you use any image. 

Save yourself the hassle -- and time and money -- by making sure the images you use are properly licensed.