The Riches are in the Niches: Finding the Perfect Niche Using Keywords

While many resume writers are generalists, some of the most successful career industry professionals specialize in working with a specific niche of jobseekers: Women returning to the workplace, for example. Executives. IT professionals. New college graduates. Mid-level sales managers.

Not sure what you want to specialize in?

One way to find the right business niche is to conduct keyword research. Keywords are terms people enter into search engines to find information they need — which helps them solve their problems. Search engines like Google track this information and make it public. You can use this data to refund your niche ideas and discover which niches people are actively searching for.

Start With Your Passions and Interests
Start by brainstorming. What kinds of jobseekers do you like working with? What areas do you have experience in? (Some resume writers specialize in the field they came from — for example, Wendi Weiner works with attorneys.)

Once you have some ideas, you can use keyword research to narrow down and refine your niche.

Keep in mind — even if you specialize in a niche, you can still work with jobseekers from all backgrounds and levels of experience. (But having a niche will make it easier for you to be found by prospective clients.)

How to Find Keywords

There are many premium SEO software programs available, but most people find that Google’s free Keyword Planner tool is enough. The purpose of this tool is to help you assess keywords for Google ads, but we can use it for basic keyword research. There are also free alternatives available, like SEO Book and WordStream.

Enter into the tool some keywords related to what you do. You could use a simple phrase like “resumes for executives” or “IT resumes” and you’ll get a list of similar keywords that are related. Skim this list and look for other areas that might be interesting. For example, under “IT resumes,” you might niche even further to “IT project manager resumes.”

How to Assess Keywords

Look for a high volume of monthly searches. A good guideline is over 1,000 searches. This tells you that people are actively looking for this information.

The next step is to check out the competition. You’re looking for keywords that have high search volume and low competition. To assess competition, go off the tool and perform a simple Google search. Put the keyword in quotation marks so you can get the exact phrases. You’ll then see how many sites are targeting the same keyword.

Since you’re not doing actual SEO planning, you don’t need an exact assessment of these keywords. Lookout the sites that come up on the first few pages of the search results, and you can see whether other businesses are covering these niches.

Your niche doesn’t need to be completely uncharted territory – there are only about 4,000-5,000 professional resume writers worldwide, so if there are 15 resume writers who specialize in teacher resumes, there is PLENTY of work for everyone! But by looking at the competition, you may get ideas on how to set yourself apart.

When choosing the right niche for your career services business, you should consider objective data as much as possible to assess whether your niche is popular and profitable. Keyword research is one effective way to do this.

The Big Job Boards Are Dead ... But Are Niche Boards Still 'Working' For Clients?

The "big" job boards — Monster, Careerbuilder, etc. — have had their heyday … and it's over.

Job board aggregators are still working – Indeed.com is probably the best of these.

The SmartRecruiters blog has collected 50 of the "best" niche job boards and sites here.

Just keep in mind that only 5% of jobs are found online. So you can share these niche job boards with clients, but make sure to emphasize that 95% of jobs are NOT found online!

How to Find Your Perfect Niche to Target for Resume Clients

One of the best strategies for success for your resume writing business is to be a specialist, not a generalist. I've written about targeting a niche numerous times on this blog, but it's a topic that can't be examined enough!

The question of who to target with your resume writing services is one that shouldn't be skimped on. It will affect everything else you do and can determine your success or failure with your resume writing business.

Finding the perfect niche involves weighing a lot of different factors to find the perfect one. Here's how to find the perfect niche.

==> The Niche Brainstorm Process

Start by brainstorming as many niches as you can think of. Get out a note pad and jot down ideas.

Once you run out of ideas to jot down from the top of your head, go to Amazon.com and browse some of the different magazine and book titles. If there's a magazine for it, chances are the market is big enough to support a website.

Jot down more ideas, then head over to eBay Pulse. Again, browse the categories and products that are selling and see if those spark any ideas.

Keep brainstorming for a few days to get all the ideas down on paper.

==> Evaluating Profitability

There's generally a trade-off between ease of ranking and profitability. In other words, if there's a lot of money to be made in a certain market, chances are it's going to be fairly competitive. One example is executive resume writing. While writing executive resumes can be lucrative (generally, these command fees from $400 up to $1500+), there is a lot of competition in this market. There is less competition if you segment this further -- for example, women executives, or manufacturing executives.

For most resume writers, the goal is to find a niche market that has profit potential but isn't too difficult to attract prospective clients. One way to determine your online market is to evaluate online traffic for the niche.

Start by using the Google Keyword Tool to evaluate how many searches your keyword(s) get. Then head over to Google, type in the keywords, and take a look at the top results.

Which resume writing sites are ranking for those keywords right now? Check their PageRank and backlinks using Bing Webmaster Tools. The lower the PageRank and the fewer the backlinks, the better your chances of ranking.

Once you've checked out the search engine competition, evaluate how much money there is to be earned in the niche.

Do this by estimating the average customer value. How much is the average sale worth? (For executive resumes, like I said, the average is probably close to $800).  Can additional products be sold to the same customer, and if so how many products and at what price? (Many executives will be open to high level resume distribution services, like Bob Bronstein's ProFile Research.)

After this process, you should have a few potential markets with relatively low competition that have high profit potential that you can target.

==> Evaluating Personal Passion

Once you have a few potential markets to get into, it's time to look at your own resume writing passions. Which market(s) hold the most interest for you, personally? Remember that you're going to be working with these clients, so even if it's a lucrative market, if you don't want to work with these type of clients, do NOT choose that niche!

Be sure to choose a niche that has both profit potential and personal appeal.

How to Select The Best Clients To Work With

All too often, I talk to resume writers who are struggling with getting clients. My top advice for every resume writer is to establish a niche and become known as a specialist -- you're actually more likely to get more business by being a specialist than a generalist. (And yes, your niche doesn't have to be limited to a specific industry -- it can be geographic specialization, or specializing in career changes, or being an expert in return-to-work jobseekers.)

As a resume writer, you'll likely have moments when you wish you had turned down a client. Sometimes it's difficult to know if a client is right for you. Being able to choose the clients best suited to work with you ensures you have a more successful business. It makes sense -- yet resume writers get into trouble when they don't know themselves well enough, or they don't trust their gut.

Here's some strategies to help ensure you're picking the best clients to work with.

Know Your Strengths
Sometimes a client project doesn't go well simply because it's not suited to your strengths. For me, that's working with military transition clients, and IT professionals. Believe me, I can write for both types of clients -- but I don't like to, and that's the big difference. When you're writing for a type of client you don't enjoy, the project will likely be a constant challenge. You'll work harder and longer to complete it and end up essentially lowering your hourly value. Yet when you work on a project that speaks to your strengths, you finish on time, the client is happy, and you earn a loyal customer. (I love writing sales and marketing resumes, for example. They energize me, and I have hit quite a few "home runs" writing these types of documents for clients.)

When you're writing for clients in industries that are difficult for you, your work is a struggle. Clients that suit your strengths don't adversely affect your morale. You're able to maintain a positive mindset. This is key for long-term success.

Know What Your Ideal Client/Project Looks Like
Write down what your ideal clients and projects look like. What makes them good projects or clients?
For example, do you prefer working with specific industries? With individuals at a particular level of the job search -- i.e., entry-level vs. C-level? For those who are staying in the same industry, or career change? For those who are employed and looking for a better job, vs. those who have been unemployed for a while? (I don't know many resume writers who enjoy writing for chronically unemployed folks. It's a tough gig.)

As for projects, do you prefer writing just resumes, or do you like also writing the supporting job search documents -- cover letters, thank-you letters, letters of introduction? Do you enjoy helping clients develop or enhance their LinkedIn profile? What other services do you like to provide -- career assessments (DISC?), interview training, salary negotiation coaching? Do you like writing resumes from scratch vs. doing updates?

Make a list or create a paragraph description of what types of projects you like and perform well on. Then, when you have a choice to take a job or to pass, you can refer to your list to help you decide.

Take a Look at Your Schedule
Sometimes it's easy to say yes to a job even when you don't have the time to get it done properly. The result is that you either get very stressed and feel burnt out, or you complete the project but it's not your best work. Make sure you have the time and energy to complete any project you commit to. It can be difficult to say no to a project, especially when you want to earn clients; however, saying no may be the better decision. (Consider partnering with other resume writers and making referrals for projects that aren't a good fit. A 15% referral fee is standard in these arrangements.)

As a resume writer, it often takes time and some few hard-learned lessons to learn which jobs are the best ones to take and which to pass on. Don's hesitate to say no. All clients are not good clients. You'll find the right ones. You'll find great clients. You'll learn to identify the PIA (pain-in-the-a$$) clients. I've learned a couple of things that are my signals for a bad client -- like a wife calling on behalf of her husband. That may work for you, but I've found those clients are a bad fit for me.

Work hard, know what you want from clients, and select the best clients for you to work with.

Niche Marketing

Recently, I've been corresponding with a résumé writer who is interested in targeting specific niches for clients. While I believe niche marketing can be very profitable, it can also be tricky, particularly if you are targeting more than one niche.

When examining whether a particular niche will be profitable, you have to consider a few things:
1. How will people in this niche be able to find me? (do they congregate in certain places -- web sites, chat rooms, read similar periodicals, etc.)
2. How can I find (and reach) people who are in this niche? (are there existing web sites I can link to? Trade journals to advertise in?)
3. Are there enough people in this niche that I can attract the 2-3% that I need to make it profitable for me to seek out this niche? (If you are trying to market to left-handed, one-armed dentists who were born in September, for example, that's a pretty small market.)
4. Who are my competitors? Are there any? (If there aren't, you might ask yourself 'why' -- is it just an unexplored niche, or has someone tried to target this niche and found it unprofitable?)
5. What do I have to offer this group? (Special expertise, credentials, you're already well-known in this group, etc.)

You have to develop a pretty full-fledged mini-business plan in order to answer these questions. As you answer them, you'll also get an idea of how you will market and promote to your niche.

It is certainly possible to target completely different niches at the same time. You can position yourself as an expert résumé writer for multiple, completely non-related niches simultaneously. For example, a former nurse-turned-résumé-writer might specialize in nursing resumes and also pharmaceutical sales resumes (okay, those are somewhat related). She might also specialize in résumés for head athletic coaches because her husband is a head coach. These are completely separate niches that she would not want to necessarily promote on a single web site. That's the advantage of web sites -- they can be completely customized to focus in on a particular specialty.

When developing a niche web site, however, keep your audience in mind. Every single thing on that web site needs to be focused on that single niche. You can always ALSO have a web site devoted to you (www.YourName.com) or your business (www.YourBusinessName.com) which explains more about you and links to your niche-specific sites. But if you're promoting to a specific niche (such as pharmaceutical sales), the audience that will be visiting that web site doesn't care if you also do resumes for left-handed, one-armed dentists born in September. They just want to know how you can help them get a pharmaceutical sales job (and Remember, they want the benefit -- the job, not the "tool" -- the résumé or the process -- landing the interview for the job.)

Every single thing on your niche web site needs to speak to the audience. If it doesn't speak to the audience, it doesn't belong on the site. What does belong on the site? Articles you've written specifically about that niche, research information, links, a few sample resumes and cover letters (no, don't worry about people "stealing" the information -- they need to see your work for you to be credible), and, of course, information about how they can get the benefit of your services. Your graphics and layout should also be exclusively directed towards the audience. A pharmaceutical sales web site would use neutral, muted colors, a classy yet simple font, and photos or graphics that are health-care oriented.