As resume writers, you wouldn't think that we would have any issues coming up with content ... but some of my most popular blog posts recently have had to do with content! From planning your content to monetizing your content to writing better content to finding time to write content, readers of this blog like tips about content. I'm happy to oblige with today's blog post, which focuses on inspiration for your content.
Like with most writing, the hardest part is getting started. (In my special report on "Write Great Resumes Faster," I even had a special section to help tackle the "facing the blank page" obstacle to writing resumes. Getting started is sometimes the major obstacle -- once you know what you want to write about, you can create the structure of the document -- whether that's a resume, blog post, ezine article, or whatever -- and get going from there!)
So here you go -- seven ways to find content ideas.
1. Grab a magazine, any magazine you have in your home and look at the cover. Convert each of the teaser headlines into headlines for your blog or website. You'll likely have things like:
* The top ten ways to___
* Five secrets of__
* Easy ways to ____
And so on. It's a great way to come up with quick and easy content ideas (a headline for a blog post, for example).
2. Visit your favorite blog and expand on their latest blog post. Or better yet, comment on the latest blog post and then write or blog about your comment. You can use it to generate traffic to your site and provide new and valuable information to your audience.
3. Watch the national news for 10 minutes. Chances are youíll see something that relates to you. You can use this news story to generate ideas for your content. For example, a news story about the job market might lead you to write a tips-oriented article for job seekers. The news, while sometimes depressing, can also inspire great, and timely, content ideas.
4. Pirate. Use comments and feedback you've received from others to create content for your blog or website. For example, you might use a question comment from a reader to start a new blog post on the same topic. Your readers are actually great sources of inspiration. You can also use your response to the commenter to generate a new blog post or article. (That's what I did with this blog post; the positive feedback I've received on previous blog posts about content-related topics inspired this one!)
5. Celebrity Watch/Pop Culture. Celebrities provide an abundance of entertainment for society. We watch what they do, who they do it with, what they wear, what they eat and where they live. You can also find inspiration from pop culture -- music, movies, television.
6. Find a quote that you love and expand on it. Share why you love it and what it means to you. Tie it to resumes or the job search process and ask readers to provide their favorite quote on the subject. (Perseverance quotes are always popular for jobseekers!)
7. Review a book, product, or service. If you're stumped for content, reviews are always appreciated by readers. Review resume writing books (use your Amazon affiliate link); review resume distribution services (ResumeSpider has an affiliate program); review reference checking services (Allison Taylor has an affiliate program). Reviews provide valuable information and they give you an opportunity to earn an affiliate income.
Writer's block -- or content idea block -- will happen to you at some point. Don't let it derail you! Look around you for insight and inspiration. And to prevent it from happening, keep a notebook with you to jot down ideas as they come to you (or write yourself a note on your smartphone)!
Ideas, information, and resources for professional resume writers.
Showing posts with label content. Show all posts
Showing posts with label content. Show all posts
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Using Social Media to Maximize Your Content Distribution
When does 1+1=3?
When you can leverage individual efforts to create greater effect. Marketing efforts are more powerful and effective when they work together. For example, if you have a social networking account you probably have social networking buttons on your blog or website. You invite people to share on Facebook, for example, and like your Facebook business page too.
Your content marketing strategy is probably your most important and effective marketing tactic in your strategy. (See last week's blog post about creating a content strategy.) Content, after all, is what drives visitors to your website. It makes sense to blend your content marketing efforts with your social media efforts for a really powerful strategy.
Here are a few ideas or strategies to integrate your content marketing and social media efforts.
1. Linking. Each time you publish an article or blog post, link to it from social networking sites. You can try different approaches to test which works best. Does a straight headline with a link work? Or does your audience prefer a teaser paragraph and a link? Some marketers have found that asking a question works best to motivate click throughs from social networking sites.
2. Publish full articles. Some social media sites provide room for full articles. For example, LinkedIn and Facebook Fan pages both give you room to publish an abundance of content.
3. Include social media buttons on your site and in your content. If you have a blog, there are plug-ins that you can add to integrate social media buttons at the top of each blog post. You can also include a call to action in some or all of your posts. You can include a signature that says, "Like this post? Share it on Facebook."
4. If you're using article marketing to drive traffic to your site, you can link to those published articles from your social media accounts. You can also include a "Follow me on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn" or whatever sites you use. This helps broaden your audience and your awareness.
5. Use content to grow your social media connections. Each article or blog post should ideally have a purpose. You may want to promote an affiliate link. You may want to drive traffic to your opt-in page. You can also use content to build your social network following. Include a call to action at the bottom of your article or blog post and link to your profile.
There is tremendous potential here. You can also use social media comments or questions to create content for your site. You can also integrate them both into your email marketing strategy too.
Remember that each marketing tactic is more powerful when it is integrated with your other existing marketing tactics. Plan your content. Plan your social networking strategy and then plan how they can work together.
When you can leverage individual efforts to create greater effect. Marketing efforts are more powerful and effective when they work together. For example, if you have a social networking account you probably have social networking buttons on your blog or website. You invite people to share on Facebook, for example, and like your Facebook business page too.
Your content marketing strategy is probably your most important and effective marketing tactic in your strategy. (See last week's blog post about creating a content strategy.) Content, after all, is what drives visitors to your website. It makes sense to blend your content marketing efforts with your social media efforts for a really powerful strategy.
Here are a few ideas or strategies to integrate your content marketing and social media efforts.
1. Linking. Each time you publish an article or blog post, link to it from social networking sites. You can try different approaches to test which works best. Does a straight headline with a link work? Or does your audience prefer a teaser paragraph and a link? Some marketers have found that asking a question works best to motivate click throughs from social networking sites.
2. Publish full articles. Some social media sites provide room for full articles. For example, LinkedIn and Facebook Fan pages both give you room to publish an abundance of content.
3. Include social media buttons on your site and in your content. If you have a blog, there are plug-ins that you can add to integrate social media buttons at the top of each blog post. You can also include a call to action in some or all of your posts. You can include a signature that says, "Like this post? Share it on Facebook."
4. If you're using article marketing to drive traffic to your site, you can link to those published articles from your social media accounts. You can also include a "Follow me on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn" or whatever sites you use. This helps broaden your audience and your awareness.
5. Use content to grow your social media connections. Each article or blog post should ideally have a purpose. You may want to promote an affiliate link. You may want to drive traffic to your opt-in page. You can also use content to build your social network following. Include a call to action at the bottom of your article or blog post and link to your profile.
There is tremendous potential here. You can also use social media comments or questions to create content for your site. You can also integrate them both into your email marketing strategy too.
Remember that each marketing tactic is more powerful when it is integrated with your other existing marketing tactics. Plan your content. Plan your social networking strategy and then plan how they can work together.
Monday, November 21, 2011
"Not Enough Time to Create Great Content"
Last week, I had a series of blog posts that talked about creating a content strategy and monetizing your content. I heard from a couple of resume writers who said, "I'm so busy writing resumes, I don't have time to create lots of content." Well, just for you, I have 10 ideas to help you when you're either short on time, or worn out from writing resumes and aren't inspired to write a lot more.
1. Glean content from social marketing sites. Presumably you've interacted with other people online. Use those comments you've posted to create a quick blog post or article for your site. Or respond to a question that was posed on social media as a blog post. Add a headline, a few subheadings and tweak it for publication. The result? Quick and easy content.
2. Show some "link love." Instead of writing a full-blown article or post, link to an article or blog post and share your opinion about the content. Invite others to comment too.
3. Compile and quick print. Create a list of resources or links to articles and blog posts on a topic that is near and dear to your readers. For example, you might create a list of the top 10 career sites and link to them.
4. Photo sharing. Share a picture and ask readers to create a caption. Some bloggers actually create a specific day for their photo sharing. They call it "Wordless Wednesday" or something like that. People love to look at photos and you don't have to write a word! (If you're also an artist, you could create a cartoon and ask for captions.)
5. The best of the best. Create an article or blog post recap. Highlight and recap your top blog posts from last month, last quarter, or even last year. Focus on a specific topic to add more value. For example, "Top 10 Blog Posts Getting LinkedIn."
6. Get readers involved. Take this hurried time to create an opportunity. Publish a quiz or survey and gain valuable information about your audience.
7. Read all about it. Grab a news feed or two and share links to industry news or headlines and snippets. You can actually create a weekly or monthly post with this idea. For example you could create an end of the month news update and highlight all the newsworthy things that happened that month.
8. Roll with it. Grab your video camera and create a quick how-to video. A few minutes is plenty to provide good content and it takes less time to create a video for many than to write an article or blog post.
9. Comment Love. Share your favorite comments from the past month, quarter, or year. This shows your readers that you appreciate their feedback and gets other readers involved.
10. Editorial. Grab a headline from the news and expand on it. Share your opinion.
11. Quotable. Share a quote that inspires you, makes you laugh or is relevant to jobseekers. It's a simple cut-and-paste blog post!
Don't have time to write a blog post or article? No problem. Use one of these ideas each week and you'll keep your readers happy.
1. Glean content from social marketing sites. Presumably you've interacted with other people online. Use those comments you've posted to create a quick blog post or article for your site. Or respond to a question that was posed on social media as a blog post. Add a headline, a few subheadings and tweak it for publication. The result? Quick and easy content.
2. Show some "link love." Instead of writing a full-blown article or post, link to an article or blog post and share your opinion about the content. Invite others to comment too.
3. Compile and quick print. Create a list of resources or links to articles and blog posts on a topic that is near and dear to your readers. For example, you might create a list of the top 10 career sites and link to them.
4. Photo sharing. Share a picture and ask readers to create a caption. Some bloggers actually create a specific day for their photo sharing. They call it "Wordless Wednesday" or something like that. People love to look at photos and you don't have to write a word! (If you're also an artist, you could create a cartoon and ask for captions.)
5. The best of the best. Create an article or blog post recap. Highlight and recap your top blog posts from last month, last quarter, or even last year. Focus on a specific topic to add more value. For example, "Top 10 Blog Posts Getting LinkedIn."
6. Get readers involved. Take this hurried time to create an opportunity. Publish a quiz or survey and gain valuable information about your audience.
7. Read all about it. Grab a news feed or two and share links to industry news or headlines and snippets. You can actually create a weekly or monthly post with this idea. For example you could create an end of the month news update and highlight all the newsworthy things that happened that month.
8. Roll with it. Grab your video camera and create a quick how-to video. A few minutes is plenty to provide good content and it takes less time to create a video for many than to write an article or blog post.
9. Comment Love. Share your favorite comments from the past month, quarter, or year. This shows your readers that you appreciate their feedback and gets other readers involved.
10. Editorial. Grab a headline from the news and expand on it. Share your opinion.
11. Quotable. Share a quote that inspires you, makes you laugh or is relevant to jobseekers. It's a simple cut-and-paste blog post!
Don't have time to write a blog post or article? No problem. Use one of these ideas each week and you'll keep your readers happy.
Friday, November 18, 2011
How to Create A Content Strategy for Your Resume Writing Business
I love talking about content. My last two blog posts were focused on monetizing your content. Here's a post from last month about writing better content. But maybe I should back up a moment and talk about how resume writers can create a "content strategy."
Do you have a content strategy? Or are you just winging it? You post a blog post when you think of something to write about, and you might have three blog posts in a row, followed by a month of non-posting. Or you decide to engage in article marketing and write 4 or 5 articles for free article sites -- but the key to those sites is quantity. You need to write 10 or 20 or even 50 articles (over time is fine -- one a week is 52 a year!) if you're going to make it a significant source of traffic for your site.
What Is a Content Strategy?
A content strategy is exactly what it sounds like. It's a plan to create, organize, market, and maximize your content. You can plan a week in advance, a month, a quarter or even a year in advance. When you have a content strategy in place, the process of creating content for your blog or website becomes much easier. It's also easier to outsource it when you know exactly what you need.
Here are seven questions to ask yourself when creating your content strategy.
1. Where will you publish your content?
Now this may seem like an obvious question -- on your blog or website, of course! However, you may also want to guest blog, publish on article marketing sites, and submit content to other newsletters or magazines. Think about where you want to publish your content. Then move onto the next question.
2. What types of content will you publish?
Blog posts? Articles? Reports? Downloads? That's the first question, and then you want to take a look at the formats or styles that your readers respond to. For example, maybe you find that lists are your reader's favorite articles or that they love downloadable checklists. When you know what they like, you can include it in your plan.
3. What's the goal or purpose for your content?
To have extremely effective content, you want it to have a goal or a purpose. For example, do you want to drive traffic to your website? Do you want prospective clients to email you their resume for a review? Do you want to promote an affiliate product? What about driving traffic to your opt-in page to build your mailing list? Create a purpose or goal for every piece of content you create.
4. When will you write your content?
Now that you know what you're going to publish, and you have a goal for it, it's time to schedule it. Some people write all their content at the beginning of the week or month. Others write a little bit every day. It's the same as writing resumes -- you'll find that you have a particular rhythm that works for you. There's no right or wrong way to do this, but you do want to schedule it so it gets done.
5. When will you publish/upload?
When will you publish your content? For example, will you write the content for the week on Monday and publish it on Tuesday? Blogs allow you to upload posts ahead of time and schedule them for publication. If you're using article marketing sites or have a website, then you'll want to schedule publishing time into your day. (It can be as simple as setting yourself a reminder alarm to upload your content.)
6. How can you maximize your content?
Next, plan how you can repurpose and reuse your content. For example, can you tweak the article and publish it in your newsletter? Can you share it on a social networking site? Can you collect articles and create a short report? Plan how you can use your article in other ways to make the most of your time and energy.
7. How will you market your content and use your content to market your business?
Finally, how will you make readers and prospects aware of your content? For example, will you link to it from Facebook? Publish it in your Twitter feed? Will you create a weekly wrap-up blog post or email and highlight your new articles for the week? The more people who are aware of your content, the more readers and traffic you'll have.
Once you get the hang of it, implementing your content plan to promote your resume writing business will be a quick and easy process.
Do you have a content strategy? Or are you just winging it? You post a blog post when you think of something to write about, and you might have three blog posts in a row, followed by a month of non-posting. Or you decide to engage in article marketing and write 4 or 5 articles for free article sites -- but the key to those sites is quantity. You need to write 10 or 20 or even 50 articles (over time is fine -- one a week is 52 a year!) if you're going to make it a significant source of traffic for your site.
What Is a Content Strategy?
A content strategy is exactly what it sounds like. It's a plan to create, organize, market, and maximize your content. You can plan a week in advance, a month, a quarter or even a year in advance. When you have a content strategy in place, the process of creating content for your blog or website becomes much easier. It's also easier to outsource it when you know exactly what you need.
Here are seven questions to ask yourself when creating your content strategy.
1. Where will you publish your content?
Now this may seem like an obvious question -- on your blog or website, of course! However, you may also want to guest blog, publish on article marketing sites, and submit content to other newsletters or magazines. Think about where you want to publish your content. Then move onto the next question.
2. What types of content will you publish?
Blog posts? Articles? Reports? Downloads? That's the first question, and then you want to take a look at the formats or styles that your readers respond to. For example, maybe you find that lists are your reader's favorite articles or that they love downloadable checklists. When you know what they like, you can include it in your plan.
3. What's the goal or purpose for your content?
To have extremely effective content, you want it to have a goal or a purpose. For example, do you want to drive traffic to your website? Do you want prospective clients to email you their resume for a review? Do you want to promote an affiliate product? What about driving traffic to your opt-in page to build your mailing list? Create a purpose or goal for every piece of content you create.
4. When will you write your content?
Now that you know what you're going to publish, and you have a goal for it, it's time to schedule it. Some people write all their content at the beginning of the week or month. Others write a little bit every day. It's the same as writing resumes -- you'll find that you have a particular rhythm that works for you. There's no right or wrong way to do this, but you do want to schedule it so it gets done.
5. When will you publish/upload?
When will you publish your content? For example, will you write the content for the week on Monday and publish it on Tuesday? Blogs allow you to upload posts ahead of time and schedule them for publication. If you're using article marketing sites or have a website, then you'll want to schedule publishing time into your day. (It can be as simple as setting yourself a reminder alarm to upload your content.)
6. How can you maximize your content?
Next, plan how you can repurpose and reuse your content. For example, can you tweak the article and publish it in your newsletter? Can you share it on a social networking site? Can you collect articles and create a short report? Plan how you can use your article in other ways to make the most of your time and energy.
7. How will you market your content and use your content to market your business?
Finally, how will you make readers and prospects aware of your content? For example, will you link to it from Facebook? Publish it in your Twitter feed? Will you create a weekly wrap-up blog post or email and highlight your new articles for the week? The more people who are aware of your content, the more readers and traffic you'll have.
Once you get the hang of it, implementing your content plan to promote your resume writing business will be a quick and easy process.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
More Ways to Profit From Your Content
In yesterday's blog post, I talked about how to profit from your content using five easy strategies. With all the time, effort, energy -- and sometimes -- money that it takes to write content, it makes sense to want to earn a profit. The good news is that, with a plan in place, you can profit from your content and build your bank account.
Here are five more ways to profit from content.
1. Affiliate commissions with comparison charts
Comparison charts are charts that essentially compare similar features in several products. You'll often find them for electronics. For example, a comparison chart might compare five different smart phones in five different categories. You might create a chart to compare resume distribution services, for example.
An unorthodox way of using comparison charts might also be to review resume firms (including yours, showing why yours is the best), but becoming an affiliate for the other programs so that if the job seeker chooses another service, you'll still make some income.)
2. Affiliate commissions with resource lists in reports
Do you give away a free report to build your email list? If so, do you have a list of resources in the appendix? And are those links affiliate links? If not, you're missing out on valuable income. You might also include a few affiliate links in the body of the report.
For example, a LinkedIn free report might include links to LinkedIn products, such as this Linkedin Profile Makeover book. (Earn almost $12 for each ebook sold.)
3. Promote your opt-in list with free downloads.
Many audiences love free downloads. For example, you might offer a LinkedIn profile optimization checklist. Optimizing your resume checklist. Preparing for a job interview checklist. Researching a company checklist. The lists can be downloaded in exchange for an email address. It's a great way to build your opt-in list and profit from email marketing.
4. Create a membership program and provide monthly reports
Does your audience respond well to free reports? If so, consider creating a membership site for job seekers where you provide a monthly report. For example, you could create a series of 12 reports on these topics:
Charge even a few dollars a month for the membership (or a full-year membership for $15 or $20) and you earn a nice profit. (Note, you can also upsell in the report and offer your organization services or consulting.)
5. Drive traffic to your sales page with free downloads.
Back to those free downloads. You can use them to drive traffic to your sales page. Continuing with the checklist example, you can include a call to action at the bottom of each checklist that sends people to your website sales page where you sell an ebook, those affiliate products, or even your organization services. It's a great way to convert prospects into customers.
Take a look at your target resume customers, your current business model, and the content that your prospects respond to. Find a content monetization tool that fits your niche and start making more money from your content efforts.
Here are five more ways to profit from content.
1. Affiliate commissions with comparison charts
Comparison charts are charts that essentially compare similar features in several products. You'll often find them for electronics. For example, a comparison chart might compare five different smart phones in five different categories. You might create a chart to compare resume distribution services, for example.
An unorthodox way of using comparison charts might also be to review resume firms (including yours, showing why yours is the best), but becoming an affiliate for the other programs so that if the job seeker chooses another service, you'll still make some income.)
2. Affiliate commissions with resource lists in reports
Do you give away a free report to build your email list? If so, do you have a list of resources in the appendix? And are those links affiliate links? If not, you're missing out on valuable income. You might also include a few affiliate links in the body of the report.
For example, a LinkedIn free report might include links to LinkedIn products, such as this Linkedin Profile Makeover book. (Earn almost $12 for each ebook sold.)
3. Promote your opt-in list with free downloads.
Many audiences love free downloads. For example, you might offer a LinkedIn profile optimization checklist. Optimizing your resume checklist. Preparing for a job interview checklist. Researching a company checklist. The lists can be downloaded in exchange for an email address. It's a great way to build your opt-in list and profit from email marketing.
4. Create a membership program and provide monthly reports
Does your audience respond well to free reports? If so, consider creating a membership site for job seekers where you provide a monthly report. For example, you could create a series of 12 reports on these topics:
- LinkedIn Profile Development
- Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared to Answer
- Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared to Ask
- Salary Research
- Customizing Cover Letters for Positions
- Researching Companies
Charge even a few dollars a month for the membership (or a full-year membership for $15 or $20) and you earn a nice profit. (Note, you can also upsell in the report and offer your organization services or consulting.)
5. Drive traffic to your sales page with free downloads.
Back to those free downloads. You can use them to drive traffic to your sales page. Continuing with the checklist example, you can include a call to action at the bottom of each checklist that sends people to your website sales page where you sell an ebook, those affiliate products, or even your organization services. It's a great way to convert prospects into customers.
Take a look at your target resume customers, your current business model, and the content that your prospects respond to. Find a content monetization tool that fits your niche and start making more money from your content efforts.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Writing Better Content -- from Resumes to Blogs!
Headlines!
The headline of your article or blog post is vitally important. It motivates people to read your article. The same is true with the resume. A good headline (outlining our client's value proposition) can entice the reader to continue reading. The longer they read the resume (and/or cover letter), the more likely your client is to get an interview. Most resumes get anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds of attention. A good headline can help get the first 15 seconds ... good content in the resume can get it 60 seconds or more!
These techniques work for articles and blogs (starred ones work for resumes and cover letters):
* Ask a question
* Make a promise*
* Offer a benefit*
* Arouse curiosity
* Appeal to emotions
* Use numbers*
* Make an announcement
Call to Action
Once you've motivated someone to read your content, make sure they take action. This ties back to the purpose or goal for your article or blog post. (The purpose of the resume and cover letter is to get an interview; the action we want the hiring manager to take is to call the client!)
If you're writing a blog post and want people to read more about you on your website, then include a few relevant links at the end of your article. Tell them to click on the links to learn more about your niche. Always include some sort of call to action, even if you just want them to leave comments on your blog.
Use Examples
One great way to really get your reader involved in your content is to use examples. In a blog post you can use personal examples. In your article content you may want your examples to be more general. In a resume, it's about CAR (Challenge-Action-Result) examples.
Examples help paint a picture for the reader. Instead of just telling them something, you're showing them too.
Visual Aids
More and more content online is also using visual cues to make it interesting to the reader. Although you can include graphics on resumes and cover letters, you don't need images to create an impact. Your cover letter can incorporate subheadings, bold lettering on words that need to grab attention, and bullet points to draw the eye down. (Take a look at sales letters for examples of how to incorporate these tactics.) In addition to formatting your content for easy online reading, consider using photos (of a key client project for example -- not of your client), graphics (sales achievement graphs or profitability charts), and other images to help inform your reader.
It's not uncommon for a blog to include a photo in every single blog post. Additionally, if you're writing a how-to article, you might include a few demonstration photos. (Or before-and-after resume examples.) If you're writing a review (of a career-related book, for example), you might include an image of the product you're reviewing (book cover, or photo of the author). And if you're writing an informative article, you might include graphs, charts, infographics, or screenshots.
Using a few handy copywriting tactics for your content can help improve readability and reader response and it can help you achieve better content marketing results. Try implementing a few of these ideas -- for your own projects, or your clients' -- and watch your results soar.
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