10 Questions With Dawn Rasmussen

Get to know the other resume writers in our community with our “10 Questions” series!

Today’s profile is Dawn Rasmussen!

Dawn is a certified resume writer and the president of Portland, Oregon-based Pathfinder Writing and Career Services. She is the author of “Forget Job Security: Build Your Marketability,” which she says is “the first-ever book that provides a complete roadmap on how to manage your career.”

One thing that Dawn says makes her “tick,” is “a relentless and tireless desire to help everyone understand the importance of actively managing their career every minute of every day.” When she isn’t busy working with resume clients, speaking to conference groups nationally and internationally, writing articles and blog posts, or teaching, Dawn can be found hiking Oregon’s spectacular outdoors, kayaking, or plotting her next adventure.

1. How long have you been a professional resume writer?
Since 2007.

2. Why did you decide to become a professional resume writer?
I love writing and realized that the instincts were already there. The best part, however, is that this craft also means I get to help people. When they are not confident, I can reassure them and hold up the mirror that I have polished so they can see their value and worth. Over the nearly 13 years I've been doing this, I've heard back from so many clients that this project together had a positive impact on their lives, and to me, that is the best reward and reinforces that I am doing what I was meant to do.

3. How did you get into the career industry? What  did you do before?
It was an accident that was rooted in serendipity. The organization where I worked had a major org shift and I was without a job. My work had involved running a statewide school-to-career program for 49 high schools around Oregon. I was already going into the classrooms as a guest speaker, talking about resumes and job searches. After my job transition, a friend with whom I had lunch with said, "I know what you should do … become a resume writer!" Her daughter had dabbled in it and offered to set up a chat. After the conversation, I dove in feet first by joining the relevant professional organizations, attending the annual conferences, learning how to hone my craft, and ultimately, getting certified.

4. What do you typically wear when you’re working?
I wear dressy casual (clothes). No jammies for me. When I am in “jammy mode,” I don't feel focused, nor polished. I prefer being comfortable but in the professional zone.

5. What is your best habit, and what is your worst?
Best habit is self-discipline … that was one warning I was given when I first started working as a professional resume writer — that I would need to be focused on creating a structure. That’s been an easy thing for me … the worst part was finally giving myself permission to take a day off. With a hustle mindset, I had been mentally berating myself for wanting to take a day off because I felt guilty for “not working” — without realizing that, for all the days that I worked 10-14 hour days, it was ok to have a rest day too.

6. What’s your favorite object in your office? Why?
My Buddha. I am not Buddhist, but this Buddha in a meditative pose reminds me to stay centered, calm, and realize that I cannot change the whole world…just the parts that I can change. This figurine was purchased two years ago when I was with a dear friend of mine when we visited Cambodia and Thailand with her two sons. This was a trip of a lifetime, and it always brings a smile to my face.

7. What is your “go to” technique or secret when you get stuck when you’re writing a resume? How do you get unstuck?
I walk away from my desk. I need to clear my head and give my brain a rest. That way, when I come back, I know what I need to do, but I am refreshed and can open my mind to new approaches.

8. What’s the best career advice you ever got?
Dress for one career level higher than where you are … that helped me especially when I was working in the mailroom, and wanted to move up the ladder. No one understood why I was wearing skirts and dresses, but it helped with my professional image.

9. How do you unplug?
Anything outside in nature which includes hiking, backpacking, birdwatching, gardening, and kayaking.

10. What ONE thing would you change about your business or the career industry, if you could?
I wish the careers industry would have a more unified voice. Right now, there are so many different organizations and people with certifications — the general public can’t make heads nor tails of it all. Additionally, there should be a coordinated response when negative media stories come out about scammy fake resume writers who burn consumers…we need to educate the public that professional resume writers exist, and how to find them.

You can find Dawn on Facebook at Pathfinder Writing and Careers, on Twitter (@DawnRasmussen), and on LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/dawnrasmussen.

7 Ways to Get More Clients for Your Resume Writing Business

Clients are the lifeblood of a successful resume writing business. Without clients, there is no business! Here are seven tips for attracting clients. You probably know most of them, but it's a good reminder that if your appointment book isn't full, you can change that!

1. Tell Everyone You Know 
This may seem obvious, but you would be shocked to learn that some people you know probably don't know what you do. You want to get the word out to everyone you know, because they may know someone that needs you and tell them about you. Hand out business cards, share resources with them (the BeAResumeWriter.com Pass-Along Materials make excellent special reports that you can use as lead generation magnets), and post updates on your social media platforms about the work you're doing (and the people you've helped -- without identifying your clients directly). 

2. Get Involved
Being involved in your local community and online communities, both business and personal, will help you become a known entity. Use the strategy of "Give To Get" -- be helpful to others. Remember, jobseekers are hungry for information that will help them in their job search -- FEED THEM! Remember the Zig Ziglar quote: "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want."

3. Partner Up
A joint venture is a temporary partnership in which you join forces with someone who markets to your audience but who is not direct competition -- for example, a career coach. Partner up to host a free webinar teaching their clients something to solve one of their most burning problems (anything related to the job search is fair game -- LinkedIn is almost always an in-demand topic). They will promote the webinar to their clients and you'll teach it. You can give them a referral fee on any projects that result -- and, you can solidify a stronger referral relationship!

4. Be Social
Make all your profiles on social media compelling and informative. Post a good profile image that shows your face and eyes. It doesn't have to be a professional headshot, but it should be clear and show a good depiction of your personality. Join various groups online, consisting of both your audience and other resume writers (if you focus on a specific niche, colleagues can be a great source of new clients). Get to know people, help people, and let your profile speak for itself. Share information regularly -- become a resource people will depend on for careers content!

5. Build Your Reputation 
If your current client flow is slow, take time now to work on reputation building. The way you do this is participate in webinars, discussions, and even livestreams (Blab.im or Facebook Live), showing your professional knowledge about your careers industry niche and how you can help jobseekers. Write a book, blog, or guest blog and/or develop a freebie (lead magnet) to give away so you can build an email list. Content can help you capture new clients!

6. Optimize Your Website
Your website is the hub of all other activity. Ensure that it works on any device, that it loads fast, and that it is pleasing to the eye. Use keyword-rich titles, appropriate anchor text, and publish informative blog posts. Ensure that you have at least a Home page, About us page, Service page and a Contact page, and that there is no mistaking what it is you do when someone visits your website. (Refer to the "What To Write On Your Website" special report for more details.)

7. Be Your Own Client
I talk a lot about resume writers and the shoemaker's kids. (Referring to the old story about the shoemaker's kids being barefoot.) One of the best demonstrations of what you can do involves being a bright, shining light that shows the world what it is that you do. Your LinkedIn profile should be top-notch. Your "About Us" page on your website should tell a compelling story of you. If your personal communications are outstanding, prospective clients will see exactly how you can do the same for them.

If you're looking for a specific program to help fill your appointment book, the Earlybird registration and the 3-pay option for the next session of Get Clients Now end this Friday. (There are only 3 spots left too.)
Details here: Get Clients Now.

Why Content Is So Important to Attracting Resume Clients

From cave paintings to John Deer and even Jell-O, content marketing has been around for literally thousands of years. Anytime someone wanted to get the information out about anything, they could turn to content for the answers. Cookbooks are a great example of content marketing before the Internet. It was a list of products to buy. When combined in a particular way, it was delicious.

You could say the same is true for content marketing even today.

These days, content marketing is extra important because it's how you will get people to visit your website. It's also how you'll teach people about the issues that are important to them as a jobseeker, and hopefully turn them into a client.

• Digital Search Content. All content is fodder for search engine traffic. Search engines use the information on your blogs, websites, and social media to send your customers your way. They do this with the terms used in the content or in the "alt" descriptions.
• Social Media Content. Everything you put on social media is content. It doesn't matter if it's a meme, an image, words, a video, or something else; it is considered content. When you realize all that content encompasses, you quickly realize that yes, it is very important. It's not just a blog post or text; it is everything.

Content marketing can take on many shapes and forms. Some of these include:

• Blogs. These need to go out on a regular basis to help your visitors find your website. You can also write original guest blog posts sometimes to bring other audiences to you.
• Newsletters. These can be sent via email on a regular basis to keep your subscribers engaged and active.
• Magazines. Today, you can create an online magazine to help with marketing and informing your audience. Or seek out digital or print magazines that reach your target client.
• Podcasts. This is another way to put out information without having to type it. Instead you can record your thoughts and upload them to be listened to later. There are only a few podcasts on career topics, which is very surprising to me. There should be more. The breakthrough one will be the person who creates a call-in Q&A-type show like Dave Ramsey has for personal finance.
• Videos. YouTube is a great example of the power of video to get the word out about anything and teach others something that requires visuals.
• White Papers. These are long research documents that often compare and contrast the solutions to a problem discussed in depth. They are great for educating a wide audience without overtly advertising your solution. There's not enough independent research about career issues. Maybe you can be the person to change that.
• Ebooks. Using books to build your expertise is a great way to teach an audience about something that requires a lot of information. Today, publishing on Kindle is simple and free.
• Online Presentations. You can post PowerPoint slides on SlideShare.net and other presentation sharing sites as another way to keep your audience informed. Repurpose content by creating a short online presentation with its key points.
• Webinars. Growing in popularity due to their live nature and the way the audience can interact with the hosts, webinars are a very effective form of content. (Teleseminars are also still growing, due in large part because they don't require the user to understand technology. All they need is a phone.)
• Infographics. Often used on social media, infographics are a great way to help your audience picture important data visually.
• Games. If you can create an online game that teaches or markets some aspect of the job search to your audience, then you will have some really awesome content that gets results. (Let me know when you create this. I would love to promote it!)
• Branded Tools. Whether it's a job search app, a WordPress plugin or something else, creating a tool that your audience can use daily (even if ití' an old-fashioned planner) provides the type of content that will remind them that you're there.

As you see, content encompasses almost everything you do to market your resume writing business, inform people about your career services, and interact with people. That's why content is king. Content is the most important asset you own when it comes to digital marketing.

Lessons From the 7-Step Product Creation Challenge Q&A Call

Yesterday, I hosted a Q&A call for participants in the "7-Step Product Creation Challenge" -- a self-guided program to help career industry professionals develop their first -- or NEXT -- information product.

Here are five tips that I shared on the Q&A call that may help you create your information product -- whether that's an ebook, tip sheet, membership program, webinar/teleseminar, live program, or self-study program for jobseekers.

The first tip is START WITH YOUR WHY. What is your motivation for creating an information product? The two biggest "whys" for resume writers and career coaches is usually one -- or both -- of two things. The first reason to create an information product is to generate passive income (and/or recurring revenue) in your business. For most resume writers, they are only making money when they are directly serving clients (1-to-1 work). An information product allows you to make money even while you're sleeping, while you're doing "family things" or even when you're serving clients!

Speaking of serving clients, that's the second reason you may be motivated to create an information product: A well-designed information product solves a problem for a jobseeker. Many resume writers who have developed their products did so because their clients had a need. Here are just a few examples:

• Michelle Dumas ("101 Before-and-After Resume Examples")
• Kristin Johnson ("LinkedIn Success Institute" -- yes, a training program is a type of information product!)
• Shauna Bryce ("Reference Checks, Reference Pages, and Letters of Recommendation for Lawyers and Law Students")
• Brenda Bernstein ("DIY -- Do It Yourself -- Resume Questionnaires")
• Lisa Rangel (multiple ebooks and recorded webinars)
• Norine Dagliano (ekm Guide ebooks)
• Laurie Berenson ("Job Search Jump-Start: 30-Day Challenge")
• Steven Bouchard ("Getting Started With LinkedIn")
• Tracy Cooper ("30 Day Challenge" for jobseekers)
• Donna Tucker ("Jobseekers' Guides")
• Pam Martin ("The Complete Guide to a Successful Job Search")
• Laurie Berenson ("8 Days to LinkedIn Success")

The second tip is START EASY AND CREATE OFTEN! Many career services professionals I talk to want to create something big, like a home study training program or a hardcopy book. Instead, if you're creating your first information product, start with something small -- a tip sheet, an ebook, or a teleseminar. Once you've created one, you'll find it easier to do another one!

But DON'T REINVENT THE WHEEL. That's tip number three. Do you already have something done that you can re-use? Look through your email inbox and see what questions you answer over and over again for clients. Then take the content that you've already sent to clients (copy-and-paste from your emails!) and do something with it! And don't forget that Pass-Along Materials are ready-to-go content you can put to work right away!

The fourth tip is to DEVELOP ONCE AND PROMOTE OFTEN! Once you've created your first (or next!) information product, your work isn't done! The next step is to continue to promote it! You can't just "build it and they will come." Make it a point to promote your product -- post about it on social media. Do guest blog posts or be a guest on podcasts where your ideal client for that product hangs out! Excerpt it!

Finally, JUST GET STARTED! One thing I said over and over again on the call was: "Done is better than perfect!" You can always go back and add to the information product. But getting something done and out there is a huge motivator! If you want help creating an information product for your career services business, take the 7-Step Product Creation Challenge! It's just $37 for the self-guided program. It walks you through the process, step-by-step!

Blogging Basics for Resume Writers

Starting a career-related blog can be a great way to increase your profile as a careers industry expert, allowing you to attract new clients and driving traffic to your website. However, deciding to start a blog is a commitment. The more you publish, the more you'll get out of your blog. Here are some things to think about as you consider publishing a blog.

Where Most Resume Writers Go Wrong With Their Blog
When you're blogging, you're building your brand (or destroying it, in some unfortunate cases). Having a social media presence online is important for the majority of resume writers, since more and more resume prospects find their resume writer through online sources (it's second only to referrals as the source of new business for most resume writers). You can use your blog to build your social media following (Twitter, Facebook Business Page, LinkedIn, etc.) and you can also use your social media following to increase readership of your blog.

To get the most out of your blog, you'll need to deliver a certain number of blog posts per week (usually a minimum of two), and you should also consider finding guest blogging opportunities (where you can blog elsewhere and link back to your main blog). Blogging "for fun" is different than blogging to build your resume writing business. Don't confuse the two. It's fine to have a personal blog (I'm really enjoying resume writer Barbara Safani's "Across the 59th Street Bridge and Back" blog), but a personal blog has different objectives than a professional blog. You can tie in personal experiences on your career blog (Julie Walraven does this quite well, as does Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter), but make sure there is a lesson to be shared when you do!

Make Blogging Part of Your Routine

This is the part I have the most difficulty with. All the blogging experts say you should be consistent with your blogging. They say that it's better to to write one post per week — every Friday, for example — than to blog haphazardly. More power to you if you can do that! I just can't. Sometimes I get in the mood to blog and sometimes, it's at the bottom of a lengthy to-do list.

The good news is, blogging is something you can do anytime — in the morning before work, on your lunch hour, after work and on the weekends. You can even write your blog posts in advance and schedule them to post. (I should do this.)

Like writing resumes, blogging is a real business when you start pursuing it for financial reasons. Yes, it gives you much in terms of happiness — but when you’re making money doing something you love, it’s very rewarding.

And, as I mentioned earlier, your blog can also establish you as a leader in the career services industry. One thing that’s important is that you make sure that you love writing about career industry topics. You should want to wake up every day, eager to get to your computer. Don't start a blog because you feel like you "have to" — do it because you "want to."

If you dread it because it bores you or it’s depressing, then you won’t help your readers and the blog won’t "work" for you.

Make a list of possible blog topics before you start. If you can't come up with at least 10 ideas, don't start until you do. You can set an entire editorial calendar for your blog where you choose which topics are presented to your readers. You also get to pick the tone for the blog pieces.

Developing a Relationship With Your Blog's Readers
Having a relationship with your readers means they value your blog and they share the link to it with other people. You want that type of connection because as a professional, the traffic and branding that you gain will be priceless.

When blogs have a loyal readership, they enjoy a fantastic word of mouth traffic flow. While many bloggers are out there buying links back to their site and paying people to help them get traffic, you can do it all for free.

First, pick topics your readers want to know about. Part of your job in relationship building is to listen to your audience and meet their needs. There are many ways you can do this.

Do some preliminary keyword research to find out what people want to know in your niche. Visit some of the job search-related groups on LinkedIn and see what people are talking about.

This is known as a sentence starter — and it gives you some insight into what type of blog post you might want to do, such as:

• If someone is unemployed for a long period of time, how can they get back in the workforce?
• How to find a job that allows telecommuting
• Top three reasons you may not be getting called for interviews.

You can also simply invite your readers to submit questions to you. You can do this on your email autoresponder opt-in form, or have a special contact form on your blog where people can engage with you that way. Or you can ask them to post their questions in the Comments section under each post.

Whenever someone emails you with a question, you can assume there are more people out there who are wondering the same thing. Use those questions as fodder for your blog topics.

When you start blogging about all of these things, it makes the audience feel like you’ve really got your finger on the pulse of the marketplace — like you have great instincts.

Next, write in a highly conversational style and end each blog with an invitation to connect. People need to feel like you’re speaking just to them.

When you write, make sure it’s conversational and not stuffy like you’d write for a professional publication. If you make a video blog, look right in the camera and be casual and relaxed, not stuff and nervous.

When you end a blog post, you can ask a question or invite people to share their own $0.02 about the topic in the comments. Make sure that whatever comment system you’re using, it’s easy to find — because some are almost hidden.

Participate in the conversation that goes on in your blog comments. If people are kind enough to take you up on your invitation, then make an effort to have a dialogue with them.

Thank them for their comment, call them by name, and open up a discussion about what they had to say.

Making Money From Your Blog
While there are several ways to monetize your blog, the easiest — and most common way — is to turn blog readers into resume clients. This can happen naturally as they recognize your expertise as a career industry professional (be sure to give a "call to action" on individual blog posts or on your page so they know how to get started working with you), or you can invite them to opt-in to your email list, where you can share more resources, and convert them from a prospect into a client.

Speaking of lists, build a list from your blog so that whenever you have a new blog post, you can notify people about it. Also have an RSS system set up for people who use RSS feed readers to get notified of your new content.

Whenever you have a list, it gives you a certain amount of power — the power to instantly communicate with your target audience when you are selling or promoting your resume services and related products (webinars, teleseminars, workshops, membership programs, and other information products).

Another easy way to derive revenue is using Google AdSense. You can put different sized ad banners on your blog, from buttons to skyscraper ads. You can include images or go with just text. Don't expect to get rich from AdSense, though.

You can also sell ad space directly on your blog. You can arrange a specific area of your blog for ad space that people rent on a monthly basis, paying the ad revenue to you directly. If you go this route, make sure you have specifics in place to control what kinds of ads can get placed on your blog — all the way down to the colors and whether animation is allowed on it, if you want.

One thing you have to remember whenever you place any ads on your blog is that yes, it gives you some money when people leave your site for somewhere else – but in leaving, it also means someone else is capturing their name and email address and selling something to them, not you.

Promote products as an affiliate. You can sign up as an Amazon Associate and promote anything they sell there that they offer a commission on. Digital products can be found at sites like ClickBank.com. You can sign up for free and get a hoplink (affiliate link) where you earn around 50% for each sale.

Create your own products and sell them from your blog. You don’t have to promote other people’s stuff. Why not create an info product (ebook, video, or audio course) and teach something you blog about in more depth — or in a more comprehensive manner?

Offer your resume services from your blog. Coaching is also something you can offer. Many people pay top dollar for one-on-one coaching sessions via Skype or even email!

Blogging can be a very fun and very profitable venture if you approach it correctly. Don’t make the mistake of flying by the seat of your pants. If you do this, your blog will be scattered with topics, have no set monetization plan, and you’ll end up unhappy with the effort you’ve put in.

With proper planning and enthusiasm, you'll attract a steady stream of readers (prospective clients!) and new business. In fact, you might be the one putting out feelers for a professional blogger to come onboard and help you with your content needs!

I Published My First Ebook...Now What??

Yesterday, I received an email from Kristin Johnson of Profession Direction announcing the publication of her first ebook, "Target Your Resume to Win Over Applicant Tracking Systems."

She gifted me with a copy of the ebook in appreciation for my support and encouragement of her efforts to get her first ebook published.

Although getting an ebook published seems like it is the "hardest" part of the process, the real work begins once you have the product ready to sell. Now you have to get people to buy it!

I sent Kristin this five-step outline for increasing sales of her first ebook, and wanted to share these tips with you too.

Step 1: Solicit customer reviews to add to your sales page! Select 10-12 people and ask them if they'd be willing to check out your new ebook and write a review! These testimonials (especially excerpts) can really boost sales once people get to your page.

Step 2: Send out a news release -- not targeted to selling the book itself, but highlighting your expertise in understanding the ATS in the job search (from your position as an AUTHOR!) This may lead to interview requests from radio/tv/print, which will lead people to search for (and buy!) your book ... but also get you visibility and credibility with potential new clients!

RESOURCE: Feed The Media: How to Get Free Publicity For Your Resume Business

Step 3: Let your current and past clients know about the book! (If you have an email list of your customers, this is easy to do. If you don't, it's time to start putting one together!) Get the word out to your "influencers" too -- folks who have referred to you in the past. (If they're someone who regularly sends business your way, gift them a complimentary copy of the ebook in appreciation for their referrals.)

Step 4: Spread the word on social media. This should include tweets, Facebook posts (both on your business page and personal page), adding the book to "Publications" in your LinkedIn profile (and writing a status update about it, with a link to the sales page).

Step 5: Repurpose the content! Offer a guest blog post and/or post an article on a major article directory site with a 200- to 500-word article on the topic (can be a direct excerpt or have your weblady take a section and write an article on it). In your resource box, link to your book sales page. (And then follow Step 4 to spread the word about the article.)

And, once you've completed those five steps, here is another blog post with even MORE ideas to increase sales of your ebook:
http://rwdigest.blogspot.com/2012/12/ideas-to-increase-sales-of-your-ebook.html

And here are some additional resources to help you get your first ebook published:

• Shortcut to publishing your first ebook

• Special Report: Making Money Writing Ebooks

• Special Report: Sell Your First Information Product in 72 Hours

• Teleseminar: Using Content to Capture New Career Clients

3 Resume Writers Using Podcasting for Profit and Publicity

Have you heard of podcasting? It's been around forever, it seems (at least 10 years now), but I've only recently thought about launching my own podcast.

In doing some research, I discovered there are only a handful of resume writers who are engaged in podcasting ... (mostly because most resume writers aren't familiar with the concept), but that the podcasts that are out there have a LONG shelf life. A simple Google search pulls up podcasts that are several years old, but are still driving significant website traffic. You know that I am a HUGE advocate of using content to generate both cash and clients for your resume writing business -- and although podcasts have been around for a while, they are still remarkably effective!

Here are three examples of resume writers who are succeeding in podcasting? 

• Sean Cook, the "Higher Ed Career Coach," has his own channel on BlogTalkRadio (which is another medium for distributing your podcasts) 
• Annemarie Cross leveraged her podcast on Career Success Radio into her own podcast, "The Ambitious Entrepreneur Show"
• Check out Jared Redick's guest spot on the "Enterprising Investor" podcast.

If you've ever wanted to be a guest on a radio program to promote your resume writing services, you'll love the idea of podcasting. Instead of working to try to get booked as a guest on someone else's show, you basically host your OWN radio show (your own podcast).

Here's a couple of questions to determine if podcasting might be for you:

• Do you want to be seen as an expert in the resume writing industry, and be recognized by the media (and therefore, prospective clients) as a leading source of information? 
•  Are you comfortable speaking (not to a crowd, necessarily, but either in an interview format, or just you speaking to a virtual audience?) 
•  Do you sell a high-dollar resume service package (minimum $500), and you want to attract a steady stream of well qualified prospective customers who are eager to buy from you? 
•  Are you prepared to handle a large volume of traffic to your website? (Bonus points if you already have a team of subcontractors!) 
•  Do you have ancillary information products (ebooks, paid teleseminars and webinars, coaching groups, training programs, membership sites) you can sell to folks who are interested in learning more about the topics you cover?

If your answer was "yes" to more than two of these questions, podcasting may be for you.

Your first question is probably: What is a podcast?

Podcasting is audio provided over the Internet. Simply put, it's a process by which you can subscribe to receive the audios automatically, with the expectation that you will listen to the audio from a portable device like Apple's iPod. It's a smaller segment of what's called "Internet Radio" -- which is simply audio provided to listeners over the Internet. There is a wide variety of music and talk radio available to listen to both as a live feed or as pre-recorded content available on demand. You can listen to podcasts while you work out, drive around in the car (you can load them on your iPod), or while you're fixing dinner.

Your second question is probably: How much does it cost? (Followed quickly by: How do I get started?)
You can get started podcasting for under $20 -- and you may have all the equipment you need already!! The absolute EASIEST way to get started is with Audio Acrobat (which you may recognize as the service I use to record my free teleseminars through BeAResumeWriter.com). You can call into your Audio Acrobat phone line to record your posts, or use an external microphone. (Shh...don't tell my husband, but I use the USB headset that came from one of his video games, a U.S. Navy Seal game, to record my audios and videos!) And Audio Acrobat enables auto-syndication to 15+ online podcast directories and allows you to submit your RSS feed URL to iTunes, which can help you grow your listening audience quickly! It also has an iPhone app that allows you to publish your audio and video recordings straight to your podcast. (Yes, I realize you may not have any idea what "syndicating" and "RSS feeds" are yet ... so read on!) And Audio Acrobat offers a free 30-day trial.

As for how to get started ... well, that's why I wrote this email.

Last week, I signed up for Kelly McCausey's "Smart Podcasting Skills" program. And I wanted to tell you about it, because she has a special offer that expires at midnight tonight that makes it almost a "no brainer" for anyone who is interested in giving this a try in their resume writing business. It's a 6-part program that covers these lessons:

• Lesson One: How Podcasting is Good for Business 
• Lesson Two: Brainstorming Your New Podcast's Purpose & Format 
• Lesson Three: Planning Content For Your Podcast 
• Lesson Four: Making Money With Your Podcast 
• Lesson Five: Developing Your Hosting Skills 
• Lesson Six: Promoting Your Podcast 

I just bought the 6-part program myself last week, and I only had a chance to go through it over the weekend. And then I saw her reminder email last night about the special offer. (She also invited me to help promote her program, which I was happy to do, since I had bought it myself!). I thought that there would be at least a couple of folks — maybe you?? — who would find this beneficial to their resume writing business growth. (I also took Kelly's "Smart Blogging course," and I had more than 5,000 pageviews on this blog last month!)

If the idea of podcasting intrigues you, though, I've prepared a short special report, "Practical Guide to Podcasting" that will shed some more light on this topic. (There's no opt-in required — just click the link and you'll have access to the PDF file.) 

And I'll let you know when my first podcast is ready for YOU to listen to. I think 5- to 7-minute podcasts will be a great adjunct to my blog posts, videos, and teleseminars with ideas and information for resume writers just like you.

The cost of the program is $69. She offers a no-questions-asked 7-day money-back guarantee ... so if you buy the program and you decide it's not for you, you can get a full refund. But if you said "yes" to two or more of the questions I asked you at the beginning of this post, and you're committed to giving this a try, I think you'll find this program is just what you need.

Internet radio and podcasting are terrific ways to promote yourself and let your voice be heard. And I'll be learning right along with you ... so if you have any questions (as always!), feel free to ask me.

Guest Post: The Best-Kept Traffic Secret For Attracting Visitors To Your Website

Guest Blog Post by Jim Edwards

Did you realize that thousands of website operators use a simple technique to generate targeted visitors to their websites without paying a dime in advertising? It's true.

In fact, the technique works so well that many of them don't want you to discover how they get those thousands of website visitors and make so many sales on virtual "auto-pilot."

Their method?

Creating tightly focused articles other people publish in their ezines (online magazines and email newsletters) and post on their websites. This method rates so powerful that some even call it "the web's best-kept traffic secret."

Now, you may ask, "Why would an ezine publisher or website owner publish my articles for their subscribers?"

The answer: Content!

Over a 100,000 ezines and newsletters operate on the web (along with millions of websites) covering everything from pets and cooking to investments and real estate. Many of them need tightly focused content and they simply can't produce all of it themselves.

Look at it this way... it's the same reason newspapers use the Associated Press. Individual newspapers often can't afford staff writers to cover every story, so they accept articles from outside their organization.

You can do the exact same thing for various ezines and websites catering to your niche audience!

You can get valuable publicity -- exposure you often couldn't even pay for if you wanted to -- by providing valuable, content-rich articles in exchange for a byline and a link to your website (called a "resource box")!

The following represent only a few of the enormous benefits of writing and distributing simple articles online:

• Attain "Expert" Status. Let's face it! In the eyes of virtually everyone who reads your articles you rank as the "expert" on the subject. Just look at people who write newspaper columns. You may disagree with their viewpoints, but they still have an elevated status in your mind compared to the "average Joe" off the street.
• Pre-sell Website Visitors. If your article appeals to a niche audience hungry for more information on a very focused subject, you actually pre-sell them better than any sales pitch. In their minds, you've already delivered content they really want so when they click over to your site you already have a "reputation" in their minds.
• Traffic Lasts Longer. Even though the Internet changes very quickly, webmasters are usually very slow to remove content from their sites. Once you get an article posted on another person's website, you have an excellent chance of that article staying there for weeks, months, even years.
• Increase Links To Your Site. In a recent search I found just a dozen of my articles posted on over 813 different websites! Not only do those postings bring me traffic, but they also help my search engine positioning because of my increased "Link Popularity." 
• Builds Your Affiliate Base. Fact: Affiliates always take the path of least resistance. If you provide excellent articles they can easily post on their sites or copy and paste into their ezines, your affiliates will promote you more often and more effectively compared to those who don't give them tools. Plus, as you make more sales and publish articles, other people will see you providing excellent tools and will want to sign up as your affiliate so they can use them too!
• Build a Huge "Opt-In" Email List. You can use articles to build up a huge list of subscribers by simply compiling several articles into a series and delivering them at preset intervals. Often called a "mini-course," this technique allows you not only to prove to your subscribers that you deliver great information, but enables you to capture their name and email adress so you can send them articles and special offers in the future (with their permission). 
• Requires No Special Skills. People often think they need to be a "writer" in order to publish articles, but that's not true! FACT: If you have a passion for a subject and can talk and explain things like you would to a friend over a cup of coffee, you can write articles people will love to read. So if you operate a website selling virtually any type of product or service (whether your own or as an affiliate), publishing and promoting with articles should rank high on your list of traffic generation strategies. No other method of generating targeted traffic to your website provides the quality, quantity and steadiness of traffic in such a simple, straightforward, and cost- effective manner. 

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook, "Turn Words Into Traffic," that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate link!
Click here for more information--> http://hop.clickbank.net/?RWDigest/ezarticles

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights Reserved
http://www.thenetreporter.com

Ideas to Increase Sales of Your Ebook

One of the key principles of the "Turn Your Content Into Cash" teleseminar I'm doing next week for Bronze members of BeAResumeWriter.com is selling information products -- including ebooks.

Here are some ideas to market your ebook:

1. Get your book reviewed by review clubs. Each book store (E.g. Kindle store, Nook store, iBookstore,) has an active community of people who’re happy to review books for one another. 

2. Get bloggers to review your book. Pay them to review the book if necessary. (Note: This isn’t a bribe, as you’re only paying for the review, regardless of what the review actually says. However, they should disclose the fact that they’ve received a free copy of the book.)

3. Get on the radio. You can build your own media list, or buy an ad in the Radio Television Interview Report (RTIR) to promote yourself as an expert.

4. Contact career-related podcasts and offer to be interviewed. Send them a free copy of your ebook first so they can make sure they like what you have to say. You may be asked for a sample of you on audio so they know you sound good when recorded. Look at PodcastDirectory.com for some ideas.

5. Do a search for similar books. Look at who’s promoting them and contact those websites. Offer a generous affiliate payout if you’re selling on Clickbank, or try to find some other “in” with them.

6. Tap into a pre-existing community. For instance, if you’re selling an ebook for CIOs, get involved with online CIO associations and forums. Build a reputation for yourself, then promote your book.

7. Try to push your eBook to the top of your category, if you’re on an eReader platform. Have all your readers buy your book on one day and give them a bonus if they do so. This can send your book skyrocketing into the top charts, which gets you even more visibility.

8. Start your book cheap. Start your book at $0.99 cents, even if you eventually plan on selling it for $4.99. Starting it off cheap lets you get a bunch of reviews and initial traction right off the bat.

9. Buy ads on reader-oriented websites like Goodreads. This gets you in front of people active book lovers who’re already in the habit of buying books all the time.

10. Guest post on other blogs in the careers industry. Contact bloggers you know and ask if you can write a free article for them. If you don’t know many bloggers, write a brief line about yourself and what makes you credible and offer to do a free content piece for them. (For more posts about guest blogging, check out this page.)

11. Create a compelling affiliate program for your book. Be unusually generous. For example, offer a 100% payout for the first 3 books, or offer a $50 bonus to anyone who sells ten books. This can attract a lot of new affiliate talent towards your book.

12. Comb your LinkedIn and Facebook network. Look for people you know that have audiences, host events, or have a large online presence. See if they’d be willing to promote your book. Make sure to phrase it as a win for them as well by offering to help them in some way.

13. Send your first chapter to BookDaily (http://www.bookdaily.com/). This site gives avid readers one free chapter every day, on books topics they’re interested in. If you wrote a business book for instance, your first chapter can be sent out to everyone who’s interested in business.

14. Lookup conventions and conferences in your industry. Go to all of them. Meet other influencers in your niche and see if you can work together to promote one another. Who knows? You might also sell a few book copies.

15. Head to Twitter and search for questions that someone who needs your book might ask. For example, if you have a book about improving cover letters, you might type in “need a cover letter” or “do I need a cover letter” and so on in Twitter. Find people who recently asked relevant questions and shoot them a message.

16. Keep publishing! Publish lead-in books. If your main book is a $6.99 book, consider publishing a slew of $0.99 or free books just to get more traction and to build more of a brand. All of those sales will feed into the sales of your larger book.

17. If you’re publishing the book on Clickbank, try driving some traffic from Google AdWords and from other sources, like ads on Facebook. Paid traffic can convert extremely well. This works much better for Clickbank than Kindle, because Clickbank books tend to sell for a lot more money.

18. As a long term strategy, create a blog. Post high quality content to that blog every week. Get ranked in the search engines and build a loyal following. This is a great way to sell books on a recurring basis, as well as a great way to launch new books.

19. Create a competition. The competition should be related to content within your book. Prizes can include free consultations with you, two copies of your book (one for the winner and one for them to give to a friend), your help on their next project, a personalized plan for their project, etc.

20. Use Google Alerts to keep tabs on your topic. If someone writes a new blog post about something related to your book, be one of the very first people to respond to the post. Link to your Kindle book from your “name” and “website” field.

How to Make Your Resume Writing Business More Credible

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With so many resume writing businesses marketing and promoting themselves online nowadays, you may be wondering: "How do I set myself apart?"

One answer is through credibility. Credibility helps separate you from your competition (or colleagues, if you prefer the more collegial definition of "other resume writers.) It also helps your resume writing business appear larger to your prospects and customers. Credulity gives your customers confidence in you. This confidence and trust results in purchases and profits.

So how do you create this credibility? How do you demonstrate to prospective resume clients that you can be trusted?

Professional Policies and Procedures
One of the best ways to establish trust and credibility with your prospects instantly is to make sure you represent your company online in a professional and credible manner. The simplest way to accomplish this is to publish your policies and procedures on your website. Make sure the policies page is easy to find and that it covers all the information someone would want to know. For example, what is your privacy policy? What is your payment policy? (Payment in full up front? Half due now, and the rest when the resume draft is delivered?) What about refunds? Do you have a guarantee?

Transparency is a key credibility builder. Consider also including a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your site. It may cover much of the same material that your policies and procedures page covers, but that's okay.

Large Networking Presence
More than 800 million people are on Facebook right now. It's important to have a presence on mainstream social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You may even want to have a Pinterest account. It's also important to integrate your activity and social networking presence on your resume writing business website. For example, include links to your social networking profile on your site. Allow people to connect with you on the platforms they use.

Social networking is a credibility builder because it's a personal way to connect with your company. Again, it goes back to transparency and availability. If you're open and easy to connect with online, it builds trust. Most resume writing businesses are solo operations -- so when a client is choosing to work with your company, they are really choosing you.

Additionally, if you're connecting with other notable experts (especially thought leaders in the careers industry -- other resume writers, career coaches, recruiters, HR professionals, etc.) on social networking sites, your prospects will notice that. You will earn credibility by association.

Great Content
Finally, great content is essential to building credibility. You want to make sure your content positions you as a knowledgeable expert in your industry. You can publish content on your website or blog. You can also publish content on your social networking profiles.

Each article, blog post, or web page will ideally offer value to your reader. When you offer value, you help build a foundation of trust with your readers. They begin to learn from you and about you. This helps them feel like youíre a company they can count on to continue to solve their problems.

In addition to publishing great content, it's also helpful to publish content frequently -- and on other websites. For example, if you are able to publish content on your site and contribute to other relevant blogs as a guest blogger, it helps establish your credibility. Publish articles on article directories or on sites like Squidoo. If other business owners are turning to you for great content, then you must be an expert!

Building credibility isn't difficult, but it does take a plan. Represent your resume writing business online in a professional manner. Make sure to be completely transparent and to publish content that offers value.

How to Grow Your Resume Business Through Crowdsourcing

With the death of my Dad earlier this month, I found myself facing a double-edged sword of having a crushing amount of responsibilities related to planning his funeral ... and a concurrent case of writer's block. It wasn't resumes that I was having trouble writing -- I had backed off of those in July when it was apparent his health was declining -- it was the August Pass-Along Materials package for BeAResumeWriter.com.

I had already decided in July what the topic for the content would be, and had outlined and written several sections of the report by the time he died. But every time I sat down to finish it, I was just stuck. I sent out an email to Bronze members to let them know what was going on -- and received wonderful, thoughtful, amazing responses from so many colleagues. The message was pretty consistent: Don't worry about the work. But I got my work ethic from my Dad ... so not worrying about finishing it was eating at me. The second consistent theme of the emails was: Let me know if I can do anything.

And that's what sparked an idea ... what if I crowdsourced ideas for the report content? Instead of relying on my own initiative and strengths -- which were sorely lacking at that point -- I would ask for help, in the form of crowdsourcing content for the report, which became the "Jobseeker's Guide to Leaving Your Job."

© FotolEdhar - Fotolia.com

What Is Crowdsourcing?
As defined by Wired Magazine, "Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to an undefined large group of people or community through an open call." In this case, I sent out a follow-up email with a link to a QuestionPro survey. Immediately after sending it out, I began to receive survey responses (and emails from folks letting me know they had taken the survey).

You'll also see this principle at work with resume writers. I wrote a blog post this month about whether you should "Like" another resume writer's Facebook business page. Asking colleagues to "Like" your page is an example of crowdsourcing. You'll often get people who immediately comply with your request. You're asking the masses to help you grow your resume writing business.

So How Do You Grow Your Resume Writing Business with Crowdsourcing?
First, think about the various ways you can grow your business. These include:

• Marketing
• Content
• Product development
• Website traffic
• Branding

Second, you'll want to think about your crowdsourcing resources. As you can see from the earlier examples, social networking and list-building are often the keys to success. The key part of "crowdsourcing" is crowd -- the more people you can reach, the easier it will be to pick up momentum quickly for your initiative. (You've seen on Facebook how word can spread across the country in a matter of minutes.)

Do you have a large network of friends and followers? Are you currently active on social networking sites? It doesn;t have to be Facebook. Social sites like Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube are very powerful too.

Third, consider your goals. What do you want to accomplish first? For example, do you need a lot of content for your website? Ask for submissions or guest blog posts from your friends and followers. Make it a contest and ask readers to vote on the best blog posts.

If you want to use the power of the crowd to develop your first information product, ask for input. Ask your jobseeking clients for their top 3 challenges in finding a great job.

The power of the crowd is immense. You can use it to grow your resume writing business in a number of ways. Instead of paying a product development team or hiring a focus group, you can now go directly to the source and ask your prospects to contribute. And it doesn't cost a thing. Consider your goals and your resources, then take action.

For me, I am immensely grateful to my colleagues who contributed their ideas and inspiration to complete the "Jobseeker's Guide to Leaving Your Job" Pass-Along Materials content.

Guest Blogging for PageRank

You may have heard of the term "PageRank" as a measure of the popularity of a particular website. PageRank is an algorithm (named after Larry Page) and used by Google to measure the "status" of a website based on links, especially links from other sites deemed to be "important."

The higher your PageRank, the more prominence given to your site in organic search engine results. Guest blogging (as outlined in last week's "Guest Blogging How-To" series) can be a great way to build your website or blog's PageRank.

You can check the PageRank of a blog or website using this tool:

Check Page Rank of your Web site pages instantly:

This page rank checking tool is powered by Page Rank Checker service

How do you get PageRank using guest blogging?

The Easiest Method To Boost Your Blog's PageRank
The easiest method to get PR 2 to PR 4 guest blogging backlinks is to use MyBlogGuest. (I talked about them on Day 2 of the series, in a post on "Finding Blogs Seeking Guest Bloggers.")

In short, MyBlogGuest is a free forum where webmasters who want guest bloggers go to look for guest bloggers. Guest bloggers who want to write for other people also use the site to find sites to blog on.

Check the PageRank of the sites seeking guest bloggers before contacting the webmaster. Also take a look at the number of other links the site is linking to. Assess the level of quality of the content. Is this a site you want to be associated with?

With PageRank-oriented guest blogging, you'll be playing a numbers game. Instead of always going for quality, sometimes you just want to get as many PR2 and PR3 links as possible.

Systematize It!
The bottleneck for generating medium PageRank links from guest blogging won't be a lack of webmasters who'll let you guest blog for them. Instead, the bottleneck will most likely be your production capacity -- how many blog posts you can produce.

It's not at all unlikely that you could get as many as 10 webmasters to agree to let you guest blog for them every week. That's 40 PR 2 to PR 4 links every month. Keep that up for a few months and your PageRank will skyrocket.

However, you'll have a tough time keeping up with that kind of volume unless you're dedicating yourself just to guest blogging.

It's not just the writing of articles. It's also continually browsing MyBlogGuest for new opportunities. It's pitching your site. It's keeping track of who's replied and who hasn't. It's writing the actual content. It's then tracking all your pieces of content to make sure the site owner actually put it up.

Instead of juggling all this work, systematize it. Create a list of all the active "connections" you have with the other site owners. Make notes about who you've contacted and where you are in the process of getting linked to.

Guest blogging for PageRank is all about systematizing the process of getting moderate and occasionally high PageRank links.

Guest Blogging Versus Other Methods For Getting Traffic To Your Resume Writing Business Website

© iQoncept - Fotolia.com

After writing last week's series about guest blogging, I got even MORE emails from resume writers wanting to know more about guest blogging. In today's blog post, I'll answer one common theme:

"How does guest blogging stack up against other methods to get visitors (traffic) to my resume writing business website?"

Guest Blogging versus Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Many resume writers are familiar with "paying" for traffic (visitors) to their website, using pay-per-click (PPC) advertising -- like using Google's AdWords or Facebook ads or similar services.

Guest blogging usually precedes PPC. They aren't mutually exclusive. Most resume writers use blogging to drive "free" traffic to their resume writing business website, while PPC ads are "paid" traffic.

In order to succeed in paid advertising, you need to have a very streamlined conversion funnel. (It needs to be clear how prospects can become resume clients; otherwise, you're driving visitors to your site, but not turning them into clients.) In other words, you need to know that for every $1 you spend on PPC, you're earning $1.20 or more back from the lifetime value of that customer -- even if you lose money for the first few weeks or months. Otherwise, paid advertising can quickly consume a lot of your money.

Most guest blog posts won't get you as much traffic as PPC. It won't be as consistent either. (You'll likely get an initial surge of traffic, and then it will fall off.) However, the traffic you'll get will be targeted and -- most important, it's free.

One great strategy is to use guest blog posting to fine-tune your funnel and make sure you can convert before you move onto paid traffic methods.

Guest Blogging versus Article Marketing
This is one of those rare cases where there's a clear winner. There's just no question about it: guest blogging beats article marketing, hands down.

Guest blogging can get you on some of the top blogs in the industry. It'll help build your reputation and send real people to your site. As I mentioned in my "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients," the advantage of guest blogging is "Go where the people are." If you guest post on a popular blog, you're going where the people are (and you know what kind of people they are!). Article directory sites can draw a lot of traffic, but it's not targeted traffic. (And even when your articles are reposted, they're not always on related sites. I've found my careers-oriented articles posted on all kinds of irrelevant blogs.)

Article marketing will get you into article directories and perhaps a few small, low-authority fringe sites.

Guest blogging will help you build massive PageRank, while article marketing won't do much for your PageRank at all.

If you're going to go through the trouble of writing articles, you might as well do it right and go the guest blogging route.

Guest Blogging versus SEO
Should you focus your attention on SEO or on guest blogging? The best answer is to make guest blogging part of your SEO strategy.

It's true that guest blogging may not be the fastest way to build backlinks. However, the guest blog post you write will bring in real traffic, while the links you generate purely for SEO probably won't bring you much traffic at all.

This real traffic could result in both sales and additional backlinks. Furthermore, people often underestimate Google's ability to figure out what a real backlink is.

In short, you don't have to make guest blog posting your exclusive tactic. Use it as part of your SEO strategy to bring in real visitors to your resume writing business website.

Guest Blogging How-To: Landing a High Profile Guest Blogging Gig

© Ben Legend - Fotolia.com

In Wednesday's blog post, I talked about "How to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities" -- but the resource I mentioned, MyBlogGuest, focuses on middle Pagerank sites. What if you're looking for the big time? Today's blog post is about how to get a post published on a high profile blog.

High profile guest blog posts are the holy grail of guest blogging. Sure, you can blog for small blogs all day long, but that won't have nearly the impact of landing just one high profile guest blog post.

So how do you land these high profile guest blog posts?

Make Your Own Site Top-Notch
When someone lets you guest blog for their site, they're implicitly endorsing you. They're not going to do that unless your own website is truly top notch.

In other words, make sure the content on your resume writing business website provides immense value. Make sure your design looks highly professional.

Make sure someone who sees your blog will think of you as an authority and would want to partner with you.

Look for Sites That Have Accepted Guest Posts In the Past
If a site has never accepted a guest post in its history, you might have a hard time convincing them to accept yours. On the other hand, if they've been consistently publishing one or two posts by other authors every month, you might have a very good chance.

One simple way to figure out whether or not a site accepts guest posts is to type in [site:urlname.com "guest post"] in Google. This will bring up all entries that have the words "guest post" on a specific site. If there are no results, try a few more queries like "guest author."

If you can't find any guest blog posts, it's best to focus on a different site.

Start Building a Connection
While you can just approach a blog site owner out of the blue, it's often better to try to build a connection first.

Start commenting on their blog for at least a month before you want to request a guest blog post. Answer their questions and aim to become an active member of their community. Contribute.

Do the same with Twitter. Retweet things that they tweeted. @reply to them when they ask a question.

Get yourself on their radar.

Landing the Guest Blog Invitation
Finally, send them a short email outlining your proposal.

Try to come up with three topics that you think their audience will love. Tailor each request to the blog specifically. Come up with topics you think their specific audience would benefit from.

Let them know that it's easy to publish your article and that it won't be republished anywhere else. All you ask for is a link back to your website.

Remember that blog authors need content as much as you want to get content published. By giving them a high quality blog post, you're saving them as much as a day by not having to write their own content.

What you're proposing is a win/win, as long as you have enough trust and quality.

That's how to land high profile guest blog posts!

Bonus: Read this great blog post about what a blog owner is looking for in guest posts (and some great additional tips)

Guest Blogging How-To: What to Write In Your Guest Post

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This is an issue that can stump you while you're blogging -- whether for your own blog or when guest blogging. When you're stuck in the "I don't know what to write" trap, here are some ideas to get you started.

Tips Articles
Guest posts with a specific number of tips often do very well. For example:

• 7 Tips for Improving Your LinkedIn Profile
• 12 Things NOT to Include On Your Resume
• 5 Ways to Get Your Resume In Front of Hiring Decision-Makers

Make sure you pick a specific number of tips and place it in the title. Odd numbers seem to work better than even numbers.

How-To
How-to titles are another popular blog post topic. For example:

• "How to Make Sure Your Finance Resume Gets Read"
• "How to Write an Effective LinkedIn Headline"
• "How to Get a $10,000 Raise When You Interview For Your Next Job"

Ask yourself, "What does my target market want to know?" Then write a "how to" for them.

Pitfalls and Mistakes
Talk about the common pitfalls and mistakes people make when jobseekeing. For example:

"The Seven Deadly Mistakes Career Changers Make"
"The #1 Mistake New Graduates Make in Their Job Search"
"3 Common Pitfalls of Networking for a New Job Online"

Tell a Story
Telling a story is a great way to attract an audience and communicate a message. (As a resume writer, you already knew that!)

One of the most famous direct response ads in history had this headline:
"They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano, But When I Started to Play..."

The piece then went on to tell the story of how nobody thought the main character could play -- and were then shocked when he did.

Use stories to invoke emotions, convey a point, and connect with your audience.

Share a Success
If you helped a jobseeker negotiate a $10,000 pay increase with his new job, share how you did it. If you helped a client write a LinkedIn profile that drew dozens of calls from hiring managers and recruiters, tell what was in the profile. If your clients get interviews within a week of sending out their resume, tell their story.

People love to read success stories, especially if they're filled with nuggets they can use in their own lives.

Image Tutorials
One great way to bring real value to someone else's blog is to create an image tutorial for them. Creating image tutorials, which involves step-by-step pictures, takes quite a bit of effort. Most bloggers won't go through the trouble.

That's why if you're willing to do it, they'll be very grateful.

For example, if you're writing a tutorial about how a jobseeker can research a company using LinkedIn, use screen shots of the process.

Controversial Opinion
Finally, you can share a controversial opinion. Most people won't expect to read a blog post from a resume writer titled, "This Resume Writer Says You Don't Need a Resume." (Now, your strategies may end up showing that a resume isn't needed for some situations -- but is for others.)

If you're ever at a loss on what kind of guest blog post to write, try using one of these ideas.

Tomorrow: "Landing a High Profile Guest Blogging Gig"