Content Marketing: Striking the Right Balance Between Selling and Connection

As I prepare for the "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients" teleseminar on Monday (90 people are currently registered!), one of the points I want to emphasize is the use of content for list-building -- and the importance of not just selling, but giving something of value to the people who connect with you.

Email marketing often involves a tightrope walk between selling and connection. If you sell too much, you'll lose your customer's interest and burn out your list. Focus too much on connection and not on selling and you won't generate enough revenue.

What's the right balance?

Between 10% and 20% Selling

Generally the right amount is somewhere between 10% and 20% selling, with between 80% to 90% of your content being focused on quality, solving the customer's problems and making a connection.

That means, for every five emails you send, four should focus on great content. As they start to get emails from you, they'll know that emails from you will be of a high quality.

Having 80%+ of your content be connection-based also does one other thing: it essentially buys you the right to sell to them.

When someone gets immense value from the emails you're sending, they won't feel resentful when they read a sales message. In fact, they'll read your sales messages with an open mind, knowing that there's a good chance they might get value from the product you're offering.

If you oversell, people will resent being sold to. If you consistently provide high quality content, people will look forward to your next product and eagerly read your sales message.

The 5-to-1 Email or the "At the Bottom" Style

There are primarily two different ways you can split your selling and connection content.

The first method is to send only emails that have connection and problem-solving content, then every once in a while send a 100% sales message. (That's the method I'm talking about above.)

If you use this method, make sure that your sales messages also provide value. Even if you regularly send out quality content, you still can't just send out a spammy ad. Instead, you have to provide value even as you're selling them.

By sending only one sales message every 5 or 6 emails, you keep up with the 10% to 20% rule.

The other method is to sell in each email you send, by putting an advertisement or one or two promotional sentences at the bottom of every email.

This method works very well, because instead of trying to get a home run of sales in one email, you're getting a steady flow of sales with every email that you send.

Try to tie in your sales message with the email itself. For example, if your email talked about all the most common obstacles jobseekers run into when looking for new positions, then pitch your product or service at the end. This could be an ebook you're selling (maybe one based on Pass-Along Materials), a free resume critique, a resume update, or interview coaching.

Walking the fine line between over- and underselling in email marketing can be a little tough. As a rule of thumb, sell between 10% and 20% of the time to maximize customer connection while still pulling in strong revenues. For more on content marketing and its role in getting you new business, be sure to sign up for the free "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients" teleseminar this week.

7 Time Management Tips for Resume Writers

Here's something a little different! For today's blog post, I recorded a video, with 7 Time Management Tips for Resume Writers.

Using these time management strategies, you may be able to cut the time it takes to write a resume in half. Good work habits can be the factor that makes all the difference.

Here's a summary of the tips:

1. Identify your easiest tasks. Make a list of things that you really enjoy -- especially the activities that put you "in the zone," making time seem to fly by. Move items that are not legitimately work-related to another list. Prioritize the remaining activities in order of importance. Highlight in yellow activities that directly make you money; highlight in blue activities that are not directly billable to a specific client, but are still work-related. Start each day by doing the "money-making" (yellow) tasks first, then see how many "maintenance" (blue) tasks you can fit into the rest of your day.

2. Identify your most-hated tasks. Compile a list of your "drudge tasks," and think about each one. Ask yourself: Why am I having so much trouble with this task? Do I feel inadequate or overwhelmed by the task? Is it just boring or outside of my skills and interests? How can I eliminate this task? Will my resume writing business survive if I do? Who can I outsource or delegate this task to? If I decide to keep doing it, what would make it more fun or easier to manage?

3. Identify distractions. Eliminate predictable distractions (like that hour you lose each day on Facebook) and work to minimize unpredictable distractions (like the dog whose paw is stuck in the dishwasher). Schedule those "time-suck" activities for a specific time of day (ideally, at the end of your workday), or set a timer to remind you it's time to get back to the "money-maker" tasks.

4. Set goals you can reach. Break projects down into bite-size components, then schedule and tackle those components in a manageable number each day. If a long-term goal seems unattainable, break it down into easier, short-term steps.

5. Re-evaluate your daily priorities. If being overwhelmed is a big problem for you, pick just three single priority tasks per day, and tackle those first, before you do anything else. (Usually, these will be client consultations and the actual resume writing process itself.) You'll be amazed at how much easier the rest of the day will flow.

6. Take breaks. You'll produce your best work if you remember it's all about balance in your emotional life, your personal life, and your work life. Get up from your computer at regular intervals. Schedule small, regular household tasks into each day as a "work break." Consider an exercise break midway through the day -- say, a 20 minute walk around the block. And take a music break -- especially for tackling high stress projects!

7. Recognize your rhythms. Every resume writer has an optimum time of day when they produce their best work, as well as a minimal time of day when they are most likely to "fight" their work. Fit your work around your minimal periods -- and do your best to ensure your "peak" periods aren't interrupted by unnecessary distractions.

Want more resources to help you with time management and your resume writing? Check out the "Write Great Resumes Faster" special report.

Understanding Web Analytics for Your Resume Website

With more and more clients finding their resume writers through web searches, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and website traffic strategies are becoming more important for resume writers to understand how to drive visitors to your resume website.

One way you can objectively tell if your website traffic generating strategies are working is to look at your web analytics. You can use the analytics built into your website hosting program, or you can use a free tool like Google Analytics. Here's the first page of an actual Google Analytics report:

Website analytics can tell you a lot. For a resume writer, understanding web analytics is a crucial skill. Your analytics can tell you whether people understand what you're offering, whether people like your brand, and whether or not your website is doing everything it can to bring you new clients.

Here are some of the important numbers every resume writer should be watching in their web analytics.

How Many Visitors Are You Getting?
The first -- and most important -- number you should be watching is how many visitors you're getting. In addition to the raw number, also pay attention to whether the visitor count is going up or down. (You can check this weekly or monthly, but quarterly trends will give you a "bigger picture" analysis.)

As your marketing efforts progress, you should see a direct boost to your visitor count. It might not happen right away, but within a couple months, you should see a measurable increase.

How Many Hit a Goal?
Your resume website should have a very clear goal. For most resume writers, that goal should be to get a website visitor to either inquire about -- or purchase -- your resume services. (How many visitors do you convert into inquiries and/or sales?)

You can actually use Google Analytic's "Goals" feature to track your progress towards your stated "goal." You can measure progress in terms of folks who fill out an inquiry/contact form, sign up for your email list, download a special report on a careers-related topic, or make a deposit or sale.

Whatever the case, you should be carefully tracking the goal hit rate for your website.

Learn more about the "Goals" feature in Google Analytics.

Geographic Location
Are the people who're landing on your website the right kinds of people? If you have a small local business, check to make sure the traffic you're getting is actually from your area. Many resume writers nowadays work "virtually," so location isn't as important as it used to be.

Where Does the Traffic Come From?
How do people end up on your website? Do they type something into the search engines and end up on your site? Or do they enter your URL manually? Is someone else sending people to your website? (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook can be huge "referrers" to your website.)

Tracking your traffic sources and your referrer data can give you valuable information about what's working and what's not working when it comes to generating traffic.

Bounce Rate
This is an analytic that is often misunderstood. The bounce rate measures the percentage of people who land on your website and leave without visiting a second page on your website. (They only visit one page -- maybe your home page, or a landing page -- and then they leave the site.)

A high bounce rate usually means that visitors came to your site expecting one thing but didn't find what they were looking for. If your bounce rate is above 60%, you might have some serious revamping to do.

Are People Coming Back?
Finally, check to see whether or not people who visit your website come back again. (Look at the "New Visits" analytic.)

For some businesses, this is an irrelevant statistic. For example, a restaurant's website doesn't really expect to get repeat visitors. People just use the website to find the address or phone number so they can show up. But for resume writers, you want people to keep coming back to your site -- especially if you have a blog.

Most people who are looking for a resume writer aren't ready to "buy" when they start their search. This is particularly true for prospects who are spending $400 or more on a resume. (Under $250, resumes are almost an "impulse buy" and you may be able to get them to purchase right away.)

Over $400, the goal is to get them to your site, give them some valuable information, and then -- most important! -- get them to opt-in to your mailing list, can move them along the process to making a direct inquiry about your services.

These are some of the many things that your analytics system can tell you. Learning to understand analytics can really help you steer your resume writing business in the right direction.

Why You Should Have a Membership Site for Your Resume Writing Business

Are you looking for ways to serve your resume writing clients more effectively -- or create another stream of income? Try a membership site. It is not easy, but it can pay off in many ways for your business.

Why do people seek out your resume writing business? They want a job ... even if they are just buying a resume. They really want more help -- and it may be more help than they are willing to pay for ... at least up front. The advantage of a membership site is that you can provide "group" services (with corresponding "group" pricing).

A membership site can increase not only your profits but also your expert status and visibility in your niche market. Be aware, however -- while there are many advantages to a membership site, the first requirement is that you are ready to handle the increased workload. You can decide what you are going to offer in your membership site -- some of them, like a fixed-term membership site, can be "set it and forget it." Others, like a membership site that includes a weekly Q&A call, won't require much preparation, but will test your expertise as you might get some unexpected questions. You can also create a membership program where customers pay a monthly fee to get priority access for resume updates and resume retargets. You can provide them with a monthly e-newsletter with career tips as their "tangible" membership benefit.

Research all that you need to do to get and keep it up and running. Make sure you don't overextend yourself -- pick a program you can manage without too much extra time and effort. If you can fulfill all the promises of your program, then you are golden.

So, back to the reasons why you need a membership site. Here are a few.

• Dedicated customers. Once you convince someone to buy a membership, they will automatically renew each month as long as you provide the promised tools/services. The idea of a membership site is to satisfy a need, but at a higher level. Even if the members one day opt out of the membership, they will more than likely still use your services in some other capacity. (And the monthly payment is a reminder of you each month.)
• Monthly income. Like I said, you are creating a new income stream. As long as your customers are satisfied, you can count on that money coming in each month.
• Increase your brand. Through offering exclusive services to your members, you are strengthening your brand. This means having the resources to provide consistent quality to your members each and every month. When that happens, these members will promote your membership site with their network which can net you more membership site members -- but also more prospective resume clients as well.
• You can expand this portion of your business. Your membership site may start out with one level until you get the hang of managing it and/or you pick up more customers. Adding a multiple tier of services increases monthly profits and opportunities to attract more customers. It also helps solidify your position in your niche market. (If you have a membership program with weekly Q&A calls, you may add a second tier that includes you answering up to 3 email questions from the member each week.)

Membership sites can be a pitfall if you are not careful. Being prepared can avoid this problem. Have your resources in place to continually provide tools and benefits for clients each and every month. Also, donít forget to create a communication system where a client can reach you when they need you and get a timely response.

Membership sites can be a big boon to your resume writing business if you are prepared to take the challenge.