How to Stay Motivated as a Resume Writer

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Earlier this month, I wrote a post about "Finding It Hard to Stay Motivated?"

Being a resume writer can be a very profitable way to make a living -- however, because you only get paid when you work with clients, self-motivation is a necessity. There's no one else to motivate you. You're on your own.

While the threat of no money may seem like motivation enough, sometimes you need a little more motivation. Here are some ideas to get you motivated.

1. Set a Daily Income Goal
Take a look at how much you made last year and create an annual goal for this year's income. Then divide it by 365 days. That's how much you want to earn daily. Print this number out in a large font and hang it over your desk. (My husband uses a weekly goal, because he understands that things can change from day to day.)

2. Track the Money
Hang a dry erase board on your office wall. After you complete a resume project, write down the amount of money you've earned on the board. Track it for the month and keep a running tally. If you're money motivated, watching that number grow will help you stay busy.

3. Take a Day Off
This may sound contradictory; however, one habit that many self-employed resume writers have is to work seven days a week. This leads to burnout and work apathy. Take a full day off each week to recharge yourself. Don't think about work. Don't check email. Just enjoy the day.

4. Build Your Resume Business
If you're doing the same thing day in and day out, it's easy to lose joy and motivation. Spend time each month planning how to grow your business. What is working for you? What isn't working? How can you attract more of your ideal customers? What new service can you provide that offers value to your customers and excitement or interest to you? (LinkedIn profile development? Social media coaching?)

5. Create New Habits
One of the reasons motivation can falter is if you're in a rut. For example, you get up every morning, drink your cup of coffee and check your email. You then get right to work. Why not change your morning habit? Before you check your email and get to work, do something creative or physically active. Changing your habits and routine can add life back into your day. Self-employed resume writers are creative people and a rut can drown your creativity and motivation.

You're in control of your life and your income. If what you're doing isn't working for you and you're feeling unmotivated, you have the power and the wherewithal to make a change. Find your motivation!

Blogging and (Resume) Writer's Block

As a resume writer, when you think about "writer's block," you probably think about the times you're stumped while writing a resume. But many of the resume writers I talk with say that they find the blank page most daunting when it's time to write something for their blog. The phenomenon is common enough that there's a name for the condition -- "blogger's block" -- the condition of not knowing what to put in your blog.

It's easy enough to amass content on your blog -- creating blog posts that are links to other articles, for example. But your blog should feature your voice. It's fine to look for articles in the media -- watch the news, read the paper, check media websites. Look for articles sourced by resume writing colleagues on Twitter and Facebook. But instead of just linking to the story, comment on it. Link to the original news source, but give your opinion about it.

You can also use your blog to promote affiliate programs you work with. Amazon's affiliate program is a great example of this. All of us read (and probably, collect!) career-related books. Take a few minutes to review the book -- including if you'd recommend it to job searchers. You'll have something to write about, and if your blog readers click on the link and purchases the book, you'll make a few cents (or dollars!) off the purchase too.

Blogs are also a great way to promote your website -- especially when you've posted new articles. Create a blog post that contains the first few lines of the article to tease your readers, as well as a link to the page that features the full text.

Keep your posts timely and helpful. Look for natural tie-ins with holidays and career milestones. (For example, with St. Patrick's Day coming up, now would be a great time to write a blog post about how jobseekers can improve their "luck" in the job search.)

To help your readers stay up to date with the new posts that you add, you can install a feed burner. There are different feed services to choose from, including free ones. Once you register, you will be given a small amount of HTML to add to your blog. Your readers can choose to subscribe and have your new posts delivered to their email automatically. (Find out more about RSS feeds in this blog post.)

NRWA 2012 Conference Contest

To celebrate The NRWA's 15th Anniversary, the board of directors is giving away 15 prizes to paid registrants of The NRWA's 15th Annual Conference in Charleston, SC, Sept. 19-22, 2012.

To qualify to win one of the prizes, you must be registered for The NRWA 2012 Conference by March 31st at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

With conference registration rates starting at $385 and multiple payment plans available, don't miss this opportunity to take advantage of cutting-edge continuing education and potentially win one of these great prizes.

Sign up for the 2012 Conference now to ensure your name is entered into the giveaway at Conference Giveaway

What Prizes Are Being Given Away?
The prizes include:

• Four Future or Previously Recorded Teleseminars from The NRWA ($35 value each)
• Three Sample Submissions to begin the NCRW Certification process ($50 value each)
• Three 5-Packs of The NRWA Online Training Segments ($130 value each)
• Two One-Year Memberships in The NRWA ($150 value each)
• Two $100-off registrations for The NRWA's 2013 Conference ($100
• value each)
• One Free Hotel Room Night at The NRWA 2012 Conference Hotel ($175.00 value; tax included)

When Will The Prizes Be Drawn and Announced?
All prizes will be drawn on April 2, 2012 and winners will be announced in a separate email on April 4, 2012.

Using Squidoo to Promote Your Resume Writing Business

Squidoo has many things going for it as a marketing tool. It can be used to tap into highly tech-savvy groups of consumers. It can be used to increase your credibility by providing top-notch content. You can leverage Squidoo's search engine clout to catapult yourself to the top of the engines. And best of all, it's free.

Here are a few smart ways of using Squidoo to promote your business.

Embed a YouTube Video
Most user generated content websites don't allow you to embed your own videos. Squidoo is different. With Squidoo, you can embed any video you want.

Video allows you to connect with your audience in a much more visceral way. They can visually connect with your brand, get more of a sense of who you are and retain more of what you say than if they just had text.

Video also presents a whole host of marketing options that don't exist in just text. Conversion rates for resume writers who use video marketing are often much higher than marketing just using text.

Create Lenses for Your Brand and Product
Two places to start on Squidoo are your brand and your products.

Getting these two Squidoo pages up will help you manage proactively how you appear to the world. Since Squidoo lenses have a good shot of ranking just below your main homepage listing, it gives you a unique opportunity to write your own script about how your brand and products are perceived.

Don't hide that you're the author of these pages when you're writing them. Try to give objective information and make sure the content you provide is top notch. Don't use the Squidoo lens as a sales page; instead use it to provide relevant information that people can actually use.

Create a Host of Lenses around One Topic
Creating a host of lenses around one topic allows you to position yourself as an authority on the topic. It also allows you to interlink all your content and it increases your chances of creating content that ranks on that topic in the search engines.

Come up with a publishing schedule around creating these lenses. For example, try to publish one lens every week.

The secret here is to make sure that each and every lens you publish has content good enough to be impressive. Don't sacrifice quality in the name of quantity.

Get the Click
The most important thing to remember about getting Squidoo traffic to your website is that Squidoo is not a good place to try to make sales. Instead, it should be used as a place to introduce yourself to your readers.

Instead, post a link back to your resume website in your Squidoo lens. From there, you can use your website for your hard-hitting sales message.

These are a few smart ways to use Squidoo to promote your resume writing business. When it comes to free tools, Squidoo ranks as one of the best ways on the internet to promote your business.