Thursday, August 2, 2012

Should You Like A Facebook Page of Another Resume Writing Business?

    • Quick question ... I do believe in networking with colleagues but I'm not sure about "liking" other Facebook pages. How is this helpful? Thanks for any insight you can share.
  • 39 minutes ago
    Bridget Weide Brooks
    • Hi, Tammy!

      There are two reasons to like your colleagues' Facebook pages. The first is the "give to get" principle -- if you like their pages, they are likely to like yours too!

      The second is to get ideas/information on things you can share with your clients. You might find articles and resources that your clients will benefit from when you see them posted on your colleagues' pages.


Tammy Shoup, of Breakthrough Resume Writing Service, asked me this question yesterday on Facebook. Her question is a common one. As resume writers, should we worry about "liking" the work of others, or sharing articles written by our peers -- should we be worried that it might encourage our prospective clients to seek our our colleague's resumes writing services instead of our own?

I reminded Tammy that clients always have choices -- but by sharing information from other resources -- including other resume writers -- we show prospective clients that we are committed to staying current in our field -- and sharing the best information -- even if it's not something we did ourselves.

By "liking" another resume writing business Facebook page (or following them on Twitter or Pinterest), we increase our connections to our careers industry community. We also have the opportunity to see articles and information that we can share with our clients. There is so much information out there, it's nice to have other resume writers help "curate" it.

But if you're worried about "standing out" among the many resume writing firms out there, here are some ideas that can help.

There isn't one set formula that every resume writing business should use to stand out. (After all, if everyone did that technique, no one would stand out!) What follows are a series of attributes that stand-out companies tend to share. Implement these in your own resume writing business and add your own twist to them to make your services stand head and shoulders out of the crowd.

Be Genuine
Most sole proprietor resume writing firms try to be bigger or more official than they really are. Businesses that are able to let that drop and actually share what's genuinely going on are often able to garner a lot of trust and loyalty. After all, when it comes to their career, clients want individual, personalized service. If you're a one-person shop, they will actually be working with you -- and that's an advantage in setting yourself apart from larger firms!

Be real about who you are and where your company is at.

Cultivate Win/Win
A lot of businesses -- not necessarily career service businesses -- treat their value propositions as win-lose. They make money, the customer loses money. I sometimes see this principle reflected in payment policies for resume writing firms. After being burned by one or two clients (out of one hundred -- or hundreds!!), the resume writer puts policies into place that "punish" future clients for the transgressions of a few.

Great companies, on the other hand, view their relationship as a co-creative one with their customers. Their customers want solutions and you're there to help provide that to them. You trust your customers to pay you (sure, you can still have policies, but you can be somewhat flexible when the circumstances warrant it).

View your customers as your partner in their career success and look to cultivate more win-win relationships with them. Involve customers in the design of a specific service program to fit their career goals, and you'll ensure you're really solving their problems.

Do Unusual Promotions
Did you know that Otis, the man who invented the elevator safety mechanism, got his company launched by placing himself inside a giant elevator in public and hacking off two elevator cables with a hatchet?

Unusual promotions garner a lot of attention. Try to come up with shocking or unusual ways of promoting your business. An "ugliest resume" contest might be one way to do this.

Write with Personality
Groupon launched its service with a successful business model — but they also had something else. They had fantastic writers that had real personality. People love reading personality-filled bits of content online. If you can get people to write witty, funny or edgy content, there's a very good chance you'll stand out.

Pick a Niche and Be World-Class At It
Don't try to be good at everything. Instead, try to be fantastic at just one or two things. Pick a niche and become the best in that niche. Stand out in that niche, rather than in the broader market. (I'm writing a cover story on this topic for the next issue of Resume Writers' Digest.) If you want to be known for something, don't just serve anyone.

Choose a Company Culture
A company culture permeates your website, your writing, and everything else about your resume writing service. If you're a solo resume writer, you may not think you have a "company" culture, but that's just a phrase. For example, the fact that your dog is your company's mascot speaks to your company culture. Is your resume writing business entrepreneurial and fun, or more corporate in nature? You can consciously shape your company culture.

These are some of the many ways you can stand out. Pick the ones that resonate with you and implement them in your resume writing business.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Using Content Marketing In Your Resume Writing Business

One of the best tools resume writers and career coaches have to market their careers industry businesses is content marketing. Sharing information and ideas with jobseekers can help them become prospective clients for your resume writing business.

Content marketing is getting more and more important every day. People today are finding more and more content through social networks and less and less through search engines. That means that creating content people want to share is becoming ever more important.

Here's how to use content marketing to your advantage.

Build Your Personal Brand
At the end of the day, the only thing that you have is your reputation. But a lot of people -- including resume writers -- fail to consciously build their personal brands. Yet this is truly one of the most valuable assets you have -- and it's one of the best ways to grow your resume writing business.

By creating high quality, unique content for a certain market, you establish yourself as an expert. If you want to target a special niche of clients -- for example, sales executives, or equine professionals -- you can tailor general job search information to the specific needs of this audience, and increase your "know, like, and trust" factor with these folks.

Build Trust with Prospective Customers
Jobseekers looking for help with their job search are more likely to trust someone who provides a lot of quality content rather than a website that just says "buy, buy, buy."

There's something about consistency that really builds trust. Anyone can put up a website to start selling resume writing services, but if you're producing high quality content for six months, people will instinctively trust you a lot more. They'll think you'll still be around to help them six months down the line.

Build Your Platform Before You're Thirsty
One of my favorite books is Harvey Mackey's "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty."



The same is true for resume writers -- build a list of prospective clients before you need them! Your platform is your list of clients and prospective clients who are interested in what you have to say. Let's say you want to launch a LinkedIn profile rewriting service. If you haven't been publishing content and building your mailing list, how will you find people who want this service? It would be very hard. But if you've already been publishing content for months, you'll already have a reader base you can use to launch your new service!

The "Secret" to Good Content Marketing
Great content marketing is really as simple as focusing on providing good content, consistently.

Good content should be compelling content. One of the best ways to create content is to use examples from your work with clients. People can relate to the struggles of your clients -- and learn from the lessons you teach them of how you helped those clients with their specific challenges.

Don't be disappointed if it takes some time to build up your reader base. That's how it works: reputations take time to become established. Fortunately, once your reputation is established, it also builds momentum and can grow very quickly. It's not an overnight technique; so the sooner you get started, the sooner you'll start reaping the benefits.

If you're interested in content marketing, check out "Using Content to Capture New Career Clients" (teleseminar recording and transcript) and the "Resume Writer's Guide to Article Marketing" (which is the July special report for Bronze members on BeAResumeWriter.com).

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Summer Savings on Training from The Academies


The Academies is offering $200 savings off of three of their upcoming training programs.
But you must register by Tuesday, July 31 to take advantage of the special pricing.


Social Networking Career Strategist program (focuses on Facebook) 

Starts Wednesday, August 15; from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. ET

What you can expect to learn:
  • How to reverse client perception that Facebook is “just for kids” or only valuable for personal networking.
  • Tips for creating better profiles, fan pages, and company pages.
  • How to build engagement and dialog and create community.
  • How to leverage the social nuances of Facebook to build your clients’ online presence.
  • Strategies for keeping client information safe on Facebook.
  • Recommendations for managing time and messaging on Facebook.
  • How to add a new revenue stream to your business by offering Facebook profile development, maintenance, and consulting services.
Register before July 31 & save $200!  Use coupon code SUMMER2012

Certified Tough Transitions Career Coach program (two 6-week classes) —

Life-to-Work class starts Tuesday, August 21, 2012; from 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET
Work-to-Work class starts Monday, October 15; from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.  ET
The Certified Tough Transitions Career Coach Program will give you a proven process and targeted techniques to help clients from unemployment, under-employment, or un-happy employment. You will be equipped and inspired to help even those making tough transitions to choose and market themselves wisely as they transition their careers or get back to work. Your new confidence and expertise will allow you to respond to clients at all levels, and build your business by coaching the growing number of people making tough career transitions!
* Register for Life-to-Work or Work-to-Work before July 31 & save $200 or register for both to save even more! Use coupon code SUMMER2012

Certified Career Management Coach program (longest running Academies program!) —

Starts Tuesday, September 18; from 10 a.m to 12 p.m.  ET
OR Wednesday, September 19; from 3-5pm ET
The CCMC course will give you the know-how to qualify for the certification of Certified Career Management Coach and be able to use…
  • powerful coaching techniques to jumpstart and motivate clients,
  • insider secrets for career management in this changing economy, and
  • for entrepreneurs, proven practice-building strategies to attract your “choice” client … for career center professionals, techniques to help your clients understand the value of the services you offer so that they will “buy-in” with greater commitment and involvement.
* Register for the Tuesday or Wednesday class before July 31 & save $400 Use coupon code SUMMER2012 … PLUS – if you pay in FULL, receive enrollment in the Social Networking Career Strategist program for FREE! (No coupon necessary … when your full payment order comes through, a staff member will contact you regarding your free class!)

Find out more information -- or register -- here:
Summer Savings 2012


Want to find more training opportunities for professional resume writers? 
Visit the BeAResumeWriter.com Events page.

Heat Up Your Summer Marketing

I live in Omaha, Nebraska, in the middle of the U.S. However, for the past few weeks, I feel like we've been living in an oven. Temperatures routinely are in the upper 90s, and got up to 106 last Sunday! (The photo is a screenshot from my iPhone on Sunday morning -- it was already 91 degrees at 11 a.m.!) We finally got our first rainfall last night in about a month. Nebraska is officially classified in a "drought." (I can attest to this -- my yard is yellow and brown.) Yikes!

When the temperature is like this, it can feel like there is no end in sight -- but the fact is, cooler weather will eventually be coming our way. It may be the same with your resume writing business. You may have lots of clients at the moment, with no end in sight ... but if you don't continue to market your business, eventually, you'll face a "drought" in your resume writing business too.

If you're currently in a "drought" in your resume writing business -- or if you want to prevent one down the road -- there are some things you can do to attract new clients. In a resume writing business, it takes a constant infusion of new clients to keep your business growing.

Ways to Find New Clients

Here are some tips to help you begin to make a change right now, today, that will benefit your resume writing business.

  • Take a fresh look at your marketing plan. At least once a year, you should revisit your marketing plan. What are you doing now? How can you revamp those marketing tools and employ some new ones? (For example, for 2012, I cut out all paid Yellow Pages advertising, but have budgeted to spend on Facebook and LinkedIn ads.)
  • Become a social networker. Twitter and Facebook are valuable tools for resume writers who want to take their business to the next level. If you don't have an account with either or both, now is the perfect time to get started. If business is slow for you at the moment, social media doesn't require much money -- instead, you can invest your time in building your online profile.
  • Advertise your business on your personal Facebook page. Do your friends know what you do for a living? Post links to new content on your website and other promotional links that friends and family can view and share. Just yesterday, I got a call from a new client who was referred to me by one of my best friends. This happens to me at least once a month, because I post careers-oriented content on my personal Facebook page. Also, create a fan page for your resume writing business. Encourage current clients to sign up and tune in for special information or offers that they won't find anywhere else. I use a tool called "Hootlet" from Hootsuite to share articles on social media. It allows me to schedule Facebook updates or tweets automatically so that I can find 3-4 articles to share while I'm surfing, but Hootlet will spread them out so they don't get shared all at once.
  • Market yourself offline too. Even if your resume writing business is 100% virtual (operating online), that doesn't mean that your local market won't also benefit. Some offline tools include posting flyers, public speaking, appearing in local media (TV, radio, newspaper) and using promotional items (like free pens).
  • Video marketing. People love to watch informative videos online. You can take what you know and turn it into a visual presentation that immediately gives new clients a picture of who you are and what you do.
  • Create a press release. I mentioned getting local media coverage. The easiest way to do this is through a press release. (Bronze members of BeAResumeWriter.com can find sample news releases and pitch ideas on the "Public Relations Resources" page in the Paid Member Resources section.) You should also check out the "Feed the Media: How to Get Publicity for Your Resume Writing Business" teleseminar recording and transcript for more information and ideas.

Remember -- your marketing efforts are cumulative. Sometimes a single drop can turn into a torrential rainstorm. Whether you're "hot" now and anticipating a cool-down later  -- or if you're in a drought now and need it to "rain" clients, try these ideas.