Eight Ways to Personalize Pass-Along Materials

One of the benefits of a Bronze membership in BeAResumeWriter.com is that each month, you get new, brandable careers content that you can use with your clients. But since each member gets the same content to start with, one of the biggest questions I get about Pass-Along Materials is how to make them unique.

A couple of resume writers have expressed concern about if a prospective client is looking for information to help them with their career, and they come across the same report on multiple resume writer websites. You can't control what anyone ELSE does with their content, but the easiest way to solve this for YOUR resume writing business is personalization.

Here are eight ways to personalize your Pass-Along Materials in just a few minutes.

1. Niche It!
The first way to personalize your content is to focus your content — if you can — on the specific audience you serve (or that you want to target with the guide). For example, "Jobseeker's Guide to Salary Negotiation" can become "The Graduate's Guide to Making The Most At Your First Job."

Identify the ideal client to read the content, and then target the content to that reader.

2. Name It!
The easiest way way to personalize your Pass-Along Materials is to come up with a unique name. I intentionally name the Pass-Along Content with very boring, pedestrian names, in hopes of forcing you to come up with something more exciting.

To come up with a unique, attention-getting title, use Jim Edwards' FREE "Profitable Title & Smokin' Hot Domain Name Wizard V2.1" Input four key items: topic, keyword phrase, main result/benefit, and target audience and it will generate dozens of ideas for you.

3. "Newspaper" It
Newspapers are written by different people but edited to sound like one "voice." Your Pass-Along Materials need to sound like they are written by you and are consistent with the other materials you share with clients. Read through the content and make sure it matches your voice and style (and that it agrees with advice you give your clients). Although I focus on "generally accepted" principles with the content, you may occasionally find something you don't necessarily agree with. Feel free to edit or remove that content, and add in your own advice! (And it's still easier than starting completely from scratch!)

And feel free to change the subheadings too. For example, something like "Conducting a Job Search While You're Still Employed" can be changed to "Four Tips for Looking For a Job When You've Already Got One."

You can often take the first sentence of the first paragraph of a section and make a subheading right from that by asking a question.

4. "Novel" It
One way to personalize the content to YOU specifically is to share a client story. You can also create a fictional story to lead into the purpose of the article. Sharing a personal example can also be a way to personalize the material. Stories help the reader relate to your content.

5. Give Readers "Navigation"
Consider adding a photo, graph, or chart to the Pass-Along Materials content to add visual interest,  personalize it, and make it easier to navigate the materials. You can find inexpensive photos on a site like Fotolia. (Make sure you purchase the correct rights for what you want to use your guide for. If you want to sell your content, choose a "Medium" size graphic or larger and that will give you the rights to use the graphic in a product you sell.)

6. Nationalize It.
If you're not in the U.S., adapt the advice to your country. Some resume advice is nation-specific, so make sure you've checked the content to make sure it applies to your readers.

7. Narrate it!
One of the most unique ways to change the Pass-Along Materials is to change the format to audio or video. Use the content as a script for a teleseminar or webinar, as the format for a live program, or an outline for a video or podcast.

8. Don't Neglect It!

The most important thing is to USE your Pass-Along Materials! They're not doing you any good on your computer hard drive — and, as you've seen in this article, it's so easy to personalize them!

Personalizing Pass-Along Materials takes only a couple minutes of your time — and it's also something a virtual assistant can do. It's a great way to receive maximum benefit from your Pass-Along Materials while also providing your readers with unique and valuable content. 

How Do I Get My Company Logo on My LinkedIn Profile?

Have you noticed that some resume writers have their company logo next to their business name in their LinkedIn profile? Are you wondering how they made that happen?

The answer is: Company Pages!

If you haven't yet set up a Company Page for your resume writing business, there are a couple of reasons why you should do it now:

• To get that logo to show up on your personal profile!
• To get additional visibility for your resume writing business on LinkedIn.
• Because it's easy!

Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up your Company Page on LinkedIn.

First, you must have a domain name for your resume writing business, and have an email address associated with that domain name that is on your LinkedIn profile. (You can add the email address if you don't have it already linked to your profile.) That domain name can only be associated with one company page. You must also have your resume business listed under the "Experience" section of your profile, and your profile must be complete ("Intermediate" or "All Star" status, with numerous connections.)

On the main menu bar, click on the "Companies" tab.

On the Companies page, click "Add a Company" in the upper right-hand corner.

This wil take to you a page to "Add a Company." Fill in your resume writing business name and your email address (remember, it has to be a domain name for your business name — it can't be a Gmail or other type of email address).

You must also verify that you are the official representative of the company by checking the box.

You'll be taken to a new page where you can edit your company profile.

When you are finished entering the information, click the blue "Publish" button in the upper right-hand corner.

Finally, click on the "Products" tab and add in information about the products and services you offer. Not only will this help you attract clients, it will also help your page get found, as the more content you add, the higher the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) value of your page.

..............

The LAST STEP you need to take is to edit your profile and select your Company Page when articulating your business name. Go into your LinkedIn profile and choose "Edit Profile." Then, go to your current position and click the "edit" tool. As you type your business name, you should be presented with a list of companies to choose from.

Select your Company Page from the list, and then save your profile.

You will see that the logo from your Company Page now shows up on your profile.

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.

Using a VA In Your Resume Writing Business

Last month, Christine Edick of A Virtual Connection, delivered an excellent teleseminar on BeAResumeWriter.com on "Be More Organized, Efficient, Productive & Profitable (Using a Virtual Assistant)."

In talking with resume writers, I find more and more of them are using virtual assistants (VAs) or outsourcing key tasks.

Christine offered some great tips for getting started with virtual assistants, which include:

• Start with a small project or trial period. Identify one thing to turn over or outsource initially. (See below for the top five things to have a VA do for you.)
• Make sure you're a good match. Many VAs specialize in certain areas, so make sure what you need aligns with what the VA offers (or specializes in). 
• Have a contract — or some agreement — outlining the scope of work and rates.
• Give as much guidance as you can about the project and the work you do — if your VA understands your clients, services, and perspective, he/she will be more effective.
• Check-in regularly, especially in the early stages of a project. This will ensure your VA is on the "right track" with your expectations.
• Be flexible. If you give them one project, and it's not working out, don't be afraid to put an end to that project, and try delegating something else. Make sure you are working to your VA's strengths. What are they good at?

There are five main areas that a virtual assistant can do for you as a resume writer:

1. Website work. That can include updating information, adding plug-ins to a WordPress site, or keeping your calendar updated.
2. Social media. Virtual assistants can both write and schedule content for your social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
3. Database management. A VA can set up your customer relationship management (CRM) system, add in your autoresponder messages, and more.
4. Communications/outreach. Whether that's sending email newsletters oor managing speaking engagements, a VA can work as your virtual representative.
5. Appointment scheduling. This is one that many resume writers would love to do — but are probably wary — allowing your VA to schedule appointments for you and send out pre-meeting information (such as questionnaires) and follow up with prospects to set appointments.

Christine also outlined four key success factors for working with a VA:

• A strong desire to do it (a clear and compelling reason)
• Identify core actions your VA can do to produce results for your career services business
• Count the costs (is the time, energy, and risk worth it)
• Finally, ACT! Act on your commitments, not your feelings.

Take the time to listen to Christine's 60-minute call. Free Level members of BeAResumeWriter.com can find it on the Free Level Resources page (you must be logged in to the site to access it) for the next few weeks. Bronze Members have access to the MP3 and transcript in the Expert Interviews Series section (must be logged in as a Bronze member).

You can also purchase the MP3 recording and fully edited transcript (plus Christine's slides and two bonuses — a Resources and Tools guide, and a 23-page guide, "How to Systematize and Automate") for just $5. Find out more information here.

Find a VA here:

International Virtual Assistants Association

Outsource specific tasks:

• Elance

• Guru

• Odesk

• Fiverr.com