Should You Consider Groupon?

On the NRWA E-List, Tiffany Benitez asked about using Groupon in her resume writing business.

Here is my response:

Groupon and similar services (LivingSocial, local daily deal sites, etc.) can be a great way to boost the visibility of your resume writing business and drive new clients and revenue. I personally know of one NLP (neurolinguistic programming) practitioner who secured 6,000 new clients to a membership program he promoted through Groupon.

A few years ago, I advised a marketing client on their local Daily Deal launch, and it was the Daily Deal site's most successful promotion to that date (and still ranks in the top 10 all-time), so this is a topic that I know something about! They sold out of their special offer, selling $30,000 in gift cards in under 12 hours, although the promotion was set to run for 72 hours (they netted $7,500 – the gift cards sold for 50% off their retail price, and they received 50% of the net revenues).

However, Groupon also has the potential to ruin your business. One-third of businesses who offer Groupon deals lose money on them. And really, you should look at it as a marketing expense, rather than a revenue generator. (There are better ways to jump start your marketing.) So tread carefully.

How do you know if Groupon (or similar services) are right for you?Services like this work best if you charge under $500 for your typical resume/cover letter package and/or you really need clients. Are you willing to use it as a lead generation service and work to build your mailing list in the hopes of converting some of these folks to full-price clients eventually?

Groupon *can* work for service businesses, but not how you would typically think of it. Instead of offering your typical resume and/or cover letter service as your Groupon special, instead offer a product or "fixed" service that can be a "lead-in" to your regular career communication services. Doing a resume for 65% off when it takes you 100% of the time and effort it normally does, doesn't work.

People who would be looking for a resume writer on Groupon aren't probably your "ideal" client. (However, you may attract some people who could *become* an ideal client.) And Groupon will either overwhelm you with customers (numerous photographers and other service businesses have almost been put out of business by Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.) or you won't get much interest at all (but the listing will stay out there "forever" and hurt your other marketing because it will show a seriously discounted rate you're willing to offer -- even though YOU know the trade-off for the low rate is visibility and exposure, potential clients will just see that you're willing to offer your services "at 65% off!")

However, you can use Groupon (and other services, like Fiverr.com) as a lead-generation tool. But you need to do it in a way that you're leveraging your time wisely.

So, consider offering one of these instead:

• Resume review (using a standardized template form) and ebook – regularly $79 (even if Groupon sells it for $39 -- you'd get around $20), you can do a review in 15 minutes (or, partner with a new resume writer to do the reviews and help serve resulting clients).
• Discounted registration for an online teleseminar/webinar on a career-related topic (something super meaty -- like Using LinkedIn in a Job Search). It can also be a good way to drive traffic to an in-person workshop or seminar. [Groupon can be used to promote events and workshops -- in fact, these are more likely to be approved.]
• Fixed-term membership program – for example, a 4-part course on writing your own resume. (As you know, lots of people who purchase self-help resources end up upgrading to a done-for-you service). Other fixed-term topics that may lead you into your full-priced resume services would be things NOT related to resumes/cover letters directly -- i.e., salary negotiation, interviewing strategies, making a career change, LinkedIn, or creating a brag book for your career.
• One-on-one coaching session (structured session on a specific topic -- like interview preparation or LinkedIn Summary Review or salary negotiation) or a discount on a multiple-session coaching package (like 4 or 6 coaching sessions).

Consider your price point for what you offer carefully. You are asked to discount what you're offering up to 90% (off retail pricing). Know what your time value is (base price you charge per hour, even if you don't actually bill clients an hourly rate) so that you're not overcommitting yourself. Take into consideration not just the time you're spending servicing clients, but also the time to set up the offer and provide customer service (including answer questions from prospective buyers).

Before submitting your application to Groupon, prepare yourself/your business. For example, if you want to do offer #1 above, you'd want to put up a page on your website with the $79 critique + ebook offer (so they can see you already sell this at FULL price -- even if you haven't sold any yet). You also need to write the ebook so you can show them a sample if they ask. If you wanted to do offer #2 above, you'd go ahead and put together the workshop curriculum and teach it at least once (even if it's offered as a bonus at no charge for existing clients) -- so you can record it and provide a copy of the recording to Groupon to show the value (if requested). And, most important, have the systems in place to facilitate a flood of orders, if it materializes.

When you're using Groupon as a lead-generating tool, it's really to build your mailing list. So you want to make sure you have a mechanism in place to capture their information when they redeem their Groupon voucher -- for example, using an autoresponder (like AWeber) with a form to enter their name and voucher number that returns an email requesting they send their resume as an attachment, and providing the download link for the ebook, and then has a series of emails that lead them into the purchase of your other services (resume and cover letter, LinkedIn critique, LinkedIn training program, etc.). Again, you want it as automated as possible.

Other tips:

• Limit the number of vouchers you sell. You can always extend the deal or offer it again, but a scarcity premise helps. (Groupon will have some input into the minimum number offered, but you can insist on a cap.)
• Let buyers buy one voucher for themselves and one as a gift.
• If you can, do *two* offers together -- one for a low-priced product (<$50) and one for a higher priced (>$150). This gives people a choice, so they can choose something they want. But make sure BOTH offers are on the same topic – like a "DIY" option for $49 and a done-for-you service for $199. (This also establishes the value of YOUR expertise -- they're paying you for your time.) 
• Research offers made by similar practitioners in other markets. This can also help with your application to Groupon by showing what's worked in other areas.
• Research what's being offered in YOUR area too. Look at past deals -- what sold well? What didn't?
• Market it yourself too! One of the best things Groupon offers is visibility and exposure. Leverage it by sharing with YOUR tribe too (your existing mailing list, on your social media platforms, etc.)

If you get turned down by Groupon, consider local daily deal sites instead. Two local newspapers in my area offer their own daily deal sites. Google "daily deal" and "your city" to find a local site.

Here was an offer made on a local Daily Deal site affiliated with a local university):

Also, you could consider offering your OWN daily deal. You can use a service like Constant Contact's "Offers" (which has a social marketing component), or Facebook Offers on your Page (as long as you have at least 50 Likes).

What are your thoughts about using Groupon in your resume writing business? Leave me a comment or question below.

Generate More Leads for Your Resume Writing Business With Social Media (Checklist)

Social media is an excellent tool to use to generate more leads for your resume writing business. At your fingertips you have access to thousands of people -- it's a networking event on steroids. But, how do you use social media to attract the right audience and generate the right leads for your resume writing business?

Here's a checklist of things to consider when using social media to attract prospective clients to your resume writing business:

• Know Your Audience. You have to know everything you can about your audience. Who exactly are they? What is their gender? How much money do they make? What are their fears and concerns? What problems do they have that you can solve? You can get to know your audience by going where they are and studying them. (One easy way to do this is to look at the LinkedIn Groups targeting jobseekers.)
• Spell Out Your Goals. You can't start any type of marketing without a goal. In this case, it's lead generation. How many leads do you want to generate -- and in what period of time? Exactly who do you want as a lead? What makes a perfect lead, and what would attract that perfect lead?
• Create a Content Strategy. Use content to capture clients. You'll need to create content for your website/blog and social media that has the point of your marketing campaign in mind: Getting more leads. (More prospects = more potential clients.)

After that, almost everything else rests on content to promote your lead capture pages.

• Create Compelling Content. If you want someone to trust you to give them information so that the lead can become a prospect, you're going to have to work for it. Great content uses images, video, audio, and is engaging and relevant to the audience.
• Put Sign-Up Forms on Social Media. You can put a sign-up form right on Facebook, and Facebook can become the landing page. When applicable, put the sign-up form where the content is so that you can get a higher conversion rate.
• Improve Your Social Media Profiles. Sometimes before someone clicks through your links they're going to check your profile. If you have a bad headshot, and a half-filled out profile, they're not going to go back and give you their email. Nope. They're going to click away, never to return. Don't let that happen. Improve your social media profiles -- always. (This is especially important if you offer LinkedIn profile development services!)
• Spend Some Money. If you've created an awesome content marketing strategy, but hardly anyone is seeing it, then it might be time to pay for sponsored posts on social media networks that have that offer. Capturing leads is one of the ways that you can use social media advertising without spending a fortune. 
• Offer Something Substantial. Giving away a freebie to get a lead's email address is standard practice -- but what you need to offer nowadays to get the prospect to opt-in has changed. You need to offer something of genuine value -- getting someone to opt-in to an email newsletter is no longer seen as valuable to potential clients. Instead, offer a special report, e-course, or teleseminar recording/transcript.
• Create Multiple Landing Pages. Create a new landing page for each social media network so that when your audience clicks through the link on your content, they are taken to a special page that welcomes them and makes them feel at home. 

With the number of people within your target audience using social media, making social media work for you as a lead generation tool is a no-brainer.

Want to learn more? Check out "Using Content Marketing in Your Resume Writing Business."

Coming Up With Content For Career Seekers

Content is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your resume writing business website, increase your visibility with targeted prospects, and increase your conversion rate for resume prospects becoming resume clients.

But sometimes it can be a challenge to come up with ideas for what to write about. Here are some ideas for helping you come up with interesting and compelling content ideas.

Read!
It might seem like a novel idea, but reading more can help your mind become more creative — even if you're reading fiction. Reading for enjoyment can open creative portions of your mind that you may have had closed for a while. This is especially true if you've been super focused on your resume writing business and not doing much in the way of recreation. Oddly, watching TV doesn't help. Reading uses more energy and more of your brain, while watching TV uses less energy than sleeping.

Exercise
If you feel stuck, get out of the house and do some exercise. If it's a nice day, take a brisk walk around your neighborhood; if it's not a nice day, go to an indoor mall or gym to walk around and don't think about your business or that resume you haven't started writing yet. Just think about breathing, and how your arms and legs feel while moving. A 10-minute brisk walk focusing only on your breathing and movement can open your creative mind faster than almost any other activity.

Reuse, Repurpose, and Repeat
If you've been blogging for a long time, it's likely that you feel like you've said it before. Well, if you posted about something five years ago, it's likely out of date. Take a little time once a week or so, or if you're stuck for ideas, and go back to an old blog post. Rewrite it and update it, especially if the advice is now old or irrelevant. In addition, you can take a bunch of old blog posts, move them to a Word document, edit and create an ebook. Any way that you can make the old new again is a good way to create fresh content.

Finally, remember to keep a note pad, or use your smartphone to write down ideas as they come to you. Don't believe for one moment you'll remember it later. Even if you're in the shower and come up with an idea, get out and write it down before it goes away. By tracking all your ideas, you'll easily be able to sit down anytime you have the time, look at your list of ideas and create fresh content on demand. (I use Evernote to keep track of blog post ideas.)

Jumpstart Your Writing With Pass-Along Materials

After describing Pass-Along Materials to one resume writer, she told me that she prefers to create her own content. Hey, I have no problem with that. But if you don't want to reinvent the wheel — or you just want a jumpstart on your writing, consider Pass-Along Materials. Here are just some of the topics you can access:

Brag About It! (Accomplishments Guide)
Jobseeker's Guide to Working with Recruiters
Jobseeker's Guide to Networking Your Way to Your Next Job
Jobseeker's Guide to Virtual Interviews
Jobseeker's Guide to Understanding Employment Law
So You Got Fired (Or You Think You're About To Get Fired)
Jobseeker's Guide to Developing a Brag Book
Jobseeker's Guide to Getting The Job Offer/Frequently-Asked Questions About Job Offers
Your 2014 Career Roadmap ($20)

Are You An Award-Winning Resume Writer?

Are you an award-winning resume writer? Do you want to be?

It's that time of the year again -- time to enter the Career Directors International's "Toast Of the Resume Industry" (TORI) awards contest.

This year's contest is a bit different than in past years — offering some new rules (one new one I think is very significant), new categories, and new prices.

The TORI Awards Director and CDI Board of Advisors have selected the categories which will be used in this year's contest. They include:

• Best Accounting/Finance Resume. Encompasses any level of accounting and/or finance professional, from clerk to CPA, and up through CFO. (New category this year.)
• Best Sales Resume. Encompasses any level of sales, business development, or producing sales management.
• Best Information Technology (IT) Resume. Encompasses information technology professionals and managers, etc.
• Best Healthcare/Medical Resume. Encompasses resumes written for medical technicians, doctors, surgeons, medical transcriptionists, laboratory staff, administrators, pharma, etc.
• Best Executive Resume. Encompasses any executive-level position in any industry.
• Best International Resume. Encompasses resumes written for any profession within a non-US market.
• Best Creative Resume. Encompasses creative-style resumes in full-color, unusual layouts, artistic writing styles, etc. Very open to interpretation.
• Best Cover Letter. Encompasses any discipline, industry, or career level.
• Best New Graduate Resume. Encompasses any discipline, industry, or career level as long as the focus is on leveraging a recent degree as the career target.

Members of Career Directors International may enter one resume in each category. Entry fees are $40 each (for initial purchase of 1-2 categories); $30 each (for 3-6 categories purchased at once); and $25 each (for 7-9 categories purchased initially). If you've already purchased one or more categories, you can purchase additional categories later for $35 each.

Best Sales Resume – 2013 TORI Awards – Laura Smith-Proulx

View the full resume here:
http://www.careerdirectors.com/members/tori_winners/2013/Smith-Proulx_Laura_Sales1st.pdf

One way to improve your skills is to benchmark yourself against your colleagues. Take a look at last year's TORI award-winning resumes and see how you compare. Be sure to read the final page of each winning submission to learn the client situation and strategy.

I mentioned a rule change in this year's contest — this one is significant. This year, the contest rules state, "TORI entries must be created solely through your own efforts and the input of your client. However, utilizing a third-person proofreader is acceptable."

In previous years, without this rule in place, there was discussion in the resume writing community about resume writing contractors who were taking credit for their subcontract writer's work by submitting those entries as their own. There were also resume writers who were hiring graphic designers to produce their TORI submissions — so while the writing was their own, the formatting was well beyond what the actual client received, or what they were capable of.

I feel that the change in rules is a good one. Feedback from some writers I've spoken with expressed concern that these "incredible" winning entries were beyond what the majority of clients would receive when working with the nominated writers. In fact, I've had a few winners say that they sometimes need to temper client expectations about what their resume will look like, because they want theirs modeled on a specific winning entry, even if their situation and the strategy wouldn't be a good fit.

I can also see the downside to the rules change from the perspective of the TORI award entrant. In your own resume writing business, you are free to outsource any piece of the resume development process you choose — from working with subcontract writers to develop the content to working with a Word expert or designer to craft an attention-getting design. Why should you be handcuffed when it matters most?

We'll have to see how the rules change manifests itself in entries received this year.

Speaking of entries, the deadline to register yourself and receive entry instructions is Monday, June 16, 2014. Entries are due Wednesday, June 18, 2014 by 5 p.m. Pacific.

Interested in learning more? Visit the TORI contest page.

Although I've never entered the contest myself, what I've heard from other resume writers is that the entry requirements are rigorous — so DO NOT WAIT until the week entries are due to put your submission together.