Choosing to be your own boss can be amazing. But if you're currently working a "regular job" -- and have never been self-employed before, I suggest you consider starting your own business ONLY if you know the pitfalls, and what to expect and how to deal with it.
You Must Be Self-Motivated. You need to be the type of person who can get work done when it needs to be done without anyone telling you to do it, including wearing the many "hats" of a sole proprietor, such as bookkeeper, paperwork coordinator, and marketer.
You Must Have Good Time Management Skills. No one is going to tell you when to work; you will be in charge of that. You will need to be able to estimate accurately how long any one job will take you, when you're going to do it -- and you must be able to do this with multiple clients simultaneously.
You Must Be Able to Work with Many Personalities. When you are self-employed, you don't work with just one client at a time. You typically will be working for several at once, all with different personalities. If youíre good with people and are able to take criticism, you will do great as a self-employed resume writer. Also: TRUST YOUR GUT when taking on new clients. Don't be desperate -- if you don't get a good feeling when you talk to someone initially, do NOT take them on as a client. You will end up regretting it.
You Need Your Own Equipment. When you're self-employed, you must supply your own tools such as computers, Internet connections, software, and so forth. As the business owner, you're responsible for all your own stuff.
You Must Pay Your Own Benefits. If you currently have health insurance in your job, you need to know that as a self-employed person, you pay for your own benefits -- including self-employment taxes, insurance, and more. Health insurance can be VERY expensive, so you need to know what this will cost you before you leave a job with insurance.
You Must Be Able to Ride the Wave. Payments don't always come on time like with a job. (This is the thing my Mom had the hardest time with understanding. She keeps trying to get my self-employed brother to get a job so he has a "steady paycheck.") The reality: You won't get a paycheck every two weeks, so it will make it harder to budget your money. You will likely have times of feast and famine. If you can budget through the hard times and ride the wave, you'll make it as a business owner.
You Must Be Good with Money If you're not good at budgeting, being self-employed might be difficult for you. For example, you should set aside 15-25% of all revenue you receive for taxes, savings, and for the slower months.
Hopefully, this didn't discourage you. You have to remember that some of the security you think you have in a regular job is just an illusion. Getting paid every two weeks isn't as important as making enough money on a regular basis to pay your bills and save for your future. All you have to do is train yourself to mind your money and build your business without anyone telling you what to do and you'll be successful as a self-employed resume writer.
Today, I used Facebook Live to teach a training on how to use Facebook Live streaming in your career services business.
In the broadcast, I shared eight mistakes that resume writers and career coaches should avoid when using Facebook Live. I wanted to share them with you here. You can also watch the Facebook Live video replay here:
Eight Mistakes to Avoid on Facebook Live:
Mistake #8: Not giving a descriptive name to your broadcast
Your broadcast name serves as a "headline" for your content, giving prospective attendees an idea of what you're talking about. The right headline can attract viewers! The best headlines are seven words or less. After the broadcast, you can add a longer description to your video. But for the name of the video, keep it short but descriptive!
Mistake #7: Not broadcasting long enough
Sometimes you'll decide to do a Facebook Live broadcast on the spur of the moment. If that's the case, your broadcast should be at least five minutes (the typical impromptu Facebook Live broadcast is 5-10 minutes). That gives people time to join your broadcast if Facebook has notified them that you're live.
If you're promoting your broadcast in advance, make your broadcast a minimum of 10 minutes -- probably in the 10-20 minute range. Speaking of that …
Mistake #6: Not giving advance notice of your Facebook Live broadcast
As I mentioned, Facebook is doing a lot to help you promote your Facebook Live broadcast, but you'll still get the most traction (and traffic) from the people you already know -- your fans and followers of your Facebook Business Page, and your friends if you're broadcasting from your personal page. Use non-Facebook channels to promote your Facebook Live broadcast -- Twitter, Snapchat, Google+, email, etc. The more people you can let know about your broadcast, the more likely you are to get viewers of your live broadcast.
Mistake #5: Thinking of Facebook Live like a video
Facebook Live is LIVE television, so there are different things to consider than if you're publishing a video on your Facebook Business Page. Think of it as the difference between a TV news broadcast and a movie. Most people sit down to watch a movie from start to finish. But people "snack" on news -- tuning in at different parts of the broadcast (although some will watch the entire newscast). But in planning your Facebook Live video, you need to make sure that you're delivering your content to people who join you from the beginning as well as those who hop onto the broadcast midway through.
Mistake #4: Not being mindful of visuals
When choosing where to broadcast from, keep the visuals in mind. Watch out for weird protusions, dim lighting, and what appears in the background. Think about where to broadcast from that will best represent you -- that might be from your home office (or, if your office looks like mine!, somewhere else in the house). I did my broadcast from my living room because it has good lighting and Jon's artwork makes a nice backdrop!
Mistake #3: Talking to, but not acknowledging, the audience
One of the best things about using Facebook Live -- versus a video -- is the audience interaction component. If you simply talk at your audience without acknowledging them, you're missing out on the fun! Say "Hi" to viewers as they join. Read -- and respond to -- comments you receive while you're broadcasting. And ask for viewer feedback -- ask them to send you emojis so you can gauge their reaction to the content!
Mistake #2: Not recapping as you go along
As I mentioned earlier, people "snack" on Facebook Live videos, so they're constantly jumping in and out of your broadcast. Make sure that you recap as you go along, using phrases like, "If you're just joining me," or "To recap," and then summarizing the content.
Mistake #1: Not broadcasting often enough
One of the ways to get more clients is to position yourself as an expert resources -- especially through sharing content. Video is one of the best ways to do this, because they can see and hear you. If you're a resume writer who works with clients virtually, this is a great way to build that know/like/trust factor. You don't have to set up a regular Facebook Live broadcasting schedule (although I do give you an idea for how to do that in the training), but don't just go live once … the more you do it, the better you will get!
If you want to learn more about Facebook Live (including step-by-step setup instructions, equipment recommendations, what to broadcast about -- 12 types of content, best practices and more), become a Bronze member of BeAResumeWriter.com and get the 28-page special report on "Facebook Live Streaming for Resume Writers" as part of your Bronze member benefits. Join or upgrade here.
I've said it many times before, but resume writers are the ultimate "shoemaker's kids." You know, the shoemaker's kids are barefoot. When's the last time you looked at your own branding? You're constantly coming up with branding profiles for clients, but what do YOU stand for?
You can't be all things to all people. You need to put some serious time into deciding who you are, and what you do. Part of the process is creating your vision statement. This is your purpose. It becomes a took to help you manage and market your career services.
Here is an exercise to help you create your vision statement:
1. Brainstorm a list of verbs that describe your business. What do you DO for clients? Come up with your own list, and then enlist the help of others to come up with a list of verbs.
2. Identify which verbs describe the essence of your business. Which 2-6 words (verbs) truly describe the essential activities of what you do and how you help clients?
3. Keeping those verbs in mind, who is your target audience? Who benefits directly from your services and why you do what you do?
4. Organize these ingredients into a simple statement that describes your business purpose and who you serve. Once you have drafted seotmhing that makes sense (and feels right!), put it aside for a few hours -- or a few days.
5. Next, do the "ONLY ME" test. Is this vision statement true of ONLY ME? (It's the same test we do for personal brand statements for our clients. If the same statement can be said of any jobseeker with that pairtuclar job title, you need to change it to make it more specific. Remember, "You must be specific to be terrific." (A quote from sales trainer Tom Hopkins!)
Your result should be a clearly written, concise, dynamic statement that expresses your reason for being in business.
I received an email recently that I discovered is a scam, and I wanted to share this so you wouldn't fall for it -- or have to take the time to research it to find out it is a scam!
Here's the email I received (from "Matthew Zeng" -- all errors are from the email sender):
Dear Sir/Madam, We are a service agency for registering domain names. Our center received an application from Sean Lim International Ltd. today. They applied for the registration of rwdigest as their Brand Name and some top-level domain names. But we found the main body of domain names is same as yours. We are not sure about the relationship between you and them. As the registrar, we have the duty to inform you the case. Now, we are processing this application. Our center needs to confirm whether this company is authorized by your company. If so, we will continue the next step of registration. If not, please let me know as soon as possible in order that our center can deal with this problem timely. We await your prompt reply. Best Regards Matthew Zeng Tel: +86.5516 3491 191 Fax: +86.5516 3491 192 Address:No.1,Xingshun Building, Fengyang Road, Hefei China
I did a Google search for "received email from domain registrar saying someone has applied for domain similar to mine" and came across this Stackexchange thread that confirmed it was a scam.
There were several examples of similar emails -- but more important, it gives the "how" of this scam. How do the scammers monetize their emails?
The answer: Domain registration fees.
If you respond back to the email saying that you own the domain, you will receive one of two responses -- one from the company that purportedly wants to register the domains, indicating they intend to go ahead and register the domains ... and/or a response from the initial contact, saying you have "priority in the registration" of the domains during the "audit period." The company will offer to register the domains for you (rwdigest.cn, rwdigest.com.cn, rwdigest.net.cn, rwdigest.org.cn).
Of course, no one is really interested in registering your domain names. It's a scam to either get you to pay to register these additional domains (AND possibly to steal your payment information once you provide it).
Clients are the lifeblood of a successful resume writing business. Without clients, there is no business! Here are seven tips for attracting clients. You probably know most of them, but it's a good reminder that if your appointment book isn't full, you can change that!
1. Tell Everyone You Know This may seem obvious, but you would be shocked to learn that some people you know probably don't know what you do. You want to get the word out to everyone you know, because they may know someone that needs you and tell them about you. Hand out business cards, share resources with them (the BeAResumeWriter.com Pass-Along Materials make excellent special reports that you can use as lead generation magnets), and post updates on your social media platforms about the work you're doing (and the people you've helped -- without identifying your clients directly).
2. Get Involved Being involved in your local community and online communities, both business and personal, will help you become a known entity. Use the strategy of "Give To Get" -- be helpful to others. Remember, jobseekers are hungry for information that will help them in their job search -- FEED THEM! Remember the Zig Ziglar quote: "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
3. Partner Up A joint venture is a temporary partnership in which you join forces with someone who markets to your audience but who is not direct competition -- for example, a career coach. Partner up to host a free webinar teaching their clients something to solve one of their most burning problems (anything related to the job search is fair game -- LinkedIn is almost always an in-demand topic). They will promote the webinar to their clients and you'll teach it. You can give them a referral fee on any projects that result -- and, you can solidify a stronger referral relationship!
4. Be Social Make all your profiles on social media compelling and informative. Post a good profile image that shows your face and eyes. It doesn't have to be a professional headshot, but it should be clear and show a good depiction of your personality. Join various groups online, consisting of both your audience and other resume writers (if you focus on a specific niche, colleagues can be a great source of new clients). Get to know people, help people, and let your profile speak for itself. Share information regularly -- become a resource people will depend on for careers content!
5. Build Your Reputation If your current client flow is slow, take time now to work on reputation building. The way you do this is participate in webinars, discussions, and even livestreams (Blab.im or Facebook Live), showing your professional knowledge about your careers industry niche and how you can help jobseekers. Write a book, blog, or guest blog and/or develop a freebie (lead magnet) to give away so you can build an email list. Content can help you capture new clients!
6. Optimize Your Website Your website is the hub of all other activity. Ensure that it works on any device, that it loads fast, and that it is pleasing to the eye. Use keyword-rich titles, appropriate anchor text, and publish informative blog posts. Ensure that you have at least a Home page, About us page, Service page and a Contact page, and that there is no mistaking what it is you do when someone visits your website. (Refer to the "What To Write On Your Website" special report for more details.)
7. Be Your Own Client I talk a lot about resume writers and the shoemaker's kids. (Referring to the old story about the shoemaker's kids being barefoot.) One of the best demonstrations of what you can do involves being a bright, shining light that shows the world what it is that you do. Your LinkedIn profile should be top-notch. Your "About Us" page on your website should tell a compelling story of you. If your personal communications are outstanding, prospective clients will see exactly how you can do the same for them.
If you're looking for a specific program to help fill your appointment book, the Earlybird registration and the 3-pay option for the next session of Get Clients Now end this Friday. (There are only 3 spots left too.) Details here: Get Clients Now.
Today's blog post is a write-up of one of the sessions from the 2016 Young Professionals Summit in Omaha, Nebraska on March 3. Organized by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce's Young Professionals division, the summit is "the premier regional event for Young Professionals to learn, connect, and live a better version of themselves." While I'm not sure I'm a YP anymore (I'm 42), the summit was a great chance to learn, engage, and have fun.
Harnessing Innovation: Fresh Approaches to Growth, Creativity, and Transformation
Opening Keynote with Josh Linkner
Josh Linkner started his career as a jazz guitarist and is currently one of the founding partners of Detroit Ventures, a venture capital firm in Detroit, Michigan. He is the founder and CEO of four technology companies that he sold for a combined $200 million. He's also the author of two New York Times bestsellers, including "The Road to Reinvention: How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation."
Linkner started his first company in 1999, and later sold it to a private equity fund. He said that whether you're building a community, a company, or a career, there will be many obstacles in your way. "Your ability to be creative and drive innovation can be the single biggest difference-maker." Linkner added that "it's not about inventing the next tech breakthrough; it's about 'everyday innovation.'"
He gave an example of "everyday innovation" in practice. One of his tech companies, a digital promotions business, was trying to win a contract from ConAgra Foods. ConAgra was going to consolidate their purchases with a single supplier, representing a "massive amount of business," according to Linkner. His company was selected to the round of finalists, but his company was a small supplier compared to some of the other companies in the running, so he knew he would have to set himself apart. The question was: How.
He found himself on an airplane with the ConAgra executive who was responsible for deciding the contract. In fact, his seat, in first class, was right next to the executive. But Linkner had observed the executive and his wife board together, but the wife's seat was in coach, while the husband had a first-class ticket. Linkner knew he would have the executive's ear if he sat next to him, but he decided to take an unconventional approach.
"When your instincts are telling you something, pause," Linkner said. "Can you do the uncharted move instead of the typical move?"
Linkner approached the executive and offered his first-class ticket to him so his wife could join him in first class, saying that he had work to do. Linkner took her spot in coach.
When the plane landed, Linkner said he called his office to check in and was told that they had been awarded the contract. He got the contract by giving up his seat.
Linkner gave several examples of companies that "failed to adapt, innovate, or change." Companies like Sears, Palm, Compaq, Blockbuster, Borders, and Circuit City were all market leaders at one time, but are either struggling or out of business now.
Disruption is possible, even in consumer products, where "category killers" are prevalent. Linkner gave the example of DollarShaveClub.com, and how they got started with a single viral video four years ago. The video cost $4,000 to produce, and almost half the budget went to renting a warehouse to shoot the video. In the first week, 3 million people watched the video. (More than 19 million more have watched it since then.)
The company had 17,000 paying customers in its first week. "They launched their business in a mature industry in a commodity field with a dominant market leader (Gillette) with no product innovation," Linkner noted. "You don't have to be on either coast to soar; embrace the entrepreneurial approach."
"No matter how good our technical skills may be, human creativity has become the currency of success," Linkner added. "It's a skill we can develop. All of us are creative as human beings. It allows us to leapfrog the competition and seize our full potential."
It all comes back to "everyday innovation," he noted. "We all need an additional job title of disruptor, innovator, and business artist." The most successful companies embrace innovation, creativity, and disruption, he notes.
Linkner outlined the "Five Obsessions of Innovators."
1. Get Curious. When your instinct is pushing you to make a decision, stop and ask yourself some questions: Why? What if? Why Not? "This forces you to explore what 'can be' instead of 'what is.'"
He showed this Louis C.K. clip (warning: language)
An interesting note about Louis C.K. that Linkner shared: "Every year, Louis C.K. throws away all of his old material. By starting with a blank page, it forces him to become relevant and creative again." It's the concept of "planned obsolesence." No one can disrupt you, if you're disrupting yourself. Linkner advised attendees to "Embrance the same blank page approach with our companies, our careers, and our community."
"Someday, someone is going to come along and put us out of business. It might as well be us."
2. Crave "What's Next." Have a "forward orientation" -- imagine what can be. Duke University head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski ("Coach K") has trained his team to look forward. "Let go of the last quarter." Instead, look at "what's next?"
Linkner is fron Detroit. "Detroit is rising from the ashes with the 'What's next?' approach," he said. "Detroit used to be Silicon Valley. The 'Paris of the Midwest,' but it became complacent. They built bureaucracies. They stopped innovating and winning."
But Detroit is reinventing itself. "We're not trying to build the old Detroit. We're taking an uncharted approach and building the new Detroit." Linkner launched a tech venture capital firm to invest and create social change. "To try and make a difference. To create jobs, urban density, and hope." The venture firm invests in mobile apps, ecommerce, and social media instead of manufacturing.
Detroit Venture Partners has raised more than $60 million and invested in young tech companies, giving them not only money, but coaching, support, and mentoring. Linkner took over a building that had been vacant for 15 years in downtown Detroit. At the time, there were no tech companies in downtown Detroit. Today, within one square block of their building, there are 70 companies with over 1,000 tech workers — "breathing new life into downtown Detroit."
Having a "What's next?" approach can lead to real outcomes, Linkner said, "even in complex situations."
3. Defy Tradition. "When you see a tradition, ask yourself, 'Is there a way to defy it?' Is there a better, more appropriate approach, in the context of today?"
For example, take the common glazed doughnot. A glazed doughnut is a commodity at 50 cents. Chef Dominique Ansel invented the cronut: "A marriage of the doughnut and a croissant." They sell for $5 each. "The costs didn't go up 10-fold, but a little layer of innovation on top of a commodity" allows him to sell it for ten times more than a doughnut.
He asked the audience to "put your left hand in the air, as high as it can go."
He paused. "Now go an inch higher."
Linkner said, "Don't worry about going the extra mile ... go the extra inch."
"When you're facing an opportunity or a threat or a problem, can you 'judo flip it'? Can you flip it in order to create a better result?" he asked.
"Every airline experience is pretty much the same -- you can only change the customer experience." He gave the example of Kulula airlines in South Africa, which uses its sense of humor to provide a better customer experience. "They are having more fun and making more money," Linkner noted. "Use customer experience as a battleground for competitive differentiation. If your hands are tied regarding the product itself, look to the experience for internal/external customers for opportunities for growth."
Another example is the Children's Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh. They wanted to create a better experience for their "customers," the children who were patients. Their window washers are superhero characters that entertain the customers while they work.
"There's zero cost, no productivity drop, but the kids love it," Linkner said. "It takes attention away from the medical care while better serving their community. It's a win for the window washers -- they were doing a mundane task and now have purpose and meaning for their task."
4. Get Scrappy. "Be MacGyver. Instead of whining about the resource he lacked, MacGyver got creative. He was solving complex problems in unorthodox ways with limited resources," Linkner noted.
The starting point for a Super Bowl ad is $5 million. What if you don't have a $5 million budget? TNT took a "scrappy approach" to their ad.
While only 100 people saw the stunts live, the viral video has racked up more than 200,000 views.
Linkner talked about "creativity hacks" -- for example, a Dad who decided to make his kids' lunch box meals more exciting and it turned into a blog and a business: LunchBoxDad.com. The founder, Beau, puts his recipes out there and shares them with the world. He reached 100 million blog readers, and major brands came calling, saying they wanted to sponsor him. He left his day job and is doing this full-time now. "It all started by him being scrappy and creative: All tools within the grasp of us all."
5. Adapt Fast. "Take the weight of the world off your shoulders; change doesn't have to be a massive change," Linkner says. "Big breakthroughs don't happen with a big lightning bolt. It's about a series of small innovations."
Linkner also gave the example of Tom Lix, a serial entrepreneur. He had started a company, Bulldozer Camp, raised some money, but the business completely failed. "His personal wealth was gone; his investors' money, gone. He was going to take a soul-less desk job and go hide," Linkner said. Instead, he invented a new way to create whiskey.
Traditionally, whiskey has to be aged for years (usually 10). Lix didn't have the luxury of time. "The traditional approach wouldn't cut it," Linkner said. He had to adapt fast. He did a "judo flip" -- "Instead of putting whiskey in barrels, what if I put barrels in the whiskey?" Lix put pieces of barrel in with the whiskey in a tank and applied pressure. The liquid is soaked up in the wood. When the pressure is released, the liquid comes out, inflused with the wood flavor. "It's aged one week whiskey," Linkner said. "People in non-traditional markets can create giant progress and breakthroughs." And it creativity can sell for a premium price. Lix sells Cleveland Whiskey for a 30 percent premium over other whiskeys, making it among the most expensive whiskey available.
Linkner ended by issuing an "Innovation Challenge" to participants: Now that you have all these fresh, creative ideas swirling, how do we take it back to our professions and the community? See if you can identify a single idea for creative disruption. It can be a big thing or a little thing. Ideas are contagious: One idea becomes six ideas becomes 11 ideas. The creative vibe starts to spill over to those around us.
I was going to call this blog post, "I'm on LinkedIn, Now What?" but that's actually the name of an excellent book by my colleague Jason Alba. (You should definitely check it out too!) I get a LOT of questions from jobseekers about LinkedIn. The most common one is: “I’m not sure what to do with my LinkedIn profile.” So here's a short guide with some practical tips!
It starts with "Profile Completeness" -- you want to make sure you have a fully populated LinkedIn profile. Profiles that are considered "complete" by LinkedIn's standards receive 40 times more "opportunities" (contacts from prospective hiring managers and recruiters) than incomplete profiles, according to LinkedIn's own research.
Filling in your profile improves your chances of being found by people searching for you specifically, or someone with your qualifications, credentials, and background. And that's true even when using sites like Google and Bing. As LinkedIn's own materials say, "LinkedIn profiles typically appear among the top search results when people search by name."
LinkedIn has its own criteria for “profile completeness,” which has changed somewhat over time.
As of April 2015, to be considered “complete” by LinkedIn’s standards, you need these items in your LinkedIn profile:
• Your industry and location
• An up-to-date current position (with a description)
• Two past positions
• Your education
• At least three skills
• A profile photo
• At least 50 connections
To maximize your success in using LinkedIn in your job search, you should also complete these activities:
• Use the LinkedIn Summary section to tell your STORY! Who are you, what do you want to do, what sets you apart?
• If you’re including a link to your website or blog, customize the text link (rename it so it doesn’t just say “Personal Website” or “Company Website”).
• Include your contact information. LinkedIn allows you to add your phone number (designated as home, work, or mobile), Instant Messenger contact information (AIM, Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ, GTalk, QQ, and WeChat), and multiple email addresses (in addition to your primary/sign-in email). You can also provide your Twitter handle.
• Add languages that you speak.
• Fill in key projects you’ve worked on (this is a separate section within the profile). Showcase your work!
• Add a list of courses you’ve taken. (This helps with keyword searches.)
• In the “Settings,” change the “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile” to “Your name and headline (recommended).”
Most important:
• Proofread your profile carefully. Check grammar and spelling!
• Update your profile regularly! Not only will your connections be notified when you update information on your profile (bringing your profile additional visibility), but you’ll also be confident that someone searching for you will have access to the most current information!
Okay, now that you've completed those steps, what's next?
1. Grow Your Connections. There are two schools of thought when it comes to LinkedIn connections. You can choose to connect selectively, accepting invitations only from those you know and trust, or you can use LinkedIn to grow the network of people you know. You can connect with people you meet through Groups and get introduced to people you don’t yet know offline.
POWER TIP: The power of networking lies in “friends of friends,” so the larger your network, the easier it will be to connect with someone you don’t know (yet). Remember the principal of “six degrees of separation.”
2. Give To Get. Authentic, genuine Recommendations can make or break a LinkedIn profile (just like references can for a job candidate). Instead of sending out those presumptuous LinkedIn “Can You Endorse Me?” emails, select a handful of people in your network and write Recommendations for them, without asking for one in return. You will be surprised at how many people will reciprocate.
POWER TIP: Make sure your Recommendations are specific and detailed. When reading the Recommendation, you should be able to tell exactly who it was written about. Quantify accomplishments (with percentages, numbers, and dollar amounts) as much as possible.
3. Get Involved. Join some LinkedIn Groups. Groups are the “water cooler” of the social site. You can find Groups for school and university alumni, your former and current employers, trade groups, industry associations, and more.
POWER TIP: One way to establish yourself as an expert on LinkedIn is to start your own Group. For example, you might consider starting an online job club centered around your industry or geographic proximity.
Finally, don't make these mistakes on LinkedIn:
Don’t Dismiss LinkedIn as Something Only for People Who Are Looking For a New Job. The best time to build your LinkedIn profile, connect with people, and participate on LinkedIn is now, before you need it. If you find yourself suddenly unemployed and decide that now is the time to start using LinkedIn, you’re going to be playing catch up. Instead, take time to “dig your well before you’re thirsty,” as author Harvey Mackay says.
Don’t “Set it and Forget It.” Your LinkedIn profile is an evolving snapshot of you. You should be updating it regularly with new connections, status updates, and activity (especially within LinkedIn Groups)
Don’t Ignore It. Check in on LinkedIn regularly; at least every other day if you are in active job search mode; at least once a week for passive jobseekers. Plan on adding one new status update each time you log in.
Don’t Be A Wallflower. LinkedIn is most effective when you engage with it. Seek out opportunities to connect with thought leaders in your industry. Join 3-5 Groups and participate in conversations.
Don’t Be Selfish. You will get more out of LinkedIn if you focus on how you can help others, not how they can help you. The phrase “give to get” is very powerful on LinkedIn. You can earn the respect of your peers and people of influence if you “help enough other people get what they want,” in the words of Zig Ziglar.
Don’t Wait For Others To Find You. Use the LinkedIn People Search function to look for people you know and invite them to connect with you. You should aim to add 2-5 new connections each week if you are a passive job seeker, and 6-10 connections a week if you are actively searching for a new job.
Don’t Forget to Explore the People Your Connections Know. One of the most powerful functions of LinkedIn is the ability to connect you with people who are connections of the people you know. Follow LinkedIn’s guidelines on connecting with these folks, however (using InMail or requesting connections through your mutual friend), so that your account is not flagged for spam.
Don’t Indiscriminately Try to Connect With People. One of the strengths of LinkedIn is the connections you make, but it’s not a race to get to 500 connections. Have a reason for each of the people you connect with — either it’s someone you already know or are related to, or someone it would be beneficial to connect with. If you don’t know someone, get to know them a bit before sending a personalized connection request. (You can do so by seeing who you have in common — or who they are connected to, checking out their LinkedIn summary and work history, visiting their website or blog, and seeing what Groups they belong to).
If you're just getting started on LinkedIn, check out my 8-part course, "Leveraging LinkedIn For Your Job Search." Each day, you'll get a new lesson that will help you develop and enhance your LinkedIn profile. It's just $15. Order it here: http://www.leveraginglinkedinforyourjobsearch.com
From cave paintings to John Deer and even Jell-O, content marketing has been around for literally thousands of years. Anytime someone wanted to get the information out about anything, they could turn to content for the answers. Cookbooks are a great example of content marketing before the Internet. It was a list of products to buy. When combined in a particular way, it was delicious.
You could say the same is true for content marketing even today.
These days, content marketing is extra important because it's how you will get people to visit your website. It's also how you'll teach people about the issues that are important to them as a jobseeker, and hopefully turn them into a client.
Digital Search Content. All content is fodder for search engine traffic. Search engines use the information on your blogs, websites, and social media to send your customers your way. They do this with the terms used in the content or in the "alt" descriptions.
Social Media Content. Everything you put on social media is content. It doesn't matter if it's a meme, an image, words, a video, or something else; it is considered content. When you realize all that content encompasses, you quickly realize that yes, it is very important. It's not just a blog post or text; it is everything.
Content marketing can take on many shapes and forms. Some of these include:
Blogs. These need to go out on a regular basis to help your visitors find your website. You can also write original guest blog posts sometimes to bring other audiences to you.
Newsletters. These can be sent via email on a regular basis to keep your subscribers engaged and active.
Magazines. Today, you can create an online magazine to help with marketing and informing your audience. Or seek out digital or print magazines that reach your target client.
Podcasts. This is another way to put out information without having to type it. Instead you can record your thoughts and upload them to be listened to later. There are only a few podcasts on career topics, which is very surprising to me. There should be more. The breakthrough one will be the person who creates a call-in Q&A-type show like Dave Ramsey has for personal finance.
Videos. YouTube is a great example of the power of video to get the word out about anything and teach others something that requires visuals.
White Papers. These are long research documents that often compare and contrast the solutions to a problem discussed in depth. They are great for educating a wide audience without overtly advertising your solution. There's not enough independent research about career issues. Maybe you can be the person to change that.
Ebooks. Using books to build your expertise is a great way to teach an audience about something that requires a lot of information. Today, publishing on Kindle is simple and free.
Online Presentations. You can post PowerPoint slides on SlideShare.net and other presentation sharing sites as another way to keep your audience informed. Repurpose content by creating a short online presentation with its key points.
Webinars. Growing in popularity due to their live nature and the way the audience can interact with the hosts, webinars are a very effective form of content. (Teleseminars are also still growing, due in large part because they don't require the user to understand technology. All they need is a phone.)
Infographics. Often used on social media, infographics are a great way to help your audience picture important data visually.
Games. If you can create an online game that teaches or markets some aspect of the job search to your audience, then you will have some really awesome content that gets results. (Let me know when you create this. I would love to promote it!)
Branded Tools. Whether it's a job search app, a WordPress plugin or something else, creating a tool that your audience can use daily (even if ití' an old-fashioned planner) provides the type of content that will remind them that you're there.
As you see, content encompasses almost everything you do to market your resume writing business, inform people about your career services, and interact with people. That's why content is king. Content is the most important asset you own when it comes to digital marketing.
As I mentioned in several emails in January, I participated in Jon Acuff's "30 Days of Hustle" challenge with the goal of increasing the number of Bronze members for BeAResumeWriter.com.
The theme for Day 25 was "Game On" and Jon talked about how to take your hustle and turn it into a game. He said "Games help you get momentum and distract you from the boring or difficult." Sounds like marketing your resume services -- right? It can be difficult to get started (getting momentum) and we sometimes think of marketing our services as boring or difficult (it doesn't have to be either!).
Jon said there are five elements to "gamify a task." These include:
A limited time
A small challenge
A score
An opponent
A reward
I immediately saw a connection between gamifying tasks and the principles of the Get Clients Now® program, which I have been teaching for over a year now.
The full program is six weeks, but the "action period" is just 28 days (limited time). It involves setting a Program Goal for yourself -- a small challenge that you can accomplish within 28 days. You keep score using a Tracking Worksheet where you assess your progress towards your Program Goal AND how many of up to 10 tasks you completed each day. You have built-in opponents because you're participating in the program with between 3-11 other resume writing colleagues. Each week on the coaching calls, you get to report your progress and see how your results are measuring up against the other participants. And finally, there is the Reward! You set a Reward for yourself before you start the 28-day program.
Knowing that the program meets all the elements of a game makes it more fun!
If you're interested in learning more about the program -- or enrolling in an upcoming session -- check out my upcoming sessions:
Creating a sense of urgency —buy now!— is the single most important factor in turning resume prospects into resume clients. Ask any resume writer: It’s critical to get a client to commit on the first call. The longer they wait, the slimmer your chance of getting them to open their wallet.
When I ask self-employed resume writers which part of owning their own business is the most challenging, “selling” and “closing the sale” are often in the top five answers — if not THE top responses.
So if you have a hard time turning resume and coaching prospects into clients, I want to share some specific strategies that will get people off the fence and get them to take action…which means getting them to open their wallets and become clients.
In the Resume Writers’ Digest Annual Industry Survey, the results are pretty consistent year after year that the average résumé writer works on 3-4 resumes per week, at an average fee of around $500. So, imagine if you were able to serve one more client each week — that’s an extra $2,000 per month, or $24,000 a year.
Many of the strategies I’m going to share don’t cost anything — so you can get a tremendous bang for your buck. The strategies I’m sharing are ones you can use in your very first conversation with a prospect, or on your website, or in a follow-up email with a prospective client.
Speaking of the first conversation with a prospective client, it’s critical to get a client to commit on the first call. The longer they wait, the slimmer your chance of getting them to work with you.
Now before we jump in, let me offer one piece of advice:
Combine these triggers whenever possible. One trigger is powerful, but when used together, they are even more powerful and will boost your client conversion rate even higher! (There are 25 strategies in the special report -- here are my favorite 5 -- they're numbered by the strategy as they appear in the special report):
#1. Offer Time-Sensitive Bonuses
How to use a low-cost, high-value bonus to clinch the sale.
Just offering a bonus is a great way to incentivize people to buy what you’re selling. But when you make the bonus time-sensitive, you increase the urgency. And that means increased sales!
Think about the infomercials you see on television. Many of them offer a “gift with purchase” — something extra when you make your purchase. Simply offering a special bonus — and it doesn’t have to be anything expensive — can increase your conversions. But when you combine that bonus with a deadline, you make this strategy even more powerful. That’s because a sense of urgency can help get people to commit.
This does not have to be a high-pressure sales tactic.
Examples:
“I’m offering a special bonus for new clients who decide to take action today. If you order the Deluxe Resume and Cover Letter package, I’ll also enroll you in our ‘30 Days to Your Next Job’ Challenge, which is a $49 value, for free.”
Order your Resume Rewrite package in the next 48 hours, and you’ll get a free 8-day “Leveraging LinkedIn In Your Job Search” training — a $49 value.
Buy the “Six Steps to a $6,000 Raise” and you’ll get a free 15-minute salary negotiation strategy session — but hurry, this special offer ends tomorrow!
You can also use this tactic for products and services you sell on your website. For example, “If you purchase a one-hour job interview coaching session, you’ll receive a free ebook, ‘55 Questions You Should Be Prepared to Answer in an Interview,’ — if you reserve your coaching session by May 31.”
Low-cost bonuses can include:
• Ebooks or digital special reports
• Workbooks or tip sheets
• Recordings and/or transcripts of teleseminars you’ve done
• 15-minute “strategy sessions” when the client makes a high dollar purchase. These can also be lead-ins to your coaching services or coaching packages, giving prospects a “try-before-you-buy” sample of what coaching can do for them.
Most of these are things that won’t take you a lot of time to create — but have a high perceived value for clients. Just offering a bonus can increase your sales — but putting a time limit on it makes it even more powerful.
#4. Give a Free Critique
Why getting clients to take a small action now can lead to a bigger sale later.
Yet another way to offer your personal time and attention as part of a bonus package is by offering a free critique. Free critiques used to be the number one way resume writers secured leads and converted those prospects into clients. For many resume writers, that’s still the case. Offering a free critique can not only help you assess the client’s existing resume, but it can also help you make the sale. If someone calls you and is asking about price, you can deflect that question by asking if they have an existing resume and offering the free critique.
Ask them some additional questions about their job search — for example, if there is a specific job that they’re targeting, or a specific job posting or opportunity they need the resume for, and what their timeline is. You can also ask when was the last time their resume was updated, and whether they wrote it themselves or not.
Tell the prospect that once they have sent you their existing resume you’ll get them a customized resume review (critique) that will help identify how their resume meets current standards. This also works for LinkedIn Profile development services.
Examples:
Order the interview preparation ebook book today and you’ll receive a free resume critique.
Order now and I’ll review your LinkedIn Profile for free.
If you are a Bronze member ofBeAResumeWriter.com, you have access to a Resume Critique Form and LinkedIn Critique Form you can use for this “buy now” incentive.
This is a strategy that works well when paired with other strategies. For example, you can use the LinkedIn critique as a free bonus for your resume clients when paired with Strategy #1 (“Offer time-sensitive bonuses”). So if they purchase a resume package today, you’ll also provide a free assessment of their LinkedIn Profile. (“Oh, you don’t have a LinkedIn Profile? Well, you definitely need one! Let me send you my free ebook on “The Savvy Jobseeker’s Guide to Getting LinkedIn to a New Job.”)
This strategy is also a good way to get clients to take a little action now that can lead to a big sale later. An example of this is if you sell information products — like ebooks or fixed-term membership courses — on your website. Getting someone to enroll in one of those is a perfect example of starting a relationship with a small step. So having an inexpensive offering on your website — under $49, for example, if your resume packages average $500 — gets them to take a small step.
The same is true when you use the free critique — getting them to start the dialogue about what it would be like to actually work with you gets them thinking about that. When you review their existing resume, you’re sharing information about it, but you’re also positioning yourself as the one to provide the actual service.
#7. Justify the Price
Understand where emotion and logic fit into the client’s buying decision.
People make their buying decision based on emotion, and then justify their decision based on logic. With this in mind, you can help them come more quickly to their buying decision by helping them justify their purchase logically.
For example, you can point out that the average length of unemployment is 35 weeks, so shortening that by a few weeks can make a significant financial difference.
Examples:
If you’re currently unemployed, then you can’t afford to NOT get this book. And consider this — the book is just $25, but you’ll get back to work faster using the practical, action-oriented strategies in the book.
Do you want to make $1,000…$5,000…or more…in your next job? How much money have you been leaving on the table when you’re negotiating your new job offer? This ebook can add thousands of dollars to your paycheck — and you’ll pay only $49 for this valuable information!
Case studies are a great way to combine logic and emotion. You start with a testimonial from a client who raves about how they got a $1,000, $5,000, or even $10,000 raise when they used the resume you wrote for them. You better believe I used the testimonial from the client I had a few years back who got a $10,000 increase in salary from his last job to his current one. For example: “Wouldn’t it be worth it to invest $600 in a resume and cover letter that can help you get 10 times the return on that in your salary at your next job?”
(If you are putting this statement on your website, the Federal Trade Commission does require you to have a disclaimer somewhere on the page that indicates the “typical results” your clients achieve, if a significant salary increase isn’t a typical result.)
For more information on use of endorsements and testimonials, check out:
The key with this strategy is the balance between emotion and logic. You can’t have one without the other.
#10. Give Hope: “Order Now…Or Everything Will Stay the Same”
Get the person who is looking for a do-it-yourself solution to pay for a done-for-you solution.
Basically, the idea here is that you remind the prospect: “If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same result.” If the client doesn’t order now, everything will stay the same…which probably means whatever they are doing isn’t working…otherwise, you wouldn’t be talking to them in the first place.
In the book, “Launch: The Critical 90 Days from Idea Until Market,” author Scott Duffy makes the point that “the biggest mistake salespeople make is selling the wrong thing.” He says you’re not selling them a product or a service — you’re selling them hope.
The same is true for jobseekers. We’re not selling them a resume We’re selling them job interviews. We’re selling them a better salary. We’re selling them a better life.
This strategy works particularly well for jobseekers who aren’t having success with a “do-it-yourself” approach to their resume cover letter, and/or job search. The jobseeker desperately wants a solution – and the search for a solution has been disappointing. He’s frustrated, discouraged, and even a little depressed that he hasn’t been able to solve the problem himself. He may even be kicking himself for allowing the problem go on this long. This is particularly true for jobseekers who have been actively looking for months.
That’s where you come in — you offer hope. You offer hope that you can help the jobseeker get a job interview…and then an offer…at a great salary…in a job he will love. And you remind the prospect that if he doesn’t take action, then nothing will change.
Examples:
“Are you struggling in your job search? Not getting interviews? Interviews not turning into job offers? I can help! Call me today and get on the fast track to success in your job search with my 28-day Job Search Success System.”
“Are you getting paid what you’re worth in your current job? Take our free assessment and find out if you’re underpaid — and the three things you can do today to increase your salary.”
#22. Employ Power Words
You’ve heard the commercial: “People do judge you by the words you use.” These words can help you seal a sale.
This strategy is especially powerful when you combine it with other strategies. That’s because this method is simply a matter of using the most popular power (“trigger”) words that boost sales. As resume writers, we are keenly aware that words have power, and that choosing your words carefully can have substantial impact on the reader.
So, instead of “ resume cost,” it’s “investment.” The power of a word like “investment” is that it triggers a specific feeling in the person reading it. The money they’re spending is not an “expense” or “cost,” it’s something that they will yield a return on.
Let me give you a list of some of the most powerful words you can use in your sales materials, on your website, or in phone consultations with prospective clients:
Some of these words work by capturing attention (“amazing”). Some work by appealing to the prospect (such as the word “you”). Some work by stating a benefit (“easy”). Still others evoke curiosity (“secrets”).
Here are examples of these words in action:
You
Secrets
Discover
Guaranteed
Quick
Easy
Fast
Announcing
Introducing
Amazing
Fantastic
Huge
Blowout
Surprising
Startling
Reveal
Proven
How to
New
Scientific
Talk about “you” — because people love to hear about themselves. “Secrets” are appealing, because wouldn’t you love to know a shortcut to a quick and successful job search? If you talk about “quick” or “fast,” people want results NOW! Words like “startling” or “surprising” use something unexpected to stop prospects in their tracks. (“Are you making this surprising mistake on your resume?”) And using a word like “proven” is reassuring, because no one wants to be the guinea pig.
Announcing our first-ever ebook that teaches you, step-by-step, how to make more in your current job.
Discover the secrets of the world’s greatest recruiters.
Now you too can use these proven strategies to find your next job faster!
