When it comes to making more money with your Google AdWords traffic you have to realize that one of the easiest ways to make this happen is to increase the conversion rate of your landing pages. In this article I want to show you exactly how to make this happen and how you can make more money from doing this.
Step #1 - Make sure you are using segmented landing pages for your keywords.
You have to realize that if you are using the same landing page for every keyword that you are bidding on you are going to miss out on getting more conversions.
You have to realize that when you segment your landing pages you are able to do a better job at targeting your traffic and when you do this you will get more subscribers and more leads.
Step #2 - You have to make sure you are focused on testing more then one version of your landing page.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is the fact that they don't test different versions of their landing pages and they end up not getting a lot of conversions.
So what you need to make sure you do is test different versions of the pages that you have to see if making some small changes will give you a big boost in your response rate.
Sometimes it only takes a really small change to actually give you a massive increase in response. So make sure you do some tests so you can figure out what those changes need to be.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Re-Energize Your Job Search
2010 has arrived. January is traditionally the largest job search month of the year. Most people use the "start a new" mind set to motivate and initiate the job search process. New corporate budgets in place typically include hiring mandates that begin with the New Year too. If you're a medical, pharmaceutical or healthcare rep it's the boat that still shows in the best careers of 2010.
Feel good that there are jobs that will be filled this year. In a recent conversation with one of our clients I was told that they are showing significant interest from hiring companies to increase workforces within many healthcare, medical and pharmaceutical verticals. So how do you get when of these jobs you ask? You need to think outside the box and put a new spin on your search.
Let technology be your friend and think out of the box a bit. Promote yourself and socialize in networks that mirror where you want to be. LinkedIn is a great social media career networking tool to grab the pulse of almost any career vertical you can think of. You'll find subject matter experts, groups, jobs, advice and contacts. On the recreational side you may consider Facebook as they offer job options as well. I do caution that you make certain your profile is acceptable for professional standards as employers may see more than you want them too.
Create a visual presentation of yourself that can showcase your works. The job market is competitive at the very least right now. If you have done an exceptional job, have awards, received rave reviews from clients or customers? Don't just mention it show them! We are in a visual society. People like to look at pictures. They tell a story and if done correctly validate and sell you to the employer. A visual web page or Bragfolio emailed or included within your job search efforts can make a difference. Including this useful tool online wherever you can creates awareness and buzz about you. Take advantage and get that new job!
Feel good that there are jobs that will be filled this year. In a recent conversation with one of our clients I was told that they are showing significant interest from hiring companies to increase workforces within many healthcare, medical and pharmaceutical verticals. So how do you get when of these jobs you ask? You need to think outside the box and put a new spin on your search.
Let technology be your friend and think out of the box a bit. Promote yourself and socialize in networks that mirror where you want to be. LinkedIn is a great social media career networking tool to grab the pulse of almost any career vertical you can think of. You'll find subject matter experts, groups, jobs, advice and contacts. On the recreational side you may consider Facebook as they offer job options as well. I do caution that you make certain your profile is acceptable for professional standards as employers may see more than you want them too.
Create a visual presentation of yourself that can showcase your works. The job market is competitive at the very least right now. If you have done an exceptional job, have awards, received rave reviews from clients or customers? Don't just mention it show them! We are in a visual society. People like to look at pictures. They tell a story and if done correctly validate and sell you to the employer. A visual web page or Bragfolio emailed or included within your job search efforts can make a difference. Including this useful tool online wherever you can creates awareness and buzz about you. Take advantage and get that new job!
The ONLY 5 Things That Should Be on Your Capture Page
There needs to be exactly 5 parts to your capture page. Any more or any less and you will drastically reduce your lead conversion rate. The capture page has one function and one function only- to collect a visitor's information for future marketing.
The 5 Components are as follows:
Pre-Headline, Headline, Sub-Headline, Bullet Points, and a Call to Action. That's it. This is the magic combination that has been used for years to make a lot of people a ridiculous amount of money.
Pre-Headline.
The Pre-Headline introduces the concept of what we're offering on our capture page. It's located on the very top of the page, usually a smaller font, and often times bolded. In staying consistent with your advertising, make sure you provide information specific to your market and what they're looking for.
Headline.
The main Headline must scream out with curiosity about what your prospect wants. Whatever you're offering on this page, you must present it in such a way that your prospect simply must have it. Offering someone a truly useful report answering all their questions for FREE?!!! Why wouldn't they want to opt-in to get it? This should be the largest font on your page. I prefer to use red as the color for this font, and this is usually the only time I deviate from using black.
Sub-Headline.
The Sub-Headline lies directly below the Headline. It expands on what was explained in the headline. It's job is to describe the benefits and tie them back to the prospects. Why do they want what you have? How will it help them?
Bullet Points.
Here's where you get into the meat of what you're offering. You explain all the benefits of what you're capture page offers. Notice I said Benefit. Features of your offer aren't important to your prospect. They need to understand what your offer will do for them. How will it make their life better? Relieve their stress? Give them their time back? Whatever the benefits of your offer, make sure your prospects see them.
Call to Action.
This is the final component of your capture page. It's where you capture the prospect's information. If you've set up your marketing campaign correctly, you've already established an account with an Autoresponder that will capture the prospect's email and will market to them on a scheduled basis. You'll want to have a form here that captures the prospects info in order to send them the information promised on the page. Something to take note of: Every required field of data you add to your form will reduce your conversion rate. I prefer to ask only for first name and email address. This is really all you need to start your marketing campaign with these prospects. Start asking for address, phone number, etc... and you're going to scare some people away. It may not seem like a big difference, but trust me, the number of people that opt-in will diminish.
So that's it. Although simple, this is truly the formula that works. A little known secret is that an ugly capture page with great text will wipe the floor with a flashy expensive one every time. And remember, once they opt-in, one of the keys to success in this arena is to over-deliver when it comes to your prospect's expectations. Providing truly valuable free information will go a long way in establishing a relationship with them.
The 5 Components are as follows:
Pre-Headline, Headline, Sub-Headline, Bullet Points, and a Call to Action. That's it. This is the magic combination that has been used for years to make a lot of people a ridiculous amount of money.
Pre-Headline.
The Pre-Headline introduces the concept of what we're offering on our capture page. It's located on the very top of the page, usually a smaller font, and often times bolded. In staying consistent with your advertising, make sure you provide information specific to your market and what they're looking for.
Headline.
The main Headline must scream out with curiosity about what your prospect wants. Whatever you're offering on this page, you must present it in such a way that your prospect simply must have it. Offering someone a truly useful report answering all their questions for FREE?!!! Why wouldn't they want to opt-in to get it? This should be the largest font on your page. I prefer to use red as the color for this font, and this is usually the only time I deviate from using black.
Sub-Headline.
The Sub-Headline lies directly below the Headline. It expands on what was explained in the headline. It's job is to describe the benefits and tie them back to the prospects. Why do they want what you have? How will it help them?
Bullet Points.
Here's where you get into the meat of what you're offering. You explain all the benefits of what you're capture page offers. Notice I said Benefit. Features of your offer aren't important to your prospect. They need to understand what your offer will do for them. How will it make their life better? Relieve their stress? Give them their time back? Whatever the benefits of your offer, make sure your prospects see them.
Call to Action.
This is the final component of your capture page. It's where you capture the prospect's information. If you've set up your marketing campaign correctly, you've already established an account with an Autoresponder that will capture the prospect's email and will market to them on a scheduled basis. You'll want to have a form here that captures the prospects info in order to send them the information promised on the page. Something to take note of: Every required field of data you add to your form will reduce your conversion rate. I prefer to ask only for first name and email address. This is really all you need to start your marketing campaign with these prospects. Start asking for address, phone number, etc... and you're going to scare some people away. It may not seem like a big difference, but trust me, the number of people that opt-in will diminish.
So that's it. Although simple, this is truly the formula that works. A little known secret is that an ugly capture page with great text will wipe the floor with a flashy expensive one every time. And remember, once they opt-in, one of the keys to success in this arena is to over-deliver when it comes to your prospect's expectations. Providing truly valuable free information will go a long way in establishing a relationship with them.
Setting Up Your Squeeze Page
If you have decided to become an affiliate promoting any product, you need to make sure that you have a squeeze page for each product you are trying to sell. It is extremely important to use your squeeze page to capture your visitors' information. It's best to do this by giving away a free offer for them to download something before sending them off to the company website that you're an affiliate for. However, there are some rules for putting them together.
If you want to become an affiliate for anyone's products, you should always ensure that you're going to drive traffic to your own webpage first rather than just driving traffic to somebody's else's affiliate link/program. The last thing you want is for them to have access to all of the people that you helped drive to their site. You need to make it beneficial to you too. So, having your own page and capturing the names of those individuals visiting your website is essential to having a lasting business. This will allow you to sell to those same visitors again in the future. Now, how do you make them happen? How do you put your squeeze page together?
Well, the first thing is, you've got to put together your squeeze page. One of the quickest and easiest ways to put together a squeeze page is by hiring somebody that specializes in doing squeeze pages. One of the best places to go is Webmaster4hire. I've been using him for years and he does an excellent job. I'd recommend him again and again simply because he is that good. If you explain everything you need, it'll be done just right. Webmaster4hire is one of the best investments I've ever made in my business.
You'll not only need to have an aesthetically pleasing squeeze page to send your visitors to, but you'll also require special autoresponder software that manages your list. This will allow you to send important information, messages and offers to your list any time of day. The autoresponder program that I recommend is Autoresponse Plus. This is my recommendation but you can use any other program since there are so many good ones. Some others are Aweber as well as GetResponse There are a lot of great autoresponder programs available. These are quite popular ones that are also very good choices.
Stay tuned! In part 2 of this article series, I'll explain exactly how you set up your squeeze page using Autoresponser Plus.
If you want to become an affiliate for anyone's products, you should always ensure that you're going to drive traffic to your own webpage first rather than just driving traffic to somebody's else's affiliate link/program. The last thing you want is for them to have access to all of the people that you helped drive to their site. You need to make it beneficial to you too. So, having your own page and capturing the names of those individuals visiting your website is essential to having a lasting business. This will allow you to sell to those same visitors again in the future. Now, how do you make them happen? How do you put your squeeze page together?
Well, the first thing is, you've got to put together your squeeze page. One of the quickest and easiest ways to put together a squeeze page is by hiring somebody that specializes in doing squeeze pages. One of the best places to go is Webmaster4hire. I've been using him for years and he does an excellent job. I'd recommend him again and again simply because he is that good. If you explain everything you need, it'll be done just right. Webmaster4hire is one of the best investments I've ever made in my business.
You'll not only need to have an aesthetically pleasing squeeze page to send your visitors to, but you'll also require special autoresponder software that manages your list. This will allow you to send important information, messages and offers to your list any time of day. The autoresponder program that I recommend is Autoresponse Plus. This is my recommendation but you can use any other program since there are so many good ones. Some others are Aweber as well as GetResponse There are a lot of great autoresponder programs available. These are quite popular ones that are also very good choices.
Stay tuned! In part 2 of this article series, I'll explain exactly how you set up your squeeze page using Autoresponser Plus.
Home Page Design - Why Does Your Home Page Exist?
Before you do anything else... before you chose your colors, before you choose your images, before you write your copy... you need to know what the purpose of your landing page is.
Without knowing your home page's purpose you run the risk of
Having too many calls to action
Not having a call to action at all
Being cluttered and confusing
Hurting your online reputation
Wasting your time
If you don't know the purpose of your landing page, how will you know it is doing it's job? How will you know it is effective?
There are several purposes a home page can have:
It can build your brand
It can grow your list
It can sell a product or service
It can showcase your expertise
It can build relationships with prospects
It can even to a combination of these things. But you must know what you want it to do before you design it. The French writer and poet, Rene Daumal once said of language that "It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content... it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion." The same is true of your landing page.
If the page your online visitor lands on chatters and babbles, the visitor will leave never to return leaving nothing but a blip in your web analytics.
This is death to your online presence.
So be clear on what you want to accomplish with your website, your landing pages, your home page and any presence you create on the web and you will experience greater success and return on time invested.
Without knowing your home page's purpose you run the risk of
Having too many calls to action
Not having a call to action at all
Being cluttered and confusing
Hurting your online reputation
Wasting your time
If you don't know the purpose of your landing page, how will you know it is doing it's job? How will you know it is effective?
There are several purposes a home page can have:
It can build your brand
It can grow your list
It can sell a product or service
It can showcase your expertise
It can build relationships with prospects
It can even to a combination of these things. But you must know what you want it to do before you design it. The French writer and poet, Rene Daumal once said of language that "It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content... it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion." The same is true of your landing page.
If the page your online visitor lands on chatters and babbles, the visitor will leave never to return leaving nothing but a blip in your web analytics.
This is death to your online presence.
So be clear on what you want to accomplish with your website, your landing pages, your home page and any presence you create on the web and you will experience greater success and return on time invested.
Are All Your Job Search Eggs in One Basket?
I knew a guy once that would apply to about 100 jobs and get two call backs. First off, those aren't great odds and pretty much tell me something isn't right here. But, secondly - what was even worse was that after he received the call backs he promptly ended his job search. He would declare, I know I'll get one of these jobs so I don't have to look anymore. Ok, well maybe he wouldn't march around, sword in hand, declaring these statements boldly; but that is pretty much what he was saying by abruptly stopping his job search. This wasn't that long ago and I know you're thinking who would do such a thing is this economy? Here are some no brainer tips for a successful job search:
1. Just because you receive a call back for an interview does not mean you can stop your job search.
2. Just because your interview went outstanding does not mean you can stop your job search.
3. Unless you have a firm offer on the table you have accepted, completed new hire paperwork, and have a start date do not stop your job search.
4. If you are unemployed, about to be laid off, or in a bad situation at your current employer; treat finding a job LIKE A JOB! A 40-hour a week job.
How can I spend 40 hours a week looking for a job? There are ways my friend! Contrary to popular belief applying online is not the only way to find a job. Behold! A list of 6 other ways to find a job.
1. Broadcast letters. After staying home for the first year after my daughter was born I needed a proactive way other then applying online to find a job. I was lucky enough to know EXACTLY what I wanted to do when I went back to work so this is what I did. I printed out on professional resume paper my resume and cover letter and sent it to every staffing agency and recruiting office within a 45 mile radius of my house. I got more call backs from this then I did applying online.
2. Door-to-door. Albeit more time consuming - dropping a professional resume off in person still speaks volumes. (Do not attempt this if you are an executive.) Professional and entry-level job seekers go wild. Even if they don't have a "We're Hiring" sign in the window you would be surprised how many people do not post jobs. In fact, I read an interesting statistic the other day that said 75% of jobs are not even posted! In addition to that, when I left my full time position to operate the business full time I had the Regional VP ask me how we could fill the position without posting the job or dealing with a HUGE influx of applications. It wasn't worth the hassle to them. WOW, did that ever open my eyes to how things have changed. And it should yours too.
3. Network. You always hear it said - it's not always what you know but who you know. That is the truth! Prime example, when I left my position my sister-in-law was actually looking to return to work after 3 years of staying at home to raise her children. She knew nothing about HR and certainly wasn't at an HR Mgmt level but they decided to make the role more administrative vs. management and offered her the position.
4. Social networking. I never really believed how fruitful this could be until I made the change and got really involved on LinkedIn. Now I'm addicted. I love the site, I have 48 groups I'm in and I've connected with professionals I never would have, had I not joined. In fact, because of my profile and active participation I've received multiple offers to publish my content and you can now read my blog and career articles across the net! Not to mention several organizations have contacted us about having our samples in their software programs and website databases. I'm telling you - IT WORKS! Get smart and get a facebook page, twitter account, and LinkedIn account. Keep it professional and make them work for you.
5. Get your resume on the net. Not just on job boards ON THE INTERNET! I meet clients every day who are taking advantage of technology and publishing their resumes and cover letters on the internet. They have their own websites and their own professional brand. This is not only forward-thinking and visionary, it's genius and it works!
6. Be creative! The sky is the limit, I know one person who printed up her resume on flyers and went around store parking lots putting her resume on cars. Crazy or genius? She had a job that same week.
There are many other avenues to pursue in your job hunt as well, like I said the sky is the limit. So get creative! Think of finding a job like marketing a product or service. If you wanted to sale that product or service what would you do? Now think about that in terms of what you can do to market yourself and your personal brand!
1. Just because you receive a call back for an interview does not mean you can stop your job search.
2. Just because your interview went outstanding does not mean you can stop your job search.
3. Unless you have a firm offer on the table you have accepted, completed new hire paperwork, and have a start date do not stop your job search.
4. If you are unemployed, about to be laid off, or in a bad situation at your current employer; treat finding a job LIKE A JOB! A 40-hour a week job.
How can I spend 40 hours a week looking for a job? There are ways my friend! Contrary to popular belief applying online is not the only way to find a job. Behold! A list of 6 other ways to find a job.
1. Broadcast letters. After staying home for the first year after my daughter was born I needed a proactive way other then applying online to find a job. I was lucky enough to know EXACTLY what I wanted to do when I went back to work so this is what I did. I printed out on professional resume paper my resume and cover letter and sent it to every staffing agency and recruiting office within a 45 mile radius of my house. I got more call backs from this then I did applying online.
2. Door-to-door. Albeit more time consuming - dropping a professional resume off in person still speaks volumes. (Do not attempt this if you are an executive.) Professional and entry-level job seekers go wild. Even if they don't have a "We're Hiring" sign in the window you would be surprised how many people do not post jobs. In fact, I read an interesting statistic the other day that said 75% of jobs are not even posted! In addition to that, when I left my full time position to operate the business full time I had the Regional VP ask me how we could fill the position without posting the job or dealing with a HUGE influx of applications. It wasn't worth the hassle to them. WOW, did that ever open my eyes to how things have changed. And it should yours too.
3. Network. You always hear it said - it's not always what you know but who you know. That is the truth! Prime example, when I left my position my sister-in-law was actually looking to return to work after 3 years of staying at home to raise her children. She knew nothing about HR and certainly wasn't at an HR Mgmt level but they decided to make the role more administrative vs. management and offered her the position.
4. Social networking. I never really believed how fruitful this could be until I made the change and got really involved on LinkedIn. Now I'm addicted. I love the site, I have 48 groups I'm in and I've connected with professionals I never would have, had I not joined. In fact, because of my profile and active participation I've received multiple offers to publish my content and you can now read my blog and career articles across the net! Not to mention several organizations have contacted us about having our samples in their software programs and website databases. I'm telling you - IT WORKS! Get smart and get a facebook page, twitter account, and LinkedIn account. Keep it professional and make them work for you.
5. Get your resume on the net. Not just on job boards ON THE INTERNET! I meet clients every day who are taking advantage of technology and publishing their resumes and cover letters on the internet. They have their own websites and their own professional brand. This is not only forward-thinking and visionary, it's genius and it works!
6. Be creative! The sky is the limit, I know one person who printed up her resume on flyers and went around store parking lots putting her resume on cars. Crazy or genius? She had a job that same week.
There are many other avenues to pursue in your job hunt as well, like I said the sky is the limit. So get creative! Think of finding a job like marketing a product or service. If you wanted to sale that product or service what would you do? Now think about that in terms of what you can do to market yourself and your personal brand!
Top Tips to Improve Your SEO Page Rank
Improving your SEO page rank usually comes up as one of the main aims in any SEO campaign. It may seem as though there are an infinite amount of tactics and techniques to employ, however this is not the case. It's true that only a small amount of techniques, done effectively can help increase your ranking and SEO page rank.
Firstly, one should take care of the On page optimisation of his/her website. This is a vital starting point, and should always be the first point of call. Some key things to look out for here include: Titles, Meta tags, Header tags, Image alt text, bold/strong words and sufficient content. A well optimised page is nothing without a decent amount of content. Content is king for improving any SEO page rank. The content must also be keyword rich, one will find it's quite an art to write decent sounding content, with sufficient keywords for the search engines.
It's also important to check out your competitors, by checking their SEO page rank, you should also see who is linking to them. Make a note of the websites which are ranking highly for the keywords you want to rank for. You can the focus your efforts on copying their strategy - contacting the sites that link to them and request a link to your website. You could also examine some of the non-SEO features on their site, and see what good aspects they have - then copy them to your own site.
Now, probably the most important aspect of increasing your SEO page rank is backlinks - creating lots of them, and good quality ones too. This could be done through a range of means: article submissions, directory submissions, press releases, blog commenting, forum post - to name but a few. Now, it's up to you whether you want to outsource some of the more mundane aspects of this - to keep costs down. Or whether you would prefer to do it all in house. Sometimes, to increase your SEO page rank, it's better to write the articles and press releases yourself - especially if they are in your mother tongue.
Increasing your SEO page rank is something that requires a lot of planning, commitment, dedication and patience. Results won't be seen overnight. It's good to draw up a plan- and stick to it. This should involved a certain amount of the off-page activities discussed above - per week/month. One needs to be disciplined to carry out the work - it is a big commitment. However the results of an increased SEO page rank are undeniable. Front page on google is big money, and can make your business a wonderful success.
Lastly, to increase that lucrative google page rank one must arm himself with the tools for the job. There are many free tools online which can help with almost every aspect of the process. Research these carefully by searching online, reading blog posts, educational sites and add them to your toolbox.
So there you go, tips to increase your SEO page value -if you follow these carefully and stick to it, your page could be on the frontpage of the search engines in no time at all. Good luck!
Firstly, one should take care of the On page optimisation of his/her website. This is a vital starting point, and should always be the first point of call. Some key things to look out for here include: Titles, Meta tags, Header tags, Image alt text, bold/strong words and sufficient content. A well optimised page is nothing without a decent amount of content. Content is king for improving any SEO page rank. The content must also be keyword rich, one will find it's quite an art to write decent sounding content, with sufficient keywords for the search engines.
It's also important to check out your competitors, by checking their SEO page rank, you should also see who is linking to them. Make a note of the websites which are ranking highly for the keywords you want to rank for. You can the focus your efforts on copying their strategy - contacting the sites that link to them and request a link to your website. You could also examine some of the non-SEO features on their site, and see what good aspects they have - then copy them to your own site.
Now, probably the most important aspect of increasing your SEO page rank is backlinks - creating lots of them, and good quality ones too. This could be done through a range of means: article submissions, directory submissions, press releases, blog commenting, forum post - to name but a few. Now, it's up to you whether you want to outsource some of the more mundane aspects of this - to keep costs down. Or whether you would prefer to do it all in house. Sometimes, to increase your SEO page rank, it's better to write the articles and press releases yourself - especially if they are in your mother tongue.
Increasing your SEO page rank is something that requires a lot of planning, commitment, dedication and patience. Results won't be seen overnight. It's good to draw up a plan- and stick to it. This should involved a certain amount of the off-page activities discussed above - per week/month. One needs to be disciplined to carry out the work - it is a big commitment. However the results of an increased SEO page rank are undeniable. Front page on google is big money, and can make your business a wonderful success.
Lastly, to increase that lucrative google page rank one must arm himself with the tools for the job. There are many free tools online which can help with almost every aspect of the process. Research these carefully by searching online, reading blog posts, educational sites and add them to your toolbox.
So there you go, tips to increase your SEO page value -if you follow these carefully and stick to it, your page could be on the frontpage of the search engines in no time at all. Good luck!
Making Your Landing Pages Work Successfully
Creating landing pages that work is vital if you want to leverage the qualified traffic that you have received to that page and increase conversion rates. However, far too often landing pages are created and then forgotten, with little or no analysis being done as to whether the pages are successful in attracting and converting potential customers.
Using your website analytics tool and traffic statistics can help to highlight problems, understand their causes and begin to resolve any issues that are being caused with your landing pages.
a) Look at your most visited content and pages. It may be that you need to move the most important pages up the hierarchy of your website architecture so that they can be found more easily by both casual website visitors and search engine robots. Additionally, adding more links from other websites and internal pages can help to increase visibility.
b) Bounce rate. Are site visitors leaving unexpectedly from specific landing pages? In which case, these pages are not doing their job and you need to assess why this may be. It could be poorly written text, confusing layout, unclear calls to action, or a failure to communicate the key messages.
c) Exit and entry pages. The stats about these pages are extremely important. These are the pages on your website which create the first and last impression for your site visitors. Your top exit pages urgently need fixing and should be a priority. Your entry pages are fundamental in guiding your website visitors to the right place on your site for their needs, and yours, so these need to be clean, well-written and ensure that your calls to action are heeded.
d) Reader journeys. This is the path that people take through your website. You should look at the most common paths through your website, and establish whether these are leading to successful completion of your goals eg a sale, phone call inquiry, completion of a contact us form, download of a white paper, newsletter sign up etc. You can then decide whether the reader journey or funnel is too long-winded, whether your response pages or key conversion points are in the wrong place, or rejig your site navigation to reduce the most common visitor goals to a shorter path.
e) Search terms. These are the terms that people have used in the search engines in order to find your site. Don't just look at the last month of terms, and avoid becoming too caught up with the top terms. If you look back historically at your search terms, and in particular those with a low number of searches, you may find that there are key phrases and words which over time have brought in significant amounts of traffic. These are the 'long tail' terms and can prove highly profitable as they often bring in qualified niche searchers who prove to be high converters. Optimizing landing pages for these terms can bring in good results, and are often less competitive, meaning a few pennies spent on PPC can bring astounding results.
Simply by taking a few minutes to assess your landing page traffic can help you to understand what is working and what isn't. Minor tweaks can often fix problems which are causing your visitors to leave unnecessarily, and give a better return on investment for the money you spend on driving traffic to those pages.
Using your website analytics tool and traffic statistics can help to highlight problems, understand their causes and begin to resolve any issues that are being caused with your landing pages.
a) Look at your most visited content and pages. It may be that you need to move the most important pages up the hierarchy of your website architecture so that they can be found more easily by both casual website visitors and search engine robots. Additionally, adding more links from other websites and internal pages can help to increase visibility.
b) Bounce rate. Are site visitors leaving unexpectedly from specific landing pages? In which case, these pages are not doing their job and you need to assess why this may be. It could be poorly written text, confusing layout, unclear calls to action, or a failure to communicate the key messages.
c) Exit and entry pages. The stats about these pages are extremely important. These are the pages on your website which create the first and last impression for your site visitors. Your top exit pages urgently need fixing and should be a priority. Your entry pages are fundamental in guiding your website visitors to the right place on your site for their needs, and yours, so these need to be clean, well-written and ensure that your calls to action are heeded.
d) Reader journeys. This is the path that people take through your website. You should look at the most common paths through your website, and establish whether these are leading to successful completion of your goals eg a sale, phone call inquiry, completion of a contact us form, download of a white paper, newsletter sign up etc. You can then decide whether the reader journey or funnel is too long-winded, whether your response pages or key conversion points are in the wrong place, or rejig your site navigation to reduce the most common visitor goals to a shorter path.
e) Search terms. These are the terms that people have used in the search engines in order to find your site. Don't just look at the last month of terms, and avoid becoming too caught up with the top terms. If you look back historically at your search terms, and in particular those with a low number of searches, you may find that there are key phrases and words which over time have brought in significant amounts of traffic. These are the 'long tail' terms and can prove highly profitable as they often bring in qualified niche searchers who prove to be high converters. Optimizing landing pages for these terms can bring in good results, and are often less competitive, meaning a few pennies spent on PPC can bring astounding results.
Simply by taking a few minutes to assess your landing page traffic can help you to understand what is working and what isn't. Minor tweaks can often fix problems which are causing your visitors to leave unnecessarily, and give a better return on investment for the money you spend on driving traffic to those pages.
Increase Your Landing Page Conversion Rate
The goal of an effective landing page is to get your conversion rate up. The conversion activity may be getting your visitors to sign up for a newsletter or getting them to purchase a product or service from you. Given that your visitors can choose to do a lot of actions on your website, it is your page's job to take your visitors by the hand and lead them through a series of actions which ultimately leads to your desired conversion.
Here are a few guidelines to optimizing your landing page and improving your conversion rates.
Relevancy
Think of your target audience, product and keyword when creating your landing page. The content of your page should be relevant to all these elements. Once your visitor see substantial information on your page this can entice them to dive in further into your website.
Clarity
Keeping your landing page clear, precise and direct to the point will make your visitors know what your page is all about. Don't give your visitors a mystery to solve when they arrive at your page or they could easily solve it by clicking the back button.
Have a Strong Headline
Focus on connecting with your visitors. Get down to the emotional level and find those words that they can relate to and not just a cold marketing pitch. The headline is the most important part in your landing page. It is often the part responsible if your visitor will stay or click away from your page.
List the Benefits
It is your duty as an internet marketer to know the benefits of the product or service you're selling. Get feedback or product testing results and enumerate the major benefits your visitors can get from what you are offering. In the end, results are what matters the most.
Here are a few guidelines to optimizing your landing page and improving your conversion rates.
Relevancy
Think of your target audience, product and keyword when creating your landing page. The content of your page should be relevant to all these elements. Once your visitor see substantial information on your page this can entice them to dive in further into your website.
Clarity
Keeping your landing page clear, precise and direct to the point will make your visitors know what your page is all about. Don't give your visitors a mystery to solve when they arrive at your page or they could easily solve it by clicking the back button.
Have a Strong Headline
Focus on connecting with your visitors. Get down to the emotional level and find those words that they can relate to and not just a cold marketing pitch. The headline is the most important part in your landing page. It is often the part responsible if your visitor will stay or click away from your page.
List the Benefits
It is your duty as an internet marketer to know the benefits of the product or service you're selling. Get feedback or product testing results and enumerate the major benefits your visitors can get from what you are offering. In the end, results are what matters the most.
Let All Your Web Pages Do the Selling for You!
Selling your company and its products and services is a full time job. What better way to market your company than through the venue that never sleeps - the Internet. It operates 24/7/365 and never catches a cold (except for a virus or two). Your website can be your best selling ally if used to its fullest extent.
Let's assume you have an operational website. Your home page is search engine optimized (SEO) with your content that is keyword rich and written to drive traffic to your site. But what about the rest of your pages? These can be the step children of a site and are often neglected.
Your "About Us", "Contact Us", "Articles and Resources" and even your "404 Error" pages are valuable opportunities to continue to deliver your message. Each and every one of them can be optimized as an individual stand-alone. For example:
The "About Us" page is valuable because once the viewer visits this page he is now considering your services and wants to find out more about your company. This page need to be appealing, answer additional questions viewers might have and show the human side of your company. The way it is written tells the viewer that this is a company and group of people that I can relate to and do business with... or not!
The "Contact Us" page not only tells the viewer where to find you but it is an opportunity to give them a take away or an incentive to call you. A message to the viewer should be given even on such a mundane page. Don't miss an opportunity to sell, remind or upsell.
The "Articles and Resources" and "Media" pages are essential to provide the viewer with valuable information on your products and services. Well written articles can make your visitors decide if you have what they are looking for. All articles should be optimized, which in turn will drive more traffic to your site. Search engines love original content (remember, do not cut and paste from other articles as search engine spiders will then tag your site as unreadable).
The "404 Error" pages that show a page not found should not be wasted. With this page you have a valuable opportunity to "sell" yourself while you are "redirecting" your visitor to your home page.
If you take the proper care and attention to your website and all its pages, you will in the end have a more productive and profitable website. Remember, the viewer wants to find something valuable on your website. That is why he is going there. So help him out by giving him something he wants. This will in turn give you greater returns on your investment.
Let's assume you have an operational website. Your home page is search engine optimized (SEO) with your content that is keyword rich and written to drive traffic to your site. But what about the rest of your pages? These can be the step children of a site and are often neglected.
Your "About Us", "Contact Us", "Articles and Resources" and even your "404 Error" pages are valuable opportunities to continue to deliver your message. Each and every one of them can be optimized as an individual stand-alone. For example:
The "About Us" page is valuable because once the viewer visits this page he is now considering your services and wants to find out more about your company. This page need to be appealing, answer additional questions viewers might have and show the human side of your company. The way it is written tells the viewer that this is a company and group of people that I can relate to and do business with... or not!
The "Contact Us" page not only tells the viewer where to find you but it is an opportunity to give them a take away or an incentive to call you. A message to the viewer should be given even on such a mundane page. Don't miss an opportunity to sell, remind or upsell.
The "Articles and Resources" and "Media" pages are essential to provide the viewer with valuable information on your products and services. Well written articles can make your visitors decide if you have what they are looking for. All articles should be optimized, which in turn will drive more traffic to your site. Search engines love original content (remember, do not cut and paste from other articles as search engine spiders will then tag your site as unreadable).
The "404 Error" pages that show a page not found should not be wasted. With this page you have a valuable opportunity to "sell" yourself while you are "redirecting" your visitor to your home page.
If you take the proper care and attention to your website and all its pages, you will in the end have a more productive and profitable website. Remember, the viewer wants to find something valuable on your website. That is why he is going there. So help him out by giving him something he wants. This will in turn give you greater returns on your investment.
How Much Time Each Week Do You Spend on Your Job Search?
Many of my coaching clients ask me how much time they should spend on their job search while in career transition. The answer depends on how motivated they are to land that next job. The amount of effort put forth in a job search will directly impact the results and time it takes to find a new position. From my perspective, if you are in career transition, looking for a job IS your full time job.
Most full time "40 hour a week jobs" require more than 40 hours of actual work each week. Most of us spent 30 to 60 minutes commuting each way to work. The actual amount of time spent going to and working at a full time job is likely 50 to 70 hours a week. Are you spending that much time in your job search?
When I work with career coaching clients, I have them keep a journal to document their activities and results. On our weekly coaching call, we review the week's activities; results that have been achieved and determine the next steps. By documenting their job search activities they have a factual record of their accomplishments and the effort they put into their job search. If at the end of the week, the journal pages are blank, they can see their effort expended was minimal.
If you are looking for work and not getting the results you desire, track the effort you are putting into your job search. At the end of the week reflect on your activities and accomplishments. If you are not happy with the results, change your approach the next week.
Most full time "40 hour a week jobs" require more than 40 hours of actual work each week. Most of us spent 30 to 60 minutes commuting each way to work. The actual amount of time spent going to and working at a full time job is likely 50 to 70 hours a week. Are you spending that much time in your job search?
When I work with career coaching clients, I have them keep a journal to document their activities and results. On our weekly coaching call, we review the week's activities; results that have been achieved and determine the next steps. By documenting their job search activities they have a factual record of their accomplishments and the effort they put into their job search. If at the end of the week, the journal pages are blank, they can see their effort expended was minimal.
If you are looking for work and not getting the results you desire, track the effort you are putting into your job search. At the end of the week reflect on your activities and accomplishments. If you are not happy with the results, change your approach the next week.
Tying Your Article In to Your Squeeze Page So You Get Maximum Subscribers II
In the bio, I am going to introduce my squeeze page like this: Do you want to learn not only how to lose weight, but to lose weight fast? I have written a brand new ebook "How to Lose Weight Fast"; you can download it for free here: (link).
Now I have started the article talking about losing weight and how difficult it is, and I am progressing through the article in such a way that when the reader has finished reading my article, he wants to know more about losing weight faster.
Now the next step is of making sure you squeeze page is the right squeeze page for this article. Your squeeze page should be about losing weight fast, not about anything else. Your squeeze page must be very congruent with your article itself, to get the maximum mileage out of the article.
I really want to stress the issue of congruency and of making sure your articles flow smoothly into your bio, and that your bio flows smoothly into your squeeze page, and so on. I think this is critically important, more so than many have taken the time to see.
I want you to think about a very non-ideal campaign first.
Imagine you are writing articles on number of different somewhat-related topics, for example, weight gain, weight loss, healthy teeth, and healthy bones.
Imagine that your squeeze page is about weight gain. Let us assume that you have done a good job of tying everything together on the weight gain article and squeeze page so that you get around a 50% conversion rate on that squeeze page.
Now I have started the article talking about losing weight and how difficult it is, and I am progressing through the article in such a way that when the reader has finished reading my article, he wants to know more about losing weight faster.
Now the next step is of making sure you squeeze page is the right squeeze page for this article. Your squeeze page should be about losing weight fast, not about anything else. Your squeeze page must be very congruent with your article itself, to get the maximum mileage out of the article.
I really want to stress the issue of congruency and of making sure your articles flow smoothly into your bio, and that your bio flows smoothly into your squeeze page, and so on. I think this is critically important, more so than many have taken the time to see.
I want you to think about a very non-ideal campaign first.
Imagine you are writing articles on number of different somewhat-related topics, for example, weight gain, weight loss, healthy teeth, and healthy bones.
Imagine that your squeeze page is about weight gain. Let us assume that you have done a good job of tying everything together on the weight gain article and squeeze page so that you get around a 50% conversion rate on that squeeze page.
Consider These Pressing Facts Before You Renew Your Yellow Page Ad
Your Yellow Page Ad Deserves More than 10 Minutes of Thought a Year
Before long, your Yellow Page directory rep will be paying you a visit. It's an annual event that happens several months before next year's directory goes to press. He or she will urge you to think about your ad just long enough to renew what you used in the previous directory - or to upgrade according to their suggestions. If you comment that business is up OR down, they'll recommend a larger, spruced-up ad as the answer.
The statistics they quote are out of date, and don't reflect today's realities. The typical business owner is afraid - unsure what to trust to bring enough new customers. Even if he wants to reduce his reliance on the Yellow Pages (or the every-escalating expense), he doesn't know what to do instead. The truth is, no single promotional method can do the job. However, the majority of the public is already changing the way it decides where to buy - which doesn't bode well for Yellow Pages.
Be forewarned. Sticking with what you've been doing is no longer a smart business move. The role the directory plays in our way of life has shifted dramatically - just during the last year. And those effects will increase in the future. Although people used to rely on the Yellow Pages before buying, that's no longer true. Instead, they're going online, to conduct searches for local vendors.
People Want More Information and the Want it Fast
Declines in Yellow Page usage are dramatic. Recent studies show that many as 70% of buyers rely on Internet search engines to find needed information, as part of their buying process (even when they intend to spend their money in their hometown). The advent of Local Search (combining a search engine query with a geographic term, like town or state) helps Internet users find local suppliers in seconds. Local Search already accounts for over a third of search queries. Unfortunately, many businesses don't show up in those results - so aren't even considered.
While I'm not recommending that you drop your directory ad, I strongly suggest that you shift some of those dollars to online exposure. My ebook, Yellow Page Smarts explains how to get your directory ad and the Internet to work together
[http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html]
Recognize that you need to present your business in a variety of ways, in order to match the purchasing styles of most consumers.
Develop an Integrated Yellow Page Strategy
Begin thinking about the next Yellow Page directory, starting now. The worst choice is to just renew what you've done without giving it any serious thought. Use this chance to improve your ad's performance. You'll be stuck with it (and paying for it) for a full year.
What to Consider Before Re-running Your Present Ad
- Whether you feel your current ad has been working for you (easiest to tell if you log your calls or customers
- All your present marketing methods (besides your Yellow Page advertising) and how well they work together
- What the other advertisers in your category are doing
- Which categories you need to appear in - Really?
- Ways to improve your copy and message, to demand more attention
- Rearrange the layout to be more legible, clear, and easy on the eye
- Updating anything that's either out of date, or left out
- Adding your website and email address - Even when they use the directory, many people will only call ads with a website; it's about credibility
Don't be Afraid of the New Developments
Your choice is not between the Yellow Pages and an Internet presence. You'll need a marketing method that's big enough to include both. You can find needed answers to help you plot your course at http://www.localsearchresources.com
Your first task is to treat this matter as urgent. The Internet probably seems far afield from your daily priorities. But your customers are online, and your competitors are getting there. This trend is not going away; it's getting stronger. Don't miss the boat. Especially, when it's not very costly or difficult to broaden your exposure to include the Internet. Get moving!
Copyright 2007 Off the Page
Before long, your Yellow Page directory rep will be paying you a visit. It's an annual event that happens several months before next year's directory goes to press. He or she will urge you to think about your ad just long enough to renew what you used in the previous directory - or to upgrade according to their suggestions. If you comment that business is up OR down, they'll recommend a larger, spruced-up ad as the answer.
The statistics they quote are out of date, and don't reflect today's realities. The typical business owner is afraid - unsure what to trust to bring enough new customers. Even if he wants to reduce his reliance on the Yellow Pages (or the every-escalating expense), he doesn't know what to do instead. The truth is, no single promotional method can do the job. However, the majority of the public is already changing the way it decides where to buy - which doesn't bode well for Yellow Pages.
Be forewarned. Sticking with what you've been doing is no longer a smart business move. The role the directory plays in our way of life has shifted dramatically - just during the last year. And those effects will increase in the future. Although people used to rely on the Yellow Pages before buying, that's no longer true. Instead, they're going online, to conduct searches for local vendors.
People Want More Information and the Want it Fast
Declines in Yellow Page usage are dramatic. Recent studies show that many as 70% of buyers rely on Internet search engines to find needed information, as part of their buying process (even when they intend to spend their money in their hometown). The advent of Local Search (combining a search engine query with a geographic term, like town or state) helps Internet users find local suppliers in seconds. Local Search already accounts for over a third of search queries. Unfortunately, many businesses don't show up in those results - so aren't even considered.
While I'm not recommending that you drop your directory ad, I strongly suggest that you shift some of those dollars to online exposure. My ebook, Yellow Page Smarts explains how to get your directory ad and the Internet to work together
[http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html]
Recognize that you need to present your business in a variety of ways, in order to match the purchasing styles of most consumers.
Develop an Integrated Yellow Page Strategy
Begin thinking about the next Yellow Page directory, starting now. The worst choice is to just renew what you've done without giving it any serious thought. Use this chance to improve your ad's performance. You'll be stuck with it (and paying for it) for a full year.
What to Consider Before Re-running Your Present Ad
- Whether you feel your current ad has been working for you (easiest to tell if you log your calls or customers
- All your present marketing methods (besides your Yellow Page advertising) and how well they work together
- What the other advertisers in your category are doing
- Which categories you need to appear in - Really?
- Ways to improve your copy and message, to demand more attention
- Rearrange the layout to be more legible, clear, and easy on the eye
- Updating anything that's either out of date, or left out
- Adding your website and email address - Even when they use the directory, many people will only call ads with a website; it's about credibility
Don't be Afraid of the New Developments
Your choice is not between the Yellow Pages and an Internet presence. You'll need a marketing method that's big enough to include both. You can find needed answers to help you plot your course at http://www.localsearchresources.com
Your first task is to treat this matter as urgent. The Internet probably seems far afield from your daily priorities. But your customers are online, and your competitors are getting there. This trend is not going away; it's getting stronger. Don't miss the boat. Especially, when it's not very costly or difficult to broaden your exposure to include the Internet. Get moving!
Copyright 2007 Off the Page
Using Colleges & Universities in Your Job Search
College & University Career Centers are not just for students or entry-level job seekers. This valuable resource is often under utilized by experienced managers and professionals. Many universities and colleges are committed to helping their alumni succeed in the ever competitive business world. To meet a growing need for career guidance and job hunting support, Colleges are supplying more career services to their alumni. Many offices work with alumni, and occasionally members of the local community, at no cost or for low fees.
Networking Resources
Remember that conducting a job search requires much more than just putting your resume on a job board. Networking is one of the best ways to find resources on job opportunities, the career field, or company and industry information.
Many alumni associations now publish online databases that list former graduates who have volunteered to help new grads and other alums with their job hunts. If your school has these services, you can search for alumni by industry, job title, geographic location or employer. These alums might have contacts with hiring managers, be willing to refer your resume to the right person, serve as a mentor, and share information about employment opportunities.
Career & Employment Resources
Career centers assist alumni by providing job search instruction. Counselors critique resumes, offer interview practice, help in planning a job search, and offer assistance in locating career information. Often the career center will provide local, regional, and national job listings. It may send resumes to employers or recommend the right person to contact.
Most College & University Career Centers have extensive lists of career and job seeking resources and often this information is available online. You don't need to be an alum to use this information. Simply visit the Career Center web page and look for the information useful in your job search.
Tips for Your Job Search
Most job seekers concentrate their efforts on the large commercial job sites and do not use or visit college & university web sites. Since these sites are under utilized, the sophisticated manager, professional or executive job seeker will take full advantage of these resources. Use the a College & University Directory to locate the schools that could be useful in your job search. At a minimum your job search should include a visit to your college web site and the web sites of any colleges in your target job location. Investigate the material and resources available on each site for immediate use or for future reference.
Employers can usually post jobs on a College Career Center for free or at a nominal cost. These sites often have jobs that are not available on commercial job sites or widely distributed to the public. Responding to jobs of interest should be a priority due to the low competition factor.
Networking Resources
Remember that conducting a job search requires much more than just putting your resume on a job board. Networking is one of the best ways to find resources on job opportunities, the career field, or company and industry information.
Many alumni associations now publish online databases that list former graduates who have volunteered to help new grads and other alums with their job hunts. If your school has these services, you can search for alumni by industry, job title, geographic location or employer. These alums might have contacts with hiring managers, be willing to refer your resume to the right person, serve as a mentor, and share information about employment opportunities.
Career & Employment Resources
Career centers assist alumni by providing job search instruction. Counselors critique resumes, offer interview practice, help in planning a job search, and offer assistance in locating career information. Often the career center will provide local, regional, and national job listings. It may send resumes to employers or recommend the right person to contact.
Most College & University Career Centers have extensive lists of career and job seeking resources and often this information is available online. You don't need to be an alum to use this information. Simply visit the Career Center web page and look for the information useful in your job search.
Tips for Your Job Search
Most job seekers concentrate their efforts on the large commercial job sites and do not use or visit college & university web sites. Since these sites are under utilized, the sophisticated manager, professional or executive job seeker will take full advantage of these resources. Use the a College & University Directory to locate the schools that could be useful in your job search. At a minimum your job search should include a visit to your college web site and the web sites of any colleges in your target job location. Investigate the material and resources available on each site for immediate use or for future reference.
Employers can usually post jobs on a College Career Center for free or at a nominal cost. These sites often have jobs that are not available on commercial job sites or widely distributed to the public. Responding to jobs of interest should be a priority due to the low competition factor.
How to Test and Tweak Your Squeeze Pages for Better Conversions
Testing and tweaking squeeze pages, also known as split-testing and opt-in or landing pages is something I never used to do but since I was shown how by my marketing coach and mentor my conversion rates have soared.
What do you need do to track the statistics of any squeeze page or web page?
It's simple;
* Get a free Google Analytics Account and add the domain you wish to track. * Add the piece of JavaScript code generated by Google for your domain to your pages * Upload your updated pages to the web * Confirm the update within your Google Analytics account * Job done, watch your stats
My squeeze pages convert between 35 and 50 percent now which although not brilliant is much better than the 8 percent I was getting prior to split-testing my squeeze pages.
The Google Website Optimizer
The use of the free "Google Website Optimizer" tool allows you to tweak and test variations of your squeeze pages until they convert the way you want. You should tweak and test variations of all your squeeze pages until you find a variation which coverts at 35 percent or better if you can.
Believe me when I say this is very achievable and not that difficult when you learn how. Many of the top affiliate and Internet marketers achieve this conversion figure at the very least with some very basic squeeze pages, In fact some boast of 65 percent - 80 percent conversion rates for some of their top landing pages.
So how do you test variations of your squeeze pages?
Well obviously you need to create variations of your squeeze pages first. You do this quite simply by editing your existing page template or by creating a new one.
Here are some things to try when tweaking your squeeze pages:
* Try adding or removing graphics from your pages * Change the headline text * Try adding a "Call to Action" * Change the colour of your headline text to red or blue or a mix of black and red * Try changing the look of the opt-in form * Add a submit button graphic * Remove any outbound links on your pages * Give your reader an irresistible offer to opt-in * Use bullet points
Once you have made a few variations of your page simply upload them to the web and add the variation url's with the free Google Optimizer tool and add the code that the Google Optimizer gives you for each variation page and upload the changes.
Please remember also that in order to test the actual conversions that you will need to have a confirmation page in place, this is the page the new opt-in is redirected to after they optin through your squeeze page.
Google goes over everything in detail so it's really easy to understand, check it out!
Make those vital tweaks and test your squeeze pages until they covert at over 35 percent, If you don't you're wasting so much time, effort and money especially if you use paid advertising methods.
Good luck with your split-testing.
What do you need do to track the statistics of any squeeze page or web page?
It's simple;
* Get a free Google Analytics Account and add the domain you wish to track. * Add the piece of JavaScript code generated by Google for your domain to your pages * Upload your updated pages to the web * Confirm the update within your Google Analytics account * Job done, watch your stats
My squeeze pages convert between 35 and 50 percent now which although not brilliant is much better than the 8 percent I was getting prior to split-testing my squeeze pages.
The Google Website Optimizer
The use of the free "Google Website Optimizer" tool allows you to tweak and test variations of your squeeze pages until they convert the way you want. You should tweak and test variations of all your squeeze pages until you find a variation which coverts at 35 percent or better if you can.
Believe me when I say this is very achievable and not that difficult when you learn how. Many of the top affiliate and Internet marketers achieve this conversion figure at the very least with some very basic squeeze pages, In fact some boast of 65 percent - 80 percent conversion rates for some of their top landing pages.
So how do you test variations of your squeeze pages?
Well obviously you need to create variations of your squeeze pages first. You do this quite simply by editing your existing page template or by creating a new one.
Here are some things to try when tweaking your squeeze pages:
* Try adding or removing graphics from your pages * Change the headline text * Try adding a "Call to Action" * Change the colour of your headline text to red or blue or a mix of black and red * Try changing the look of the opt-in form * Add a submit button graphic * Remove any outbound links on your pages * Give your reader an irresistible offer to opt-in * Use bullet points
Once you have made a few variations of your page simply upload them to the web and add the variation url's with the free Google Optimizer tool and add the code that the Google Optimizer gives you for each variation page and upload the changes.
Please remember also that in order to test the actual conversions that you will need to have a confirmation page in place, this is the page the new opt-in is redirected to after they optin through your squeeze page.
Google goes over everything in detail so it's really easy to understand, check it out!
Make those vital tweaks and test your squeeze pages until they covert at over 35 percent, If you don't you're wasting so much time, effort and money especially if you use paid advertising methods.
Good luck with your split-testing.
Build Your Squeeze Page to Create An Email List
There are different kinds of techniques which can help you to market your products in the best possible way. If you are interested to earn money online then you need to learn the best strategies of marketing. Internet has opened a lot of opportunities to earn money these days.
There are lots of people who want to work on their own without a boss over their head. These kinds of jobs are a perfect choice for them. Different kinds of business opportunities are available and you just need to choose the one which suits you the most.
When you start your business it is important to create your website to make sure that you create your internet identity. If you are an avid internet marketer then you must be familiar with the squeeze pages that are required for marketing.
These are usually single pages which are used to create a list of email addresses of people who visit the page. But you should remember that it is better to not to make it a single page.
Instead of that the website must contain a few pages and each of the pages should have at least two to three hundred words on it. There are various ways to create a squeeze page. You can either create it on your own or you can also take the help of the squeeze page creator.
You will find various templates for these pages available on the internet. Lots of people tend to use these templates and this is the reason why it has become too common. This is why it is better to avoid them.
You should try to create the page in such a way that it looks attractive and stands out from the other pages. While building your own squeeze page you can follow certain tips. These tips can surely help you create the best page.
First of all you should pay proper attention to your headlines. Your headline should always be attention grabbing so that the prospective customers like your page as soon as they open it. This is not the only thing which can help them customers sign up to your website.
The second thing that you need to keep in mind is that you should avoid too many distractions on your page. Avoid glaring colors and fonts that are too large. Your font color should always be soothing.
You can always add some good videos and audios that will provide a good insight about your business to the visitors. Make sure you do not include things which can drive your prospective customers away from your page. Make sure you have the call of action at the right place in your squeeze page.
There are lots of people who want to work on their own without a boss over their head. These kinds of jobs are a perfect choice for them. Different kinds of business opportunities are available and you just need to choose the one which suits you the most.
When you start your business it is important to create your website to make sure that you create your internet identity. If you are an avid internet marketer then you must be familiar with the squeeze pages that are required for marketing.
These are usually single pages which are used to create a list of email addresses of people who visit the page. But you should remember that it is better to not to make it a single page.
Instead of that the website must contain a few pages and each of the pages should have at least two to three hundred words on it. There are various ways to create a squeeze page. You can either create it on your own or you can also take the help of the squeeze page creator.
You will find various templates for these pages available on the internet. Lots of people tend to use these templates and this is the reason why it has become too common. This is why it is better to avoid them.
You should try to create the page in such a way that it looks attractive and stands out from the other pages. While building your own squeeze page you can follow certain tips. These tips can surely help you create the best page.
First of all you should pay proper attention to your headlines. Your headline should always be attention grabbing so that the prospective customers like your page as soon as they open it. This is not the only thing which can help them customers sign up to your website.
The second thing that you need to keep in mind is that you should avoid too many distractions on your page. Avoid glaring colors and fonts that are too large. Your font color should always be soothing.
You can always add some good videos and audios that will provide a good insight about your business to the visitors. Make sure you do not include things which can drive your prospective customers away from your page. Make sure you have the call of action at the right place in your squeeze page.
Does Your Squeeze Page Try Too Hard?
The other day I talked about landing pages and three things that every landing page should consider. I've gotten a lot of great feedback on those tips and some positive responses from people who are already seeing differences. So, today I want to delve into a very special kind of landing page that too often gets tossed together entirely wrong.
A squeeze page is a pretty simple concept when you come down to it. Boil down all the theories and marketing tools and a squeeze page does one thing and one thing only. It provides a valuable answer to your prospects in exchange for their email address and name.
It doesn't sell them anything.
It doesn't send them to a vendor site.
It simply finds a way to swap information you have for information you want. But, time and time again I see squeeze pages that try way too hard. Seriously guys, if you're trying to gather email addresses, it's a lot easier than you're making it.
What Your Readers Want
Every reader has something they need out of you. They typed it into a search engine or clicked on a link to find it and your job is to provide that need for them. The more urgent the need, more they are willing to give up for an answer. That's how sales work in general. You seek out those urgent solution seekers and offer a product they can use.
A squeeze page does much the same thing, but it works slightly differently. It needs to take someone that may not have quite as urgent of a need and convince them to give over an email address for a solution. The key here is that they get your solution for free.
Providing Real Value
So, to really drive their interest in the trade you need to create value in your squeeze page that they can appreciate. What are they getting out of you that they can use immediately? To start with, you should offer a free report with a handful of useful pieces of information. Lists of tips, how to guides, or tutorials are all great freebies to give away.
In addition, your squeeze page can be loaded down with tons of great info-centric articles that help them trust you. It's like a free sample. They get a taste of what you know and what you have to offer and immediately have a good idea of whether your free guide is going to satiate their appetite for information. Most of the time, the answer is yes with most squeeze pages like this boasting opt-in rates as high as 40%.
The key, which you should always remember, is to keep it simple and not try to sell anything. Don't even mention that you might someday pitch a product. Just offer a solution and in future emails, after the free report and a few good newsletters, you can start promoting your offer.
Sounds complicated, but it doesn't get any simpler. It's the classic squeeze page and there are guys and gals out there making fortunes doing this and this alone.
A squeeze page is a pretty simple concept when you come down to it. Boil down all the theories and marketing tools and a squeeze page does one thing and one thing only. It provides a valuable answer to your prospects in exchange for their email address and name.
It doesn't sell them anything.
It doesn't send them to a vendor site.
It simply finds a way to swap information you have for information you want. But, time and time again I see squeeze pages that try way too hard. Seriously guys, if you're trying to gather email addresses, it's a lot easier than you're making it.
What Your Readers Want
Every reader has something they need out of you. They typed it into a search engine or clicked on a link to find it and your job is to provide that need for them. The more urgent the need, more they are willing to give up for an answer. That's how sales work in general. You seek out those urgent solution seekers and offer a product they can use.
A squeeze page does much the same thing, but it works slightly differently. It needs to take someone that may not have quite as urgent of a need and convince them to give over an email address for a solution. The key here is that they get your solution for free.
Providing Real Value
So, to really drive their interest in the trade you need to create value in your squeeze page that they can appreciate. What are they getting out of you that they can use immediately? To start with, you should offer a free report with a handful of useful pieces of information. Lists of tips, how to guides, or tutorials are all great freebies to give away.
In addition, your squeeze page can be loaded down with tons of great info-centric articles that help them trust you. It's like a free sample. They get a taste of what you know and what you have to offer and immediately have a good idea of whether your free guide is going to satiate their appetite for information. Most of the time, the answer is yes with most squeeze pages like this boasting opt-in rates as high as 40%.
The key, which you should always remember, is to keep it simple and not try to sell anything. Don't even mention that you might someday pitch a product. Just offer a solution and in future emails, after the free report and a few good newsletters, you can start promoting your offer.
Sounds complicated, but it doesn't get any simpler. It's the classic squeeze page and there are guys and gals out there making fortunes doing this and this alone.
Can Day Job Killer Really Kill Your Job?
Can “Day Job Killer” really “kill” your job? Or is this just another get rich quick money making scam? That floods the internet these days.
I was tired of get rich quick, false money making opportunities that offered to help us quit our day jobs and did not deliver, so upon my search for a legitimate money making opportunity, I bumped into a product called Day Job Killer, and this is my honest review on it, after looking into it deeply.
Day Job Killer was created by Chris McNeeney. This is Chris’s third major release, following Adwords Miracle and Affiliate Project X. A lot has been said about Day Job Killer, however, here is an honest review on Day Job Killer.
Day Job killer is a money making guide, it is aimed at affiliate marketers but can be used with beginners also.
Day Job Killer teaches you how to promote products, through a method called direct linking.
A lot of people on the internet have said that direct linking is dead, and that it has been since 2003, Day Job Killer brings this back however.
So does Day Job Killer actually “kill” your day job and give you the information needed to make money online?
In all honesty, if you used the Day Job Killer methods correctly, as proposed by Chris McNeeney, you can quit your day job and make a lot of money, however only if you put the work in, and follow exactly what Chris says. With all good opportunities, you have to put work into it, for it to pay off. As I have learnt, the individuals who make it sound like it’s simply just a plug and play system, just want your money, they don’t want you to succeed. You have to consider if you have the time before you make a decision.
With all this said, does Day Job Killer live up to its price tag?
With all the information in Day Job Killer, I would say it would easily be possible to make the generous price tag back, within a few days, if not less, plus much more.The information in Day Job Killer can be used for long term profits, Day Job killer tells you exactly how to make money, nothing more, nothing less.
You need to decide if Day Job Killer is the correct program for you, there are so many money making opportunities on the internet, very few are legit however, you need to figure out which one suits you best.
If you want direct, useful information that you can put to use right away, I’d advise Day Job Killer. However, the choice is entirely yours.
I wish you the best of luck.
Here is the website for Day Job Killer.
I have also made a Legitimate Internet Income Opportunities [http://www.the-ultimate-solution.net] page, specifically aimed at picking out the legitimate, honest ways to make money online.
I was tired of get rich quick, false money making opportunities that offered to help us quit our day jobs and did not deliver, so upon my search for a legitimate money making opportunity, I bumped into a product called Day Job Killer, and this is my honest review on it, after looking into it deeply.
Day Job Killer was created by Chris McNeeney. This is Chris’s third major release, following Adwords Miracle and Affiliate Project X. A lot has been said about Day Job Killer, however, here is an honest review on Day Job Killer.
Day Job killer is a money making guide, it is aimed at affiliate marketers but can be used with beginners also.
Day Job Killer teaches you how to promote products, through a method called direct linking.
A lot of people on the internet have said that direct linking is dead, and that it has been since 2003, Day Job Killer brings this back however.
So does Day Job Killer actually “kill” your day job and give you the information needed to make money online?
In all honesty, if you used the Day Job Killer methods correctly, as proposed by Chris McNeeney, you can quit your day job and make a lot of money, however only if you put the work in, and follow exactly what Chris says. With all good opportunities, you have to put work into it, for it to pay off. As I have learnt, the individuals who make it sound like it’s simply just a plug and play system, just want your money, they don’t want you to succeed. You have to consider if you have the time before you make a decision.
With all this said, does Day Job Killer live up to its price tag?
With all the information in Day Job Killer, I would say it would easily be possible to make the generous price tag back, within a few days, if not less, plus much more.The information in Day Job Killer can be used for long term profits, Day Job killer tells you exactly how to make money, nothing more, nothing less.
You need to decide if Day Job Killer is the correct program for you, there are so many money making opportunities on the internet, very few are legit however, you need to figure out which one suits you best.
If you want direct, useful information that you can put to use right away, I’d advise Day Job Killer. However, the choice is entirely yours.
I wish you the best of luck.
Here is the website for Day Job Killer.
I have also made a Legitimate Internet Income Opportunities [http://www.the-ultimate-solution.net] page, specifically aimed at picking out the legitimate, honest ways to make money online.
Your Job Search - How Your Online Presence Can Help Or Hinder
John Goode could not understand why he was not getting so much as a callback in response to any of the resumes he had sent out. He had spent over a month researching companies and sending off professionally written resumes to close to 100 potential employers.
When he finally did get an interview, he was disappointed to learn that, though the hiring manager had been impressed with his experience and skills, they had decided to go with someone else. When he asked the manager for an honest reason as to why he was not selected, the reason she gave took him completely by surprise.
It was because of the information available about him on sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Although John had been out of college for five years, there was still plenty of photographic evidence of his hard partying college ways all over the internet. With so many employers including an internet search of potential employees in their hiring process, these photographs had hurt John's chances of finding employment.
Luckily, it was fairly easy for John to correct this. He simply deleted any questionable photographs and asked his friends to remove any tags about him from their photos. Next, he decided to use his networking pages to help, rather than hinder, his job search. After removing any silly quotes, photos, and other items, he replaced them with snippets about his career goals, some samples of past accomplishments and photos that showcased him as a well-rounded, ethical and likable man.
Making sure that you have a professional online presence is not just a nice idea, it is a necessity. Even though you consider your Facebook or other social networking sites to be only for your friends, if you aren't careful about privacy settings, then anyone can see your information.
At the beginning of your job search, take time to review all of your pages on any social networking sites to which you belong. Either clean them up, close them down or be sure the privacy settings are foolproof. Also, do an internet search of your name. Look at as many of the hits as possible to be sure there is no negative information about you of which you might not be aware.
When he finally did get an interview, he was disappointed to learn that, though the hiring manager had been impressed with his experience and skills, they had decided to go with someone else. When he asked the manager for an honest reason as to why he was not selected, the reason she gave took him completely by surprise.
It was because of the information available about him on sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Although John had been out of college for five years, there was still plenty of photographic evidence of his hard partying college ways all over the internet. With so many employers including an internet search of potential employees in their hiring process, these photographs had hurt John's chances of finding employment.
Luckily, it was fairly easy for John to correct this. He simply deleted any questionable photographs and asked his friends to remove any tags about him from their photos. Next, he decided to use his networking pages to help, rather than hinder, his job search. After removing any silly quotes, photos, and other items, he replaced them with snippets about his career goals, some samples of past accomplishments and photos that showcased him as a well-rounded, ethical and likable man.
Making sure that you have a professional online presence is not just a nice idea, it is a necessity. Even though you consider your Facebook or other social networking sites to be only for your friends, if you aren't careful about privacy settings, then anyone can see your information.
At the beginning of your job search, take time to review all of your pages on any social networking sites to which you belong. Either clean them up, close them down or be sure the privacy settings are foolproof. Also, do an internet search of your name. Look at as many of the hits as possible to be sure there is no negative information about you of which you might not be aware.
Combine Your Yellow Page Ad and Web Site for Maximum Profits
A Yellow Page Ad isn't Enough Any More
An unquestioned "must" for any small business has been to run an ad in the Yellow Page Directory. Since most customers were local, that was enough to establish itself as "open for business." The annual Yellow Page ad represents the largest promotional expense for many enterprises. Yet, Yellow Page directory use is declining, while expanding segments of the public don't rely on them at all. Yellow Page advertising costs keep going up, and the complicated pricing structure is difficult to figure out. Worse yet, having a Yellow Page ad doesn't deliver like it used to.
People can find most of the information they want without ever opening a directory. Your business needs its Yellow Page strategy to be in tune with the times and your market. Like most business owners, you must squeeze maximum value from every promotional dollar spent. That requires you to move beyond treating a Yellow Page ad like it's a separate, stand-alone way to promote your business. It's not.
Your Yellow Page advertising needs to work in tandem with all the rest of the efforts you pursue. The Internet Expands Your Arena Every business needs to put itself in front of the people looking for what it does - and that's not just through the Yellow Pages any longer.
An increasing percentage of customers, who spend their money close to home, are Internet savvy. There's a major overlap between Yellow Page directory users and Internet users. That fact supports integrating your local and Internet promotional methods so they attract more new customers. Yellow Page users are likely to be Internet users as well. And a business that ignores online activities entirely may have a tough time getting access to or credibility with those customers. It is possible to make online and traditional (off-line) methods to attract customers work in tandem - improving the effectiveness of each alone.
So it's no longer an either-or, all-or-none choice whether to promote the business online or off. People who subscribe to online services consult the Yellow Pages 23% more often than non-subscribers.
Frequent Yellow Page Users are:
- 18% more likely than average to be Internet subscribers
- 32% more likely to be among the heaviest Internet users
- 18% more likely to make purchases on the Internet
- 27% more likely to spend more than $1,000 on Internet purchases
Source: Simmons
Customer Behavior is Changing
More and more, people are going to the Internet to find, learn about, or select products and services. Even local ones. That doesn't mean that they will buy online, however. People still prefer to spend their money locally when they can. But, even the smallest business can do a better job of being found by those who prefer to use both the Internet and the Yellow Page directory to make their buying decisions. And, it can be done very inexpensively, too. Even a 100% local business can pull in more business by getting its low-tech and high-tech advertising to mesh.
What Else has Changed?
- Buyers are less trusting and more willing to shop around
- Customers have more options and ways to find what they want
- Availability of Internet Yellow Pages
- Aging population uses the Yellow Pages differently than young people
- Development of unique niches and specialties
- More choices for a "better deal"
- More directories competing in a geographic area
- More immigrants, or those from other cultures, unaccustomed to Yellow Page use
- Area code proliferation fragments cities
- Larger cities have multiple directories, rather than one large one
- Development of specialized directories - like ethnic, non-English, women, minority, business to business
Become Visible Online - With or Without Your Own Web Site
If your business already has a Web site, treat it as a way to expand the reach of your Yellow Page ad and traditional marketing activities. Jettison the expectation that it should make sales - few do so. But an information-packed Web site can support your traditional marketing methods very well.
Even without your own Web site, your small business can establish an online identity that helps buyers to find you.
- Get listed in a variety of Internet Yellow Page (IYP) directories
- Send emails to your "regulars" with special offers and useful information
- Position yourself for Local Search - a method whereby customers use search engines to locate local businesses by town, state, region, zip code, etc.
Visit http://www.yellowpagesage.com for lots of free practical assistance. As you broaden your visibility to buyers, your business will be found more often - by the very people you've been looking for.
Expand the exposure of your business beyond your Yellow Page ad through a Yellow Page strategy that reaches the whole globe. Your operation, whatever its size, will gain more credibility and traffic locally when it puts itself in the bigger picture.
(c) 2007, Lynella Grant
An unquestioned "must" for any small business has been to run an ad in the Yellow Page Directory. Since most customers were local, that was enough to establish itself as "open for business." The annual Yellow Page ad represents the largest promotional expense for many enterprises. Yet, Yellow Page directory use is declining, while expanding segments of the public don't rely on them at all. Yellow Page advertising costs keep going up, and the complicated pricing structure is difficult to figure out. Worse yet, having a Yellow Page ad doesn't deliver like it used to.
People can find most of the information they want without ever opening a directory. Your business needs its Yellow Page strategy to be in tune with the times and your market. Like most business owners, you must squeeze maximum value from every promotional dollar spent. That requires you to move beyond treating a Yellow Page ad like it's a separate, stand-alone way to promote your business. It's not.
Your Yellow Page advertising needs to work in tandem with all the rest of the efforts you pursue. The Internet Expands Your Arena Every business needs to put itself in front of the people looking for what it does - and that's not just through the Yellow Pages any longer.
An increasing percentage of customers, who spend their money close to home, are Internet savvy. There's a major overlap between Yellow Page directory users and Internet users. That fact supports integrating your local and Internet promotional methods so they attract more new customers. Yellow Page users are likely to be Internet users as well. And a business that ignores online activities entirely may have a tough time getting access to or credibility with those customers. It is possible to make online and traditional (off-line) methods to attract customers work in tandem - improving the effectiveness of each alone.
So it's no longer an either-or, all-or-none choice whether to promote the business online or off. People who subscribe to online services consult the Yellow Pages 23% more often than non-subscribers.
Frequent Yellow Page Users are:
- 18% more likely than average to be Internet subscribers
- 32% more likely to be among the heaviest Internet users
- 18% more likely to make purchases on the Internet
- 27% more likely to spend more than $1,000 on Internet purchases
Source: Simmons
Customer Behavior is Changing
More and more, people are going to the Internet to find, learn about, or select products and services. Even local ones. That doesn't mean that they will buy online, however. People still prefer to spend their money locally when they can. But, even the smallest business can do a better job of being found by those who prefer to use both the Internet and the Yellow Page directory to make their buying decisions. And, it can be done very inexpensively, too. Even a 100% local business can pull in more business by getting its low-tech and high-tech advertising to mesh.
What Else has Changed?
- Buyers are less trusting and more willing to shop around
- Customers have more options and ways to find what they want
- Availability of Internet Yellow Pages
- Aging population uses the Yellow Pages differently than young people
- Development of unique niches and specialties
- More choices for a "better deal"
- More directories competing in a geographic area
- More immigrants, or those from other cultures, unaccustomed to Yellow Page use
- Area code proliferation fragments cities
- Larger cities have multiple directories, rather than one large one
- Development of specialized directories - like ethnic, non-English, women, minority, business to business
Become Visible Online - With or Without Your Own Web Site
If your business already has a Web site, treat it as a way to expand the reach of your Yellow Page ad and traditional marketing activities. Jettison the expectation that it should make sales - few do so. But an information-packed Web site can support your traditional marketing methods very well.
Even without your own Web site, your small business can establish an online identity that helps buyers to find you.
- Get listed in a variety of Internet Yellow Page (IYP) directories
- Send emails to your "regulars" with special offers and useful information
- Position yourself for Local Search - a method whereby customers use search engines to locate local businesses by town, state, region, zip code, etc.
Visit http://www.yellowpagesage.com for lots of free practical assistance. As you broaden your visibility to buyers, your business will be found more often - by the very people you've been looking for.
Expand the exposure of your business beyond your Yellow Page ad through a Yellow Page strategy that reaches the whole globe. Your operation, whatever its size, will gain more credibility and traffic locally when it puts itself in the bigger picture.
(c) 2007, Lynella Grant
Using Company Web Sites in Your Job Search
Company Job Search Resources
Employer Web Sites are one of the most important job search resources available to managers, professionals and executives. A 2001 study of hiring by 18 companies revealed that only 7.73 percent of 122,000 new employees got their interviews through job boards while 12 percent were hired after submitting a resume to a corporate website.
Company Information
Most businesses have their own sites which provide basic background information, a glimpse into the corporate culture, job opportunities, contact information and more. Most of the sites contain job pages with lists of current vacancies and extensive information about the organization. Researching the information available on a company web site is an important competitive advantage for most job seekers and is a must for mid to upper level positions.
The information available is useful in developing contact lists, customizing cover letters and resumes and deciding if it is worth pursuing a career at a specific company. Companies expect applicants to do some basic research on the company and nothing is more basic that the information on the company site.
The first step toward having a successful interview is to learn about the company with which you're interviewing. Anything and everything you can learn about an organization and its employees, customers, products or services and internal atmosphere and functions can help during an interview. When visiting a company site don't overlook the section on news or press releases as it is a valuable source of information on what the company considers important.
Employment Information
Most company web sites contain job banks with lists of current vacancies or information about employment opportunities.
The easiest way for companies to advertise positions is on their own website. It costs nothing, and the company can add postings instantly in a format best suited to the company's needs and requirements.
Always check the Company's web site before you respond to a job posting on a job board. Direct employer contact is usually preferable to using a commercial job bank. Many companies are finding that it is easier to keep track of applicants online, and with the large number of applicants applying for jobs, it's also easier to funnel the appropriate applicants to the right department. It also allows the company to see which applicants are really interested in pursuing a career with the company based on whom actually applies for positions at the company website. Job boards often produce many unqualified responses and company website responses may get specialized handing or preferential treatment. In addition, the company website may contain information about the job and/or information about the company you can use to customize your response.
Tips for Your Job Search
Most online job seekers do not use or visit company web sites. The sites are often difficult to find using traditional search engines and most job seekers concentrate their efforts on the large commercial job sites. Since these sites are under utilized, the sophisticated manager, professional or executive job seeker will take full advantage of these resources.
The JobMetaSeek Company Directories are organized by Industry and Occupation. The links contain City, State or Province information. Most job seekers are familiar with the largest and best-known companies in an industry but often overlook many other potential employers in the same industry. Competition for jobs at these companies is often significantly lower and you many find excellent opportunities simply by visiting the web sites in your target industry and geographic area. Use the Company Directory to locate the companies that could be useful in your job search.
Investigate the material and resources available on each site for immediate use or for future reference. Responding to jobs of interest should be a priority due to the lower competition factor and the benefits of applying directly on the company site.
Employer Web Sites are one of the most important job search resources available to managers, professionals and executives. A 2001 study of hiring by 18 companies revealed that only 7.73 percent of 122,000 new employees got their interviews through job boards while 12 percent were hired after submitting a resume to a corporate website.
Company Information
Most businesses have their own sites which provide basic background information, a glimpse into the corporate culture, job opportunities, contact information and more. Most of the sites contain job pages with lists of current vacancies and extensive information about the organization. Researching the information available on a company web site is an important competitive advantage for most job seekers and is a must for mid to upper level positions.
The information available is useful in developing contact lists, customizing cover letters and resumes and deciding if it is worth pursuing a career at a specific company. Companies expect applicants to do some basic research on the company and nothing is more basic that the information on the company site.
The first step toward having a successful interview is to learn about the company with which you're interviewing. Anything and everything you can learn about an organization and its employees, customers, products or services and internal atmosphere and functions can help during an interview. When visiting a company site don't overlook the section on news or press releases as it is a valuable source of information on what the company considers important.
Employment Information
Most company web sites contain job banks with lists of current vacancies or information about employment opportunities.
The easiest way for companies to advertise positions is on their own website. It costs nothing, and the company can add postings instantly in a format best suited to the company's needs and requirements.
Always check the Company's web site before you respond to a job posting on a job board. Direct employer contact is usually preferable to using a commercial job bank. Many companies are finding that it is easier to keep track of applicants online, and with the large number of applicants applying for jobs, it's also easier to funnel the appropriate applicants to the right department. It also allows the company to see which applicants are really interested in pursuing a career with the company based on whom actually applies for positions at the company website. Job boards often produce many unqualified responses and company website responses may get specialized handing or preferential treatment. In addition, the company website may contain information about the job and/or information about the company you can use to customize your response.
Tips for Your Job Search
Most online job seekers do not use or visit company web sites. The sites are often difficult to find using traditional search engines and most job seekers concentrate their efforts on the large commercial job sites. Since these sites are under utilized, the sophisticated manager, professional or executive job seeker will take full advantage of these resources.
The JobMetaSeek Company Directories are organized by Industry and Occupation. The links contain City, State or Province information. Most job seekers are familiar with the largest and best-known companies in an industry but often overlook many other potential employers in the same industry. Competition for jobs at these companies is often significantly lower and you many find excellent opportunities simply by visiting the web sites in your target industry and geographic area. Use the Company Directory to locate the companies that could be useful in your job search.
Investigate the material and resources available on each site for immediate use or for future reference. Responding to jobs of interest should be a priority due to the lower competition factor and the benefits of applying directly on the company site.
Using Social Media in Your Job Search - Confidentially
We often work with people who are still employed but who have seen the writing on the wall for the future of their companies. They seek us out to proactively start their job search process before they find themselves in a desperate situation. Many who are currently employed are nervous about sending any signals that they are seeking new opportunities. So what can you do to keep your job search confidential while using social media?
LinkedIn
LinkedIn offers many helpful ways to prevent your current coworkers from suspecting that you're looking for a job. For instance, when you join groups on LinkedIn, you can choose to not have those groups displayed on your profile. You can also set your privacy settings so that people can't tell when you've looked at their profiles-although the tradeoff is that this will disable your ability to know who's looking at you. Lastly, you can choose to not have your news feed publicly displayed, so it won't be obvious that you're adding new colleagues or connections.
Facebook
If you keep your personal Facebook account and your professional contacts separate, Facebook becomes a very easy place to seek out information related to new career opportunities. Many companies and organizations have Facebook pages that you can "like" to get more information about the company. Some even have a "We're Hiring" tab with job opportunities posted right on their page. Facebook is also a great place to get in touch with old school friends or neighbors who may not be professional contacts on LinkedIn, but who might have a great way to help you land your next job.
Twitter
Twitter is a great place to get yourself noticed as a voice in your field. If you're looking to stay in your current field, posting articles or other content related to your work on a Twitter account shouldn't raise any eyebrows among your colleagues. If you're looking to change industries into something where you have a personal interest, no one can really question your tweeting about your hobbies and interests. The good news is that other people in whatever field interests you can come across your tweets, start following you, and build an online relationship based on your common interests.
If you become savvy with social media display and privacy controls, these sites can offer you a fantastic opportunity to put yourself out there as a passive candidate. Just make sure you're updating these sites on your own time, so no one can accuse you of wasting company resources.
Recent studies show that 70-80% of people are not leveraging LinkedIn efficiently. Are you one of those job seekers who are getting lost in the shuffle? The fact of the matter is, if you don't have a noticeable online presence you do not exist for some hiring authorities. If you're in a job search it's time to invest in professional LinkedIn profile development and start getting noticed.
LinkedIn offers many helpful ways to prevent your current coworkers from suspecting that you're looking for a job. For instance, when you join groups on LinkedIn, you can choose to not have those groups displayed on your profile. You can also set your privacy settings so that people can't tell when you've looked at their profiles-although the tradeoff is that this will disable your ability to know who's looking at you. Lastly, you can choose to not have your news feed publicly displayed, so it won't be obvious that you're adding new colleagues or connections.
If you keep your personal Facebook account and your professional contacts separate, Facebook becomes a very easy place to seek out information related to new career opportunities. Many companies and organizations have Facebook pages that you can "like" to get more information about the company. Some even have a "We're Hiring" tab with job opportunities posted right on their page. Facebook is also a great place to get in touch with old school friends or neighbors who may not be professional contacts on LinkedIn, but who might have a great way to help you land your next job.
Twitter is a great place to get yourself noticed as a voice in your field. If you're looking to stay in your current field, posting articles or other content related to your work on a Twitter account shouldn't raise any eyebrows among your colleagues. If you're looking to change industries into something where you have a personal interest, no one can really question your tweeting about your hobbies and interests. The good news is that other people in whatever field interests you can come across your tweets, start following you, and build an online relationship based on your common interests.
If you become savvy with social media display and privacy controls, these sites can offer you a fantastic opportunity to put yourself out there as a passive candidate. Just make sure you're updating these sites on your own time, so no one can accuse you of wasting company resources.
Recent studies show that 70-80% of people are not leveraging LinkedIn efficiently. Are you one of those job seekers who are getting lost in the shuffle? The fact of the matter is, if you don't have a noticeable online presence you do not exist for some hiring authorities. If you're in a job search it's time to invest in professional LinkedIn profile development and start getting noticed.
Top 5 LinkedIn Tips: Making LinkedIn Work For Your Job Search
Social networks increasingly represent an important tool for professionals who are seeking work and for employers in the hunt for skilled labor.Social Networks Serve as an ally of the job candidate to draw the attention of companies trying to get a replacement, and to facilitate access to career opportunities that were previously hidden from the knowledge of most people looking for employment opportunities.
LinkedIn, is a major social network geared specifically for the job candidates professional relationship options. However, it is not enough just to open an account. You need to know how to better employ what it can offer to your job search.Properly managing the profile settings is essential and makes all the difference for companies to be able to find your profile, "according to many Linkedin consulting specialists.
"Your LinkedIn profile is one of the ways in which potential employers can find you. One of the tips is to increase the chances of your name appearing at the top of Internet search results. To do so, you need to customize the URL of your profile, by putting your first and last name together as one word. For example, "LucasMarchesini".
It is also very important that the public profile of the LinkedIn user is visible to everyone. One can make sure of this by positioning your curser over your name right at the top of the homepage and or, by making the appropriate changes in the settings.Participating in discussion groups such as Jobs IT is also very helpful. Besides verifying opportunities, you can exchange information with other professionals.
Below are the TOP 5 linkedin tips listed by consulting specialists
1 - Highlight your professional skills: Be sure to fill out the resume and experience sections of your profile. People with at least one professional experience have reported been 12 times more likely to have overlooked potential opportunities.
Include keywords and phrases that employers can look at in your profile description. Add your skills, and be sure to insert a picture. Professional photos are seven times more likely to be seen, and be sure to get recommendations from at least three people as part of the completion of your profile.
2 - Be open to opportunities: Within the "Settings" go to "Email Preferences", then "Select the type of message you'd like to receive" and make sure it has indicated you are interested in "Career Opportunities "in" Query of employment "and that you would like to receive" Presentations, and InMail OpenLink messages from the network "from other LinkedIn members, so that they can contact you about potential opportunities. Your e-mail and phone number are available only to their contacts.
3 - Become a follower: The section "Business" then allows companies that are interested to follow you back. When you follow a business on LinkedIn, stay abreast of their innovations as new hires, promotions, changes in the company, and even job opportunities. Follow companies that you would love to work for and you will start to see these updates on your homepage when you access LinkedIn.
To follow a business simply click "Business" at the top of the page and type the company name, keyword or industry you're interested. When you find the company, pass the cursor over the option that appears on the right "To follow the company." Then just click it.While on the company page, you will be able to see if anyone in your network works in the company or if you might know someone there.
4 - Stay active: There are many things you can do on LinkedIn, which will help in finding your new job. You must be proactive using the network in order to succeed. It is important to build a LinkedIn profile and ensure you are connected to at least 50 people you know and trust. But if you only visit the site to respond to messages or connection requests, then you're losing all that the network can offer.
In order to be easily remembered, network with recruiters and those responsible for hiring in your area, so when good opportunities arise on their desks you will be fresh in their memory. You can do this through the "Advanced Search People", click the topic of "recruiter" or HR manager, "or other related positions, and you can also restrict the search area.
5 - Tell your trusted contacts who are looking for work: Let your network be your eyes and ears. Alert your contacts through periodic status updates or send private messages to former colleagues and bosses you trust with personalized messages, advising them on what types of positions interest you. Keep in mind that your contacts can only help you get a job if you tell them what you are looking for.
LinkedIn, is a major social network geared specifically for the job candidates professional relationship options. However, it is not enough just to open an account. You need to know how to better employ what it can offer to your job search.Properly managing the profile settings is essential and makes all the difference for companies to be able to find your profile, "according to many Linkedin consulting specialists.
"Your LinkedIn profile is one of the ways in which potential employers can find you. One of the tips is to increase the chances of your name appearing at the top of Internet search results. To do so, you need to customize the URL of your profile, by putting your first and last name together as one word. For example, "LucasMarchesini".
It is also very important that the public profile of the LinkedIn user is visible to everyone. One can make sure of this by positioning your curser over your name right at the top of the homepage and or, by making the appropriate changes in the settings.Participating in discussion groups such as Jobs IT is also very helpful. Besides verifying opportunities, you can exchange information with other professionals.
Below are the TOP 5 linkedin tips listed by consulting specialists
1 - Highlight your professional skills: Be sure to fill out the resume and experience sections of your profile. People with at least one professional experience have reported been 12 times more likely to have overlooked potential opportunities.
Include keywords and phrases that employers can look at in your profile description. Add your skills, and be sure to insert a picture. Professional photos are seven times more likely to be seen, and be sure to get recommendations from at least three people as part of the completion of your profile.
2 - Be open to opportunities: Within the "Settings" go to "Email Preferences", then "Select the type of message you'd like to receive" and make sure it has indicated you are interested in "Career Opportunities "in" Query of employment "and that you would like to receive" Presentations, and InMail OpenLink messages from the network "from other LinkedIn members, so that they can contact you about potential opportunities. Your e-mail and phone number are available only to their contacts.
3 - Become a follower: The section "Business" then allows companies that are interested to follow you back. When you follow a business on LinkedIn, stay abreast of their innovations as new hires, promotions, changes in the company, and even job opportunities. Follow companies that you would love to work for and you will start to see these updates on your homepage when you access LinkedIn.
To follow a business simply click "Business" at the top of the page and type the company name, keyword or industry you're interested. When you find the company, pass the cursor over the option that appears on the right "To follow the company." Then just click it.While on the company page, you will be able to see if anyone in your network works in the company or if you might know someone there.
4 - Stay active: There are many things you can do on LinkedIn, which will help in finding your new job. You must be proactive using the network in order to succeed. It is important to build a LinkedIn profile and ensure you are connected to at least 50 people you know and trust. But if you only visit the site to respond to messages or connection requests, then you're losing all that the network can offer.
In order to be easily remembered, network with recruiters and those responsible for hiring in your area, so when good opportunities arise on their desks you will be fresh in their memory. You can do this through the "Advanced Search People", click the topic of "recruiter" or HR manager, "or other related positions, and you can also restrict the search area.
5 - Tell your trusted contacts who are looking for work: Let your network be your eyes and ears. Alert your contacts through periodic status updates or send private messages to former colleagues and bosses you trust with personalized messages, advising them on what types of positions interest you. Keep in mind that your contacts can only help you get a job if you tell them what you are looking for.
What to Do When You Want to Quit Your Job
This is it. You've had an epiphany.
"I am going to quit my job."
The first rule that comes into play after what I call "The Quitter's Epiphany" is to take a breather and don't quit... yet.
Part One
Before you decide to leave your job, it is a good idea to examine your motivations. This is a great time to get out a pen and paper. Write down the following words:
"I want to quit because..."
Then fill in the blank. You may have written one sentence, or you may have filled a page with the all the reasons you would like to quit. Writing can be cathartic and calm an angry mood, but writing out your job annoyances to clarify your purpose is only half the battle.
Part Two
Now it is time for part two of our writing exercise. Flip over the page or get a new sheet of paper. Draw a line up and down the middle of the paper, then draw a line going horizontally through the center of the paper. You'll have four even sections. Label them as follows: Good reasons to quit (upper left), Good reasons to stay (upper right), Back-up plans (lower left), Stay-put plans (lower right).
The "good reasons to quit" and "good reasons to stay" are fairly self-explanatory. Fill those in and use as much space as you need. There are no right or wrong sentiments in this exercise. Let's make this a positive experience!
Now it's time to list out your back-up plans in the lower left box. If you don't know where you're going to go or you want to make a radical shift and have no background in that field, you have to have solid back-up plans. That's where the lower right square comes in with stay put plans. If, and only if, you figure out it's not time to quit (yet), you have to figure out how to get through your time at your current job and do it with class. Fill this in with proactive strategies like "Take a class on dealing with difficult people," or, "Read 'The No A$$h@le Rule' by Robert I. Sutton."
Part Three
Now take a five minute breather. Stepping away will help to reset your mental clarity. After you come back, read over your results and ask yourself this brutally honest question:
Is it feasible for me to quit my job?
If the answer is "Yes," then congrats! Talk it over with your family, put a workable back-up plan into action, and get ready to prepare a cordial and succinct letter of resignation.
If the answer is "No," like mine was for a very long time, take a hard look at the lower right "Stay put plans" square and figure out what you can do first. I recommend talking this one over with your family as well, if applicable. Having a team plan if you're able to is easier and less scary than having a solo plan. Once your circumstances are in order (more emergency funds, a new job lined up, etc.) you can then repeat the process and proceed as necessary.
Quitting can be a great thing. You can achieve your dreams and do the work that you love. However, quitting with a plan is essential to the process. This writing exercise will be just a small part of your overall exit plan, but with additional forethought you will be out the door with class and a clear next step in mind.
"I am going to quit my job."
The first rule that comes into play after what I call "The Quitter's Epiphany" is to take a breather and don't quit... yet.
Part One
Before you decide to leave your job, it is a good idea to examine your motivations. This is a great time to get out a pen and paper. Write down the following words:
"I want to quit because..."
Then fill in the blank. You may have written one sentence, or you may have filled a page with the all the reasons you would like to quit. Writing can be cathartic and calm an angry mood, but writing out your job annoyances to clarify your purpose is only half the battle.
Part Two
Now it is time for part two of our writing exercise. Flip over the page or get a new sheet of paper. Draw a line up and down the middle of the paper, then draw a line going horizontally through the center of the paper. You'll have four even sections. Label them as follows: Good reasons to quit (upper left), Good reasons to stay (upper right), Back-up plans (lower left), Stay-put plans (lower right).
The "good reasons to quit" and "good reasons to stay" are fairly self-explanatory. Fill those in and use as much space as you need. There are no right or wrong sentiments in this exercise. Let's make this a positive experience!
Now it's time to list out your back-up plans in the lower left box. If you don't know where you're going to go or you want to make a radical shift and have no background in that field, you have to have solid back-up plans. That's where the lower right square comes in with stay put plans. If, and only if, you figure out it's not time to quit (yet), you have to figure out how to get through your time at your current job and do it with class. Fill this in with proactive strategies like "Take a class on dealing with difficult people," or, "Read 'The No A$$h@le Rule' by Robert I. Sutton."
Part Three
Now take a five minute breather. Stepping away will help to reset your mental clarity. After you come back, read over your results and ask yourself this brutally honest question:
Is it feasible for me to quit my job?
If the answer is "Yes," then congrats! Talk it over with your family, put a workable back-up plan into action, and get ready to prepare a cordial and succinct letter of resignation.
If the answer is "No," like mine was for a very long time, take a hard look at the lower right "Stay put plans" square and figure out what you can do first. I recommend talking this one over with your family as well, if applicable. Having a team plan if you're able to is easier and less scary than having a solo plan. Once your circumstances are in order (more emergency funds, a new job lined up, etc.) you can then repeat the process and proceed as necessary.
Quitting can be a great thing. You can achieve your dreams and do the work that you love. However, quitting with a plan is essential to the process. This writing exercise will be just a small part of your overall exit plan, but with additional forethought you will be out the door with class and a clear next step in mind.
Networking is the Key to Concluding Your Job Search
Networking for a job entails using existing and new connections to leverage both the advertised and hidden job markets. Two of the most common networking approaches consist of talking to everyone you know and speaking with current and former employees of your targeted companies. Both approaches entail using a one-page marketing plan and requesting informational interviews.
To network effectively, you need to first develop a job search marketing plan. This plan will include your desired profession, industry, and geographical region. It will also include a short, written version of your elevator pitch that mentions the value you can create for potential employers. Your top twenty targeted companies will be listed with the names of appropriate hiring managers. Finally, your marketing plan will include the desired characteristics you are seeking in your targeted companies.
After completing your marketing plan, create a list of all the people you know and group them by their perceived ability to aid your job search. Reach out to these individuals, ask for their advice, and set up informational interviews. For these meetings let them know that you are in transition and will like for them to review your one page marketing plan. Listen and incorporate their feedback into your marketing plan. Also ask for referrals to individuals they believe could help you gain a foot in the door for your targeted companies.
Simultaneously, you should use LinkedIn, alumni, and other professional databases to locate current and former employees who work at your targeted companies. Ideally, you want to generate a list of individuals who you share a common connection with. Afterward, email and/or call these individuals and request informational interviews. Learn about their company and department challenges and about their experiences. Once you develop rapport, share your elevator pitch of value and ask for referrals to other individuals who can assist you. Ideally you will want to connect with potential hiring managers and their bosses.
Once you are connected with hiring authorities and after you develop rapport with them, you should inquire about any suitable hidden and advertised opportunities. If there are available relevant jobs, ask for interviews. If there are no suitable opportunities, you should ask to stay in touch and for referrals to other hiring authorities you can continue dialogue with. You should continue this process until you accept a job offer.
In conclusion, networking is a job search activity you should consistently participate in. It allows you to tap into the hidden job market and gain an edge for advertised positions. By providing value in return, you will grow and nourish your network which should aid you with any future career transitions.
To network effectively, you need to first develop a job search marketing plan. This plan will include your desired profession, industry, and geographical region. It will also include a short, written version of your elevator pitch that mentions the value you can create for potential employers. Your top twenty targeted companies will be listed with the names of appropriate hiring managers. Finally, your marketing plan will include the desired characteristics you are seeking in your targeted companies.
After completing your marketing plan, create a list of all the people you know and group them by their perceived ability to aid your job search. Reach out to these individuals, ask for their advice, and set up informational interviews. For these meetings let them know that you are in transition and will like for them to review your one page marketing plan. Listen and incorporate their feedback into your marketing plan. Also ask for referrals to individuals they believe could help you gain a foot in the door for your targeted companies.
Simultaneously, you should use LinkedIn, alumni, and other professional databases to locate current and former employees who work at your targeted companies. Ideally, you want to generate a list of individuals who you share a common connection with. Afterward, email and/or call these individuals and request informational interviews. Learn about their company and department challenges and about their experiences. Once you develop rapport, share your elevator pitch of value and ask for referrals to other individuals who can assist you. Ideally you will want to connect with potential hiring managers and their bosses.
Once you are connected with hiring authorities and after you develop rapport with them, you should inquire about any suitable hidden and advertised opportunities. If there are available relevant jobs, ask for interviews. If there are no suitable opportunities, you should ask to stay in touch and for referrals to other hiring authorities you can continue dialogue with. You should continue this process until you accept a job offer.
In conclusion, networking is a job search activity you should consistently participate in. It allows you to tap into the hidden job market and gain an edge for advertised positions. By providing value in return, you will grow and nourish your network which should aid you with any future career transitions.
Is Perfection Stagnating Your Job Search?
As an advocate for managing a job search as a project, many of my columns emphasize the need to organize and thoroughly prepare for the various components of your job search, and presenting yourself as professionally as you can. Clearly, this involves not only a resume, but also related tasks including a tailored cover letter, your appearance, corporate research, an elevator pitch and practicing for the job interview.
Not surprisingly, given the highly competitive nature of today's job market, some job-seekers are obsessed with delaying their search until they are absolutely convinced that every component of their search has attained a level of sheer perfection. Regrettably, their obsessive pursuit of perfection evolves into a never-ending iterative process which becomes counterproductive. This condition is called analysis paralysis.
Suffering from analysis paralysis?
This cadre of job-seekers is obsessed by the belief that all tasks must be 100 percent perfect before commencing search-related tasks such as placing a call to a company, submitting a resume or simply scheduling a meeting. There is no such thing as a perfect interview, phone call, meeting or resume. During a job search, there is always room for improvement, and the best way to improve your core tool set is to use and refine them. You will never achieve the same benefit practicing your elevator speech at home as you will under fire in a live situation with a hiring manager. The more calls you make, and the more people you contact, the more you mitigate your fears and bolster your self-confidence.
A client recently forwarded a piece by columnist Peter Vogt regarding a component of analysis paralysis specific to resumes. It's referred to as "resume-itis," Having seen the results of this condition firsthand over many years, the job-seeker assumes that the primary reason for the stagnation of his job search is his resume. He believes that merely changing a few key words in the resume will solve the problem and the interview requests will start pouring in.
Obsessed with resume feedback
The search for a perfect resume results in continuous, unfulfilling conversations to secure critiques. The job-seeker solicits an endless stream of feedback from well-intentioned friends, relatives and colleagues who offer opinions but are rarely qualified to provide expertise. Because he's obsessed with incorporating any feedback, the job-seeker's two-page resume evolves into four pages.
The solution for resume-itis is simple. Limit the number of people critiquing your resume and be discerning about the individuals you select. Seek out competent people with expertise in your targeted market sector. The assistance of an individual with extensive corporate experience might be far more useful than that of a family member.
It's about results - not perfection!
It's a difficult time to be looking for a job. However, at some point, you have to commit to diving in head-first with your search. If not, your efforts will prove fruitless and you will never gain traction. Don't be apprehensive about failing - you won't.
Not surprisingly, given the highly competitive nature of today's job market, some job-seekers are obsessed with delaying their search until they are absolutely convinced that every component of their search has attained a level of sheer perfection. Regrettably, their obsessive pursuit of perfection evolves into a never-ending iterative process which becomes counterproductive. This condition is called analysis paralysis.
Suffering from analysis paralysis?
This cadre of job-seekers is obsessed by the belief that all tasks must be 100 percent perfect before commencing search-related tasks such as placing a call to a company, submitting a resume or simply scheduling a meeting. There is no such thing as a perfect interview, phone call, meeting or resume. During a job search, there is always room for improvement, and the best way to improve your core tool set is to use and refine them. You will never achieve the same benefit practicing your elevator speech at home as you will under fire in a live situation with a hiring manager. The more calls you make, and the more people you contact, the more you mitigate your fears and bolster your self-confidence.
A client recently forwarded a piece by columnist Peter Vogt regarding a component of analysis paralysis specific to resumes. It's referred to as "resume-itis," Having seen the results of this condition firsthand over many years, the job-seeker assumes that the primary reason for the stagnation of his job search is his resume. He believes that merely changing a few key words in the resume will solve the problem and the interview requests will start pouring in.
Obsessed with resume feedback
The search for a perfect resume results in continuous, unfulfilling conversations to secure critiques. The job-seeker solicits an endless stream of feedback from well-intentioned friends, relatives and colleagues who offer opinions but are rarely qualified to provide expertise. Because he's obsessed with incorporating any feedback, the job-seeker's two-page resume evolves into four pages.
The solution for resume-itis is simple. Limit the number of people critiquing your resume and be discerning about the individuals you select. Seek out competent people with expertise in your targeted market sector. The assistance of an individual with extensive corporate experience might be far more useful than that of a family member.
It's about results - not perfection!
It's a difficult time to be looking for a job. However, at some point, you have to commit to diving in head-first with your search. If not, your efforts will prove fruitless and you will never gain traction. Don't be apprehensive about failing - you won't.
Critical Steps To Online Success - How To Make Your Squeeze Page Sell - Use Powerful Fonts!
The most important person to see your sales page is the visitor who has a need and is motivated to purchase something to fill that need.
Your only job is to help your visitor find what they are looking for. That's the real job of a professional sales person. To give enough service and information to allow the customer to make an informed decision as to whether your product offers good value, is affordable to them and is appropriate for their needs.
I see so many websites where the designer has gone off on a wonderfully self gratifying, graphic design adventure and completely forgotten about the needs of the reader.
The only purpose of your sales page is to communicate your information to your visitor in a way that makes it truly easy for them to reach the decision you desire; i.e. to purchase your product or service or opt-in to your list if it is truly a good solution for them. Everything else is irrelevant ego gratification or just plain poor design.
It's important to use powerful fonts!
Not everyone has amazing eyesight, so take this into account too. I'm getting more and more long sighted. That means I can't focus close up so I need to move my reading material further and further away to be able to focus on it. I like to wear reading glasses that allow me to focus clearly on the screen from about three feet away. That's about the standard distance for someone using a keyboard on a slide out keyboard tray.
So what did you say... deal with it!
Well here's the thing: If you serve up text that is too small or is in pale shades of grey or blue or green or, heaven forbid, pink... people like me (and there's lots of us) struggle to read it. We'll just close your page and move on.
Don't make anything difficult for your reader. Don't do anything to cause your visitor to leave your page before they have had a chance to evaluate your offer.
Your only job is to help your visitor find what they are looking for. That's the real job of a professional sales person. To give enough service and information to allow the customer to make an informed decision as to whether your product offers good value, is affordable to them and is appropriate for their needs.
I see so many websites where the designer has gone off on a wonderfully self gratifying, graphic design adventure and completely forgotten about the needs of the reader.
The only purpose of your sales page is to communicate your information to your visitor in a way that makes it truly easy for them to reach the decision you desire; i.e. to purchase your product or service or opt-in to your list if it is truly a good solution for them. Everything else is irrelevant ego gratification or just plain poor design.
It's important to use powerful fonts!
Not everyone has amazing eyesight, so take this into account too. I'm getting more and more long sighted. That means I can't focus close up so I need to move my reading material further and further away to be able to focus on it. I like to wear reading glasses that allow me to focus clearly on the screen from about three feet away. That's about the standard distance for someone using a keyboard on a slide out keyboard tray.
So what did you say... deal with it!
Well here's the thing: If you serve up text that is too small or is in pale shades of grey or blue or green or, heaven forbid, pink... people like me (and there's lots of us) struggle to read it. We'll just close your page and move on.
Don't make anything difficult for your reader. Don't do anything to cause your visitor to leave your page before they have had a chance to evaluate your offer.
Is the Internet (Technology) Helping or Hurting Your Job Search
I Fired up my computer at approximately 8:00 AM, got sucked into my-headlines.com, checked the sport scores, goofed off on Facebook.com (what today's executive job-seeker needs is faith-book.com), checked the weather forecast for the next 7 days, and checked my e-mail (replied to email, bad move!). I'd received an e-mail from a head-hunter who required that I fill out an attached form. I enthusiastically acquiesced and diligently drilled down on the 12-page document. As I completed page 11 (approximately 50 minutes later), the all too well-known (since my purchase of Windows Vista) iconic circle of death began to toil and spin round and round. At that moment, I woefully realized that the image that is forever indelibly embedded in my brain had once again invaded, corrupted, and undermined my daily job search... I am not sure why Gates replaced the hour glass with a circle; it must have something to do with circling the drain.
Meanwhile, I realized that I had five new text messages and four new voice mails on my "Hell phone"; mostly solicitations and calls from mom, wife, and friends (God bless them, but...) I had forgotten to plug cell into the charger the previous night... No worries; I could use the land-line for the 9:30 interview with the CEO of company-of-my-dreams.com. Oh crap! I just realized that I would be in my car at 9:30; I had promised my son that I would drop him off at the library, as his laptop was down and he had been using their computer.
Takeaway: If your earning potential is $200,000 annually, you are paying yourself approximately $100 per hour to engross manually in an Internet-based job search. Why not pay and admin assistant $12 per hour and just go golf or something. You are more likely to find a job at the club house!
12:00 PM... visited the usual job boards: black-hole.com, into-the-abyss.net, career-wrecker.org, resume-eater.net, and you-will-never-find-a-job-here.com. I applied for four jobs in just under four hours (racing thoughts to self: must stop checking e-mail when I'm trying to do this; darn cell phone won't stop ringing; need a faster computer. The requirements for the jobs that I spent four hours applying for on this particular day were exceptionally vague. They all stated that they needed leaders with a track record, executives with vision, and senior professionals with care and a cause for their subordinates. Darn, I got that; although, I have never worked in green energy science; the ad doesn't say anything about that! I was sure that when they saw my resume ranked amongst the other 350 executives with a green energy background, it would be apparent that I should be their top choice. Maybe I should send two resumes, or maybe I could put something in the e-mail subject line that would get their attention; something like HIRE ME. Yes, that would surely make up for the fact that I have only worked in insurance for 27 years. I am most certainly their best choice.
4 PM... thought I should follow up on the 10 resumes I had sent 2 weeks ago... But somehow, I convinced myself that I should probably cut the lawn again (third time this week). I was sure that if I waited long enough, they would come to their senses and call me. Somebody at a networking meeting said that I should reach out to everybody I know to be sure that they are aware of my search for new employment. My problem with that was... I didn't know anybody! One guy even suggested that I contact my attorney about my job search, and even my accountant. He further suggested that I let the people I used to work with know that I was seeking new employment. This all seemed like a huge waste of time; these people wouldn't have a job for me, and I was sure they didn't know anybody either.
This guy could have gone on for hours about all that he was doing to absolutely sabotage his job search. But even worse, he was discrediting his personal brand and cheapening his net market value, executive demeanor, and professional profile. Worst of all, he thought he was doing all the right things to find a 200k job!
Five rules to maximize technology's effectiveness in your career search 1. Do not apply to posted jobs online between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM. These are prime business hours to be used for follow up phone calls, networking, and interviewing... When you do use the Internet for a job search, employ a site or sites akin to indeed.com that simultaneously search multiple sites for you. Furthermore, do not allocate this valuable time to researching companies on the Web, etc. I have concluded that the only truly valid reason to gaze wearily at job boards is to intermittently and temporarily keep your hope alive while you are laying the foundation for the revival of your network. Moreover, utilizing Internet job boards must not be considered a proactive search activity. Confusing it as such will lengthen your search by months or longer.
Job boards are a delusion, and chasing them is like chasing after the wind. It may be many months before you reach the oasis, only to find that it's a mirage, and it's now too late to turn back and start networking! To be precise, every man, woman, and child on the face of this planet who might recognize your name needs to know today that you are job hunting... This includes your butcher, baker, and candlestick maker!
Takeaway: IF IT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT, DO IT! 2. Set up a separate e-mail address for all of your job search activities and don't check personal e-mail between 8 AM and 5 PM... Just as you wouldn't check personal e-mail when you were running your corporate business during normal business hours... E-mailing, tweeting, and face-booking will suck the life out of your search campaign.
3. If you believe that your job search is a business, you should have a separate phone number for your search activity. When you were running your business in corporate, did you use your home phone? Use your new business line, which, of course, is a land-line, for important follow-up calls and interviews.
4. Make all follow-up calls between the hours of 7 AM and 11 AM and 2 PM and 6 PM... This will sometimes help you avoid jail mail (voice mail) during lunch hours... Use a land-line-one with a cord, not a remote handset with a battery that will die in the middle of a salary negotiation.
5. Use the Internet as a means of aggressively promoting your personal brand. One of the most awesome and powerful utilities offered by the Internet is the power to endorse your personal brand. Be sure that every e-mail address you have stored in your e-address book and/or elsewhere has been notified of your new found mission for next generation employment. Do not send a resume, just a very short "hey, how ya doing?" letter; I call this "pinging." Also, if you do not have a LinkedIn account, create one. Ping the heaven out of your LinkedIn connections too!
6. Print this article and fasten it firmly to your refrigerator.
Meanwhile, I realized that I had five new text messages and four new voice mails on my "Hell phone"; mostly solicitations and calls from mom, wife, and friends (God bless them, but...) I had forgotten to plug cell into the charger the previous night... No worries; I could use the land-line for the 9:30 interview with the CEO of company-of-my-dreams.com. Oh crap! I just realized that I would be in my car at 9:30; I had promised my son that I would drop him off at the library, as his laptop was down and he had been using their computer.
Takeaway: If your earning potential is $200,000 annually, you are paying yourself approximately $100 per hour to engross manually in an Internet-based job search. Why not pay and admin assistant $12 per hour and just go golf or something. You are more likely to find a job at the club house!
12:00 PM... visited the usual job boards: black-hole.com, into-the-abyss.net, career-wrecker.org, resume-eater.net, and you-will-never-find-a-job-here.com. I applied for four jobs in just under four hours (racing thoughts to self: must stop checking e-mail when I'm trying to do this; darn cell phone won't stop ringing; need a faster computer. The requirements for the jobs that I spent four hours applying for on this particular day were exceptionally vague. They all stated that they needed leaders with a track record, executives with vision, and senior professionals with care and a cause for their subordinates. Darn, I got that; although, I have never worked in green energy science; the ad doesn't say anything about that! I was sure that when they saw my resume ranked amongst the other 350 executives with a green energy background, it would be apparent that I should be their top choice. Maybe I should send two resumes, or maybe I could put something in the e-mail subject line that would get their attention; something like HIRE ME. Yes, that would surely make up for the fact that I have only worked in insurance for 27 years. I am most certainly their best choice.
4 PM... thought I should follow up on the 10 resumes I had sent 2 weeks ago... But somehow, I convinced myself that I should probably cut the lawn again (third time this week). I was sure that if I waited long enough, they would come to their senses and call me. Somebody at a networking meeting said that I should reach out to everybody I know to be sure that they are aware of my search for new employment. My problem with that was... I didn't know anybody! One guy even suggested that I contact my attorney about my job search, and even my accountant. He further suggested that I let the people I used to work with know that I was seeking new employment. This all seemed like a huge waste of time; these people wouldn't have a job for me, and I was sure they didn't know anybody either.
This guy could have gone on for hours about all that he was doing to absolutely sabotage his job search. But even worse, he was discrediting his personal brand and cheapening his net market value, executive demeanor, and professional profile. Worst of all, he thought he was doing all the right things to find a 200k job!
Five rules to maximize technology's effectiveness in your career search 1. Do not apply to posted jobs online between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM. These are prime business hours to be used for follow up phone calls, networking, and interviewing... When you do use the Internet for a job search, employ a site or sites akin to indeed.com that simultaneously search multiple sites for you. Furthermore, do not allocate this valuable time to researching companies on the Web, etc. I have concluded that the only truly valid reason to gaze wearily at job boards is to intermittently and temporarily keep your hope alive while you are laying the foundation for the revival of your network. Moreover, utilizing Internet job boards must not be considered a proactive search activity. Confusing it as such will lengthen your search by months or longer.
Job boards are a delusion, and chasing them is like chasing after the wind. It may be many months before you reach the oasis, only to find that it's a mirage, and it's now too late to turn back and start networking! To be precise, every man, woman, and child on the face of this planet who might recognize your name needs to know today that you are job hunting... This includes your butcher, baker, and candlestick maker!
Takeaway: IF IT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT, DO IT! 2. Set up a separate e-mail address for all of your job search activities and don't check personal e-mail between 8 AM and 5 PM... Just as you wouldn't check personal e-mail when you were running your corporate business during normal business hours... E-mailing, tweeting, and face-booking will suck the life out of your search campaign.
3. If you believe that your job search is a business, you should have a separate phone number for your search activity. When you were running your business in corporate, did you use your home phone? Use your new business line, which, of course, is a land-line, for important follow-up calls and interviews.
4. Make all follow-up calls between the hours of 7 AM and 11 AM and 2 PM and 6 PM... This will sometimes help you avoid jail mail (voice mail) during lunch hours... Use a land-line-one with a cord, not a remote handset with a battery that will die in the middle of a salary negotiation.
5. Use the Internet as a means of aggressively promoting your personal brand. One of the most awesome and powerful utilities offered by the Internet is the power to endorse your personal brand. Be sure that every e-mail address you have stored in your e-address book and/or elsewhere has been notified of your new found mission for next generation employment. Do not send a resume, just a very short "hey, how ya doing?" letter; I call this "pinging." Also, if you do not have a LinkedIn account, create one. Ping the heaven out of your LinkedIn connections too!
6. Print this article and fasten it firmly to your refrigerator.
Publishing an Ebook Can Give You an Edge in Your Job Search
Publishing an ebook can give you the edge in your job search or in your start up business.
Picture yourself applying for a position as a leasing agent for an apartment complex. You let the employer know about the ebook you published on how to reduce the cost of screening new tenants. Or, you have a start-up selling dyed wool globally via the Web. Through your website you make available your free ebook on dyes safe for the environment.
Thanks to digital technology, all that can be done quickly, for peanuts, and promoted as much or as little as you want. The page count could range from 10 to 125 pages. Even the big guns in marketing like Seth Godin have gone totally digital in publishing, distributing, and hawking their books.
You can start by surfing the Web looking for ebooks you can download and analyze for title, format, layout, tone and content such as how the author limits subject matter, and how it is being distributed. For example, marketer Toby Bloomberg has an ebook on social media, which she distributes on the Web, at conferences, and through word of mouth.
Then, decide what kind of ebook you want to publish. You can have it copyrighted through the Library of Congress. If you don't have the skills for the total project, then you can outsource parts of the process. Those might include figuring out the concept, research, ghostwriting, and layout. You can put a help wanted ad on boards such as Craigslist.com, eLance.com, Mediabistro.com, JournalismJobs.com, and CareerBuilder.com.
The next step is promotion. Fortunately there are many free articles on the Web about that. Invest an afternoon to learn the fundamentals, and then try out some of the tactics. Do more of what is effective. Keep experimenting with new publicity approaches.
List the book on all your job search and start up marketing materials. Bring it up in the conversation on job interviews and sales calls. The book could be the tipping point for you. And, yes, if this tactic is useful, start on your next ebook.
Picture yourself applying for a position as a leasing agent for an apartment complex. You let the employer know about the ebook you published on how to reduce the cost of screening new tenants. Or, you have a start-up selling dyed wool globally via the Web. Through your website you make available your free ebook on dyes safe for the environment.
Thanks to digital technology, all that can be done quickly, for peanuts, and promoted as much or as little as you want. The page count could range from 10 to 125 pages. Even the big guns in marketing like Seth Godin have gone totally digital in publishing, distributing, and hawking their books.
You can start by surfing the Web looking for ebooks you can download and analyze for title, format, layout, tone and content such as how the author limits subject matter, and how it is being distributed. For example, marketer Toby Bloomberg has an ebook on social media, which she distributes on the Web, at conferences, and through word of mouth.
Then, decide what kind of ebook you want to publish. You can have it copyrighted through the Library of Congress. If you don't have the skills for the total project, then you can outsource parts of the process. Those might include figuring out the concept, research, ghostwriting, and layout. You can put a help wanted ad on boards such as Craigslist.com, eLance.com, Mediabistro.com, JournalismJobs.com, and CareerBuilder.com.
The next step is promotion. Fortunately there are many free articles on the Web about that. Invest an afternoon to learn the fundamentals, and then try out some of the tactics. Do more of what is effective. Keep experimenting with new publicity approaches.
List the book on all your job search and start up marketing materials. Bring it up in the conversation on job interviews and sales calls. The book could be the tipping point for you. And, yes, if this tactic is useful, start on your next ebook.
7 Legitimate Internet Businesses You Can Do, Without Quitting Your Jobs (2)
What would you do if I could show you legitimate businesses that could fetch you millions would you be interested?
I ended the article by suggesting seven legitimate internet businesses you start without quitting your job. If you take your time to study how these businesses works and you are determined to make it, you will soon be generating the type of income that will make you want to quit your job without thinking twice about it.
Those seven businesses are:
• Affiliate Marketing • Information Marketing • Online Freelance Writing Business • Website Design Business • Domain Registration And Hosting Business • Blogging Plus Pay Per Click Business • Resell Right Business
Now let's start dealing with each one of them. So we start with Affiliate Marketing.
Affiliate Marketing: this is simply getting commissions from promoting other people's product through a unique URL or Banner. This is done by placing the unique URL on an article or displaying the banner on your website or blog.
The good thing about affiliate marketing is that:
• The product has already been made, so you done need to cracking your head on what to write, all you need to do is to find a product that has high demand and promote it. • A system that take orders from prospect and deliver the product to buyers automatically are in place. You don't need worry about issues concerning sales and after sales issues. • The sales page has been written by professionals and design to ensure sales
However, in other to successfully promote an affiliate product, you will need to drive traffic (traffic means you need lots of people to visit your website) to the product's sales page.
The more specific traffic you invite to your product sale page, the higher your chances of making more sales. You cannot make sales or be successful in affiliate marketing if you don't expose your affiliate product to potential buyers.
This is to say that for you to make money on affiliate marketing, you need to drive traffic to your affiliate product sales page.
I ended the article by suggesting seven legitimate internet businesses you start without quitting your job. If you take your time to study how these businesses works and you are determined to make it, you will soon be generating the type of income that will make you want to quit your job without thinking twice about it.
Those seven businesses are:
• Affiliate Marketing • Information Marketing • Online Freelance Writing Business • Website Design Business • Domain Registration And Hosting Business • Blogging Plus Pay Per Click Business • Resell Right Business
Now let's start dealing with each one of them. So we start with Affiliate Marketing.
Affiliate Marketing: this is simply getting commissions from promoting other people's product through a unique URL or Banner. This is done by placing the unique URL on an article or displaying the banner on your website or blog.
The good thing about affiliate marketing is that:
• The product has already been made, so you done need to cracking your head on what to write, all you need to do is to find a product that has high demand and promote it. • A system that take orders from prospect and deliver the product to buyers automatically are in place. You don't need worry about issues concerning sales and after sales issues. • The sales page has been written by professionals and design to ensure sales
However, in other to successfully promote an affiliate product, you will need to drive traffic (traffic means you need lots of people to visit your website) to the product's sales page.
The more specific traffic you invite to your product sale page, the higher your chances of making more sales. You cannot make sales or be successful in affiliate marketing if you don't expose your affiliate product to potential buyers.
This is to say that for you to make money on affiliate marketing, you need to drive traffic to your affiliate product sales page.
Google AdWords Content Network Success - The Easiest Way to Increase Your Landing Page Conversions
When it comes to making more money with the Google AdWords Content Network you have to realize that the more leads you can get from your landing page, the more money you will make in terms of sales. In this article I want to show you exactly how you can increase your landing page conversions the easy way so you can maximize your profits.
Step #1 - You have to make sure you are focused on segmenting them to the keywords you are using.
You want to make sure you are focused on segmenting your landing pages so that you can target them to the keywords you are using.
You have to realize that the better job you do at targeting your landing pages, the more conversions you are going to get as you will do a better job at helping the traffic get what they are looking for.
Step #2 - You have to make sure you are focused on split testing at least 10 different landing page versions in your niche market.
The reason that you need to make sure you do this is because you are going to want to be able to find the one that will give you the best conversion rates. The only way to figure this out is to test different variables to see which variables increase your conversions.
The more you focus on testing these things, the more you will increase your conversions and that means you will probably increase your profits as well.
Step #1 - You have to make sure you are focused on segmenting them to the keywords you are using.
You want to make sure you are focused on segmenting your landing pages so that you can target them to the keywords you are using.
You have to realize that the better job you do at targeting your landing pages, the more conversions you are going to get as you will do a better job at helping the traffic get what they are looking for.
Step #2 - You have to make sure you are focused on split testing at least 10 different landing page versions in your niche market.
The reason that you need to make sure you do this is because you are going to want to be able to find the one that will give you the best conversion rates. The only way to figure this out is to test different variables to see which variables increase your conversions.
The more you focus on testing these things, the more you will increase your conversions and that means you will probably increase your profits as well.
Google AdWords Website Traffic - How to Create Your Landing Page So You Will Not Get Slapped
When it comes to making a lot of money with Google AdWords you have to realize that the better landing page you can create, the more money you will likely make as you will be able to get more people onto your newsletter list and hopefully buy what you are selling. In this article I want to show you exactly how to create a landing page the right way so you won't get slapped by Google and lose all your traffic.
Step #1 - You have to realize that Google wants you to make sure you are relevant to the market that you are in.
If you are running a landing page in your campaign and it does not match the keywords that you are using, you are going to get that campaign shut off by Google.
You have to make sure the landing page matches the keywords that you are using! If you do this, you will be more then likely to get more people to your site and make a bigger profit. Not only that, Google will run your ads and give you traffic!
Step #2 - You have to make sure you do a good job at showing people that you will give them a lot of value if they give you their name and email address.
You have to realize that if you do a good job of offering people value on your landing page, you will get more of them to give you their name and email address.
When Google sees that you are offering a lot of value that is relevant to your market, they will be more then likely to run your ads and send you traffic.
Step #1 - You have to realize that Google wants you to make sure you are relevant to the market that you are in.
If you are running a landing page in your campaign and it does not match the keywords that you are using, you are going to get that campaign shut off by Google.
You have to make sure the landing page matches the keywords that you are using! If you do this, you will be more then likely to get more people to your site and make a bigger profit. Not only that, Google will run your ads and give you traffic!
Step #2 - You have to make sure you do a good job at showing people that you will give them a lot of value if they give you their name and email address.
You have to realize that if you do a good job of offering people value on your landing page, you will get more of them to give you their name and email address.
When Google sees that you are offering a lot of value that is relevant to your market, they will be more then likely to run your ads and send you traffic.
Your Job Search Marketing Program - Building Your Resume
Is your resume formatted to follow the requirements of recognition software being used to screen resumes? If you were reviewing hundreds of resumes, would you be impressed with yours? Do you have an objective at the top, or do you top your resume with a summary of qualifications? Do you list your core competencies front and center with pride?
As you begin looking for a new job, it is important to recognize that you are putting together a marketing program to sell YOU, and a large part of that program is your resume, along with a dynamite cover letter. If your existing resume hasn't been updated in a few years, it may be to your advantage to considering hiring a professional to help you create the copy. The market is flooded with people seeking work and your resume is your one and only change to get noticed long enough to get the interview. It needs to be targeting your prospective market with assertive and effective language that catches the attention of the person reviewing the resume, and entices them to call you for the interview.
Here are some simple changes that will help you get noticed.
Rather than a career objective at the top, replace it with a professional profile or summary of qualifications.
Don't state the obvious, for example: will provide references upon request. They know you will provide them when they ask for them. And, they will.
Break out of the mold of standard resumes, and begin using some of the publishing tools available. Examples: WinWay Resume, Resume Maker Professional, Resume Maker Professional Ultimate, Resume Writer, Power Resumes, MyResumes, The Print Shop Pro Publisher. These software packages range in price from $10 to $70.
You no longer need to stay with the one page resume. Pack as much information in as possible.
Look at job board free samples for comparison, and then create a style uniquely yours.
Use key words throughout your resume. Prospective employers are performing key word searches to find prospective employees.
Page one of your resume should include your professional profile, a list of your core competencies, all software applications you have experience with, and the last two employers.
Page two - continue your employment history.
Closing - Education, Certifications and Additional information, i.e., volunteer work, board memberships, etc.
Are you impressed when you read your resume with an objective eye? Would you like to interview the person described? If you are not, go back and tweak it until you are.
Once you are satisfied with the document, get it posted on all the major job sites and send it off directly to recruiters. There are a number of posting services who will do this for you. For example: ResumeRabbit, ResumeMailman, and ResumeZapper, ResumeDirector and ResumeArrow. Some of these services are free, and some are fee based. Some things to consider before you post:
Do you need your resume posted on so many sites?
Do you have time to post your own?
Do you need thousands of recruiters receiving your resume, or do you want to be more selective?
Remember, marketing yourself is all about creating a competitive edge. Your resume is only one tool in your tool box. Don't forget to network, read the classifieds and search job listings on all the career sites daily. Good luck with your job search.
As you begin looking for a new job, it is important to recognize that you are putting together a marketing program to sell YOU, and a large part of that program is your resume, along with a dynamite cover letter. If your existing resume hasn't been updated in a few years, it may be to your advantage to considering hiring a professional to help you create the copy. The market is flooded with people seeking work and your resume is your one and only change to get noticed long enough to get the interview. It needs to be targeting your prospective market with assertive and effective language that catches the attention of the person reviewing the resume, and entices them to call you for the interview.
Here are some simple changes that will help you get noticed.
Rather than a career objective at the top, replace it with a professional profile or summary of qualifications.
Don't state the obvious, for example: will provide references upon request. They know you will provide them when they ask for them. And, they will.
Break out of the mold of standard resumes, and begin using some of the publishing tools available. Examples: WinWay Resume, Resume Maker Professional, Resume Maker Professional Ultimate, Resume Writer, Power Resumes, MyResumes, The Print Shop Pro Publisher. These software packages range in price from $10 to $70.
You no longer need to stay with the one page resume. Pack as much information in as possible.
Look at job board free samples for comparison, and then create a style uniquely yours.
Use key words throughout your resume. Prospective employers are performing key word searches to find prospective employees.
Page one of your resume should include your professional profile, a list of your core competencies, all software applications you have experience with, and the last two employers.
Page two - continue your employment history.
Closing - Education, Certifications and Additional information, i.e., volunteer work, board memberships, etc.
Are you impressed when you read your resume with an objective eye? Would you like to interview the person described? If you are not, go back and tweak it until you are.
Once you are satisfied with the document, get it posted on all the major job sites and send it off directly to recruiters. There are a number of posting services who will do this for you. For example: ResumeRabbit, ResumeMailman, and ResumeZapper, ResumeDirector and ResumeArrow. Some of these services are free, and some are fee based. Some things to consider before you post:
Do you need your resume posted on so many sites?
Do you have time to post your own?
Do you need thousands of recruiters receiving your resume, or do you want to be more selective?
Remember, marketing yourself is all about creating a competitive edge. Your resume is only one tool in your tool box. Don't forget to network, read the classifieds and search job listings on all the career sites daily. Good luck with your job search.
Using Twitter To Help Your Job Search
Did you know that you can search for jobs using Twitter? There are several ways that you can utilize this innovative social media platform to find employment. Here are seven tips that can help you use Twitter for work.
Maximize your profile. You can set up a resume online and use the website field on your profile to link to your job history or a LinkedIn page. Make sure that your name and username are professional, preferably some variation of your real name. (i.e. JohnSmith, JSmith, etc.) You can put your objective or information about what kind of job you are looking for in your bio field. You may want to keep a separate profile for personal use. Also, use a professional photo in your bio as your image.
Follow the companies in your desired industry and other people in that field. Stay in the loop regarding the businesses that you hope to work for. Keeping up with industry news is easy with Twitter, so find the people who are posting in your field and follow them. Make use of these connections and send direct messages or @replies that will give you some credibility. Retweet relevant information and build relationships.
One Twitter tool that you can use to help with your job search is TweetMyJobs. This application has been featured by Forbes, Business Week, and other news sources like CNN because of the sizable number of jobs available on the many channels. The listings are broken up by industry, region, and job type.
Boost your credibility with your tweets. Let employers know exactly what you know about your field. Link to quality information and make intelligent @replies and RTs. You shouldn't pretend to be someone you are not, but present yourself as knowledgeable and as experienced as you are. Be creative with your posts, but be relevant at the same time.
Another Twitter tool that may help you is Twellow. This application allows you to quickly search through member profiles and tweets by typing in company names, keywords, or the names of people. It is the yellow pages of Twitter. Once you find relevant profiles, you can connect.
Use hashtags. The formula for hashtags is simple: #keyword. For example, if you are looking for a job in education you might tweet with the hashtag #education, or #teaching. This will increase the chances that employers will find your tweets in a search. If you need ideas for relevant hashtags, try Tagalus. Type in your keyword and it will suggest related keywords.
Don't aggressively follow every prospective employer or individual related to your field. Be selective about who you are affiliating yourself with and don't add 20 follows in a single day. Pace yourself and build your connections gradually. You do not want to develop a reputation as a spammer.
Make use of these tips and Twitter tools in your job search. The technology is there to help you find employment opportunities and you should take advantage of it. Good luck finding work!
Maximize your profile. You can set up a resume online and use the website field on your profile to link to your job history or a LinkedIn page. Make sure that your name and username are professional, preferably some variation of your real name. (i.e. JohnSmith, JSmith, etc.) You can put your objective or information about what kind of job you are looking for in your bio field. You may want to keep a separate profile for personal use. Also, use a professional photo in your bio as your image.
Follow the companies in your desired industry and other people in that field. Stay in the loop regarding the businesses that you hope to work for. Keeping up with industry news is easy with Twitter, so find the people who are posting in your field and follow them. Make use of these connections and send direct messages or @replies that will give you some credibility. Retweet relevant information and build relationships.
One Twitter tool that you can use to help with your job search is TweetMyJobs. This application has been featured by Forbes, Business Week, and other news sources like CNN because of the sizable number of jobs available on the many channels. The listings are broken up by industry, region, and job type.
Boost your credibility with your tweets. Let employers know exactly what you know about your field. Link to quality information and make intelligent @replies and RTs. You shouldn't pretend to be someone you are not, but present yourself as knowledgeable and as experienced as you are. Be creative with your posts, but be relevant at the same time.
Another Twitter tool that may help you is Twellow. This application allows you to quickly search through member profiles and tweets by typing in company names, keywords, or the names of people. It is the yellow pages of Twitter. Once you find relevant profiles, you can connect.
Use hashtags. The formula for hashtags is simple: #keyword. For example, if you are looking for a job in education you might tweet with the hashtag #education, or #teaching. This will increase the chances that employers will find your tweets in a search. If you need ideas for relevant hashtags, try Tagalus. Type in your keyword and it will suggest related keywords.
Don't aggressively follow every prospective employer or individual related to your field. Be selective about who you are affiliating yourself with and don't add 20 follows in a single day. Pace yourself and build your connections gradually. You do not want to develop a reputation as a spammer.
Make use of these tips and Twitter tools in your job search. The technology is there to help you find employment opportunities and you should take advantage of it. Good luck finding work!
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