MARKETING IDEAS and TOOLS
Business Card Design Ideas
Brochure Design Ideas
Die Cut Business Cards
Scented Business Cards
Cheap Business Card Ideas
Unique Business Cards
Unique Brochure Ideas
Cheap Advertising Ideas
Business Card Layout
Promoting a Home Based Biz
Competitive Advantage
Email Marketing Tips
3 Ways To Spend Less
Selling With Color
Promotional Magnets
MARKETING STRATEGIES
Differentiate Yourself
Information Marketing
Building Customer Loyalty
Getting Customer Feedback
Testimonials
How to Define a Niche
Discovering Niches
Finding New Customers
Indirect Benefits
The Consumer's Perspective
Promotional Marketing
Pricing Products and Services
Viral Marketing Magic
Marketing Mix
STARTUP IDEAS and STRATEGIES
Home-Based Startup Ideas
Business Idea Brainstorming
Virtual Assistant
Internet Researcher
Event Planner
Wedding Consultant
Telecommuting Strategies
Freelance Job Strategies
WEBSITE MARKETING
Build Traffic to Your Website
Domain Name Ideas
5 Ways to Increase Traffic
Scavenger Hunts
Talking Avatars
Promote Your Web Page
Autoresponders
Internal Links
Link Exchange Tips
Viral Marketing and Email
Attract Your Target Market
Market Your Website Offline
KEYWORD TIPS
Keyword Competition
Keywords and Meta Tags
Prime Spots for Keywords
Keyword Phrases
AFFILIATE MARKETING
How To Get Started
Residual Income
Affiliate Agreements
ONLINE BASICS
Choosing Domain Names
Domain Name Extensions
Website Design Strategies
Learning HTML
Understanding HTML Colors
Are Your Colors Web-Safe?
How to Accept Payments
Bandwidth: Doing The Math
Find The Right Web Host
Publish Your Website
MARKETING YOURSELF
Resume Tips
Resume Tips
It isn't uncommon for entrepreneurs to "moonlight" by working for someone else - or vice versa.If your resume needs some fine-tuning, consider these tips to get the most marketing mileage out of your resume:
You're the product that you're selling to a prospective employer who, in this case, is basically the consumer. Develop that mindset and you'll be light-years ahead of many of your fellow job-seekers.
Think of your resume as a piece of marketing literature with you as the product.
Everything doesn't have to be perfect - except for resumes. This is the time to let your perfectionist tendencies go wild.
Double, triple, and quadruple-check for everything from spelling errors to missing commas.
Proofread slowly as if you're reading it for the first time. That's the key to effective proofreading of your own work.
Choose a premium grade of paper for your resume and make sure that the printing quality of each copy is top notch. It's best to stick with conventional colors such as white, cream, and light gray.
If there's a possibility that your resume will be scanned, choose white paper.
In some cases, a subtle tint can help set apart your resume without it appearing too different.
Be different, but not too different. That should be your mantra when it comes to resume preparation.
If your resume is more than one page, make sure that your name is on the other page(s). Speaking of other pages, remember that your resume serves much like a brochure marketing a product.
It should be as concise as possible with plenty of white space. Use bulleted items whenever it's appropriate.
Think of yourself reading a brochure, and imagine how you might scan certain text. What draws your eye to certain parts of the brochure? Use that visual aspect to your advantage.
The main text should be in a very readable typeface such as Times Roman or Garamond.
Use the bold attribute sparingly, and only for headings. Italics should be used very selectively as well.
Example:
Place of employment - bold
Job title - italics
Use a serif typeface as opposed to a sans serif, "sans" meaning without. Serifs are those slight embellishments that the text you're reading right now doesn't have.
When read from the printed page, a serif typeface is considered to give the text sort of a visual flow that's easier on the eyes.
Create selling points in your resume.Specific figures are particularly good. Tell your prospective employer how you benefitted your former employers' bottom lines.
Avoid blatantly subjective adjectives such as "great" or "best". Words such as "effective" are preferable and set a more professional tone. When the product is you, it's better not to appear to over-sell.
Only include activities, awards or accomplishments that relate in some way to the job you're seeking. They can also be to your advantage when they back up strengths or skills you've included in your resume.
Nancy Richardson
CreateYourMarket.com publisher
Need a writer?
Quick Tips:
Enclose a business card promoting your website with each piece of outgoing mail.
Ask customers who frequently do business with you for a testimonial.
Promote your website URL offline on everything from bumper stickers to your answering machine message.
Want to reach the highest percentage of your target market?
Advertise in specialty publications including newspaper supplements devoted to a specific topic.
Marketing is crucial, but it doesn't always have to be serious.
Some of the most effective advertising campaigns rely on humor. Don't be afraid to make your customers laugh!