Actual for You - Self-Promotion on a Zero Budget

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• Take Ownership of Your Job Search
  Don't take a passive role in your job search. You can't just sit by the phone. You need to work harder to find the right job for yourself. You might even want to console yourself with the fact that searching for a job is the hardest job you'll ever have. The reason why is simple - when it's done right it's full of rejection.Too many job seekers will simply search Monster® and the other assorted job sites, post a resume to a few opportunities listed, and then sit back and wait. This is the passive no-win approach to job searching that will never get you the results you are looking for. Don't let yourself fall into this role.Quite the contrary, you need to invite rejection. The more "Nos" you uncover will bring you closer to a "Yes". It's in your best interest to get past the "Nos" as quickly as possible. Don't dawdle, and don't avoid the not-so-fun task of hearing them either. Remember, you're looking for the Job that YOU Really Want. That means you're going to have to dig to find it. It's not on a silver platter, it's most likely not on Monster® or even on the web. You are going to have to expend some energy during a several week (or month) period of time.You'll take ownership of your job search in two ways:1. Locating new informationTaking ownership means taking a pro-active approach to your job search. That means researching companies you want to work for without regard to whether a specific job may have been posted. For minimal or even no cost, you can use Internet tools such as ZoomInfo.com, Lead411.com and Alexa.com. These are software services or tools that can be used to widen yoRecently, I’ve received a few e-mails from people asking me for advice on how to get started in the writing biz. When I stop to think about it, maybe I’ve been lucky to accomplish this much writing in a short time. I have accidentally discovered a way to self-promote my work. It starts with an interest in Web design and a friend who needs a Web site for her professional organization. I volunteer to do it to get Web design experience.

  Do you hear an “Ah-ha!” coming? Before I take you there, let’s talk about catch-22. Most people just entering Web design or freelance get the old “Get experience before we can hire you.” OK, how am I supposed to get experience if no one will hire me?

  Back to the “eureka.” What kind of business typically has little or no money to invest in a Web site? Let’s say it together, “non-profit organizations.” That was lesson number one. Build a portfolio by offering your services to charitable organizations. It’s win-win because you get the opportunity to add to your portfolio as well as make a contribution to a good cause. The only drawback is finding the time to do it outside of your “pays the bills” job.

  Oh, you’re not a Web designer, programmer, or code-head? No problem! Get out pen and paper or load up your favorite word processor. Start writing about a topic you know well. You’ve come up with another excuse saying you are not an expert in anything? It’s time for my rebuttal and a confession. I’m only doing this for you to boost your confidence and to show you it can be done. The old, “if I can do it, you can, too!”

  Here goes: I am a Jane of all trades. I kid you not. It’s not a bad thing and I’ve managed to continuously add to my writing portfolio. Guess what? I am promoting myself with this article. Whenever I publish an article with a popular online Web site, my own Web site, http://www.meryl.net, experiences a traffic boost. I’ll bet you that you’ll go to my Web site when you finish this one. No, I am not high on myself. Whenever I read a story or discussion list, I often click on the author’s link to learn more and see if there is anything else I’d like to check out. If you don’t find this article worthy, then how did you get this far?

  There are plenty of places that want your articles (Hint: notice this Web site?). Not everyone pays, but it’s a good way to put you out there. One way I've gotten started was submitting an article to an email newsletter's open publishing initiative. It accepts articles in exchange for software and free publicity for you. You can write your own bio and add links to your Web site. Thanks to the newsletter, my portfolio grows and I gain new and paying clients.

  If you want something bigger than a bio and you’re brave enough, then offer yourself up for interviews or presentations. If you’re involved with a new product or service, then you can suggest an article on that topic and be interviewed as a subject matter expert. For instance, in writing an article on Flash, I interview several experts and return the favor by including links to their Web sites. Again, it’s win-win. Remember to promote a topic of interest to readers instead of focusing on your company or its products.

  Is there a conference coming to town? They’re always looking for proposals. Also, try checking around for user groups and offer up your services to speak about a relevant topic. I've given a presentation to a computer users group and my URL was in the footer of every page of the presentation. More free promotion.

  There’s something for everyone. In summary, this is the advice I give to people on how to market their way to a new career:

  • Offering your services to nonprofit organizations
  • Publishing an article
  • Getting interviewed or doing a presentation

  Give it a shot. One more note, I’m terrible at sales. These steps have helped me move forward without feeling like giving a sales pitch. Now, finish this off by reading the bio and clicking on the link.

  Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is Editor-in-Chief of eNewsletter Journal and The Remediator Security Digest. She's a slave to a MarketingProfs weekly column and a Web design reference guide at InformIT. She is the author of the popular e-report, How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic. Visit her site at http://www.meryl.net/blog/ for free newsletters, articles, and tips. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meryl_K._Evans

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  • The Vital Point of Joint Ventures
  • Can You Smell Trouble
  • Get Smart - Offer a Proposal
  • Marketing With Promotional Items
  • I'm So Unpopular I Could Cry
  • Betwixt and Between - Staying Put or Movin' On
    It’s fun to imagine dramatic change to your career where everything is different and exciting. A bigger challenge may be to alter your job situation right where you are. To consider whether to stay in your current role, reposition at your company, or move on to a new job, here are the points to consider:Stay Where You Are* Because your current job isn’t a negative on all fronts, assess what is working and what’s not. Take a short period of time to do this—a weekend might be enough, but don’t short-change yourself during this thoughtful writing process. Gauge how important your concerns are. Certain complaints, like a difficult boss, though commonly the #1 reason people change jobs, can change with help from a counselor or coach. If the good outweighs the bad, your enthusiasm can return with attention to challenging projects.* Are you overdue for a vacation? Last year Expedia research indicated we gave back 421.5 million paid vacations. If you think you’re indispensable, you’re not. Others are also aware that your interest level has changed. Take a vacation before one is given to you permanently and use it to get renewed.Reposition At Your Existing Company* If your work is already stale, what other role could you fulfill at your job that will give you fresh opportunities? Do you seek a more balanced lifestyle and want to find ways to work less, or are you eager to take on more leadership responsibilities? You might imagine a position that doesn’t yet exist. How can you convince the powers-that-be it would increase the value quotient for your company if you handled that?* A good repos
  you are not an expert in anything? It’s time for my rebuttal and a confession. I’m only doing this for you to boost your confidence and to show you it can be done. The old, “if I can do it, you can, too!”

  Here goes: I am a Jane of all trades. I kid you not. It’s not a bad thing and I’ve managed to continuously add to my writing portfolio. Guess what? I am promoting myself with this article. Whenever I publish an article with a popular online Web site, my own Web site, http://www.meryl.net, experiences a traffic boost. I’ll bet you that you’ll go to my Web site when you finish this one. No, I am not high on myself. Whenever I read a story or discussion list, I often click on the author’s link to learn more and see if there is anything else I’d like to check out. If you don’t find this article worthy, then how did you get this far?

  There are plenty of places that want your articles (Hint: notice this Web site?). Not everyone pays, but it’s a good way to put you out there. One way I've gotten started was submitting an article to an email newsletter's open publishing initiative. It accepts articles in exchange for software and free publicity for you. You can write your own bio and add links to your Web site. Thanks to the newsletter, my portfolio grows and I gain new and paying clients.

  If you want something bigger than a bio and you’re brave enough, then offer yourself up for interviews or presentations. If you’re involved with a new product or service, then you can suggest an article on that topic and be interviewed as a subject matter expert. For instance, in writing an article on Flash, I interview several experts and return the favor by including links to their Web sites. Again, it’s win-win. Remember to promote a topic of interest to readers instead of focusing on your company or its products.

  Is there a conference coming to town? They’re always looking for proposals. Also, try checking around for user groups and offer up your services to speak about a relevant topic. I've given a presentation to a computer users group and my URL was in the footer of every page of the presentation. More free promotion.

  There’s something for everyone. In summary, this is the advice I give to people on how to market their way to a new career:

  • Offering your services to nonprofit organizations
  • Publishing an article
  • Getting interviewed or doing a presentation

  Give it a shot. One more note, I’m terrible at sales. These steps have helped me move forward without feeling like giving a sales pitch. Now, finish this off by reading the bio and clicking on the link.

  Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is Editor-in-Chief of eNewsletter Journal and The Remediator Security Digest. She's a slave to a MarketingProfs weekly column and a Web design reference guide at InformIT. She is the author of the popular e-report, How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic. Visit her site at http://www.meryl.net/blog/ for free newsletters, articles, and tips. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meryl_K._Evans

  Other Recent EzineArticles from the Business:Marketing Category:

  • Article Submission Strategy - Read Before Your Submit Another Article!
  • The Vital Point of Joint Ventures
  • Can You Smell Trouble
  • Get Smart - Offer a Proposal
  • Marketing With Promotional Items
  • I'm So Unpopular I Could Cry
  • Dental Marketing You Can Take To The Bank
    Dental marketing for some is a chore. One that quite often we want to pay someone else to do. But with outside dental marketing now costing 5 figures, many are looking for viable alternatives to drive new patients to their practice.Why market? Lets be truthful. You are not looking for new patients, more work, or even to become famous. You are looking to make more money.Do you know someone (maybe you) that has the little placard that reads: “send us a referral and receive $25.00 off your next visit” or “the greatest compliment you can give us is sending your friends and family to us,” nailed to the wall?It’s small, unobtrusive, doesn’t require any effort on anyone’s part, and the fact is: it does not work!Your current patients are the best source, offering you the best possible growth. No newsletter, yellow-page ad, mailing, or website can deliver the emotional message like they can.Understanding the mindset of your patients:They are coming to you because they trust you. They believe you are very good at what you are doing and because you are so good, they think you have all the clients you want Therefore you are not accepting new patients.Think about this for a moment: what if you were to lean over and say to your patient: “You know, you’re a great patient. I really appreciate having people like you in my practice and I want to let you know we are currently accepting new patients, in case you have any friends looking for a dentist. Make sure they mention your name when they call so we’ll know to put them on the top of the list.”When
  nt something bigger than a bio and you’re brave enough, then offer yourself up for interviews or presentations. If you’re involved with a new product or service, then you can suggest an article on that topic and be interviewed as a subject matter expert. For instance, in writing an article on Flash, I interview several experts and return the favor by including links to their Web sites. Again, it’s win-win. Remember to promote a topic of interest to readers instead of focusing on your company or its products.

  Is there a conference coming to town? They’re always looking for proposals. Also, try checking around for user groups and offer up your services to speak about a relevant topic. I've given a presentation to a computer users group and my URL was in the footer of every page of the presentation. More free promotion.

  There’s something for everyone. In summary, this is the advice I give to people on how to market their way to a new career:

  • Offering your services to nonprofit organizations
  • Publishing an article
  • Getting interviewed or doing a presentation

  Give it a shot. One more note, I’m terrible at sales. These steps have helped me move forward without feeling like giving a sales pitch. Now, finish this off by reading the bio and clicking on the link.

  Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is Editor-in-Chief of eNewsletter Journal and The Remediator Security Digest. She's a slave to a MarketingProfs weekly column and a Web design reference guide at InformIT. She is the author of the popular e-report, How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic. Visit her site at http://www.meryl.net/blog/ for free newsletters, articles, and tips. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meryl_K._Evans

  Other Recent EzineArticles from the Business:Marketing Category:

  • Article Submission Strategy - Read Before Your Submit Another Article!
  • The Vital Point of Joint Ventures
  • Can You Smell Trouble
  • Get Smart - Offer a Proposal
  • Marketing With Promotional Items
  • I'm So Unpopular I Could Cry
  • Is Franchising Right for You?
    Franchising is, was, and will continue to be hot! And with good reason. Not only is it a reduced-risk way to launch a business, but there are many other benefits, along with a few drawbacks. Is franchising right for you?There's no way to completely eliminate risk from business. It comes with the territory. The key is risk management, based on the rough formula that says: the fewer variables (risks), the greater the probability of success. That's the concept behind the phenomenal boom in franchising -- from auto dealerships to fast food to print shops to lawn services, pest control and more. That's also why, over the last several decades, the franchise form of doing business -- now with more than 3,000 franchise companies and better than 750,000 franchise units in operation -- has changed the way small business does business in this country.THE FRANCHISE BOOMThe franchise concept is not new. The first franchises appeared shortly after the Civil War (established by the Singer Sewing Machine Company and other large corporations to distribute their products). The idea took off earlier this century with the rise of auto dealerships.But franchising has truly come of age in the decades since World War II, with the boom in retail and service franchises. Franchises now account for account for between 40% and 50% of all retail businesses, employ more than 18 million workers, and generate better than $2 trillion annually in economic output, creating what would be the fourth largest GNP in the world!The franchise concept is simple. The franchisee or franchise buyer purchases a legal right to sell a good
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