Marketing is a crucial job in your home business. It won’t matter how great your product or service is, if no one knows about it. Marketability is also important in seeking a telecommuting job. When you think about it, a resume and job hunting is all about selling your skills to an employer.
Your first instinct may be focus on marketing you business yourself, but you must also remember to highlight what YOU can do for your client. We asked these experts to share with us their tips for improving their own marketability to attract customers and clients. We hope these tips help you!
RaShea Drake
- Get outside of your comfort zone when learning a new skill. This proves that you’re dedicated and valuable in multiple ways.
- Become an authority in your field. Find your industry’s blogs, and write for them, contribute valuable information to them. As you gain more credibility online, you gain more authority in general.
- Take on more responsibility than is needed. If you have the time and skills, offer yourself up for other tasks that need to be done. This not only gets the task done, but it shows passion, which is great to increase what you’re worth.
Rosalynn Glover
*1. Networking!* – You can’t get very far without people. Even if it’s as small as networking with family members and letting them know what you are doing in your career, its important to let people speak for you. 90% of my clientele has come through word of mouth. Even as I continue to grow my business, it’s important to network to look out for potential employees and interns.
*2. Taking Courses* – Because the world of digital marketing is forever changing, it’s important to make sure that I am staying ahead of the curve with trends. Not only for my business, but to be able to give clients recommendations on what they should do when they are experience a stagnant period in their business.
*3. Being Consistent On Social Media* – As a marketer, it’s VITAL that I am consistent with my social handles and email marketing. Whether it’s updating my Twitter with a relevant post in my industry, posting on Instagram or just sending an update to my email subscribers it’s important to let my audience know that I am staying up to date with marketing trends. This also catches the eye of potential clients as well.
Anna Segova
To improve my own marketability I constantly acquire news skills as well as keep up with industry trends and recent changes in my field. I work in communications, so there is always a lot going on! I also aim to constantly maintain my online presence through my personal blog alternomarketing.com and guest blogging. This boosts my profile as an expert in the field of communications and grows my network.
I also do some freelancing in my free time, which I find very beneficial for my career. Not only it is a great way to supplement my income, but I also get to work on new exciting projects with some of the most amazing businesses and boost my professional reputation.
Dr. Talaya Waller
Personal Branding: Personal branding is the best way to market yourself for new opportunities. First you should identify your personal brand and craft a personal mission statement. This will help you guide your marketing efforts. Next you should publish that statement on social platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. The more people that know about your professional abilities and goals the better! Lastly you should grow your network by being contributing content that relates to your personal brand. You can share and engage with your target audience through social platforms online or by attending local networking events.
Lisa Banks
www.lisabanks.com
@lisabanks45
Don’t be afraid to declare a specialization!
When I redid my freelance writing website several years ago, I saw competing websites all promised what I thought was too basic: error-free copy with a quick turnaround at a decent price. I decided that specializing openly about who I wanted most to write for would improve my marketability – and it did. Now, when people contact me through my site about a project, they are usually *sure* I am the one, before we even speak. I don’t think people should be reluctant to openly declare what they do best. There is a fear that they will miss out if they do, but I have found it more profitable.
Lauren Golden
The Free Mama
@thefreemamamvmt
Whether you’re looking to land a new remote job or gain clients for your home-based business, you are going to have to sell yourself! Oftentimes we try to make ourselves everything to everyone or a jack of all trades. Not only will this approach not make you stand out, but you likely won’t improve your skills either. To be truly marketable, you want to hone in on the one thing you excel at, and then show others how that thing can be of service to them. You need to offer a solution. Become known for that thing you solve, and soon the jobs will be coming to you.
Kate Sullivan
*Add cross-competencies*. What’s the one thing in your field that you most wish you had help with on a daily basis? Learn that skill. If you can solve your own problem by automating it, streamlining it, or otherwise knocking it out of the park, you can help others in your field the same way – which makes you a very valuable person to have around. For instance, if you’re a marketer and constantly having to check on web analytics, learn more about running automated reports and set up simple workflows to streamline the process. If you’re in logistics and always having to deal with a clunky back-end order system, learn how to create a database to improve the flow or how to leverage WordPress plugins to automate and consolidate things.
*Learn to speak the language of your biggest vendors and customers*. Who do you work with the most in your position? Maybe you’re a marketer who often works with a design team; maybe you’re a banker whose clients are serial entrepreneurs. Learn the jargon and terminology that your vendors and customers use so that you can speak with them on their own terms. You’ll improve clarity and get better results, and you’ll be an invaluable interface when moving up the ladder – plus, you’re adding value for every step of the process in your business by helping people get more done and spend less time on miscommunication.
Note from Leslie
Our experts this week offer excellent tips for increasing your marketability. In a crowded marketplace, you need to find a way to stand out in the crowd. My tips include:
- Always focus on the benefits clients or customers can gain by working with you. All your marketing efforts should accentuate the value you offer.
- Keep informed of trends, research, and news in your industry. You don’t want to be left behind because you didn’t make appropriate adjustments when changes in your industry happens.
- Keep your resume, LinkedIn profile, and other online accounts updated, especially if you’ve received a certification, award, media mention or other accolade that increases your credibility.
Leslie, this turned out great! What a wealth of wisdom from a diverse crew. Sometimes I miss working from an office with others – it can be tempting to rely on an employer and coworkers for improving your knowledge and ultimately making you more marketable. But then I can see how it might be easier for us to put our time where it needs to go in terms of our own growth when we have more flexibility and work from home.
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise at WAHS. I have to say, I don’t miss a regular job, but I will admit that sometimes I miss the feedback and insights that can be learned in an office setting. I also like being able to choose what things to learn to improve my marketability, as opposed to being told by a boss. It makes learning more fun when you’re investing your time and energy into something you believe will improve your business. Thank you again!!!