I have jobs, and have been in search of someone to take under my wing to help me run my company. I’m looking for someone who has drive, ambition, intelligence and various abilities including the ability to read and understanding instructions, and market oneself and one’s company effectively (we are a marketing company for crying out loud). It doesn’t pay a whole lot at first, but for someone looking for a foot in the door, with a HUGE upside on any new business they bring in, it’ s probably one of the best opportunities a recent college graduate interested in ecommerce marketing could hope for. I’ve served as a Director of Ecommerce, and as CMO of other companies, and now that I’m off on my own, I’m looking to mentor someone – to work one on one and to teach them everything I know about getting traffic to websites and making that traffic convert to sales. And guess what, I can’t find this person.

During my quest I have reviewed over 100 resumes and cover letters and interviewed a few candidates. Sadly, no one has been a good fit for this position. I have two main complaints when it comes to recruiting new candidates:

No-Shows

If you are part of the lucky 10% of people who are invited to interview with me, show up! If you can’t show up, or have lost interest, give me the respect of a phone call or email to cancel the appointment! Over the 10 or 15 years that I’ve been in the position to hire and interview people, I’ve had a no-show rate on scheduled interviews of about 20%. Find something else? Decide it’s not the right fit for you right now? Great! Give me the respect to call or email and cancel so that I can free that block of time in my schedule for another appointment with someone who is interested. People remember these things, and – especially in an industry like internet marketing where people make their living by networking with others, you’ll find that the community is a lot smaller than one might think. I may know the CEO of the company you do want to work at, or you may be at a different stage in your career two years from now and may want to interview with me again. Don’t burn that bridge.

Generic and Irrelevant Resumes & Cover Letters

Holy smokes. People see the keyword, “manager” in a job posting and suddenly I get applications from people who send cover letters talking about their experience managing cashiers at the local grocery store. I mention the word, “marketing” and I get resumes from people interested in breaking into print advertising or television.

Read, people. You’re not doing anyone any favors sending stuff that gets tossed out after wasting 5-10 minutes reading through it trying to understand why this person has applied to the position. Let people who are truly interested have that opportunity instead.

And for goodness’ sake, at the very least tweak a sentence or two in your cover letter to put it into the context of the position offered. BS me a little if you must, but at least show me that you read the ad.

Here’s a recent applicant’s cover letter, responding to my posting for a position in Internet Marketing. He had applied several times and so I felt compelled to email him some (positive) feedback. His cover letter went something like this:

To Whom It May Concern,

I saw your ad and am very interested in applying for the position. I am a bright, energetic college graduate that is seeking the opportunity to put his experiences and talents to good use.

I studied sociology and most of my coursework consisted of researching various thesis papers. I’m responsible and know how to take initiative. Having played and coached various sports, I know the importance of teamwork.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

John Doe

Seriously? I did not see one trace of anything that suggested that my ad was read at all. What a waste of my time. Here was my response:

Hi John,

You’ve applied to my job posting a few times and I’m not interested as your experience, though good, is not a fit for the position advertised. However I wanted to help you with some feedback that might make your job search more productive.

I would strongly recommend reading the ads in full, and at the very least customizing your cover letter to match the position advertised. Also, when someone mentions their name in the job posting as I have, it’s a good idea to address them by name, not, “To whom it may concern.”

You should really apply for jobs that match your skills, experience and interest and reflect this in your cover letter, and in your resume with minor tweaks for each job you apply to. Don’t waste your time, or others’ time, on reading irrelevant, generic cover letters and resumes.

For your reference, here’s my posting: [ad URL here]

I hope this is helpful to you. If you happen to know anyone who would be a good fit for this position, please encourage them to apply. The feedback you received in this email is reflective of how working with me on a daily basis would be for the right candidate.

Best of luck in your search.

Utterly Amazed

I have jobs too, and no one wants them. Of the people who do want them, most of the applicants haven’t even read the job posting. This is the equivalent of the pop up ads on websites of yesteryear that weren’t relevant to the user’s intent. If someone wants to buy coffee, don’t try to sell them porn. If you can’t display an ad for coffee, at least display something related. When someone advertises a marketing job, don’t send them the same, irrelevant cover letter twice pitching your experience as a team player who studied sociology and expect a response. At the very least, add a sentence tying this to online marketing somehow and BS me a little so I think you at least have a genuine interest.

Still Looking

I’m still looking to fill this position. If you or someone you know in New Jersey wants a foot in the door and can starve for 6-12 months while learning the ropes, please send them my way. It doesn’t pay a whole lot at first, but I am extremely generous and fair when people deserve it. Here’s what I’m looking for:

Internet Marketing – Assistant Manager, Part-Time
On The Job Training, Hoboken, New Jersey

Small startup is looking for someone ambitious to perform basic SEO, affiliate marketing and content editing. Also manage 1 or 2 direct reports and help in the sales cycle in acquiring new marketing clients. You only need to be a quick learner, literate, ambitious and highly interested in marketing to succeed in this position and it can become very lucrative, very quickly. You will report directly to [my name].

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, writing or related field with a very strong interest in internet marketing
• Must be both fast and accurate – you must be able to keep up a fast pace and make deadlines, while delivering high quality work
• Basic understanding of HTML
• Highly literate in the English language – ability to do light editing of content written by others
• Be comfortable working hands-on, as well as managing 1 or 2 other people, plus multiple projects
• Ambitious self-starter and excellent communicator who doesn’t need hand-holding
• Comfortable with working in a very small company with a casual atmosphere
• Basic knowledge of affiliate marketing, aggressive and articulate on the phone and via email

Part-time hours, on-site, potential for fulltime work and rapid advancement for the right candidate. Send resume, cover letter, salary requirements, writing samples, availability, etc. via email to jobs@unlimitedmarketingllc.com. No phone calls, no recruiters.

This article was inspired by an article I read recently on CNN Money, I have jobs, but no one wants them.

I’m in the process of starting a new company. It’s going to be a a public relations agency, with only about five to seven team members. Being that the company is going to be so small, and I know it’s going to be a challenge when it comes to getting everything done on time. We’re going to work as a group to ensure that everything is done, and we’re each going to have different responsibilities. So far we have a writer, a marketing manager, and I’m the general manager of the company. To prevent the need of hiring even more staff, I decided that we’re going to find a hosting company.

I spoke to the rest of the team members, and they all agreed that this was a good idea. We searched online for cheap hosting plans, and we came across JustHost.com. Our goal was reached when we found this host website, because I immediately noticed that the prices were much cheaper than what other companies were offering. Something else that’s great about this company is that they offer a Linux Server with PHP 5 and the latest hosting software that’s built in to the site. I had some questions how exactly they work as hosts, and I was able to give them a call and hear more about it. They were happy to help me, even though I asked so many questions.

Once again the main thing that attracted me to Just Host is that they are so affordable. You can save even more money by using a JustHost coupon. This just adds to the fact that using them for a host is a good idea.

If my company had not hired them. we would be wasting money that’s just pointless to spend. We are saving this money by only needing to pay a small pay for the host website when we need them. We don’t have to hire and pay someone a salary to someone to do this. We would have to train this person as well, and that would be wasting time and money.

In addition to money and time being saved, we are also less stressed now that we have a host. All team members can focus on what they need to do, and not worry about a whole new task such as hosting. We can depend on Just Host, and know that everything is being taken care of.

JustHost.com

With record high online sales this past holiday season, it is clear that online shopping is a growing industry. More and more people opt out of the holiday hassle of long lines and crowded stores, and prefer to make their gift purchases online. As the industry continues to grow, rewards programs like FreeShipping.com have become increasingly more important in streamlining the buying process and helping customers get the best deals possible. It came under my radar as a free shipping service, but it in fact offers much more. The websites’ services range from Insider Coupons to Instant Free Shipping, but of course its biggest benefit is getting you access to free shipping with your online shopping. This could very well be the leading subscription-based discount shopping service right now, and I’ll tell you why.

Simply put, this website is what is called a companion shopper. As the name suggests, in subscribing, you forgo shipping costs when shopping from a great number of big online stores and niche websites. In this case, you get your shipping charges directly taken out of your shopping cart. If a website doesn’t offer the instant free shipping service, however, you can still shop through the rebate network and shave dollars off your shipping charges this way. Keep in mind that they have partnered up with more than 1,000 websites! On top of that, services like Lowest Price Guarantee on products, Consumer Protection, and Return Shopping Coverage make a subscription really worth getting. To familiarize yourself with the full scope of their services, you can review the website or speak to a representative at the FreeShipping.com phone number, 1-800-869-5597, available any time of the day. Skim the blog or the FAQ page to get some ideas on how you can save more money online. Or, you can read up on some FreeShipping.com reviews, and get a sense of how their many content customers utilize the coupons and rebates.

The Better Business Bureau gave an A+ as their FreeShipping.com rating, which confirms what satisfied users already know – that this is a service that not only helps you save money online, but also is provided by a company that cares about customer satisfaction. Whether you are sending flowers to your mom on Mother’s Day, or shopping for a nice gift from one of the big department stores, the rewards program will give you peace of mind and perhaps more than a few extra bucks in your wallet. The monthly subscription rate is just over $12, but you can review the service during the 30-day free trial before making a final decision. Cancellation is also super-easy. If you decide to cancel, you can do so free of charge and “no questions asked.”

Social Media Optimization (SMO) extends a rare invitation inside the mind of your current and future customer base. Learn who your customers are and engage them with compelling content that will make them come back for more.

The information gathered is unprecedented as never before have consumers so openly given up personal information including what is close and important to them, their likes and dislikes, their hobbies and habits, and even their secrets and guilty pleasures.  The great thing about Social Media Optimization is that we can track certain characteristics about your customers, match them up with other trends, and actually locate and introduce a whole new market to your product or service.  The first step to get ahead is to call or e-mail us to request a consultation.

Social Media Optimization amplifies Search Engine Optimization through Exposure and Visibility

Social Media Optimization

The concept of Social Media Optimization is self-explanatory.  It is to utilize social media to engage your existing customers, while simultaneously attracting new users to your pool of potential customers.  However, you can have thousands of people “like” your page on Facebook without converting a single “like” into a “buy.” That’s where we come in.

Sometimes, social media may be used as a vehicle to produce sales. However, we’ve found that most people are not in “buy mode” when surfing the latest pics of their friends on Facebook. In this scenario, we are only looking to engage the user with interesting content that keeps them coming back for more, and building your brand. Which strategy is best for your website – growing sales or increasing engagement? We’ll let you know after we’ve gathered all of the information necessary to make an intelligent decision.

While most simple CRM’s out there are industry specific, only including features relevant to the functions of one particular industry, others are more comprehensive, and work across multiple industries. The downside to the latter option is that these systems are very comprehensive, as they must include many features to work in multiple industries, which creates a very complex and confusing system that is not easy to navigate, and includes features you will never use yet are stuck paying for.

So where’s the middle? Who’s system has a compromise between the two? Well one system that falls in this “middle” category would be amoCRM, a hosted CRM created by the good people at QSOFT. This system, though simple enough upon first examination, was designed for small-to-medium sized businesses, and is quite effective. By only including those features which have a direct impact on your customer retention and conversion rates, as well as ROI, they were able to keep the system’s navigation quite simple, while still producing exactly what you need from a CRM.

Originally designed for businesses in the B2B marketplace, it wasn’t long before other industries, marketplaces, and businesses began to adopt amoCRM too, due to its practicality and many customize-able features. Currently, users of the system can change anything from the Status-Update Labels, to adding up to 3 customize-able fields to their leads. This addition of 3 customize-able fields is actually a lot bigger, and due to the ability to filter your results by these fields, more helpful, than most would realize. For example, insurance companies can include specific plans, diagnoses, and more, and they can quickly filter their search results by this information too. The system alsoincludes the ability for its users to design and incorporate their own custom widgets that can be displayed at the bottom of each clients’ file. amoCRM also includes a general notes section for each lead or contact, allowing you to not only keep record of all past interactions with each lead and contact, but to make note of any upcoming tasks, deadlines, or attach any documents to their file too.

The system is so simple it requires no tutorial. Finding the navigation pretty self-explanatory, most users begin working immediately, choosing not to take the system’s tour. Even the least tech-savvy person in the office will be navigating their way through it within minutes, following each of their leads as they go through the process of changing from prospective customer, to loyal patron. The goal of amoCRM is not just to help you convert a lead to a sale, but to provide you with the tools you need to provide your customers with the highest level of service, insuring not only that their needs are met, but that they will return next time they need your product of service.
With prices competitive to any other hosted CRM on the market, and a support team of knowledgeable CRM experts standing behind it, it’s no wonder that this new CRM is already gaining a foot hold against the Titans of its industry such as Salesforce, Oracle, Zoho, and more. amoCRM also promotes itself as the ultimate user friendly CRM, including a 30 day no risks, no obligations, free trial, where they take no credit card, or other personal information. After that, packages start at just $10/month, with no contracts, and no automatic billing, allowing their users to upgrade, downgrade, suspend, or re-activate their subscription with the service as their demand dictates.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for your free trial today at http://www.amocrm.com/, and see how much it can help you increase your customer conversion and retention rates.

Running a business can be a great opportunity, but you must have the right tools in order for it to be successful. No matter what type of product your company is selling, it’s important to have the right design for the companies logo or anything else that needs graphic design. Now if you are someone who is running a small business or if you are just starting up a business, I’m going to assume that you don’t have a whole lot of money to spend on those graphic designs. Even if the company does have a lot of money to spend, why would you want to spend more than you need to? Crowdspring can help you out if you are in need of any type of graphic design work done for your company.

There are many advantages of Crowdspring, and the price is probably the most important. When it comes to how much you pay the person who makes your logo or any type of graphic design work, you are the one in charged. The process is simple. You list how much you are willing to pay, and then it’s up to designers to basically compete for the task that you are giving to them. Once you receive the entries, you will then decide which design you like the best, and it isn’t until then that you will pay. Crowdspring provides a much better alternative to spending a lot of money on a big design company making your logo or design.

Something great about this website is that you will see many different options for your design, which will come from many different designers. All designers have different ideas, which means that all of the possible ideas are different and unique in their own way. A typical project gets about 110 entries, so you will really have a large selection to choose from. If there is an entry that is almost what you are looking for, you can provide feedback as to what you would like them to change or add. Maybe none of the entries have the characteristics that you are looking for. This would be another reason why you may want to make your requests more clear or maybe change it up a bit.

Crowdspring surly has successful designers, and the proof makes this obvious. Crowdspring has helped small businesses when it comes to designs and logos. There are also designers that have actually designed for big companions such as Starbucks, Amazon, and LG. The fact that such large companies like this have used designers from Crowdspring, shows that it is indeed legitimate and successful. The main point is that there really is no reason to spend a lot of money on any type of graphic design for any company. The fact that you can literally choose the amount of money that you are willing to pay is just great. There’s no wonder as to why the website is so successful, because of the fact that so much money can be saved. Overall Crowdspring.com is the website to visit if you are searching for a logo, ad, or any type of graphic design for your company.

Manhattan Saddlery Review

Manhattan Saddlery has been in business for many years as a trusted store in NYC. They carry a quality selection of equestrian apparel and horse tack, with a knowledgeable staff in-house. These horseback riders know their stuff and can answer just about any question that comes from a customer on any given day.

Horseback riding continues to grow in popularity. This positions Manhattan Saddlery well, as there aren’t many other tack shops in the New York City area, let alone stores with their selection of merchandise. They carry just about every top brand in the industry, most of which are available online.

The marketing of ManhattanSaddlery.com has become a more significant initiative in recent months, with a redesign scheduled for mid-2012. This upgrade to the design of the website is a much-needed facelift that will surely improve the marketability of their products. The possibilities are unlimited – as more people discover the website due to the SEO consulting work done on it, the customer base will grow and the company will realize its full potential as a true destination for the serious rider.

If your business is just taking its first leap into the online arena, or you’re interested in increasing your pre-existing web presence with a fresh redesign, then you need to work with a company that has a firm grasp on ecommerce web design. A properly designed, managed and crafted website can mean a huge increase in sales and a professional company reputation. The following are absolutely necessary components for a successful website.

Develop a Strategy Before Designing a Website

First and foremost, each page in your website must have a purpose. All too often, consumers arrive at a website, prepared to make a purchase, and they get lost in the commotion of a poorly planned site. Believe it or not, your website’s navigation is not just important for a pleasant user experience, but it is this underlying architecture that forms the foundation for SEO and achieving rank.

Next, consider your website design. More often than not, a simple, clean website attracts customers and makes them feel more at-ease with your company. If your site isn’t already professionally designed, then it’s time you hire a web designer or a professional design firm like Consorte Marketing to handle your site. Hiring a designer costs you money, but ends up saving you thousands in lost business in the long run.

If you don’t understand what wireframes are, then I absolutely insist you hire a professional to handle the design and function of your site. The wireframe should contain the basics of your site, including navigation and content. A professional can create a wireframe that is user-friendly and intuitive to customers.

Additionally, your site will need continued maintenance to ensure that it is search-engine friendly. After the initial design, consider hiring a firm to handle your SEO and ensure that customers can always find you when they search certain key words.

If you plan on selling directly from your site, it is crucial that your shopping cart, product descriptions and checkout are easy to navigate.  The last thing you want to do is give your customers reasons not to purchase from your site. If you aren’t sure how to simplify your website, consider discussing the issues with a web development firm. Developers understand the in’s and out’s of website construction, including ways to simplify customer experience.

Finally, a successful ecommerce website should give the customer reasons to return again and again. Running a successful email campaign to alert customers of a sale or new items in stock helps to draw them back.

Following these ecommerce web design rules is difficult without the help of a professional. By hiring a firm that understands your needs, you’re saving yourself a world of trouble and confusion, and likely, saving your business as well.

SMO for Twitter

Our goal is to use social media optimization in order to help your company get the most customers as possible. Everyone knows that people all across the world are constantly on Facebook and Twitter. In addition to catching up with friends, Facebook and Twitter users are using these websites to communicate with friends on what products they have used, and want their friends to use.

Our goal is to help you reach your goal. Using social media services to attract the audience that would benefit from your company. SMO is such an effective way to market a company or product, because it gets the right audience directed to your companies social media service. In addition to getting people to view your social media website, we will create a campaign that will allow viewers on these social media services to become interested and eager to learn more about your company.

Why is Unlimited Marketing effective?

As a marketing agency, we care about your company and don’t want you to waste any time getting your companies name across to audiences that don’t really matter. If you are a medical supplies company, you won’t gain any profit from people who are interested in fashion. We focus on getting your audience geared towards your Social media site.

How exactly do we attract your target audience to you?

Using our social media management services, we will create traffic from our Social media services to your own. We will create this traffic by using the right resources such as a creative campaign, which will appeal viewers to your site. These viewers are your potential customers, and we won’t waste anytime with directing an audience that’s out of your target, to go to your social media website.

It’s simple, we want to help you gain potential customers onto your social media website, which can eventually lead to you receiving a profit.

The study of marketing is sometimes called the science of selling. In practice, good marketing should grow your business through a combination of four steps known as the marketing mix. The proper balance of each element in the marketing mix should lead companies to greater profits and more consumer recognition. Unfortunately, marketers have been forced to think outside the mix in a world bursting with advertising clutter and brand intrusion, bringing about unlimited marketing.

The marketing mix contains the “4 P’s,” product, price, place, and promotion. Product means that marketers should recognize what products consumers are missing in their lives, understand how current products are being used, develop alternative uses for current products and develop new product ideas as necessary. Price is the most self-explanatory of the marketing mix, and says that marketers determine a competitive price for their product. After determining a price, the marketer must determine where and how he/she would like to place this product in front of consumers. This step is crucially important, as even cereal companies compete with one another for the best spot on the shelves.  Finally, marketers must determine the ways (and budget) for promoting the item they spent time developing.

In a perfect world, the marketing mix works every time, and products are displayed in front of interested and engaged consumers who readily purchase your new products. Unfortunately, marketers now face the challenge of breaking through the clutter developed by themselves and other marketers, each of whom are dying to get a minute of a tired consumer’s attention.

Today, marketers turn to unlimited marketing to engage consumers and get them to interact with their product. Marketing today must be creative, honest and consistent across mediums. Consumers need to experience a bond with a brand, as if they would invite them to dinner. Marketers are still struggling to find the perfect balance between the marketing mix and the newer integrated marketing techniques, but those who understand it are successfully growing their businesses.