Having Great Stuff Is Not Good Enough

Having Great Stuff Is Not Good Enough Yesterday at the National Resume Writers Association conference I heard a question like this: How do I get more people to read my blog?   And an answer like this: Make sure you write great content. Unfortunately, I disagree.   Having great stuff is not good enough. If you have a blog and want more readers, having great content is not good enough.   If you have a Twitter account and want more readers, having great content is not good enough. If you have a resume and want to attract hiring managers and recruiters, having great content is not good enough. If you have a story and want to inspire, motivate, persuade, influence, or touch someone, having a great story is not good enough. Having great content, even being interesting, is not good enough. You have to market.   Nike has to had to market.   Coca Cola has to had to market.   Job seekers have to market themselves.   Bloggers have to market their blogs if they want other people to find and read the blogs.  Twitter people have to let people know you have a twitter page, and show you have interesting thing to tweet.  If you have a resume you have to get it in front of the right people, and differentiate yourself from the hundreds of other resumes a hiring manager might see.  Storytellers (thats all of us) need to get an audience, because telling that story again and again in front of a mirror isnt inspiring anyone. Marketing, for you, includes having a brand and letting others know about it (i.e., know that you exist).  Marketing is not just limited to big (or small) companies.  Marketing is key to your career success.   Check out Conversation Agent Valeria Maltonis recent post on In a Tough Economy, Branding Matters.  She talks about how job seekers (and career managers) can use technologies for branding.  She is a branding thought leader, and its cool to see her take on what we can do for our own careers. If you listen to podcasts, you have to check out the Personal Branding Summit recordings hours and hours of recordings on personal branding from very different perspectives, at NO COST. If you have great stuff, move to the next phase and let people know about it!     This post is sponsored by Bonnie Kurka, CEO of Executive Career Suite. Bonnie offers resume, coaching and outplacement services, and specializes in helping executives make that next step in their career.  Bonnie has a terrific blog, and is a JibberJobber Career Expert Partner. Having Great Stuff Is Not Good Enough Yesterday at the National Resume Writers Association conference I heard a question like this: How do I get more people to read my blog?   And an answer like this: Make sure you write great content. Unfortunately, I disagree.   Having great stuff is not good enough. If you have a blog and want more readers, having great content is not good enough.   If you have a Twitter account and want more readers, having great content is not good enough. If you have a resume and want to attract hiring managers and recruiters, having great content is not good enough. If you have a story and want to inspire, motivate, persuade, influence, or touch someone, having a great story is not good enough. Having great content, even being interesting, is not good enough. You have to market.   Nike has to had to market.   Coca Cola has to had to market.   Job seekers have to market themselves.   Bloggers have to market their blogs if they want other people to find and read the blogs.  Twitter people have to let people know you have a twitter page, and show you have interesting thing to tweet.  If you have a resume you have to get it in front of the right people, and differentiate yourself from the hundreds of other resumes a hiring manager might see.  Storytellers (thats all of us) need to get an audience, because telling that story again and again in front of a mirror isnt inspiring anyone. Marketing, for you, includes having a brand and letting others know about it (i.e., know that you exist).  Marketing is not just limited to big (or small) companies.  Marketing is key to your career success.   Check out Conversation Agent Valeria Maltonis recent post on In a Tough Economy, Branding Matters.  She talks about how job seekers (and career managers) can use technologies for branding.  She is a branding thought leader, and its cool to see her take on what we can do for our own careers. If you listen to podcasts, you have to check out the Personal Branding Summit recordings hours and hours of recordings on personal branding from very different perspectives, at NO COST. If you have great stuff, move to the next phase and let people know about it!     This post is sponsored by Bonnie Kurka, CEO of Executive Career Suite. Bonnie offers resume, coaching and outplacement services, and specializes in helping executives make that next step in their career.  Bonnie has a terrific blog, and is a JibberJobber Career Expert Partner.