Marketing

I just finished a free slide show called Marketing 101: The Fundamentals by SBDC Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. It had a lot of information that seems extremely useful; especially, since I am going to run the marketing side of the business. However, it had information that I just didn’t understand and probably won’t until I actually start working on our marketing plan.

A marketing plan says this is our product or service, this is how much we charge for our product or service, this is our target audience, this is how we are going to reach our target audience, this is how much we are going to spend to reach our target audience. For example, My husband, Jason, has started a painting company with his friend, Darin, A & M Coatings. Their service is painting and or staining walls, floors, ceilings, etc. Their basic fee is  $2.20 a square foot. Their target audience is business owners, contractors, and home owners. They spent maybe a total of $20 to print out business cards from home. They then drove around, looked for buildings that were being built, and talked to the contractors or business owner’s. After about one week, they put in about 10 different bids and got 6 of them.

My partner, Neil, has talked to people at various different career fairs. We have our business cards and flyers that we hand out to anyone and everyone. We have a blog page and a Facebook page. We are both on Linked In and members of various different groups. We also do not have any work coming in.

The slide show mentioned taking doing polls and surveys to find out what consumers want or need in regards to your business, products, or services. Both of us, Neil and myself, are technical writers. Neil specializes in process documentation and instructional design. I specialize in documenting software, writing service bulletins, and creating layouts. We are also adding services such as business plans and resumes just to kinda give us a kick start. Here’s the question, anyone can answer, what kind of marketing ads or promotions would like to see from us?

Resumes

A technical writer can take your resume and find a layout to make it pop.  A resume is more than black and white text listing your achievements, education, skills, experience, and technologies. A resume is a marketing tool for any individual looking for a job.

No one is going to take the time to read a resume that is three pages long. No one is going to read a resume that is text heavy.  No one is going to read an unorganized resume.  For example, look at this fictional resume for Ashkevron, Harry (Fictional Resume Original). This resume and others like it will be tossed into the garbage without a second glance.

One job can receive hundreds of application from around the world. Ashkevron’s resume has all of the necessary information that a university would look for in candidates. However, that information is buried and hard to find. The visual clues are confusing and direct your eye down the side of the page skipping over the text that shows his experience.

A resume is like a 10 second commercial. It has to catch your eye, show your skills, and demonstrate your experience while at the same time evoking excitement in the hiring manager. They have to believe that you are the perfect fit for their company. Ashkevron asked a technical writer for help and here is the result Ashkevron, Harry (Fictional Resume).

This resume is only one page and it is scan able. It has visual clues such as font styles, bullets, color, and white space that invite the eye to read the text. This resume now stands out and will get attention instead of landing in the garbage.

What can a technical writer do for your business?

A technical writer can update documentation to reflect new information, new images, or new branding.  A technical writer can create or update training materials to ensure employees understand their responsibilities. A technical writer can document processes to ensure that they are understood by employees and are done correctly by employees. A technical writer can interview subject matter experts to create manuals and service bulletins.

We are very proud to offer our services to help your company maintain its standards.