Keith Goodrum

When the economy is booming, and companies are on a hiring frenzy just tossing your resume around is enough to get attention. There are typically more jobs than people, and that creates competition for good candidates.

In times of economic uncertainty even getting a job interview can be tough. There are less jobs for people to apply for because companies are tightening their belts. Some are even laying off to cut costs. That means more people are competing for less openings.

However with the right marketing approach you can secure those tough to get interviews.

What does this have to do with online marketing, or blogging?

Plenty!

The copywriting & marketing skills you pick up online can be transferred to other areas of your life. These skills work because they are being targeted towards people. The same people who are online are the same people making hiring decisions. Plus, today most resumes & cover letters are read online.

Copywriter Rebecca Dean proves this in her latest blog post titled “How I Sold Myself In 23 Minutes” She used her copywriting skills to land a job interview in 23 minutes.

Here is how she did it…

Now that I’ve been a successful copywriter for some time now, I decided to put my skills to work on my cover letter. The result? I got a call for an interview merely 23 minutes after I emailed my cover letter and resume. The hiring manager really liked the unique approach I took to my cover letter called me right away.

Want to see it?

I thought you would… here it is:

THREE reasons why I believe I may be
the candidate you are searching for
regarding the telerecruiter position.

Rebecca goes on to give 3 compelling reasons why she is the right candidate for the job. An excellent example of direct response copywriting.

It reminded me of a headline I used to land a job interview within 2 hours. (Hey, it was before this newfangled internet thing) I faxed a cover letter & resume for an advertising sales job. The headline read…

I’ll wear out 2 pairs of shoes selling advertising for you!

I went on to explain why I would work so hard, listed my experience, how they would benefit and added a call to action. The sales manager called, and scheduled an interview that day. I provided a solution to his problems. And he couldn’t call fast enough…

Strong marketing works online, offline, in good times & in bad. Don’t think what you do in one area doesn’t transfer to another part of your life.

It has to be the folks who write headlines for the covers of magazines like Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Ladies Home Journal…

I heard that they spend as much time on the cover as they do putting together the whole magazine. You know that makes sense to me because if you can’t get people past the cover it doesn’t matter how great the rest of the magazine is if no one will read it.

These headlines are designed to do one thing & one thing only… to get you to open the magazine and read it. No pressure right?

One headline got me to drop what I was doing & read a magazine…

Yesterday I was cleaning out our magazine collection. We keep our magazines in a sophisticated filing system…

A pile.

Ba-Dump! (Ok, that was my poor imitation at a Milton Berle joke.)

The magazine is called Ladies’ Home Journal, and it is on the November ‘07 cover. The first headline reads:

What’s in Your Parents’ Will?

Nothing special here, right? I figured another X step article on how find out what’s in my parents will. Not quite. The second part of the headline stopped me dead in my tracks pick up the magazine and read the article. Want to see the 2nd part? OK:

Common Mistakes That Cost You $$$

That one came out of left field. Most people are curious about what’s in their parents will. After all we want to know what’s in it for us.

But to think there are common mistakes that could cost me money, instead of my parents… Now that got my attention.

Why this headline is soo good…

The reason this is a good headline is because it covers 3 important areas… Self-interest, curiosity, & urgency.

First it appeals to the greed glands. My self-interest took over, & answered the question… What’s in it for me? It does a perfect job in only 5 words.

Second Curiosity compelled me to find the article & read it. I had to know… what are these common mistakes? Are they easy to spot? Can they be fixed?

Third the urgency of finding out if these mistakes are being made can these mistakes be corrected? Or is it too late.

Take the time to read, and study these headlines. You can adapt them into your own writing, and add some umhp to your headlines. After all they are being created by the best in the business. Millions of dollars are riding on getting people to open these magazines. Now, that’s pressure to perform.