Tag: Business Models

Integrating Print and Digital Recruitment Ad Sales

by Maddyin Marketing

Newspapers and magazines belonging to regions with smaller populations or that publish on niche topics have in some cases had a difficult time bridging the gaps between their traditional print circulation and the digital realm.

 

When it comes to recruitment advertising sales, it’s a big deal to transition from employment classified ads to a job board branded to your publication. There are three main areas around which the change may be focused – the experience of your customers, your internal sales processes, and the experience of your job seekers.

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Improving Your Job Board’s Performance with the Right Traffic

by Maddyin Job Board Strategy1 Comment on Improving Your Job Board’s Performance with the Right Traffic

There is a tendency for job boards to get tunnel vision when it comes to website traffic. Lots of traffic usually means lots of candidates, which means applications and/or clicks, which help the job board directly or indirectly generate revenue and provide the value they promise to recruiters and employers.

While you certainly won’t make money from a job board that no one visits, a high volume of applications won’t necessarily guarantee continued success. With a high traffic, high volume strategy, you’re essentially betting that among the thousands of job seekers arriving at your site and applying to your jobs will be some really qualified people.

While on the surface, bombarding employers with dozens or hundreds of applications might make them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth, you’re actually not making their job easier. The higher the volume of applications, the more work is involved for them, and the more likely it is that candidates aren’t going to be fairly or consistently screened and evaluated. The end result is that your customer may not wind up hiring somebody they found through your job board.

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Recruitment Business Models are Evolving

by Maddyin Recruiting

Recruiting is an interesting business to be in right now. When it comes to technology, many businesses are playing catch-up to bring their processes fully into the digital age.

Now, before you run out and buy a fully-formed, artificially intelligent robot assistant, think about examining your business model first. Any technology you use needs to fit with your business and the problems that it solves for your customers. Here are three things to keep in mind when evolving your recruitment business model:

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Chamber of Commerce Job Boards Shouldn’t be Empty

by Maddyin Job Board Strategy

Chambers of Commerce do a lot of interesting work to advocate for local businesses, support local economic development, and to engage their community. With so much on your plate, it’s not completely shocking to discover that your chamber of commerce’s job board has been a little… neglected.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what that neglect looks like, how it can be fixed, and why it matters. First up, here’s a glimpse at some chamber of commerce job boards who share this problem:

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5 Steps to Making More Money With Your Job Board

by Maddyin Job Board Strategy

For job boards that find themselves struggling to retain their past successes in the ever-changing world of recruiting, there are five core things you need to do to stay competitive and make more money.

1. Be Niche. Start Niche. Become Niche. Get… Niche-ier.

Generalist job boards – those that deal with all types of jobs on a national or international level – have the most competition. Not having a niche makes it really hard to stand out when it comes to your marketing, your SEO, and your overall value proposition to customers. (If you expect someone to search for “jobs” and find you on the first page of search results next to Indeed, LinkedIn, Monster, Glassdoor, Craigslist, Facebook, and other big established job boards, you’re going to have a long, expensive, and difficult road ahead of you.) 

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Job Postings as Native Ad Revenue for Publishers

by Maddyin Job Board Strategy

Ad-Blockers are Causing Publishers to Lose Revenue

Display advertising is an important pillar of revenue for digital publishers, but disruption of those advertising revenue models has presented several challenges.

Last week Laurie Sullivan at MediaPost reported that US publishers have lost up to $15.8 billion in advertising revenue due to ad-blocking technology. The numbers come from a study done by OnAudience.com, which estimates the international loss of ad revenue as a result of ad-blockers rose to $42 billion.

Some publishers have found that a “less is more” approach may yield better results. By being selective about the number of ads, their placement, and just who is advertising what, readers visiting a website are more likely to click on an ad when it’s relevant and their experience is enjoyable.

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Hybrid Recruiting: How Recruiters Can Move Forward

by Maddyin Recruiting

The recruiting industry is fascinating in how its use of technology varies from company to company.

Some recruiters are always following the latest trends to try and keep a competitive edge, while others are just fine with the tried and tested – they know relationships are at the heart of what they do and don’t mind missing out on new technology. In many ways the latter group has the most to gain by modernizing some parts of their recruiting business but can be hampered by the process of changing.

This is one scenario we’ve heard from recruiters:

I have a legacy ATS that we’ve used for well over a decade. It’s worked well for the most part, but our outdated website reduces our credibility for candidates and sales leads. We also feel we could be attracting candidates and sales leads passively with the right tools, in addition to our outbound work.

We want to change, but we’re entrenched in our current system, so it will be difficult. (We have a checklist of things we know we need: mobile-friendly, social media connections, etc. But we don’t want to throw away what we like about our current process.)

Their concerns are valid, and it’s important to address them head-on. Below, we’ll discuss the four main problems and how recruiters can tackle them.

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How Niche Job Boards Solve Big Problems

by Maddyin Job Board Strategy

Niche job boards can solve a lot of problems for recruiters, and there are many different types of recruiters. Most of them have to really hustle and work hard to do their jobs, and while new technologies are opening up all kinds of doors and possibilities for the future, it can be overwhelming. Some people who need to hire employees aren’t recruiters at all – they’re primarily business owners and office managers who are also responsible for recruiting and hiring.

 

Hiring feels like an aberration of some kind. It’s a disruption to an employer because it means that somebody has quit, retired, or been fired. Or it means their business is growing and they need more hands on deck to get the work done or even just to keep their heads above water.

 

Often, it’s a big hassle that needs to be dealt with in a rush.

 

And yet, without the right people to fill those gaps and come on board, businesses can really struggle. Niche job boards can help solve these problems for employers and recruiters.

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Pricing Your Job Board Services

by Maddyin Job Board Strategy

If you’re starting a new job board, you’ve hopefully been making use of Careerleaf’s resources for job boards, and now you’re starting to think about how you’ll price your services.

To do this, you’ll need to know your overall costs and your business model, including what products or services you’re selling, and any other sources of revenue.

Revenue Goals

Many entrepreneurs may start off with dollar signs in their eyes, dreaming of all the cash they’ll have once they get their new business off the ground. The reality is many businesses take the time to become really profitable, so it’s important to set milestone goals for you to meet along your journey.

  1. Your First Sale – The first goal is proving out your business idea by making a sale, or a few initial sales, and learning from those early customers. Was the price right? Did they get what they wanted? Will they recommend your services to other people? You might experiment a little during this early stage to find the prices that match the value your customers expect and experience.
  2. Break Even – The second milestone is making enough money to cover your costs. How much do you spend to operate your job board in the first place? What do your monthly costs for software, hosting, marketing tools, and hours of labour (yours or that of an employee or contractor) add up to?
  3. Make a Profit – The third goal is generating enough revenue to cover your operating costs and make a profit. Once you’re profitable, you may invest that profit into growing the business further.

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6 More Reasons Not to Start a Job Board

by Maddyin Job Board Strategy2 Comments on 6 More Reasons Not to Start a Job Board

Maybe it’s the magic of reverse-psychology, but our most popular blog post has consistently been 5 Reasons Not to Start a Job Board since it was published.

It’s not that I don’t think people should start job boards. In fact, it’s kind of important to our business that people do run and start job boards. But, there are things that can cause problems for a new job board, and I’m interested in helping you avoid and overcome those problems.

So, back by popular demand, here are 6 more reasons not to start a job board!

1. You Don’t Know What You’re Selling

Why should anyone use your job board? Why should job seekers use your board, rather than using Indeed, LinkedIn, other large aggregators and job boards? Why should employers use your job board either, for that matter?

If you can’t answer those questions, you have a problem. This is usually the first thing to trip up a new job board. If you can’t think of what your board offers that other competitors (big or small) don’t, you’re going to have a hard time selling it to employers and candidates.

One of the reasons why job boards with a focus on a particular niche or regional market are successful is because it makes it easier to identify the problems of finding great talent and great jobs, and then work to solve them.

Make sure you know what you’re selling so you can communicate it to the people to whom you’re selling.

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