In this member only article I’ll discuss the characteristics of a successful job board owner.
One of the most common questions people ask me is about what goes into starting a successful job board. Running this type of business requires a certain skill set.
If you dont have these skills or don’t have the resources to hire for them or learn them, a job board is probably not a good idea for you.
A job board is an internet e-commerce business and as such requires the knowledge for making money online as well as driving traffic to your site. These skills must be learned and if you aren’t prepared to learn them you will struggle.
So having said that, here are my top 5 skills for a successful job board owner.
Skill #1: Persistence/Hustle
Are you prepared to be in in it for the long haul and hustle every day to make your site thrive? Any job board today needs a long time horizon (1-2 years depending on niche) to establish a foothold and gain traction. Be prepared to grind it out. Those who hustle each week will be rewarded.
Skill #2 Internet Marketing
Omni channel marketing. That is what you must be prepared to do if you want to run a job board. That means marketing your site to all the major marketing channels: email, SEO, content, social media, podcasting, Youtube and paid advertising. Podcasts/Youtube are not a must do but would help you to create community around your niche board.
You must learn to be a good internet marketer if you want to succeed. Driving traffic to the site will be your hardest challenge. This skill is where many job board owners fall short.
Skill #3: Sales Prospecting
Any site will need sales of course, so locating and convincing employers is a major factor. You will need a sales strategy and put that strategy into place so you are always building a pipeline of potential prospects.
Skill #4: Domain Expertise
If you already know the industry you are going into then you are ahead of the game. Its very important in my mind to come from the industry that you are launching into. I have a client who was recruiting in the nursing space who launched a job board for Nurse. Thats a perfect combination. Why?
Chances are you are already known in your industry and have contacts and followers you can help tap to market your site to. “Domain expertise” is a must have in my opinion.
Skill #5: “Techie”
Lastly it is important to understand how web sites work and how they connect to things like Ecommerce providers, Email programs etc. If you don’t consider yourself a “techie” you can still launch and run a job board with perhaps a partner who does.
Today’s software options mean you dont need to code your own site but a basic level of launching a website is very useful to have.
