‘How to Hire a Researcher’ by James Burt
James Burt’s latest é-Wealth Daily’ article is titled “How to Hire a Researcher”. [é-Wealth Daily’ Article]
James Burt’s latest é-Wealth Daily’ article:
How to Hire a Researcher
If you’re an information marketer and I ask you what you have on your agenda, there’s a real good chance that you don’t know. Not because you’re trying to be funny, but because you really can’t tell.
Don’t worry — this is more common than you think. Most entrepreneurs aren’t ever really sure what they’re doing day to day. It’s impossible to predict. Entrepreneurs’ schedules change like the direction of the wind. There’s no way you can predict what exactly will happen on any given day. You could have a client issue to deal with or have to pay some bills or have a lunch appointment with a colleague. In the office, you can often figure out a routine, but when you’re the boss, this sort of situation is unheard of.
But, like your schedule, one thing that might really change for you is your personal level of inspiration and expertise. Some days you’ll be flying through the information you receive and creating info products faster than a cola factory pumping out full cans. These are the best of times for you. But some days you’re going to fall short. You have no ideas for new products, your information is drab and repetitive, and your mood is generally pretty down. This is the worst of times. I hate to sound dour, but it’s true. These situations creep up on info marketers and often at times that they’d rather they didn’t. If you’re in the season that you should be creating great info products and you’re in a slump, then there’s a real feeling of dread.
However, I stand by the fact that this does happen to just about everyone. It’s tough, but it’s something commonplace. Every business pro is going to go through it at least once. But this doesn’t mean that the well-oiled machine of your business has to stop while you give your brain a bit of a rest. Quite the opposite — it’s just time to call in some assistance.
One person who can help you in a slump is a professional info researcher. You can employ someone part time to help you get new ideas, suggest new products, and even get new tips for your business. A professional researcher can cover a lot of ground for you in times when you are stumped or short for time.
A good researcher doesn’t necessarily advertise their services, so you might have to do a bit of canvassing to find a one. You can seek one out on an employment or recruiter web site. Oftentimes, people who work in education or publishing are skilled researchers and can work for you on a part-time basis to do some research for your business. Be sure though to see what their history as a researcher is. If they’ve done graduate work in a particular field like history, anthropology, or business studies, have experience doing research professionally, and understand both small business and info marketing, then they are the types of folks you want to go to work for you.
As well, it’s good for you to have some idea of what you want a researcher to do for you. Do you want them to scour the Internet for product ideas or do you need new topics for your newsletters? What legal or business-related details for current info marketing do you want them to find? Are they to cover just online material or go to the stacks of a reference library to find the material(s)? There are all questions worth considering. Make sure you specify how you want your researched information delivered — i.e. regular e-mail updates, full reports, complete portfolio — and what stuff you’d like the researcher to avoid. All of this takes a bit of prep work, but it can give your researcher the directives they need.
Obviously, you should also do up a good researcher contract. Offer a good fee such as a flat honorarium and, if they have to pay for extra services and fees, have them bill you for these. This part is necessary, as your researcher will appreciate your professionalism and work hard to get what you want done.
One thing every info marketer should be hip to is new business trends. This emphasis should be delivered to the researcher. It’s no use for them to do research and uncover material that has already been used or is of no potential to you. Remember that your researcher is working to uncover things that can stimulate your business. With some intruction, your researcher should be keen to find you new materials of any size and shape. This is the key to good research and is what will help your business get out of the professional slump that it’s in.
On a final note, this might be a job for you, too. In a reverse situation, you might be on fire with new ideas and up on a lot of new business trends. If that’s the case, you might be able to solicit yourself for a researcher position to assist another pro. Should you get this opportunity, take it. You will diversify your skills, get some great experience, help someone else out, and even get ideas for yourself. In the end, being a researcher is one of the best jobs there is, and being an info marketer puts you in that category automatically. It’s a great professional
place to be.
e-Wealth Daily
About e-Wealth Daily
The e-Wealth Daily Bulletin brings you daily tips, advice and breaking news related to home businesses, small businesses and internet marketing. Our team of experts gives you the information you need to take your business pursuits to the most profitable level. Founded by Adrian Newman in 2003, the e-Wealth Daily Bulletin and www.ewealthdaily.com are a division of Lombardi Publishing with online newsletters reaching over 100,000 subscribers each month.
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