(1) Most often, these are “multi-level marketing” schemes or affiliate programs.  The MLM folks are seeking “applicants” to “buy in” to a business opportunity.  The “affiliate program” advertisers are sometimes other affiliates seeking “referral commissions,” but more often it’s the merchant seeking new “affiliates” who will be encouraged to invest resources into promoting the merchant’s web site in exchange for the promise of sales commissions.  Usually, the merchant web sites are awful; more often than not, it’s clear that the merchant hasn’t properly set up “affiliate tracking” so there’s little chance they’ll ever pay.

(2) Quite often, these are folks who have “an idea,” sometimes not even a web site or a business plan.  The “idea” is rarely original, and the “advertiser” rarely has any legitimate business experience.

(3) Sometimes these “advertisers” are actually fishing for “investments” — they want applicants to become “partners” in the business (usually a hypothetical business which is not well-defined).

(4) Far too often, these “advertisers” turn out to be “web publishers” seeking help selling advertising or getting sponsorships.  It’s an “advertising sales” job, not marketing work at all.

(5) Sometimes, the “advertiser” turns out to be an “affiliate” of a “get paid to read ads” company — usually the offer is described as “advertisement review” but it’s just an opportunity to sign up with a sleazy company that promises a few pennies each time you click on an email ad.  (They’re selling advertising to merchants, and falsely claiming that your clicks are legitimate customers. You’ll get paid exactly what you deserve for participating in a fraudulent scheme: they’ll never pay you a penny.)

I’m not seeking work as a programmer, web developer, or web site designer, but I often peek at some of these ads when the title seems . . . incomplete.  It’s often good for a laugh.

• “I Need a Web Site” or “Fix my web site” or”Update my web site”
• “Web Developer” or “PHP/MySQL Programmer”

Of course, you’d expect the text of the ad to provide more detail.  But it almost never does.  Sometimes there are “isolated details,” such as “I want a web store with 1,000 products.”  But it’s quite clear that these folks haven’t identified the key issues involved in creating the web site they want.  Despite their lack of knowledge, they often offer absurdly low compensation (today, I saw an offer of just $200 for a “web site with e-commerce shopping cart”).

What’s interesting is that some of these folks include “confrontational” language in their ads — for example, saying “don’t quote more than $400 because I already have quotes for less,” or “don’t respond if you aren’t willing to complete this project within 10 days.” Some ads actually skip the “quotation” stage, and just say “send me the layout for the site you’d produce,” but of course without any hint about the topic or purpose of the web site.

Almost always, these folks want a fixed-price quote right now, long before anyone could possibly estimate the amount of work required for the project.

The saddest part, I think, is that many of these folks will receive replies that include a fixed-price quote, from people who generate “cookie-cutter” web sites using templates.  Of course, without discussing the actual requirements, the client is unlikely to get what she wants.

Yes, of course, some folks who make “apps” and templates for FaceBook or MySpace can make some money.  And perhaps some “people search” and dating services can derive a profit, in large part due to the incredibly low cost of advertising in social media.  And there are some very specific campaigns that drive attention via FaceBook and Twitter, but of course we don’t know the cost and benefit (ROI) from those campaigns.

Capitalizing on the real marketing opportunity in “social media” requires a huge investment of resources (time and money).  Often, firms overlook the importance (and cost) of “reputation management” (I wrote about this in a book review in 2002: social media and community-building efforts “create huge risks of brand dilution and potential legal liability”).

Few clients are willing to invest so much without clear proof of long-term profit.  I’ve seen many “marketing efforts” in social media which claim success, but without any empirical data to support that claim.*

This all has a troubling impact on my business as an internet marketing consultant. I’d estimate that nearly half of all the ads seeking “internet marketing help” mention “social media marketing” as a primary task (and perhaps 90% of the “well-written, serious” ads mention social media, though less often as a primary focus).  In a few cases, there are some very legitimate opportunities for “social media marketing,” but the majority of employers are just playing buzzword bingo, or wasting energy on pipe dreams.

Of course, I won’t exclude “social media” marketing efforts (if a client can allocate the proper resources, social media should be a component of its marketing efforts).  But I have no desire to allocate time to “social networking” sites that don’t show any promise of positive ROI — nor will I lie about my expectations from these efforts.

I don’t serve a client (or employer) well, if I “do what they say, not what they mean.” What they mean (or ought to mean) is that they want to earn profits from the sale of goods or services. Too often, what they seem to say is, “despite any proof to the contrary, I believe that there is a way to profit from social media, and I want to hire someone who can do this.” One result is an influx of “padded,” fraudulent resumes.

Personally, I’d like to hire someone who could spin straw into gold, but I shouldn’t be surprised if all the applicants claiming that ability turn out to be dishonest.

Of course, profiting from marketing efforts in “social media” and “social networking” is much more plausible than spinning straw into gold. And every business should always allocate some resources to exploring new opportunities. However, given the absence of any clear evidence that it is being done, merchants should not [b]over-allocate[/b] resources to this pipe dream.

– Mark J. Welch

Relevant Links:

– “Forget social media, SEO and PPC is where the money’s at” (eConsultancy.com, describing a Forrester research study)

– ABestWeb.com discussion about the eConsultancy/Forrester report.

You will receive many resumes and cover letters from unqualified applicants. You can use several strategies to try to reduce the number of unqualified responses, but unfortunately many people and companies use automated scripts to respond to every Craigslist ad that contains specific keywords, or every ad posted in a particular category.

(1) Some strategies to reduce unwanted applications while also encouraging qualified applicants:

(a) Insist that applicants use a very specific subject line (different from the ad title) for their reply emails. This helps you screen out replies from people who haven’t really read the ad, including automated replies.

(b) You can also require that applicants respond to very specific questions about their qualifications (“Do you have 3 years experience with Ruby on Rails?”) in their response. But don’t ask essay questions (“Please identify your three greatest strengths as an employee, and your three greatest weaknesses.”)

(c) Be very specific about the geographic requirements of the job. Many jobs could be done “remotely” by tele-commuters; if you require that all work be done in your office, say so (“local applicants only”). If you’ll consider out-of-area applicants for jobs that must be done in your office, be clear whether relocation assistance might be available.

(c) Be clear about the experience and skill requirements for the job. Separate your list of “absolute requirements” from the list of “preferred” or “desired” qualifications.  (Example: I’m extremely experienced managing Google AdWords campaigns, but I haven’t jumped through the hoops nor paid the fees to become a Certified “Google AdWords Professional.” I don’t respond to ads that say “Google Adwords Certification required,” even though I could certainly do the work, because the ad sets an absolute requirement. I do respond to ads that say “Google AdWords certification preferred.”)

(d) Be clear about compensation, if you’ve made a reasonable decision about it. If you’re offering $12 per hour, say so. This reduces time wasted on calls and interviews with candidates who won’t accept that rate.

(e) Be specific about the job: What specific responsibilities will the employee be assigned? Who will the employee report to? What kind of hierarchy will the employee need to fit into? How will the employee’s performance be evaluated?

(f) If you’re seeking an “intern,” include that word in the ad title, and clearly state if it’s paid or unpaid, and whether you’ll consider only students. (Some folks use the term “intern” when they just mean they want skilled work for low- or no-wage.)

(2) “Don’ts” for Employment Ads: These are often “red flags” that will lead qualified applicants to ignore your ad.

(a) Don’t ask the applicant to “work for free.”  This includes ads that request the candidate to “examine our web site and suggest three specific improvements,” or “identify which core technologies you would use to implement our retail e-commerce web site, and explain why,” or “submit a proposed marketing plan.”  Many unethical firms use ads like these to seek “free advice,” so qualified applicants won’t invest the time and effort to respond to these ads.

(b) Don’t require applicants to use a proprietary “job application” script or a job-search web site. Some “job sites” post their own (fake or copied) job listings on Craigslist in order to draw people to sign up on their “job search” web sites.  Many qualified candidates (especially those who have current jobs) won’t be willing to invest the time required to complete your online “process.”

(c) Don’t post vague job descriptions or requirements. For example, “We need a web site,” or “we need someone to help promote our business” (especially if you don’t mention the industry you’re in). Such ads demonstrate little planning or commitment. And many vague ads are posted by spammers seeking the widest possible response pool.

(d) But don’t identify detailed job requirements based on decisions you’re not competent to make. Even if you have made some “tentative decisions,” be clear what’s still open for discussion. For example, don’t say “We need an expert in implementing e-commerce web sites using Yahoo Merchant Services,” if you’d consider other technologies and hosting solutions.

(e) Don’t combine many dissimilar skills into a single job description. For example, I often see ads that seek a single person to do “Web Site Development” (including programming), “Graphic Design,” and “Marketing.”  While there is overlap in these roles, you’ll never find a single person who is expert in all. By imposing such varied responsibilities and skills into a single job, you exclude good candidates, while also attracting “padded resumes” and fraudulent resumes.

(f) Don’t include requirements or skills which are completely impossible. For example, “at least 10 years experience with Google AdWords” (Google didn’t accept paid advertising until 2000, although other PPC search firms did exist before then) or “5 years experience with Joomla” (Joomla was released in 2005, but similar content-management systems existed for many years before then).

(g) Don’t demand references in the initial application.  Again, many spammers use fake Craigslist ads to gather contact info; competitors use fake ads to identify prospects.  Serious applicants who respect their past employers and clients won’t widely circulate their email addresses and cell-phone numbers (certainly not to an anonymous email address).  I never provide references until I’ve spoken with the prospective employer and contacted each reference to let them know to expect the call — and I often choose different people as references for different prospective employers or clients (since I’ve done different work for past clients and employers).

(h) Don’t break the law. Don’t specify “women only” or “college students preferred,” unless there is a legitimate reason why the position should be limited based on gender, age, or student status.

(i) Network marketing schemes and affiliate programs are not jobs or gigs — they are business opportunities. Creating fake “job” or “gig” listings to promote your multi-level marketing program or your company’s affiliate program is a waste of everyone’s time.

Some related Links:

• Vent: Employment Ad Scams
• 8 ways to tell if a Craigslist ad is bogus
• For Employers, Low-Priced Craigslist Job Postings Contain a Hidden Cost
• Is Craiglist doing a disservice to job-seekers?
• Tips for applying to a job listed on Craigslist

I’m seeing many more “employment ads” that seem to be fake, from companies that aren’t hiring but are merely seeking to promote their web businesses, or fishing for free advice.

Today, I found an ad which appears to be from a local company that sells legal software, which sounded like a pretty good fit for me, since I’ve recently worked full-time with a B-to-B software company, and I’m an attorney who previously wrote a syndicated newspaper column reviewing computer software for lawyers, before my more recent 12 years of experience doing internet marketing.  But I stopped at this sentence:  > “Please take a close look at merchant’s-web-site.com and list the three most important short term and long term actions we should take to improve and maximize our organic traffic. Explain why you picked these three.” <

Suspicious, I searched to see if the ad has appeared elsewhere, and (surprise!) much of the same ad copy has appeared in other Craiglist ads, including one for a “Social Media Marketing Manager” that didn’t mention the legal software company.  With some quick research, I discovered that the ad was placed by an offshore software development company based in India. They are simply trying to gather free advice and strategy, and identify “best practices.”

Using fake employment ads in order to get free advice isn’t new — I’ve ended many phone calls and walked out of two job interviews in the past few years after realizing that the “employer” had no money to hire anyone. But in the past, most of the “scam” ads have appeared in the unpaid “gigs” section on Craigslist. For years, I’ve seen “gig” ads, seeking an “SEO Consultant,” which list a web site URL and ask for very specific feedback.  (I’ve been annoyed enough at some of these ads that I’ve considered writing up a very detailed response giving a very credible spin to some really awful advice, just to waste their time.)

At the same time, other scam artists are working overtime: in the past week, I’ve received at least a dozen emails and five telephone calls from people promoting network-marketing schemes — plus a couple of dozen emails promising unspecified opportunities of easy wealth.  Again, this was unusual because they apparently paid for ads listing fake jobs, only to gather contact info to use in recruiting for MLM (multi-level marketing) scams.

Link: Advice for Employers Placing Job Ads

1. From a quick review of our website, what would you recommend to focus on for starting generating revenues in the next 2 months.
2. What would you believe will be the long term best revenue streaming channel for such a blogosphere and green knowledge-hub.
3. What do you think will be the best way to double the amount of readers and bloggers in 1 month.

After they revealed their web site URL (dreck, and still in “beta” after two years) , it was very clear that their they don’t have any funds to hire anyone.