© Photoxpress

In today’s crowded job search market, it is important to stand out from the pack. One way to accomplish this is to create a website with a blog. This is easier said than done especially if the terms HTML and FTP sound foreign to you. Even if you hire a freelancer to build your blog, you will still need to learn how to create and edit posts.

Well, there is hope. I am going to explain how you can create an online presence within a week without spending money. This will consist of writing an article, posting it on HubPages, and linking to your article from various social networks.

Create an Article

You need to write an article demonstrating your expertise. This article needs to have a title and at least five paragraphs with headers. Also it should be of interest to your target audience who will be hiring managers of your targeted companies. For instance, if you are a sales manager you could write an article about growing your sales pipeline via social media.

After you write your article locate a nice picture for it. If you cannot locate or take a nice photo, conduct a Google search for the phrase “free pictures.” Visit a few of the sites and read the terms. Afterwards, join one of these sites and download a relevant picture for your article.

Download this episode (right click and save)

Join HubPages and Create Your First Hub

Visit HubPages by clicking 6 Step Process to Ace Any Job Interview. Next click on the join button in the upper right of your screen and create an account. After you are successfully registered, login, click on the start a new hub button located at the top of the screen, and follow these steps:

1. Enter the title of your article in the Choose a Title field.

2. In the Give Your Hub a Unique Web Address field, input a catchy phrase with popular keywords. For instance, social-media-prospecting-tips. Likewise the URL for your article will be http://www.hubpages.com/hub/social-media-prospecting-tips.

3. For the Choose a Topic field, select a relevant category in the drop down box. For example, I selected “Business & Jobs,” then “Marketing & Sales”, and finally “Sales & Selling.”

4. Input tags or keywords in the Please Add at Least 2 Tags field. Social media, prospecting, pipeline, and sales are tags you could use. I entered “social media” in the first field and “prospecting” in the second field. Afterwards select the Continue button.

5. You will be taken to a page that explains the rules and policies of using HubPages. Read them and if you agree, press the Continue button at the bottom of the page.

6. Enter the CAPTCHA code in the box and select the Continue button.

7. Next you will arrive to the “Assemble Your Capsules” page. Uncheck the Link to a slideshow of the photos in this hub? option in the center box.

Let’s assume that your article consists of five paragraphs. The hub by default will contain three capsules: one for your picture, text, and comments. Since your article has five paragraphs you need to add four more text capsules.

8. In the upper right of your screen, under the box titled “Add More Capsules,” click the text link four times to add four more text capsules below the comments capsule.

9. Now you need to reorder your capsules by making the comments capsule the last one. Below the “Add More Capsules” box is a box called “Capsule Ordering.” Place your mouse on the comments capsule and drag it below the text capsules. Afterwards, press the Reorder Now button.

Now it is time to create your first hub by publishing your article.

10. Click the edit button for the photo capsule, upload a photo, add a caption (to give credit to the photo’s originator if you downloaded it from one of the free picture sites), and click the save button.

11. For each of your five text capsules: click the edit button, enter the paragraph header in the Capsule Subtitle field, and enter the paragraph text in the box below. If you want to add a link to an URL, highlight the text you want to be a link, click on the link icon (looks like a chain link), enter the URL in the Link URL field, and press the Insert button. Afterwards, press the save button.

12. Finally press the Preview button to view your article, make any necessary edits, and click the Publish button when you are done. Congratulations! You have now created your first professional-looking hub or article.

Share Your Article

Now it is time for you to place your article in front of your target audience of hiring managers. You can start by sharing it with your professional Twitter and Facebook contacts. After you publish articles in HubPages, you can automatically submit them to Twitter and Facebook by clicking on the corresponding icons, inputting your login information (only have to do this once), and pressing the send or submit buttons. Next you can submit your article URL – http://www.hubpages.com/hub/social-media-prospecting-tips – to Digg, StumbleUpon, Yahoo! Buzz, and similar sites.

You could also visit TinyURL.com, paste your URL in the box, select the MakeTinyURL! button, and copy your shorten URL. Next visit LinkedIn and update your status by inputting the name of your article, the shorten URL, and a call for action.

In conclusion, there are more strategies you can use to market your articles. These strategies include forum and article directory marketing. You could also use sites like Squidoo and eHow instead of HubPages to publish your articles for free. Most importantly, you now know how to showcase your expertise online without creating a blog or spending money. Likewise, the more articles you publish the more opportunities you will have to expand your online presence.

Feel free to sign up for JobRadioUSA’s weekly newsletter via the subscribe box to the upper middle-right of this article. You will also receive a link to download your free “21 Ways to Find a Job Fast” eBook. Click JobRadioUSA Newsletter to download the previous newsletter. Finally, remember to join Digg and StumbleUpon and submit the articles you like to these sites.

The wisdom of a crowd is richer than the wisdom of a few. So participate in the online career community at JobRadioUSA.com and entice others to do the same.

• How to Use LinkedIn and Twitter During Your Job Search
• 5 Ways to Maintain Enthusiasm During Your Job Search
• Opportunities Resulting from a Daunting Job Search
• Even if You Agree to Disagree: Job Hunting is Just Like Selling Part 1 of 2
• Even if You Agree to Disagree: Job Hunting is Just Like Selling Part 1 of 2
• How to Achieve Your 2010 Job Search Resolution
• How to Secure Your Career and Future
• 5 Ways to Easily Obtain Referrals
• How to Start a Career Using Your Passion

Sphere: Related Content