CollegePlannerPro Blog

A blank Google doc is the worst.

Especially when you’re a blogger.

But what’s even worse is not knowing the components of writing a great blog post at all. So what if you have the most beautiful, flawless writing ever? If it’s not formatted, optimized, shared and researched, nobody knows about it.

Trust me, I’ve had a blog that nobody reads. Not a great feeling.

I’ve been blogging since 2019 and have created content for many brands since 2017 and it all forced me to understand the critical components of how to write a great blog post.

Here are the secrets!

Email marketing can help independent educational consultants foster better customer relationships and build a stronger brand, both of which will contribute to a growing business. 

In this blog post, we outline the four critical steps to building a successful email strategy. 

Chances are, especially if your IEC business is in its early stages, most clients will find you through a recommendation from a friend or family member. This is a great way to get your first few clients, but eventually, you’ll want and need more prospective clients coming your way. So, what are some proactive things that you can do to increase the number of word-of-mouth referrals that you receive?

As of 2017, 81% of the US population age 12 and older had at least one social media platform. It is no wonder that many businesses, large and small, are harnessing the popularity and power of social media to promote and strengthen their brand to current and prospective customers. However, for many independent college consultants the use of social media platforms remains an underutilized, or oftentimes nonexistent, piece of their business's marketing strategy.

If you are looking to reach prospective clients, stay in touch with current families, or share industry insights and thought leadership with colleagues, then we strongly suggest you commit to building the social media presence of your business. To help you get started, we've prepared our top 6 social media best practices.

Search “Web Design Tips” on Google and you’ll get bombarded with hundreds of articles about anything from SEO tips to heated debates on above-the-fold content. If you don’t take a step back from it all, you’re bound to get overwhelmed.

When it comes to your website, just focusing on a few major components can make the design process much more straightforward. Try not to get too bogged down in things like animation or other “nifty” web design trends—oftentimes those are reserved for a particular type of site, such as e-commerce, agencies, or entertainment. The components we’d like to cover today include typography, color, imagery, and layout. So, let’s get started.

The CollegePlannerPro team was recently joined by Raleigh-based IEC, Brooke Daly, for a webinar that focused on the IEC initial consultation with prospective clients. Owner of Advantage College Planning and The IEC Coach, Brooke has over 10 years of experience in the field of independent consulting. She credits much of the successful growth of her businesses to an engaging and tailored initial consultation with families. However, Brooke admits that she was not always the queen of consultations, and like most things, repetition and preparedness were the key to succeeding. During the hour-long webinar, Brooke shed light on what she's learned and what tactics continue to work well for her. Here are 7 of the top tips that we took away from Brooke's presentation.

Logos define your business

Whether you’re just getting started as an Educational Consultant or have been working with students for years, branding is important. Logos act as the face of your business. They’re a graphical display of what your practice stands for and can convey a lot to prospective and existing clients. At CollegePlannerPro, we customize your account by using your logo to brand your student login screen, emails, college reports, invoices, and much more.