Sea Genes

Recently looking at some numbers from Google’s Trend service, I found that I could use these top 10 numbers to help spot potential clients. How?

One way to find prospects is to use the Trend service to find the top ten states and cities for your keywords. You can filter the results by region, sub-region, language, and a number of other criteria.

The results may surprise you, as it did me. I found that although a number of places were expected to show up, the others were informative as to the demographic I need to target as a professional.

By analyzing the resulting data, you can then go to Google+ or LinkedIn and type the combined keywords into the search box and the results will show you people in or interested in those keywords in those places.

For example, I’m a professional genealogist and want to know what other genealogists are seeking, so I typed in “genealogy”, with the quotes, to find out where these potential clients will come from. I also typed in separate queries for “family history” and “ancestry” to get a larger perspective, and also to spot some outliers that others may have missed. Those results were also informative and gave me a broader base to work with.

Using LinkedIn, I was able to connect to other professionals who might want to work with me on trans-continental research projects. With Google+ I was able to connect with genealogists, both professional and hobbyist who might want to retain my professional services.

This form of marketing, while not the trendy organic sort, is necessary to find out where your viewers are and where your potential business is. Decision-oriented-thinking (©) like this is necessary in order to better address things such as knowing your audience and knowing what else they are interested in, the basics of good marketing.

The possibilities of finding your demographic audience for blog and website posts are also great as the numbers, although a bit general, show you details you can use in client and customer prospecting.

NPM

© 2012 N. P. Maling — Sea Genes – Family History & Genealogy Research

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The Association of Professional Genealogists is composed of members who choose to be called professional. Does that, in fact, make them “professionally designated”? No. That makes them self- designated professionals. The APG does not screen for anything other than paid membership and signature on a piece of paper.

The Board for Certification of Genealogists does not “professionally designate” it’s members. The people who go through the certification process choose to be professionals, or not; their own designation, not the Board’s. Many of the members of the BCG have chosen to test their skills against the Board’s requirements so they can demonstrate to others that they are qualified to do other highly specialized work, but, they are not practicing professionally as genealogists. That makes them self-designated non-professionals, doesn’t it?

The International Commission for the Accreditation of Genealogists does not “professionally designate” a member of their group. The members choose to be called professionals on their own. The members who practice professionally, again, are self-designated, like they are with the APG and BCG.

One of my favorite librarians is a member of these organizations. She is not a practicing professional genealogist. She got these postnomials to prove to herself and others that she knows the subject. Is she a non-”professionally designated genealogist”? She is one of the best I have ever met, but she doesn’t take clients. That’s her choice, not the APG’s, the BCG’s, or the ICAPGEN’s.

Taking the following quote and facts from the LDS church’s own standards:

 “Years of education, research experience, and satisfactory service to clients may be just as important as credentials.”

Continuing:

Professional genealogists include those who are experienced researchers having:

• some unique research specialty
• credentials that show advanced skills
• years of education and professional development
• access to facilities with many records

Where is it necessary to have a specific degree here? Nowhere. Where is it necessary to have a specific postnomial here? Nowhere. Where do “professionally designated” genealogists fit in this picture? It does not matter. Period. If you do the job well, the client is happy, and all parties involved are satisfied, great. That’s the point of doing business, satisfying the customer.

Put simply, the customer’s satisfaction is all that matters in business. Will you chose the appropriate genealogist to work with? A genealogist, self-designated as professional or not, who has years of experience and satisfactory service?

—

I am not a member of any of the groups mentioned, yet I adhere to the ethics and sound business practices advocated by the APG and BCG. They are worthwhile organizations to recognize and follow because they have strong ethical standards for all genealogists to adhere to.

Thank you for reading.

© 2011 N. P. Maling – Sea Genes Family History & Genealogy Research

[Updated 6 December 2011]

Genealogists search records to trace ancestors and descendants and find missing people. Genealogists consult with others about their findings, instruct others about their pastime and profession, and publicize their findings.

All genealogists are lookup providers one degree or another. Some of us do it as volunteers. Some of us do it as professionals. Likewise, some genealogists go all the way to the top with credentials: Michael Hait is a credentialed genealogist. Jill Morelli [her blog is in process of being renamed] is on track to become one. Me? I’m just a lookup provider who has respect for these two. I’ve never met either Mr. Hait or Ms. Morelli in person, but through their writing, I feel we are all strongly committed to genealogy, as professionals and volunteers. What do we have in common?

I like to think we “raise the bar” on quality genealogy. We do it to help others. My, occasional as they are, “Sunday’s Obituary” posts are one way of sharing what I do. Some of these items come from materials I use personally, and some are “extraneous” to professional findings. Most other of my posts also have materials which might help another genealogist. They are all meant to help others accurately trace their ancestors, descendants, and missing people.

Mr. Hait’s post this morning which discusses Mary Petty reminded me of my own post about her a couple of years ago. In it I pretty much dissected one of her posts about what makes a professional genealogist, and the results aren’t pretty. She is an example of someone in the genealogy pastime or profession that I cannot respect. Her posts were designed to lead other genealogists not to consult with others, but to drive business to her company by being rude to other genealogists, disrespectful of other professions, and using scare tactics. Scare tactics are an unethical business practice in any profession. Rudeness and disrespect are flat-out not nice.

I mentioned several books in that post, which I think exemplify professionalism in genealogy, and am going to do it again. One of them specifically addresses professionals like me, a record searcher. These books are items that Ms. Petty knew about or should have known about as part of her education but ignored.

Board for Certification of Genealogists. The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual. Provo, Published for the Board by Ancestry. Inc. 2000.

This book is referenced heavily by Ms. Clifford’s book, below.

Karen Clifford, AG. Becoming an Accredited Genealogist. Orem, Utah: Ancestry, Inc. 1998.

This book was written for genealogists who seek to be certified by the LDS church, and focuses its research practices on resources Ms. Petty’s company uses.

Donald Lines Jacobus. Genealogy as a Pastime and Profession. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1978.

Mr. Jacobus was the premiere professional of his day and left a strong legacy for others to live up to.

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As of today, 10 October 2011, I have a new disclosures policy. It is a formal statement of how I blog about certain topics and how I present them. You can get your own version of a disclosure policy by following the link at the bottom of mine.

[Updated 6 December 2011 — The blog referred to in the first ¶ is being renamed.]

I found an interesting blog this morning. Genealogy Certification: My Personal Journal. It appeared to be part of the BCG’s effort, but it is not, the title makes that clear.

My earlier post, “Follow-on to Marian Pierre-Louis’ post“, and Marian Pierre-Louis’ post, “Is It a Bad Time to Become a Professional Genealogist?”, about the difficulties of getting the word out about quality genealogy and how to go about it, touch on Jill’s efforts to become certified.

Jill’s blog discusses in some detail what a professional genealogist goes through, and the level of quality we reach for in our work. It is an interesting read, and I’ll be following her blog.