I’ve diligently searched the web this past year to gather valuable information to help you run a more efficient and successful business. If you follow me on social media you know that aside from my monthly blog posts, I also frequently share articles from around the web that I believe you will find useful as well. I’m happy to share some my favorites with you below:

SOCIAL MEDIA

5 Ways to Grow Your Email List With Social Media
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-grow-email-list-with-social-media/

The Facebook Conversion Formula: A Blueprint for Turning Fans into Customers
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/12/06/the-facebook-conversion-formula-a-blueprint-for-turning-fans-into-customers/

16 Smarter Ways to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Business
http://www.copyblogger.com/linkedin/

Adding a Facebook "Like" button to your e-mail marketing campaigns is super easy with Mailchimp!
http://buff.ly/18IUo2w

Facebook ads have undergone some changes over the last few months.  Learn how those changes will affect your page. http://buff.ly/J3e6Ml

How to create perfect social media posts http://buff.ly/16cCkcM

Social media is not a bullhorn for broadcast but a coffee shop for conversation."http://buff.ly/13Oih1P


TECHNOLOGY

Top 10 Worthwhile Uses For Tablets.  http://buff.ly/1fepyQo

How to Use Photoshop: The Ultimate Guide for the Design-Impaired Marketer
http://buff.ly/17WNfHi

Know What Software To Uninstall With Should I Remove It? - MakeUseOf
http://buff.ly/15v5ljC

Beyond Google Apps: The top 10 related cloud services | ZDNet
http://buff.ly/121suLV


CONTENT MARKETING

How To Use Google Analytics To Create Killer Content https://www.openforum.com/articles/how-to-use-google-analytics-to-create-the-ultimate-content/

Content Marketing Tools for Every Budget
http://buff.ly/16tQCYt

20 Quick Tips on Writing Great Blog Posts : @ProBlogger
http://buff.ly/15EK19C

10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work | Copyblogger
http://buff.ly/11X1E7u

5 Tips To Writing Irresistibly Clickable Blog Titles : @ProBlogger
http://buff.ly/13DzmQ1

317 Power Words That'll Instantly Make You a Better Writer
http://buff.ly/137yjDF

Build a Content Calendar, Customers Will Come - VR Marketing Blog
http://buff.ly/17bHJn2

An effective resource box helps build backlinks and drives traffic to your website.    http://buff.ly/WQ727k

How to write an effective resource box to help build backlinks and drive traffic to your website.    http://buff.ly/WQ727k


PRODUCTIVITY

Mindfulness: When Focus Means Single-Tasking
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131006135154-117825785-mindfulness-when-focus-means-single-tasking

8 steps to make more time in your workday - Organized Entrepreneur
http://buff.ly/1d29Ner

Seven Ways to Manage Email So It Doesn't Manage You
http://lifehacker.com/seven-ways-to-manage-email-so-it-doesnt-manage-you-1126528372

Why Multitasking is Unproductive
http://buff.ly/1dG0pLU

Getting Motivated When You're Feeling Anything But! - Entrepreneur On Fire Business Podcasts
http://buff.ly/11QSWEF


BUSINESS

23 Things Every Entrepreneur Must Know - Forbes
http://buff.ly/15lkVmU

6 Things We Learned From Marissa Mayer and Mark Zuckerberg at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013
http://buff.ly/1ezMzzD

Best free accounting software: 8 recommended programs  
http://buff.ly/172FCQk

Confidence, Excellence and Independence: Business Lessons From 4 Great Leaders
http://buff.ly/15AqoU7

3 Smart Investments You Should Not Hesitate to Make in Your Small Business | Small Business Bonfire
http://buff.ly/12uOBG4


EMAIL MARKETING

The Resources You Need to Be an Awesome Email Marketer [In Under 100 Words]
http://buff.ly/14s6iM9

The Advantages of Segmenting Your Email Lists
http://buff.ly/13eqrXw

10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work | Copyblogger
http://buff.ly/11X1E7u

A simple tip to increase your email signup rate
http://buff.ly/15NJsON

5 Golden Rules to Creating an Email Newsletter
http://buff.ly/WuvLLX

13 Things to Check Before Hitting 'Send' on Your Next Marketing Email
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32874/13-Things-to-Check-Before-Hitting-Send-on-Your-Next-Marketing-Email.aspx


GENERAL MARKETING

HOW TO BUILD A LARGE, ENGAGED AUDIENCE - Progressive Business Solutions
http://buff.ly/1cSHBc2

"The 5 Steps to A Consistent Flow of Customers" By Dov Gordon
This free seminar is well worth your time!  
http://buff.ly/1d4FgxHhttp://buff.ly/1d4FgxH

Customer Journey Management - Optimizing a Unified Experience  
http://buff.ly/142BnCo

7 Simple Ways to Convert Your Visitors Into Customers
http://buff.ly/12TM34C

5 Quick Things You Can Do This Week to Fix Your Marketing | Copyblogger
http://buff.ly/15Urt7b

Power Networking: Use Your Power Base to Grow Sales
http://buff.ly/184Am40

A good press release is still one of the best forms of free advertising
http://buff.ly/12gpgoa

30-Day Challenge: 8 Little Changes to Your Marketing That'll Make a Big Impact
http://buff.ly/18l8qYT

Create Trackable Links - an invaluable component of any successful marketing campaign!
http://buff.ly/YGbto2

What business or marketing topics are you interested in learning more about? Perhaps you're curious as to how we might work together to grow your business. Drop me a line anytime.      ~Carol 

As business owners, it seems we're constantly switching hats between marketer, accountant, receptionist, service provider, webmaster, etc. Believe me, I understand, and it’s always my goal to help you find ways to simplify work processes and enhance your results.

This month’s post contains three resources that I personally recommend. They’ve made a difference in my business and I believe they can make a difference in yours as well. Read on, then give them a try and let me know what you think.   


BASIC GRAPHIC DESIGN SIMPLIFIED

When it comes to marketing, the saying, “a picture’s worth 1000 words” is so true!  Although, sometimes a slight amount of image editing is needed to send just the right message. When this is the case, you could outsource the task to a graphic designer for a fee - but wouldn’t it be nice to have the option to handle some of these little design projects yourself? There’s now an excellent resource entitled "How to Use Photoshop: The Ultimate Guide for the Design-Impaired Marketer" by HubSpot. This extremely user-friendly guide will take you step-by-step through the basics of using Photoshop and other similar design software. Further, if you don’t have Photoshop on your computer, this article outlines some great options to consider: 10 Photoshop Alternatives That Are Totally Free.  


AN EBOOK NO BUSINESS OWNER SHOULD BE WITHOUT

There's a brand new eBook on email marketing that just came on the market. It's called "Email Persuasion" by Ian Brodie.  The Table of Contents below really says it all:

INTRODUCTION: Why email is the world’s most powerful marketing tool
1.  WINNING CLIENTS WITH EMAIL: The foundations of effective email marketing
2.  SIGN ME UP: Quickly building a valuable list of email subscribers
3.  READ ME: Effective strategies to get your emails opened and read
4.  TALK TO ME: Writing emails that engage and persuade
5.  BUY ME: Turning engaged subscribers into paying clients
6.  AUTOPILOT MARKETING: Using “auto responders” to automate your email marketing
7.  TAILORING YOUR EMAILS: Using List Segmentation to get the right message to the right subscriber
8.  PERSUADING WITH EMAIL: Learning the science of influence
9.  MEASURING AND TESTING YOUR EMAIL MARKETING: A simple dashboard to measure the effectiveness of your email marketing
10.  EMAIL MARKETING TECHNOLOGY: A guide to tools and technology to support your email marketing
11.  YOUR NEXT STEPS

Click here for the Kindle version on Amazon.com


EASY, FREE FORM BUILDER 

The free file storage and sharing application FilesAnywhere, now offers an online form building application included as part of its free version. It’s super easy to use, and includes storage and reporting for all of the form submissions you receive. Google drive also offers a similar form building app.

If you think about it, there are so many situations when a basic digital form would be extremely helpful for your business while providing added convenience for your clients. Here are some ideas off the top of my head of ways you could use custom forms  - I’m sure you can think of more:

• product feedback form
  
• customer satisfaction survey (could be tied to a contest ‘complete our survey and be entered to win...’)
  
• pre-consultation form
  
• New client intake form
  
• Project planning questionnaire
  

Basically you can use these for any form or survey that does not require a legal signature. So the next time you need someone to complete some information, don’t send a standard word document, create a simple, digital form and send it as a link. Your clients will be impressed and you will love having that data at your fingertips!

Visit our website for information about our email campaign services, form building and other administrative support services designed to enhance your marketing results.  Is there a particular business topic you would like more information on? Contact our office and you’ll receive a reply directly from me, usually within just a few hours.

Dedicated to Your Success!
~Carol M. Aldridge

 “The idea of hiring an off-site support specialist is foreign to many equestrian business owners,” says EquineOfficeSolutions.com founder Carol M. Aldridge, “but a consultant and support specialist working remotely can deliver the same key services as an on-site employee and in a more efficient, cost-effective manner.”

The language of business, Aldridge observes, hasn't always translated into the business of horses. Ongoing demands for staffing -- who understand the industry's specific terminology and needs -- compounded by constraints in office space and/or budgets, present a horse-related business trying to hit its stride with more of a marathon than a smooth ride to success. Factor in juggling the responsibility of caring for multiple animals on a daily basis while simultaneously managing operations, and most business owners will agree: there simply aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done.

“Consequently,” she says, “many administrative and marketing tasks are not given the attention they deserve and their business suffers as a result.” In an effort to help more equine businesses 'train up' to their potential, Aldridge launched Equine Office Solutions, a one-stop resource to give professionals better remote control over their services. “Through the use of cutting-edge software, time tracking tools and industry-specific support packages, Equine Office Solutions bring business owners more opportunity than ever to decrease administrative costs while significantly increasing productivity. Let’s face it, the horse industry has a language all its own, and it helps if your business consultant knows the difference between a forelock and a fetlock!”

Only those who have shaped their lives around horses know the unique joys and challenges this lifestyle presents. Finding a healthy balance between the barn and the office can be difficult. Now, Equine Office Solutions is here to help, so you can get out of the office and back in the saddle again!

About EquineOfficeSolutions.com
Carol Aldridge, owner and founder of Progressive Business Solutions and its equine division, Equine Office Solutions, is an administrative consultant and support specialist with more than 25 years experience in equine business management. Progressive Business Solutions serves clients in niche business industries across the U.S. and Canada through email marketing, project and event management, list building, website updates, e-book and desktop publishing, blogging, social media and contact management. Learn more at EquineOfficeSolutions.com or call (859) 361-9416 for a complementary consultation and learn how to receive the new Zero-Budget Marketing Plan
.

Recently several of my clients have come to me for assistance in converting their documents to a pdf format. Pdf documents (Portable Document Format) are the most widely recognized and secure form of electronic documents for reliable storage, sharing and distribution.  You’ll be pleased to know that it’s simple to create and manage pdf documents without any expensive software or special technical skills.

Pdf files can be easily created simply by converting a document that originates in Word, Publisher, Excel, or virtually any other Windows based document creation or graphic design  program. 

ONLINE FILE CONVERSION
For occasional file conversion that’s quick and easy without any registration or download required, try  http://www.zamzar.com/ OR  http://www.freepdfconvert.com/#.  Each site supports dozens of file formats, so you should be able to accomplish exactly what you need with very little effort.

LOCAL FILE CONVERSION
There may be times that you need to create a pdf and don’t have access to the internet. That’s when having a conversion program downloaded on your hard drive comes in really handy. For this purpose I recommend either the free or paid version (depending on your technical needs and abilities) of www.cutepdf.com.  Once downloaded, this program is installed as a printer subsystem, allowing your files to instantly be converted into professional quality pdf documents.   Another more powerful option is www.nitroreader.com.  Nitro Reader installs on your hard drive as well, and includes the added ability to create fillable pdf forms. You can even insert an image of your signature to ‘digitally sign’ any pdf document. 

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
The task of editing pdf documents can be a bit more entailed, but we’ll start with the simplest forms of editing first.

Splitting and Merging pdf Documents -  Occasionally you may find that you need to combine two pdf documents or split one file into two or more documents. This couldn’t be easier. Simply upload the file(s) to either www.SplitPdf.com or www.pdfmerge.com and follow the simple instructions. The new document(s) are downloaded right to your computer in seconds.

Text Editing - If you need to actually edit the text of a pdf, and you don’t have access to a more advanced program such as Adobe Acrobat Writer there are a couple of alternatives. If your document is comprised of text only, you have the option to convert it to an editable Word document (www.zamzar.com mentioned above can do this), however don’t be surprised if you find you need to reformat a good portion of the document before reconverting back to pdf. Pdfescape is a fantastic tool that allows you to hide portions of text and add notes and annotations. Another very popular, free alternative is OpenOffice Draw with the PDFImport extension. This program allows you to make inline editing changes to fix typos or make changes like replacing color, increasing or decreasing the text size, changing fonts, etc.

So you see, pdf documents are not a product of some mystical, advanced design system. Anyone can create them. And once you start using pdfs on a regular basis you’ll continue to find new ways to take your file management capabilities beyond what you had imagined.  What are some beneficial or creative ways that you have used pdf documents for your business? 

With over 425 million users, Gmail is arguably the most widely-used, free email service available today. In fact, TopTenReviews.com has rated Gmail #1 for security, organization and composition.  Beyond its basic awesome capabilities, you can now take Gmail to the next level and transform it into a productivity machine with these additional features and integrations:    

RAPPORTIVE
This is undoubtedly my favorite new business tool.  If you use social networks to connect with business associates, colleagues and potential clients, Rapportive is nothing less than a game changer!  It makes it a snap to grow your network without ever leaving Gmail.  When you open a new email message, a box appears to the right with the contact’s photo and links to their social profiles, websites, blogs, etc. From there you can directly interact with them on those networks by sending invitations to connect, liking and replying to recent posts, etc.

BOOMERANG
Provides automatic reminders and scheduled sending plus a host of other helpful services. Perhaps the most useful networking tool that Boomerang provides is the ability to have an email returned to your inbox if you haven’t received a reply in x number of days.

AWAYFIND
Anyone who’s ever found themselves diverting their attention every time a notification sounds on their smartphone will find this tool invaluable.  Awayfind allows you to designate personal settings to specify which emails deserve your attention and which can wait for later. Adjusting the settings as your needs change is easy, and you’ll never again stop what you’re doing to check your email only to find that ‘ping’ was just another piece of junk mail hitting your spam folder.

GOOGLE CONTACTS
You may never need another CRM system. When used in conjunction with other tools and apps mentioned in this article, Gmail’s contact database transforms into a full blown contact management system. It provides fields for several different emails, phone numbers, addresses, and websites plus other pertinent information. It even allows you to create notes and custom fields.

GOOGLE APPS
The foremost benefit of using Google Apps for your business is the ability to create an email address @yourdomain, presenting a more more professional representation of your business.  Of course they also offer a variety of other tools and benefits and provide one centralized dashboard for you to gain access to all of your business Google apps tools.   

CONVERT EMAILS INTO TASKS
Active Inbox and Taskforce are two independent tools designed to integrate with Gmail and allowing you to instantly convert emails into tasks, add emails to projects and more.  

EMAIL MERGE WITH GMAIL
Although not as simple as creating a mail merge with MS Word, this article by Lifehacker explains how you can use Gmail in conjunction with Google Docs to create a mail merge email document. This can be a real time saver when sending a standardized email with personalized fields to a list of contacts.

UNLEASH THE POWER OF GMAIL LABS

Gmail Labs offers dozens of options for extending the functionality of your email. To view the Labs available, go to the ‘gear’ icon at the top of the Gmail screen and click ‘settings’ then ‘labs’. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Canned Responses - Save customized templates for a variety of specific purposes. A fantastic time saver!
Create a Document - easily create a Google doc from any conversation in Gmail.
Undo Send - Stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button.
Preview Pane - Provides a preview pane next to your list of conversations, making mail reading faster and adding more context. You can easily switch between list view and preview pane view as needed.

OTHER HELPFUL GMAIL TRICKS & TIPS

Keyboard Shortcuts
If time is of the essence, learning a series of shortcuts for keystrokes that you repeat often can make a big difference. Go to your inbox and simply type ? (or Shift /) and a shortcut chart will appear. Wula!

Archive
This feature is the key to a clean inbox. Simply select an email and click “archive” for any messages that you don’t necessarily want to delete, but don’t warrant creating an individual label.  They will be out of sight but still fully searchable when you need to find them again.

Change Button Icons to Text
The buttons in Gmail’s command bar transformed into graphics when Gmail rolled out it’s new look in 2011. I find it much easier to view them as text labels instead of little pictures that quite frankly don’t appear to be very intuitive. To switch them to text format, go to the gear icon on the top right of the Gmail screen, click the drop down arrow and select “settings”. Under the ‘General’ tab, scroll down to ‘Button Labels’ and click ‘Text’. That should do it!

Gmail has always been an outstanding, free email service, and now it can practically be your company’s all in one foundation for networking, correspondence and record keeping.  Give these tools a try, then share a comment to let us know your favorites or suggest other tools that you've found helpful.

How do you keep track of your business contacts....excel, paper files, a word document, your email or smart phone’s contact list or perhaps a good old-fashioned rolodex? These all serve a purpose, but if you’re not using a dedicated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, you’re missing out on a world of benefits designed to create stronger business relationships.  A well managed CRM  system allows you to retain important details about your contacts, providing more accurate, current and  personal business communications.  

Of course in today’s internet marketing environment, it’s a necessity to distribute blanket promotions such as blog posts, tweets, email promotions and Facebook posts. These are all valuable forms of communication that keep your business in front of your audience, and hopefully produce some engagement. But that’s not enough. The real source of your business success will come with personalized  interactions enhanced by a good CRM system.

Here are some tips on how to get started:

CHOOSE A CRM SYSTEM - Each system serves a slightly different purpose. Decide which is right for you by determining your business, networking and follow-up needs. Then get started by checking out some these popular CRM systems:

• Highrise - designate multiple tags for grouping by contact type, set email reminders, link email correspondence, merge Linkedin profiles, create specific notes, integrates with Mailchimp, free and paid versions. www.highrisehq.com

• Gist - provides continuously updated social media information and content such as blog posts, LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter posts, search engine results and more for each contact, free & paid versions. (I love the weekly digest that lands in my inbox listing the most prominent posts of my main social media business contacts.) www.gist.com

• Zoho - marketing automation, email integration, autoresponders, inventory management, calendar, free & paid versions. www.zoho.com/crm

• Sugarcrm -  Calendar, email integration, project management, reporting. www.sugarcrm.com
• ACT - integrates with outlook providing an automatic history of email correspondence, reminders, calendar, lead tracking www.act.com
• SalesForce - SalesForce is one of the most popular CRMs. It was created with sales in mind, and works well in conjunction with many other applications as components of its overall system options.  www.salesforce.com

There are a multitude of other choices as well.  If you’ve used another product that you found helpful, please feel free to leave a comment and share that information with our readers.

Resource: Top 20 Customer Relationship Management Software Links

USE TAGS TO GROUP CONTACTS BY TYPE - Review your contact list and determine specific categories, such as prospective client, client, media, business referral, local, target industry, etc. Use the terms that make sense to you, then begin to assign one or more tags to each contact as you enter them into your CRM database.

MANAGE INDIVIDUAL DETAILS - Use your CRM to track details about your contacts and correspondence such as previous conversations & correspondence, favorite blog posts, birthdays and special events, previous meetings, etc.

SET REMINDERS & TASKS - Follow-up is the key to building business relationships. Use this feature to enter future activities. Stay organized and never forget another appointment or opportunity.

Imagine instantly being able to pull up a list of your top prospective clients and craft a letter or email just for them. If you choose, you can then use the details in your CRM to further personalize each making your outreach efforts much more effective! Then when one of them replies and invites you to a meeting next month with her local networking group, you can add that new information to their specific record (to remember she’s a member of XYZ Club) with a reminder to follow up to confirm. You’ll never lose track of those important little details again. 

Although they can be extremely effective, CRM systems are only as useful as the data you put into them. Be diligent. Entering contacts and details should become part of your daily routine as new information arises. There is an initial investment of time and effort in setting up a good system, however within the first few weeks you will begin to reap the benefits and soon you will wonder how you ever managed your business without it!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Have you ever wished that you had even one extra hour a day to accomplish more? If you're like me, there just never seems to be enough time to get everything done.  Often, my daily schedule is filled from 8am to 8pm and some tasks that are not urgent continue to get pushed back. 

I recently read an article by Jason W. Womack in Entrepreneur Magazine that offered some very useful insight on time management. Jason reminds us that we all have little pockets of time in our day that when used efficiently can add up to significant additional accomplishments over the course of a week or month. Even 15 minutes can make a difference.

Think of all the situations in your daily life that require you to wait. For example: waiting in line, a meeting that starts late or is cancelled, a delayed flight, waiting at the doctor's office, picking your child up from school or an activity, etc.  Instead of perceiving these situations as time wasters and becoming frustrated, if we are prepared for them we can use these brief opportunities to accomplish more in our day either for business or personal tasks.

In the article, Jason writes, "To every meeting I attend, I bring one or two magazines and letter-sized envelopes. I also have a few sticky-notes handy. If I have a little extra time, I will read through the magazines looking for two types of articles: Ones that I am interested in. Ones my clients may be interested in. (Of course, often they're one in the same.)" This is an excellent example. You could also use the time to write or develop future topics for a blog post, eBook, report or business article. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of possibilities!   

Jason goes on to suggest that another great use of this extra time is to work on learning something new. He says," Are you learning a piece of software? Bring your computer (or smart phone) and watch a YouTube tutorial. Are you learning a new language? Bring flash cards (paper or digital) and use that "found time" to go through bits and bytes of information. Have you added a new piece of technology to your toolkit? Print out and bring the first five to 10 pages of the instruction manual and a highlighter so you can scan those first few pages to see if there's something you can learn in the little bit of time you have."

Whatever your situation, we can all learn to increase our productivity by being aware and prepared for the daily opportunities to gain more time in our day!
 - - - - -
Resource: Need More Time? Wait Just a Minute, Here It Comes by Jason W. Womack