Archive for the ‘Organization’ Category

As I was doing my year-end office clean-up, I decided to add in a new aspect this year… unsubscribing to email lists.

I can hear you all now… worried it might be your list I am clicking on. Don’t panic! When people unsubscribe it is not always a bad thing.  People building an email or subscriber list should be aiming for quality along with quantity. You want subscribers who will read your emails and check out the information inside, not people who may click and open it but then hit delete, or readers who never take the time to read the contents. If I am a subscriber that never reads your newsletter, do I really bring you any value by being on your list?

Readers who unsubscribe help keep your list up-to-date with interested subscribers.  Notifications that someone has unsubscribed is not anything to panic about unless you see large numbers leaving – then you may want to take a second look at your email plans – how often you send emails, what the content is and any feedback you receive.

There are various reasons people will unsubscribe,  generally it happens  when they are no longer interested in the content or  receive emails too frequently.  Emarketer has a great article on reasons behind people unsubscribing.

So remember, it does not always mean panic, it could be a good thing and helps you clean up your list and have a list with more people in your target market as opposed to just being there for numbers.  As the reader, it also helps you keep your inbox filled with information you will use and read.   How often do you clean out your subscription list?

Technorati Tags: email list, newsletters, subscriptions

Following up is often one of the most overlooked tasks with a business.  It’s easy to put  follow up on hold because, as a priority item, it tends to lose out over doing ‘work’ for an upcoming client or meeting.

Sometimes this can be a grave mistake. One phone call, email,  or contact of any method, can make or break your relationship with a client or joint venture partners. Keeping in touch keeps your name in the minds of others. When it’s time to do business again, if your name is in someone’s mind they are more likely to contact you.  If they have forgotten all about you and your service, they may not think to call you again.

I am reminded of a mortgage broker I spoke with last summer. One of her main issues was that she had no time for contact management of her clients; no time to keep in touch. She worked on current files and clients and kept up with those, the list of names to email and call kept growing. One day she had time and spent an afternoon calling clients to say  ‘Hello.  How are things?’.

What she got that afternoon was an eye opener. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Customer Service, Follow up, office organization, office solution, office support, Small business, virtual assistant

Last Thursday at  my good ol’ workshop with CEED, Jane Veldhoven of Get Organized! Professional Services was speaking to our group on Organization and Time Management. Like many who bring up time management she also stated that time management is not really about time, as you only have a certain amount of time every day.  It’s more about managing the  activities you have to do each day and make them work in the time available.

For some this may mean hiring a Virtual Assistant such as myself, to take care of the many tasks that have to be done, but which take too much time to complete.   For some it may mean learning how to better organize yourself so you can manage these tasks your self, by hiring someone like Jane to come in your space and help your reorganize, make a system that you can follow. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: office organization, Organization, professional organizer, virtual assistant

As part of Time on Task‘s quest to help businesses work smarter, we have recently launched our monthly Newsletter full of many ideas.

This month’s feature article is a system created to help you keep your Email Inbox under control.  It’s called DANG, My Inbox looks Great! The core of any Virtual Assistant’s business is to help their clients work more efficiently and that is why Time on Task  came up with this system.

Just visit our website, sign up for our monthly newsletter and you’ll receive some great tips on Social Networking, keeping in touch with clients and the 4-step crash course in how to keep your inbox under control.  Something many, many people struggle with daily.

It is possible to take control of all your emails, even those of you with a few hundred or more daily.  Sign up for our Newsletter today, and you soon will find your self being able to say “DANG, My Inbox Looks Great!”

Technorati Tags: email, office organization, organize, virtual assistant

Well Old Man Winter hit hard last night!  So many things can happen unexpectedly and it pays to be prepared no matter what.

Last night we were forewarned very well by the weatherman/lady/people… oh wait, forecasters, and we were ready for it.  But a few days ago more snow came than expected and very quickly.  There were about 1500 people stuck on Nova Scotia’s toll highway.  It got so bad, so fast they had to shut the highway down and were not fully prepared to deal with everything that followed.  Thank goodness, no one was seriously hurt; that’s a lot of people and cars, to be at a standstill for over 12 hours!

It’s a good reminder to everyone to be as prepared as possible for a variety of “Disasters”.  You need to think about preparing both your home and car for emergencies as well as your family, and even your office (especially if you work at home -Get a backup system in place – NOW!).

The Emergency Measures section of the Halifax Regional Municipality  website (where I live) has a great section to help you prepare for any type of situation, lots of checklists etc – which I love!

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: disaster planning, emergency planning, online backup