Ebiz Snap

Get Organized

Have you ever sat down to a do a specific task, but then wasted time looking for a tool or document you needed to complete the task?

Example: Maybe you set aside time to pay the bills, but then you wasted ten minutes searching for your checkbook and another ten minutes rounding up all of your bills. If something like this has ever happened to you, then you can already see the value of getting organized.

To be as productive as possible, you need to get organized both personally and professionally. However, do note that NOT everyone has the same definition of organization.

Example: Some people think that “getting organized” means that all documents should be neatly filed in a file cabinet and cross referenced. To other people, organization means taking these same files and stacking them into specific piles on a desk.

Here’s the thing…

You need to get organized in a way that makes sense to you using a strategy that’s comfortable. Some people prefer to stack files on their desk within easy reach. If that’s what makes you the most productive, that’s fine… just as long as you organize these files and piles into a way that makes sense for you.

Here then are five general organization tips:

⇒ Sort your email into folders. If you’re not deleting an email, then sort it into a folder (such as “friends and family,” “customer inquiries,” “orders” and so on). Even if you run searches to find emails, you’ll be able to complete the search quicker if you know what folder to look in.

⇒ Put your bills in a special place immediately. As soon as the bills reach your mail box, put them all immediately into once place. This might be a file, a basket, a box or even a special drawer. But the point is, you should put them all in once place so they’re instantly accessible.

⇒ File documents immediately. While you may set aside time once daily (or once weekly if you don’t have much paperwork to file), this is something you should take care of as soon as possible. The longer a document sits someplace other than it’s file folder (or box or special “pile”), the better chance it has of getting lost. As such, you should file it away as soon as possible so that you can find it instantly when you need it again.

⇒ Organize your computer files. You may be saving all sorts of things on your hard drive, including pictures, videos, personal documents, business documents, ebooks, reports, software and a whole lot more. You should create a file system on your computer where you sort these items into intuitively named folders. That way, you can access them immediately when you need them.

⇒ Back up important files. Finally, here’s a time saver I hope you never have to use. But if your computer ever crashes (or you have a fire, flood or similar), you’ll be happy that you followed this tip of backing up your hard drive regularly.

At a minimum, you should back up your computer files to a removable disk, such as a CD or thumb drive, at least on a weekly basis. You may individually back up your most important files (such as new documents) daily.

In addition, you may consider backing up your most important documents to a remote storage area, such as a secure folder on your website. Alternatively, you may create a copy of your CD or thumb drive and store in a location away from your computer.

For example, you may store your office computer CD at home. The reason is that if something should ever happen to your office – such as a fire – your computer and your back up CD would both be destroyed. But if you have a copy in a separate location, you can retrieve your files easily.

Tags: Time Management

Get Into a Routine

Another way to get more done in less time is by first developing and then sticking to your routines. That’s because the more often you complete a task or a series of tasks in a predictable way, the easier and faster it is for you to do. And eventually you’ll be able to complete your tasks virtually on “autopilot” since you don’t even have to pause for a moment to think about what to do next.
Let me give you an example…

Let’s suppose you’re running an online business. And every day, you have some three fairly predictable tasks to do, such as writing and posting a blog post, submitting five articles to an article directory and answering help desk inquiries. After that, you work on whatever is on your to do list (such as marketing or product creation).

To boost your productivity, you should develop a routine to handle those three tasks.

For example, every day when you first log onto your computer you may:

1. Answer your customer inquiries first, since that’s the most important task of the three.

2. Write your blog post.

3. Since you got “warmed up” by writing a blog post, next you can write and submit five articles to an article directory.

4. Then start working on your daily to-do list.

Every day, you should complete these four steps in order the moment you log onto your computer.

You see, if you do the same thing every day, then you’ll never have to pause and think what to do next.

Since you’re doing related tasks (such as the blog post and article writing), you also don’t have to constantly “reorient” yourself from one task to an entirely different task. And that saves you time.

However, it’s NOT enough to simply do your regular routine. You also need to make sure you’re doing your tasks in the most efficient way possible…

Tags: Time Management

Simple Systems

A system is a way to complete a task in the most efficient and/or cost-effective manner. If you develop routines and then create efficient systems to carry out these daily routines, you’ll see your productivity skyrocket.

Let me explain…
Remember earlier when I gave you an example of how to handle your email? You might consider that an email system, because it’s a proven way to save time answering emails.

That’s just one example. However, you can create an efficient system around virtually every major task you perform. Doing so will save you time and money.

Example: Let’s suppose you’re selling products on eBay. If you have multiple auctions going at any moment, then you know how time-consuming it is to create the auction ads, take pictures, touch base with prospects and customers and pack and ship the merchandise.

In order to save yourself a whole lot of time and hassle, what you’ll need to do is create a series of systems for uploading your auction ads, answering your customer inquiries, closing your auctions and doing the actual packing and shipping.

Example: You may want to develop auction templates for your ads. That way you don’t have to fiddle with the design, and you can use the same terms and disclaimers in all of your ads. It will only take a few minutes to create and post each ad if you use a template.

Second, you may use auction software and tools to create and monitory your auctions.

Third, you may set aside a special email just for your auction questions and set aside two time blocks per day to answer questions.

Finally, you can create a packing and shipping system that makes the process go quicker.

Example: You may set up an “assembly line” system to pack and shift product. You may buy your postage online so you don’t have to spend time waiting in line at the shipping center. And instead of packing and shipping every day, you may just ship products two or three times per week.

See what I mean?

Tip: I mentioned this before: Ask knowledgeable others for advice about the quickest ways to complete your tasks. If we continue the online auction example, you’ll want to ask other auction marketers what sorts of systems they use for the various parts of the online auction process.

Once you’ve discovered the best and fastest way to complete a task, then write down the steps (or create a process map if you’re a visual person).

Once you have it down on paper, you may again ask knowledgeable others to see if they have any additional hints or tips to make your system even more efficient. Then you can implement your system and start using it regularly.

Tags: Time Management

Getting Traffic Through Pay Per Click

Pay Per Click (PPC) is also an effective way to get traffic. While article marketing is free (except for the cost of your time), Pay Per Click costs money.

The most well known service is Google Adwords. Yahoo and MSN also have their own PPC networks. And, there are many smaller pay per click networks that have shown promise.

So, how does pay per click work? Basically, you pay for every visitor that you receive to your website through the pay per click service.

You’ll create a text ad that entices people to click on it. Your ad will appear for searches based on the keywords you have chosen. It can cost anywhere from five cents per click to several dollars per click. This figure depends on the niche you’re in and how many other people are bidding on the same keywords at that time.

It’s easy to “lose your shirt” if you’re not careful. That’s why it’s best to learn as much as you can about this useful traffic generation tool – especially how to track your results so that you can quickly find out which ads are working and which aren’t and adjust your spending accordingly. The greatest thing about PPC is that the results are nearly instant. As soon as you put up your ad, you can start getting traffic.

Let’s hear about you success with this?

Also let’s learn from your failures with this too.  Anyone have a story to share?

Tags: Traffic Snap

Focus On Your Author’s Resource Box

One of the most important article marketing tips you can follow is to focus on your author’s resource box. This is your “take” for your site, whereas the actual article body is your “give” to the directory.

Your author’s resource box should contain a compelling reason for people to continue on to your website. You may talk a little about yourself, but it really has to be more about the reader and what he/she wants.

For example, if your website is offering a solution for people suffering from acne, you want to give them a reason to visit. Clearly, you need to let them know that you have the answer they are looking for in order to get them to visit your website.

A huge part of crafting a great resource box is including one or more links to your website. Different directories have different rules about this, but the standard is to allow you to include two links. You want to surround these links in what is called “anchor text.” This is simply a way for you to name the link to let the search engines know exactly what your site is about.

Here is an example of anchor text:

If you want the search engines to know your site is about acne treatments you would type:

<a href=http://acnesite.com>best acne treatments</a>

This would help boost your rankings for the keyword “best acne treatments.”

I welcome your how to too….. let me know drop a comment.

Tags: How to, Traffic Snap