Pay your Bills Automatically


Getting statements and paying bills online is convenient, but it's even more convenient to have them paid automatically.

Consider having all your business expenses automatically charged to one credit card (that gives you airline mileage or other perks). Then have that credit card statement automatically paid from your chequing account. The entire process can be hands-off! If you want more control, you can keep that last piece as a manual operation based on your cash flow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home Office Holiday Party

Image
In preparation for our office party this year, I wrote a poem. Then I gathered together the things I would need to have a party with Romeo and Danielle. (The Temptations were for Romeo, the phone for Danielle, and the coffee for me.) Romeo, my cat, is used to hearing me talk out loud as I proofread and he was unusually excited about hearing the poem. Danielle, who lives several time zones away in Saskatchewan, also works alone (and helps me out lots) so I invited her to my office party by phone. It was a good move because she's a master at rhyming words. After much anticipation, I started to read the finished poem aloud to them. As you can see in the photos above, I had their full attention. Ode to a Midnight Blog Silent night, late at night, I've still got my blog to write. My laptop propped up on my bed, I'm hoping ideas will fill my head. Yawns escaping, eyelids drooping, Neck is stiff, my thoughts are looping. My brain is sore, I th...
Keep reading »

How to Write the Introduction to Your First Newsletter

Image
You want to start strong and the way to do that is to make a personal connection with your readers . While there are many ways to make that connection in each issue, your first issue is where you set up expectations about the value you'll provide. It's often the point at which subscribers choose to stay or go. Here are some things you might want to include: Write your introduction to your ideal client . Acknowledge that this is your first issue and that you appreciate your readers' attention. Tell readers what they'll be getting and how often. Outline the benefits of staying subscribed. If you have added your customers and business contacts to your subscriber list without their express permission, acknowledge that you have done so and why you have. (For example, you might say that they have bought something from your store, or you met at a networking event.) Tell readers that it's easy to unsubscribe via the footer in this and every email. A...
Keep reading »

Why is List Building so Important for Small Businesses?

Image
Your contact list should be the most valuable asset your small business has, like a privately owned gold mine . Once you have added someone to your contact list, you can create more chances to get them as a client or fan, sell them a product or service, and get a referral or testimonial. The possibilities open up. How many times have you stifled a good idea because you didn't have an interested audience waiting to hear from you? photo by Merlijn Hoek / Flickr Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Automation can be Creepy

Image
If your ideal customer is new to social media, your autoresponder messages might be creeping them out. At one time I had this vision of some big guy hunched over his keyboard poised to pounce on my 'Follow'. If your ideal customer is more tech savvy, they'll recognize an autoresponder immediately. (Really? You expect me to interact with a program?) I liken autoresponders on social media to email spammers . Both are giving their medium a bum rap. A recent Twitter following spree on my part resulted in 16 automated tweets (close to 10% of those I followed). At least I think they were autoresponders. There's the rub. Even if you take time to respond to people individually, now they may assume it's an autoresponder. The legitimacy of your action is lost in the sea of spammers. photo by wnstn / Flickr Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Image
As an entrepreneur, it's often difficult to find time and energy for back burner items like... setting up, figuring out, checking out, gathering new ideas or starting anything new. Particularly when the item is computer-based and it's a sunny summer day! It's easy to get overwhelmed online and stray from your goal. The best approach is to find a small amount of time to do something on your list each week and then put the list away until the following week. You will find it will not even matter if you finish a single task each time. Each short session will add up to accomplishment over very few weeks. My time is Saturday morning with a coffee. A great quote that Mary Jane Copps likes to use is:  "It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little." (Sydney Smith) Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

A Marketing Strategy Gone Wrong

Image
The first thing I said when he answered the phone was, "Josh, I really feel sorry for you today!" Josh is a pleasant fellow who answered the phone last Thursday when I called the Centre for Arts and Technology in Halifax. I was just a little upset. I was pretty sure that mine wasn't the first call of this sort that he had received, and it wouldn't be the last. It started when I received 17 identical promotional emails to 17 imaginary Daley Progress employees from the Centre for Arts and Technology back on April 17th. ( Click here to get the back story on our imaginary staff.) That's the footer of an email addressed to mikehopkins@daleyprogress.com. (There is no Mike Hopkins.) At the time I replied and asked for all email addresses ending in my domain name to be deleted from their mailing list. Of course, I also took the time to preach a little about the dangers of buying mailing lists. I was disappointed that a reputable organization had been duped . ...
Keep reading »

Consider Point of View for All Your Writing

Image
I've done it. You've done it. And they've done it. I'm talking about mixing up points of view when writing. And also using the right point of view for the right purposes. Grammarly has a quick little article explaining  First, Second, and Third Person in case you don't remember from school. Here are some things to consider from a content marketing perspective: Articles, blog posts: Mixing up I-we-you-they-me all in one article might cause confusion. There may be reasons for including all of these words in one article but it's worth re-reading to check. Using both second and third person is something I see often and probably accounts for most of the editing I do. If you are writing to/for your reader, consider using the second person. If you are writing about your own experiences, of course, you have to use the first person. Website: If your business IS you, I recommend writing in the first person (about yourself) and the second person (for features...
Keep reading »

Actively Share your Newsletter Issues on Social Media

Image
You may already be autoposting your newsletter onto your social media feeds when you send it out. It makes sense to share it more than once , especially if it's the only content you have (i.e. if you're not also blogging). Re-sharing your newsletter issues using the read online link on your social media feeds multiple times will extend your readership beyond your current subscribers... and hopefully encourage new ones. Facebook Page, Google+ and LinkedIn If not autoposted, post a link to the online version of your newsletter as soon as it goes out. Use the sharing buttons within your newsletter to make it easy. For a monthly newsletter, you might consider sharing it again a couple of times before your next issue goes out. Twitter Tweet a link to the online version of your newsletter a couple of times a week until your next issue goes out. Use the tweet button in your newsletter but change up the tweet text each time. Add an image to the tweet for added oomph. If yo...
Keep reading »

Proofing Checklist for Error-free Newsletters

Image
Having prepared and sent over a thousand different newsletters, this is what I know to be true: mistakes happen . There are so many opportunities for error that I still cringe inwardly when I click 'publish'. This checklist gives you an easy way to remember all of the things to check before you click 'publish':  Proofing Checklist for Error-free Newsletters Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Knowing When to Go

Image
Change is a wonderful thing - it keeps life interesting. It allows our businesses to evolve and do better. When we can plan and drive change successfully, it can be very rewarding. Then there's the change that's forced on us. You know, like when your website hosting company goes belly up. Or your PC dies at an inconvenient time, precipitating an unplanned but long-thought-about change to Mac . Or when the bulk email application you've been using for 10 years keeps dumping functionality that you and your clients need. (OK that last one is me.) Forced change is rarely pleasant and it's hard to get excited about how things will be better when we're buried in the work of making the change. And, of course, it never happens at a convenient time! Managing risks can be complicated. I wish I had acted sooner. I'd like to think I'll learn from this experience and act sooner next time. Procrastination is sometimes convenient, and sometimes worthwhile, b...
Keep reading »