Web SoaringProfits.com

by Ron Knowlton

Your time is valuable! Why do mundane tasks that your computer or that computer software can do?

Here are eight ways to make your life easier, by putting some aspects of your business on "autopilot". (Also learn more about these features at http://www.soaringprofits. com/automating.htm.)


EMAIL HELP

1. Use an email program such as Eudora, Pegasus, or Outlook Express, which uses filters to filter and sort your email into folders. This will save you hours of time sifting and sorting. This way you will know exactly where to find everything - as it is filtered here and there to folders you have specified. It's much, much easier than searching through a long list of email headers!


AUTOMATIC ORDER-TAKING

2. Use CGI programming to automate much of your business - such as order taking, making a product available for download, subscribing to your ezine, etc. These great time-saving scripts can be found at sites such as: 

http://www.superscripts.com
http://cgi.resourceindex.com
http://www.icthus.net/CGI-City


AUTORESPONDERS CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS

3. Use autoresponders to answer frequently asked questions and perform many routine tasks. Just post the URL on your website where visitors may go for a quick answer to a question about your product or service. This will give an instant answer and will save you time corresponding back and forth to numerous customers who have the same common problem or concern. Plus it makes it easy for them! They immediately have the answer in their hands!


WEB PAGE TEMPLATES

4. Create a template for an "empty" web page that uses your website's design. Then when you need to create another page, call up the template, copy and paste-deleting whatever it is you don't need and pasting on to the page what you do need. This alone will save you hours of time by providing a ready-made web page template - just add copy!


SOFTWARE UPDATES WEB PAGES

5. Use a software program that will update your edited web pages all at once to your website host (such as Microsoft FrontPage). 

Also, using javascript coding you can update common elements that appear on multiple pages of your web site (updating all pages with one file). 

FrontPage has a feature that will do this for your top and your left-hand borders to your site. This will save you hours of time that you won't have to spend manually updating individual components onto your web site.


AUTOMATE YOUR EZINE MAILINGS

6. Use a list server for your ezine or purchase software that will serve this purpose (or use cgi programming that can do this - see #2 above). The list server will automatically handle subscriptions to your email newsletter and will even send the newsletter out for you - which means you won't have to do these tasks manually!

Listservers:

Yahoogroups (http://www.yahoogroups.com), 
Topica (http://www.topica.com) and 
Listbot (http://www.listbot.com).


Email List Software:

http://www.mailloop.com (Mailloop)
http://www.autoreplying.com/ (PS Autoresponder)
http://www.cgitoolbox.com/ (Mail Master Pro)


USE WORD PROCESSING "TEMPLATES"

7. Use your word processing program's "Templates and Wizard" feature in Microsoft Word or "PerfectExpert" in Corel WordPerfect to create instant professional-looking documents to send to customers and clients. Both of these programs provide you with documents that are already formatted with much of the wording you need - you just make simple changes.

Also create templates for business letters and other correspondence you often use. Then when the need arises, call up the templates and you have a ready reply for a wide variety of circumstances (ie: a sales letter, an answer to a common question or concern, etc.).


MULTIPLE AUTORESPONDERS FOR FOLLOW-UPS

8. For some tasks, use multiple autoresponders. These autoresponders can send follow up information or sales letters. Most customers need more than one exposure to your sales materials before making a decision to purchase. Multiple autoresponders make it easy to time mailings and to send follow up messages. 

Here's where to find services that provide multiple autoresponders:

http://www.getresponse.com
http://www.fastfacts.net
http://www.autorespondersplus.com/
http://www.automailer.net/

Using these eight methods can help to greatly increase your productivity and decrease time spent with routine tasks that consume so much of your valuable time!

___________________________________________
Ron Knowlton is a former journalist and the founding editor at <http://www.soaringprofits.com/> "Articles
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