Updates
Archived Posts from this Category
Is It Worth It To Use Social Media to Market Your Services?
Posted by Gabrielle on 02 Jul 2010 | Tagged as: Everything Else, Marketing, Q & A, Updates
That’s the question I’ve been asking.
Like me, I’m sure you’ve heard all the noise about the BIG claims of mega-success by businesses who are using Social Media to promote their businesses. But is it really just that – a lot of NOISE that doesn’t mean a hill of beans in the real world? Or is this an important trend that small business owners need to pay attention to for the sake of their bottom line?
Cut through the hype and find out what the real deal is with social media. Get straight answers from an expert who’s actually doing it and knows first hand whether it’s really just a big waste of time, or if you can truly use it to market your business profitably.
Join me, Gabrielle Fontaine, and my special guest, marketing expert and social media guru, Ely Delaney as we cut through the hype and finally learn…
* How to use social media to build relationships with prospects, customer and referral sources
* How social media is changing the way we do business
* How to easily get up and running on the three biggest and most strategic social media networks
* How to attract quality “friends” and “followers” without getting caught up in the numbers game
* What free automation tools you can use to maximize your reach and save time in the process
* How to avoid getting sucked in to wasting a ton of time keeping up with your social posting
* What NOT to do so you don’t make enemies, or worse, get banned from the social networking sites
* How networking online is not the same as in-person networking
Find out for yourself why such respected business authorities as Inc. Magazine are now saying that Social Media really is worth your time.
Isn’t it time you found out how to put it to work for YOUR business? Now you can, right after you attend this cut-to-the-chase, FREE, get-action webinar.
Join us Thursday, July 8 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time for this LIVE webinar training.
“Social Media” Online Business Networking Basics”
Grab your seat as our free guest right here:
=> Register Here
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When They Search, Can New Clients Find You?
Posted by Gabrielle on 11 Jun 2010 | Tagged as: Articles, Marketing, Updates
An often overlooked way to get your phone ringing with calls from prospective new clients is by making sure you are where they are looking when they need help.
One of the first places people look for help is on the web, using search engines. The most popular ones are Google, Yahoo, and Bing (formerly MSN).
When someone searches for bookkeeping help in your local area, can they find you easily in the search engines? Do you Google yourself from time to time and know what prospective clients see?
A Chance To Be Found More Quickly
I just learned about a special program that Intuit Proline is running, especially focused at QuickBooks ProAdvisors, but even if you are not part of the program, there’s an important tip here for you.
Here’s the scoop.
From now until the end of June, there is a special for all QuickBooks ProAdvisors wherein you can not only connect your ProAdvisor profile (if you’re certified) to a listing in Intuit’s Business Directory, but you can also get their WebListing service for 90 days and then a discounted rate thereafter (only $9.99/mo.)
The listing service helps you with your local listings so that you will come up on the first page when people are searching for QuickBooks services, and it ties to your own website as well as your ProAdvisor profile. So you can really give a lot more good, enticing information to pull in new clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This price is far more effective than paying for a Yellow Pages ad, and it is optimized for your local area!
I’ve signed up for it myself just a few days ago, and I’m already listed #1 in my city (which is a very BIG metropolitan area). Amazing.
If you are a ProAdvisor, you can find the offer after logging into your account, it’s near the bottom of the page.
If you’re not part of the ProAdvisor Program, but have been thinking about it, this would be a good time to join! Here’s why:
You’ll not only be able to get in on this deal, but you can still get certified in QuickBooks 2009 until the end of June, as well as get certified in 2010, and 2011 will be coming out in the Fall. That will qualify you to go for your Advanced Certification.
Talk about the fast track!
And of course, you’ll get the 2010 software now, and the 2011 software when it comes out too. You can’t beat getting all that for a single annual membership. This is the best time of year to join!
Finally, if you’re not quite ready for the ProAdvisor program, and you’re just getting started in your freelance bookkeeping business, you can still get a completely free business profile listing (though it won’t get fed out to all the major search engines, at least not as quickly), but there is still a lot of traffic on the Intuit sites. So you will still get targeted exposure to those who may need your help.
So my best advice is to take advantage of ALL the free profile listings you can on the web (and there are a lot of them!), including this one at the Intuit Business Directory.
You want people in your area to be able to find you in as many places as possible. Even if you don’t have a website yet, you can link your profile to your LinkedIn profile or your Facebook business page.
So those are just some quick tips I thought you could use and get in on while the getting is still good. This is a great way to make your marketing dollars work overtime for your business this summer.
And just in case you’re wondering, no, I’m not an affiliate of the Intuit WebListing service or the ProAdvisor Program and don’t get anything but the satisfaction of knowing that I’m helping you fill your business with great clients! 
There really are plenty of clients to go around!
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What You Need to Know About Advertising Your Services Online
Posted by Gabrielle on 25 Nov 2009 | Tagged as: Articles, Everything Else, Marketing, Updates
On December 1, 2009, recent changes to the Federal Trade Commission Act affecting online marketing, blogging and advertising will go into effect. The expanded regulations affect every US-based individual and business that sells or recommends products and services on the Internet. So if you have a website for your freelance bookkeeping business (and you should) or post on social media, you need to know about this.
What’s it all about?
“The original FTC act ‘prohibits deceptive and unfair acts or practices in commerce and misleading advertising of drugs, foods, cosmetics, devices and services,’ and these prohibilitions apply online and offline,” explains Richard Cleland, Assistant Director of the FTC Advertising Practices Division in a recent online interview.
The new guidelines expand on how the regulations apply to online marketing. With the ease in posting recommendations for third party products and services, such as using Amazon affiliate links, this change affects nearly everyone who has any kind of commercial dealings on the Web.
In which situations does it apply?
Specifically, the new rules apply to anyone who posts on a blog or website using affiliate links or where customer testimonials are used to sell a product or service. Any kind of reviews or recommendations online where compensation is involved are also included.
The fact that there is compensation involved now must be plainly disclosed. Where testimonials are involved, average customer results must be disclosed. It is no longer adequate to state that “your results may vary,” as has commonly been done by many.
What to do next
Since the new regulations go into effect next week, if you have a website where you use testimonials or affiliate links, you should figure out what needs to be revised on your blog(s) and/or website(s) to bring them into compliance and avoid getting snagged by the authorities. You may also have to change the way you post information with commercial connections on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The rub is, the new guidelins are not especially clear on how they specifically apply to some situations. So the best advice is to check out the information available on the FTC website itself. I’ve also included additional resources below, including an interview just released this week by online business expert, Jim Edwards, and FTC official, Richard Cleland, which includes real life examples of online advertising and how the requirements for disclosure apply.
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Resources
The official FTC guidelines that take effect on December 1st.
Jim Edwards interviews FTC Official for clarification of the new guidelines
Interpretation of FTC guidelines by an Internet lawyer
How to use the new guidelines to your advantage with testimonials
Heads Up on an Important QuickBooks Security Issue
Posted by Gabrielle on 29 Oct 2009 | Tagged as: Everything Else, Updates
It’s Gabrielle Fontaine with a heads-up critical update for
everyone currently (or formerly) using QuickBooks software.
You may also want to pass this information along to any of
your clients who are currently using QuickBooks software on their own.
Intuit, the company that makes QuickBooks, just announced that
there is a potential security risk that has been found that
would allow hackers to access the data on your computer.
The threat is due to a newly discovered vulnerability in
Microsoft’s ActiveX technology, which is commonly used by many
popular computer programs.
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QuickBooks Versions Affected By The Threat
===================================
All QuickBooks Simple Start, Pro, Premier and Enterprise Solutions
versions, 2009 and older (including trial versions) are vulernable.
The new QuickBooks 2010 versions, however, are not affected.
Intuit updates its currently supported versions from time to time
by releasing software patches. Each update or patch is given a
“Release” number for easy identification.
Right now, downloading Intuit’s updates is the only immediate way
to eliminate the vulnerability in currently supported versions of
QuickBooks. In time, Microsoft will likely release a patch with
their regular security updates for ActiveX.
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How To Protect Your Computer Now
===================================
All QuickBooks users of 2007, 2008 and 2009 versions should verify
that they have downloaded and installed the most current updates.
You can check if your software is up to date by opening QuickBooks
and then using the F2 key.
These are the most current updates that include a patch which
eliminates this new threat:
QuickBooks 2009 – R8
QuickBooks 2008 – R10
QuickBooks 2007 – R13
The best way to stay up to date is to enable the automatic update
feature AND to install those updates when prompted.
You can also manually download the latest updates directly from the
QuickBooks website.
http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/productupdates.aspx
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If You Are Running QuickBooks 2006 or Older….
===================================
If you are running QuickBooks 2006 or older, you are vulnerable to
this security threat. Since these versions are no longer supported
by Intuit, there is no downloadable update. Your best defense is to
upgrade your QuickBooks software to a supported version (2007-2009)
as soon as possible.
You can find both 2009 and the newest 2010 versions on amazon.com
Additionally, if you have an older version of QuickBooks installed
on your computer but it is no longer in use, remove it by
uninstalling the program to remove the ActiveX threat.
===================================
If You Are Running a Non-US Version of QuickBooks….
===================================
For Canadian versions of QuickBooks, you can download the updates
directly from the Intuit website:
For UK versions of QuickBooks, you can download the updates
directly from the Intuit website:
===================================
I’ve Made a Video to Show You Exactly What to Do
===================================
As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, I want to see you
get the most out of your QuickBooks software. That’s why I created
my free video training blog, QB QuickTips.
My latest video post walks you through each of the steps outlined above to
show you exactly how to protect yourself from this new ActiveX threat.
If you want to stay informed about critical updates for QuickBooks
like this one, as well as learn insider tricks and tips on how to
use this powerful software for your business success, be sure and
sign up for the QB QuickTips notification list.
You’ll also receive private, subscriber-only bonuses that are not
even posted on the blog.
Get your free subcription here:
What Freelance Bookkeepers Need Most
Posted by Gabrielle on 23 Sep 2009 | Tagged as: Updates
Gabrielle Fontaine here with some special news for you.
Last month I conducted a survey asking freelance bookkeepers this
question: “What do you [as a freelance bookkeeper] need most in
your business, right now?”
I must have touched a chord. The response I got was amazing! There
were several different areas of concern that surfaced. But can you
guess what the BIG #1 need is?
Effective Marketing Methods
Nearly every single person cited this as either their most
important, or at least one of their most important needs. Of
course, the benefits of marketing your bookkeeping services
effectively is bringing in new clients and increased revenues.
That’s more important now than ever.
So here’s the special news…
I will be presenting a LIVE webinar entitled, “Effective Marketing
for The Freelance Bookkeeper” next Tuesday, September 29th at 7:00
PM Eastern Time
This brand new material will show you exactly what it takes in the
current economic environment to attract more paying clients,
without costing you a lot in advertising or forcing you to employ
traditional hard-sell tactics.
So mark your calendar now, and get all the details right here:
www.thefreelancebookkeeper.com/webinar/
Here’s to YOUR success in your freelance bookkeeping business using
easy and effective marketing methods for the “new” economy!
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~Gabrielle
P.S. If you’re ready to bring in more high-quality clients, or
you’re just getting your freelance bookkeeping practice off the
ground, you won’t want to miss out on this live webinar, where
you’ll get everything you need to build your own highly effective
freelance bookkeeper marketing system.
Get all the details here:
