Being Smart With File Transfers Over The Web

I took on a new client this week who are involved in the business of Market Research and one of the things they were struggling with was transferring of documents via email.  Just for one letter it was showing a file size of 3MB so it was struggling to get through to their clients and was also clogging their client’s email accounts – so it did not look good.  I have changed their documents into a different format and now the average file size is 52KB, a fraction of the size.  But file sizings can be difficult to get your head around and I remember them by this little image in my head:

• KB – similar to ounces – think of a bag of your favourite sweets (mine are Midget Gems!)
• MB – similar to pounds – think of sugar, a bag is 2llbs
• GB – similar to stones – think of a sack of potatoes

You are generally all right with KB and a couple of MB when sending documents but anymore think of sending multiple emails or alternatively take a look at specific file transfer software which is available on the web – www.yousendit.com or www.box.net  Both are very good and have high secure settings so your information is safe and protected.

Making Your Business Marketing Count

I had a chat with one of our clients this week, they work in radio advertising and there has been a downturn in advertising revenues so they wanted to increase their marketing activity to generate new clients and encourage bookings from existing clients.

One thing they mentioned and I know this from other clients is that good marketing is about being consistent and trying varied approaches.  Some of the things they decided on:

• Regular newsletter – both email and by post (a high number of email newsletters however good they are – sadly they are just deleted as people receive too much spam)
• Using targeted mailing and sending out samples of their work with special discounts
• Networking at business meetings
• Booking exhibition space
• Promoting their business and any offers on their stationery, invoices and emails

We have been able to help with some of these – gathering the correct data for the mailings and newsletters, handling and checking the delivery.  We have also helped with the design of the information on their business communication.  Together with their personal approach at exhibitions and business networking meetings they are confident they will see bookings. 

One of my other clients works as a joiner – at both work and home premises.  He has his work uniform branded and his vehicle has been given a facelift with some smart vehicle graphics and he tells me he gets most of his work requests just from this alone!

Yorkshire Business Market

We have taken a stand at the business exhibition – Yorkshire Business Market.  The exhibition is on Monday 27th April, 12pm to 6pm and it is being run by Harrogate Chamber of Commerce.  Come and meet me (Belinda) in person and say hello!  If you would like some complimentary visitor tickets let me know.  The weblink is – http://www.yorkshirebusinessmarket.org/

Last year there were 1500 visitors and 150 exhibitors so it looks to be a busy day!  It will feature businesses around Yorkshire so it is an opportunity to meet other businesses, network, find a new supplier and get some new business ideas. 

I am racking my brains to come up with an eye catching and appealing stand so if you have any bright ideas do please drop me a line and let me know!

Get Organised With Your PC

One of my clients had a minor disaster this week with a “Trojan Horse” affecting her computer.  Quite how it came on her PC is a mystery and it is being diagnosed at the moment.  Sometimes they lie sleeping in your computer from corrupt files and then spring into action.   But this is a reminder to make sure you are organised with your PC, keep anti virus software and spyware up to date and make sure that you do regular scans.  Weekly is best, tedious and slow they may be but they protect your work in the long run.

Also do think about a sytem for regularly saving your files and data on your computer,  CD’s,  spare hard drives or virtual servers depending on your capacity requirements.  If the worst happens you know that you can easily work on another PC.   At Your Admin Assistant we work on CD’s and Virtual Online Storage with Dell.  Very reassuring and helpful it is.  Another virtual software particularly if you are a home user is BT (remember those ads with the pictures being restored?)  The BT link is http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=25808&s_cid=con_FURL_digitalvault

As ever if you need our help do please get in touch.  We are here to help people get organised.