New Business: Don't forget your existing clients

Don't be so focussed on looking for new business that you forget your existing clients

A sign that you are providing a quality service is when customers come back to you for repeat business. Don't be so focussed on getting new business that you neglect your existing customer base. Keep existing customers informed of new business services, new develoopments... just keep in touch with them from time to time and keep meeting service delivery agreements.

It's a good idea to every now and again go and reread and brush up on service delivery agreements signed between you and existing clients. Just to make sure that you are adhering to the letter of the law with your agreement between you and them, to ensure that you are keeping to confidentiality clauses and respecting what they are asking you to do.  This will also help you ensure that THEY are doing what they are supposed to do in terms of their contractual agreement with you. If you find that they are not, a little gentle reminder can be beneficial. Remember, your old clients are the loyal tried and trusted ones, where the new ones, you don't know so well yet.

Giveaway of the Day.

Hello guys,

Thank goodness here in the Southern hemisphere winter is over and in Johannesburg, South Africa, we have glorious spring days. Hope you are all comfortable wherever you are! 

Worth a mention today is Giveaway of the Day. They always give away great stuff if you are fast enough to download it within 24 hours, but today's is a tool that is valuable to the transcription industry and to people in writing, proofreading and editing circles. Check it out: http://giveawayoftheday.com/whitesmoke-2011/. Here's the write up about it. The program is available for $ 249.95, but it will be free as a time-limited offer. Throughout the world the need for communication between countries and international business is growing and as a result, so is the need for a common language: English. WhiteSmoke 2011 involves Natural Language Processing (or NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which allows the software to “learn” the way the human mind works in the process of writing, thus going beyond providing grammatical and typographical corrections, but also improving the style, tone and clarity of your writing. The 2011 version is an all-in-one, hybrid solution for English writing, providing a convenient and easy to use writing tool that works directly from any text-based application. WhiteSmoke 2011 includes the a comprehensive English writing tool, full-text translator, multilingual dictionary and a multitude of ready-to-use templates. Be quick and get it!

Useful transcription tools

Hi everybody. I thought that I would list here some tools that I use from day to day that make my life as a transcriptionist much easier. Please feel free to add to this list, and ask me about the usage of these tools. Any tool I list here, I have personally used and recommend

Express Scribe It's a free transcription tool which allows you to slow down and speed up audio and is downloadable from www.nch.com.au

Any Audio Converter. It literally converts audio to any format, particularly to formats that are workable by the above Express Scribe.

Sendspace. It's a secure FTP server, free, which allows you to send files to others which are too big to be emailed.

Skype is an internet based telephony programme which allows you to chat via the internet to your customers free of charge.

Wavepad is a very useful sound editing programme which allows you to clip audio to particular lengths, enhance the quality of it and edit it - free.

Bullzip allows you to print to PDF format. There are many more, but these are the ones that I use from day to day.

Job - AMF TYPING

Hi everyone Alison Fourie needs some assistance with a monthly job she will have - Please contact her directly: - I am in Roodepoort, Roodekrans. We will be going through a document and checking references, and making sure they match up. I know its dull and boring work but it will go quickly. I will pay on an hourly rate. So email me on amftyping@mweb.co.za and let me know your rate. Regards Ali

Social Media and Why You Need an Expert to Do It.

Flickr, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Myspace, Friendster, Linked In ...... what are they all? You can go crazy hearing about them all!!!!! Even more daunting - 'Blogging!' What are they all? Even if you do know them, for years, you've been told they're for personal use, not for business use. Now, suddenly, you're hearing that you have to use them for business. So, you know you need them for your business, but you're not sure what to do with them! You've started with Facebook, you've got a profile, and you've got some friends on there, so what do you do now?

In a nutshell, these are online social and business networks. Even this sort of terminology can leave you confused. But it needn't. Let's break it down. Online is simple, it's on the internet. Social. Well you know what that means - friends. In this case, let's take it a little further. Most social networks use the term 'friend' a little loosely. I have 397 Facebook friends. To be honest, I think 'acquaintance', or 'associate' would be more accurate, but 'Facebook Associate' doesn't sound quite the same as 'Facebook friend'. Business is business ... and a network is a large interconnected group of people who move in your business or social circle.

So there you have it, broken down in a nutshell. And why would YOU want to be a part of this? Statistics show that as of early 2011, there are more than 5 millon active Facebook users. That's Facebook alone, just one of the social networks available. Given the concept of the six degrees of separation (wherein it is thought that everyone is on average approximately six steps away from everyone in the world), how can you NOT be involved in something where, by the simple act of posting or commenting to inform your group of friends about an idea, there is the chance that within six steps or less, all 5 million Facebook users, and wider, the world, will be aware of what you're doing?

So now you're thinking right, so I can do this, and I can get great access to a huge market, simply by being online. Here's where the crux of the matter comes in. Social networking is time consuming, as it needs to be kept up with on a day to day basis to be effective. It also requires a certain skill. You need to be able to write literately, and have a bit of imagination, and be able to impart knowledge about your business. And the problem with all of this of course is the fact that whilst you're doing this, you're not doing your core business.

And that, everybody, is why you need Typewrite Transcription and Typing Services CC to handle your social media function for you.