| Blitz
Ezine # 237 May 3rd, 2004
Increasing your ROI - Ways to improve your return on Investment
Note:
This is an archived issue. Some links and/or content
may be outdated
The Blitz-Promotions News Letter
Issue no. 237, May 3rd, 2004
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Please Visit Our Sponsors ***************************************************
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Blitz Comments
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Amazon
has a new search engine in Beta. It uses Google / Ad
Words - some results we checked are different so make
sure to check it out.
http://a9.com/
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In this Issue
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-
Improving ROI
- Organization Tips
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Food for thought
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Never
waste time inventing things that people would not want
to buy.
Tom Edison
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Increasing your ROI
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I found some excellent articles on the web concerning
ROI - enjoy.
Getting
started.
A
FREE ROI Tool
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Guest Articles
Organization Tips
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Well
JodyRay, this may be a case of the blind leading the
blind....but I'll
try. I'm not known for my filing skills, but since I've
been re-doing mine
recently and a wonderfully slow day is giving me some
time to think, a tiny
shred of wisdom may evolve! I don't have the same kinds
of categories as
you, but some ideas might be transferrable.
First
lesson I learned, after only about 25 years of filing:
Whatever it
takes, avoid working with overcrowded file drawers.
It discourages regular
filing, and encourages procrastination which leads to
stacks which take
forever to wade thru. I love the colored hanging files,
used sparingly to
divide sections in the drawer...or to hold frequently-used
files that you
need to find and grab quickly. I also like the colored
'manilla' files
that go *inside* the hanging files.
My
most recent "orders file" revision works great.
It's my favorite
file! I moved it to my most accessible file drawer,
which is the top
drawer of a metal 3-drawer lateral file cabinet. I simply
allocate 1
hanging file for each day, and rotate them as the files
empty out. Each
order and related paperwork is clipped together, and
all orders placed that
day go into that day's file after processing, until
all aspects of the
order are completed. (Then they go into a not-as-manageable
location, filed
according to State!). I don't actually label these daily
order folders,
since they become 'rotating' folders as the days pass,
orders get
completed, and the files get emptied....and new orders
require a new
folder. But for temp labels for other stuff, I sometimes
just use a post-it
note. For my business, I usually have about 10-15 days
worth of active
orders at any given time. I have separate colored hanging
files for
custom-print orders and for backorders. This system
also helps identify
potential problems, because if an order remains in the
file longer than
normal, it's easily spotted so I can check into it.
I
used to keep all my tax stuff in separate folders (Fed,
State,
Unemployment, Sales Tax etc.) ...and since I've always
been told this stuff
should *never* be thrown away, those folders were getting
rather large. So
I set up an archive section at the hard-to-reach back
of the drawer for
everything thru 2002, so I rarely have to touch that
part. Since I have
some taxes that are done monthly, some quarterly, and
some annually, I set
up files accordingly. Taxes-Monthly, Taxes-Quarterly,
Taxes-Annual. So,
when I do any given set of taxes, I only have to pull
out one file (to
review and see how I did stuff last time, cause I never
can remember!).
If
you have, or can possibly have, different file cabinets
for different
kinds of things, that helps a ton. The more diversified
the subjects, the
farther apart they are in my office. It helps me separate
my 'worlds' when
wearing different hats.
In
2003 we dedicated the full year to focused 'brainstorming'
as we worked,
each of us making notes of ideas to streamline our systems
and processes
involving order taking, processing, paper-pushing, filing,
or anything
related to the office processes. Even our vendors contributed
ideas! We put most
all of the ideas into practice as we went, and were
amazed how some of the
smallest changes made some of the biggest differences.
Our new systems
aren't perfect...but WOW, what a difference they've
made! It's amazing how
even small changes can pave the way for more efficiency.
My ultimate goal
is to let QuickBooks reconcile my bank statement....Not
sure if I'll
successfully arrive at that point, but I'm getting close!<g>
Celia
Thomas
Wholesale
Gift Packaging Supplies for U.S. Retailers, Organizations,
Businesses and Artisans
Phone: 800-486-5783, 9-5 Central Time, Mon-Fri
www.macpaper.com
---- Online Catalog! Bulk, Wholesale Gift Packaging
Supplies
www.macpaper.com/giftwrap-gallery-entrance.html
Huge Selection of Counter Roll Giftwraps...Hundreds
of Selections!
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Links you can use -
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Writing
is a big deal, in fact words have a lot to do with...
your search engine ranking, how well your site sells,
and increases in your ROI. This months links give you
some resources that may help.
Need
to be more creative?
http://www.creativity-portal.com/
Copywriting
help.
A list of resources - http://www.excessvoice.com/resources.htm
An
online dictionary with a difference (search many dictionaries
at once).
http://www.onelook.com/
Security
-
Need
to update your windows but don't want to download. Order
a free CD from Microsoft. One note if you're in a hurry,
you will need to use a different option. Shipping from
what I've heard is really slow.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp
RSS
- how does it work, how to implement it.
http://www.feedvalidator.org/docs/rss2.html
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Fun and Games
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As
many of you know, I have a daughter that is now 7. On
the weekends we have frequent play dates where we play
everything from dolls to a game on the Ninetendo or
X-box. One of our favorite games on the Ninetendo is
Mario Party 5. The fun thing about it is that it isn't
just one game but a collection of many different games.
Games can also be long or short depending on how much
time you have to spend. You can also play with four
players, and adjust the difficulty level so the younger
folks have an easier time and you have a harder one.
Details on that game can be found at the link below.
http://www.marioparty.com/
A
great educational site to explore with your kids.
http://www.familyfirst.com/
Math
and your phone number -
1)
Key-in the first 3 digits of your phone number into
a
calculator (not the area code)
2)
Multiply by 80
3)
Add 1
4)
Multiply by 250
5)
Plus last four digit of phone number
6)
Plus last four digit of phone number again
7)
Minus 250
8)
Divide by 2
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Reviews
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Customer
Service - it's not what it used to be.
I
know sometimes that things get hard if you're a customer
service person. Recently I called Gateway support and
worked with Quicken support. I noticed something that
I hadn't thought of before. Your support experience
can vary depending on the person you're talking to.
Both experiences were bad with the first person I spoke
with from both companies.
The
main thing I learned was if the first person you reach
seems to be a bit out of the loop (or in the days of
out sourcing you can't understand them), hang up and
try the call again. If things still aren't working out
- ask them to speak with their boss.
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Useful links to our site
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Find
more useful promotion and design articles here -
http://www.blitzpromotions.com/articleindex.htm
Check
out our archives for issues you may have missed.
http://www.blitzpromotions.com/ezinearchives.htm
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Next Issues
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June - Increasing your profits - decreasing your overhead.
July - Increasing your average sale.
August - Getting ready for the holidays.
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Final Thoughts
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Tim
and Lisa Hamblin
Tisa Enterprises
PO Box 221
Hazard KY 41702
http://www.blitzpromotions.com
http://www.crochetnmore.com
http://www.webpageplanner.com
http://www.ineedlinks.com
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