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Following on from Sam’s post on this topic last month – I thought I’d share 3 of my current favourites with you too!
WiseStamp.com – If you use Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo or AOL to send your emails, and Firefox or Chrome as your internet browser (there are plans to increase coverage very soon), do take a look at this very versatile tool which will let you create a professional-looking signature block for emails. The free version (although it’s polite to make a donation) provides 2 alternative signatures and several templates to try. I especially like that we can include social media links AND a latest blog post, by pulling in the RSS feed.
Tungle.me – I only started using this online diary a few weeks ago and so far am very pleased. It enables me to arrange meetings with several people, or just one person by emailing over my availability – avoiding that annoying email ping-pong that usually ensues when trying to agree dates and times. Tungle not only emails me when a meeting has been booked, it also sends a reminder if anyone hasn’t booked, so I can follow-up. The other parties don’t need to sign up for an account in order to schedule a meeting either (which can be a barrier for some people).
Another great feature is that Tungle not only books confirmed appointments into my Google Calendar, it also syncs automatically with my lovely new BlackBerry (Bold 9700) so I can schedule meetings even when away from the office. (Also syncs with iPhones).
Paymo.biz – I originally tried out this timer tool to find out where my time was disappearing to! (see post on my other blog). More recently, I’ve found it very useful for tracking time spent on various projects and client work. There’s a downloadable desktop widget which is very quick and easy to use and great if you need to stop working on a task, handle an interruption and then restart the timer. The reports are very detailed, as long as you take time to type in a few notes, and can act as professional looking back-up time sheets to invoices.
We love to hear from you, so please share any favourite online tools you’ve found helpful. And be sure to re-tweet this post so we can keep spreading the word about the good stuff!
About Louise
Louise Barnes-Johnston has been working in social media marketing since 2007 after realising that it was a powerful marketing tool which would enable her clients to raise the profile of their businesses on the internet, even when working to a limited budget. Her specialism is in researching social media practices; trying out the most effective online tools and then sharing the best of them with her clients.
Many thanks for these pointers Louise – I am off to take a look at Tungle right now as scheduling is a huge hassle for me. Previous online solutions I’ve used have always required everyone to register – so they rarely worked.
Ian
You’re very welcome Ian – I hope you find Tungle helps you as much as it has me. I recently arranged several introductory coaching calls and it saved so much time & effort. Let us know how you get on with it!
[...] Email Signature – This is another often forgotten but very important place to check and add your updated details. Just think how many emails you send out and reply to! If you use Gmail, you might be interested in a neat little Email Signature tool called WiseStamp. [...]