There are all kinds of terrific, often free tools to help you run your business (and life) more easily and efficiently.
One of my recently discovered favorites makes it easy to sign documents that you receive without ever (I said ever) printing them out.
Today’s 96-second video is filled with several historical references and the usual second-rate insights that you’ve come to expect from this publication. (If there’s a more compelling way to get you to click and watch it, I sure don’t know what it is.)
Click below to watch… (Move slider at bottom of video to adjust volume!)
Dear Abe,
Honestly? I love this. I still have my fax machine, circa 1995, but by the sounds of it, it won’t be with us for much longer. I have no scanner, either. So SignNow is the Perfect solution I never knew existed!
Much obliged. Stay away from the theater.
Margie
Hello Margie! And …. there’s even an iPhone app (you sign with your finger, believe it or not) so you can do it all while out walking the dog or whatever.
Michael,
You are a mind-reader! Sign Now is going to add seconds to my life! Seriously though, it’s not so much the time, but the annoyance of having to sign, then fax, or scan or snail mail those docs, that will now be gone forever.
Thank you thank you thank you again for another great piece of info.
Albest,
Debby
My pleasure, Debby. Remember me next time you sign one of those multi-million dollar contracts of yours!
Michael,
Will do! I’m afraid, though, that those contracts are all going to be blown out of reach once we’re all falling over that fiscal cliff!
At any rate, Happy Holidays.
Thank you; I’m signing up for this service right now!
Go! Go! Go!
You could also print it out, photograph it with your phone, which if it is automatically connected to Dropbox’s “Camera Upload”, will upload it to Dropbox, and then you send it directly from Dropbox to wherever it’s going.
Sounds kind of old school my (much older) brother. Now I need a printer, a pen, a phone. Nah …. with SignNow I just need a computer and a finger (of which I own 10)!
Michael, I so look forward to your emails and videos. Your warmth and casualness (is that a word?) is so refreshing. I have a question that is off this topic…is Infusionsoft working well for you? I am considering it. Thanks. Ken
Hello Ken!
I’d say a definite “sort of.” What I like – and why I went with them – is that my email marketing, my shopping cart and my ability to send autoresponders (prewritten sequences of messages) is all in one place. So not only can I send messages/promotions based on prior behavior, I can see everything there is about a given person in one place.
The downside is that it’s quite complicated to use, the email marketing interface is klunky and not sophisticated, and it’s expensive ($250 a month).
So I’d only recommend it if you did a fair amount of business with credit card purchases and were already paying for something like One Shopping Cart. If all you’re doing is email marketing, Constant Contact, MailChimp and many other “pure” email vendors are better and cheaper.
That looks like a great resource. I have Acrobat Pro, so I have been using a digital signature for a while, but I’m going to check into SignNow. Do you use the free or pro version?
Also, as I was perusing your resources, I noticed iStockphoto. Love me. Have used them for years. However, lately they’ve been getting more pricey. As an alternative for someone who just needs something less pricey, a good alternative is BigStockPhoto.com. I’ve used them also for years and they’ve proven worthy…and save money if you just need an interesting pic for a blog or whatnot.
Okay, vexed by bad typing….that’s Love ’em. in the second paragraph. Oy.
Hi Alexandre! I use the free version of SignNow. Seems perfectly fine for me although I’m sure some people have different needs and would want the pro.
Yes, I use istockphoto and agree, not so cheap anymore. I’ll check out bigstockphoto.com
Love me, I mean you, too!
Thanks for this new resource, Michael. I’ve been stuck with the laborious scanning method, so am interested to try this out. I just recently blogged about all the great “resource” pages on my various favorite blogs, and mentioned yours in particular. Your page is to the point and very useful. Thanks for keeping it current.
My pleasure, Laura! And thanks for mentioning my page too.
All the best,
Michael
UTTERLY AMAZING! . . . I didn’t realize Honest Abe was even alive when the DOI was signed! (I may have to see the new movie “Lincon” just to make sure . . . sounds like you were catching some winks during your American history lessons???) But seriously, what a great video (undoubtedly your best work so far) and what a lifesaver Sign Now will be compared to previously frustrating experiences signing docs. Thanks for the great tip!
Doug
Doug! Yes, little known fact about Abe (or A-Linc as his buddies no doubt called him).
Glad you like the tool as well!
Lincoln my not have signed the Declaration of Independence, but he is the only U.S. president to have toy logs named after him.
Hmmm… in that case these Van Buren Logs I’ve been playing with all day must be fakes!
Michael,
I wonder if you missed your true calling. You’re great doing what you do, for sure. But I think you’re really a comedy writer at heart. Your sense of humour is definitely part of your web persona. Great stuff.
Thanks Robert. Speaking of which, I knew it was time to leave my last job when my boss kept telling me I missed my calling. A compliment from just about anyone except the person you’re working for!
Great tip Michael exactly when I needed it! Thanks for sending entertaining and useful tips!