Tired of spending money on business “essentials”?

I get it. For such a small, simple business, you can feel nickel and dimed as you’re in start-up mode as a mobile notary.  Luckily, one of the most lucrative marketing campaigns you can implement right now can be done for $7 or less. 

And it’s easy too!

The hardest part is just getting out of your own way and hitting the send button…again and again. 

The 7-Step Marketing Plan for Mobile Notaries

You can start this today, and your total expense, outside of time and energy, is $7 (or less). 

Step One: Get a Domain Name

Invest $1 for the first year of a domain name that matches your brand name, or is similar. Don’t worry, this isn’t for building a website. This is for sending emails only. If you already have a domain name, you can skip to Step Two.

How I Do It: I use GoDaddy for all of my domains. Sometimes they cost more than $1, but there is always a promo or coupon...

You can listen to this blog on YouTube here

During my recent Prolific Content Creation workshop at NBB, a student asked me what I thought of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write content for blogs. 

This is literally a workshop where I write a piece of content, like a blog article, from scratch, in collaboration with fellow members, and we make it customizable so each notary can use a personalized version of it on their own platforms. 

So…

Being the writer snob that I am, shared my distaste of some random robot wrecking my craft. 

I wasn’t a fan. 

Writing is supposed to be pure, I said. It’s supposed to be an extension of our soul, I cried. It’s our personality on paper, I pontificated. 

Blah, blah, blah. 

The fact is, not everyone enjoys writing as much as I do, and that’s okay.

That doesn’t mean the need to write or otherwise create valuable content is any less important. 

Content should not be ignored....

You can listen to this blog on YouTube here

With a population of around 1,000 people, La Conner is the 386th largest city in Washington. And located on Morris Street, right next door to the best Mexican food in Washington, sits Rowdy Dog Antique Lighting.

Even in a charming town, such as La Conner, it was hard for me to picture myself even entering an entire store committed to antique lighting. As it is when shopping (which is rare for me), I feel like a crotchety old man, calculating the rent and labor expenses, judging product displays, and evaluating employee performance. I just wander around muttering, “How do these guys stay in business???”

Yep, I am turning into my grandmother.

But the allure of Rowdy Dog’s beautiful lamps, flirting, twinkling their little lights through the shop window was too much to deny, even for me. I found myself actually waiting for them to open up shop one Thursday morning at 11. I practically camped in the parking lot, like it was an...

You can listen to this blog on YouTube here

One of the many gifts we have as we work our mobile notary and loan signing business is meeting incredible people. Still, when I first started out, I was terrified of the kind of people I would meet. Were they angry? Sad? Mean? 

Turns out, very few of them were any of those. And my friend Bobbi Illing said it best anyway, “You can like anyone for an hour.”

For the most part (luckily) we aren’t counting down the minutes until we can escape an appointment. People are pretty cool. And some of these connections we have with our signers are magical. 

And even when we think we may have found a “bestie” or an awesome referral source, we can struggle to stay connected and often lose touch. 

No matter how powerful the spark during the appointment, the energy wanes as life goes on and we get distracted. Especially, when the phone is ringin’ and dingin’ like crazy. It’s easy to...

You can listen to this blog on YouTube Here

I just moved into a new home in northern Washington after living the last 18 months in fully furnished AirBnB's.  I find myself needing everything from coasters, lamps, & garbage cans, to landscapers and exterminators (Did you know Washington has a “spider season”? They certainly didn’t mention that in the sales brochure).

When I need something, a service especially, I go to two places- my network for referrals, and/or a Google search. My network up here in Washington is nothing like it was in Phoenix, so if my real estate agent or AirBnB host don’t have a referral for me, guess what-off to Uncle Google I go.

Most consumers skip the referral part and go straight to Google, where they make a decision on who to call based mainly on whose information appears on their screen and the quality and number of their reviews. 

When a consumer types in their search for say, “Notary Near Me,”...