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January 10, 2022

She was on another directory for 8 years w/o a single call. Then she joined 123notary!

Filed under: General Stories,Popular Overall — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:59 am

This was originally published many years ago.

My assistant Adine just talked with a Notary who had a wonderful testimonial about 123notary. Adine was calling a long list of people to tell them winning techniques for getting reviews on their 123notary profiles. One of the people she called told her that she had been on another popular Notary directory for eight years — and without a single call. Then, she joined 123notary and the phone started ringing off the hook.

Everyone has a different experience on 123notary ranging from immediate success to almost no results. But, it is always refreshing to hear dramatic stories about the effectiveness of our site. This story reminds me of a quote that one of my writers came up with for Twitter a few years ago.

“Sell your car and buy a top spot on 123notary”

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How much should you spend on advertising?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16679

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http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16236

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December 18, 2021

Thinking of upgrading on 123notary? Read this first

Filed under: Advertising — admin @ 12:19 pm

I make my living selling high placed listings and upgrades. Yet I talk people out of it half the time. But, why? People who do well with high placed listings have complete looking listings.

Being high on the list raises the quantity of people who see your listing

Having a quality listing raises the batting average of how many people who see your listing actually call you.

If your listing is high quality and on the bottom, you get work, but not much. But, if you raise that high quality listing up the list, it will get more work.

A low quality listing with no notes, or stripped down notes, no reviews, no 123notary certification, and not much else will not do well high or low. This is why I discourage people brand new from upgrading.

Yes, join 123notary. Get a regular or preferential listing to start with. But, then work on your notes section. Put lots of useful information, not fluff. Get reviews, and pass our test. If you mention you are certified or approved by other agencies that helps too. If you have all of the bells and whistles on your listing, then your upgrade will be cost effective. That way I make my money for something that benefits you. I don’t want to take more than $120 of your money unless I am sure that what you are buying is right for you.

I call it — reverse sales. Untalking someone into a sale or talking them out of a sale. But, if you are right for the spot, then I will put that expensive top spot on the list of options that I recommend. This is how I do it.

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December 12, 2021

Many Notaries on 123notary get out of state title companies

Filed under: Marketing Articles — admin @ 12:00 pm

I keep hearing that the type of business people get on 123notary is better than on any other directory. I work hard to keep 123notary good. I do this by quizzing people, and helping people with their notes section. I weed out listings with dysfunctional phone numbers and those who are not responsive too. All of this is the basic nuts and bolts of quality control.

But, I have heard from several Notaries that they get a lot of out of state work from 123notary.com, and mostly from title companies. This is great news. My hard work has paid off if people get great jobs. I feel like I accomplished something. But, honestly it is time for a long vacation.

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November 22, 2021

Several signers told me they would not be in biz without 123notary

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 9:12 am

We had a signer in the Northeast named James who has several listings with us. He told me that he would never have gotten his business off the ground ten years ago if it weren’t for 123notary.com. He had just retired from Mortgage and wanted a fresh start. Several other Notaries told me similar stories as well.

This makes me see 123notary in a new way. We are not only useful to Notaries, but indispensable to many. All the grueling hard work I do has a purpose, and a higher meaning.

123notary really works for the seasoned notaries who have experience, reviews, and well filled in notes sections. It doesn’t work consistently well for newer Notaries who leave their notes blank, have no experience, aren’t really trying and have no reviews.

So, who am I really working for? In my opinion, I am working for Notaries who really are trying — I will give them a lot more of my time. And I am also working for title companies who I never get to speak with. I want them to get the best Notaries in town.

But, it makes me feel good to know that some people’s lives have been very powerfully and positively impacted by my hard work. Because I used to get a lot of complaining and not as many compliments.

Come to think of it, even on the blog, the comments are a lot more polite. I feel that people are being more polite and appreciative to me this year than in previous years. That is good for my health.

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November 20, 2021

123notary’s social media took a dive

Filed under: Social Media — admin @ 9:11 am

Our social media used to be very popular. 2015 was our best year if I remember correctly. We were getting thousands of clicks from Facebook and more from other mediums too.

But, then things slowed down. Our posts were not getting as many views. And then a few years later Covid hit.

For those of you who do not know, I was going to specific spots to do Feng Shui for my social media. For most people, feng shui is something you read about in a book that might be real or might not be real. I studied it and had analytics for which places impacted my income for the next day or two, and which places impacted my social media.

I would go to Warner Brothers studios and pay for a tour that I was not even interested in. My Facebook would go crazy when I did that. I would go to certain bars where I didn’t even like the people, or at least not that much, except for Brad — he was cool. I would get a lot more Facebook clicks after that due to the energies. How mystical!

But, those places are not doing much business now and have no buzz. Furthermore, with the Covid vaccine rules, I might not even be able to go to a bar for a long time.

So, I cannot do much to spice up my social campaign. But, the newsletter is doing okay which is something I control myself which is nice. I could post on Twitter too. That never got that much traffic but was fun.

I don’t know if I should continue doing much other than blogging because it just isn’t working out. I’ll have to think deeply on this one.

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November 12, 2021

High placed listings on 123notary — the current climate

Filed under: Marketing Articles — admin @ 8:34 am

123notary has always specialized in selling high placed listings. We are the most popular directory with Title and Escrow and they like the top rolling Notaries as a general rule. However the landscape has changed. Certain places used to be popular, but those spots are not as popular anymore.

In the old days, Miami, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa area, Jacksonville, Southern California Bay Area, Phoenix Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, and Houston were booked solid in terms of top spots. New York was also somewhat busy but not as much as these other areas.

Now, the Florida and Texas areas are still popular. But, California has almost fallen off the map in terms of top listings. We have so many availabilities. Did people pack up and leave the state or did they just get depressed and stop trying? Chicago lost of a lot of steam as well. Seattle area lost some steam too. We had a top spot for a while and still might. Note — that both the Democrat areas lost steam while the Republican areas held their ground. I am a Libertarian so I don’t like either party, but at least the Republicans function which is a lot more than I can say for their competitors.

But, now Idaho has its top listings booked up in many areas. That never used to be the case. So, the Californians moved to Idaho and the New Yorkers to Florida.

But, for some reason, the top spots in New York City are still taken despite that New York is a disaster area. So, NY is the only democrat state to hold its ground in the Notary industry on our site. Hmm. I’ll have to reflect on that one. New York has always been an odd ball as far as Notary marketing is concerned.

SUMMARY
To sum it up:

Which areas are doing worse:
CA, IL, WA

Which areas held their ground:
AZ, FL, NY, TX

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November 4, 2021

Notary on 123notary gets his notes professionally written

Filed under: Your Notes Section — admin @ 8:07 am

One of our most serious notaries on our site got his profile notes written by an advertising expert. The expert did a good job, except for a few things.

It is easier to read designations such as certifications, E&O insurance, etc., if written in bullet point format. It is also good to have a long list of packages you are familiar with.

I might not be an expert at notes writing, but I know what content needs to be there. Nice cozy text is attractive to read, but nothing beats cold hard facts, and warm fuzzy information about yourself.

So, yes, have your notes professionally written if you can afford it. But, make sure they understand the basic content that has to be there, because if they are not in our industry, they might not know. Or if they are in our industry, they still might not know. That is why I exist — to keep the record straight and to avoid omitting critical information.

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October 28, 2021

Is your personality compatible with Snapdocs or 123notary?

Filed under: Marketing Articles — admin @ 8:05 am

When I talk to new sign ups, many were referred from a course, an agency, or a friend. Word on the street is that Snapdocs, 123notary, and a few others are good places to sign up. However, I had to explain this to someone on a sales call, and I explained it differently.

I informed this nice lady from Ventura County that each site has its own personality. Whether you gel with that personality is something to think about before getting involved.
SnapDocs and 123notary both come highly recommended. But, if your personality doesn’t match, you are barking up the wrong tree in my opinion.

SnapDocs is for the snappy. It is for people with snappy personalities who answer texts at the speed of a millennial hooked on pumpkin frappachinos. It is for those who are caffeinated to the peak, whose jittery fingers snap into action whenever a text goes out. Those who are sluggish even by a matter of nanoseconds will get left out on Snapdocs unless it is for a job that nobody else wants.

123notary is for those who want to be treated like they are more than just a person. At 123notary, you are more than just a person, you are also a number, and we are three numbers. Those that do well on 123notary have particular personality traits. See if these match your traits.

1. You like logging into their listing every few months and manicuring their notes sections so that their factual, detailed, and unique information will interest and intrigue the readers (who read everything by the way just so that you know.)

2. You like asking for reviews and sending links to their review page so they can get more reviews to stand out.

3. Some like passing our certification test. This is more critical for new people on the site who do not have name recognition in the industry.

4. You like answering phone calls and emails for job offers(old school) rather than responding to texts or using apps (millennial B.S. in my opinion).

There are other options for advertising. Notary Rotary is old school and some people do well there. Less is required. Just put your name on a list and they have fewer requirements to do well than 123notary does. Notary Cafe gets some people work and they are not as caffeinated as SnapDocs despite their name. And then signingagent.com gets work for some, but not all. Don’t overlook Yelp, Google Local and other options.

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October 26, 2021

The goal of 123notary

Filed under: Marketing Articles — admin @ 8:03 am

The goal of 123notary is to keep title companies who use us happy. 123notary gets more title and escrow searches than any other directory out there. I have to compete as an individual human with 100 million dollar companies. They only way I can do this is because we live in a talent market these days rather than a purely capitalistic system.

I focus on having the best notaries, filtering out free listings that don’t measure up, filtering up good listings that deserve higher placement, etc. All of this is to give the best search results for title.

I quiz people, help them with their notes, coach them on getting reviews, teach industry competency, and even help people choose business names from time to time.

The goal is not to have the most listings, but to have a critical mass of Notaries who are worth calling and who have very complete looking listings. And I feel I have achieved that goal, although it is a lot of work to maintain!

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August 8, 2021

Memorial of Carmen Towles, former salesperson for 123notary

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 6:42 am

CARMEN’S DEATH
Carmen Towles passed away in July of 2020. I found out on July 25th from a client. I believe she passed away on the 24th, but I see other conflicting reports on Notary Rotary saying it happened two weeks before that. The last time I talked to Carmen was on June 29th when she was released from the hospital. She was able to talk but wasn’t making logical sense. She couldn’t remember if she had a gall stone or a kidney stone. I think you would remember that.

Carmen died of Pancreatic cancer, but had a gall bladder infection too. She never told me about the cancer, perhaps because she didn’t want me to worry. I think it would have been better if she had told me so I could plan ahead.

OUR HISTORY TOGETHER
In any case, Carmen and I worked together for 17 years since 2003. I remember the first time I met her at the entrance to our complex. I was selling her a course book. She was very talkative, inquisitive, and sharp. She kept calling me to ask questions and became very knowledgeable as a signing agent. Carmen claimed she took the NNA course, but that it did not make her feel confident enough to go out and do real signing work. After she mastered our 123notary course, she felt she got a practical road map of what to do and how to handle situations. As time went on, I begged her to work for me. She initially didn’t want to. It took a few years to get her to work full time. After she got used to it, signings slowed down, and she became hooked on 123. She did the new sales and renewals and was very possessive about the work.

CARMEN AS A MENTOR
Carmen was an excellent mentor to many of our Notaries. She taught them the twists and turns of what can happen at signings and with the various companies who hire Notaries. She kept many out of trouble and inspired all. She had real charisma, pizzazz, combined with a deep and pragmatic knowledge of Notary law and signing competency. Nobody else combined her flamboyance and knowledge. None of the other Notary companies have anyone even half as good as she was.

CARMEN’S INPUT
Carmen helped me put together a new over the phone test content as well as a new course which is on the blog and free — Notary Public 101. We wanted to emphasize what gets Notaries in trouble, so they can stay out of trouble. The other courses taught information which was about loan documents which is fine, but you don’t normally get in trouble for not understanding the documents, you get in trouble for notary mistakes or mishandling situations.

OUR LOSS
The Notaries are very sad that Carmen is gone. There will never be another Carmen. I am sad that I never got to say goodbye. I didn’t think she would pass away so fast. I thought she had another year where she would function at half speed. But, I can communicate easily with spirits, so I have had a few simple dialogues with Carmen.

JEREMY: How are things in the brighter world?
CARMEN: I’m getting a lot of rest.

JEREMY: What will I do without you?
CARMEN: Oh, don’t worry about it.

JEREMY: Do you have to wear face masks up there?
CARMEN: Ha ha…. no!!!

LIFE WITHOUT CARMEN
So, now I have to do all of Carmen’s work. I call all of the renewal people. It wouldn’t take that long except that the higher level people like to chat. Many of our higher level people have been with us for years, in some cases up to 20 years, and they have stories from long back. The bigger issue is not having to do her work. I am missing the new calls because I am not prepared to answer the phone all the time. I am not sure how I will hire someone new who will be acceptable and who will last.

And third, I miss Carmen because she is like a family member to me. She understood me well, and had very sensible advice for me about all of my issues. I didn’t necessarily agree with all of her advice, but most of it was good. I am very sad, lonely and don’t know what to expect of the future. The future doesn’t look very bright now, but you never know. I am going to try out several new ladies who seem promising.

With all of the bad vibes in the atmosphere due to the Covid19 issue, riots, and political upheaval, it seemed like the devil made his rounds to disrupt many cities, many lives, many political issues, etc. First there were Covid19 shutdowns which took away our rights. 80% of what I could do outside of the house was shut down or disappeared. Then the devil came to my neighborhood with the riots. A month later my site went down for a week. Actually that was done by angels for my protection, but felt like the devil was somehow involved. And then my site went back up, Carmen became incapacitated and then died shortly after. So much grief in just five months. No wonder I feel more depressed than I have felt in years.

Carmen was always there, usually answered the phone, only went on one quick vacation that I knew about which was a cruise in Mexico. But, she kept her phone with her so she was accessible. She even did phone duty while she was on Jury Duty. She was always there, and now she will never be there again.

I will have my psychic contact Carmen in the brighter world to see if she has anything she wants to tell the Notaries. My ability for spirit communication is okay for very quick questions and answers but not good enough for conversations. So, we will leave this up to Walter who is an expert.

Incoming phone communication to 123notary is basically almost impossible now. I answer some of my incoming calls. but, I really can’t get more than 10%. If you want to reach me fast, just use the email form on 123epayment.com. I am very slow by info@123notary.com, so if you are in a hurry, 123epayment.com is a little faster.

So for now, that is all I can say.

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