October 2019 - Page 2 of 4 - Notary Blog - Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice

October 21, 2019

Having a good notes section is a priority

Filed under: Your Notes Section — admin @ 11:44 pm

Smart Notaries on 123notary do a good job on their notes section and ask for help. Newer and less sophisticated Notaries write some lame material in their notes, don’t have our certification and don’t have reviews and then wonder why the phone doesn’t ring. Notary advertising by definition is very competitive, so you have to have an edge. As a beginner, believe it or not, with our free help, you can have a good edge and good presentation.

Here are some quick tips on notes and then some links to some amazing material.

1. The top 150 characters of your notes section shows up on the search results. Don’t put fluff up there. Many people restate their name — we already know what your name is because it says at the top of your listing. They restate that are a signing agent. They say that they are a “professional” signing agent. Anybody on our site can claim to be professional, but that just means that you get paid to do it, and doesn’t prove that you are any good. This is all a waste. Put info about your experience, or that you do last minute jobs, languages, or anything that makes you stand out in a good way.

2. Designations, degrees, coverage areas, or more generic or information that is less critical in proving how great you are as a Notary can go lower in your notes section.

3. Email us for help at info@123notary.com. We cannot write your notes for you, but we can rearrange it easily and for free. But, we can’t do it if you don’t ask. People who get a notes makeover typically get 55% more clicks right away and that translates into work.

4. The key thing to remember in notes is to be specific, unique and stress experience above all else. Using adjectives like reliable and professional are words anyone can use and these words don’t mean anything to the reader — they are considered fluff.

LINKS

How to write a notes section if you are a beginner
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16698

Read our string on notes sections
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=2057

What goes at the top of your notes section
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19268
Documenting experience and personal style in your notes

Documenting your Experience & Personal Style in your notes

123notary’s index of popular notary articles
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20282

Notary notes makeover
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18895

Comments (0)

October 20, 2019

If you forget your cell phone in an Uber — if you have an problem with Snapdocs

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 11:43 pm

How is customer service if you have a problem with these two portal based economies?

In the last two years I have met two people who lost their mobile phone in an Uber. But, there is no number to call. You have to do customer support online. But, you can’t get to your account unless you are on YOUR phone which you don’t have because it is in the uber. Geez. What gives?

What if you have a problem with Snapdocs? How good is customer service? Is everything done with an app to solve problems? Personally I am old school and prefer human beings and don’t like technology that I could get stuck with and hit road blocks. But, millennials are my opposite — they hate talking to humans, prefer texting, don’t like marriage or relationships with titles and the men don’t like the idea of being assertive. Good God! What has happened to our species. Personally, I believe this is the angel’s system of making sure we don’t breed so that we can solve the overpopulation crisis without WW3.

What has your experience been sorting out customer service issues with Snapdocs (or Uber)?

You might also like:

Can you scan loan documents using a cell phone?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22189

Phone interaction tutorial
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4355

Comments (1)

October 19, 2019

How much credit should you offer a signing company?

Filed under: Business Tips — admin @ 11:42 pm

Many Notaries get strung along and not paid simply because they offer loans (in the form of accepting delayed payment) to lots and lots of signing companies.

My question is, how much credit should you offer? If they have a good payment record, perhaps $300 of credit, if they are new to you, perhaps $200, or bad reputation perhaps one job at best?

The bigger issue is that Notaries really need to spend more time thinking about this issue. Because, the #1 issue affecting Notaries at least in the past is not getting paid. If you stop lending lots of money to people, getting paid back will become a much smaller issue.

If you got paid up from Paypal style from half your jobs, that would cut your billing issue in half. As I discussed in another article, the labor of billing and the risk of not getting paid justifies a 10% or more discount if someone pays up front with Paypal. Do the math.

The real problem is when Notaries who are desperate to work rack up a $3000 bill with a particular company and then the company goes out of business or runs into financial issues. You really need to decide where to draw your line and then stick to it. Non-paying companies are only half the problem, the other half is non-line-drawing Notaries. You can only get ripped off if you let people rip you off.

You might also like:

Notary Marketing 102 – getting paid
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19794

Trouble getting paid? Try our demand letter!
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15339

Comments (1)

October 18, 2019

Where can I find a Mandarin speaking Notary?

Filed under: Public Interest — Tags: Chinese speaking notary — admin @ 11:30 pm

Where can I find a Mandarin speaking notary public?

At 123notary.com, we receive all types of inquiries from many types of people all the time. Where can I find Roger Smith, he is a notary in Louisiana? He notarized a document for me a year ago, and now I can’t find him. I refer the inquirer to the Louisiana notary division, since they have the addresses of all currently commissioned notaries in the state. I also get a few people asking me where they can find a notary in India, or Thailand. I refer them to the embassy, or ask them to find an attorney in the country in question. I give sensible advice, and steer people the right direction, but honestly, I don’t have a lot of information myself that is good for answering most of the questions I get. The harder requests are requests that I would LIKE to be able to fulfill, but sometimes it’s hard.

Where can I find a Mandarin speaking notary?
123notary.com has many bilingual notaries. You can use the LANGUAGE FILTER on the top right of the search results page after you do a search by zip code. Many of our bilingual notaries are Mandarin Chinese Speaking notaries, however, they are all spread out, and there are dialects too. Someone who knows Min-Nan-Yu only might not be fluent in Hakka for example. These are Southern dialects from Guang-Dong and Southern Fu-Jian by the way. The more common dialects are Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taiwanese in American metros. You might find many Cantonese speaking notaries in any big city, but we have relatively few advertising on our site. You can do a search by zip code and then use the language filter on the upper right side of the page. Try inputting the term Cantonese, and then try Chinese as a second search. See what happens. I cannot guarantee results because people join our directory daily, and change their language information from time to time, and drop out from time to time as well.

If you can’t find a Mandarin speaking notary on 123notary…. then…
The document signer needs to speak the same language as the notary in California and many other states. As a practice, even if your state doesn’t require it, the signer should be able to communicate directly with the notary. You could try the Chinese yellow pages, or ask around in your metro’s Chinatown. There will be plenty of Mandarin speaking notaries, but they might not advertise much as their business might come from word of mouth or (peng-you tui-jian gao-su peng-you) as the case might be.

It is common for Chinese people who function mainly in Mandarin Chinese to pick service providers who also speak their language. However, this might not be a good idea. If your English is “Good enough”, you might be better off with an English speaking notary who is really good at what they do, and who is familiar with commonly notarized affidavits and documents. Just my opinion. Choose the skill set before you choose the cultural affinity if you have a choice!

To find a Mandarin speaking notary, just look up Mandarin in the language filter on search results. To find a Taiwanese speaking notary, just look up Taiwanese in the language filter. To find a Cantonese speaking notary, just type the word Cantonese in the language filter in the upper right corner of the search result pages. Honestly, the word “Chinese” will give you much wider results than these dialect names, but in NYC or San Francisco, you might find the dialect of your choice! “Zhu ni hao yun!”.

You might also like:

Where can I find a Cantonese speaking notary?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1640

How do I get a foreign language document notarized?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18788

Comments (0)

October 17, 2019

Signers who get paid big bucks on Snapdocs

Filed under: Advertising — admin @ 11:29 pm

I was reading a very long and detailed response to on of my blog articles about Snapdocs. It was written by a Snapdocs staff member (see it in the links section) explaining that our claims about Snapdocs might be distorted in certain ways and how they are a great portal. In any case, there are signers who get paid well on Snapdocs.

Some signers who use Snapdocs have lots of experience and in my opinion value. A handful of them receive texts for jobs paying low ball fees. The signers just write a counter offer for a higher fee and explain their experience and why they are worth it. Sometimes they get their fee. In real life you cannot always get your fee, but if you do a particular percentage of the time you can make good money and a good profit margin after expenses.

I was reading another comment from a Notary in a remote area who claims they get paid well by Snapdocs jobs simply because they are in a remote area where there are no other options — so the company has to pay the Notary’s asking fee. Interesting.

October 16, 2019

Snapdocs — repeated messages for the same signing?

Filed under: Advertising — admin @ 11:28 pm

This is a new one for me. I was reading blog commentaries and one Notary said she got several requests for the same job after she had turned down the job. How annoying. I have heard that recently multiple signing agencies are sometimes assigned the same job to see who can handle it more quickly. Sounds like something airlines do where you book a flight on one airline only to find that you will be on another because they play tag team with their clients.

So, this poor Notary is being text-barded with a barrage of unwanted texts. She asks people to take her off their list as well since it is so annoying. Personally, I am glad I am no longer a Notary. I can’t put up with all of this last minute nonsense.

Another Notary writes that in Los Angeles, several hundred Notaries can be contacted at once and you have about 3-5 seconds to respond. Good God. I think that in rural areas, Snapdocs might be nice for the Notary, but in Los Angeles the competition from desperate people is too much.

You might also like:

Cattle call notary offers
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=9841

Read about lowball notary fees
http://blog.123notary.com/?s=lowball

Comments (2)

October 15, 2019

How long do Snapdocs assignments take to pay?

Filed under: Advertising — admin @ 11:28 pm

I have heard that SnapDocs helps (or sometimes helps or wants to help) their Notaries get paid in a timely manner, but how? How long does it take to get paid from a SnapDocs assignment? Let me know your experiences.

Comments (5)

October 14, 2019

Testimonial from William Ponsot

Filed under: General Articles — admin @ 11:27 pm

William Ponsot writes
123notary.com provides a resource unequaled anywhere, including snapdocs… and i refer people to the site almost every day because people looking for a notary in their area can usually find one on this site simply by zip code.

Sheila Speckin writes
I just made a magnet for my car that says “Find me on 123notary.com!

Comments (0)

October 13, 2019

Should the cost of your commission, phone, equipment factor into your prices?

Filed under: Notary Fees & Pricing — admin @ 11:27 pm

A handful of Notaries responded to an old article about doing some job with fax backs and eDocuments for $75. The question was, is it worth it? I also mentioned that in India people would cut off their left arm to have such an offer, but I got only sarcastic responses stating that they didn’t live in India.

Many Notaries wrote back that when calculating your fee, you should consider:

1. Cost of commission, licenses & memberships
2. Study time
3. Cell phone cost per month
4. Equipment costs
5. Advertising costs & the time spent generating business
6. Auto expenses
7. Printing expenses

The fact is that expenses from 1-5 are fixed expenses and have nothing to do with a particular job. Expenses 1-5, if too much, should influence your decision to stay in the business or leave altogether as those expenses do not go up or down based on whether or not you take a particular job.

The real cost is whether you could do something else with your time such as a more profitable job, billing clients, sleep, spending time on errands or with family. If $75 is your best offer, then take it whether it is “fair” or not. There is no fair in business — only relativity.

Additionally, if you lived in India, you would be working all day long for a few dollars and would not get to eat in restaurants hardly ever unless you had a swanky job. You would have bare bones conditions and people nagging you all day long. Don’t take for granted that you live in an affluent society because that can be taken away from you in the long run. Yes, sarcasm is good, but try to see what is going on in other countries and realize how good you have it compared to the 3rd world folks.

LINKS
You might also like:

Is $75 enough to print 2 sets of docs, notarize and do fax backs?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10369

$300 in 13 minutes — how Carmen cleans up in the Notary business
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19284

Comments (1)

Seven Tips for Choosing a Lawyer in a Personal Injury Case

Filed under: Other Guest Bloggers — admin @ 10:43 am

Seven Tips for Choosing a Lawyer in a Personal Injury Case
When choosing a personal injury lawyer for your case, there are many things that you need to take into consideration. If you have been injured and want the compensation that you are entitled to, you need to find a lawyer that knows exactly how to win your case and has experience in similar cases. Here are seven tips for choosing a lawyer for your personal injury case.

Location
Before you focus on anything else, you need to make sure that the lawyer you want can practice within your area. For those who live in Pennsylvania, you need to find a trustworthy Lehigh Valley personal injury lawyer such as those who work at Trapani Law Firm.

Track History
If you want to know the likelihood of a lawyer winning your case, you need to check their track history and see how many cases they have won, as well as what these cases entailed. Finding a personal injury lawyer who wins the cases they take on is essential, but you should also be aware that some lawyers only decide to take on the cases they know they will win, meaning this is just one thing that you need to consider.

Relevant Experience
Experience provides you with a sense of stability and allows clients to check the track history and understand more about how a lawyer works. While all lawyers need to start somewhere, when dealing with a personal injury case it is best to stick to a lawyer with relevant experience.

Disciplinary Record
A disciplinary record is essentially what it says on the tin. This record can inform you of any complaints that the lawyer may have received and can also provide information such as if the lawyer has ever been disbarred or suspended. If you have already met with the lawyer and they are ticking the right boxes, it may be worth discussing with them what happened with a complaint they received and how they dealt with it. Unfortunately, clients can sometimes file a complaint even when the lawyer has done everything within their power to assist them, so it is best to determine the root cause of the complaint before ruling a lawyer out completely. You can find information regarding a disciplinary record about any lawyer online.

Practice Years
Those who have been in the profession for a long time will have great experience and will understand a personal injury case better than anyone. If your case is especially complex, finding a lawyer with many years of experience is even more important to enable you to win your case and gain the compensation that you deserve.

Reputation
Finding a personal injury lawyer with a good reputation means that you are more likely to trust them with your case. You can check reviews on most law firm websites and you may also be able to find reviews online. A personal injury lawyer who has a good reputation within the state may be able to get your case solved more quickly as they are known throughout the courts. Finding positive reviews from previous clients can enable you to feel more at ease as it can be hard to judge someone on a first meeting. You may also want to ask the personal injury lawyer upon your first meeting if they have any client testimonials for you to read through.

Focus
Personal injury cases are all unique, and so you may want to find a lawyer that has a special focus on your personal injury case. It may be that you were involved in a slip and fall accident and so finding a lawyer that has focused on similar cases is ideal. You can usually find this out on their website or by speaking to the lawyer directly.

Following these seven tips you can find a personal injury lawyer that is perfect for your needs and your case.

Comments (0)

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