Do you have a business PayPal account? What about an Aweber account?
Many companies do.
If you have digital products to sell, did you know you can combine features in PayPal and in Aweber to provide an automated delivery system for purchases? No? Well you can.
What I like about this system is that it allows businesses to start selling their products without requiring the extra monthly expense of the all-purpose, all-inclusive shopping cart systems available. If, as a company, you’ve already got PayPal and Aweber then you don’t need anything else. Of course it’s not the absolute most secure system, but it’ll do for many a business.
PayPal allows you to create Buy Now buttons for your website that you’ll tie into the unique Aweber email address to a list. That action automatically adds the buyer to the appropriate Aweber list. Aweber sends out a confirmation email to them that they’ll need to respond to before it sends out the email with the product link and other information.
The beautiful thing is, it’s automatic once you set it up. People buy your products from your website and you don’t have to do anything manual. Well, you’ll need to log into your PayPal account and collect your money.
You’re going to need to password protect the downloadable files. I zip my files with WinZip Pro and use the built-in encryption feature. When you set up the Aweber email you’ll include a link to the download, the password to open it, and maybe some simple instructions for those that don’t know what to do with a zipped file.
Hey, and don’t forget to use this opportunity to up-sell them on your other products or services. You can include this information in the automated emails right along with the download links to what they’ve just purchased.
What can you use this for?
EBook sales and delivery
Educational course delivery, text and/or audio – delivered over several automated emails
Audio products that you sell – original music and/or spoken word
Most anything else that can be in a digital format.
What are the limitations? Well, there’s the simple fact that you can only have 8 email addresses in your PayPal account. You’ll use a unique email address from your Aweber list per product. That limits you right there.
If you haven’t already heard the news, Google released Google Apps Premier Edition today. Read the article below from Collaboration Loop to find out more…
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Google today introduced Google Apps Premier Edition, a new version of Google’s hosted services for communication and collaboration. Google Apps Premier Edition is available for $50 per user account per year, and includes phone support, additional storage, and a new set of administration and business integration capabilities. Google Apps includes Gmail webmail services, Google Calendar shared calendaring, Google Talk instant messaging and voice-over-IP, and the Start Page feature for creating a customizable home page on a specific domain. Google also today announced that all editions of Google Apps now include Google Docs & Spreadsheets. In addition, Google Apps now supports Gmail for mobile on BlackBerry handheld devices.
Features unique to Google Apps Premier Edition include:
10 GBs of storage per user
APIs for business integration: data migration, user provisioning, single sign-on, and mail gateways.
99.9 % uptime service level agreements for high availability of Gmail, with Google monitoring and crediting customers if service levels are not met.
24×7 support for critical issues including extended business hours telephone support for administrators.
Advertising is turned off by default, but businesses can choose to include Google’s relevant target-based ads if desired.
In addition to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk and Start Page, all editions of Google Apps now include:
Google Docs & Spreadsheets lets teams collaborate on documents and spreadsheets without the need to email documents back and forth. Multiple employees can securely work on a document at the same time.
All revisions are recorded for editing, and administrative controls allow organizations to define limits on document sharing.
Gmail for mobile devices on BlackBerry is no different from regular Gmail. Features include search, conversation view and synchronization with desktop version.
Application-level control allows administrators to adapt services to business policies, such as sharing of calendars or documents outside of the company.
A great article on what Microsoft Groove is all about…
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So what is Groove?
OK, so I could spend a whole article explaining what Groove is (and is not), but that is not my intention here. Therefore if you have never ‘got Groovy’ before, you might want to find an article that gives you the high level view like this one from Mark Wilson or you could try Mark Olson’s blog (Groove product team) or grab the trial version from here.
For those that require a refresher, Groove is a peer-to-peer client-side collaboration application that enables network and organisation independent collaboration. In a nutshell, Groove allows you to share files and other bits with people from different organisations across whichever network you like (Inc public internet). Groove does have a server aspect, but you can work perfectly well just using the client.
As I’m preparing for the next set of SharePoint Services workshops in March, I thought I would share with you tidbits of information that may peak your interest in learning about and working with the new version of SharePoint.
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Collaboration on the Go: Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and the Mobile Workplace
Now, your mobile workforce can remain productive, informed, and on-task away from the office—without access to a computer and even while working offline.
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 workspaces are Web-based team sites that are accessible through a browser on a desktop or portable computer, and now, with support for mobile devices, from Web-enabled mobile phones, smart phones, or Pocket PCs.
1) Mobile Access to Your Work:
With Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, team workspaces can be accessed through the browser on your smart phone, Pocket PC, or Web-enabled mobile phone so that you can stay productive anywhere, anytime. Using a special URL (the URL of the team site with an “m” added to the end: http://server/myteamsite/site/m) gives you access to a simplified, text-only version of your workspace.
Once connected to the team workspace from your mobile device, you can view and update shared content including tasks, calendar entries, and contacts. You can also download, view, and edit Microsoft Office files, such as Microsoft Office PowerPoint® presentations, Microsoft Office Word documents, and Microsoft Office Excel® spreadsheets on your mobile device.
From the mobile view, sending e-mail messages from your mobile device to contacts stored in the workspace is easy: E-mail addresses show up as clickable hyperlinks. All you have to do is click the link on your mobile device to generate an e-mail message. Similarly, phone numbers of contacts found in the workspace also show up as hyperlinks, and when clicked the phone number will automatically dial.
2) Blog to SharePoint Sites from Your Mobile Device:
With Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can post to workspace blogs from your mobile device. You can also take digital photos using phones with built-in cameras and send a photo embedded in the body of an e-mail message from the phone to the workspace blog. The photo will appear on the blog site as a new entry and will also appear on the mobile view of the workspace as a hyperlink to the actual photo file. Photo-blogging is of course fun and dynamic, and it can also be very useful in a business setting. For example, a team member may be at an industry trade show and want to show colleagues an image of a new product design. The photo-blogging feature enables users to add visuals to their day-to-day mobile communications.
3) Post to Community Forums Using E-Mail:
For more flexibility in contributing to blogs and other Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 community forums, such as discussion boards, calendars, or document libraries, you can post content by sending a simple e-mail message from your portable computer or mobile device to the e-mail address associated with that SharePoint list. You don’t even need to connect to your team site—just compose the message using a preconfigured template and the message or content will be available to others who have access to the workspace.
4) Alerts on the Go:
For mobile workers who aren’t able to connect to the team site regularly, alerts are an efficient way to stay informed of changes made to the workspace. You can receive alerts on your Web-enabled or e-mail-capable mobile phone, smart phone, or Pocket PC. Through customizable e-mail alerts, notifications, and RSS feeds, team members are automatically informed of changes to workspace content or to new or changed task assignments.
5) Office Outlook Mobile and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0:
Just as information stored on SharePoint sites can be accessed through Office Outlook 2007, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 enables Pocket PC users who have Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile installed to access SharePoint items—calendars, tasks, contacts, discussions, and documents—through Office Outlook Mobile.
6) A Workspace for Every Need:
For example, the new GroupBoard Workspace 2007 application template allows users to create a meeting schedule, book meeting rooms, send out memos via phone or e-mail, locate another team member, and more. Mobile users can access GroupBoard Workspace 2007 information from the browser of their mobile device, helping them keep in touch with the team and up-to-date on team happenings even on the road.
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So as you can see, you have a lot to look forward to when you begin using SharePoint Services v3. Think of your mobile clients and determine if these features would be beneficial to them.
Andrea Kalli
Andrea Kalli Virtual Trainer and Assistant, LLC
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