Protecting Independent Agent Clients with Secure Email Using TLS (Transport Layer Security) Protecting clients' and prospects' personal information is becoming an increasingly important issue. Most insurance agencies do not currently take any steps to protect or encrypt information that they send by email to a third party. Unsecured email and attachments are like sending an open postcard through the mail. State privacy, security, and data … [Read more...]
Easily Send Video Emails
Getting your message through to clients and prospects takes creativity. Anything you can do to make your message stand out in overloaded Outlook inboxes is a good thing. Eyejot is a Web-based service that allows you to quickly and easily send video e-mail (v-mail) to anyone. All you need is a Webcam and an Eyejot account. The best part is that the basic service is free (at least for now). Once you have a Webcam and an Eyejot account, creating … [Read more...]
Understand Your Email
A new, free plug-in module for Outlook called Xobni and pronounced “ZOB-nee” which is inbox spelled backwards) adds some social-networking and data-mining features to your existing Outlook e-mail. Once installed, it lives as a vertical panel on the right side of your Outlook screen and doesn't block or intrude upon Outlook's own panes or functions. Xobni indexes all of your stored e-mail, starting with the most recent messages. Once your … [Read more...]
FTC Issues Updated CAN-SPAM Rules
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has issued updated provisions to the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act. These new provisions became effective in mid-July. In the updated rule on consumer opt-out requests, e-mailers are prohibited from complicating the opt-out process by charging fees to consumers wishing to be added to opt-out lists. It also prevents e-mail marketers from requiring consumers to provide information other than an e-mail address and opt-out … [Read more...]
Apple Opens iPhone to Business Users
Apple recently announced plans to enable the iPhone to support the Microsoft Exchange Web e-mail client and to provide new features that have been demanded most by business users. Apple CEO Steve Jobs and senior executives provided more details about the company's plans to open the iPhone SDK (Software Development Kit) by June to support the development of enterprise-grade applications. Version 2.0 of the iPhone software, due to be released in … [Read more...]
Send Letters via Email
Sometimes you just need to send a letter. And that's the basic concept behind Postful. This Web site service is designed to allow you to easily mail a letter just by sending an e-mail. This lets you use e-mail as a single method for connecting with all your contacts, whether they have access to e-mail or not. There are several ways to use the service. QuickLetter is the easiest. You simply send an e-mail to quickletter@postful.com with a name … [Read more...]
Turn Your Handwriting Into a Font
In this age of e-mail, handwritten notes can make a big impact. Think about it: when was the last time you received a handwritten note? vLetter is a company that will reproduce your own handwriting as a font that you can use on your computer. This allows you to use the speed of typing to create a handwritten look. The company offers several products. For $150, vLetter Pro will create your own handwriting and signature into a font that allows … [Read more...]
Learning to Manage Email
Communicating with someone used to be easy. You could simply pick up the phone and give them a call, or sit down and write a note. Fast forward a few years and you now have the Internet making it easy to type an electronic message from your computer or your cell phone. This massive change in how we communicate with others has taken place in a relatively short period of time. Many agents now tell me that e-mail is their primary means of … [Read more...]
