Not long ago I wrote about Insightly being the best CRM tool for bloggers and small businesses. I wrote about how as a professional blogger I need to stay organized, especially as my blog grows. In my post Insightly: a Blogger's Best Friend! I highlighted just of few of the tools they offer that are essential to a successful and organized business. Yet I keep getting asked what else do they offer? It would be easier to ask what do they NOT offer.

I’ll be honest; when I first started using Insightly I probably used it in its most basic basic level. I used their tools to set up and track events, and projects, and I loved their detailed contact and organization lists. These tools were immensely helpful to me. 

Now however, I am finding that as useful and essential as these tools are, there are other features that I am finding just as important in my business needs. 

Notes on everything- 

I Love this feature for I am a note junkie. I like to write down EVERYTHING for you never know what will come in useful later on. Through Insighly I don’t have to worry about any of my notes getting misplaced. I can easily pull up all related notes for a project, contact, business, event etc at the click of a button to review whenever I need to. What I love even more is that in addition to Insightly’s note system my Evernote account perfectly syncs with Insightly as well! This is a big plus for me because I LOVE Evernote. 

Mobile access-

As a blogger I find that I use my mobile devices almost as much as mu computer for work. I can't tell you how crippling it can be to not be able to access key information like emails, contacts, notes etc... when I am away from home.  That’s why I LOVE that Insightly not only fully integrates with outlook and google, but it also has an easy to use Mobile access! Now I can have all the information I need whenever and wherever I need it. This has been such a help to me when I have to work away from home.

Tags and Linking-

Entering information is important, but even more so is having the information organized for easy access. This is especially true when I am negotiating with businesses, setting up events or working on special projects or posts. Insightly does this with their easy to use tags and linking tools. Tags are just a simple way to organize information around key words. Like if I am setting up a Giveaway, I can then tag the company sponsoring the giveaway item, other bloggers I am teaming up with, notes, emails and other information so I can pull it up all together. As for how linking works I think they sum it up best on their site when they say, “Unlike other CRMs, Insightly doesn't limit you to just creating hierarchical relationships. Insightly's unique (and extremely popular!) linking system lets you create multiple direct relationships between any of your items (i.e. emails, contacts, organizations, opportunities, projects) so that you get real-world, 360 degree view of your customers.” 

The best part is that Insightly is customizable for your needs. In addition to their FREE Service which is amazing they have various other service plans to meet your needs as you grow. You can check out their various plans HERE. Hopefully this has answered everyone’s questions on what MORE insightly has to offer to help us bloggers (and other small abusiveness become more successful! 

As a blogger I am often trying to balance a lot of different tasks at once. Usually on a series of to do lists and personal spreadsheets. Quite frankly at times it can be a bit overwhelming. I know that if I don’t stay organized every moment, than too many things start to slip through my fingers. This is even truer when I am working with other people which is necessary for the growth of my blog. That’s why I am always trying to find ways to be more organized. This however is often easier said than done.

That is why I was so excited when I found out about insightly. What is insightly? It is a CRM (Customer relationship management). I had never heard of such a thing before, but am quickly realizing that it is my best friend when it comes to my blog. Why? insightly offers a ton of easy to use tools that help you to organize EVERYTHING from your tasks, projects and events to contacts, organizations, and emails all in an easy to use interface. Here are 3 of the tools that they offer that I now believe to be essential for a successful blog:

*Organization List: As a Blogger I often work with a lot of companies and organizations. With insightly you are able to view all the companies and organization you work with at a glance. This is really useful when you are trying to organize events, giveaways, reviews and more. I love how insightly even shows the logos of the companies/organizations you are working with for easier identification.

 

*Contact List: insightly has an awesome contact list that can be easily imported and exported when needed. What I love however is the details you can input when creating a contacts. In addition to the name, role, organization, contact info you can also add important dates to remember in association with this contact, personal notes and choose if only you can see it or others linked to your insightly Account. This is priceless information that can help you when you are reaching out to past contacts for that special deal you are trying to set up. 

*Events calendar: This calendar is great. At a glance you can see all your scheduled tasks and project milestones.  This is a big one for when you only have your tasks recorded in the list form it becomes easy to over book yourself or even miss an important deadline coming up. I often have tasks that have deadlines like when I do a giveaway or a review. With this awesome tool I am able to make sure I don’t overbook myself or miss deadlines.  

Like I said, these are just 3 of the many tools that insightly offers. If you are worried that the easy interface isn't easy enough for you (in the case that you have never used this kind of program before) hey have some great tutorials to walk you through step by step. They also offer product overview webinars every 2 weeks where people can see a live product demo! The BEST part is that you can set up an insightly account for FREE! Honestly, now that I have found out how awesome insightly is, I don't know how I worked without it. Try it out today to see for yourself!

When I saw the name of this project, I was immediately intrigued.  "Newlywed and Broke"  certainly brings me back to a time when we were floating in overdraft charges and Ramen noodles (my husband has 100 ways to make Ramen but that is another post for another time) but frankly, we were pretty happy.

It is true that some of our best and funniest memories were before we had really established ourselves financially. 

If you can relate to my memories of being broke and newlywed or even just broke then you will love the "Newlywed and Broke" project.  

The stars of this project are Reko and Kat and they want to raise enough money to make their real life trials and tribulations into a web series that will hopefully get picked up by network television.  

This really is the "I love Lucy" for 2013.

The only problem is that, you guessed it, they are Newlywed and Broke!  Really it is a vicious cycle.  

Take a look at their video on IndieGoGo and then keep reading to find out how to support their project!

Newlywed and Broke: An IndieGoGo Campaign from Ingenium on Vimeo

At the time of this post, the campaign has raised just over $10,000 which is fabulous but they still need to meet the goal of $25,000.  

Besides helping to meet the obvious goal, I think telling the marketing people what we want to see via crowdfunding is an incredibly neat concept.  

In fact, this is the first time that crowdfunding manager, John-Michael Scott and crowdfunding campaign promoter, Philip Cardwell have joined forces in support of a crowdfunding film project.

Once you have made a donation, there are so many great ways to keep tabs on how the project is coming along.

Check them out on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

Also if you have a great Broke Tip leave it in the comments of the IndieGoGo page and they will consider using it!  

So many cool ways to get involved! 

I am a blogger for the Entertainment New Media Network. This post has been compensated as part of a social campaign for Entertainment New Media Network and their client. All opinions are as they usually are... crazy and 100% mine.

When we planned our recent trip to Florida I was so excited thinking about all the fun things we could do and then shortly afterward I realized I was lost.

I had never been to Florida and didn't know what we could fit in our budget and what were the best attractions or events to go to.

It can get a little overwhelming, Florida has so much to offer but you can't possibly fit it all into your vacation.

That is why I started searching for someone that could help me with this dilemma and I found Kissimmee Guest Services.

You wouldn't think it would be that hard to find an honest company to help you plan your activities, but it is!

Don't be shocked when you get to Florida and find a million little stands saying how they can get you free or really cheap tickets.

These "companies" will want you to go to a timeshare in order to get these discounts and unless you have unlimited time and want to fight with a salesman I suggest you don't bother with them.

Thankfully Kissimmee Guest Services is not like that.

Here are the 7 Reasons Why Our Trip Wouldn't Have Been the same without them and why they will be necessary for your next trip to Florida:

#1 -  Kissimmee Guest Services is all about helping you have the best vacation possible.

KGS employees are NOT commissioned sales people pressuring you to purchase more tickets than you will need or pressuring you into activities you don't even want to do.

#2 - FREE delivery of your tickets

I know right? How awesome is that?!! They will deliver your tickets to your vacation home, resort or hotel for FREE!!

You have enough to worry about on vacation so this is a lifesaver!!

#3 - Kissimmee Guest Services is the most trusted name in tickets since 1997!

KGS didn't just pop up yesterday for the purpose of making a quick dollar from naive tourists, they are a honest company with an amazing staff.

experienced team members are passionate in helping guests get the most out of their valuable vacation time.

These are employees that care about their job and want to see your vacation be awesome as if it were their vacation.

They also visit all the parks and attractions on a regular basis so they are extremely knowledgeable. 

#4 - All the resources you could possibly need.

No matter what you need while in Florida they can probably get it for you, from discounts on golf to cheap meals for you and your family.

The first thing I picked up once we arrived was a KGS coupon booklet. It had tons of amazing coupons for our family to save money.

The first coupon we saw was for $2.99 breakfast buffet at Sizzler. This was awesome!! I mean how often do you get to eat at a buffet for only $2.99?!!

#5 - Low price guarantee!

KGS always has a low price guarantee which insures you’re getting the best prices that you can! This is crucial considering how fast costs can pile up while on vacation.

It's nice to know that you are getting the lowest price possible and you don't have to spend hours searching around doing price comparisons.

#6 - You can count on them to help guide you to activities you may have not even thought about.

I wanted to experience more than just Disney or theme parks on our vacation, but I was unsure what we should do. So I contacted KGS and they set us up with one of the best experiences our family has ever had!

They showed us the real Florida by pointing us toward Boggy Creek Airboats. An experience our family will never forget!

#7 - Need I say more?

When it comes down to it, Kissimmee Guest Services is like having your own personal concierge while on vacation. Could there be anything better? 

So if you want someone making sure your vacation is every bit as fun as you planned (and more) make sure you head to Kissimmee Guest Services for your own personal ticket concierge!

Be sure to check out their facebook page too! They will keep you up to date with everything that is going on in Kissimmee, Orlando and more!