“The Successful Notary” – 8/07 Newsletter

by Sharon Hassler, Founder/Webmaster, GoGetNotary.com

Whew! I’m just barely squeaking this newsletter into the month of August. Looking forward to the end of this long hot summer and breathing a tentative sigh of relief as interest rates drop a bit. There may be light at the end of the tunnel sooner rather than later.

ARTICLES

August 2007 Featured Notary: Laura Vestanen by Sharon Hassler, GoGetNotary.com – Laura Vestanen has been a notary public for over ten years in two states and performed over 10,000 notarizations. Before launching her own full time notary public business in Bellingham, Washington, she was manager of a successful law firm for ten years and worked in various law firms for twenty years. She is the author of “Marketing Your Non-Loan Notary Services” and offers tips on developing notary public work.

Sorting Through The Spam by Sharon Hassler, Founder/Webmaster, GoGetNotary.com – One of our members called about an email she received to “get paid $600 a day for photos.” It was one of those messages that links to a website with one long sales pitch. I have to admit this site was impressive! It contained related statistics that would make you think this should be a thriving business, lots of testimonials, even a video of a happy customer, a Better Business Bureau screenshot from the BBB website, copies of checks from a major title company showing supposed payment for “pics,” a money-back guarantee, and a toll-free number to call the course author for more info. Wow! Where do I send my money? Not so fast…

Become A Wedding Officiant by Kelly Robertson, Mentor, Coach – Could this be another source of income for you? Check with your County Clerk to find out if you can become an ordained minister and officiate weddings. Ministers can also perform other ceremonies such as Baptisms. If this is something you might enjoy, Kelly’s article can help you get started.

Your Website: What Does It Say About You? by Melissa Haley, Notary Public, Certified Notary Signing Agent – I see many websites daily; some are fantastic, others not so brilliant. They all have one similarity though: They express the views, personalities and dynamics of the creator. What does your website say about you?

Marketing With Little Loan-Signing Experience by Gerrie Pierre-Fleurimond, CNSA, Instructor, NotaryTrainer.com – Gerrie responds to a question from a new notary who wants to know how to market her services as a notary signing agent when she doesn’t have any experience to promote.

Forms of Payment for Notary Services for The General Public by Laura Vestanen, Mobile Notary, Notary Signing Agent – This article contains practices regarding acceptable forms of payment for general (non-loan) notary work. Laura hopes sharing this information helps you determine what works best for you.

Why We Don’t Belong to the Better Business Bureau by Sharon Hassler, Founder/Webmaster, GoGetNotary.com – Members sometimes ask if we recommend joining the Chamber of Commerce or the Better Business Bureau. Your local Chamber may be beneficial for networking if you focus on non-loan signings. Belonging to the BBB establishes credibility but I don’t think notaries generally need this or can afford the BBB. For us, we promote our business nationwide not locally, so the Chamber doesn’t make sense. As for the BBB, here’s our story.

NOTARY NETWORKING GROUPS

If you belong to a notary group holding meetings in your area, please email us with details on your group, upcoming meetings and contact info so we can post it on our networking groups page.

AS ALWAYS…

Let us know if you have any suggestions for improving GoGetNotary.com. We appreciate your feedback!

©Copyright Sharon Hassler. All rights reserved. Sharon Hassler, Founder/Webmaster for GoGetNotary.com, is a former loan officer, real estate agent and marketing consultant. She served as Communications Manager for First American Title-Arizona for 11 years. For more about Sharon, visit GoGetNotary.com/Get/Sharon.