Work-at-Home: Freelance History Writer for Cengage Learning

Cengage Learning is seeking freelance writers to work from home producing World History content for undergraduate courses.  This is a contract position.  Job requirements (from ad):

The ideal candidate will have:

- Master's degree in History

- Current, or recent, experience teaching undergraduate World History courses with a concentration in Latin American, Asian, or African culture and history

- Ability to write creative and engaging homework questions, answers, and explanations

- Broad and current knowledge/experience in World History

- Excellent knowledge of grammar and command of the English language

- Top-notch written and oral communication skills

- At least 20 hours of availability per week

- IBM compatible PC, or the ability to run a dual boot Windows/OSX operation environment

If interested in this telecommute job opportunity, see the Cengage Careers page. 

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Work-at-Home Customer Service Agent Jobs with Ancestry.com

A quick post today.  I'm on the way to see my daughter's swim meet at college.

Ancestry.com is hiring customer service agents to work from home.  You must have a high school diploma and be able to type 35 WPM.  You also must have previous customer service experience. Knowledge of genealogy is a plus. 

If interested in this telecommute job opportunity, submit your resume to resume@ancestry.com.  Put the words CUSTOMER SERVICE PROFESSIONAL in the subject line of your email. Good luck!

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Going Google across the 50 States: Texas brothers convert 30% more leads by staying on track with Google Apps

[Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog]

Editor's note: Over 3 million businesses have adopted Google Apps. Today we’ll hear from David Bullock, CFO of YETI Coolers based in Austin, Texas. To learn more about other organizations that have gone Google and share your story, visit our community map or test drive life in the cloud with the Go Google cloud calculator.

YETI Coolers, co-founded in 2005 by brothers Roy and Ryan Seiders, offers durable, super-insulated ice chests for serious outdoor enthusiasts. Roy first recognized the potential of a premium cooler during an early entrepreneurial endeavor and decided to design his own. He recruited his brother to help and the two settled on YETI for the company name – a new brand that consumers could easily associate with frigid toughness. Today, YETI coolers are “certified grizzly-proof” and distributed through over 500 dealers across the country.

When Roy and Ryan started the company, they recognized the value of Google’s free email service, Gmail, and started with one email address – yeticoolers@gmail.com. However, fast forward three years and the company had grown to 10 employees. We hit a tipping point where we needed to expand and create a more professional look with @yeticoolers.com email addresses. The question was how to retain three years of information and still offer the entire office the same easy-to-use interface and access to remotely-stored email history. The solution was Google Apps.

Soon after implementing Google Apps, we hired our first National Sales Director who resides in North Carolina. Despite the geographical barrier, Google Docs has allowed us to collaborate with him and other remote employees in real time, and has became a critical component of our sales process.

Our goal is to increase the number of dealers that sell YETI coolers but for a long time, our volume of dealer inquiries was unmanageable and we missed out on sales opportunities. This is where a Google spreadsheet saved us. We created a “Potential Dealer Tracker” to track, prioritize, and, most importantly follow up with potential YETI dealers. By capitalizing on dealer inquiries in an organized, methodical way, we’ve been able to convert 30% more leads just this year. The profit from the new accounts nearly pays our National Sales Director’s salary!

We also use Google Calendar to track internal and external meetings and even non-work events like Red Raider and Longhorn football games. More recently, we started using Google Sites and launched our company’s first intranet. We look forward to adding even richer content to the site as the company continues to expand.

Given the rapid growth we’ve experienced over the last few years, it has been extremely difficult to stay on top of all areas of the business. Google Apps has changed this, providing the tools we need to succeed. It’s low cost, secure and easy to use – from our standpoint, Google Apps is the perfect solution for any small business.

Posted by David Bullock, YETI Coolers

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Work-at-Home: Web Developer Job with Bridgetree Inc.

Bridgetree Inc. is seeking a work-at-home Web developer ASP.net/ Web application architect. You must have at least 3 years of experience with ASP/SQL or ASP.NET/SQL.  Additionally, you should have knowledge in C# or VB.NET and good oral and written communication skills.  A bachelors degree or higher in Information Systems, Computer Sciences, Statistics, Math, or a related field is required. 

Salary is competitive.  Benefits include 401K, health insurance, and performance based bonuses.  For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, visit the job ad here.

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Google Media Solutions Series, Part 4: Google TV Ads - Tune into success

The Google Media Solutions series has been cross-posted from the Google Agency blog, as the solutions outlined there are fully applicable to small businesses.

Congratulations, you have made it to the final installment of the Google Media Solutions series! We get frequent questions about Google TV Ads; whether it's the right platform, how much it costs, how it works. Here’s your crash course.

Google TV Ads is an online marketing place that allows anyone to launch national TV campaigns and measure their success with timely reporting. Google TV Ads allows you to buy the programs that you want without bundling, pay only for impressions delivered and access viewership data from a sample of millions.

Ready to jump in? Let’s dispel a few myths that you may have heard:

• Does TV advertising fit into my marketing mix? Television advertising allows you to reach a wider audience than any other advertising medium. Generate brand awareness and demand through sight, sound and motion. It’s also a great supplement to any online strategy - read how ooVoo used TV to drive a 500% increase in site traffic.

• We want to get started, but we don’t have a commercial. Can you help? Of course! You can use the Google Ad Creation Marketplace to connect with professional ad production houses for as little as $200. Creating compelling, effective TV ads at relatively low costs has never been easier.

• But is TV Measurable? If you have a website, we recommend tracking and comparing website visits with your TV campaign metrics using Google Analytics. Google Analytics can track TV campaign metrics like TV impressions alongside daily web traffic volume.What does it take to get started? Create a video ad, log into AdWords, choose targets and shows and see your ad on TV within 48 hours! Visit the Getting Started Guide for more tips.

This post concludes our Google Media Solutions series. Over the past four weeks, we have reviewed Google AdWords, the Google Display Network, Remarketing, YouTube and Google TV Ads. Hopefully you have learned some tips and tricks along the way.

Posted by Laura Salzberg, Agency Team

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Work-at-Home: Freelance Medical Writer Jobs with Sharecare

Sharecare, an interactive social healthcare QA platform created by Jeff Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz, is seeking experienced freelance medical writers.  You must have 7 to 10 years of experience in health and medical writing for consumer audiences.  Compensation is $40 to $50 per hour.

Primary Responsibilities (from job ad):
• Develop original healthcare content - questions and answers (Q&A) across multiple healthcare and medical topics and specialties targeted to the healthcare consumer. Must ensure succinct and concise tie-in between questions and answers.
• Repurpose and adapt partner content (web content, books, video), translating and developing Q&As (matching voice, style, and tone of source material).
• Review medical journals, books, and health care-related electronic media content to development informative, accurate, and engaging Q&As to captivate readers.
• Ensure content is consistent with overall content strategy and meets Sharecare Style Guide and editorial policies and guidelines.
• Must be able to interact effectively with internal teams (i.e. editorial, publishing, and account management) to ensure quality and smooth progression of projects.

Primary Skills and Critical Competencies (from job ad):
• Have extensive experience writing healthcare content for consumer audiences.
• A written track record of excellent writing skills, including sourcing and citation.
• Have an excellent understanding of a variety of medical conditions and diseases and the healthcare industry.
• Possess experience in web writing using natural language; have a full understanding of keywords, meta description, meta tags.
• Must possess excellent project management skills and meet tight deadlines in a fast-paced work environment
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Be experienced in MS Excel; proficient in MS Word.
• Familiarity with adult learning principles and experience in health and patient education a plus.

If interested in learning more about this telecommute opportunity, contact tsmith@sharecare.com. 

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YouTube’s Promoted Videos picks up steam

How do you increase sales and build your brand when you’re on a limited budget? You might consider using YouTube’s Promoted Videos. YouTube reports that it has served its 500,000,000th Promoted Video view this week and has seen a six-fold increase in clicks it has delivered to businesses such as Shopper’s Choice, Dynomighty and Orabrush. This ad product combines the branding capabilities of video with the direct response action of search advertising, allowing advertisers to promote their videos against search results or related videos on YouTube. For more information on this announcement, please visit the YouTube blog for the full story.

Posted by the YouTube Team

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Work-at-Home: Hotline Customer Service Agent Jobs with U-Haul

U-Haul is seeking part-time work-at-home hotline agents to answer incoming calls for emergency road service.  Training is paid, and scheduling is flexible.  You must have excellent customer service skills, a clear speaking voice, an up-to-date PC with high-speed Internet, and PC knowledge.

You also must have an enthusiastic and positive attitude.  For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, visit the job page at U-Haul.

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Work-at-Home: ETS Hiring CAHSEE Raters

ETS is hiring work-at-home raters for the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE).  Scoring sessions are held seven times yearly.  Raters score from their own home or office via the Internet, under the guidance of scoring leaders.  Session are four or eight hours.

It is my understanding that these jobs pay well.  For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, visit the job opportunities page at ETS.

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Google Media Solutions Series, Part 3: Re-engage your customers while they browse with remarketing and the Google Display Network

Welcome to the third installment of the Google Media Solutions series. This series has been cross-posted with the Google Agency blog, since many of them are applicable to the small business owner. In this post, we will review the Google Display Network. The Google Display Network is a large group of websites and blogs that display AdWords ads and allows advertisers to scalably reach their customers at moments of relevance. People are using it for direct response, web engagement as well as driving offline conversions.

We have rolled out many new features for the Google Display Network. One that we would like to highlight is remarketing. Google remarketing uses custom technology to reach potential customers who have previously visited your website. Implementing the remarketing tag is very easy; you simply add a pixel to your website. After adding the pixel, you can use remarketing to help capture additional sales or leads by re-targeting users who have already visited the site, and generally convert better and at a lower CPA. To learn more about remarketing and other innovative targeting options on the Google Display Network, you can check out this post from the Google Display Network blog series.

We frequently hear some common misconceptions from advertisers about the GDN that we’d like to clarify:

• I’ve tried the GDN before - what has changed?: The Google Display Network has changed a lot in the past few years. Today, the median advertiser gets approximately 20% of their conversions from the GDN at a CPA that is comparable to search.* To drive results like these, we are investing heavily in many new features that make the GDN an effective platform for advertisers with any marketing objective. Examples of features we've introduced over the years include site exclusions, above the fold targeting, frequency capping, and consolidated view-through conversion reporting.

• The Google Display Network only works for branding: Contextual targeting and remarketing are just a few examples of great tools that direct response marketers can use to reach potential customers in the later stages of the buying cycle, like consideration and decision. The Conversion Optimizer can also help you generate additional conversions at an attractive cost-per-acquisition (CPA). With powerful tools like these, you can make sure you are capturing all your potential customers as they spend time across the web.

Thanks for reading the third part of the Google Media Solutions blog series. Next, we will discuss how you can use Google TV to drive results for your clients. 

Posted by Laura Salzberg, Agency Team

*Internal analysis of North America advertisers advertising on both search and content, with conversion tracking enabled, from Dec. 2007 – Nov. 2008

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Work-at-Home Jobs: Phone and Email Customer Support with LogMeIn

LogMeIn, Inc. is currently seeking part-time work-at-home customer support agents.  You must be energetic, customer-focused, and have at least one year of Windows/Help Desk support experience. You must have a fast, reliable computer and Internet connection.

As a LogMeIn support agent, you will be providing assistance to new and current users of the LogMeIn suite of products via phone and email.  Benefits are offered.  For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, visit the job ad at Hirebridge.  

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Advertise your local business with Google Boost

[Cross-posted from the LatLong Blog]

As a local business owner in today’s day and age, you know that it’s important to have an online presence because that’s where your customers are. In fact, research shows that 97% of people conduct research online before buying locally. Hopefully you’ve gone to Google Places to claim your free business listing that appears on Google and Google Maps. That enables you to share accurate information about your business such as your hours of operation, photos and videos - and now you can do even more.

Today, we’re announcing the availability of a new online advertising solution to help local businesses connect with potential customers in their area. Boost enables business owners to easily create online search ads from directly within their Google Places account. No ongoing management is needed after the initial set up, and this beta is currently available to select local businesses in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago.

Boost ads are eligible to appear in the “Sponsored Links” section of Google.com and Google Maps search result pages. For example, if you’re a restaurant owner in San Francisco who has signed up for Boost, your ad may show up when someone does a related search like the one below, indicating a cuisine and location that matches yours. Beyond the basics like your company name, address, phone number and website, your ad may also include the number of reviews you’ve received, an average star rating and a link to your Place page to help potential customers find additional useful information about your business. When a map appears alongside the results, a blue pin will help folks quickly find your location on the map. Businesses using Google Tags will also see their yellow tag appear in the ad.


To create your ad, all that is required is a short business description, a web or Place page, your business categories and a monthly budget. From there, our system automatically sets up your ad campaign - figuring out the relevant keywords that will trigger your ad to appear on Google and Google Maps, and how to get the most out of the budget you allotted. You’ll only pay when a potential customer actually clicks on your ad, and you can also view basic ad performance data from your Google Places dashboard.

Here is an example of the simple sign up page within Google Places, which takes just a few minutes to complete. To make the process even easier, the “description” and “categories” fields may be pre-populated with suggestions based on the information you provided on the Place page for your business.


We hope Boost provides busy local business owners with a quick and easy way to share information about themselves with the people who look for them online. Placement in the “Sponsored Links” section of the page will, as always, depend on factors such as your ad’s relevance and quality. Boost does not affect the ranking of the free, organic business listings in any way.

As we do with all beta features, we’ll carefully review the data and effectiveness of this trial and may make changes before making decisions about any future expansion. In the meantime, business owners can sign in or claim their listing in Google Places, and select businesses in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago will see an invitation to try Boost in the account dashboard. Interested businesses outside these areas can sign up to receive notification when Boost comes to their area by filling out this form.

Posted by Kiley McEvoy, Product Manager

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Work-at-Home: Inbound Customer Support Agent Jobs with MicahTek, Inc.

MicahTek, Inc. is seeking work-at-home inbound customer service agents in Oklahoma.  You must have a land line phone (without call waiting), a PC with Windows XP, high-speed Internet, and a quiet, dedicated workspace.  You also must be polite and friendly, possess a strong work ethic, and have excellent customer service skills.

If interested in this telecommute job opportunity, the At-Home Contractor application is here.  You can check out the MicahTek Employment F.A.Q.  Alternatively, you may contact: employment@micahtek.com.

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Work-at-Home: Freelance Interior Design Writer Job with Gracious Style

Gracious Style, based in Los Angeles, is seeking a freelance interior design and luxury home product writer for its site. You must be passionate about design.  You will be expected to produce two 400 to 500-word pieces per week at a rate of $20 per piece.

This is a work-at-home opportunity.  If interested, please send your resume and three writing samples to ccon@graciousstyle.com.  Good luck!

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Work-at-Home: Customer Service Associate Jobs with Atkinson Hunt

Atkinson Hunt, a building supplies company in Cherry Hill, NJ, is hiring work-at-home customer service associates.  Employees average $400 per week, working 24 to 32 hours.  No selling is involved.  No nights or weekends. 

If interested in learning more about this telecommute job opportunity, visit the job ad at Careerbuilder.  Alternatively, call 856-382-4080.

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Going Google across the 50 States: Investment advisory firm in Illinois turns to technology to get ahead

[Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog]

Editor's note: Over 3 million businesses have adopted Google Apps. Today we’ll hear from Dustin Bonnema, Portfolio Analyst and IT guru for MainStreet Advisors based in Chicago, Illinois. To learn more about other organizations that have gone Google and share your story, visit our community map or test drive life in the cloud with the Go Google cloud calculator.

Founded in 2003 by two veteran investment professionals, MainStreet Advisors is a Chicago-based Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registered Investment Advisor. We provide investment advisory services, portfolio management, and marketing support for our clients, and are expanding rapidly - we’ve already outgrown our current office space, two years ahead of plan.

Such fast growth prompted us to focus more on technology and find ways to remove communication barriers for all employees. So we switched to Google Apps earlier this year and are already using many of the products in the suite including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and Google Sites. We couldn’t be happier with Google Apps, and the best part is that everything is online and all the products are easy to learn and use. We’re trying to put as much as we can into a Google spreadsheet or document.

Shared Google Calendars are used to track time-off, conferences, committee meetings, and individuals’ travel schedules. This is a critical component of our internal communication strategy since Managing Directors and other executives travel as much as 40 - 50% of the year. This same group is reliant on mobile phones, and use either iPhones or BlackBerry devices to access Gmail and other applications, while they’re on the go.

As the company grows, it has become harder to locate and share updated information and policies across all employees. Google Sites is solving this problem – we built an intranet that includes links to shared calendars, client websites, group email aliases, expense reports, gift matching instructions, and investment policies. A Google form is also embedded in the site so employees can submit vacation requests that are updated directly in our HR manager’s spreadsheet. In time, we plan to add even more to the site – we’re already showing gadgets with intra-day performance of market indexes across the world and we’d like to add a map of client locations and charts outlining our company assets over time.

Aside from helping us create more efficient business processes, Google Apps has become a key part of our business continuity plan. We have the security of knowing that if something goes wrong in the Chicago office, we’ll still be able to access our information from other places. This is critical to protecting our clients’ investments, and the future of our business.”

Posted by Dustin Bonnema, MainStreet Advisors

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Work-at-Home: Technical Support Agent Jobs with TeleNetwork

Telenetwork is hiring full time work-at-home technical support agents in Texas.  These are entry-level positions.  As an on-call agent, you will be providing customer service through VoIP.  You must have your own up-to-date computer, webcam with video conference software, and broadband Internet connection.  A VoIP phone, headset, and quick connect cable will be provided.

You must have excellent oral and written communication skills, as well as superior customer service skill.  Additionally, you must be able to handle a high volume of calls.  Base pay ranges from $8 to $15 per hour.  You must live in Texas.  For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, visit the job ad at Careerbuilder. 

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Work-at-Home: Reservations Agent Jobs with Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus, the national airline of Ireland, is hiring work-at-home reservations agents in the Jericho, NY area.  These are part-time (18 to 25-hour a week) jobs.  Training is about to begin in November for 2011.  You must be 18 years old and legally able to work in the U.S., and you must be able to work at least one weekend day.  From the ad:

• Starting salary is $11.48 per hour plus $.60 per hour towards pension through 2012. Slightly higher rate may be available depending on experience.
• Holiday Pay 1.5 x normal hours worked on the 6 major holidays, and another day off would be given in lieu.
• Home Office – up to $200 would be reimbursed for equipment (desk/chair) after 12 months of employment.  Company will provide phone and computer equipment.
• This is a union position, so membership in the union would be required after 60 days. Initiation fee is $100.  Monthly dues depend on salary and are approximately $47.00. 

For more on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, see the job ad at Careerbuilder.  

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Work-at-Home: Paralegal Job with Small Bankruptcy Law Firm

A small, but growing, bankruptcy law firm in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area is seeking a telecommute paralegal/legal assistant. You must be very intelligent with an upbeat personality, and you must be a creative problem solver.  You must also be diligent, organized, and have a strong work ethic. Finally, you must be comfortable with extensive client contact. A commitment to social justice and helping others is a plus.

This is a part-time position that could grow into full time.  Experience is preferred. But the firm is willing to train a less experienced candidate with a demonstrated desire to learn, apply themselves, and grow.  If interested in this job opportunity, send your cover letter, resume, and compensation requirements to: job-reaf8-2010069437@craigslist.org. 

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Google Media Solutions Series: Part 2, YouTube - Bring Creative Solutions to Your Clients

Over the next four weeks, the Google Agency Blog will be debunking common myths, passing on easy implementation tips, and sharing general how-to of Google advertising. We'll be cross-posting to this blog, since most of the tips are relevant to small businesses. You'll be able to find all the tips in one place under the label 'Google Media Solutions Series'.

Online video represents a huge opportunity to reach potential customers with new, compelling formats. YouTube is the perfect platform to reach these customers, drive sales and enhance branding initiatives.

There are many benefits to advertising on YouTube. It is a unique platform which allow you to reach potential customers who are engaging online. You can set up YouTube campaigns through the AdWords interface. With our new YouTube Video Targeting Tool, you can target specific audiences based on interest, demographic or specific video content. You can create a message and share it with consumers with their videos or display ads. Additionally, after running a campaign, you can use YouTube Insight to learn how potential customers are interacting with your videos.

There might be some confusion around YouTube ad formats, so here’s some clarification:

• I am not sure if my audience is on YouTube?: Your audience is watching YouTube videos. YouTube has users of all ages and 32% of users are between the ages of 35 and 54*. In fact, if the YouTube audience were a country, it would be the 3rd largest country in the world with over 420 million unique visitors every month.

• We don’t have video content. How can we use YouTube?: You don’t need to have video content to advertise on YouTube. You can target your audience on YouTube with display, text or video ads. Our recommendation, since YouTube is a visual medium, is to test out display ads.

• Is there professional content on YouTube?: YouTube has over 3,500 content partners, including CBS, TV Guide, Fred and JuicyStar07. Our partners are actively uploading content and the video landscape is constantly changing. As this is the case, your target audiences are returning to see new, updated content on YouTube!

Check in next week for the third post, which will be on the Google Display Network, Remarketing and great tips for reaching your customers while they browse the web!

Posted by Laura Salzberg, Agency Team
* comScore MediaMetrix, September 2009

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Work-at-Home: Apple Customer Support Jobs with MobileMe

MobileMe is seeking work-at-home Apple customer support advisors.  As a MobileMe Tier 1 rep, you will be the first point of contact with Apple customers.  As such, you will be responsible for ensuring customer satisfaction by dealing with the issues of Apple customers via live chat correspondence.  You must have previous email or chat customer support experience. 

You must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. You also must be able to type 40 WPM or greater.  A quiet workspace and a dedicated analog phone line is required.  For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, visit the job ad.  Good luck!

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Google Media Solutions Series: Part 1, Back-to-Basics with Google AdWords and Search Marketing

Over the next four weeks, the Google Agency Blog will be debunking common myths, passing on easy implementation tips, and sharing general how-to of Google advertising. We'll be cross-posting to this blog, since most of the tips are relevant to small businesses. You'll be able to find all the tips in one place under the label 'Google Media Solutions Series'.

So, let's get started with Google’s search marketing product, Google AdWords. Using Google AdWords, you can target Google.com and the Google Search Network. This is a great solution to connect with potential customers who are searching for your products and services. It is flexible, measurable, and accountable. With AdWords, you can easily manage the spend of your account and control costs by setting a daily budget and maximum cost-per-click (CPC). Another benefit is that it’s easy to make changes to your ad text, as changes to ads take affect almost instantaneously. Lastly, as an added benefit, you can track the return on investment (ROI) of your account by using Conversion Tracking or Google Analytics.

There are some common myths that your clients may have heard regarding search and we want to make sure that we clarify these misconceptions:

• My website shows organically, so I don’t need to advertise: It is great to have a highly ranked organic listing; however you can’t control the message to your potential customers with organic listings in the same way that you can control it with search marketing campaigns. By advertising on Google.com and the search network, you can control the message that you share with all potential customers and determine the landing page to which you direct your potential customers after they click on the ad. These features can lead to increased sales.

In addition, organic results are likely only capturing a very small portion of the relevant traffic on Google. For example, a consumer electronics advertiser might appear high in the search results for their brand terms, or specific trademarks relevant to their company, but AdWords can expose their message on a wide variety of related terms like 'digital cameras' 'netbooks' and 'HD TVs'.

• Competitors can click on my ads maliciously: We take the security of AdWords accounts very seriously and have many resources in place to prevent your account from accruing invalid clicks. While invalid clicks occur less often than commonly perceived, we have three filters in place to protect your account: detection and filtering techniques, advanced monitoring techniques and manual reviews from our team.

Stay tuned for next week’s post on the Google Display Network, remarketing and great tips for reaching your customers while they browse the web!

Posted by Laura Salzberg, Agency Team

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Work-at-Home: Virtual Job Opportunities with Blue Zebra

Blue Zebra hires work-at-home appointment setters and administrative assistants.  The pay structure is generous.  You must have excellent communication skills and a desire to perform.

Prior relevant experience is required.  Administrative assistants work as  independent contractors.  For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and contact information, visit the Blue Zebra Careers page. 

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Work-at-Home: Editor Jobs with Conjecture

Conjecture is seeking smart, detail-oriented freelance editors to work from home.  You must be able to commit to at least 10 hours per week.  Most editors make between $15 and $20 per hour.  Payment is by PayPal.  These are independent contractor positions.  You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.

For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, send an email to: editors@conjecture.com.  Please include a cover letter explaining your relevant experience and your resume.  Good luck!

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Going Google Across the 50 States: Google Apps strikes a chord with Premier Guitar in Iowa

[Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog]

Editor’s note: Over 3 million businesses have adopted Google Apps. Today we’ll hear from Patti Sprague, Managing Director of Premier Guitar in Iowa. To learn more about other organizations that have gone Google and share your story, visit our community map or test drive life in the cloud with the Go Google cloud calculator.

Premier Guitar is for true guitar enthusiasts, a magazine focused on guitar gear and the musicians who use it. All of our employees are passionate about music, and many play guitar or other instruments. Working with a bunch of musicians creates a fun, creative workplace, but not always a very structured environment. We needed an email system that didn’t tie our team to the office, but allowed us to work together and stay connected wherever we may be. Google Apps was the perfect solution.

In our business we have very tight deadlines. We do things a little differently than other traditional magazines. We not only publish a print version of our magazine, we make all of our content, current and archival, freely accessible over 5 different platforms. We’re able to successfully compete with some of the older print centric publications out there because we’re lean and we can get stories up quickly. That requires a lot of team work. Google Docs allows us to work on a story from wherever we are and get it published quickly. It would never be possible to work as efficiently or collectively if we had to wait for a new version of a document to be sent to us before we could publish.

Often our writers and photographers will need to drop everything to hop on a plane for a last minute factory tour, or an interview with an artist. One of the reasons we started using Google Apps is the ability to access our email and calendars on our mobile phones or anywhere with an internet connection. With Google Apps, we know where the team is and what’s due based on our shared calendars. Our company calendar and editorial calendars are kept up to date so we can get our stories out quickly. Plus, we can always just hop on Chat to ask each other questions or find out the status of a shoot or a photo shoot or piece. Being able to just ask a co-worker a quick question instead of sending them an email and waiting for a response has really helped keep projects moving along.

Apps helps us stay connected and work together, while still having fun doing what we love. For a lean team that wants to meet deadlines while writing about their passion, Google Apps was the perfect choice.

Posted by Ashley Chandler, Google Apps Team

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Tips for creating a free business listing in Google Places: Business listing titles

[Cross-posted from the LatLong Blog]

Users search on Google.com and Google Maps because they’re looking for relevant, high-quality content that answers a question or fulfills a need. This useful information often appears in the form of business listings on the search results page, and these free listings are an important way for local business owners to connect with potential customers. We want to help you make the most of your business listing, so this is the first post in three-part blog series about how to set up a clear and effective business listing via Google Places. This first installment delves into the specific topic of business listing titles — also known as your company or organization name — and highlights some of the common issues business owners encounter when creating a listing.

Example of business listings displayed on google.com

Accurately list your basic business information

If you already have a business listing and want to tweak it, or if you haven’t yet claimed your business listing, sign in or visit Google Places here. The “Company/Organization” field will also serve as your business listing title, so you’ll want to enter in the exact name of your business. For example, for a business called “Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd.” the following would be its correct business and contact details:

Company/Organization: Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd.
Street Address: 88 Fish Road
City/Town and Postal Code: Fishtown, CA 90210
Main Phone: (555) 555-5555
Website: www.example_for_flyfishingfrankies.com

A clean, easy-to-read title

The title of your business listing should reflect the exact name of your company or organization as it’s used in the real world. While it’s acceptable to leave off company extensions like Ltd, GmbH or Inc, since those identifiers aren’t helpful to users, be sure to avoid adding any descriptions that aren’t part of the official business name or making any modifications to the official name. Your business listing title must match the business name you use in the real world (e.g. on signage, letterheads or business cards) in order to comply with our Google Places quality guidelines. Listings that are in violation of these guidelines may be suspended and won’t appear in Google search results.

Here are some additional reminders about business titles based on some of the offending listings we see and have to suspend. We also let you know how and where to include specific information you want to provide potential customers, while complying with our quality guidelines.

• Descriptors and keywords — The following are common examples of modified business titles. These are instances in which either descriptive phrases are used in lieu of the correct business name, or additional keywords and phrases have been added to the business name. These examples are not in accordance with our quality guidelines:
• [Example title violation] Professional fishing travels
  
• [Example title violation] Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd. - fishing, cutter travels, eating crabs
  
• [Example title violation] Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd. entertaining cutter travels
Note: While the “Company/Organization” field may only contain the name of your business, if you’d like to provide more information about your business’s classification or industry, you can do this by selecting the appropriate categories. You can also provide a more detailed description of your business - such as what you do and the the services you provide - in the “Description” field or on your company website.

• Location names — Unless the official name of your business includes the name of your city, town or other geographic indicator, adding superfluous location terms to the business title violates our guidelines:
• [Example title violation] Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd. Fishtown
  
• [Example title violation] Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd. in Market Place Shopping Mall
Note: To indicate the location of your business, please use the appropriate fields marked “Street Address,” “City/Town” and “Postal Code.” Adding location-specific information in the title of your listing is not necessary since our system automatically uses your address details to determine the search queries for which your listings would be geographically relevant. If you’re concerned that your business is difficult to find or part of a shopping mall or complex, you can provide users with further guidance about where to find you by adding that information in the “Description” field.

• Phone numbers and websites — Phone numbers and website URLs should not appear in your business title. These details should only be entered into their respective fields in your Google Places listing. The following examples of titles violate our quality guidelines:
• [Example title violation] Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd. (555) 555-5555
  
• [Example title violation] Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd. www.example_for_fishingfreddys.com

• Capitalization and Punctuation — Some users may be tempted to use special characters or excessive capitalization in the business title to draw attention to their listing. However, this practice is not compliant with our quality guidelines:
• [Example title violation] FLY FISHING FRANKIE’S LTD.
  
• [Example title violation] **!!**Fly Fishing Frankie’s Ltd.**!!**
Note: In order to ensure that the Google Places business listing results are useful and easy to read, please refrain from using visual gimmicks. Business titles, as well as addresses, should always use standard capitalization and punctuation.

The above examples may not cover all cases of business title violations, but we hope we were able to highlight some of the common mistakes we’ve seen. By avoiding these errors when setting up your business listing title, as well as reading through the rest of our Google Places quality guidelines, you should be in good shape to create an optimal and compliant listing.

If you realize that your existing listing is not compliant with our quality guidelines, we encourage you to sign in to your Google Places account to make the required changes and avoid getting temporarily suspended for violating the guidelines.

We hope you find this information helpful, and if you have further questions about business listing titles, visit our Google Places help forum.

Posted by Claudia Pfalzer, Local Search Quality

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Work-at-Home: Customer Service Associate Jobs with Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is seeking work-at-home bilingual customer service associates. You must have a two-year degree, excellent written and spoken English communication skills, and be comfortable with technology. You also must have firsthand experience of what it takes to learn a new language.

Excellent benefit package, including medical, dental, vision, and 401K. Base pay is $14.00 to $15.00 per hour. For more information on this telecommute job opportunity, see the job ad at Careerbuilder.

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Work-at-Home: Customer Support Agent Job with Docufide

Docufide is seeking a work-at-home customer support agent.  You must have an upbeat, positive phone demeanor and excellent written and verbal communication skills.  You should have a working knowledge and proficiency with the following: Windows operating systems (2000, 2003, XP, Vista, Windows 7), remote desktop support tools, Internet, HTML, FTP, WAN/LAN environments, software installation, MS Word, Excel, and Outlook.

You will be assisting customers with the installation of Docufide software via email and phone.  Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, or 7:00 am. to 4:00 pm or 6:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. PST.  If interested in this telecommute job opportunity, email jobs@docufide.com.  

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Work-at-Home: Customer Service Agent Jobs with Working Solutions

Working Solutions hires work-at-home customer service agents to assist customers through phone, chat, and email.  No fees.  You must have an up-to-date computer, high-speed Internet, and a land line phone.  You schedule your own hours. 

You will earn anywhere from $7.50 to $30 per hour, depending on the project.  Direct deposit is offered.
For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, visit the Working Solutions Becoming an Agent page.  Good luck!

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Getting the most out of Gmail

[Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog]

Last week we posted some tips to help you move from Microsoft Outlook® and other client-based software to Google Apps. Today we’d like to share some more thoughts on making the most of Gmail.

Save time with Priority Inbox

A busy day often affords few email breaks. When you do get a chance to scan your mail, Priority Inbox helps you prioritize by identifying the messages that require your immediate attention. Gmail uses a variety of signals to predict which messages are important, including the people you email most and which messages you open and reply to. The best part is it gets better the more you use it. Turn on and manage Priority Inbox in your mail Settings – and read our tips to become a real Priority Inbox whiz!

Seamless chat, video and calling

We work with people in multiple ways, and Gmail makes it easy for you to choose the most effective means to communicate: email, chat, text messaging, video chats and phone calls are all available from your inbox. For example, voice and video chat lets you have an actual conversation with someone or meet face-to-face in brilliant resolution. And for those early adopters transitioned to our new infrastructure, we recently added the ability to call phones in Gmail, so you can place phone calls from your computer to any landline or mobile phone number and receive calls as well. For phone calls and video chat, download this plugin to get started.

Get more attached to your email

Attachments in other email systems can be cumbersome; they take up space, can be hard to find and you have to open another program to take action, which slows you down. Gmail has some helpful features that let you quickly view attachments without the need to open or download them on client-side software. The Google Docs Viewer allows you to view .doc, .pdf, .ppt and other attachments in a new browser tab simply by clicking the "View" link at the bottom of a Gmail message. If you decide you want to edit the file, click "Edit online" to open it in Google Docs, or download it to your desktop.

Gmail also includes a Google Docs preview lab that lets you read the entire contents of a Google document, spreadsheet or presentation right in Gmail. Note that your administrator needs to have enabled Labs for you to access them.

Put email in context

Wouldn’t it be great if you could update a sales lead without leaving your inbox? With contextual gadgets, you can. They display information from social networks, business services, web applications and other systems, and let you interact with that data right within Gmail. Your administrator or any third-party developer can build and distribute Gmail contextual gadgets to the domain with just a few clicks via the Google Apps Marketplace, which we launched in March. To learn more, browse for apps in the Marketplace that have ‘Mail Integration’.

The keys to productivity

With Gmail, we built in keyboard shortcuts to help you get through your mail quickly and efficiently. Once you enable this feature in Settings, you can archive (e), reply (r), compose (c), delete (#) or take just about any other action with one key or a short combo. For a handy guide, type “?” while you’re in Gmail – for maximum efficiency, print it out and post it at your desk.

Experiment in our Labs

Gmail Labs give users experimental – sometimes whimsical – features to customize Gmail in a way that works best for them. Some Labs accommodate preferences, such as adding a “Send & Archive” button, while others help you communicate, such as the Google Voice player and SMS in Chat. Still others help you stay organized, like the Google Docs and Calendar gadgets. If your administrator has enabled Labs for your domain, check them out for yourself.

What’s your favorite feature in Gmail? Feel free to let us know in the comments below. Happy (productive) emailing!

Posted by Rajen Sheth, Google Apps Product Manager

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Google Places and Tags Holiday Guide

As the holidays approach, we’ve put together five quick and easy ways Google Places can help your business reach customers.

But first things first: claim the Place page for your business on www.google.com/places. This unlocks your ability to take advantage of all of these useful ideas:

• Create a coupon highlighting holiday specials: Are you offering a package of products or services to your customers this holiday season? Let people know by creating a coupon for your special on your Place page. From your Places dashboard, click on the “Coupons” tab and then “Add a new Coupon.” Fill out a few details and watch your coupon go live! You can also give the coupon an expiration date, so it only runs for a set time period. Coupons are also a great way to track how many customers found you through Google Places. For more details on creating a coupon, check out our Help Center.

• Link to a menu of holiday offers and prices: Manage the holiday rush by providing a link to your menu of products and services, or even your reservation page, on your Place page. To add your link, sign in to your Places dashboard, go to your listing and click "Edit." Scroll down to "Additional Details," add a column by typing in the label “Menu,” and then enter the URL of where you host your menu! If your website also handles reservations, then you can link to “Reservations” too. Check out this example and sign in now to add your links.

• Make your business listing stand out with Google Tags: Show customers your holiday offer or menu when they search on Google and Google Maps. Tags are yellow markers that allow business owners to highlight important or unique aspects of their business, such as that coupon you’ve just created, a video, photos and more. To create a tag, go to your Places dashboard and click on “Add a tag.” Simply choose your tag type and let it run. To get you started, we’re giving business owners 30 days free!

• Update your holiday business hours: Are you extending your operating hours on some days to accommodate the holidays? Update the business hours listed on your Place page for the days you’ll be open early or late. This helps local customers, especially last-minute shoppers, who may be interested in visiting your store take advantage of your extended hours.

• Write a post to engage with your customers: Whether you’ll be closed for a certain holiday or open on days when most businesses aren’t, a post is the perfect way to let your customers know. You can also use it to tell people about your latest shipment holiday inventory. Posts are short custom messages of up to 160 characters and appear on your Place page. For more details on writing a post, check out our Help Center. You can also highlight your post with a Google Tag.

Posted by Bernadette Cay, Associate Product Marketing Manager

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Work-at-Home: Science Editor Job with Earthzine

Earthzine is seeking a motivated individual with interest in environmental issues to serve as Science Editor to support the development of the site's technical content. This is  a work-at-home position.  From the job ad:

"The primary responsibilities of the Science Editor are to work with the Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor, Managing Editor, Content Manager, Associate Editors and other volunteers to review and edit technical articles, produce content, correspond with authors and promote the site. Collaboration is primarily via electronic communication."

You must have a bachelor's degree in any natural, social, or technical discipline, including English or journalism with experience in scientific or technical editing. To apply for this telecommute position, please send a cover letter and resume to Paul Mogan at envisionspace@gmail.com. Applications will be accepted until October 22, 2010 or until the position is filled. Additional information is available here.


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Revenue grows 48% with help from YouTube videos

Editors note: Today’s guest bloggers are Troy Olson, Digital Advertising Manager, and Jeff Loquist, Search Marketing Manager, for ShoppersChoice.com. ShoppersChoice.com owns and operates a family of web stores with a wide selection of products, from barbecue grills and accessories to patio sets.

With the tagline, “we smoke the competition,” BBQ Guys has built a hot business around home furniture, fireplaces, and kitchen cookware – but the company’s true passion is barbecuing and grills. We’ve created our own YouTube channel around all things related to outdoor cooking, from recipe how-tos to grill reviews. For us, YouTube has been a recipe for success. Visit the YouTube blog to learn more about how we’ve used Google tools to build a fun, rewarding small business.

Posted by Serena Satyasai, The YouTube Team

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Work-at-Home: Provider Relations Advocate for OptumHealth

This is a telecommute position within Wisconsin.  OptumHealth is seeking a provider relations advocate to work full time.  You must have 3 to 5 years of relevant experience in the healthcare field, demonstrated negotiation skills, strong verbal and written communication skills, and superior problem solving abilities. 

You must also have some experience using MS Word and Excel, as well as experience with Medicaid and Medicare.  For more information on this work-at-home job opportunity and to apply, visit the UnitedHealth Group Careers page.   

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Work-at-Home: Virtual Marketing and Sales Professional Jobs

Virtual Accountants is seeking work-at-home virtual marketing and sales professionals.  Benefits are available.  Schedules are flexible.  You must have a general knowledge of bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll processing, and you must have basic computer skills.  Finally, you must have high-speed Internet access.

For more information on this telecommute job opportunity and to apply, see the job ad.  Alternatively, email your resume, along with a cover letter to recruiting@virtualaccountants.com. 

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Going Google Across the 50 States: North Carolina based American Support relies on Docs, Sites and Chat to run its business

[Cross-posted from the Google Enterprise Blog]

Editor’s note: Over 3 million businesses have adopted Google Apps. Today we’ll hear from Matt Zemon, President of American Support, headquartered in North Carolina. To learn more about other organizations that have gone Google and share your story, visit our community map or test drive life in the cloud with the Go Google cloud calculator.

At American Support, we provide back office services to over 400 cable, phone and internet franchises in 29 states. Our services include billing and subscriber management along with 24/7 customer care and technical support.

When I originally founded the company in 2006 we had a joint venture with a Philippines-based call center to provide customer service at a reasonable cost to our clients. In the first couple years of business it became evident that our clients and their subscribers wanted to have American-based customer service. Our clients were not happy with the off-shore customer service we were providing and we were having difficulties winning new business. As a customer service outsourcer the challenge was finding a way to provide the American customer service they desired at a price point they could afford.

To save our business we ended up rethinking our business model and looking to the cloud to drive down costs and increase our efficiency. The first change was migrating to a call center in the cloud platform which enabled us to recruit, train and route calls to rural American home-based employees who needed and wanted the work. With this technology solution in place we began bringing our call center jobs back to America. As of May of last year we are a 100% American customer service organization.

The second change was moving from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps in 2009, which allowed us to more efficiently and effectively collaborate with our employees and clients spread out across the United States.

Today we maintain a small office in North Carolina and a technical assistance center and network operations center in Montana. The rest of our management team is spread out between Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Georgia and Nebraska. Our entire customer support team works from home.

Tools that fostered collaboration were absolutely essential to running our business. Each manager and their team really live in the Google Apps environment. All of their meetings are done through Google Docs and video chats. I’ve never met 90% of our employees in person. Every meeting agenda is built off of a doc with everyone logged into the same doc at the same time, taking notes and keeping track of next steps as we move along through the meeting agenda. Plus, our clients across the country have started getting used to the value of moving away from attachments to using Google Docs. Working together internally and externally is so much easier when we’re always sure we’re looking at the most current document and you can collaborate on it in real-time.

Google Sites is also a key aspect of our business operations. We create a custom site for each of our clients that contains the most frequently asked questions, their unique policies and procedures, and other useful information for our teams. Sites allows us to keep all information in one place that everyone on the team can update and reference.

We had initially looked at Google Apps for its 25 GB of mail and shared calendars, but it’s Google Sites, Docs and Talk that allow us to communicate successfully and efficiently so that we can support customers with a team all over the country. We attribute our successful collaboration and the ability to run a coast-to-coast virtual team to our use of Google Apps.

Posted by Ashley Chandler, Google Apps Team

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