StorMan eNews Issue #18
February 2010 Edition |
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Greetings, %%Facility name%%. Welcome to eNews issue #18, where we take a look at our new website, delve into some upcoming myStorMan features and gear up for the UK's massive Movers & Storers show.
As usual, if you have any comments, ideas or suggestions, just get in touch with me via andy@storman.com. Until next time, happy surfing! :-)
 Regards,
Andy & the StorMan Software Team
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In addition to attending the Movers & Storers tradeshow and convention (see article to right), a StorMan staff member will also be attending the Self Storage Association of Australasia (SSAA) regional dinner meetings on Wednesday 10th February in Perth and Tuesday 23rd February in Auckland.
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| Computer Tip of the Month |
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Using your Windows key
Using a PC? Look down at the left portion your keyboard and you'll likely see a key to the left of ALT with a Windows logo on it. But what does it do? Go on. Press it.
Ah - the Start menu. Yes, if you're running Windows, then pressing the Windows key on your keyboard once will open the Start menu. But did you know that you can use it in conjunction with other keys to perform certain tasks? For example...
- Windows key + R will open the "Run" command (also found on the Start menu)
- Windows key + M will minimise all windows on your screen
- Windows key + L with lock your computer
- Windows key + E will open a new Explorer window
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The massive Movers & Storers Show, taking place on Wednesday 17th February at the Telford International Centre in Telford, United Kingdom is a free trade exhibition designed for people working in the removals, storage and self storage sectors. Now in its third year, this show is by far the biggest UK event for the removals and storage industry.
It is a unique opportunity to network with industry colleagues, look at new products and services, negotiate face to face with suppliers, learn about the latest industry issues and discover new business opportunities.
StorMan will be attending this event (as well as the VIP Show Preview Party the evening prior), so if you're going along be sure to say hello & check out some of our exciting unique-to-the-UK features at our tradeshow stand. For visitors, registration prior to the event is free, so be sure to register now.
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| New website + Boost your Google ranking |
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Over the holiday period in late 2009, we began launching the redesigns of some of our websites - in particular: storman.com, storman.com.au and our marinasoftware.info website.
While the new sites are primarily sales-focused, we haven't forgotten about you guys! Simply visit any of our websites and click on the "heart" icon in the top-right of the header to be taken directly to myStorMan - our client services portal, designed especially for you!
Our main homepages feature a central "slider" element that allows visitors to walk their way through a predesigned sales process. While the user can step through at their leisure, Google sees this as a single web page packed full of relevant content, which is helpful to our Google ranking (just search for "Self Storage Management Software" or "Marina Management Software" in Google and, at the time of writing, we're either first or second in the results).
One of the best ways to boost your Google ranking also happens to be one of the trickiest: getting other sites link to you. In a way, it's tricky for a good reason... it's hard to do, but it ensures genuine results from Google's point of view. To further toughen this process, it's not just any old website that can link to you... it also has to be relevant.
For example, if you own a coffee shop and your brother's car-mechanic business links to your website, it's not going to do much good in Google's eyes. In fact, it may even have a negative effect (although Google doesn't release their indexing and ranking formula - for good reason - so I guess we'll never really know). However, if a bunch of people write good reviews on their blogs and provide inbound links to your site, it will then rank better in searches for "coffee shops" in a certain area.
Each industry is different, too - coffee shops tend to go un-researched. If you're driving around town and you feel like a coffee, you'll probably stop at the first cafe you see and buy one. Self Storage is a little different. People tend to research it first and, according to the current SSAA Almanac, a growing number of people are using the internet to do so.
So how can you stand out? We go back to our golden rule: getting others to link to you. And remember - it has to be relevant, as per the coffee shop example. Get your suppliers to link to you, get your customers to link to you (offer a discount for storage if you have to - a relevant link is worth so much more if you think about it) but make sure it's relevant. Ask your customer to include a link somewhere on their site or in their blog along the lines of "We store at XYZ Self Storage in Sydney". This provides relevancy, because the link-text contains both the business type (self storage) and the location (Sydney)... that's +2 points right there!
So if we now use all of this new knowledge and come back to the original point of this article, which was informing you of our new-look websites, we come to a perfect example of what I'm talking about... linking to you.
If you've ever visited our Testimonials page, you'll know that we provide links back to your website in return for giving us a shout-out. In fact, each of our Facility of the Month articles (such as this one, a little further down the page in this eNews) contains a link back to your website. The same goes on our Testimonials page. By helping us out, you're actually helping yourself out as well. So if you're interested in having us write a feature article about your facility, please let us know - it won't cost you a cent!
If you'd like to learn more about boosting your Google ranking or using these type of elements on your website, please contact Andy at our StorMan Business Services division. In the meantime, feel free to check out our new-look websites and let us know what you think.
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Have you ever wanted to make your storage facility a little more exciting? What about attracting attention from the roadway or in your advertising?
Look no further than this very clever concept from Style Your Garage, which provides printed tarpaulins to decorate your storage facilities garage doors and show off just really what self storage can be used for. Check out some of the sample images below, or visit their website to find out more.
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Apple Computers may have just released a brand new tablet-style computer... but did you know they also released one way back in 1993? While cutting-edge at the time, it's much slower and chunkier than their recently released model. Unfortunately for Apple, their original model didn't sell too well - but kudos to them for giving it another go! You can check out a picture of one of their original tablet computers here. |
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| Agent Darran's Latest Gadget |
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 Hi there - I'm Darran, one of StorMan's Technical Support Agents. Each issue, I'll trawl through the deep depths of the internet to find you a funky piece of software, hardware or other interesting technological trinkets.
Business card filing cabinet
You've collected hundreds of business cards since that last conference. Now, they're scattered between stacks on your desk, stuffed into files, mixed into papers, and wrinkling in your back pocket. That's hardly the way to maintain a proper business relationship!
This little file cabinet looks like a shrunken version of the real thing, but holds up to eight hundred business cards. Two drawers pull out, letting you shuffle through your entire collection. There are even some lettered-tabs to help keep everything organised!
Nb. All 'Latest Tech Gadget' information & imagery is sourced from online entities & supplier websites. StorMan generally doesn't endorse, own or test any of these products; we merely link to them as you might find them interesting for your own use...
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This month's Facility of the Month is Byron Shire Storage, located in New South Wales, Australia. We recently caught up with Alan for a quick chat...
AP: "How long have you been with Byron Shire Storage?"
AH: "We have owned the farming property for 5 years during which time we have established the beef cattle herd, fenced off the buildings and sealed the road from the street. We have also carried out extensive regeneration of our native forest area removing the introduced weeds and encouraging the native seedlings. We started building the storage facility just 6 months ago."
AP: "Tell us a little about the units..."
AH: "We currently have 12 units with plans for another 38 later this year. All units are 6m x 2.4m secured containers."
AP: "How long have you been using StorMan for?"
AH: "Since we started. StorMan has been a great assistance in the start-up phase especially the helpful advice we have received from the team at StorMan. Despite our size, we still see the benefits & cost-savings presented by a management package like StorMan."
AP: "Anything interesting about your area, or the building itself?"
AH: "We are building the storage business as an environment friendly one; we commit to planting two trees for each storage unit. Our community is very conscious of the surrounding pristine vegetation, so we aim to establish a seriously different landscaped storage facility. We are in the hinterland of Byron Bay - 15 minutes from the centre of Byron in one of the fastest growing population areas of Australia. Originally, the farms here were grazing dairy cows but in recent times the area has been divided up for smaller residential blocks. The location and access lends itself to providing space for storage and we specialize in meeting the needs of commercial customers."
AP: "How has StorMan made things easier for you?"
AH: "The main benefit from the use of StorMan has been the confidence we have gained by having all the bases covered with the templates and reminders."
AP: "And finally... what's your favourite StorMan feature?"
AH: "I would have to say it's the ability to have quick & easy access to the accounts and customer contact details at all times!"
Many thanks to Alan at Byron Shire Storage for his time and input. If you'd like your facility to be featured as a Facility of the Month, please get in touch with us. |
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This month's "Monthly funny" was spotted in a cafe...
Have you got a joke or funny pic to send us?
Please let us know! |
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You may have seen WYSIWYG (or heard someone say "Wiz-ee-wig") before - but what does it mean?
The acronym itself stands for What You See Is What You Get and generally refers to software applications that use a design, methodology and workflow that ensures what you see on screen will look exactly the same once printed, or displayed on another device.
You may recall using programs like Word Perfect in the late 80's and early 90's where, instead of clicking a "B" icon for bold, you had to manually enter a code before and after the word to tell the system that you wanted that word to be in bold. This is a non-WYSIWYG application, because the code itself wouldn't print out (but your bold word would). A WYSIWYG application, like Microsoft Word, ensures that what you see on screen is very similar to what you get when the document is printed. No codes on the screen and a perfect print-out.
Many of today's computer applications are WYSIWYG.
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Read more about WYSIWYG |
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 All that hair will soon be lying on the floor!
Nardia, of StorMan's Australian head office, is participating in the "World's Greatest Shave" to raise funds for The Leukaemia Foundation. Money raised is used by the Leukaemia Foundation to fund free services to support patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders. It also funds blood cancer research to find better treatments and cures.
When asked about her inspiration behind her participation in The World's Greatest Shave, Nardia said "...that I am doing it because I lost my cousin to leukaemia a few years ago. Then, about 3 months ago, my seven year old god-son was also struck with leukaemia."
"My goal is to raise $10,000 for The Leukaemia Foundation and have been able to obtain a number of items, generously donated by local organisations, to auction-off at an event in Brisbane, in March - including holiday packages, beauty vouchers, electrical goods and sporting goods - just to name a few".
To donate an item that can be auctioned off in order to raise funds, or to make a monetary donation, please visit Nardia's profile at the World's Greatest Shave website. Thanks in advance for your generosity.
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How can you throw a ball as hard as you can and have it come back to you, even if it doesn't bounce off anything? There is nothing attached to it and no one else catches or throws it back to you?
Stuck? The answer is in the next issue!
Answer to last month's brainteaser: The man is of short stature. He can't reach the upper elevator buttons, but he can ask people to push them for him. He can also push them with his umbrella (which he has with him on rainy days). |
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StorMan eNews is a monthly publication designed & compiled by
Andy P. + guest writers, and is ©
StorMan 2010. E&OE.
We use publicly available sources (web sites, magazines, news
clips, etc) to help write our newsletters, and provide links where
possible. All prices quoted, if any, contain GST (unless specified otherwise). |
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Please visit us online at www.storman.com/contact/ for full contact information. |
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