One of the projects we've been working on are some TV commercials that spread the message of what we do. We were able to develop these in-house, with our multi-talented staff, and we're really excited how they turned out.

These will start airing in mid-September, but we wanted to give our followers a sneak peek into what was coming. Let us know what you think!

There has been a lot of press lately about the continuing troubles at the USPS.  I don't envy that management team's struggle, trying to rightsize an organization that is built for significantly more mail volume than any of us will ever see again, with huge pressure on them from Congress not to lay off significant numbers of workers who are also voters.  There was a study published last year that talked about the eventual decline of most "important" postal mail.  I am sure that many of you now get your bills online, as well as your bank and brokerage statements.

What this means for the USPS, is that eventually, in spite of the protests from Congress, the number of postal outlets will have to be decreased, and that means the certainty of having a PO Box will also decrease, and the waiting lists to get a PO Box will get longer.  There will also be a decline in service levels for home or office delivery.  This is inevitable as they make the choices that any of us would make if our business no longer had the customers to support our current operations.

A lot of the decrease is at the consumer level.  We are still seeing that for businesses, especially small to medium business, the mail is still a critical part of the value chain.  Correspondence from customers, those all important checks, regulatory notices, and Government correspondence, all still seems to come in the mail, as well as that never ending barrage of advertising and unsolicited mail and catalogs.

For Earth Class Mail customers, there is no wait for a PO Box and no uncertainty about the availability of an address.  Don't see one in the city you want?  Just bring us 100 of your closest friends as customers and we will open up a city for you!  You see images of the envelopes or parcel boxes online, and can make choices about what to do with your mail.  Ship, scan, securely shred, store, recycle, it’s all up to you.  You make the choices, we do the work.

It’s a great time to make the move to using Earth Class Mail.  Tell your friends and sign up!

I am often surprised by the innovative ways our customers use Earth Class Mail's services to get the most value from them. I wanted to highlight a few examples that could perhaps give you some ideas on how you can also take advantage of our many features.  Our online check deposit is one of our newer services and we have two ways in which you can use it whether you're an occasional user or subscribe to a volume plan.
 
One of our customers travels extensively in Asia and is hardly ever in a convenient location to receive and deposit checks into his bank. As he only receives one or two checks each month the mail management check deposit option is perfect for him. This individual check deposit service is a concierge service handled entirely by Earth Class Mail's Customer Support team.  It is as simple as calling in and securely providing the details of the account where you'd like the check deposited. After the first time using this service, our travelling customer now only needs to email us and confirm his identity and we can take care of the deposit without time zones being an issue.
 
If you regularly receive payments in the mail, the individual mail management solution might not be the best fit for your needs. Once approved, the monthly online Check Deposit plan allows you to deposit as many checks as you need to any banks you choose. All this through an integrated check deposit system built into your secure Earth Class Mail account. You may also choose to set up routing rules within your account and have checks automatically scanned and deposited into the bank account of your choice. We offer full visibility for these deposits as part of the reporting options in your account.
 
The integrated check deposit system is used by hundreds of Earth Class Mail customers daily. One customer, a law firm in California, receives between one and three checks every day, all of which can be deposited into their chosen bank account without any effort, lost time or additional fees. They pay one monthly subscription charge for the addition of the check deposit service to their account and can deposit as many checks as they receive.  The ease of using the service, the reliability and the visibility into every action taken offers this customer confidence that their payments are being securely and rapidly processed.

For more details on our check deposit services please check out our webpage detailing our Online Check Deposit Solutions or call 866-625-6245 for a free consultation to answer any questions.

Earth Class Mail started with a bold vision: creating a world-class company that provides online postal mail management. As we’ve worked our way at building the best online mail management service possible, we’ve learned a lot. The most important lesson we’ve learned is that not everyone values our service in the same way.

Last July (2009) we had to make an important decision; cut back the level of services we offered, change our business model, and along with it our pricing, or go out of business. The infrastructure we had built could not be supported as a viable business in the model we had in place at that time. It was not an easy choice, and there was no decision possible that would have made all of our customers happy.  

So we studied our customer base. And we conducted a market research survey to ask our customers directly what they wanted in an online mail management service, and what value this service had to them. As you can imagine, the customers with very few pieces of mail wanted a convenient service that was also priced very low. Our business customers saw value in using our platform to outsource administrative tasks. They see the benefit of spending a few hundred dollars a month with Earth Class Mail as opposed to spending thousands of dollars to hire additional staff to manage,scan, store or ship their inbound postal mail. 

After much analysis, we decided to revamp our product offerings to align with what businesses wanted, rather than cut back our services. This also meant we had to change our price structure. Customers can now pay for just the services they need – such as scanning or check deposits – versus having to pay for an all-inclusive package that prices in services they might not need. 

Today we are focused on serving primarily business customers, hence the change to our tag line from “your postal mail online” to “making time for business”. This was over a year ago; there haven’t been any significant business model changes since.

In the past year, there have been some customers that have left Earth Class Mail, many that have stayed and some who have come back. Our fastest growing market segment is still with small businesses, because no one offers the level of service and value that we do. 

Our customers realize the real reason they value Earth Class Mail might not necessarily be the amount of mail they have to manage, but rather our live customer support, our street address choices, our large address network, our world class user interface and our fair pricing. We are not the cheapest mail forwarding or mail scanning service available, but that’s because we offer a whole lot more: a complete online mail management platform.

We understand we are not right for everyone, and we encourage all prospective customers to compare Earth Class Mail to other services to find the best fit. To help you see our value, here is a list of providers to compare to. The chart below shows the entry-level plans of  some of our competitors – please check their sites directly for the most recent information and other plans they may offer.

If you still aren’t sure that Earth Class Mail provides the best value for your money, we would love to have an open and honest dialog with you – whether you are a current or a prospective customer. We are committed to helping you understand if our service is the right one for your current situation. If you’re interested in this, please call our customer support team at 866-625-6245 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday Pacific Time and let us help you find the best fit for your online mail management needs.

Time Savers know they can't do it alone. Ever seen a one-man band street musician? He's got cymbals between his knees, a keyboard strapped to his waist, a harmonica jammed against his lips, and a crazy hat that twirls. He's trying to do it all, but he's known for being an oddity, not a musician.

Are You Doing Too Much Alone?

• Are you doing tasks you know you could delegate? 
• Can you get temporary help during a critical period?
• Should that help be internal or should you outsource the work?  
• Do you need to hire more staff but you think you're too busy to
  interview and train new people, so you keep doing it all yourself?
• Do you think that no one will do the task as well as you?

Time Savers know that you can waste your valuable time and lose money by attempting to save a few bucks and not getting the support you need. If you feel you're always behind, could never catch up, and even when you go home at 8 or 9pm you still feel like you should work for the rest of the evening, then it's time to make a new plan.

Use Technology to Help

The One-Man-Band syndrome is often present in smaller companies who are...well...one man bands. If you don't have the man-power, then look for ways that technology can help. Earth Class Mail is such a technology, taking away a potential headache and helping you manage what would normally take a great deal of time - all online.

Set One Goal and Follow It Through

Sometimes we're so busy we're chasing our own tails - and getting nowhere fast. Stephen Covey reminds us to focus on the WIG - that one Wildly Important Goal. Get all your team members focused on one goal. Post that goal online and in your office. Have weekly meetings to make sure this one goal is moving forward.

The feeling of accomplishment and teamwork will free you up to tackle more goals, and you'll have the confidence and roadmap to lead the way.

Assemble A Stellar Team

The latest box office hit "Inception" features a team whose job is to break into a person's dream and plant an idea. Each member of the team is crucial - and they have to be the best. Why should it be any different for you?

Give up the power trip and realize that you need all the insights, enthusiasm, and focus which only a team effort can bring.

Make Earth Class Mail a Part of Your Team

Are you still running to the post office on a regular basis? Are you making multiple trips to the bank each week? Do you realize that your time could be better spent if you had a team to handle your mail? They'll give your mail the attention it deserves. You'll receive your mail electronically, no matter where you are - and so will your team. No need to try to scan in a document or remember to hand off that document. Your documents will be recorded, stored in your database, and sent to the proper team members. You'll be able to focus on that Wildly Important Goal knowing your mail is being handled by professionals. Time Savers know that Earth Class Mail allows them to reach their goals with confidence.

Sources -
Time Management Basics
Franklin Covey

Does it feel like you don't know exactly where you're headed? You started out with goals, but now it feels like all you do is deal with the next crisis and then the next. If you're all over the place, then you're not being a time saver because what would you save time for?

It's time to lock the office door and get back to basics

Assemble the heart of your team and assess your SWOT goals--Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). Listen to the input of your co-workers and resist being defensive. Ask them to offer solutions because the more a person owns an area the more active and accountable they will become.

Ask yourself what goal is most important and then brainstorm with your team as to why you're not meeting that goal:

• Our goals aren't clearly defined
• We stress about everything-without priority
• We react to every fire (crisis) that comes up
• We have a hard time saying no
• We avoid aspects of the project we don't like or aren't good at
• We don't take the time to assess before moving on

How to actually reach your goals:

1. Pick one goal, then break down the steps to achieving it.
2. Delegate the work and let your team members champion the areas they're good at.
3. Start noticing your own distractions and figure out a roadblock for each one.
4. Stop yourself before jumping into a crisis situation-is it really urgent? Or can someone else deal with it?
5. Stop wasting time on excessive mail and email. Learn to prioritize and delegate.
6. Know that when the project is coming to a head that it's time to work hard and long; and then reap the rewards when your goal is achieved.
7. Take the time to reassess after the project is complete. What did you and your team do well - and how can you transfer this template onto the next goal?

Let Earth Class Mail solve your mail crisis

Have you ever scrambled through piles of papers looking for an envelope with that check, invoice, or valuable paperwork you needed yesterday? Have you ever raced around your office trying to remember who you gave that important document to? It's time to stop creating your own mail crisis and allow Earth Class Mail to turn your mail system into a smooth, efficient operation.

You'll receive your mail electronically, and so will all your team members.

Time Savers value their time, and Earth Class Mail will take care of your daily mail so that you can stay on goal.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
-Marianne Williamson

As your growing online business matures at a nice, precictable, comfortable rate, what would happen if lightning struck and things really took off. In other words, if Oprah called, would your online business be ready? It's possible. Just as Lisa Price, President and Owner of Carol's Daughter. Her natural beauty products were chosen as an Oprah favorite for her magazine (and featured on The Oprah Show) and years later, she's still enjoying sales. That's what is so amazing about an Internet based business-you could go viral at any time. A tweet, Stumble-Upon, a fellow blogger, or celebrity just might find you, your product or services--and your business booms.

A recent article on Entrepreneur.com outlines the three main reasons why we might not be ready for our own success.

1. Procrastination: Part of you doesn't really believe it can happen, so you work around office clutter; mismanage important mail and documents, and when you do have an uptick in activity, you panic. You're not ready!
2. Overwhelming goals: Because you procrastinated, the incoming orders feel like a tsunami. You know you have to get organized and break it down but you worry you don't have the plan to get you through this major hurdle. The day you dreamed about is here-and it feels like a nightmare.
3. Underfunding: For the most part, it takes money to make money. The orders are in, but they're 30/60 days payable and you've got supplies to order, shipping and hiring costs. Your dream is coming true, but you didn't factor in that dreams need checkbooks to back them. 

If your business just skyrocketed, strap yourself in and get the support you need to make your dreams come true. Take a deep breath and write your plan of execution on paper -- to the last detail. Get the help you need to achieve these goals, but make sure you utilize reliable professionals who have a proven track record. Stay involved every step of the way. Keep your integrity and deliver a product or service you're proud of.

Turn to Earth Class Mail to help your business grow. 

Orders, invoices, networking, database contacts - you can't afford to miss any of these important items. Earth Class Mail has the professional team you're looking for. We can manage your mail when you're far too busy to lock yourself in your office and rip open envelopes. We'll input your contacts, deposit checks, update your invoices, and help you keep track of your fast-paced business mail needs. Let Earth Class Mail help your growing online business reach its full potential.

It's time to manage your mail the same way you manage the rest of your business, online, anywhere, and anytime. You can also scale as your business grows without adding expensive staff or taking time out of your busy day to handle mundane administration. Now, with our electronic check deposit service, you can have even faster access to your cash.

Are you a younger Internet company? Earth Class Mail can give you one of our premier street addresses, like Park Avenue, New York. That adds a tremendous prestige to any business. Your mail will be handled professionally; your packages will be signed for by a trustworthy employee and scanned in for access by you online. Earth Class Mail's professional solutions are perfect for a growing onine business.

After reading this, many importers to the U.S. market will want to consider getting a real, physical address to make doing business in America easier, more efficient, and less expensive. We know what you’re thinking – you don’t want to hire the staff, pay the rent, or deal with all the business issues of having a U.S. business address. Here’s the good news – You don’t have to!

A real U.S. business address you operate seamlessly from overseas

Earth Class Mail makes it possible to set up your company as thought it’s really in the U.S. You’ll have a legitimate street address, maybe at one of our premier addresses like on Park Avenue in New York City. Your customers will receive your outbound marketing mailers from that address. They’ll place their orders there. You’ll ship out the purchased goods. Any returns will be handled through that address.

The beauty is that all of the above happens from your PC in any country you happen to be in. When orders or responses from your customers come in, we scan it into your password protected control room. You can view the specific mail and read it right online. You can batch certain responses into folders, manage them within your worldwide organization, and get the orders off to the customer.

When the customer pays you by mail, you can transfer the check into any account you prefer or have it go into a lock box. Earth Class Mail’s technology and easy-to-use system makes it simple to manage so many of the operations you’d do if you were actually at the U.S. address – except you can do them from anywhere. Our payment-processing partner is a trusted resource used by companies like yours all over the world. DepositNow, brings all the convenience and security of a lockbox, but also gives you a lot more.

After you’ve selected one of  Earth Class Mail’s many addresses, and after underwriting approval by our partner, BankServ, you will begin to direct your remittances to your new address. Then you can tell us check by check, or even instruct us to auto-deposit everything that comes to that address into the account of your choosing. You’ll be in complete control of how your deposits are handled, just like you would if you were physically on the ground in the U.S.  You’ll receive a daily statement summarizing every bit of your deposit activity. Again, it’s all about putting you in control of your business over here.

We make doing business in America much easier

You can’t imagine doing business without email. Using the Earth Class Mail interface is just as easy. To do business in America, you’ll need a real, physical address with –

• A mailroom
• A document center
• A payment processor
• A local marketing manager

Earth Class Mail is your U.S. mailroom

We have several subscription services from which you can choose, and each will make it very easy for you to manage the mail coming into your U.S. office. You’ll never have to actually hold it or deal with the mess of junk mail. And it will be automatically organized into a folder structure which you set up.

Earth Class Mail is your U.S. document center

For many transactions, there is no substitute for a signed document. Now, you can have them shipped in to your U.S. address and we’ll scan them in for centralized, secure storage and retrieval at a moment’s notice. We become the central depository for all your important legal documents, human resources paperwork, sales department paperwork, contracts, etc. We retain the originals and the scanned versions for easy and secure access as you dictate.

Earth Class Mail is your payment processor

Incoming payments need to quickly and securely get from your U.S. mailbox and into the bank of your choosing, otherwise you’ll be losing interest, and maybe even customers.

With our payment-processing partner, DepositNow, you’ll get your cash to where it’s needed faster than if you had a person on the ground in the U.S.  You’ll have complete control of your U.S. banking activity with a scan of every check you receive, as well as all correspondence that is mailed from your bank. We will send you a daily statement summarizing all deposit activity.

Earth Class Mail is your U.S. marketing manager

Want to get local marketing intelligence on what your U.S. competitors are doing? Get online and sign up for their mailings. Give them your U.S. address, we scan all the incoming mail and then you can organize all the incoming marketing material you receive from them into folders. Studying the mailing practices of your competitors will help you gauge how to compete.

For your own marketing mailings, direct all your return addresses to us, then you’ll know which are retuned with a bad outgoing address. Use this to cleanse your mailing list to save valuable postage.

Are you ready to set up and run your U.S. business address?

Earth Class Mail will give your prospective customers the feeling that you’re committed to the U.S. market. It will give you the feeling that you’re in complete control of your America business. Doing business in America without this kind of control is a scary prospect.

Check out our U.S. business addresses at this link and get started today.

How Not Being Attentive Can Hurt Your Bottom Line

Most of us do it. We're listening, we really are - and then we zone out. Some work issue pops into our head, or we start thinking about our weight, our investments, and before you know it - you realize you've missed a big chunk of the conversation. And what's worse - the person who was talking knows it too. The question for Time Savers is: How do we stay attentive when so much is on our minds?

Researcher Scott Campbell, PhD, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan warns us about this seemingly innocent ability (and growing trend) to disconnect. "There is a certain degree of 'absent presence' associated with the use of mobile phones and other personal media in the presence of others." "People disengage, or pay more attention to the person on the phone than to the people who are physically present."

Nothing is more insulting than to realize that what you thought was important enough to say has been completely dismissed by the listener. No one wants to sign with a company, commit to a project, or network with someone who doesn't honor them. You may think you're saving time by doing two things at once, but you're likely annoying both people who are trying to talk with you.

How do we break the bad habit of being "absent-present?

• Do a bit of self-talk before you have lunch/go in for a meeting. Recognize that this person is important and decide ahead of time to stay present.
• Leave the mobile devices in the car or in the computer bag. If you're a bad offender (checking email, texting, going online), then leave it in the car or as far away from you as possible. Every time you reach for it or have a thought about it, use it as a trigger to remember to actively listen.
• Place a dollar amount on what you will lose if this person walks away. It sounds cold, but if that's what motivates you, use it. Deals are lost, contracts not signed, merges fold - all because the person says they had a gut feeling/they didn't like the "vibe" the other person was sending out. Oftentimes that "vibe" was them not paying attention.
• Observe your thoughts. If you're circling around the same nagging concerns - unanswered emails, a missing document, how to increase productivity, then begin to address these areas because they're sapping your energy and keeping you from attracting new work.
• Keep meetings short. If you find that you have a difficult time staying on task, and you're the one who can change it, then opt for shorter gathering times. Use email or video conferences to deliver information. Perhaps you're turning into a zombie because you don't believe this situation should take up so much of your time - so speak out or offer a suggestion.
• Reward yourself. If you really connected - even for five minutes - give yourself a pat on the back. Staying attentive is like a muscle you have to build over time. At first, it'll feel like you're having a tooth extracted, but in time you begin to get in the zone instead of zoning out; and it feels good!
• Notice who exemplifies good listening skills. Observe other professionals and co-workers. Watch them in a meeting or social/network gathering. If you like the way they look people in the eye, offer interesting small talk and necessary feedback, begin to pick up some pointers and copy their style. In time, you'll find your own methods. Hang out with good listeners and see what it feels like to really be heard.

Use technology to help you focus

Some technology is a distraction. Cell phones, for instance, have a way of interrupting at the worst moments. Other technology takes away interruptions and distractions. Push yourself towards those technologies that will help you save time without creating a pathway for distractions.

Earth Class Mail is such a technology, removing physical mail from your office and letting you deal with it whenever time allows.

Earth Class Mail pays attention to your mail

Face it, you have just so many hours in the day-and you've got a lot to do. When your mind is thinking about all you have to do, all that office clutter and unanswered mail, you have a harder time engaging. Earth Class Mail allows you to receive your mail electronically already sorted, categorized, and sent to the correct departments. You can shake hands; join the conversation, and "work on your feet" knowing that your mail worries are solved.

One estimate shows that U.S. Imports in 2009 totaled $1.558 trillion. The 2010 figures are, of course, in flux, but the May figures are promising despite the economy. What these figures cannot show is the effects of being a pure import company versus actually doing business IN America.

We’re sure you’re asking yourself, how can I do business IN America if I don’t have a U.S. office?  Simple…

Get a U.S. business address

Having a U.S. address is a huge advantage if you are adept at the most basic Internet technologies…you know, like browsing websites. Get online, sign up for a real U.S. business address with Earth Class Mail and start operating your American office from your PC as though you are in America. I’m sure this still  sounds like a strange concept, but read on.

First, let’s talk about what we’re importing

Here’s the breakdown –

• Agricultural products 4.9%
• Industrial supplies 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%)
• Capital goods 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery)
• Consumer goods 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys)

Let’s say you’re in the business of manufacturing motor vehicle parts. Ask yourself if American companies might be more comfortable dealing with you through your U.S. business address, even if they know you’re a foreign company. The answer in almost every industry is “yes.”  There’s a convenience in doing business through local addresses.

Our economy has embraced technology and the global economy

We’ve reached the point that we simply must embrace the fact that our country could not function without the global economy. Sure, politicians can score points by bemoaning the global economy, but the greater truth is that it works and we’re completely dependent upon it for many sectors.

America’s largest importers -

China, 15.4%
Canada, 11.6%
Mexico, 9.1%
Japan, 4.9%
Germany, 3.7%

How your importing company can do business IN America

Lots of companies will forever do business in the States the old fashioned way and deal with the incredible headaches that come along with it. But if your company is nimble and able to take advantage of technology, then you can have an actual presence IN the United States without all the headaches. The solution is Earth Class Mail.

Our solution gives your company an actual street address. Your marketing can be mailed with that address on the return material. The mail that comes back will be scanned into your private customer area of our system and stored. You’ll be notified. You can come in, decide if it’s a reply and automatically route in into your business processes, or you can choose to store it, or shred and recycle it.

If a customer sends in a check, you’ll be able to securely deposit it into any bank account you choose.

If a U.S. customer orders something, you can manage the full production from any facility in any company by directing the mail flow (in digital format) from a customer to that International office. You’ll be doing international business through the Internet seamlessly, all from your office in a different country.

You’ll have such a complete, secure control of so many of your American business functions, it will be like you’ve opened and personally manage a U.S. business address. It's time you were doing business IN America versus doing business towards America.


Sources -

Wikipedia
Census.gov