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MyFax Customers: A Word of Warning

Posted on 20 January 2011 | 12:45 pm Ref: Inside MyFax

We've become aware of some specific malware making its way through the Internet and email that appears to be on the hunt for your MyFax(R) credentials. For those who don't know, malware (which is short for "malicious software") is software designed to secretly access a computer system without the owner's informed consent. This can include computer viruses, worms, spyware, etc. Such malware is not affiliated with MyFax in any way. It is the product of some unscrupulous people who are phishing for unsuspecting MyFax customers.

If for any reason you believe you may have clicked a link of such malware or if you already know you have a malware infection at your office/home, you should immediately change your MyFax password. To keep yourself safe, we recommend the following:

Be sure to follow these best practices regarding your MyFax password:

Choose a unique, complex password (don't use the same one for all of your accounts!).
Make sure your password is strong - it should have a combination of letters and numbers (and symbols if possible).
Change your password from time-to-time.

Because MyFax appears to be a target of interest, be aware that you may receive a phishing scam (an email that asks you for sensitive info that may be used to gain access to your confidential info without your consent) that looks like it comes from the MyFax team.

WE WILL NEVER send you any email requesting password information or providing links for you to change your password.
WE WILL NEVER send you any email requesting credit card information or prompting you to send credit card information via email.

Make sure you only log into MyFax via our secure site - secure.myfax.com (look at your address bar). Ideally, type in the address yourself each time or bookmark it in your browser.

In addition, here are some more best practices that will help keep your Internet information safe from other malware attacks:

Make sure your computer has virus protection software and that this is kept up-to-date.
Never send credit card information by email.

Taking a few moments to implement these important security practices will go a long way to keeping your information safe.

- The MyFax(R) Security Team

Can’t my brains just get along?

Posted on 26 October 2010 | 11:38 am Ref: Inside MyFax

Before you write me off as confused, or worse schizophrenic, consider this... I’m a high social functioning PC person, and I use both a BlackBerry and an Apple iPhone.

I like to consider myself a prime candidate to cross compare these leading devices as I can recount both the best, and the worst of both. For instance, surfing the web on a BlackBerry can be painful and slow – somewhat akin to doing email on an iPhone (from the perspective of a BlackBerry user of course).

I love the BlackBerry for its push notifications, making having to play fetch with the iPhone to get my mail seem silly in comparison.

My BlackBerry integrates into my existing business systems, giving me a common view of my inbox, with a complete record of all incoming and outgoing emails from desktop, and the web. On the other hand, email on my iPhone is disconnected from everything else, forcing me to deal with my email all over again, even if I’ve already viewed and responded all but one message.

Happily, if I’m in need of a faxed or signed doc while I’m mobile – and it happens more often than you think – I can rely on the myFax BlackBerry app or the myFax iPhone app to get the job done.

So what’s my bottom line? I think it all comes down to what brain I’m in at any given time. Left brain, BlackBerry; right brain, iPhone.

If I’m feeling particularly angst ridden about a proposal or deal I’ll inherently be looking for speed, so BlackBerry will be my choice. If I’m feeling a bit more amenable and desire a more engaging experience, I’ll lean to the iPhone. Either way, I’m in business no matter what, with a nod to the myFax app for thinking of me, in both my brains.

Guest Blog Post: National Pro Bono Celebration

Posted on 25 October 2010 | 8:43 am Ref: Inside MyFax

This week we celebrate pro bono lawyers, and are thrilled to welcome Pam Weisz as a guest blogger!

October 24 to 30 marks the second annual National Pro Bono Celebration in the United States. Sponsored by the American Bar Association, this week is meant to showcase the great difference that pro bono lawyers make, and to highlight the growing need for high-quality, free legal aid for those facing foreclosure, eviction, consumer debt, domestic violence, child custody disputes and other grave civil legal problems.

As they face rising demand from those affected by the economic crisis, overstretched legal aid and pro bono organizations are increasingly turning to technology - especially online tools - to enable collaboration, increase efficiency and to make the legal system more accessible to those in need.

Pro Bono Net, a national nonprofit that receives support from MyFax, provides a technology infrastructure that empowers the public interest law community to improve service delivery, increase private attorney involvement and enhance collaboration among service providers. Its flagship website, http://www.probono.net/, helps thousands of attorneys nationwide connect with legal aid organizations in their communities, find opportunities for meaningful pro bono work, and access the training and support they need. Its http://www.lawhelp.org/ website helps people find free legal aid programs in their communities, answers to questions about legal rights, court information, self-help tools, links to social service agencies, and more.

Another program, LawHelp Interactive, provides a national infrastructure for online legal document assembly, enabling tens of thousands of low-income people each year to complete needed legal forms. LawHelp Interactive increases efficiency for legal aid and pro bono programs, allowing more people to be helped in less time.

Technology alone is clearly not enough to solve the increasingly disparity between the availability of high-quality, free legal help and the number of people struggling with life-altering legal problems. But it is a key element in efforts to help close the justice gap.

To learn more about how Pro Bono Net is using technology in the service of increasing access to justice, visit http://www.probono.net/. Lawyers wishing to get involved in pro bono can visit www.probono.net/volunteer to find pro bono opportunities in their community.

Pam Weisz is the Director of Communication & Corporate Sponsorship at Pro Bono Net. She works on marketing and communications initiatives and runs the corporate sponsorship program, which connects companies with Pro Bono Net's membership of thousands of attorneys. A valuable member of the Pro Bono Net team since 2007, Pam previously worked in business development and strategic planning roles at media companies including the Associated Press and Showtime Networks. Before going to graduate school, she spent several years working as a journalist. Pam has an MBA from Columbia University and a BA from Stanford University. She lives in New York City.

We have Another MyFax Customer Contest Winner...and a BRAND NEW Contest!!

Posted on 18 October 2010 | 8:45 am Ref: Inside MyFax

Our second MyFax customer contest closed last Friday and that means we have a new winner to announce! Congratulations, Yvette Williams! We hope you enjoy your brand new iPod Touch! (Just in case you were wondering, our winner was chosen from a random drawing that included everyone who correctly answered our three questions). We'd also like to thank everyone who entered; as with our first contest we had a great response and we're really happy with how popular our contests have been.

For our new contest we are keeping the same format but changing up the prize - we don't want you to get bored with us!!

With that said - our THIRD MyFax contest starts today and this time you could win...drum roll please...a $250 gift certificate from Amazon.com!!

Like our previous contests, all you need to do is copy the skill-testing questions below into a Word(R) document, add your answers along with your name, phone number, MyFax account number and email address, then use your MyFax account to fax the document to 1-866-257-2046. You can even enter as often as you'd like!

This contest ends on December 20, 2010, at which time we'll do a random drawing from the entries that have answered all three questions correctly. The winner will be notified by email and announced right here in the Inside MyFax blog!

New Questions:

Is MyFax on Facebook(R)?

Name one of the other two products from the makers of MyFax (hint - go here and scroll to the bottom of the page).

Can you reach MyFax support by phone and email?

As we said, you can enter as often as you like. And...if you have a friend you think would benefit from MyFax, send them a free month and get one for yourself at the same time. Refer a friend today!

* You must be a MyFax customer and at least 18 years of age on the day the contest opens (October 18, 2010) to be eligible to win. Contest not open to residents of Quebec or Rhode Island. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Full contest details available at http://www.protus.com/legal/contestrules.asp. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of entries submitted. Contest ends 11:59 PM EST December 20, 2010.

** Pages faxed from your MyFax account will be counted in your monthly fax allotment and if you go over your monthly allotment, additional fax pages are ten cents per page. To enter without using your MyFax, see the contest rules. By entering this contest, you hereby agree to (a) be bound by the Contest Rules and (b) consent to the collection, use and disclosure of any personal information associated with this Contest by Protus IP Solutions Inc. ("Protus") for the purposes of administering this Contest, in accordance with Protus' Privacy Policy available at http://www.protus.com/legal/privacy.asp.

Apps and Hedgehogs

Posted on 14 October 2010 | 1:52 pm Ref: Inside MyFax

In what's considered a management classic, "Good to Great" by Jim Collins introduces the concept of a hedgehog's defense strategy as a metaphor for that which differentiates good companies from great companies. Collins notes that great companies focus on doing one thing better than anyone else - exactly how a hedgehog defends itself from the cunning fox by doing one thing only, rolling up in a ball.

Let's take the hedgehog metaphor and apply it to the BlackBerry.

Since its inception, the BlackBerry has done one thing very well - deliver your email to you, wherever you may be. With email emerging as the predominant form of business communication in the early part of the decade, it's no wonder BlackBerry devices became central to business operations - even spawning a new term of endearment in the social lexicon, "CrackBerry."

Now with an established worldwide user base and dominant share of the mobile marketplace, it's no surprise that RIM, makers of the BlackBerry, have branched out into the app world with their very own app marketplace - BlackBerry App World - and continue to aggressively expand their smartphone and tablet lines, including the most recent keyboard/touch hybrid, the BlackBerry Torch. Make no mistake about it - although it has branched out into the consumer marketplace with similar phones and features to those of Apple or Android devices, BlackBerry will always be associated with business, first and foremost.

As I alluded to earlier, faxing remains a critical form of communication for a number of industries because of the inherent security vulnerabilities of email - an email can be spoofed, a fax transmission cannot. When it comes to transferring or sending somebody's healt records, financials or contracts, businesses will turn to fax for the foreseeable future. So it's no wonder then, at the request of our small and big business customers alike, that the MyFax App for BlackBerry is now available.

Integrating your email, fax and phone needs (i.e. consolidating all your phone numbers into one number with services like my1voice), into one device isn't just convenient, but makes rock solid business sense.

So to our MyFax BlackBerry...or..."CrackBerry" users, the MyFax App for BlackBerry is free to download via BlackBerry App World. Please enjoy this app as we continue to increase its functionality to better streamline your business and fax needs.

Have a thought or comment about our apps? Share it in the comments section below!

Thanks For Helping Us Reach a Milestone

Posted on 6 October 2010 | 7:54 am Ref: Inside MyFax

It's official! This week our parent company, Protus, reached half a million paid subscribers for our Campaigner, my1voice, and (of course) MyFax services. It definitely reinforces our position as one of the fastest-growing and highest quality Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) players in the market.

To give you a little perspective on what that number means, in the recording industry if you sell 500,000 units they give you a gold record. That's Elvis/Beatles/Justin Timberlake/Beyonce territory!

Of course, we couldn't have done it without all of you. So thanks to all 500,000 of you for putting your trust in us and helping us reach this milestone. We promise to continue working to keep that trust and to deliver the best communications services available to small businesses.

So, MyFax customers, what other Protus products are you using, or thinking of using? Hit the comments and let us know.

The Trick of the Fax Machine

Posted on 4 October 2010 | 6:38 am Ref: Inside MyFax

One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie "The Usual Suspects" (also one of my favorite movies). In it, while being interrogated by the police, Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) tries to explain the man and the legend behind Kayser Soze - the criminal mastermind who makes the Godfather seem like a choir boy. In the face of opposition to the existence of such a criminal mastermind, he utters the phrase, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist..."

You can draw a lot of parallels between that movie line (it's actually a literary quote) when thinking about fax machines. Most of the time when someone mentions a fax machine or utters the phrase "I have to fax this..." most people respond with, "fax machines still exist?" They do - in abundance.

I haven't seen worldwide stats out there on the number of fax machines still in existence, but it's estimated there are approximately 20 million machines in the US alone with billions of fax pages sent worldwide. These machines do their part to negatively impact the bottom line, productivity, and the environment. All the while, there exists Internet faxing - a cost-effective, productivity-boosting and environmentally-friendly solution. But you already know that - because you are one of the close to half a million customers who send and receive faxes using email, the web, smartphones and popular software applications like Microsoft Office(R).

But as big as the MyFax army is, the fax machine empire seems bigger. What these people don't realize is that fax machines do more harm than good. So when you see someone using a fax machine, set them straight with the following helpful FYIs:

1. Fax Machines and the Environment:

Fax machines are energy vampires and consume more electricity than any other piece of office equipment, according to the environmental protection agency;
Fax machines print everything, whether required or not - that's a big reason why in the US, annual office paper consumption is enough to build a 10-foot-high wall that's 6,815 feet long! That's greater than the distance between New York City and Tokyo;
Most people don't recycle the machines themselves and therefore they end up in landfills. The same goes for the toner cartridges used to print the faxes and the paper and the ink dries on - straight to the landfill.

2. Fax Machines and Costs:

At the low end, fax machines start at about $100 and at the high end in the thousands, if you're looking at an all-in-one;
The extra phone line needed for the machine costs anywhere from $20 to $30/month
Don't forget the cost of toner! Paper and the electricity to run it on average about $9/month (assuming you're running it for the entire year, using it modestly).

The MyFax referral program allows you to gift friends and employees with a free month of Internet fax service so they can see for themselves the advantages and benefits of Internet fax. If your friend decides to stay on, you get a free month too! More information on the MyFax refer-a-friend program can be found here.

Fuggedaboudit! The Dilemma of Online Storage

Posted on 24 September 2010 | 8:04 am Ref: Inside MyFax

I read about an interesting study in the early part of the decade on cab drivers in London, UK. As a result of having to mentally map and navigate an entire city, these drivers had, over time, developed an enlarged hippocampus (the area of the brain associated with memory and learning). Essentially, without getting into medical mumbo-jumbo, these men and women, while on the job, had their brains rewired and as such developed a sort of super memory. Lucky them.

For the rest of us ordinary Joes and Janes - we have a hectic life that contributes to what I like to refer to as the scourge of the small business person - absent-mindedness.

As a small business owner you are your business - you are sales & marketing, accounting, administrator, and CEO. Your primary objective is to grow the business, meaning you're on call 24-7. What complicates the matter is the "mobility factor" - your "office" could be at home, in the car, at a client site, or at some other location in your city or state. So now you have to lug around your laptop, business phone and maybe personal phone (if that's the case, you should really check out my1voice) and you have to ensure you have your briefcase, PDA, and the list goes on and on.

How do you remember everything or ensure you have everything nearby when there's just so much to remember all the time? You can create a checklist for every time you go out the door, but that would be cumbersome and time consuming, and I've said it before and I'll say it again, money is not the most precious of resources, time is (I just saw the most recent trailer for Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, where the great character, Gordon Gekko, reiterates my point).

Physical paperwork adds to this dilemma, so much so that it has spawned an entire industry for online storage targeted at small business. Other companies wrap these services in fancy names like Content Management System and sell them to big business for a lot of money.

Faxing is no different because whether you look at it from a mobility perspective (the machine doesn't go anywhere) or from a physical documents perspective (a fax machine prints everything), you quickly realize, "Houston, we have a problem."

There are many free value-added features that are part and parcel of the MyFax service. Two that might help alleviate some of the pressures of remembering to bring everything, everywhere are the ability to store commonly faxed documents inside MyFaxCentral as well as one year of unlimited inbound and outbound fax storage. Available in the Send and Receive preferences section of MyFaxCentral, each permits you to leave all the fax paperwork behind like contracts, schematic designs and other important fax documents that are an essential part of the supplier-customer dynamic. Each gives you access to your important faxes from anywhere in the world you have access to an Internet connection and a web browser.

Feel free to check them out! We know that removing fax documents from your list of things to remember will definitely alleviate the pressure of doing business on the road.

Webinar Alert: MyFax and Salesforce CRM

Posted on 23 September 2010 | 7:47 am Ref: Inside MyFax

In my last post I discussed MyFax for Salesforce CRM (available via AppExchange 2). If you want to learn more about this, be sure to register for our upcoming webinar with our good friends at TMC. Here are the details:

Title: MyFax Secure Cloud Faxing App: Seamless Integration with Salesforce CRM

Date: Wednesday, September 29

Time: 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT

What You'll Learn:

The features included in MyFax for AppExchange 2
The benefits an integrated Salesforce CRM/MyFax solution will provide whether in sales, marketing, call center, IT, finance, or another department
How MyFax provides faxing solutions for the entire organization, even outside of Salesforce CRM

Click Here to Register!

Goodbye Rolodex, Hello Fax...Wait, What?

Posted on 20 September 2010 | 11:46 am Ref: Inside MyFax

Those of a certain age will remember the golden era of American business when being a salesman meant the obligatory Rolodex, luxury air travel, dedicated secretary, and the three-hour lunch. The facsimile machine was a marvel to behold - simplifying document sharing, accelerating signatures close and far, and freeing up time for a round of golf. Today, the Rolodex is gone, air travel is, well, less than civilized, you're your own administrative assistant, and lunch is ten minutes at your desk.

But whatever happened to the fax machine? Well, in the words of the inimitable Mark Twain, "the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." With an estimated 20 million fax machines still operational across the US, faxing remains vital to the operation of many businesses - used to order inventory, invoice customers, and comply with legal and regulatory documentation requirements. Anyone who works in (or who has customers in) healthcare, real estate, or the financial industry still see faxing as a core element in their day-to-day business. Go figure!

For the folks selling to these businesses today, it's all about the pipeline or funnel - filling it, managing it, reporting on it...from anywhere at any time! To do this efficiently and effectively, most businesses have gone electronic with their prospecting and sales forecasting activities, somewhere between spreadsheet management and fully deployed Customer Relationship Management (CRM). So where does faxing fit in this new, searchable, mobile, online age of sales?

The trick is in integrating the best of the old with the best of the new, as opposed to forcing new or different workflows on your prospects and clients, or trying to keep track of two parallel communications channels. Let's look at Salesforce CRM and the integrated MyFax app as an example.

MyFax for Salesforce CRM (available via AppExchange) enables users to securely send, receive, and manage their faxes from within Salesforce CRM. This integrated solution:

Provides an integrated record of all client/contact communications across the organization - sales, marketing, finance, audit, support, etc.;
Enables the receipt and sending of communications requiring a signature (i.e. PO, LOI, contract) from anywhere with Web access;
Delivers immediate organizational cost savings and related efficiencies;
Integrates faxing into the marketing mix with email to fax and fax to email options;
Improves the fax user experience - internally and externally.

If you haven't tried MyFax for AppExchange, click here to get started. And as always, share comments below on how YOU integrate fax into your sales workflow.

Efficiency is All About Workflow Part II: Get Your ACT! Together

Posted on 17 September 2010 | 11:47 am Ref: Inside MyFax

One of the greatest things that has happened in software over the last decade - and which isn't trumpeted enough - is the ability of software programs to interface with one another. This ability to integrate one program with another truly paved the way for the current app craze. The advantages are blatantly obvious - there are just certain software applications used by everyone in business, and the more integrated they are, the more efficient the user can be. Why is this important? As I've noted in previous posts - for a small business owner, time is a precious resource. Rather than cut corners on things like running their business, these enterpreneurial folks multi-task to get things done.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a staple for organizations big and small, whether they're for-profit or not-for-profit. There are, of course, many CRM solutions out there, and depending on organization size or function, there is usually a common preference. For instance, ACT!, SalesForce CRM and Microsoft Dynamics have historically been tailored to SMB, mid-sized and corporate customers respectively. Increasingly, most vendors now segment the CRM market by releasing various versions of their software and/or service with limited or increased functionality (depending on their target).

So what are the advantages of using a CRM solution? I could go through an entire list, which would change depending on what your industry was or what your job function is. Better yet, I'll describe a situation that many of us have probably experienced - being called by a company, of which you are currently a customer, and being sold a product that you already own/subscribe to. Nothing makes you feel like a valued customer like that conversation (and afterwards), and this really stresses the need and importance of using a CRM.

For small business, ACT! by Sage has been one of the more popular CRM applications, with an active user base of 2.8 million users. As noted above, different ACT! versions now exist, tailored for bigger companies, different industries (real estate, financial) and those geared toward software-as-a-service. ACT! includes contact management, prospect tracking, a calendar and communication tools, along with reporting and dashboards. It easily integrates with office software like word processing and email programs. Sound familiar? MyFax does the same - we're fully integrated into Microsoft Office and other word processing software, as well as popular email programs like Microsoft Outlook and Gmail.

ACT! and MyFax can easily integrate with one another via the MyFax for ACT! plug-in, a free tool that's available as part of your MyFax service. Using this plug-in, you can easily track your history of faxes sent to ACT! Contacts; easily send faxes to an unlimited number of ACT! contacts; use Mail Merge ACT! templates to personalize your faxes; and view received faxes directly within ACT! for up to 365 days.

ACT! isn't the only popular CRM solution that MyFax is directly integreated with. In an upcoming blog post, we'll review MyFax integration with SalesForce CRM.

Either way, with MyFax for ACT! integration, we hope our small business customers enjoy the few extra minutes in the day.

Stand Up and Be Counted - Gizmodo Wants to Hear from YOU!

Posted on 13 September 2010 | 10:32 am Ref: Inside MyFax

It's time to be counted!

Gizmodo, a leading technology site, recently posted a contest inviting readers to vote for the Best Online Fax Service on the market.

You can check out the contest here - http://gizmodo.com/5636383/five-best-fax-services

We're thrilled that MyFax is included as an option. And if you're thrilled with your MyFax service, we hope you'll consider adding your vote here.

Happy Voting!

Add Me, Like Me, Tag Me, Follow Me, Tweet Me...HELP ME!

Posted on 8 September 2010 | 7:50 am Ref: Inside MyFax

Social media is a phenomenon - how else can you explain that approximately 10 percent of the world is on Facebook? Still not impressed? Then add Twitter, MySpace and the host of others, and you're on the fast track to a billion...that's billion with a b. In its infancy, as the potential was understood, it was all about how these companies could make money, attract investors, and go public. For other companies it was how to monetize participation on these sites - sell, sell, sell.

In my opinion, both have failed. The vast majority of social media sites, if not all, have struggled wtih advertising-driven models, and the vast majority of companies haven't sold anything. In most cases, the challenge has been about walking the fine line between making money and respecting privacy.

I have no doubt that eventually somebody will strike gold and create a business model that will lead to the big IPO...but I'm not holding my breath, and neither should you.

Some companies have approached social media in a very simple and straightforward way, leveraging it to keep a continuous dialogue with their customers and as part of their SEO strategy. It's these companies that have benefitted the most, and ironically, usually turn a better profit. It's these companies that small business owners can learn from.

One of the fundamental rules you're taught from the get-go in any college marketing course is something I like to call the law of customer service. The law of customer service teaches that it's roughly eight times less expensive to keep a customer than to go out and get a new one.

Think about what it costs you to get a customer - and don't just consider hard currency, think of other resources like the time it takes to nurture that potential customer, to sell to them, to convince them to pick you rather than a competitor, or alternate service/solution. Now think about your best customer - the one that loved your service so much that he or she not only keeps coming back, but refers people to you. Now imagine an army of customers just like that customer.

Large companies obviously can't be on a first-name basis with every customer at the same level that a small business can be - but they certainly have been trying with social media. These companies understand that customer service must be 24/7 - done by phone, email, etc. Sound familiar? It's what is offered to you as a MyFax, my1voice and/or Campaigner customer. But with the average US Facebook usage at over six hours per month, social networking has become a natural extension to that. So these companies "take to the streets" so-to-speak, and ensure that customers (both happy and unhappy) are heard and engaged.

So where's the lesson to be learned here? For small business, social networking can be great for networking, and trying to sell your business products or services, but its true value for your business is keeping you in touch with your customer base.

I encourage you to join in the conversation on our own social media pages - Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We look forward to continuing the discussion here.

Results of the First MyFax Customer Contest...and Some News!

Posted on 2 September 2010 | 7:04 am Ref: Inside MyFax

Our first MyFax customer contest closed at 11:59 PM last night and it was a resounding success! This morning we had a random drawing from all the entries that answered the three questions correctly and the lucky MyFax customer who will soon be receiving a brand new iPod touch is...KYLE KINCAID!! Congratulations, Kyle, and thank you so much for entering our contest!

We had tons of entries and some really good feedback. Because we had such a resounding success, we've decided to hold this contest again!

That's right - our second MyFax contest for an 8 GB iPod touch starts RIGHT NOW!

It's the same as before - just copy the skill-testing questions below into a Word(R) document, add your answers along with your name, phone number, MyFax account number and email address, then use your MyFax account to fax the document to 1-866-257-2046. You can even enter as often as you'd like!

This contest ends on October 15th, at which time we'll do a random drawing from the entries that have answered all three questions correctly. The winner will be notified by email and announced right here in the Inside MyFax blog!

New Questions
1. Is there a MyFax app for the iPhone?

2. Can you add cover pages when you fax with MyFax?

3. How many days per week is MyFax customer support available?

Don't forget - you can enter as often as you like. And...if you have a friend you think would benefit from MyFax, send them a free month and get one for yourself at the same time. Refer a friend today!

*You must be a MyFax customer and at least 18 years of age on the day the contest opens (August 31, 2010) to be eligible to win. Contest not open to residents of Quebec or Rhode Island. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Full contest details available at http://www.protus.com/legal/contestrules.asp. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of entries submitted. Contest ends 11:59 PM EST October 15, 2010.

**Pages faxed from your MyFax account will be counted in your monthly fax allotment and if you go over your monthly allotment, additional fax pages are ten cents per page. To enter without using your MyFax, see the contest rules. By entering this contest, you hereby agree to (a) be bound by the Contest Rules and (b) consent to the collection, use and disclosure of any personal information associated with this Contest by Protus IP Solutions Inc. ("Protus") for the purposes of administering this Contest, in accordance with Protus' Privacy Policy available at http://www.protus.com/legal/privacy.asp.

What's in a Number? The Psychology of Free

Posted on 30 August 2010 | 8:50 am Ref: Inside MyFax

My colleague on the my1voice side wrote a fantastic blog post giving his thoughts on Google Voice integration with Gmail. In general, his thoughts were as follows - if you're a small business owner and you are looking for software to help you run your business, free sounds great in theory. In reality, free doesn't deliver reliability, useful business features, or a live person ready and available 24/7 to ensure your business services are working for you.

Don't get me wrong, using a free service isn't a bad thing - it actually has its advantages.

Let's take a look at the concept of free from another perspective - growing your business. A short while ago, a great piece of advice was passed along to me by a MyFax customer. This customer said, "In a down economy, nobody ever hesitates to call a toll-free number."

Queue the light bulb! He was one of the many MyFax and my1voice customers who have built their business around the use of a toll-free number.

Put yourself in the shoes of a local customer who has the option of calling two companies for a particular need - one that is located in his/her city or one in a neighboring county or state. In these tough times, where every penny counts, what choice do you think that customer makes?

This is where the use of toll-free numbers comes into play. What many experiments in behavioral economics and psychology have shown is that free can be a powerful tool - it removes boundaries and risks and allows the better product and/or service to win - and hopefuly that's yours!

But really, and maybe I'm just overthinking things - I mean, you wouldn't charge someone to visit your website, would you?

So it should be natural then, that you wouldn't charge them to phone you or send you a fax. Put another way, maybe the reason why toll-free numbers work so well for small business is that they make doing business with you easy...Not to mention giving your business a higher level of prestige by allowing you to cast a big shadow.

Either way you look at it, as a MyFax and my1voice customer you have a choice - either local or toll-free for the exact same cost - so get those numbers out there!

As a starter, remember to take advantage of our free business card offer to MyFax and my1voice customers to see for yourself why free has so many advantages.

And don't forget to take to the comments section to let us know how YOU'RE using free to build your small business!

Batter Up - Are You Ready?

Posted on 26 August 2010 | 6:20 am Ref: Inside MyFax

Like successful small business owners, Major League Baseball's best managers know when to tinker and when to leave well enough alone. That makes complacency your biggest enemy. For example, as a small business owner, look at your IT infrastructure - it may not be broken, but is it taking too much time, energy, and resources for the results it derives? Like the good baseball manager who tinkers with his batting lineup to get his players in the right slots, your IT support system is something you need to constantly review, looking for what works best now.

Perhaps the toughest part of any baseball manager's job is letting a player know that he no longer benefits the team as he once did. Fortunately for small business owners, the decision to replace an IT component isn't nearly as heart wrenching. After all, a piece of peripheral hardware like a fax machine is an inanimate object that won't break down in tears if you decide the time has come to eliminate it due to cost, ongoing maintenance, or the simple annoyance factor.

While small businesses have proven to be resilient in this era of economic recovery, they're facing the most critical time of the year - the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter of any year is like the ninth inning of a tie game. You don't have time for pop flies or strikeouts; you need to get a run on the board and earn that win! And to do that, you have to be aware of the resources you have. It simply won't do to go overboard spending time and money that will mean a poor return on investment (ROI).

Small businesses can make the most of their fourth quarter by looking to the cloud. Using cloud applications like MyFax, you can minimize margins and stay focused. These affordable, pay-as-you-go applications are operational in minutes and can be accessed from anywhere you can access the Internet.

On September 16, we'll host a webinar on the Intuit Community called "Home Run Stretch - Make the Fourth Quarter Count!" This is a must-attend event for small businesses, as we'll discuss:

- Leveraging cloud applications to streamline time, lessening time spent on administrative tasks;
- How your business can go paperless for efficiency and effectiveness;
- Why you need to integrate workflows to avoid duplicated efforts;
- The advantages of going mobile with your iPhone, Blackberry or Android to make the most of your day

Click here to register for this webinar and hit the comments with YOUR suggestions as to how to make the most out of the fourth quarter "home run stretch."

Efficiency is All About Workflow

Posted on 20 August 2010 | 12:04 pm Ref: Inside MyFax

Over the last year and a half I've had a pretty hectic life - working and studying full time. It was a unique experience, which tested the limits of sleep deprivation, productivity, and work/life balance. It was also unique because it allowed me to experience what small business owners go through in terms of starting and growing their businesses. What I came to realize in the context of the day-to-day life of a small business owner is that time is the most precious of resources.

Saving time requires you to identify the many little things that can deviate your attention from far more important things - like growing your business! It's called being efficient, and as many small business owners will tell you, it's easier said than done.

The MyFax service has, over the years, gone far beyond just offering you the ability to send and receive faxes with your email, the web, or your smart phone. We continuously listen to our customers, and we've gladly delivered with innovative integrations with some of the most popular software applications and mobile phones in the market, including: Microsoft Office and Outlook, Salesforce CRM, Act!, Lotus Notes and, just last week, the iPhone.

In addition, we also created the MyFax Print-to-Fax Assistant. The Print-to-Fax Assistant is a print-driver that lets you send faxes directly from within any Windows-based application by simply selecting File>Print>MyFax.

The MyFax Print-to-Fax Assistant further integrates MyFax directly into your current workflow by allowing you to manage fax communications and document management workflow even more efficiently. Here are some examples:

Two of the most popular office document applications outside of Microsoft Office are Google Docs and OpenOffice. Each offers a suite of free products similar to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Visio. The fact they are free and offer similar functionality has made them popular among small business owners.

Once you have installed the MyFax Print-to-Fax Assistant and you are working within any of the aforementioned programs, rather than saving the file and closing the program, you simply select Print and Choose MyFax. The Print-to-Fax Assistant will then open, and from there you can send your document to multiple recipients by either manually entering contacts or uploading contacts from Outlook. You can even include cover pages and billing codes.

The MyFax Print-to-Fax Assistant is free to all MyFax customers and can be downloaded from MyFax Central. You can see it in action yourself by viewing our video tutorial. Either way, we hope you enjoy the extra few minutes in the day you'll save because of it!

Need to Run Your Small Business? There's An App For That!

Posted on 12 August 2010 | 7:47 am Ref: Inside MyFax

I love my iPhone. There's no two ways about it. The marketing professional in me loves how it totally changed the mobile phone game, and the branding and marketing behind it - right from its amazing and flawless design down to the packaging. The early adopter in me loves having the best piece of technology out there (I already have the iPhone 4 while many of my friends are still waiting for theirs), and the ability to stream things like World Cup matches directly on my phone, while at the beach. The business person in me loves what the iPhone and its apps marketplace represent - a remarkably simple but powerful piece of technology that can help you run your business from the palm of your hands, from any corner of the world. But why is that important?

Well, one common thread across our many customers, who are spread across many industries including real estate, construction, and health care, is the "mobility factor." Whether a small start-up or a large enterprise, mobility can now make or break your business. It's no wonder then, why close to three quarters of US workers can now be classified as mobile.

Developments that have certainly aided and abetted this trend include not only the iPhone, but other smart phones and the availability of Software-as-a-Service (i.e. software applications you can access over the web). Starting with the BlackBerry and the idea of "email everywhere" and evolving to the everything-under-one-roof iPhone and Android smart phones (with their respective marketplaces), and continuing with the availability of 3G/4G Internet and cheap data plans, small business owners using SaaS in conjunction with their iPhone can now run an entire office out of their car, at a client meeting, or at half-time during their son or daughter's sports game. This means they are connected to their customers , employees, suppliers and partners 24/7 - anytime, anywhere.

Where Does Fax Fit In?

So where does fax fit in? Well, fax is still an important business communications tool and a staple for many industries in the context of the prospect-customer-supplier dynamic. So it's no surprise that our very large and mobile customer base requested and now has available to them the MyFax app for the iPhone. Available in the Apple App Store - for FREE - this app means MyFax customers can now add even more convenience to their iPhone business experience.

So bear with me for a moment, as I've been waiting a long time to say this: Need an important fax but you're 1,000 miles from your office? ...There's an App for that!!

Read more about the MyFax App for the iPhone here.

So what role does your smart phone play in your business strategy? Have your say in the comments...

Successful Entrepreneurs Aren't Risk-Takers

Posted on 10 August 2010 | 11:50 am Ref: Inside MyFax

I read a great article the other day on the subject of Entrepreneurs and Success, by one of my favorite authors - Malcolm Gladwell. You might recognize the name from his recent works: The Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink, and What the Dog Saw. The article debunks the myth of the successful entrepreneur as a risk-taker, and introduces the Predator theory as one of the main reasons behind the success of many of the most famous and well-known entrepreneurs. The success of these entrepreneurs, as the article successfully points out, is not the result of their ability or willingness to take on risk, but rather their aversion to risk-taking, and their focus on the sure thing.

Put another way, these successful entrepreneurs wouldn't place a bet on a Yankees-Red Sox game, where there would be a 50-50 chance of either team winning. They would, on the other hand, put their money on the Yankees, if the first place Yankees were playing a last place team with a depleted starting rotation!

Little risk, high value, and a big pay-off may tend to explain the huge success and adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) within entrepreneurial start-ups; and small, medium, and large businesses that have stayed true to their entrepreneurial spirit. What SaaS represents is a huge deviation from the traditional software model, with little downside and a whole lot of upside:

There is no upfront investment - you don't have to buy any hardware or software, because SaaS can even replace things like your fax machine, phone system and email servers;

Little or no risk - you can try it before you buy it. If you buy it, then it's pay-as-you-go with no contracts involved. As well, since you're using a service/services that is used by thousands and/or millions, you know what you're getting from the get-go;

Value - sharing with hundreds of thousands (and in some cases, millions) of users also allows you to get a more robust service than you could get by running the software and/or hardware all by yourself. Most SaaS offerings provide small business with features and capabilities that were previously available only to large enterprises, and only at a steep cost;

Accessible from anywhere - the road, home, in an airport, etc. Mobility, whether for a small at-home business or a Fortune 500 company, is the new reality of business. Operating your business from a car while waiting for a customer is no longer just convenient, but necessary to get ahead.

These days, just about anything can be offered "as-a-service" from fax to phone systems; customer relationship management to accounting software to word processing. With the above advantages starting for as little as $10.00 per month, you can truly understand why, for most entrepreneurs, adopting SaaS...is almost a sure thing.

What do you think? Do you see entrepreneurs as risk-takers? Are you adopting SaaS successfully in your business? Take it to the comments...

Best Buy Adds MyFax to its Software Installer

Posted on 27 July 2010 | 6:27 am Ref: Inside MyFax

As you may have seen, we had some exciting news to share with you this morning, as MyFax has been added to the list of productivity tools available through the Best Buy(R) Software Installer on selected PCs and netbooks sold at Best Buy stores in the US. This is very exciting news for us!

For any of you who run your own business, your computer often becomes your ultimate communications hub - it's one of the most important items you own. As you know, merely selecting what PC you use is only the first (and arguably the easiest) step you'll take to set up this hub. Getting it fully operational is a whole other issue.

What's made this process so difficult is the dramatic rise of bloatware. You've likely run into bloatware before - all those extra programs and free trial offers littering your desktop because the PC manufacturer was paid to place them there. Even if you navigate the endless slew of registrations associated with these programs, in 30 days you find yourself in a panic because your free trials have "timed out" and you have no way to access the information you need.

As if that wasn't difficult enough, trying to configure one of those combo printer/fax/copier/scanner devices to your new PC is a nightmare, to put it mildly. Your reward for successfully doing this? An endless stream of faxed advertisements that eat up your not-so-endless toner cartridge!

This is why our news today is exciting - Best Buy and MyFax are letting you regain control of your office environment. Using the Best Buy Software Installer, you're able to tackle the issue of bloatware head-on, as you pick only the software you need. That's right - no more free trials for confusing software you've never heard of. Couple this with MyFax, which provides an integrated fax solution that doesn't require any installation, configuration, special hardware or mystifying software. As our customers will tell you, MyFax also lets you choose how you want to manage your faxes, including which faxes you print. No expensive cartridge replacements.

No one wants to spend scads of time just to set up their PC or netbook - we've got too much to do! We feel today's news is one way you can get rid of a common technology headache.

If you want to learn more about today's news, be sure to visit our newsroom.

Fax: The Fourth Pillar of Your Corporate Identity

Posted on 15 July 2010 | 6:35 am Ref: Inside MyFax

Your fax number is an essential business communications tool, just like your website, phone number and email address.

All of these tools make it easier for suppliers, prospects, and most importantly, customers, to easily contact you in the manner that works best for them. So it's essential to your business that you publish these four pillars of communication anywhere and everywhere your logo and business name appears!

The MyFax team realizes that for a new start-up or an at-home business, advertising can be costly. So we're proud to give you an exclusive offer - as a MyFax customer, you are entitled to 250 FREE premium business cards from Vistaprint!

These aren't your run-of-the-mill, plain Jane business cards, but rather eye-catching, full colored (front and back) cards customizable by you. With a ton of templates to choose from, you can get creative or just go for the look that best suits your business. All you have to do is insert your company logo, web address, MyFax number and email address - and they will be delivered to you!

You can find more details here - http://myfax.biz.vistaprint.com/

New Contest for MyFax Customers!

Posted on 14 July 2010 | 6:18 am Ref: Inside MyFax

I'm very excited to tell you about a new contest we're running that's open to all MyFax customers*!

It's easy - just copy the skill-testing questions below into a Word(R) document, add your answers, along with your name, phone number, MyFax account number and email address, then use your MyFax account to fax the document to 1-866-257-2046. You can even enter as often as you'd like!

It's as simple as that. When the contest ends on August 30th, we'll do a random drawing from the entries that have answered all three questions correctly. The winner will be notified by email and announced right here on the Inside MyFax blog!

Our fabulous prize is an 8GB iPod touch!

1,750 songs

10 hours of video

Earphones

Now for the questions...drum roll please...

1. Does your computer have to be on to receive faxes with MyFax?

2. How many email addresses can you send and receive faxes from with MyFax?

3. What is the name of the MyFax online portal where you can send and receive faxes anywhere you can access the Internet?

Don't forget, you can enter as often as you like. And...if you have a friend you think would benefit from MyFax, send them a free month and get one for yourself at the same time. Refer a friend today!

Good luck and Happy Faxing!

*You must be a MyFax customer and at least 18 years of age on the day the contest opens (June 27, 2010) to be eligible to win. Contest not open to residents of Quebec or Rhode Island. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Full contest details available at http://www.protus.com/legal/contestrules.asp. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of entries submitted.

**Pages faxed from your MyFax account will be counted in your monthly fax allotment and if you go over your monthly allotment, additional fax pages are ten cents per page. To enter without using your MyFax, see the contest rules. By entering this Contest, you hereby agree to (a) be bound by the Contest Rules and (b) consent to the collection, use and disclosure of any personal information associated with this Contest by Protus IP Solutions Inc. ("Protus") for the purposes of administering this Contest, in accordance with Protus' Privacy Policy available at http://www.protus.com/legal/privacy.asp.

Don’t leave your communications behind when you jump into the cloud!

Posted on 8 July 2010 | 6:41 am Ref: Inside MyFax

So you’ve made the big switch – leaving desktop software, per seat licensing, and annual maintenance costs behind. Congratulations, my friend! As you lean back in your chair to celebrate, feeling pretty smug and proud of yourself, a pile of cords, handsets, and hardware catches your eye. It’s then you realize you’re only half way into the cloud. You’ve moved your office apps online, but your communications infrastructure is so web 0.1 with dedicated voice and data lines, an aging PBX that doesn’t even provide caller id, and a fax machine that is forever out of paper and toner. Easy come, easy go as they say!

And then your cell rings and you have an epiphany – all you need to run your business is your mobile. And then reality sets in once again. Think about:
• Never being free of the office again when literally everyone (clients, creditors, and even pesky telemarketers) has your cell number; or,
• Skyrocketing bills when you finally take that well deserved and oft delayed vacation to “outtacallplan” land; or,
• Reading faxes on your 10 by 10 pixel phone screen.

Well, maybe it’s not such a crazy idea… “there’s an app for that” as they say. In this case, we’re talking about apps that will help your communications infrastructure catch up with your office apps in the cloud and deliver immediate cost savings. Virtual phone systems like my1voice with built in auto-attendant, reception, call routing, call identification, and voicemail functionality move your voice calling into the 21st century, leaving your PBX and dedicated lines firmly behind. As well, internet fax services like MyFax let you send and receive faxes from your email, the web, or smart phone without the need for a fax machine or any of the related costs.

So step into the cloud with both feet - don’t let your communications be jealous of the attention you’ve shown your office apps. Start today for free with my1voice and MyFax.

Real Estate Disrupted

Posted on 9 June 2010 | 12:48 pm Ref: Inside MyFax

At the end of the day, people need a place to live, work, and convene – that’s the lasting appeal of “bricks and mortar”. Even with the ups and downs of economic cycles and the recent housing crisis, real estate is renowned for its ability to bounce back. And yet, real estate is far from being immune to the disruptive force of the internet.

Realtors who clung to their pagers, paper listings, and land lines have already disappeared. A new breed of interconnected web savvy realtors has emerged – are you one of them? The web offers these realtors unparalleled and cost effective access to prospective buyers and available properties – even on a global basis when appropriate.

Here are some of their tips and tools:
• Staying mobile and productive – Without technology this becomes an either or scenario. With technology, you can be productive and on the road. For example, tools like MyFax let you send and receive signed purchase agreements from your email, web, or smart phone. Solutions like my1voice ensure you get your calls, but make your actual location transparent to callers.
• Client nurturing – People are less likely than ever to stay in their first home for their lifetime. So, think once a client, always a client. An email communications tool like Campaigner helps you stay in touch and keep your name top of mind when the time comes to upgrade or downsize. As well, staying in contact can net you those lucrative double-ended transactions where you sell the first home, buy the second.
• Always connected –You can give your clients all your contact information, but how many are likely to give up after the first two tries? Tools like my1voice find you so the client doesn’t have to, and you never miss an important call again.
• Find and communicate with prospective buyers and sellers online – email, social media, web presence... – need I say more?
• Look professional, without the effort and the expense – Tools like Campaigner offer off-the-shelf realtor branded email templates and copy suggestions. my1voice can be your virtual assistant with automated reception and unlimited extensions and voicemail boxes. As an online tool, MyFax ensures you never run out of fax paper or toner or faxed offers again.
So join the real estate revolution. Seize technology tools to broaden your reach, stay connected, and accelerate your real estate business.

What do Real Estate Agents & Accountants have in common?

Posted on 27 May 2010 | 8:53 am Ref: Inside MyFax

On the surface, nothing – with one being naturally gregarious and assertive, the other more reserved and analytical – I’ll let you figure out which for yourself!

The answer to what real estate agents and accountants have in common lies in their paper-based workflows including:
• Need for regulatory compliance - Both professions are paper-heavy by nature – with lots of required regulatory and government documentation along with the need for legally valid signatures.
• Thrift – Paper is costly. Accountants are cost conscious by nature. Agents are money motivated and like to keep as much of their commission check as possible.
• Client communications and confidentiality – Paper is an open loop process and prone to being misplaced or lost. Both accountants and agents deal with sensitive information that if misused could compromise their client’s position or otherwise cause them direct harm.
• Professionalism – Accountants need to project a professional image to attract clients and to build client trust and loyalty. Agents are on the road a lot. Being on the road, being productive and being professional can be mutually exclusive.
• Technical simplicity – With rare exceptions, agents and accountants are not techies – if they were, chances are they would have taken a different career path.

So the answer to what real estate agents and accountants have in common is MyFax!

MyFax lets you send and receive legally valid documents from your email, web, or smart phone and keep an electronic record. MyFax replaces your need for fax machines, in house fax servers and everything that goes with them, like supplies, dedicated lines and long distance charges. MyFax helps ensure client confidential communications. Faxes are sent from and received in a user’s private email inbox or from the password-protected MyFax website. MyFax projects a professional image with business class reliability and 99.9% availability commitment. MyFax never runs out of paper or toner, never jams and a user’s computer doesn’t have to be "on" to receive faxes. MyFax is easy to implement - no installation, no additional hardware or software, no maintenance - and it’s as easy to use as email.

Not surprisingly then, real estate agents and accountants are two of the largest users of MyFax. So if you’re an accountant or real estate agent and haven’t tried MyFax, why not?

And if you’re a mortgage broker, insurance agent, lawyer, or health care provider – the question and answer aren’t a lot different!

Try MyFax today for Free.