Where Loan Signing Agent Work Comes From

Recently, I have observed that there is a bit of confusion among new notaries regarding where real estate and loan signing work comes from and how to connect into that flow. Below is a list of sources of work for real estate deals and loan signings.  I’ve tried to put the sources in order from most common to least common.  Hopefully, this will help clarify where loan signing and real estate work comes from and how it gets to notaries. PLATFORMS Platforms are not hiring you or paying you.  A platform is a website that acts as an exchange where hiring parties see notaries’ profiles and can text out a notice of assignment to hundreds of notaries in a certain area. A...

Part 1 – Wills and Estate Documents for Notaries (plus Fall Marketing Tips!)

Hello! I hope you have all been well this week. We are going to move into topics relating to wills and estate matters from a notary’s perspective for the next few weeks. This is one of my favorite topics, but it is a long one, so we will break it down into manageable discussions. Sneak Peek at the Series There will be five parts. The subtopics that I have listed below may grow, but for now, the ones that we will cover are stated.   Be sure to check out the Fall Marketing Tips below the series outline!  Disclosure -- Keep in mind that the author is not a lawyer. I am not an attorney and Notary.net does not give legal advice. The owners of Notary.net allow...

7 Tips for Building a Niche Notary Business

Today’s article is about developing a niche for general notary work and contains  What does “niche business” mean? The word "niche" means a hidden spot, hollow place, or hidey-hole. You already know what the term “business” means.  Niche notary work for most notaries frequently includes several people or businesses who have rare but similar needs. They are often under-served and aren't glaringly obvious to other notaries in your community.    How would one go about finding niche notary business? Notaries may stumble upon a niche population of several or many citizens who need the services of mobile notaries, or they may develop skills to help them ferret out niche work. However, as you might guess, waiting to “stumble” into something is usually not very...

Six Steps that Will Improve Your Image

If you are a new notary public or a new notary business owner,  the six steps listed below can help to set up the right public image for your notary career.  These steps aren't new discoveries , but they can be easily overlooked while you are trying to learn how to handle your new duties as a notary professional.   Step 1 – Brand your  notary business with a professional email address. Now that you are a notary professional, don’t hang on to your Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and AOL address.  Consider setting up an email address that projects the right image. This step entails purchasing a domain and adding email service to it.  Google is one place to do this.   It will cost...

How to Write Notary Marketing Letters

The biggest notary buzz this week is “Where can I find a form marketing letter to send out for soliciting business from  ______?”  The blank usually contains title companies, doctors, or attorneys most often, but occasionally there are other business professionals mentioned.   Below is a tip sheet I have prepared for you.  But, before we go into tips and techniques, here's my best heartfelt advice: Be brave -- write your letter.  You may be surprised at how empowered you will be after you take that step.  As a business owner, this is a skill that you will need to use regularly. It's the first of many steps out of your comfort zone.  So, we'll get through this first one together. Make the letter short and...

How to Create a Notary Profile and Marketing Kit

Last week, a new notary asked me how to develop a solid profile for websites like Notary Rotary.  I wasn’t able to answer her personally that day and decided to dedicate this week’s newsletter to two important pieces of a notary’s marketing strategy:  Notary Marketing Kit Professional Notary Profile A marketing kit will streamline your efforts; plus, having a notary profile makes it possible to set up accounts on marketing websites quickly. Initially, I came up with my list of must-have requirements for a notary’s marketing kit, then went a step further and asked a couple of friends who hire notaries for loan signings for their input. Like many hiring parties, they depend heavily on profiles to select notaries. Please keep in mind as you...

Top 10 Ways to Win Repeat Notary Business

Today, we are going to discuss ten habits of notaries who perform like experts and gain repeat business.  Notaries at any level of experience can do these things to project professionalism and become more desirable to hiring parties!     1.  The busiest notaries answer all calls (except for known annoyance callers or undesirable hiring parties).  Currently, a huge problem that keeps notaries from working is not answering their phones.  Many notaries won't answer a call if they don't recognize the number or if the number is blocked.  It just takes a few seconds to determine if it is work or a spam call. Pick it up and see. Not answering the phone sends a negative signal to hiring parties.     2. Once an assignment is confirmed...

Hospital Marketing Strategies for Mobile Notaries

On April 17, I found myself driving from home to a community hospital 150 miles away.  I had to be there to help my 86-year-old mother stay near the bedside of the love of her life, a gentle and kind man named Warren who, at age 84, suffered a massive heart attack.  For a couple of days, I fretted about Warren's health, the impact it was having on my mother, and about not being at home and able to work or write this article, and I had not decided on a topic before I left my house.  However, on the third day, while prowling around the hospital campus, I could not stop thinking about ways to market notary services effectively...