This past year I wrote a post on a CRM program (Insightly.com) that has revolutionized how I organize the business side of my site. Organization is vitally important. This is especially true as my blog has grown and I have begun to focus more on the business aspect of my site. Trying to stay organized by using spreadsheets, alarm dates set in my phone, and tons of post it notes just doesn’t cut it anymore. That is why I have fallen in love with Insightly. Now all my contacts are in one place, as are all my deadlines, events, tasks, and notes. I can tag and link everything from my contacts to deadlines, to events.  I love that I can access my information on not just my computer, but also my phone and tablet allowing me to be organized even when I am out and about. 

For those who haven’t tried out Insightly's FREE Service yet I recommend that you go and sign up today and see for yourself how awesome it really is. If you are worried that this might be too complicated they have some great FREE tutorials on all the tools they offer that walk you through step by step. 

I have had some who are already utilizing Insightly’s FREE service (and are all loving it) ask me about their premium or paid services and why a blogger would want to use it when their FREE serve is so amazing. Speaking from experience there are many advantages of utilizing Insightly’s premium services. In addition to getting more storage space and being able to have more than 3 users actively using your account, here are a few reasons why the premium services are sooo worth it:

Google Contact and Calendar Sync: I just love this option! I already had many contacts and dates in my Google account and it is great to not have to manually transfer it all over to insightly. I am too busy to have to spend hours of my time re-entering information I already had into a new program just so I could have everything in one place. The best part is how easy it is to sync your accounts. (For me easy and quick are big. 

Custom Branding for your back end interface: This is a fun option available, but one that I have found helps set the right state of mind. I like the fact that when I log onto Insightly it is my Logo at the top and my background on my back end interface. I feel this just sets the professional feel especially when I have need to using it in front of others. 

25 Custom Fields (Within each record type): Just as every blog is unique, so to is the back end business side of things. This is why being able to customize the fields for your account is so important. Perhaps you want to track referrals for your contacts, who has won your various giveaways, or you might want to keep track of what reviews you have done in the last year. Where you are able to create up to 10 Custom fields (for each record type: i.e. Contacts, Organization, Opportunities, and Projects) the FREE service, you get to create 25 Custom fields with all the premium services. This gives you plenty of opportunity to make the back end interface of Insightly your own, to make sure all your record keeping needs are met. 

The best part of the Insightly subscriptions is that you can change your plan up or down at any time and with any upgrade or downgrade in plans, you will be credited pro rata for the time remaining in the current billing cycle! So play around and see which plan is best for you. 

Not long ago I wrote about Insightly being the best CRM tool for bloggers and small businesses. I wrote about how as a professional blogger I need to stay organized, especially as my blog grows. In my post Insightly: a Blogger's Best Friend! I highlighted just of few of the tools they offer that are essential to a successful and organized business. Yet I keep getting asked what else do they offer? It would be easier to ask what do they NOT offer.

I’ll be honest; when I first started using Insightly I probably used it in its most basic basic level. I used their tools to set up and track events, and projects, and I loved their detailed contact and organization lists. These tools were immensely helpful to me. 

Now however, I am finding that as useful and essential as these tools are, there are other features that I am finding just as important in my business needs. 

Notes on everything- 

I Love this feature for I am a note junkie. I like to write down EVERYTHING for you never know what will come in useful later on. Through Insighly I don’t have to worry about any of my notes getting misplaced. I can easily pull up all related notes for a project, contact, business, event etc at the click of a button to review whenever I need to. What I love even more is that in addition to Insightly’s note system my Evernote account perfectly syncs with Insightly as well! This is a big plus for me because I LOVE Evernote. 

Mobile access-

As a blogger I find that I use my mobile devices almost as much as mu computer for work. I can't tell you how crippling it can be to not be able to access key information like emails, contacts, notes etc... when I am away from home.  That’s why I LOVE that Insightly not only fully integrates with outlook and google, but it also has an easy to use Mobile access! Now I can have all the information I need whenever and wherever I need it. This has been such a help to me when I have to work away from home.

Tags and Linking-

Entering information is important, but even more so is having the information organized for easy access. This is especially true when I am negotiating with businesses, setting up events or working on special projects or posts. Insightly does this with their easy to use tags and linking tools. Tags are just a simple way to organize information around key words. Like if I am setting up a Giveaway, I can then tag the company sponsoring the giveaway item, other bloggers I am teaming up with, notes, emails and other information so I can pull it up all together. As for how linking works I think they sum it up best on their site when they say, “Unlike other CRMs, Insightly doesn't limit you to just creating hierarchical relationships. Insightly's unique (and extremely popular!) linking system lets you create multiple direct relationships between any of your items (i.e. emails, contacts, organizations, opportunities, projects) so that you get real-world, 360 degree view of your customers.” 

The best part is that Insightly is customizable for your needs. In addition to their FREE Service which is amazing they have various other service plans to meet your needs as you grow. You can check out their various plans HERE. Hopefully this has answered everyone’s questions on what MORE insightly has to offer to help us bloggers (and other small abusiveness become more successful!