Everyone knows that I simply adore Evernote. In addition to using it personally, it has been beyond beneficial for me professionally. I will share with you a few ways I use Evernote and would love to hear how you use it, too. I will discuss my uses of it in phases—with this particular post focusing on the Client/Service aspect.
For those that are new to Evernote, allow me to give you a brief refresher: It is very similar to MS OneNote or Google Notebook, in that it allows you to store information– pictures, documents, pieces of the web, diagrams, pictures, audio, etc. in “notebooks”. Think of your trusty Trapper Keeper from school.
Each notebook has its own subject and in this instance, we are talking about our fictional Client notebook. (Don’t worry—we’ll talk about others later). Since Evernote has web, desktop, iPhone, and blackberry versions, it is very easy to keep your notebooks in sync all of the time.
Storing important information—Sometimes, you just need pertinent information about your wedding and event clients at a glance (names, contact info, event dates, times, locations, etc.). Create a notebook named for each client and make the first page their important information page. Each Evernote account is given its own email address, which makes it very easy to email more detailed information like client questionnaires or forward emails with changes, or more descriptive explanations. With Evernote’s annotations, it is very easy to make things stand out for quick reference.
Research and meetings—With the “Clip to Evernote” feature on Firefox, surfing the web has never been easier when you are researching theme inspiration, invitation wording, signature cocktail recipes, and more. At meetings with clients, you can take pictures of information from their wedding planner books or contracts. Evernote magically makes printed and handwritten text inside your images searchable, too.
Stay on track with assignments—Evernote can create to do lists so that you know what you need to do for each client and when. Keep all your lists organized and tags according to category (i.e., vendor research, catering, etc.).
Design and other fabulousness—Again, storing your color concepts, inspirations, ideas, sketches, images, and more in Evernote keeps everything in an easily accessible location that is always with you, no matter where you go. This is great when you are out scouting locations, design props, fabrics, etc. You can take a quick picture with your mobile phone and store it in Evernote immediately with a quick note about what inspired you at the time. If you come up with an idea off the cuff, you can also record a voice note to your notebook, as well.
Preliminary event info—timelines, maps, layouts, shoot lists, vendor information, etc. that is specific to each client can be stored in their notebooks. Evernote’s accessibility makes it easy to edit the information from anywhere: your desk in your office or while waiting in line on your mobile phone.
These are just a few ways you can use Evernote for your wedding clients. If you are an Evernote user, how do you use it for your clients?
