5+ GB of Streaming Video

I had a complaint the other day that this blog hasn't been updated in a while, so here it is. We are in the middle of yet another innovative project that no one else has done. We have spent the last month uploading over 5 gigabytes of Flash video files to our server. That equates to about 21 hours of video! We currently have 44 state-specific online notary courses delivered via streaming video. We are working on the final 7 right now. Oregon, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Florida all require that we get approved to teach the mandatory notary course. North Carolina and Nevada have state-sponsored courses only. Louisiana is one of the most unique states there is when it comes to notary law.

One of the most exiting things about this project is that we do everything in-house, so we are able to keep our costs down. In fact, you can get our state-specific streaming video courses for the same price or oftentimes less than you can get a generic text-based course. Our philosophy has always been to offer the highest quality at the lowest prices. That way you have no reason not to choose us. Some people don't understand this.

I tried to give away a course to one lady in Tennessee. She signed up for FREE membership about 2 weeks prior. We sent her an email notifying her that the Tennessee course was online. She notified me that she was already a notary and did not want to receive any more emails. That didn't make much sense to me. She said she didn't need our free membership because she was already paid up with the NNA. I told her she can take our course for free since she would have been one of the first to try the Tennessee course. She declined. I asked her why it was so hard to give her stuff for free while she is so eager to pay the NNA. I never got a satisfactory answer. Oh well, I can't convince everyone that we are better, I guess I just have to wait a few more years for people to realize it.

The Search For Notary - Top 6 Sites

There are definitely many options for notaries to choose from when they are looking to advertise online. I have done the homework for you and have broken down the six top (and only websites) you should look at when you spend your notary advertising money:

Site	Google	Alexa	Compete	Price
123notary.com	6	238,913	9884	$0-$99+
search.notary.net	5	191,117	6028	$19.95
gomobilenotary.com	4	142,737	4424	$19.95-$39.95
gogetnotary.com	4	206,244	2217	$49
notaryrotary.com	3	78,376	16019	$59-$179
lendinguniverse.com	3	142,011	14,454	$0

GOOGLE
This column represents the site's Google Page Rank. Google ranks each of the pages it indexes on a scale from 0-10, 10 being the highest and the best. This score is based on several things, but generally, the higher the score, the higher that page will show up on competitive searches.

ALEXA
Alexa (or Amazon) has a tool bar that tracks where people go on the internet. Based upon those results, it ranks websites from 1 to several million. #1 right now is Yahoo.com, #2 is Google. This ranking is based on the ENTIRE domain. So, sites such as ESPN.go.com, Disney.go.com, ABC.go.com, all share the same base domain: go.com. All three sites would have the same Alexa rank even though they are essentially independent sites. You can see how the traffic actually breaks down:

• espn.go.com - 61%
• disney.go.com - 25%
• abcnews.go.com - 3%
• movies.go.com - 2%
• abc.go.com - 2%
• disneyshopping.go.com - 1%
• abclocal.go.com - 1%
• forums.go.com - 1%

So, in this example, forums.go.com would show the same Alexa ranking as espn.go.com, even though espn.go.com receives MUCH more traffic.

COMPETE
Compete.com works similarly to Alexa, but outputs the data slightly differently. Instead of ranking sites in order, Compete.com estimates the number of monthly visitors. The more visitors a site receives, the more accurate the number. So, the higher the number the better.

THE OTHERS
The top 6 sites above were found by searching Google for: "find a notary" and "notary search" The other sites found ranked far behind the six, but to be fair, here are their statistics:

Site	Google	Alexa	Rank	Price
americannn.com	4	1,000,732	N/A	$29.95
thenotarylist.com	4	1,731,706	918	$30
cmna.net	4	4,588,834	1370	$19-$34.50
findanotary.com	4	7,937,865	890	$39
notary-services.com	3	694,521	3409	$0-$65
50statenotary.com	3	752,567	2192	$69.99
notaryone.net	3	989,660	2637
notarylocator.com	3	989,742	1702	$12.75-$24.95
needanotary.net	3	1,409,912	1365
notaryfind.com	2	1,164,338	N/A	$29.95
notaryofcalifornia.com	2	5,247,270	N/A	$20
notaryphonebook.com	2	5,252,106	1187	$0-$29.99
unitednotaries.org	0	102,383	1357	$55+

Calling All Notary Bloggers

Notary.net is opening its doors to notaries nationwide to help contribute to the Notary.net Blog. As a Notary.net blogger, you can post anything that may help notaries in your state or nationwide. You can link your posts to your product(s) and/or your personal website. If you are interested, please go to: http://www.notary.net/contact.cfm.

Notary.net Journal On Showtime's Dexter

I got a call from the Art Department of the hit Showtime series called Dexter. They wanted a notary journal for an upcoming episode. So, I sent them a couple of the Notary.net journals. They will be shown on Episode 11 of Season 2, which should be in December sometime. If you haven't seen the show, it is actually pretty good. Dexter is a serial killer, but he only kills "bad people." It is definitely not a show for the kiddies, but it has us hooked. I will let you know more details as I get them. If you don't get Showtime, they also have Season 1 on DVD.

New York Notary Course Online

Notary.net has produced an industry first, streaming video online notary course. Taught by veteran instructor, Bruce Johnson, this online course will teach you how to pass the difficult and mandatory NY notary exam. Not only that, but Bruce goes beyond the basic information and teaches the notary how to protect his/her assets.

This innovative course features 32 video sessions in the popular Flash format. In a few short hours, we can take an individual from knowing nothing about notary public law, to being able to pass the NY notary exam. Bruce has been teaching New York notary law for over 10 years, so you know you will be getting the highest quality training for a ridiculously low price.

This online notary course is available for an extremely limited time for only $29.95. Take advantage of this introductory offer now. If you do not need the course, please pass this on to someone who you think might be interested.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for this course to be available. We believe this will be a great resource for all NY notaries.

http://www.notary.net/newyork/

Incorporate Your Notary Signing Business

S-Corporations are the best legal entity to protect your assets. Many notaries never take the time to setup a legal business for their notary work. Even with a bond and E&O insurance, you still could be putting you and your family at risk.

Lawsuits are one of the most devastating events in a small to medium size business. Big companies like McDonald's can afford to pay-off settlements for hot coffee on a lap. A small business doesn't have the luxuries of high profit and full-time legal staff. What most people don't realize is that a lawsuit against a notary can mean that a notary would lose all of their assets (car, home, television, etc.) The best way to prevent this is to place the liability on the corporation and not the individual.

It is easier than you think to incorporate. Legal Zoom can do it for you for as little as $139.

The advantages of a corporation reach beyond the protection from losing personal assets from a business lawsuit. The tax advantages of a corporation also make it a popular choice. You can expense gas charges, automobile maintenance and purchasing (or leasing), etc. You should consult with a CPA for all the different tax advantages your corporation can offer you.

Don't wait until the lawsuit is already at your door. Protect your family and assets by incorporating your notary business today.

New Site Design For GSN

We are currently working on a redesign of the Golden State Notary website to match the style of Notary.net and to be more user-friendly and streamlined. The initial design can be found at http://gsn.notary.net. We would appreciate your feedback on the new design and any way we can make it better for you, the consumer. While you are there, be sure to vote on whether you like the new design or not.

Also, there has been talk that this new design might have some similarities to the new Chargers Unis...what do you think?

Notary Business

I found this business for sale today:



"ON-LINE NOTARY COURSE - At any given time, it is estimated that there are more than 260,000 commissioned notaries in the State of California. Starting July 1, 2005, all California Notary Public applicants are required to provide proof of completion of a six-hour course of study, which includes the information needed to be able to complete the proctored written examination prescribed by the Secretary of State. In response to these requirements, the owner of this business developed a comprehensive on-line notary course which has been approved by the Secretary of State, and has subsequently linked to the Secretary of State website. The course material is comprehensive and covers notarial laws, procedures and ethics to educate the notary and help minimize errors. The course is designed to assist new, as well as veteran notary applicants by providing the information necessary to pass the written notary exam. This is an owner/operator e-business (PR4) that is home-based with no employees, that can be operated by one person from anywhere that has internet access. The current owner spends approximately 1-2 hours per day managing the site as needed, primarily sending out certificates of completion to students that have completed the course. It is an easy business to operate and the seller will provide adequate training to bring the new owner up to speed. A person does NOT have to be a notary in order to run this business. However, they should be able to answer questions about the content of the course. If you would like more information about this exciting opportunity, including a full business profile, please contact us today. Sunbelt eBusiness Advisors is a full service business brokerage firm that specializes in the sale of websites and other internet related businesses. As part of the world's largest network of business intermediaries, we have the knowledge and experience that comes from selling more existing businesses than any other firm. You can learn more about our services by visiting www.sunbeltebusiness.com."



I never knew it was that easy to run a notary business: 1 person, 1-2 hours a day. Give me a break...it is people like this get-rich-quick, setup and run person that is marring the notary training industry. Such a flippant attitude for something that has legal implications...no wonder so many notaries don't know what they are doing. Good job buddy, I'm glad you are selling, but I don't think you will get the $78,000 you are looking for. It is free to get approved by the state and couldn't cost more than $5000 to get course up and running on the internet.