Using your mac to organize your IM Business

[Zanti]

As I mentioned in my other post I am organizationally challenged. As some one new to IM'ing I can see from the start that being organized and maintaining that organization is critical to success. I am determined to start off on the right track; so how do those of you who use a mac, use it to keep your business organized.

What I'm looking for is:
Software that you use, free and paid and what you use it for;
Any tips & tricks on your mac that are useful;
How do you organize and handle it on a daily basis;
What did you start with in organizing your business.

Areas I need organization help with are:
Article writing (Ezine, Squidoo, Hubpages etc); marketing; research; keyword research; blogging; campaigns; websites; to do list; social bookmarking; linkedin, facebook, myspace.

If there are any areas that I left out that you feel would be helpful please share.

Thanks.

[avenuegirl]

I use a folder that is a master folder for each campaign. Within that folder are more folders. I think the organizational skills/suggestions can be applied to mac or windows users. For the same campaign I will write the articles and then will add on those which places they were submitted to. I will have a list of keywords, a list of passwords and the sites, a folder for images I use, a folder for possible video.

Basic software that I use:

Iwork - this has pages - which can be used for easily writing ebooks or reports and saves into a pdf. It is not a locked pdf, so I do take that into adobe acrobat just to lock it up when I am done.

Iwork also has keynote - which makes great slideshow presentations that can be uploaded as videos onto the web.

I use screenflow for some of the video work I do.

I use photoshop to create transparent graphics (lettering and such)

There is a simple natural "text edit" on the mac which works fine for writing articles.

I use macspeech dictate to dictate into the text edit sometimes.

I have several external hard drives that hold the bulk of my data as much of it is video. I work with things directly on my HD, but when stuff is done or near done I try to move it off to an external drive that only gets turned on when needed as to extend the life of the drives for as long as possible.

I use an epson printer that came with capabilities to print directly onto cd and dvd, and in addition there is free software for the mac for the Avery stock which allows you to create business cards etc.

I use firefox for my browser (not safari).

I use taco edit for simple html editing.

I use garage band to create some noises or background loops.

I used the built in photobooth to take the picture you see in my avatar.

I use skype for online chats and free calls.

I have an old version of microsoft office installed so I can open other files sent to me.

As far as the software goes, it really depends on what you want to do. I typically don't get stuff until there is a real need for it.

I have some heavier stuff - but it is very specific to my additional needs. But what is mentioned is probably the stuff I use the most.

[Zanti]

Thank you so much avenugirl. I'm actually starting by organizing the ideas and tips in a folder.

[Brad Gosse]

avenuegirl covered most of them

Filemaker pro is a great flexible database system to keep track of your affiliate programs, websites, keywords etc.

Chicken of the VNC lets me access my US servers as if they were in my office.

Comic life is great for making ads and landing pages

BBEDIT for code editing

Visual Hub for ripping and video encoding on the desktop

Flash Optimizer to shave down my SWF files

Galerie to make photo galleries

Iwork, ilife etc. a given.