We are back with another blog post on Discord vs. AirSend: Productivity Edition. We recently wrote about Discord vs. AirSend Design Edition, which you can read about by clicking here. In this blog post, we will define what productivity is and how both platforms fit into this category. 

Without further ado, let’s talk about productivity. 

What is Productivity?

Productivity is defined as efficient methods used to get work done better and faster.

How does one incorporate productivity into their workspace? There are several ways to incorporate productivity into a personal workspace. These trends are: 

• Convenience
• Efficiency  
• Built-in functionality 
• Integration 
• The simplicity of UI and UX

These five trends are what form the basis of a productive workspace. We have defined what productivity is and how it incorporates into a workspace.

How are Discord and AirSend a productive workspace? And which platform is better in terms of productivity? 

AirSend

AirSend is an easy-to-use collaborative workspace. AirSend’s vision is to get work done better and faster through the limitation of switching between apps. The way we limit switching between apps is through built-in capabilities.

By introducing built-in functionality, users can save time by getting the work done from one space. AirSend provides all the productivity essentials through built-in capabilities: 

• Task management
• File storage/organization 
• Notebook
• Centralized conversation
• Video/audio calling

AirSend is an excellent platform that centers itself around convenience and efficiency through the solution of native capabilities. Think about it. Using other apps, such as Slack or Teams, often require users to switch to other apps to aid in getting work done. Time is wasted switching between apps.

AirSend eliminates the third-party apps by providing all that you need in one workspace. For example, a notebook.

AirSend’s notebook allows users to track/take notes effectively. Think of it as a general hub for storing knowledge. Additionally, AirSend also offers built-in audio/video calling. Finally, users can experience higher productivity with a simple UI/UX. Everything you need is located all in one space.

Discord

Discord is an audio/video communication tool that markets towards communities and gamers.

Through Discord’s integrations, users can easily manage their communities and teams. Currently, there are no productive integrations, such as Trello or Office 365.

Not having productive apps means users need to have external tabs open. Having external tabs open means spending time switching between apps. Time spent switching between apps means work not getting done in a timely manner. See the problem?

Of course, the big selling point to Discord is its built-in audio and communication. With audio and communication, there is a higher chance of innovation, ideas, and team building happening. 

Summation

All in all, both platforms are great for having a productive workspace. It comes down to whether users want to:

• Save time working from one space or having multiple tabs open
• Have a platform where conversations happen through the organization of servers or channels
• Have a clean and simple UI design

When it comes down to choosing between Discord or AirSend, select the platform that allows you to optimize your workspace to the best of your need. 

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you.

As a life coach, communication is key. The heart of your service to your clients is helping them succeed by communicating key messages and having the right conversations with them. That is why it’s important to have the right communication tools in your coaching technology set-up. 

Not only does having the right tools help you work better with your coaching clients. It also prevents the frustration of trying to figure out what’s wrong when technology breaks down. 

The rest of this post is going to go over some of the best communication tools in three categories of your business: video conferencing, messaging, and file sharing.

Video Conferencing and Screen Sharing

Zoom

Zoom has become the golden standard when it comes to video conferencing and screen sharing. These days it seems like everyone is on Zoom, from large companies like Dell to individually run coaching businesses. It’s easy to see why. Zoom is cheap (there’s a free version) and full of features like a link that you can share for impromptu meetings, the ability to share your screen to show PowerPoints or demos, and the ability to run large-scale webinars. The other benefit is that because it is the golden standard, most people will already have the Zoom app downloaded on their phone or computer and will have no problem getting on a Zoom call with you. 

Messaging 

AirSend

AirSend offers individual and group messaging with additional features like the ability to share videos, PDFs, and other files and easily organize those files. It also has a channel template function where you can make templates to quickly onboard new clients. If you’re interested in learning more about coaching templates, you can visit our blog post called “How to Make a Coaching Channel Template.”

WeChat

If you’re based in Asia or have many Asian clients, you probably already have WeChat downloaded on your phone. It has become such a standard for messaging that most, if not all, Asians use it for both their business and personal messaging needs. One cool feature of WeChat is the ability to leave voice note messages. It is faster than texting and less involved than a call. 

File Sharing

DropBox

DropBox is a favorite for file storage and sharing because of its easy set-up and pleasing interface. One of its most convenient features is the ability to share files using their unique links. It’s also easy to upload files and organize them in folders, as well as control the permissions for files and folders so that members of your team or clients only have access to what you want them to see and/or edit. 

AirSend

As mentioned before, AirSend offers the ability to share and organize files. The difference between DropBox and AirSend is that Dropbox focuses solely on file storage and sharing, whereas AirSend offers messaging, file organization and sharing, note taking, and action tracking all in one space. 

Having the right communication tools is important for any business, but especially for coaching businesses where the service you are providing requires communicating with clients. 

Hopefully this overview of some of the best communication tools will help you determine the best coaching tech set-up for you. 

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace for coaches to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you as your business grows here.

In the past, it was highly unlikely for the typical real estate agent to work with clients who didn’t live in the same city as them. Now, it’s possible to have clients from all over the world because of the internet. This article goes over some tips and tools that real estate agents can use to work with international real estate clients remotely. 

First we’re going to start with some tips, then we’ll go into some tech tools that will help you implement the tips. 

Tips for Working with International Real Estate Clients

Forget About Working Hours

Most real estate agents don’t have these anyways, but if you have any rules about certain hours you won’t work – throw them out the window. It’s common for real estate agents working with International clients to work late into the night or get up at 4 AM for a call because that’s when their clients are awake. 

Be a Good Liaison 

As an agent, you act as a guide for your clients by helping them navigate a large, complex transaction they don’t fully understand. That is why you were hired in the first place. While this is true for any real estate client you work with, it is doubly true for international clients. International clients have even less knowledge about local laws and customs, and there may even be a language barrier. It’s important that you help your remote client communicate and connect with the right people at the right times throughout the real estate buying or selling process.

Communicate Clearly and Often

This goes along with the previous tip, but make sure you are readily available to answer any questions or help communicate information to necessary parties on behalf of your client. Oftentimes, language barriers and time zone differences can prevent international real estate clients from personally interacting with builders or title companies. This is why you must step in often to help continue the flow of information. Also remember to communicate as clearly as possible to prevent any misunderstandings.

Tools for Working with International Real Estate Clients

Now that we’ve gone over the most important tips, let’s get into some tools that can help you succeed.

Zoom

One of the first hurdles of working with international clients is how to avoid extravagant phone bills while still forming a strong personal connection. The easiest way around this is with Zoom – a platform that lets you do video calling and screen sharing for free. While free accounts on Zoom do have a 40 minute time limit, you can easily re-start the call after you reach the limit. The great thing about Zoom is that you can “meet” your clients face-to-face at any time no matter how far away they may be.

WeChat

For a text and email replacement WeChat works well, especially if your client lives in China, where WeChat is so standard that most professionals have it on their phones so they can complete basic work tasks. While some things must still go through email – like documents from Docusign – WeChat beats email for communicating with clients because of its immediacy. It is also free and also contains voice and video calling. However, Zoom video calling is better quality and has the convenient screen sharing option in case you want to show pictures of homes or a presentation during your call.

AirSend

For an easy way to share and organize large files, AirSend works amazingly. Sharing files over email or WeChat can be unwieldy. With AirSend, you can store and share files all in one place. You can also send messages, manage tasks, and write and keep notes. See more about how it works below.

Working with international real estate clients can be more involved than working with local clients, but with the right mindset and tools – it can be easy and highly rewarding. 

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace for real estate professionals to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you as your business grows here.

With a new era of conceptual workspace, there is a modern theme of streamlining productivity and convenience into one space. The result of this theme is smart technology. The ability to work from any device and any location is the new definition of productivity.

In this blog post, we are going to explain just how much productivity has changed with marketing. Marketing is one of the essentials of managing a business, and what better way to manage all your marketing essentials than with a conceptual workspace, i.e., convenience and productivity, i.e., smart technology, i.e., a smartphone. 

Please note that all the apps tested were with an Android, so comments on UI and UX are from an Android perspective. For Apple apps, we conducted thorough research of the app and studied case studies of people who have used it. Without further ado, let’s begin. 

Design: Canva

Canva is a graphic design, video, invite, and logo maker. As a versatile free graphic design app, you can make the perfect social media posts, logos, posters, business cards, and more. You can stay on board with their logo creator or logo designer for your business cards, posters, or social media posts. While the app itself is free, there is the benefit of having pro or enterprise options. 

Pricing

• Free
  • 8,000 templates
  • 100+ design types
• Pro: $9.95 per user, per month/ billed yearly
  • Everything the free plan has
  • Create your brand’s visual identity with logos, colors, and fonts in 1 Brand Kit. 
• Enterprise: $30.00 per user, per month/ billed yearly
  • Everything the pro plan has
  • Multiple brand kits
  • Control what team members can see, access, and upload in Canva with brand controls

The Perks

The great thing about Canva is that you can hop in seamlessly anytime and from any device. From your phone to your computer, users don’t miss a beat with designing. We use Canva for our social media posts, and we love the versatility the app offers. Canva is available for both Android and Apple. 

The Disadvantages

Some would say that Canva is quite pricy but worth it. Some have also noted that the UI is a bit clunky with the Android, making it harder to navigate through the app. Overall, Canva is a great tool and is worth the money.

Bonus: We use Canva quite often. We also use other apps similar to Canva. Check out our blog post here if you are interested in seeing what other similar apps we use.

Social Media Manager: Buffer

Buffer is an app dedicated to managing and scheduling your social media posts. Buffer also lets you track your content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

Having an app that schedules your posts is an absolute must-have. As much as we like to think we can multitask, we can’t. More often than not, our attention will be on more important matters that sometimes we might not even think to post on social media. Having an app that schedules your posts for you lets you focus on what you do best. 

Pricing

While the app itself is free to download, using the app is another story. Below is a list of Buffer’s current prices.

• Pro: $15/monthly (Ideal for getting started)
  • Eight social accounts
  • 100 scheduled posts
  • One user
• Premium: $65/ monthly (Ideal for growing brands)
  • Eight social accounts
  • 2,000 scheduled posts
  • Two users
• Business: $ 99/monthly (Ideal for more substantial teams)
  • 25 social accounts 
  • 2,000 scheduled posts
  • Six users

The Perks

Buffer’s UI is quite simple, which makes it easy-to-use, and resharing posts is quite simple. The app is available for both Android and Apple.

The Disadvantages

One of the significant downsides is that there is a limit on file size when posting media, often making it difficult to schedule the posts. The other downside is that there are crashes to the app, making it hard to use.

Social Media: “The Works”

“The Works” is a cumulation of widely used social media apps. A vast majority of people use these apps to catch up with the latest trends.

“The Works” are: 

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest

These are the must-have and most popular apps used to market brands. It is highly suggested that businesses/users use these apps. 

SEO: SEO Check

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. There are many great tools on the web to help conduct SEO, but not many mobile apps do the same. The mobile app that we find best to use for SEO is SEO Check.

This app allows you to quickly review and audit a website from an onsite SEO perspective. Additionally, the SEO check app analyzes all relevant criteria and gives tips for optimizing your website for sustainable SEO success. The app is also free. 

The Perks

The app gets the job done. With SEO Check’s suggestion, users can guarantee that their website scores increased over time. SEO Check provides excellent recommendations on wats to improve your website. The app is available for both Android and Apple.

The Disadvantages

The downside is that the app does not give steps on how to fix and avoid common mistakes; rather, the app is designed to provide suggestions to help improve SEO. SEO Check may not be a suitable app if you want to learn how to avoid common errors. 

Communication: AirSend

AirSend is an all-in-one communication tool designed for coordinating with team members and clients. Having a reliable team chat app is one of the essential requirements for marketing. The best part of all is that AirSend is a contextual workspace, meaning that we bring in all that you need into one space.

The Perks

AirSend is free. Additionally, AirSend offers native tools, such as task management, file share/organization, and knowledge sharing. Convenience and productivity have never been more accessible. AirSend is available for Android and Apple. 

The Disadvantages

Currently, AirSend does not offer video or audio calling. But having a shared knowledge space can allow you to post-meeting links. 

Hashtag Generator: Tagify (Android)/ Hashtag Expert (Apple)

• 

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The purpose of a hashtag generator is to generate the latest and most widely used hashtags. Hashtags are a neat and simple way to gain traction to posts. Sometimes, it is not easy coming up with hashtags which is why there are hashtag generators like Tagify and Hashtag Expert.

Pricing

Tagify is free.  Hashtag Expert offers in-app purchases and requires a subscription. 

The Perks: Tagify (Android)

Tagify is a useful app to find the best hashtags for your posts. The purpose of this app is to:

• Let you search and find the most relevant hashtags 
• Help increase the “likes” of your photos
• Copy and paste the necessary hashtags. 

The Perks: Hashtag Expert (Apple)

Hashtag Expert has the same concept as Tagify, with a few additional features. Hashtag Expert offers personal tag analytics, which is a massive game-changer in the hashtag game. With a colorful UI display, users can find hashtags trending on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn. 

The Disadvantages: Tagify (Android)

The major downside to Tagify is that there are ads. The other negative is that while the hashtags are undoubtedly useful, there are not enough options. Further, the hashtags seem only helpful for Instagram. Finally, UX is a bit clunky to get through. 

The Disadvantages: Hashtag Expert (Apple)

Hashtag Expert roughly charges $50 for a yearly subscription. 

Email Tracking: Track- Email Tracking

One of the more essential tactics for marketing is email tracking/cold emailing. Cold emailing is a great way to spread the word about your brand, gain connections, and determine your market. It is also a great way to determine the market with cold emailing. Track offers email tracking and link tracking. 

Pricing

The app itself is free to download, but there is a premium subscription after a free trial. Premium is $19.99 monthly. 

The Perks

The app is easy to use, and it works amazingly well. The UI is user friendly, and having the analytics of tracked emails is pretty lovely. The app is available for Android and Apple. 

The Disadvantages

Some issues with the app are that there are some latency issues. There are times when the app freezes and shuts down, so you have to close out the app and open it up again. 

Marketing Analytics: Google Analytics

Plain and straightforward Google Analytics is the best marketing analytics tool out there. Having some sort of marketing analytics tool is an absolute requirement. Having a tool designed for analyzing successful content, the number of views, bounce rate users’ time of day are handy. Put simply, Google Analytics is a recipe for success. 

Pricing

Google Analytics is a freemium service. Meaning if you want more advanced features, you have to pay.

The Perks

1) Check key metrics in built-in reports

2) Compare date ranges and apply segments

3) Monitor real-time data

4) Build your reports with any combination of metrics, dimensions, and segments that you care about

5) Save any reports to your dashboard so you can quickly come back to them

Google Analytics is available for both Android and Apple. 

The Disadvantages

A few downsides to the app itself is that it takes some time to load the data on your screen. Some use cases have also claimed that the UI is “too busy,” which leaves it overwhelming. 

Blogging: WordPress

WordPress is a fantastic web/content publishing tool. With WordPress, you can also create/design websites, share ideas, and create posts and pages. Essentially the app is excellent for creating the content you love and marketing your brand. 

The Pricing

There is a four-tier pricing structure with WordPress. These are: 

• Personal: $4 per month, billed annually (Best for Personal Use)
• Premium: $8 per month, billed annually (Best for Freelancers) 
• Business: $25 per month, billed annually (Best for Small Businesses)
• eCommerce: $45 per month, billed annually (Best for Online Stores)

The Perks

One of the more significant selling points to WordPress is that the prices are unbelievably reasonable, and users get a lot of features for what they are paying. The other major perk is that the mobile app allows you to:

• Post on the go
• Check your stats
• Look at your favorite sites
• Push notifications
• Jetpack integrations. 

WordPress is one of those apps that streamlines conceptual workspaces into one: convenience and productivity. The app is available for both Android and Apple. 

The Disadvantages

The not so great perk is that the app itself can be buggy sometimes- buggy in the sense that it takes several tries to upload an image. Also, formatting is a little tricky with the app. Because of these minor issues, it takes time to upload content through the mobile app itself.  

Research and Content Generator: Medium

Part of being in the marketing industry is understanding who your competitors are and what content they are producing. To do that, you need an app that gives you the latest content relative to your industry and comments from people who are also in that industry. If you haven’t guessed already, we are talking about Medium. 

Pricing: Subscription Based

There are two options for the price, but each plan has the same benefits. There is the $5/per month plan, and there is the $50/yearly subscription. As said before, each subscription offers the same benefits. It is just a matter of which subscription plan you prefer. 

The Perks

Medium is a great content generator tool. The latest content, opinions, and ideas are published consistently. Consumers also publish the majority of the content, so understanding the consumer mindset is a great way to understand the market. By following the market, businesses/users can get a sense of what type of content should be published and what solutions need to be addressed. 

Medium is available for both Android and Apple.

The Disadvantages

A not-so-great feature is that the web UI and mobile UI are different. While the functionality of seeing the latest content is available, the mobile UI makes it seem like users cannot see everything compared to the web UI. Because of the clustered UI, there is a lot of scrolling through the mobile app.

Summation

There are plenty of tools that are useful for conquering the marketing industry. We believe there is a set of base tools that are required to have effective and longterm performance. These tools are: 

1. Design
2. Social Media Manager
3. Social Media: “The Works”
4. SEO
5. Communication 
6. Hashtag Generator
7. Email Tracking
8. Marketing Analytics
9. Blogging
10. Research and Content generator

We also wanted to show that the concept of a conceptual workspace is taking off. The new method of streamlining productivity is the ability to work from any device and any location. Productivity also means convenience. To have convenience, users need ready-made tools that are accessible from any device. Productivity + convenience = conceptual workspace. 

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you.

In many ways, the real estate industry is stuck in the stone ages and just beginning to break free of tradition. Cold calling, open houses, yard signs… things all realtors are familiar with. It doesn’t help that big firms like Keller Williams and Berkshire Hathaway make it their goal to recruit and churn out as many realtors as possible. All of these new recruits are put through the same cookie-cutter training program that teaches everyone to do the same things, use the same tools, even speak the same way (ever heard of scripts?).

The result is an industry filled with competition and lacking in innovation. A real red ocean.

So how, as realtors, do we stand out from the army of clones?

There are many answers to this question, but the one we are going to focus on in this article is technology. Specifically, how some new communication tools available can differentiate us from the majority of realtors out there who are still stuck in the 90’s.

The Old

Before we jump into some of the new, exciting stuff out there – let’s talk about the status quo: email, text, and phone calls. That’s it. Literally — while other industries expand their horizons through digital workspaces, robots, and artificial intelligence — we’re still stuck with email, text, and phone calls.

Well, why rock the boat if it works, you might ask?

And you’d be right. If it works, it works. The problem is that it’s not working anymore. Even though coronavirus restrictions have been lifted in many places, society has a long way to go from returning to times when open houses were packed with people eating cookies from open platters and closings ended with happy hand shakes. The world has changed, and we must change along with it if we want to survive.

The problem with email: it’s slow, blind, and frustrating. Have you ever waited, and waited, for a client to open an urgent email to the point where you send them a text asking them to check their email? Have you ever wondered if maybe they already checked it, but just haven’t responded? Then you think… well what does that mean? Do they still want to buy the house? Are they backing out? Additionally, there’s the frustration of attaching files – especially large ones like home tour videos and photos. 10 minutes… still loading… 20 minutes… still loading…30 minutes… Doesn’t it make you want to rip your hair out? (Or is that just me?)

And texting and phone calls are great when you can meet face-to-face. You use them primarly to schedule appointments where you can then develop rapport through handshakes and smiles. But what if you can no longer meet people in person? Then what?

The New

There are many amazing new communcation tools for realtors now that solve many of the problems presented by the old trio of emails, texts, and phone calls. I’m going to talk about my two favorite ones — AirSend and Zoom.

AirSend – the simple communication tool for realtors

AirSend is an all-in-one remote work tool that you can use to send messages, share and organize large files (like home tour videos and photos), write and keep notes, and track tasks. Its comprehensive capabilities make it the ultimate communication power tool. Plus things like read receipts, Office 365 integration, email integration, and unlimited channel creation give it a leg up on options like Slack and Microsoft Teams when it comes to working with clients.  

Zoom – the best way to meet without meeting

Considered the standard way to video conference by most people, Zoom has taken great strides to becoming safe and even more user-friendly after security issues were unveiled. Using Zoom as a realtor helps us meet people face-to-face without actually meeting in person when not necessary. This is safer, more convenient, saves on gas money, and is much better than just texting or talking on the phone because you can actually see the other person, and they can see you.

Stepping into the Future

While a realtor’s job will most likely always include some amount of in-person meetings and showings, technology can help us cut down on the frustration and hassle of only using email, text, and phone calls. It can also help differentiate us from our ever increasing competition. So what are you waiting for? Give these new communication tools for realtors a try.

A multi-billion dollar company. A winning presidential campaign. A happy marriage. What do these three things have in common? The foundation of success in each is effective communication.

Effective communication has the power to amass riches and make history. With it, governments have been transformed, along with the lives of billions of people. With it, enterprises like Amazon, Apple, and Alibaba rise from obscurity.

It’s no wonder that all successful businesses need strong communication infrastructures in order to grow and prosper. But that’s not what this article is about. The topic of communication is so vast that you can get a Ph.D. in it. This article would have to be a book, maybe three, to properly cover the topic.

What this article focuses on is a single concept that, if grasped, can give your organization a big push in the right direction towards effective communication in a digital work environment. The concept is this:

Chat is like a river; Wiki is like a dam.

River? Dam?

A while ago, we published an article that dives into synchronous and asynchronous communication. Synchronous communication is communication that happens in real time. It’s a company meeting on Zoom or an active chat room. Asynchronous communication is communication that happens… not in real time. It’s that email you send to a client which you know you won’t get a response to until weeks later, or notes on that Zoom company meeting posted to an online bulletin. Both are important because different types of information do best in different formats.

Synchronous communication is fast, immediate, brief. Information flows like a river — as it does in a chat. This format is best for times of uncertainty and/or urgency. It’s good for exploring ideas together, having discussions to make decisions, and addressing crisis situations.

Asynchronous communication is slower, usually more considered and voluminous. Information gathers like a dam — as it does in a Wiki. This format is best for adding context to real time communication after it has happened, putting together detailed information, and explaining complex concepts.

When used properly, synchronous and asynchronous communication together form effective communication.

Increasing Effective Communication in Your Organization

When synchronous and asynchronous communication are used appropriately in an organization, communication is at its best and collaboration is smooth and easy. In a digital work environment, some of the most common modes of communication are chat and Wiki. As mentioned before, chat facilitates synchronous communication and a Wiki facilitates asynchronous communication.

Increasing effective communication in your organization is as simple as having both chat and a Wiki available to everyone and then making it clear which medium to use for each type of interaction. In other words, the roadmap to achieving effective communication in a digital work environment is:

1. Provide the right tools – Have chat and a Wiki available to all team members and get everyone accustomed to using them.
2. Ensure the tools are used correctly – Do this by training management on the concept of synchronous and asynchronous communication (or “Chat is like a river; Wiki is like a dam.”) and have them lead by example so the rest of your organization follows.

Chat and Wiki in AirSend

In AirSend, each channel has both a chat section and a Wiki section. The chat is great for quickly discussing new developments, exchanging links to articles or tidbits of information, and scheduling calls for further discussion. The Wiki is great for storing, sharing, and collaborating on more detailed, complex items.

Having the chat and Wiki together in one place makes communication much smoother and more efficient than the previous model of emailing back and forth with document links or attachments.

Finding Balance

Effective communication is powerful, and one of the key factors of communicating effectively in a digital environment is finding the balance between synchronous and asynchronous communication. When used together correctly, chat and Wiki can streamline the communication process for clutter-free collaboration, resulting in increased productivity.

Just remember: Chat is like a river; Wiki is like a dam.

Remote work has become a reality for many and may become a permanent fixture at some companies, like Twitter. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently gave employees the choice to continue to work from home even after COVID-19 lockdowns are lifted.

But even before the pandemic, working remotely was a rising trend. In CloudApp’s State of Collaboration report, they discovered that around 50% of people work from home at least one day a week, and 25% of people work from home at least two to three days a week.

There are two major drivers behind this shift. The first is that working remotely is good for business. It increases worker productivity, cuts down on costs (an average of $10,000 on real estate expenses), and improves retention rates. The second is that the new workforce wants to work from home — especially after coronavirus restrictions provided a taste of remote work life.

As remote work becomes the new norm, the focus sharpens on making working from home streamlined, productive, and easy. How do you keep in touch, stay organized, and share files quickly when everyone is in a different place and possibly even different time zones?

The answer is multifaceted. A successful remote working team must have the right people and the right tools.

The Right People for Remote Working

Working remotely isn’t for everyone. Some thrive in a situation with more freedom, and some don’t. A good remote worker has some basic characteristics: self-discipline, strong communication skills, remote work experience, and tech savviness.

Self-discipline

Unlike in a structured office environment, the home is full of distractions and temptations. Everything is just a short walk away – the bed, the refrigerator, the TV. A successful remote worker must have the self-discipline to stay focused on work or things won’t get done.

Strong Communication Skills

Working with a geographically distributed team means that effective communication is more important than ever. Strong communication skills prevent confusion and redundancy to maximize productivity.

Remote Work Experience

One way to increase the chances of finding a good fit for a remote working situation is to choose someone with prior experience. Someone with experience will already have a routine in place that works for them, reducing the steepness of the remote work learning curve.

Tech Savviness

Technology is what makes remote work possible, so it’s essential that a remote worker understands how to use tools like Zoom or G-Suite. A good remote worker either already knows how to use common remote work technology or is able to learn things quickly.

The Right Tools for Remote Working

Speaking of tech savviness, the second necessity of a successful remote working team is the right tools. There are many options out there, some better than others. The remainder of this article will introduce some crowd favorites for remote work.‍

AirSend

AirSend is an all-in-one remote work tool that you can use to send messages, share and organize files, collaborate on documents, and track tasks. It’s comprehensive capabilities make it the ultimate power tool for remote working. Compared to Slack, the other popular option, AirSend shines because of its read receipts, Office 365 integration, and ability to easily create workspaces for as many parties (teams, clients, friends etc.) as you want with no additional cost or hassle.

Zoom

After security issues were unveiled, Zoom has taken steps to make its video conferencing product safer to use and remains the top choice for many when it comes to face-to-face video conferencing and screen sharing. Friends use it to host game nights where they play Jackbox games, and workplaces use it for everything from company-wide meetings to customer demos.‍‍

Trello

Created to provide a user-friendly, Kanban-style way of managing tasks and projects, Trello is a pleasure to use. The ability to make interactive to-do lists with boards and cards that you can easily drag-and-drop is invaluable when working with a distributed team. Trello is used to manage projects, teams, and businesses of all types and sizes.

G-Suite

G-Suite includes Gmail, Google docs, Google sheets, and a whole host of other products that work seamlessly with one another. Great for collaboration because of its easy sharing and permissions, putting a team on G-Suite can cut down on a lot of unecessary cost and hassle.

The Future of Remote Work

Although restrictions due to COVID-19 have accelerated the shift, an increasingly distributed workforce has always been the natural conclusion of technological progress and new business and worker mindsets.

As remote work becomes the new norm, new theories and research will arise on how to successfully make and manage a remote working team. However, the basis of these theories will always be about the people and the tools they use. With the right people and the right tools, a remote working team can find success in any environment.

We hope you’re doing well and staying safe. Over the past few weeks, the AirSend team has been working hard and is excited to share with you our most recent improvements!

Desktop Apps

We now have AirSend desktop apps for all platforms (Windows, Mac, and Linux).

You can now download our new desktop apps to work with Airsend on your computer with even more convenience.

New & Improved Wiki

The Wiki is now a fully functional, portable notebook. Create multiple notes to keep important information and collaborate with others. And make folders to organize your notes so you can find things with ease.

Also, the Wiki is now editable on both Android and iOS apps.

Public Channels

You can now create your own online groups using AirSend’s Public Channels. You can also explore and join groups that other AirSenders have created to:

• Meet new friends
• Interact with people with similar interests
• Ask questions to professionals

To find your group, click here or check out the ones below.

At Home Cooking

Welcome to the group designed for inspiring home cooks, share at home recipes, tips, tricks, and more.

Join this group >>>

At Home Fitness

All things related to fitness, exercise and wellness at home.

Join this group >>> 

Founders & Marketers Club

A group for startup founders and marketers to connect.

Join this group >>> 

iOS App Native Share

iOS app users can now share links directly from your web browser into AirSend Channels.

What’s Next?

We’re ecstatic about the progress we’ve made, but our journey is far from over. Stay tuned for our next update where we will reveal more improvements.

If you haven’t signed up for AirSend yet – sign up now for free lifetime access to AirSend Pro. Or if you have anything you’d like to share about your AirSend experience so far, please fill out this quick survey to help us make AirSend even better for you.