3 Free Tools To Use With Your Online Assistant

Just because you’re passing on some of the more humdrum tasks to an online assistant doesn’t mean you should completely disregard these tasks. As little involvement as possible would be ideal, provided that you’re working with a professional, but you should constantly be aware of how things are coming along. To make sure that your experience with outsourcing goes as smoothly as it can go, we suggest you utilize these three free tools with your online assistant.

 

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1. Dropbox

Dropboxis a free file-hosting service that allows you to access your files from any computer using cloud storage. Each free account is given 2GB of storage space for the user’s documents, photos, videos, and other files, which they can share to other users. Dropbox is a great tool for syncing, file sharing, and online back-up, and is especially useful for dealing with an online assistant. Instead of having to email your documents, you can simply share a folder with your assistant. He or she won’t need to download your files, greatly reducing the risk of your files being stored indefinitely in someone else’s computer.

2. Google Docs

Ever an innovative bunch, the brilliant minds behind Google have found an efficient way for a whole group of people to work on the same documents at once using a web-based office suite. Google Docs allows you to create, edit, and share word documents, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations online. It is very effective for collaboration as everything that’s been encoded or edited will immediately be seen by the other parties in real time. If you’re asking your online assistant to work on document files, this is a good way for you to see how things are progressing so you’ll never have to be in the dark about what’s happening to your data.

3. Jing

Jing is a program by TechSmith that allows you to capture video, audio, animation, and still images directly from your computer screen, and instantly share them online. It’s particularly useful if you prefer having visual aids when explaining a task to your assistant, so you’ll basically be creating a simple How-To video. For example, if you need to show your online assistant exactly how a certain task should be done, you can set which area of your screen will be recorded, click record, and narrate as you perform the action that you want to show. You can even pause the recording if you need to collect your thoughts or open another program. You’re only allowed to record five minutes per video, which should be more than enough time to effectively explain the task without overwhelming the recipient. Once you’re done recording, you can send it straight to your virtual assistant’s email or upload it on social media websites. Your virtual assistant can immediately view the video without having to download it.
These three free tools are exactly what you’ll need to enhance communication and productivity with your virtual assistant. Best of all, they’re all available for free!