yclmanager5, Author at Your Computer Lady

November 17, 2025 By yclmanager5

Who’s On First

Thank you, Sharron Gill, for sharing this hilarious update on the famous Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s On First?”

You have to be old  enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and too
old to REALLY understand  computers to fully appreciate this. For
those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please read on…

If  Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their famous sketch,
‘Who’s on First? might have turned out something like  this:

COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM  ABBOTT

ABBOTT:  Super Duper computer store.  Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks I’m setting up an office in my den and I’m thinking
about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name’s Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don’t own a computer. I want to buy  one.

ABBOTT:  Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name’s Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don’t know. What will I see when I look at the  windows?

ABBOTT:  Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows.. I need a computer and  software.

ABBOTT:  Software for  Windows?

COSTELLO:  No. On the computer! I need  something I can use to write
proposals, track expenses and run my  business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend  anything?

ABBOTT:  I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes..

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes..

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let’s just say
I’m sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I
need?

ABBOTT:  Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue  ’W’.

COSTELLO:  I’m going to click your blue  ’w’ if you don’t start with
some straight answers. What about financial  bookkeeping? You have
anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That’s right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What’s bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes.. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How  much?

ABBOTT:  One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn’t it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT:  Super Duper computer store.  Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on ‘START’……………

November 17, 2025 By yclmanager5

Community Building For Retention, Awareness, Loyalty, Content, & Member Advocacy

A little birdy told me you want to know what this “Community” stuff is you keep hearing about. I promise it’s not scary, at least not as frightening as Data Tracking and Analytics.

No need to worry, you’re safe here, and the data can’t get you. At least, not in this particular post.

Community is a tale as old as time and is simply evolving along with humanity; perhaps it’s time you join the party! Click here to read the full article.

November 14, 2025 By yclmanager5

How to Show Genuine Customer Appreciation and Get More Referrals

A customer who feels happy, appreciated and satisfied is more likely to come back for more, and they will be more likely to spread the word about your brand. This helps you build your reputation.

Click here to read the article.

November 14, 2025 By yclmanager5

How Email Autoresponders Can Improve Your Marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing, but it can also take up tons of time — unless you’re using email autoresponders. Learn more about autoresponders by clicking here.

November 12, 2025 By yclmanager5

The Longest Password Ever!

We laugh, but her identity is safe!

During a recent password audit by a company, it was found that an employee was using the following password: MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento

When asked why she had such a long password, she rolled her eyes and said, “Hello! It has to be at least eight characters long and include one capital.”

November 12, 2025 By yclmanager5

7 Email Marketing Techniques To Increase Open Rates

“Are you struggling to get more people to open your marketing emails? Want to discover the proven techniques that make subscribers click and engage with your content every time?”

Click here to continue reading.

November 10, 2025 By yclmanager5

Want to learn a new skill? How about this prompt?

How to Make ChatGPT Teach You Any Skill:
” Act as an expert tutor who helps me master any topic through an interactive, interview-style course. The process must be recursive and personalized.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1. Ask me for a topic I want to learn.

2. Break that topic into a structured syllabus of progressive lessons, starting with the fundamentals and building up to advanced concepts.

3. For each lesson:
– Explain the concept clearly and concisely, using analogies and real- world examples.
– Ask me socratic-style questions to assess and deepen my understanding.
– Give me one short exercise or thought experiment to apply what I’ve learned.
– Ask if I’m ready to move on or if I need clarification.
– If I say yes, move to the next concept.
– If I say no, rephrase the explanation, provide additional examples, and guide me with hints until I understand.

4. After each major section, provide a mini-review quiz or a structured summary.

5. Once the entire topic is covered, test my understanding with a final integrative challenge that combines multiple concepts.

6.Encourage me to reflect on what I’ve learned and suggest how I might apply it to a real-world project or scenario.

November 8, 2025 By yclmanager5

A Technology Parable

A new client came to YCL for marketing support. The tax preparation company was a little over a year old.

First, the website! The hub of all marketing efforts. The client uses a proprietary site built for people in her specific industry. They offer industry-related tools. They offer a high level of security which is certainly needed. In this case, a proprietary site is her best option. Creating a WordPress site would be too costly with all of the special features.

The site did need some work to expand the content. The two of us went over the site page by page. I suggested some changes and new content as a non-industry person to help her explain what she does to prospects. The updates were done in November well before the start of tax season. As referrals started coming and leads came in from her marketing, the site was ready to convert prospects to clients. And it was ready to be a big resource for clients.

Managing Tasks – Every client is different and has different requirements. Some clients need tax extensions. So she needed a way to keep track of all the various tasks for all the tax filings. I suggested ToDoIst. It’s an online software that is cost-effective and user friendly. She started using it in December to learn the in’s and out’s. Over the course of the next few months when her business more than doubled from the previous year, she was able to juggle all of the balls in the air!

We used email marketing to remind past clients of how knowledgeable she is so they would return for this year’s tax filing. The same messages convinced prospects that she was the right person to work with. We used the email articles as social media posts and blog posts too. One effort was used three ways! That’s time efficient! We started the eNewsletter in December also. It takes seven “touches” on average to turn a prospect into a client. We used the emails as touches to move the prospects through the sales funnel.

The Moral of this Story

By building her technology and marketing foundation before the season started, this tax preparer was able to more than double her business and focus on doing what she does best – tax returns – while her marketing engine continued to drive the clients to her. And she didn’t have to burn the midnight oil even once!

Call or email today so we can get started on making the best plan for your business!

Contact our technology-prepared tax expert at:

DeeAnne McClenahan

Email DeeAnne

602-214-4608

November 8, 2025 By yclmanager5

Transactional emails

“Transactional emails have 8x more opens and clicks than any other type of email and can generate 6x more revenue.” Experian What is a transactional email? A message sent to an individual in response to a specific action they took. Amazon’s order confirmation emails. Google’s sign-in alerts. Should you be sending transactional emails to your clients to build your busines? Read this article for ideas and best practices.

November 7, 2025 By yclmanager5

Surviving the Scam Surge

Yes, you are getting hit with more spam emails and calls — and now spam texts — than at any point in the history of these devices. These messages are frequently dangerous! They often try to steal your data, identity and/or money — and the crooks are getting better and better.

Here with some tips from security experts on how to protect yourself:

Simply do not answer calls or respond to texts from numbers you don’t recognize. If it’s a legitimate call/text, they’ll leave a message and you can call right back. Even if the area code indicates the number is local, don’t answer.

Likewise, don’t respond to emails from people you don’t recognize. That’s the easiest way for the spammer to verify your email so they can share it with their buddies and hit you with more junk mail. Just delete the message.

Only report as spam if you recognize the sender. For example, if I suddenly get an email from ABC manufacturing and I am sure I didn’t sign up to get their emails, I would report it as spam. I would know they grabbed my email from a membership list somewhere.

Don’t have your actual email show on your website. Instead of Pamela@YourComputerLady.com put “Email Pamela” and make the words a link to the email address. The link opens an email on the visitor’s computer so they can easily email you. But it’s harder for a spammer to grab the link. They’re too lazy to make the extra step.

Verify everything. If you get what looks like a request for information or a bill from a government office or retailer, call that agency or company to verify that it’s real. Scammers try to hit your hot buttons to suck you in. Offers to pay off your student loans or telling you there’s an issue with your online shopping order.

Pay attention even to emails from people you know. I recently received an email from a client. But the subject line was odd and the attachment was a file type she typically wouldn’t send me. Sure enough, when I texted to confirm it was legit, she told me her email had been hacked.

I absolutely, with no reservation, promise you Dell, Microsoft, Apple – hardware and software retailers of that level – will never call you to tell you there is a problem with their computer or with their software. Hang up!

Never click a link in a text from a number you don’t know.

Don’t even respond if you get a robocall that tells you to press a certain key on your phone to stop getting calls. Getting you to click on something is one of the quickest ways for scammers to get your personal information or at least verify that what they have is correct.

You can quickly forward spam text messages to 7726 to report them.

Put your landlines and cell phones on the FTC’s Do Not Call list to avoid telemarketers. Or better yet, do not answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize.

Want more info? Here are some guides on avoiding spam calls and texts and emails.

FCC article

FTC article

Wikihow

Source Data: Robokiller. Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios.