Q: Most of the big boys (ACT!, Goldmine, etc.) have more functionality than a one-person writing shop needs, and at roughly $200, it’s more than I’d like to pay. Do you know of any inexpensive contact manager programs?
A: Here is a very brief review of Kurlo, courtesy of a beginning prospector:
Kurlo was rated 5/5 cows on the Tucows website (https://www.tucows.com/preview/408564) and is a free download from either Tucows or from the Kurlo site (https://www.kurlo.com/)
I have used it as a blank slate to create sub-groups of contacts as I add them. I used The Well-Fed Writer as a guide for creating new entries. For instance, I have these groups set up:
Creative Recruitment Agencies
Graphic Designers
Marketing & Ad Agencies
Prospective Business Clients
Writers Associations
There are customizable fields I can create in each group, so I’ve created a field for the date I last contacted the prospect, as well as the date I’d next like to follow-up (these were suggestions from The Well-Fed Writer as well!). When I open Kurlo, it alerts me of any important dates, such as dates I have set to follow-up with prospects, or client birthdays, if I’ve entered them.
Kurlo has an e-mailing function that allows you to easily create a bulk e-mail that you can send to multiple recipients in a group or sub-group. Then you can either send the e-mail right from Kurlo or transfer it over (once addressed) to your default e-mail application.
I’ve been using the “notes/comments” section to jot down the nature of my conversations with prospects and any important details I want to remember. This is great because with one click I can see all the important details about any specific prospect. I’m finding Kurlo very easy to use, and I appreciate that my copywriting contacts are all in one place.