Use a Wiki to Grow Your Business
Just like blogs were the big thing in 2007 and social media – in 2008, 2009 can become a year of wiki. The technology came a long way and you can now create a free easy-to-use wiki in a matter of minutes.
A wiki is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked (often databased) Web pages, using a simplified markup language. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.
Here are just some ideas on how to use wiki in your business:
Build a knowledge base – use wiki to store (and share) operating procedures, step-by-step instructions, manuals, etc.
Cut down on e-mails – e-mailing can get very time-consuming and confusing with all the forwarding, replying to, cc-ing, attachments, etc. If you (or your client) routinely exchange updates or files through e-mail, unclog the system by uploading the files to a wiki and/or creating an updates or news page.
Search quicker – instead of keeping all the old draft versions for your client on your hard drive, upload to wiki. You will only need to keep one copy of each document and wiki will keep track of all the revisions (who added/revised what and when). Most, if not all, wikis have a Search feature, so you won’t have to waste time digging through your hard drive.
Cross-reference – write pages (or documents) with built-in links to any other pages or documents in your wiki or to external web pages.
Make training easy – whether your client plans on hiring in-house employees, virtual assistants or contracting freelancers, having training documents, SOPs, templates, and knowledge base easily accessible makes training process shorter, smoother, and more successful.
On a tip from Tina Forsyth’s must-read Becoming Online Business Manager book, I’ve been using PBWiki.com to build wikis for my clients and so far, I’m very happy with it. The service is inexpensive and provides some great features. You can even have a free wiki (for up to 3 users). There are other great wiki options out there, I’m sure.
Technorati Tags: wiki, PBWiki, virtual assistant
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Chris Yeh on Mon, 19th Jan 2009 8:56 pm
Thanks for using PBwiki! I’d love to hear about how you build wikis for your clients. I’m always on the lookout for wiki templates that we can feature.
admin on Mon, 19th Jan 2009 10:18 pm
Chris, so far I’ve been very happy with PBwiki. I think it’s a great product and the free option is fantastic for many solopreneurs. I can’t share my clients’ wikis, but I’ll starting on my own soon (all about documenting and business continuity, you know).