Below you will find my favorite tools and resources. These are the ones that I either use in my own business or have used with clients, all of which I have experience with and highly recommend.
| TOPIC | DESCRIPTION | COST | GO TO |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRODUCTIVITY | |||
| WeTransfer | Large file transfer – no account necessary | FREE + | wetransfer.com |
| SugarSync | Real time backups and syncing of only the files you want. This has given me such piece of mind for a small amount of money and the ability to access my files even when I’m away from the office is invaluable. | $7.49 + | sugarsync.com |
| FreshBooks | This service litterally saves me a full day of work every month. The features provide everything I need and the customer service is among the best I’ve ever experienced. If you need to automate your billing process, at least check them out. | $15/mo + | feshbooks.com |
| DropBox | Super easy online file sharing and storage for personal and business use. Realy excellent when you need to share multiple images and documents quickly. Share and unshare folders, change folder ownership, etc. | FREE + | dropbox.com |
| Survey Monkey | Conduct market research online with surveys and quizzes. Super easy to set up, share and collect data. | FREE + | surveymonkey.com |
| Mind Meister | Collaberative mind mapping tool that helps you capture your thoughts visually for brainstorming and project planning with clients and colleagues. | $4.99 + | mindmeister.com |
| Zoom | This is the best way to to do video conferencing – so much more reliable than Skype or Google Hangouts. Can record separate audio and video files. You can even run webinars! | FREE + | zoom.us |
| Nozbe | This is an amazing collaborative or single user productivity tool. Create projects with tasklists and assign deadlines with comments and so much more than I can tell you here. Check this out, especially if you have a team! | FREE + | nozbe.com |
| DIGITAL MARKETING | |||
| Aweber | Excellent email marketing service for startup and small businesses! I’ve been using them for over 10 years and know them to be a company that grows with the market and has excellent customer service. | $19/mo. + | aweber.com |
| Active Campaign | When your business is growing or you need a more sophisticated email marketing solution that includes segmentation, automation, CRM w/sales automation, lead scoring, multiple user capability, SMS marketing, etc. | $9/mo. + | activecampaign.com |
| LeadPages | Capture leads with optin forms and landing pages that you can either host through LeadPages or add to your current website. | $25/mo. + | leadpages.com |
| OptinMonster | Create beautiful optin forms without a developer. Includes lightbox popups, floating bars, slide-ins, sidebar forms with a/b testing and built-in analytics. | $19/mo. + | optinmonster.com |
| Buffer | A great way to manage all of your social media accounts in one place. | FREE + | buffer.com |
| WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT | |||
| StudioPress Themes for WordPress | Rainmaker comes from the good people at StudioPress & CopyBlogger. It’s an website platform based on WordPress and StudioPress themes. They provide hosting, email, and marketing automation solutions plus expert design, content, SEO, and email marketing services. Check out how I use it for the Smart Website Strategies. | TBA | studiopress.com |
| Wishlist Member | WishList Memberâ„¢ is a powerful, yet easy to use membership software solution that can turn any WordPress site into a full-blown membership site. | $197/yr + | wishlistproducts.com |
| TRAINING | |||
| Platform University | Learn how to build your blog, website, or social media page in a way that attracts readers, fans, followers, and customers! | TBA | platformuniversity.com |
| Authority | Become a smarter content marketer with the authority experts over at copyblogger! Authority is an advanced content marketing training and networking community designed to accelerate your skills and success. | $55/mo. | copyblogger.com |
| MISC RESOURCES | |||
| World Time Server | If you’re like me and work internationally and lose track of what time it is where, this is a great resource to keep in your bookmarks. Look for the comparrison tool, select your time zone vs the other party and the date of your meeting and you’re set. | FREE | worldtimeserver.com |
| Currency Converter | Verify live exchange rates. | FREE | xe.com |
| Language Conversion | For those times when you need to find a phrase or a word quickly. There is even an app available! | FREE | linguee.com |
| Unsplash | High quality images for personal and commercial use. These photographers are not only generous but talented as well! | FREE | unsplash.com |
| Design Seeds | Looking for color scheme inspiration? Here’s a great resource for you! Beautiful color schemes you can search by color or theme. I dare you not to stay there for hours 😉 | FREE | design-seeds.com |
| BUSINESS ARTICLES | |||
| The Ingredients of a Press Kit | Need a media or press kit? Here’s a pretty good guide for what should be included. | FREE | entrepreneur.com |
| Harness The Power of An Advisory Board | I really like the idea of having an advisory board. Is this something you think you could handle? Who would you choose? | FREE | about.com |
| Gotham Organizers’ Top 10 Tips To Be More Productive At Work | Don’t waste your time with disorganization. Read these 10 tips to help you be more productive and when you’re done, check out Lisa’s blog for more tips. | FREE | Read Here |
| 15 Ways to Use Google Calendar to Keep Up With Your Busy Schedule | This is an old list so the contact info is mostly outdated but the info is still useful. | FREE | Read Here |
| *I earn an affiliate commission on some of the resources above (if purchases are made from my recommendation) and that is why you will only find resources that I can actually vouch for from my own experience. While I am not a representative for any of the companies you see here, I would be happy to answer questions as to how their use has impacted my own business. | |||