Resources
No matter where you are in your business, there are amazing tools that can save you dozens of hours per week, automate key marketing activities, and save you thousands of dollars.
But there’s so many out there! The trick is to know which ones to use and which ones not too!
So, I really wanted to share with you some of the amazing tools I use (sometimes daily) in my business.
You see in business, it’s so important to have that trust factor with someone who has gone where you want to go, or is just a few steps ahead.
Some of these tools will be like little pieces of gold sent from heaven for you, some might not be your jam, but I wanted to share with all with you.
Many of these links are affiliate links, which means I may get a commission if you purchase. However, none of the fees of these resources have been increased to compensate me. In fact, many of the creators of these tools have given me special discounts that I get to extend to you!
You’ll find all my fav’s here, as well as many of the fabulous discoveries of the week, as heard on the Small Business Made Simple Podcast.
Also you’ll find a list of the all equipment and resources I use to do my podcast every week – from the equipment I use to the software that I need! Click here to see all that information if you’re thinking of podcasting yourself!
Vimeo – Video Hosting
SnagIt – Screen Capture and Share
Google Drive – Document Storage and Sharing
Libsyn – Podcast Hosting
Zoom – Online Meetings, Webinars & Podcast Guest Recordings
Flodesk – Email Marketing Platform
MailChimp - Email Marketing Platform
Buffer – Social Media Scheduling Tool
Meet Edgar – Social Media Scheduling Tool
Tailwind - Pinterest tool
Learndash - for hosting my online courses
Great Discoveries to Make business simpler – as heard on the Small Business Made Simple Podcast
Canva
Design Tool for Non Designers.
Emoji Builder
Build your very own emojis!
Instagram Engagement Calculator
See what your engagement score is – and everyone elses!
SnapSeed
Photo editor app. Download in your app store.
Social Selling Index – LinkedIn
See your social selling index on the LinkedIn platform
Background Removal Tool
Remove the background of any photo you have
Screen Capture Tool
For recording your phone screen
Teleprompter
A useful free teleprompter
Video Speed controller
Chrome extension for Video Speed Control
Loom
For screen capture for making videos or sharing tutorials
Rev.com
Transcription of videos
Place It
Smart Templates Make Design Easy
Lingo Jam
Font creation for captions
Snow
Video and photo filter app – from your app store.
Creative market
Creative Market is an online marketplace for community-generated design assets
LastPass
Remembers all your passwords so you don’t have to!
Clips
Record video and live captions all at once – available in your app store
PDF escape
PDF editor and form filler
Facebook Download
Download any video from Facebook onto your computer
Shakr
Shakr is an online video maker and video ad creator
About Me
A place where you can go and get yourself an About Me page
PDF escape
PDF editor and form filler
Giphy
Make your own gifs!
Screen Record
Record your screen
Poster My Wall
Templates for posters
Unsplash
Fabulous free images
Lead pages
For squeeze pages or easy sales pages
facebook Creator Studio
Facebook’s scheduling tool for Facebook and Instagram
Missinglettr
Turns blogs into repurposed drip content
TextingStory
Sets up a story through text (so it looks like a text conversation!)
StoryArt
Story templates for video and still photos (I LOVE it!)
Google Easy PDF
Makes PDF documents writable – in the chrome store
Mix Captions
Put captions onto your videos recorded in other apps – in your app store
Wave app
Free business accounting software program
Yay Text
Font creation for captions
Interested in Starting a Podcast? Below is the DIY set up I use and recommend when are you are starting out.
Microphone
ATR 2100 – This is an affordable, excellent quality microphone used and recommended by many top podcasters include Tim Ferris (and me!).
Stand
NEEWER ADJUSTABLE SCISSOR ARM STAND – A stand allows you to clip your microphone to a desk so you can record hands free. I use and recommend the stand below.
Pop Filter
NEEWER POP FILTER MASK – A pop filter is important to place over your mic to stop the ‘popping’ sounds that can come when you are too close/breathing into mic etc.
Recording remote guest
ZOOM – Zoom allows you to record remotely with great sound quality.
Recording Alone
CAMTASIA – This is an in-built program available on all Macs and is great for recording and editing solo episodes. For Mac users, Garage Band comes built in.
Hosting
LIBSYN – Libsyn is a great, cost effective hosting option and is the one that I use.
Editing
CAMTASIA – I recommend editing your podcast in Camtasia (or Garage Band for Macs) when you are starting out. Another option is Adobe Audition, which has a monthly subscription fee.
Royalty free Music
PREMIUM BEAT – An exclusive royalty-free music library. Alternatively, you can go to YouTube and find royalty free music. I paid around $60US for my tune on my Small Business Made Simple Podcast. Totally worth it!
Web Page Creation
LEAD PAGES – Lead Pages allows you to build custom web pages that can drive leads, sales and downloads. I use Leadpages as squeeze (landing) pages for any freebies I offer on the podcast and many more things. It’s quick, it’s easy and super simple to keep on brand (and have your pages keep a theme).