BUSINESS TOOLS & SOFTWARE

GETTING STARTED

DOMAINS & HOSTING

NameCheap – Secure your domain with ease and enjoy affordable pricing with excellent customer support.
GoDaddy – An all-in-one platform for registering domains and hosting, with tools for small businesses to grow online.
Bluehost – An affordable, beginner-friendly hosting service ideal for WordPress users starting their first website.
HostGator – Another budget-friendly hosting option for WordPress beginners, known for its reliable uptime and simple setup.
Google Domains – Google’s easy-to-use domain registration and management platform with built-in integrations.
IONOS by 1&1 – Offers affordable hosting plans and domain management, ideal for startups.

ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS

Shopify – The go-to platform for e-commerce businesses, offering seamless app integrations, customizable themes, and 24/7 support.
WooCommerce – A free WordPress plugin that turns your site into a fully functional online store but requires manual updates and maintenance.
Squarespace – Perfect for clean, elegant, and modern website designs with e-commerce functionality built-in.
BigCommerce – A scalable e-commerce solution with robust tools for businesses seeking advanced customization and growth.
Wix eCommerce – A user-friendly platform combining website design tools with e-commerce functionality.
Ecwid – A simple e-commerce tool that integrates seamlessly with existing websites and social media.

WEBSITE THEMES

ThemeForest – Browse thousands of professional, affordable website themes with user reviews and ratings for informed choices.
Template Monster – Stay ahead of trends with modern website templates and customizable designs for various platforms.
WooThemes – Specialized themes for WordPress and WooCommerce users who want design and functionality.
StudioPress – Offers premium WordPress themes powered by the fast, secure Genesis framework.
Elegant Themes (Divi) – Known for its Divi theme, offering advanced drag-and-drop functionality.
Kadence WP – A lightweight and versatile theme perfect for building fast, responsive websites.

PAYMENT PROCESSING

Stripe – Securely processes online payments and transfers funds directly to your bank.
PayPal – A trusted online payment solution with buyer protection and flexible payment options.
Google Wallet – Send and receive money directly through Google services with no hassle.
Square – Simple point-of-sale tools and payment processing for small businesses.
Apple Pay – A secure way for customers to pay using their Apple devices.
Klarna – Allows customers to pay in installments, increasing sales potential.
Afterpay – Offers interest-free payment installments for customers, improving purchasing power.
Venmo for Business – A mobile-friendly payment option for small businesses to accept payments instantly.

DESIGN

STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY, GRAPHICS & FONTS

Creative Market – A treasure trove of stock graphics, fonts, and templates for creative professionals.
GraphicRiver – Affordable and high-quality graphics from the trusted Envato network.
Pixeden – Free and premium resources for design elements, including mockups and graphics.
Mighty Deals – Get time-sensitive discounts on premium design resources, fonts, and software.
Icon Finder – Access thousands of free and paid icons for any project.
iStockPhoto – A reliable resource for high-quality stock images, illustrations, and video clips.
Unsplash – Free high-resolution photos from photographers worldwide.
Shutterstock – Offers an extensive library of stock photos, vectors, and videos for creative projects.

GRAPHIC SOFTWARE/APPS

Photoshop – The industry standard for creating and editing professional-quality graphics.
Canva – User-friendly online and mobile app for designing graphics, presentations, and social media content.
Pages (Mac) – A versatile word processor for Mac users, perfect for creating layouts for ebooks, worksheets, or presentations.
PicMonkey – An intuitive photo editor and design tool for beginners and casual users.
Pixelmator (Mac) – A budget-friendly alternative to Photoshop with powerful editing tools for Mac users.
Figma – A collaborative design tool for UI/UX projects with real-time editing.
Affinity Designer – A budget-friendly graphic design app known for its precision and smooth functionality.

SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

  • Buffer – This app is used daily to manage Facebook, Twitter and Google+. My team schedules posts weekly throughout my nextwork.

  • Postso – I use this app to manage my Instagram and Pinterest pages, automatically. You upload your photos, add captions, schedule a time and you’re done. Unfortunately, I don’t think they are accepting any more Instagram accounts.

  • Hootsuite – In the past I’ve used HootSuite, while I do like how I can follow conversations on Twitter I found the interface lacking and overwhelming at times.

  • Tweetful – This growth hack is used for Twitter. Once you sign up for the service it will automatically favorite and retweet content based on the hashtags and keywords selected.

  • Hopper – This is an online scheduler for Instagram. I have not used this app personally, but until I find a service I’m 100% happy with I like to keep my options open.

  • Instagress – This is a growth hack tool that will save you time and money while engaging audiences on Instagram. You create filters using specified keywords and hashtags. Then the app automatically comments and likes photos on Instagram and grows your following while you sleep.

  • Wisel.it – This is a paid scheduling app for Instagram. I have used Wisel.it when the Postso service was down and found it easy to navigate and schedule Instagram posts.

  • Meet Edgar – I currently do not use Meet Edgar, but have heard wonderful testimonials from it’s users. Its something I’m considering for the future. It will help me constantly repost and re-purpose old content. Currently you have to sign up and be invited.

  • Publish iPhone App – The iTunes stores says that Publish is the only app in the world that lets you post to Twitter & Instagram simultaneously. Publish, already being used by over 1 million users and is here to make your life easier. I have it installed, but I haven’t played around with it much.

  • Onlypult – Is another Instagram posting tool that offers scheduled posts, analytics and fast content development.

  • ScheduGram – Schedugram features web uploading of images or video, scheduling for later, and supports multiple Instagram accounts. it’s a favorite among social media and brand managers.

  • Padgram & Phonegram (iPhone and Android) – This is my secret weapon for Instagram. It allows me to comment, like and follow from multiple accounts. Not only that, but I can subscribe to pages I want to follow, without actually following them.

  • Iconosquare – Iconosquare helps you keep track of your total number of likes received, your most liked photos ever, your average number of likes and comments per photo, your follower growth charts and provides more advanced analytics.

EMAIL MARKETING

Email Campaign Platforms

Mailchimp – Beginner-friendly email marketing software with free plans for up to 500 subscribers.
Klaviyo – Seamlessly integrates with Shopify to deliver personalized email campaigns based on customer behavior.
Constant Contact – A versatile platform with user-friendly templates and tools for list segmentation and automation.
ConvertKit – Perfect for creators and bloggers to build subscriber lists and create personalized email funnels.
Sendinblue – Offers a range of marketing tools, including email campaigns, SMS marketing, and automation.
MailerLite – A simple, cost-effective platform with drag-and-drop email design features and automation workflows

GEN AI

ChatBots

  • 1. ChatGPT - A dynamic language model-based chatbot that enables users to refine and steer a conversation towards a desired length, format, style, level of detail, and language.

    2. Perplexity - Using ChatGPT 3.5, Perplexity aims for accuracy by asking many questions and providing sources to all answers. 

    3. Claude – An AI assistant capable of a wide variety of conversational and text processing tasks while maintaining a high degree of reliability and predictability.

    4. Chat Simple – Turn your website into a conversion and pipeline generation machine.

    Image Content

    1. DALL-E – An AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.

    2. Midjourney - Midjourney is an independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species.

    3. BlueWillow - An image generating AI tool designed to help users create logos, graphics, photo-realistic scenes, and more.

  • 4. Ideogram - is a free-to-use AI tool that generates realistic images, posters, logos and more.

  • 5. Adobe Firefly - is a generative machine learning model included as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. It is currently being tested in an open beta phase. Adobe Firefly is developed using Adobe's Sensei platform.

    Video Content

    1. Synthesia - Synthesia merges text with realistic visuals, transforming concepts into engaging visual experiences. 

    2. Vidyo.ai - Takes long videos and creates shorter video clips from the longer video ideal for sharing on social media.

  • 3. Runway - IS an applied AI research company building for the next era of art, entertainment and human creativity.

    Writing Assistants

    1. Superhuman- a fast email host for busy people that has AI email writing capabilities and can imitate your voice.

    2. Jasper - Jasper is an AI copilot for marketing teams who want better outcomes, not just faster outputs.

    3. Grammarly - Instantly generate clear, compelling writing while maintaining your unique voice.

    Transcribing Text/Meetings

    1. Spinach.io - Spinach.io joins meetings, takes notes, and assigns tasks and next steps to the participating members. Interacts with multiple platforms including Slack & Project Management software.

    2. Otter.ai - Otter.ai can be used to generate a transcription of a meeting in real time or a recorded audio or video file. 

    3. Fireflies - Fireflies.ai helps your team transcribe, summarize, search, and analyze voice conversations.

  • 4. Read ai - makes your meetings, emails, and messages more efficient with AI-generated summaries, transcripts, playback, and highlights. 5 free meetings per month! No software to install, no credit card required.

    Generating Presentations

    1. Tome - Designed to articulate ideas. Generate a presentation, a one-pager, a microsite, and more, starting with any prompt. Tome gives you outlines and options to react to every step of the way, so you can find the best expression of your thoughts.

    2. Typeset - Leave the design tools for the designers. Typeset is for anyone who wants to communicate their idea through visual content – no designer necessary.

    3. Beautiful.AI – It makes your whole approach to presentations easier – starting with design that works faster. Use it to win pitches, reimagine reports, and get better work done every day.

PERSONNEL SUPPORT

TEAM ORGANIZATION & PRODUCTIVITY

Slack – A team collaboration tool that keeps communication streamlined and organized.
Monday.com – A robust project management platform for task tracking, team collaboration, and productivity.
HelpScout – A customer service platform for managing inquiries and delivering excellent support experiences.
Fiverr – Connect with freelancers to handle tasks ranging from design to writing at competitive prices.
UpWork – A platform to hire vetted professionals for complex and ongoing projects.
Asana – A project management tool for tracking team tasks and workflows.

FREELANCERS

  • Fiverr – This online marketplace is full of freelancers willing to complete all types of tasks starting at $5.

  • UpWork (formerly Elance) – Easily hire developers, graphic artists, virtual assistants and lawyers (yes, lawyers) within their network of freelancers.

PACKAGING & SHIPPING

Drop-shipping & Fulfillment

Printful – A print-on-demand service that handles fulfillment and shipping for custom products.
ShipStation – Integrates with major e-commerce platforms to streamline shipping and offer discounted rates.
Packlane – Design and order custom-branded packaging with no minimum order requirements.
Uline – Purchase shipping and packaging supplies in bulk for quick delivery.
USPS – Affordable shipping solutions with free packaging supplies for businesses of all sizes.
Easyship – Offers end-to-end shipping solutions with cost calculators and global logistics integrations.

Packaging Design & Supplies

  • Packlane – Packlane makes it easy for brands to create beautiful custom packaging. Order custom printed boxes online with low minimums, affordable prices, and fast turnaround. We placed a custom order for boxes and we were more than happy with the results.

  • Uline – Unline has thousands of shipping boxes, packing materials and mailing supplies. We order product in bulk to our facility. Most orders will ship the same day and be delivered within 24 hours.

  • Amazon – Order everything from printer ink to PostIt notes. You can order supplies, verify reviews, compare pricing and have my items delivered to our office within 2 days.

  • USPS – The United States Postal Service is our main carrier. Not only do they offer the lowest pricing to ship products around the world, but you can also get free supplies to mail your orders.

WORKING WITH INFLUENCERS

Influencer Marketing Management Platforms

GRIN

Aspire

NinjaOutreach

Traackr

#paid

CreatorIQ

Influencity

Captiv8

Tagger

Klear

Social Cat

Upfluence

Neoreach

Post For Rent

Julius with HYPR

Humanz

Mavrck

Find Your Influence

Heepsy

AFFILIATE Marketing Management Platforms

Upfluence

UpPromote

Trackdesk

Refersion

Post Affiliate Pro

Tapfiliate

LeadDyno

EverFlow

Affiliatly

TUNE

PartnerStack

iDevAffiliate

Rewardful

FlexOffers

ShareASale

CJ Affiliate

Referral Rock

Omnistar Affiliate

Reditus

Cake