Curious what I use to manage my business? You’ll find my favorite tools below.
Productivity
Text Expander
This lightweight little tool saves me about three hours every month by automating the words and phrases—and even entire emails—I type most often. I use it to quickly fill in forms, email my accountability partner and coaching clients, and to remember things like my bio and my tax ID number when I need them.
Trello
For workflows and resource sharing, Trello gets my vote. I love the drag-and-drop design as well as the ability to embed checklists, graphics, and other useful tools.
Airtable
This is my number one pick for tracking everything from email campaigns to product launch schedules. You don’t have to be a database geek to appreciate how easy it can be to see everything in one place.
List Building
Active Campaign
This is my number one recommendation for email management. It has all the power of the big guns like Infusionsoft, but without the hefty price tag.
Click here to get my email marketing systems comparison chart.
Convert Kit
As much as I love ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit comes in a very close second. Built for content creators, ConvertKit is intuitive and easy to use, and features a built-in page builder as well as a generous free tier to help budget-minded entrepreneurs get started.
Thrive Suite
Thrive Suite is Your All-in-One Toolbox to Create a WordPress Website That Converts Visitors into Leads and Customers
Post Gopher
This handy little plugin makes it easy for your blog readers to download PDF versions of posts they want to save or read later. It’s easy to install and configure, and the PDFs make the perfect content upgrade to help grow your list!
Shopping Carts
aMember
A great low-cost option for affiliate management and product delivery. aMember integrates seamlessly with PayPal, your autoresponder, and your WordPress website, and offers a simple shopping cart that helps you track your sales and referral commissions.
Teachable
If you prefer a hosted (read: no tech skills required) course hosting solution, Teachable is a great option.
Website Management
Liquid Web
In a world of commoditized hosting, with hundreds of websites crammed onto a crowded server and hours-long hold times just to reach the support desk, LiquidWeb stands out. Fully managed WordPress hosting takes away all your technology worries, while rock-solid VPS and dedicated servers make enterprise-level hosting easy.
MomWebs
The only hosting company I know that manages to be both newbie-friendly and scalable, too. Start with their single site plan at just $5 per month, and grow all the way to a dedicated server if necessary. Support is fast, personal, and unbelievably helpful.
WordPress
The only website builder I use and recommend. Others will claim to be easier, but trust me. None of them are better.
Studio Press
Easy to customize, rock-solid code, and plenty of designs to choose from. Studio Press themes are my top choice for 98% of all websites, including this one.
Appointment Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling
Put an end to back and forth emails just to schedule a discovery session or client appointment. Let your clients and others choose the time that works for them, and it will automatically appear on your calendar.
Done-for-You Content
Coach Glue
Don’t let the name fool you! These rebrandable workshops, webinars and planners are perfect for freelancers who struggle to find the time to blog, build an email list, or create client-attracting events.
White Label Perks
Focusing on social media marketing and blogging, White Label Perks offers a wide variety of topics, including many that are suitable for your blog or email series.
Piggy Makes Bank
Don’t let the name fool you! These rebrandable workshops, webinars and planners are perfect for freelancers who struggle to find the time to blog, build an email list, or create client-attracting events.
Hardware
Logitech HD Pro C920
Call, stream, blog and record like a pro in crystal clear HD video and audio. With spectacular video quality up to HD 1080p and dual built-in mics, C920 makes it a breeze to make your video presence stand out from the crowd.
Audio-Technica ATR2100
The ATRR2100x-USB is a versatile content creation microphone, designed for podcasting, home studio recording, field recording, voiceover, and other content creation