Resources

WordPress.org – Not WordPress.com

Let’s start at the very beginning and talk about your website (and blog if you have one or ever plan to).  The “go-to” tool is WordPress.org.  This is a paid service.  There is a free version (wordpress.com) but you won’t “own” that (much in the way you don’t “own” Facebook or Twitter or YouTube or LinkedIn). You need to own your platform so you can control it, change it, and manage it.  But here’s the most important thing: there are thousands of people who know how to work with wordpress.org.  That means that you will never be held captive by a web developer (unless you neglect to get the log-in credentials).

Dropbox

This is the place to store and share large files like videos and presentations.  When it comes to digital, size does matter.  You can’t just email files that are as large as a video or high resolution image.  It’s also not good tech protocol.  There are free and paid versions of dropbox.  Start with free.  You can always upgrade if you need more storage space.

Buffer

This free app is simply terrific for saving time with social media content posting.  You can find things you want to share and schedule them, or let Buffer parse them out over time.  Buffer also makes the photos in your Twitter stream large, which looks great and very noticeable in any Twitter feed.

Ruzuku

This is the platform where the courses that I teach “live”.  If you ever wanted to – or decide to – teach courses on line – ask me about this platform.  It will save you tons of heartaches and tech tears as well as money.  It’s the cats meow.

LeadPages

This is a platform that allows you to easily create sales pages and opt-in pages.  If you’re just getting started with online, “inbound” marketing, this might be a bit advanced.  However, you’ll quickly find that sales pages and opt-in pages are super important to growing your audience and making sales.  This tool is terrific for that.

Go To Webinar/Any Meeting

I use a paid version of Go To Webinar because I record most of the courses and webinars that I teach, so I need a reliable and robust platform.  I also do online Design Reviews with my clients and use this platform to conner with them, share screens and record the sessions.  There are free options you can try including.

Aweber

This is the email marketing service provider that I use to send email marketing pieces like newsletters (though I don’t do newsletters – I think they are too lengthy for today’s audience’s).  A free platform that many people use is Mailchimp.com.  I’ve also use Icontact and MyEmma.

Evernote

This is a great way to keep lists and make notes on things.  I use the free version at this point.  I know people who claim this as their favorite tool, so it’s worth checking out.

Google Docs

Yes, it’s part of Google.  This is where I create all of my presentations.  It’s a great tool for collaborative creation because multiple people can work on things at the same time and you don’t need to refer back to a previous version like you do with tools like Powerpoint.

Mail.Vu

This is the tool I use to send video emails.  Video emails?  Yes.  They are terrific at getting people’s attention.  I use them for business development and have had great success.  The one downside is that you need to do hair and makeup before creating the message.

Upwork

This is where I go to hire freelancers of all flavors to help me with all kinds of things.  I have people who help me create the graphics for emails with Aweber, people who edit videos, people who help me make changes to my website.  You need to do your homework here and check the work history and reviews of the contractor (all available on the site).  You also need to be organized and communicate clearly about what you want because freelancers are not mind readers.  Also, these freelancers are from all over the world, so you can decide how good you need their English to be with a filter used while searching.