Hey there!
You and I both know there is an overabundance of tools for any online entrepreneur to use. For every need, there seems to be a TON of choice, and the monthly consensus favorite is ever-changing.
So I wanted to compile a modest list of tools that I consider to be of SLAM-DUNK caliber. That is, while you could choose something else for whatever reason… you practically cannot go wrong with these choices.
Here we go!
ActiveCampaign for small business email automation: this is one I use myself, and use for clients as well whenever possible. Super functionality for a super affordable price. It may not have ALL the bells and whistles its 5 to 10 times more expensive cousins have, but then it does the basics extraordinarily well, and has a few aces up its sleeve the others don’t. One caveat; if you plan to do massive, in-your-face affiliate marketing, this is probably not the tool to do that. But you probably already figured that out.
Megaphone for super simple, and good looking, landing pages: when you JUST need those landing pages, stat, and none of the complications – and make them look great, too – oh and, without ANY technical know-how necessary – this is the tool of your choice.
WP Engine for WordPress web site hosting: because if you’re running a blog, a company site, ANY kind of site on WordPress, it’s a really good idea to run it on a hosting service designed to host WordPress. The difference is faster loading times, often linked to better conversion rates and lower bounce rates. This is thanks to cached hosting of images and other WP-specialties. Also, automated backups are part of the deal. You’ll love it if you’ve ever sweated over getting WordPress to run smoothly.
Wishlist Member for membership site management. Speaking of WordPress.. I don’t even know why you’d want to be without a recurring income stream if you have an online business. It’s so easy to set up. There are many ways to do this obviously, but if you’re already set up on WordPress and you’d rather not pay for a recurring fee yourself to run one… just get a Wishlist Member license and you’re set. I’ve used it for years and it just works so reliably. Also works with ActiveCampaign without a hitch, in case you were wondering.
Dropbox for easy, transparent cloud storage. Ah, what would I ever do without Dropbox… I use it not only to store files, but to share them with customers and partners, to deliver some digital products even, and in some cases to automate repeat processes. Couple Dropbox with IFTTT and you’ve got something really powerful at your hands.
I guess that’s all a normal attention span can take in at once 🙂 so here’s just one more for the road…
Email Image Magic is a bit of a specialty tool I wanted to throw in, in case you like experimenting a little from time to time. This is the tool you can use to mass customize images in your outgoing emails. You’ve seen them; those fun images you’ve seen from marketers, with your name and perhaps your home town embedded. That’s the kind of magic you can create with this tool. Try it now before it becomes old hat…
Make it a habit to review the tools you use every six months or so. Not to stay atop of every fad but to see if there’s something that’s a genuine game changer, something that becomes the New Slam Dunk. Other than that, stick to what works reliably. Much like you would with any personal purchase.
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Show comments Hide commentsThank you for sharing tools to automate the online business which will help to save a lot of time and effort. I would also like to share about GetResponse which is a great tool for Email marketing.
Nice Article, I Like your blog and your design. Greeting From Indonesia