Tools & Links
Digital Marketing tools and resources that I recommended every day.
I have put together a fairly comprehensive list of tools and resources that can help you in multiple areas of digital marketing (not just email, social media, and your website). Some are free, others have a trial period or low cost . . . all are useful tools for businesses, non-profits, and organizations that want to grow their business or events effectively and efficiently in today’s environment.
Over 30+ years, I have gained a wide variety of knowledge and experience through the ever-changing landscape of the Internet. As more people decide to start their own business or an organization has decided to enter a new digital environment, they need to use what works. I figured I would share what I believe are the best tools for businesses and organizations to succeed with all areas of Digital Marketing, (more than just email, website, and social media).
I have broken it into 8 categories. If you have a favorite tool you like, please shoot me an email and I will check it out. I am always willing to learn and share my knowledge with others.
- DM Marketing Tools
- DM Management Tools
- DM Content Tools
- DM Lead Tools
- DM Engagement Tools
- Graphics Tools
- Miscellaneous Resources
- Security Tools
Successful Digital Marketing is managing a wide variety of tools and applications. Here are some tools that help you with the MARKETING aspect.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
If you have a shopping cart, Klaviyo is a must to increase your sales. Not just email marketing. Klaviyo integrates most (if not all) of your customer data from a variety of sources and allows you to keep your customers happy. Turn one–time visitors into customers for life with Klaviyo’s data‑proven marketing platform. Send relevant, well–timed email and SMS that increase lifetime values. (Plus, it’s easy.) And their support is top of the line.
10to8 makes it easy to offer online appointment scheduling, online payments, contact management, and even document sharing and puts it in a beautiful slide out right on your website. Beyond simple contact management, you can create forms, create invoices, have your client/prospect schedule their appointment at any time. The internet is on 24 hours a day, and now you can take advantage of that and get new business 24 hours a day.
Another great automation app you can use is Buffer, it gives you scheduling capabilities and reporting, but the big plus for this one is that it allows you to put evergreen content [which is content that is relevant no matter when it was published] into a queue to easily share later. This can make your social posting even faster.
Find content even quicker by using Buffer’s suggestions tool. You can set up topics you’re interested in receiving and Buffer will add articles they find around your topic! They’ll even shrink the link and add the handle of the author, so all you have to do is pick and time and schedule your tweet.
Create branded emails that get results, sell products, build a website, and make it easy for people to find you—all from a single platform. Start your free trial today and one of our coaches will reach out to help you set up for success. It’s their entire goal.
Sales and Marketing Automation built to help you grow without chaos. Keap combines CRM, marketing and sales automation, and payments in one platform. The result? More sales. Less late nights.
A great base level email marketing program for everyone. Espcially small businesses getting started. Turbo-charge your list growth with Robly and get more opens with OpenGen, RoblyAI and RoblyENGAGE.
Making SEO so easy your grandmother could do it. Get your website on the first page of Google (even if you’re not sure what you’re doing). The SEO Checklist is a step-by-step guide to every important SEO action you need to take to optimize your website and get more organic traffic.
The Link Chest is a collection of high-quality, easy-to-win backlink opportunities. It’s the smart way to kickstart your SEO mission and improve the rank of your website in Google. Boost your site’s Google ranking with 1,248 easy to get backlinks
The SOP Collection is a series of detailed procedures that walk you through the important SEO steps you need to take to rank your site on page #1 of Google. Basically, the instruction manual for reaching page one of Google.
The Only All-In-One Text Messaging Service. They make it easy, fast and affordable to send SMS marketing campaigns or engage in 1-on-1 conversations with customers.
Promote your business online with marketing powered by AI. The Unbounce Conversion Intelligence™ Platform lets you quickly create and optimize campaigns that get more of your visitors to take action. Build Landing Pages & Optimize Your Campaigns with Conversion Intelligence
If you are doing paid advertising (PPC) then you need to look at Whatagraph. Marketing professionals use Whatagraph to track campaign results across different channels. Build customizable visual reports and let data insights lead the way. Custom plan pricing is the way to go with these guys.
Digital Marketing MANAGEMENT is about getting the best bang for your buck. These tools do a good job of helping manage data insights, content, and digital marketing (to name a few) all in one dashboard.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
The Diib Answer Engine combines your actual analytics data with a deep analysis of your website, competitors’ websites, and industry benchmarks to tell you how to quickly grow online. Sign up for free and check out your website results! After all, information is power.
Build your team’s perfect project management tools. Manage simple to complex projects and everything in between with monday.com. Here is just a sample of things you can manage: Project management, Sales and CRM Marketing, Creative and Design, Software Development, Task Management, Operations, HR and Recruitment, IT, 200+ other workflows.
#1 Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress that’s Easy and Powerful. MonsterInsights is the best Google Analytics Plugin for WordPress. Real-time stats, tracking, and so much more.
The first CRM designed by salespeople, for salespeople. Do more to grow your business. It’s an all-in-one sales platform for growing revenue. Full of features that help you prioritize deals, track performance, predict revenue, & Smart Docs. User Friendly UI. Simple Pricing.
Complete Online Digitial Dashboard. Start with a free website audit, and get better from there. 50+ tools on SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC (pay-per-click) and social media marketing to help you attract and grow your audience online faster.
#1 Instagram Marketing Agency Dashboard. Grow your Instagram with real followers that will like, comment and engage with your content. If you’re lagging behind on Instagram, let them help handle what you’re missing.
Marketing of any kind is impossible with CONTENT. Creating unique and quality content for your various digital (or physical) marketing channels is a challenge. These tools help make the job easier at a reasonable price. You should definitely consider at least one of these suggestions.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
Curating Content should be a very important part of your social media strategy and it can become very time-consuming if you’re not using the right tools. This is the best RSS tool I have found.
Adding content is as simple as searching your topic or blog name and the interface is incredibly easy to navigate, organize and add new feeds. If you’re using Feedly on your desktop, you’ll want to make sure to download the app to all of your mobile devices because it will look very similar to what you’re used to using.
Flipboard allows you to create a personal magazine to help curate content.
Choose your favorite social networks, publications, and blogs to view all on one aesthetically pleasing platform. This is especially impressive on a tablet. It makes finding content fun and it no longer feels like work. Subscribe to different magazines to get real time updates when a new piece of content is created and share it with your Flipboard and other social networks.
This can easily be done by clicking on the plus signs next to a magazine or story. Now you can make the internet work FOR you.
Pocket is another free app that you can add to your phone or access on your desktop as a plug-in. While you’re perusing the interwebs on desktop or mobile, you can click a button to save a video, link, article, or video to your Pocket list. Later on, when you want to schedule that to share with your audience, you can access your list and share it from there. It’s a great way to bookmark in a more user friendly way than a traditional bookmark list.
Hand-Curated Content Powered by AI. Grow your social media following by sharing relevant curated content entirely on autopilot. Over 500 categories to create your own customized feed.
Unlock the value and potential of Social Sharing! To be valuable to your clients or customers you need to provide value first. And one of the easiest and best ways is to share content that you find valuable. This is called curation. But you don’t just want to send someone out on the internet without a way to COME BACK to you. Sniply allows a way to share content and still have them return by attaching your own Call-To-Action to every link. And even more impressive is the ability to review the analytics of what works. They have a free version, but the Basic Plan gives you some cool stuff including the ability to customize your links. The Pro version offers A/B testing.
You have a great product or service. Now you need the tools to get people to see them. You need to get the word out and generate actual LEADS that will turn into real customers or clients. From a basic targeted landing page, to contests or giveaways, you need a tool to do it properly.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
Grow Your Company Online With Sales Funnels And Discover The Secrets To Creating High-Converting Funnels From The $100M Entrepreneur And Co-Founder Of ClickFunnels, Russell Brunson.
Leadpages is a great platform for creating opt-ins, landing pages, websites, and sales funnel elements. Their incredible customer support team works hard on helping you earn money. Great free trial. If you are selling products or services, this is the way to go.
Create online contests, hashtag giveaways, landing pages, websites & more. Use ShortStack to build tailored marketing campaigns and contests.
No one likes to be ignored. And if your digital outposts are not responding in a timely manner to your potential customers, clients, or prospects, you lose. You spent a lot of time, effort, and money to get them to look at you, now you need to ENGAGE with them better than they expect. Basic automation and more is something to seriously consider.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
With ChatBot, automating customer service is a breeze. An all-in-one platform to build and launch conversational chatbots without coding.
The Most Intuitive, No-Code, Chatbot Builder. Convert leads, capture data, and personalize client journeys in real-time. Engage your audience naturally — through conversations. Capture attention, build stronger relationships and get higher conversion rates.
Connect with customers LIVE. LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales.
A great Social Media Dashboard to consider. Powerful automation tools to take your social media management to the next level.
A picture is worth 1,000 words. Not a new thought, but even more so on the internet. Infographics. Memes. Graphs. Pictures. And so much more. If you don’t have a designer or are running business with multiple hats, creating digital GRAPHICS and eye-catching images can be done with any of these tools.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
Create your graphics for all you Social Media and Digital needs online. You can create graphics in a Snap. LOL.
This is the photo source I use if I can’t find it free at the Free Images website. The credit system works well, and I usually buy the small photos anyway. You don’t need a high DPI for internet work.
Color Cop is a multi-purpose color picker for web designers and programmers. It identifies and represents colors in various hex color code formats. Simply drag the eyedropper control to any location on the screen and release. The hex color code for the selected color will be automatically copied to the clipboard.
A simple yet powerful Photo editing software that’s real, intelligent, and creative.
Royalty-free Stock Photos, Vector Images, Videos and Music. 219 million files on Deposit Photos: royalty-free images, videos, vectors, illustrations, and music.
Royalty-free Stock Photos, Vector Images, Videos and Music. 173 million stock photos, world’s largest stock community, 38 million users
A very nice source for free photos and clip art. Almost all of these images are royalty free. Be sure to read the “Usage and License Options” for each picture you want to use.
Pablo – is a free, super-simple app designed by the social dashboard app we mentioned before, Buffer. It was designed specifically for creating text overlays in seconds. It gives you 3 sizes to choose from depending on the network you plan to share it to and a bunch of stock images you can pick to put text over.
PicMonkey is a FREE online tool that allows you to edit photos, create collages, and add overlays and text onto images too. Although PicMonkey is free, you can get more features with the paid version, which is $33 per year – totally worth it!
Pixlr – is available for desktop or mobile and it’s a more robust photo editor. It functions like a user-friendly PhotoShop and you can really do a lot with it to doctor up your images for social. If you’re not interested in purchasing something as professional as PhotoShop, try Pixlr. It comes in beginner, intermediate and advanced versions – with free and premium pricing tiers.
Take your graphic hard work, or you own stunning pictures and create Photo Cards, Photo Books, Canvas Prints, Photo Gifts, and so much more. Turn your digital into touchable.
Add awesome text to your photos in seconds. ONLY for Apple devices though
These are MISCELLANEOUS tools and resources I have used for my business. Some are free, and some just don’t fit into one of the 7 other categories, but all should seriously be considered by you. If you are reading this, Thank You for your trust. And please, feedback is welcome.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
Dropbox. This is a cloud storage system to backup all your important files on more than just your computer. Definitely a life saver when you actually need it. Plus, you can remotely access your files if you need to from a different computer or phone.
Find the perfect freelance professional services for your business
GoDaddy is more than just domains, it’s hosting. Your website has to live somewhere and this is a great price and superior service.
One of the best free tools on the market. Every business should be using this. You use Google Alerts to track all mentions of your personal name, business name, domain name, email addresses, and keywords. It’s also a great way to keep an eye on your competition. Once you set it up, you don’t have to do anything else unless you want to adjust an alert.
.
Strong and powerful. Try it now and see for yourself.
An alternative to GoDaddy. Also affordable with great features for the small business.
The US Small Business Administration helps small businesses with loans, loan guarantees, contracts, and multiple other forms of assistance for Small Businesses. The SBDC is a subsidiary of the SBA. Definitely a valuable resource as I have grown my business.
Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) is a great organization that provides assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs. SBDCs help entrepreneurs realize the dream of business ownership and help existing businesses remain competitive in a complex, ever-changing marketplace. SBDCs are hosted by leading universities and state economic development agencies, and funded in part through a partnership with SBA. My local SBDC was instrumental in helping me start my business and I still visit them on occasion for help and feedback.
SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. The key word here is MENTORship. These are a group of over 11,000 professional business volunteers. And that means that they are a FREE service for almost everything they do. There are over 320 chapters and hopefully, you can find one near you.
For those businesses that are trying to expand, this is a great program that allows you to create your own affiliate channel and get your clients to do bonus work for you.
Square
Accept Credit Cards almost everywhere. With NO monthly fees. Complete solutions for every type of business. Using this referral link will get you (& me) FREE credit card processing on your first $1,000 in credit card sales during the first 180 days.
Square is one service for your entire business, from a register in your pocket to reports on your laptop. Whether you’re selling out of your trunk or opening your twentieth location, Square helps make business a little less work.
Thrive is a great set of WordPress Themes and Plugins to Create an Online Business You Control. With Thrive Suite you can easily turn your WordPress website into a full-blown online business.
The world is a dangerous place and the digital world, much more so. These SECURITY recommendations are a bare minimum of what you should consider for your business and person life. You need more than just anti-virus software for your computer. You need to protect your website, and more.
This site contains some affiliate links and we are an Amazon Associate, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links. Read full official disclosure here, you might actually like it.
SSL made easy: great prices, no hassles. The best SSL Encryption available. Vital for boosting your SEO and establishing customer trust.
The Complete Website Security Solution for Hacker and Spammer Protection. Extensive tools with an amazing track record.
Avast One combines their award-winning free antivirus with advanced protection to help you safeguard your privacy, connect securely, speed up devices, and stay safe from has a portfolio that includes antivirus for PC, Mac, and Android, as well as premium suites and services for both home and business.
More than just anti-virus protection. Advanced protection against all kinds of threats. ESET Internet Security. Ideal for modern users concerned about their privacy, who actively use internet for shopping, banking, work and communication. Secures Windows, macOS and Android devices.
Get secure and private access to the internet with PureVPN. Experience The Fastest VPN Service Ever! Whether it’s high-speed streaming, browsing, security, file sharing, or privacy; you get everything with PureVPN!
RoboForm is great application for securely managing your passwords. Roboform has an intuitive organizational structure that allows you to easily find the website and logging in to speed up your web browsing experience.
The one caveat, is that you HAVE to remember your master password. But the good part, is you only have to remember ONE password. And please make it a secure 13+ character password.
Site Hacked? Sucuri Clean and Protect Websites. Both before and after. Gain peace of mind by securing all your websites. They fix hacks and prevent future attacks. A cloud-based platform for every site.