THE ULTIMATE LIST OF

FOR ONLINE MARKETINGPOWER TOOLS

socialproofcollective.com

Tools that integrate, automateand that don't break the bank

 

I’m so excited you’re here. Time and time again, I see solopreneurs and businesses getting stuck on the tools and resources they need to implement their strategy, automate their systems, manage their community and measure their online marketing. Here, I list all of my top tools that I have tested and used for my very own business. These are tools that I personally use and love. Give them a try and see what you think. I’m sure you’ll love them as much as I do. With appreciation for you,

Afton Founder of the Social Proof Collective

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links noted in this document are affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase, at no cost to you. I am recommending them here, not because I could potentially earn commission, but rather because I have experience with all of these companies. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you to achieve your goals.

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 1 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

CONTENTS.  

Website Development 4 Learn the tools I use to develop my website and blog

Lead Generation 5 Start generating leads for your business

Content Curation & Promotion 7 Find content and easily share it to your social media

Course & Program Development 9 Build an online course or program to boost your income

Webinars 9 Deliver rockstar training and promotional webinars

Chat & Video Conferencing 9 Connect with your team or customers online Social Media Management 10 Easily manage your social media community and content 

Image Creation 11 Create professional looking image assets

Measurement & Reporting 12 Measure and report on your online success

Audio & Video Creation 13 Create, edit and publish audio and video content

Workflow & Automation 15 Automate processes to create a more efficient workflow

Productivity 16 Create a more productive team and business

Accounting & Legal 17 Efficiently manage your accounting and legal documents 

 

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 2 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

PRICING KEY. I often invest in tools for my business, but only if I truly believe they will help me to achieve my goals. The tools I’ve included here will be a combination of free, paid, or free with an option to upgrade. Many paid tools will come with a 7, 14 or 30 day trial, which is a great way to test them out. I am including a key to help you to quickly see the potential cost of these tools:

★ Free tool

$ Paid tool, may come with a free initial trial

⬆ Free tool, with optional upgrade

% Takes a percentage of your earnings

 

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 3 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT .  

DISQUS ★ Standard out-of-the-box comments are so drab. I love using Disqus because of all the amazing features like social login, related posts and Disqus is even a social network in itself, driving traffic to my website organically.

POPUPALLY PRO $ Need a pop-up or easy call-to-actions on your website? Then I highly suggest grabbing the PopUpAlly Pro plugin for your Wordpress site. Create as many pop-ups and call-to-action boxes on your website that your heart desires! I’ve seen incredible success building my list and profits, all thanks to this plugin.

PRETTY LINK LITE ⬆ I hate unbranded, long links because they a) look ugly and b) are hard to share. Many people opt for Bitly, often because they don’t know Pretty Link Lite exists! Simply install this plugin on your site, then create links using your website URL. SOCIAL WARFARE $ If you’re looking for a slick social sharing plugin for your Wordpress website, then you have to check out Social Warfare. With customizable buttons, share counts, Google Analytics tracking, and even the ability to create full pinnable images, you just can’t go wrong.

THEMEFOREST $ When looking for a Wordpress theme, audio and video files, plugins, and any other digital asset, I head straight to Themeforest. With thousands of choices and affordable prices, I always find exactly what I need. Just in case you’re wondering, I use the Cabin theme on my website!

VISUAL COMPOSER $ I love the drag-and-drop website builder Visual Composer. It makes it super simple for me to structure my website, including pages, landing pages, and even posts. With tons of pre-built templates to choose from, I can build my website in a snap.

WORDPRESS.ORG ★ Wordpress.org is one of the best platforms to host your website, giving you complete flexibility when designing your website, landing pages, and even an ecommerce website. It’s easy to use for people that are just getting started.

WPENGINE $ Granted, WPEngine is a much higher cost than most website hosting services, but it’s because you’re getting top quality service, fast and reliable servers, and daily backups of your website. I highly recommend.

  

 

LOOK OUT! . Some tools require you to make recurring monthly payments. To cut down on costs, consider opting for tools that are a flat fee or that you can pay for an entire year to earn a discount.   

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 4 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

LEAD GENERATION .

ACTIVE CAMPAIGN $ If you’re looking for an affordable option for your email marketing and automation, I would highly suggest checking out Active Campaign. It has all the tools you’ll need for lead generation, contact management, and email marketing. The interface is slick and easy to configure, especially if you’re just starting out.

LEADPAGES $ If you’re looking for a hosted, pre-designed option for your landing pages, then LeadPages is the solution for you. With tons of integrations, tracking and more, it’s no wonder that it’s the leading platform for thousands of marketers.

MILOTREE ⬆ Getting more followers on social media can sometimes be hard and costly. Milotree is a slick Wordpress plugin that gives your website visitors a kind nudge to follow you. There are both free and paid versions, depending on your needs. With an easy installation, it’s the perfect little popup that can bring huge results.

MAITRE $ If you’re looking to build hype around your product or program pre-launch, Maitre is a great solution. Create a waitlist and incentive social sharing for people to get to the front of the line. Embed a wait list form on your landing or sales page and integrate with your favorite email marketing system to keep in touch.   PUSHCREW ⬆ If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to reach your audience on desktop or mobile, you might want to consider Pushcrew. This handy little popup asks your website visitors to subscribe for push notifications, which they can receive via their desktop browser or mobile device. It’s a great way to offer friendly reminders to your website visitors.

TWITTER CARDS ★ Twitter cards are one of the most under-utilized tools in social media. I’ve personally gained hundreds of one-click opt-ins using recurring Twitter posts. Check out my full tutorial to learn how to implement Twitter cards and integrate it with your email marketing for seamless sequences.

 

 

KEEP IN MIND . Before purchasing any tools, be sure that you review integrations. If your tools don’t integrate with each other, it could cause more work for you later. You may want to check out Zapier or IFTTT for integration recipes. 

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 5 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

 

HOW DO THEY WORK TOGETHER?

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 6 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

CONTENT CURATION & PROMOTION .  

BUFFER ⬆ My life wouldn’t be complete without Buffer. This super easy app makes it simple for me to share content across my networks with a single click. I also love their mobile app, making it easy to share content when I’m on the go.

BUZZSUMO ⬆ Looking for inspiration for blog posts, or curated content? Want to spy on competitors? Or how about find influencers in a particular niche? Then BuzzSumo will have you covered. Check out one of their webinars to get the full details.

COSCHEDULE $ I absolutely love CoSchedule for planning and executing my editorial and promotional calendar. It has an extremely easy drag-and-drop interface that syncs with my Wordpress website and all major social accounts. I can even see top shares of my blog content across social. Amazing.

FEEDLY ⬆ Keeping up with news and content from others can sometimes be time consuming and overwhelming. I use Feedly to pull content from sources all over the Internet into one organized dashboard. With a desktop and mobile option, I can read and share content no matter where I am.

RITETAG ⬆ I see so many people sharing hashtags that make absolutely no sense, that are completely unrelated to any campaign. If you want to use hashtags the right way to increase your reach, then this is the app for you.

QUUU ⬆ It can be time consuming to find great curated content to share with your following. Quuu finds and pushes content to your Buffer queue based on topics of your choice.

 

DON’T FORGET! . Although automating processes helps you to free up your time, you should consider using that time in other ways to benefit your community. Don’t forget to start conversations and respond to those who do the same.  

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 7 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

HOW DO THEY WORK TOGETHER?

 

  

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 8 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

COURSE & PROGRAM CREATION .  

NEW KAJABI ⬆ Creating courses and membership programs can be a complicated process. With the new Kajabi, you can easily upload your course, create sales pages, upsells, and even invite affiliates to sell your program. Memberships and recurring payments are also a breeze. It just makes sense.

TEACHABLE ⬆ Teachable is a super easy way to create and launch online courses, potentially helping you to generate more passive income. With advanced sales features and affiliate opportunities, you’ll be able to launch a professional program, quickly and easily.

WEBINARS .  

GOTOWEBINAR $ If you’re looking for a solution that’s more enterprise to deliver webinars, then look no further than the tried and true GoToWebinar. With easy registration, replays and even reporting, this is the perfect enterprise option for delivering webinars and meetings.

WEBINAR NINJA $ Webinar platforms can be complicated, time consuming and expensive to set-up. WebinarNinja takes the work out and allows you to create free or paid webinars, quickly and easily. Many of the top online marketers use and trust it.

CHAT & VIDEO CONFERENCING .

APPEAR.IN ★ Sometimes I work with less tech savvy clients that have difficulty with applications that require downloads. Appear.in makes it super easy to connect via a browser wtih one click, taking tech problems out fo the equation.

SKYPE ⬆ My business life is spent on Skype (and some of my personal life, too). I love Skype, as it allows me to meet with colleagues and clients without leaving home. With instant communication, I can quickly get answers to questions in a snap.

SLACK ⬆ Jing is a free way to record your screen sharing, perfect for tutorials or even messages to your team. I use it all the time to get my point across, making it easy for my team to execute on a project or for a client to better understand an instruction.

ZOOM ⬆ Sometimes I need something a little more robust than Skype for video calls, training and even webinars, so I look to Zoom. With call recording, phone conferencing, scheduling and even a nifty mobile app, it has everything I need to host efficient meetings with my team and clients.

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SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT .

AGORAPULSE $ AgoraPulse will allow you to publish, monitor and track all social media activity for Facebook (including Facebook ads), Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Instagram. With competitor analysis and user profiling, it makes it the perfect tool for any sized business.

BOARDBOOSTER ⬆ Love Pinterest, but don’t have time to pin all day? Who does! BoardBooster will find relevant pins based on keywords or hashtags and repins them to your boards. You can even schedule repins of your own content, making sure your pins are always seen.

CLOZE ⬆ Keeping tabs on everyone in your networks can sometimes be overwhelming. Cloze keeps contact records, including social media activities, in one easy dashboard. I like to think of it like a CRM and social dashboard all-in-one.

GRUM $ Want to plan and schedule your Instagram content ahead of time? Then you might want to check out Grum, available on desktop. I love using it to schedule my daily content as well as big campaigns to help execute my Instagram strategies.

TWEETDECK ★ There are a lot of complicated apps out there for Twitter management, but my go-to has always been Tweetdeck. I can easily set-up columns to filter out all the noise and hone-in on exactly what I need to see, including campaign related content.

SHARE LINK GENERATOR ★ Making sure people share your content is super important to increase your reach. Share Link Generator will create links that you can add to your emails, social posts, or anywhere else you need to share content. The service includes all major networks.

  

HOOTSUITE & SPROUT SOCIAL . I’m often asked my opinion on Hootsuite and Sprout Social for social media management. Although these are both fantastic app, I find them a little limiting for my needs. However, I would recommend trying them to see if they meet the needs of your business.  

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 10 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

IMAGE CREATION . 

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP $ I use Photoshop day in and day out for my business. And do you know what? I learned it by watching YouTube tutorials! Now I can create my own graphics, without having to rely on someone else. Grab the Social Kit Pro plugin for Photoshop to create awesome social graphics, too.

ADOBE SPARK ★ Adobe Spark is a fantastic tool for any novice looking to create image and video content for their marketing. The app is easy to use and available on both desktop and mobile.

CANVA ⬆ If you’re looking to create fast, yet beautiful, images for your digital marketing, Canva is for you. With thousands of images, filters, fonts, and colors to choose from, it makes it easy to create images that are perfect for your brand.

GIFS ★ I love GIFs. They’re easier to create than most people think. GIFs allows you to use any video online to create an animated GIF. You can then embed the GIF on your website or share to social media. Super easy. GRAPHIC SPRINGS ★ It can be pricy to hire a graphic designer to create your business or product logos. If you’re looking for something quick, easy and free, then look no further than Graphic Springs.

PABLO BY BUFFER ★ Further to my love for Buffer, I also love their easy-to-use image creator that works amazingly well for creating and sharing images to social media. Import images or use their selection of beautiful stock photography. Easily share your creations using the Buffer button straight from the app.

PLACE IT ⬆ If you’ve ever wanted to create those fancy images of your content inside of an ipad, computer or mobile device, Place.it is for you. Just upload your image and it will be place inside of a device, ready for download.

PIXLR ★ If you don’t have the budget for Adobe Photoshop or you’re unable to download it to your computer for whatever reason, Pixlr is a great option. It’s equipped with the tools that you’ll need to create awesome images or adjust existing images of all file formats.

SPROUT SOCIAL’S LANDSCAPE ★ Sometimes it can be time consuming to create images that fit each social media network. Landscape helps you to easily crop and download images that look perfect every time. 

WORDSWAG $ There are a lot image creation apps out there, but Wordswag is by far my favorite. Upload your own images or use stock photography from Pixabay straight from the app. I love using Wordswag to create beautiful quote cards, which work amazingly well on social media.

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 11 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

AUDIO & VIDEO CREATION .

AUDACITY ★ When I help produce podcasts, I always look to Audacity to easily record and edit audio. This is a completely free app and with a little bit of training, it’s easy to create professional sounding audios for your business.

CAMTASIA $ I do all of my own video and audio editing. It’s true. And it’s all thanks to Camtasia. This affordable editing software is so super easy to use, with just the right amount of tools for digital content creation.  

JING ★ Jing is a free way to record your screen sharing, perfect for tutorials or even messages to your team. I use it all the time to get my point across, making it easy for my team to execute on a project or for a client to better understand an instruction.

LIBSYN $ Want to publish your podcast to services like iTunes and Stitcher? Then you’ll definitely want to grab a Libsyn account for podcast syndication. Easily upload your audio and it will seamlessly push your content out to the world.

 

 

NEED ASSETS? . I love AudioJungle and VideoHive for audio and video assets to compliment my projects, including sound clips, music , transitions, and motion graphics. Pre­made assets can take your project from amateur to professional. 

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 12 www.socialproofcollective.com

 

 

MEASUREMENT & REPORTING .

DASHEROO ⬆ Reporting tools can be complicated and expensive for many small businesses and solopreneurs. Dasheroo makes reporting on your social media, advertising, web traffic, and other key metrics easy and affordable. .

GOOGLE ANALYTICS ★ The number one reporting tool that I couldn’t live without is definitely Google Analytics. It gives me deep insights into what’s happening on my website and blog, including sources of traffic, top content, conversions, visitor technology, bounce rates and so much more. Check out my post about Google Analytics, including some of my top dashboard for your social media marketing

ICONOSQUARE $ When my clients are looking to take their Instagram up a notch, I look to Iconosquare. This affordable little app allows me to review metrics include top pins, follower growth, new unfollowers and more.

MENTION ⬆ Wondering if people are talking about you online? Sometimes, mentions can be missed, but not with Mention. The app tracks mentions of your name, brand, product, campaign or anything else you would like to monitor online. It not only searches on social, but also across blogs, news, and thousands of other sources.

TAILWIND ⬆ If you’re looking to take your Pinterest presence to the next level, then you’ll definitely want to grab Tailwind. It allows you to easily create and schedule pins, report on your pins as well as see what’s being pinned from your website. It’s the ultimate analytics tool for perfect pinning

 

 

TOP TIP . Use Facebook Audience Insights to better understand your existing Facebook following. Upload your email list into Facebook ads to learn about your subscribers, or dive into the demographic of a competitor to help establish your target demographic.  

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Don’t be busy. Be Productive.

tweet this

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PRODUCTIVITY .

DROPBOX ⬆ When it comes to file storing and sharing, I couldn’t live without Dropbox. It keeps everything in the cloud and make it easy to access my files from any device.

 PLAN ★ Manage your calendar and to-do’s with this super slick organizational app. Instead of creating a list of things that need to be completed, actually schedule them into your calendar. Just drag and drop and you’re done.

TEAMWORK ⬆ Teamwork is the project management app of choice for me, my team, and our clients. It’s flexible and complex enough for more active clients, but also acts as a great to-do list for smaller clients. Break things off into projects, milestones and task lists to get stuff done.

UNROLL.ME ★ If your inbox is jammed full of newsletters that you can’t even remember subscribing for or marketers that just won’t leave you alone, then it’s time for Unroll.me. Quickly unsubscribe to newsletters with a flick of a finger.  

 

GET MORE DONE . Sometimes it can seem like you’ll never get everything done. I like to plan my week every Sunday so that I know what I must get done. Try to batch to­do’s as much as possible to group similar tasks for efficiency.  

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WORKFLOW & AUTOMATION .

EVERNOTE ⬆ Keep notes and ideas for you or for your entire team using Evernote. I love the browser extension and mobile apps, allowing me to keep my ideas no matter where I am. Get Evernote Premium when signing up with my link.

LASTPASS ⬆ If you’re not using a password vault for your logins, every day that goes by presents a new opportunity for hackers. Ok, I might be a little overly dramatic, but it could happen to you. For all of you who are using Google Docs to store passwords, it’s time to stop and get LastPass, right now. Store, share, and revoke access to your passwords and other sensitive information..

RAPPORTIVE ★ Get insight on your email contacts direct from emails, including who they were, where they can be found online, and even how to connect with them on LinkedIn direct from your inbox.

POCKET ⬆ I often need to keep links found around the Internet for things that inspire me or that I would like to read later. Pocket keeps and organizes all of my links, both on desktop and mobile devices.

SIDEKICK ⬆ Ever wonder who is opening your emails? Or even what they’re clicking? Then you better grab Sidekick by hubspot. Integrate it with your email app and keep tabs on all your emails. You can also get insights into websites, like contacts, revenue, number of employees and more.

SKITCH ⬆ If you’re working with a remote team where you share ideas together, then Skitch is a must-have. Easily take screenshots and annotate it to make your point, then simply share the link - no need to download screenshots any longer! Save your screenshots for later with seamless integration with Evernote (see below).

ZAPIER ⬆ If you’re looking to seamlessly automate and integrate your system, then Zapier is the app for you. With thousands of apps available, you will undoubtedly find a solution to suit your needs. I just can’t live without it.

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ACCOUNTING & LEGAL .

ACUITY ⬆ If you’re a professional who sells their time, or if you’re looking to streamline appointment setting in your business, Acuity is the perfect app for you. With the ability to easily book appointments, take advanced payments, create client intake forms, and integrate with your existing systems, Acuity is very intuitive for consultants, small businesses and solopreneurs.

FRESHBOOKS ⬆ I don’t have a head for numbers, but Freshbooks makes it easy for me to manage all of my accounting in the cloud. I can easily create and send invoices by email and have clients pay me by PayPal or credit card quickly and easily. There’s even automation for recurring payments, expenses, reporting and time tracking for myself and my team.

SIGNNOW $ Having all my ducks in a row is important to secure my business. Contracts are a must and Signnow allows me to easily create and send documents for my clients to review, digitally sign and return, quickly and easily. At a very low monthly or annual cost, it’s just common sense for any online business.

STRIPE % Stripe is another great online payment option for processing credit cards. With no monthly fees and a low-cost transaction fee, it makes it an affordable option for many businesses online. I also love other integrations available for Stripe, including program payments with Kajabi.

 

IT’S TIME TO GET DIGITAL . More and more people are looking to digital ways to connect with businesses online. It may be time to review your processes and become more digital before you’re left behind. 

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HOW DO THEY WORK TOGETHER?

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INVITE YOUR FRIENDS Know other online difference makers?

Invite them to the Social Proof Collective!

POWER TOOLS FOR ONLINE MARKETING 19 www.socialproofcollective.com