A good tool kit will save you hours of work. When I first got started working on my own digital presence I took the time to investigate every software, plugin, and platform existing. It took weeks of research before I made my decisions. However, I was grateful for my choices as they have been wonderful to work with.
One thing that was really important to me was that no HTML or CSS would be needed.
So, below is my favorite tools that I strongly recommend.
Word Press is our number one software in our tool kit. It is a website platform but there are some new fancy platforms that compete. Some of the new platforms are satisfying specific niches but Word Press is an all over platform that has been around since forever and is constantly being updated. Many pros use only Word Press but if you want it to look pretty then some CSS is needed or a plugin like the Divi Builder. We trust and believe in this platform so we became affiliates. If we are an affiliate for a business it is because we highly recommend it.
Elegant Themes- Divi is the second on our tool kit list. Divi made it possible for me to create my own website and have the creatives with out knowing HTML and CSS. They are great at tutorials. At first it is really scary and I almost gave up. But don’t!!! Once you get the hang of it , your website will come along quickly. ( This site is built with Divi!!!)
If you are looking for the best web hosting company then HostUpon is your first choice and has to be part of your tool kit. You can shop for hosts until the cows come home. I have used others hosting companies and have seen clients use others however, I have the best experiences with HostUpon. Recently I had an old website that was hosted by another company for years but they had not kept up with updates. Therefore,I had to change my host even though I was super stressed making the change. HostUpon was beyond good in guiding me through the change and quite honestly it was super easy and not stressful. Really I should have made the change a long time ago.
This sounds like an advertisement but this is truly my experience. My husband even says he can’t believe the service level! They actually have a real person help you! In fact I believe in HostUpon so much I became and affiliate for them. I do not become an affiliate unless I have used the services and would tell my best friend to use them.
Canva is in our tool kit and I can honestly say that I could not live with out it. How do I use it you ask? Any creative image/content you see in Fortura is done using Canva. All our pdfs, creatives on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. My book cover was even created on Canva. If you don’t have a creative bone in your body then this tool is for you and if you are creative you will have so much fun!
Mail Chimp is the email system that I use and love. Super easy to learn and has all the features that you would need to get started for free. I checked out all kinds of email software companies and they offer most of the same features. But, Mail Chimp makes it easy to custom your emails and they can look like they are your brand.
RIPL is software in our tool kit that helps you create animated videos, and share them on FaceBook, Instagram, Linked In, and Twitter with one tap.
I first started out with the free version which gives you a ton of options. I now pay $9.99 a month to use the pro Ripl. You can take a look at an Instagram feed where I use only RIPL. https://www.instagram.com/ulyza/ You can link to www.ulyza.com website as well to see how it looks on the right side of a site.
Linktree is in our tool kit because we use it on Instagram in our bio. Instagram only lets you show one link in your bio. However, LInktree is a software that lists multiple links which helps your followers find your landing page, posts, e-courses, eCommerce site and the lists goes on. This gives followers a better experience and gives your brand an opportunity to increase your sales.
Hootesuite is in our tool kit so we can schedule all our social media posts. This is another software I could not live without. I love batching like jobs together so I can be more efficient. I create all my creatives for a month on one day for social channels and then schedule them on Hootesuite. Hootesuite then sends the posts the time and day I have indicated which is when our followers are most likely on the channel. We increase our views and likes and I don’t feel like I am living my life around social media. This frees up more time for me so I can spend more time on promoting our brand to increase profitability.
More tools to save you time and money!
Lead Quizzes is one of our newest software tools we added to our tool kit. We are currently experimenting with it and are finding some success with generating leads. However, Lead Quizzes can be used in some categories very effectively. The learning curve is not long but it takes time to think through the leading questions. It is a great way to segment your customers potential needs. Plus, Lead Quizzes has some great tutorials that gives you lots of help. Also,you should know that we are an affiliate to Lead Quizzes so we get a very small commission if you link through us. We are affiliates with Lead Quizzes because we believe in it and have tried it ourselves. If you click on our link below we will be grateful.
Bluehost is another hosting company that we use and recommend. We love how easy they are to use and how their c-panel is easy to navigate. I have used their customer service and found they were very helpful. Our site runs super smoothly and we never have to worry about it being down. We decided to become an affiliate because we believe they are an exceptionally good hosting company.