Created with Canva
I know….
You are probably like me, when you have a task to do you look for the most efficient method to tackle it.
When you are growing a solopreneur business don’t do it the hard way. Find the tools that will make your job easier and make you more efficient.
This is a list of the resources, apps and tools I use. Most of them are free.
You are going to love these solutions you may not have even known you needed.

DESIGN TOOLS FOR YOUR SOLOPRENEUR BUSINESS

Pexels – Best place for free stock photos. all photos on Pexels are licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means the pictures are completely free to be used for any legal purpose.
Landscape – Here is a problem that makes me crazy. Creating images for social media when it seems that the sizes change all the time. Landscape allows you to drop in your image and it will size it for you. Sweet, right?
GetStencil (formerly Share as Image) This is the simplest way to create images for your social media posts that you can size for any platform. The free account allows you to create 10 images a month after that the monthly fee is only $9
Canva – I have shared this resource multiple times so no wonder it made the list. Canva is a very easy to use graphics program. If you like me hate PhotoShop as much as I do, then you will love Canva. Some images are free and those that are not are only a dollar.
LiveSlides – This is an awesome tool if you do presentations. With it you can embed any website or video into a Power Point or KeyNote presentation making it much more interactive for your audience. Also a free resource.
Giphy – This is just fun and why shouldn’t you have fun while creating your content? Enough said.

via GIPHY

SOLOPRENEURS SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

Hootsuite – This is the platform I recommend to all new solopreneurs for managing their social media posts and more. I love the way you can organize streams to manage everything on one screen. But the best thing is I can upload updates from a spread sheet all at one time. The one thing about Hootsuite that I do not like is when scheduling Facebook posts from a spread sheet the images do not post. So after the are scheduled I have to go in and edit each post to allow the image to load. Frustrating! But Hootsuite does have a free version.
Sendible – Sendible is the platform I just switched to. I find that managing multiple accounts is easier with Sendible. You can also load updates with a spreadsheet and you do not have to edit Facebook posts to allow them to load the image. When uploading images to posts they are stored in your image library for use again. You can engage your audience and the reports are great.
Narrow – Helps to build a real Twitter following. It works by interacting with Twitter users that are talking about subjects relevant to the audience you want to attract.
Want to know which resource is my favorite? Keep reading and you will find out.

SOLOPRENEUR CONTENT CREATION

Just Good Copy – Ever wish you could see what some of the most successful companies have in their email campaigns? Now you can. See what the best write in their welcome email, privacy policy, cancellation acknowledgement and much more. Copywriting is an important skill to polish or to outsource if you are not interested in learning it yourself.
Portent’s Content Idea Generator – Next time you are staring at a blank page try out this tool for creating ideas for your content creation.
Blog About – Need help with that all so important headline for your blog post? Blogabout gives you several suggestions. If nothing else it can get your creative juices flowing.
Grammarly – Grammarly helps you polish your writing by finding and correcting mistakes and making you a better writier.
Hemingway – Hemingway is another great editor for your writing. It will identify difficult passages and the use of passive voice and other writing dilemmas you should try to avoid. Simply makes your reading easier to use.
Content Marketer – Connector lets you schedule and send personalized outreach emails via your Google account. They also have proven email templates. Benefits include huge time saver and increased traffic and connections. Really a no brainer. Thank you @sujanpatel
Buzzsumo – Looking for inspiration for content that will perform well in social media? Analyze what content performs best for any topic or competitorDiscover trending stories across all the major social networks. And find the key influencers to promote your content.
Created with Get Stencil
Evernote – If you would prefer not to type your content and you have an iPhone then download the app turn on Siri. Now click the microphone icon and begin recording. There is a limit of about 30 seconds, you can say quite a bit in 30 seconds, you can record one paragraph at a time. And since the Evernote app will sync with the desktop editing will be a breeze. Of course Evernote is a great resource for gathering your research and actually typing your content as well. I love it.

MANAGING YOUR SOLOPRENEUR BUSINESS

Process Street – Process Street is a simple, free and powerful way to manage your recurring checklists and procedures. They have several templates that you can modify for your own business or you can create your own. I have a website development checklist and when I start a new client website I duplicate that checklist making my job easier to manage.And here it is my favorite tool, I love systems.
Trello – Trello is a project management tool that is setup as lists with cards.  Trello makes it easy to assign tasks to others, move cards around, add images and more. Kinda reminds me of a Pinterest board. Very visual I use it for setting up client marketing plans and invite the client so they can see what is being done at any time.
Instapage – I have used several landing page products and have decided this is my favorite. Quickly build beautiful pages with easy to use templates. Wonderful WordPress plugin and great price. This is the easiest platform for building landing pages I have used and I have used at least four others.
Hey Press – If you are a startup who needs some press or you are launching a news worthy product or service then this is the site for you. Using keywords you can find journalists that cover the specific topic you are searching for. You can then create a list and/or retrieve their email address to make that personal outreach.
PushCrew – PushCrew allows you to offer website visitors a desktop notification to keep them informed when you post something new. The best part is it’s free for your first 500 subscribers. Just another way to build a list of your audience.
Do you have a tool or resource you use for your solopreneur business that I missed? Please share it in the comments.

About the Author: Donna Amos


I believe you can achieve anything you truly want to achieve. “It might sound trite, but time and time again, I’ve seen it happen with my clients. They overcome the fear of exposing themselves to the possibility of failure to creating profitable exciting businesses. My clients do great work, and sometimes it only takes someone else believing in them to give them the confidence to step out and take the chance.”

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