Tools I Recommend
Welcome to my world :)
As you know, I've built this site with a lot of love. I've done a lot of research and found the best tools for creating a blog. Today I want to share these tools with you so you can also benefit from them.
But if being a digital marketer since 2016 has taught me something, it’s that the “right tools” aren’t right most of the time.
I’ve learnt that it’s very important to choose the right tools for your business, because relying upon cheap tools to build your business will eventually hurt your online business and you'll end up losing time and money.
That's because switching to a different tool isn't easy.
It’s usually a time consuming, messy, complicated process that can cause many headaches and usually, some data loss as well.
Depending on your business, the type of tolls you'll need will be different.
The list below will be helpful to you if you run any of the following types of online business. Click the one that fits you best:
I run a content site but have little to no tech knowledge
A great tool for you is Site Pro.
The provide the domain, hosting , a professional website builder and many plugins to help you get started.
So even if you have zero tech knowledge, you can build a highly professional website with tons of features, including ecommerce.
And best of all, their support staff is very helpful in case you get stuck somewhere.
So if you're new digital marketing, you'll find that Site Pro is a great service to get started with.
I run a content site and can manage my own hosting
Hosting
Years ago when I was searching for hosting for my own sites, I tried quite a few of the brand name shared hosting services like Hostinger, Siteground etc.
And still my site was slow and uptime was an issue.
This went on for a few years and I was beginning to think that there’s no way I can get fast hosting that didn’t burn a hole in my pocket.
Eventually I just thought to myself:
"You get what you pay for. Unless I spend big bucks on hosting, I’ll never have a fast loading website."
And then I stumbled upon Cloudways.
I had heard the name years before but I kept ignoring it.
My previous experience with hosting had taught me that Cloudways was also gonna be difficult to use and a waste of my time. But I was wrong …
Once I tried it, I found out that the whole reason Cloudways exists in the first place, is it to make high end hosting easy for people who aren’t server geeks.
I used DigitalOcean with Cloudways for a few months noticed that my site was fast, uptime was great and bills were low.
And I started liking my hosting company. Something I thought would never be possible.
I’ve always thought that hosting is the worst part about running an online business. It’s that thing that I’ve always hated. So yeah, I never thought I could like any hosting company.
So if you're looking for fast reliable hosting that doesn't break the bank, try Cloudways. I'm sure you'll love it.
Domain
Every website needs a domain name. And I've tried all the well known ones like GoDaddy, NameCheap etc.
But I finally settled on CloudFlare for registering and managing my domains.
Because CF doesn't just provide domains, they also provide world class infrastructure to keep my site safe and fast loading. The list of CloudFlare benefits is too long to list here so please visit them and check them out yourself.
And if you're convinced with CloudFlare and want a discount, you'll love that Cloudways offers the enterprise version of CloudFlare at a huge discount.
Before I end this post, I just wanna quickly mention some of my other favourite tools:
For sending marketing emails I use ActiveCampaign. I’ve been using it since 2016 and absolutely love it. You can start your 14 day free trial without providing any payment info.
If for some reason you don’t want to use ActiveCampaign, I recommend you try GetResponse. It’s almost as good as ActiveCampaign, but not quite as good.
To build my Wordpress site, create landing pages, sales pages, generate leads, create quizzes and much more, I use Thrive Suite. I’ve been using it since 2016 and loving it. If you also use Wordpress, you cannot miss Thrive Suite.
If you’re not using Wordpress, check out Convertflow. If offers many of the same features but works on non Wordpress sites too. Convertflow's on site retargeting feature is very useful for converting your most loyal subscribers into paying customers, quickly.
For mapping out my funnels, I use Funnelytics. It really helps me understand how to structure my funnels so they make sense and also produce better results.
With Funnelytics you can map unlimited funnels and get a bird's eye view of how your funnels are performing.
And the best part, funnel mapping is free. It doesn't cost a penny. So you can get started now.
And if you're still not convinced, there are 10 more reasons why I use and recommend Funnelytics.
For SEO, I use Ahrefs. It’s a bit pricy and has a bit of learning curve but it’s well worth. Simply because visitors who come from search are the most likely to convert.
For editing images, I use Photopea. Think of it as Photoshop for free … almost.
Well, that’s the list for now. I’ll update it as soon as I find the time.
If you have any questions, contact me.
Cheers :)