Number 1: Trello

It should come as no shocker for anyone who has been following me that my number one tool is Trello.  I love it so much that I’ve created a best-selling course on how to use it!

Trello is my number one project management app & it’s how I communicate with my team (instead of using Slack or Voxer).  With Trello, you can create checklists and projects and have them all organized into easy-to-use boards so you actually stay on top of what’s happening in your business.

Number 2: G Suite

G Suite does SO much…  Of course you’ve got your calendar that you normally get with your Google account but with GSuite, you’re able to have your custom business email instead of babygrrrl0844@aol.com (we all had those, right?).

With G Suite, you’ve get Gmail, Docs, Calendar and more for your business.  Everything you need is all in one place with tons of storage, user groups for managing your team and a lot more.

For example, I use Google Sheets to organize all of my Podcast episodes so it’s easy for my team to reference them when creating show notes for my Inbox Besties episodes and to keep my affiliate links organized and easy to find.

If you want to upgrade your productivity and like discounts, use my link here and enter in a discount code (39LG369CRRMCGT4 or K9DEHDJDJ6RT3VD) to save 15%.

Number 3: Podbean

As you know, my podcast is my main form of content to weekly show up and talk to you guys.  I’m able to batch record my episodes and then have my team schedule them to go out every Wednesday.  Podbean does all the rest of the work for me – it automatically updates my podcast feed to iTunes, Spotify & Stitcher without having to manually submit my podcast to any directories.

They have a free account level if you want to test them out and get your feet wet and the paid version is super affordable at only $7.99 a month.

 

Number 4: Acuity Scheduling

Acuity is a scheduling tool that integrates with your Google calendar to schedule meetings, client sessions and more.  It automatically sends appointment reminders so you don’t have to do it yourself and it even connects with Zoom for your coaching calls.

I’ve been using Acuity for my podcast guests so they can schedule a time that works for them without us trying to sync our schedules.  That way I can batch record all of my interviews and get them done without worrying about scheduling them for the rest of the year.

I also use Acuity for my 1:1 meeting for coaching clients or sales calls. It streamlines the process so all I have to worry about is showing up when it’s time for the appointment.

You can snag a free trial for Acuity at https://kd.ritaester.com/acuity

Number 5: ThriveCart

I use ThriveCart as my payment processor and it also takes care of my affiliate tracking and my affiliate payments.  Once you buy Trello-ing For Traffic or Email Marketing Fairy, you’re able to promote those products to your audience.  ThriveCart automatically tracks those sales and then magically pays out on them 14 days later. It’s really hands-off (which I love) and has great analytics to keep track of your payments and your cash flow.

If you get ThriveCart throuh my affiliate link, you’ll get a 30 minute consultation with me where we talk about how to use it in your business and how to get the most out of it.

https://kd.ritaester.com/thrivecart

Numbers 6: Access Ally

While ThriveCart is amazing for accepting payments and taking care of your affiliates, it doesn’t actually deliver the content of your courses or host videos or anything… so that’s where Access Ally comes into play.

I started using Access Ally when I was doing one of my first huge launches and at the time, ThriveCart was one of the only payment processors they worked with.  They have since grown and have a ton more options & features that I honestly don’t use so I will be switching my course platform next March … probably to Podia.

Podia is similar to Teachable &  Thinkific but they are actually more affordable and come with more options and they work with ThriveCart so it will be easier to merge to the new platform.

I am looking at other options for hosing my courses (like self-hosting on WordPress) but I’m heavily leaning towards Podia.  I’ll keep you posted when I make my final decision.

Number 7: Deadline Funnel

Deadline Funnel is the newest tool in my arsenal for countdown timers.  I used to use Countdown Monkey (which has now morphed into Conversion Gorilla) to be able to take away discount offers on my thank you pages.

When you sign up on my list, you can get a discount on Email Marketing Fairy & Trello-ing For Traffic if you sign up with the “action-takers discount” within the first 15 or 20 minutes.  What that does is after the deadline is up, that discount is no longer available.

What I like about Deadline Funnel is that it connects your website and your email so your audience will get the same amount of time before their time runs out.  This works great when you want to have your offers available all the time (evergreen) and still give your action-takers a discount.

You can *kinda* do the same thing with Motion Mail.  Motion Mail is a free app you can use for countdown timers in your email but it doesn’t sync to your sales page.  I like to have them sync like they do with Deadline Funnel so there is never any type of confusion.

Number 8: Tailwind

You know I just couldn’t leave out my favorite Pinterest app of all time! If you listen to Inbox Besties Episode 76, (Skyrocketing Your Traffic w/ Viral Content & Pinterest with Elna Cain) you’ve heard me talk about Tailwind.  It’s the tool I use to schedule out my pins on Pinterest.

Pinterest loves it when you’re what they call an “active pinner” meaning you’re pinning several times a day.  Who has time for that? With Tailwind, you’re able to schedule out your content and spread out the times so you’re not spamming Pinterest with a bunch of posts all at once.  You can create multiple pins for each blog post and then share them out in your group boards, dripping them out over time and then recycling and repinning your old content along with it.

Tailwind is super-affordable at only $15 a month or about $119 a year if you pay annually and you can get a free month on me at https://kd.ritaester.com/tailwind

There you go!  That’s the list.  These are all of the tools I’m using to “embrace the easy” when it comes to my business.

I hope these tools help you get streamlined, automated and make your business a lot more fun this summer!

Later days!

PS:  Want to be featured as the “Inbox Bestie of the Week”?  Just leave review on iTunes during May, June, July & August.  Not only will you be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card, you’ll also get a shout out on the Inbox Besties podcast.