15 USEFUL TOOLS FOR ONLINE BUSINESS OWNERS + FREELANCERS
When it comes to useful tools to help us grow our businesses, there are endless possibilities.
From funnel builders, content storers, social media schedulers, accounting software - it can quickly become very overwhelming (not to mention expensive).
Over the past 3.5 years in business, I’ve tried and tested a lot of recommended tools but there are only 7 tools I rely on and use almost every single day. I’ve also included 8 other useful tools that have helped me grow my business but aren’t completely necessary if you’re in the early stages.
*This post contains affiliate links which means, whilst you won’t be charged anything, I may receive a small commission if you choose to use a product or service recommended.
Canva Pro - $12.95 per month
Canva is where I create all my images for social media, Pinterest, blog posts, my podcast - if I’ve created an image, you can guarantee it was done with Canva. I find it simple to use and although there is a free version, I like the option to create brand kits with your branding colours/fonts and the ability to resize images with the pro version.
When I was a social media manager, the pro version meant I could create multiple brand kits for each of my clients so I wouldn’t need to keep searching for their colour codes or trying to remember their font name.
All the content you’ve created is also stored on Canva too so if you accidentally delete something, you can just go back and download it.
Trello - Free
Trello is where I store all my content ideas, map out product launches, share content with social media clients and basically brain dump all my creative ideas. I love how visual it is and the ability to move ‘cards’ from one column to another.
I have 40+ boards full of ideas, previous content that I repurpose and as a social media manager, I used to have shared boards with my clients so they could approve content when it was ready.
Trello is also where I host my affirmations for The Confidence Collection.
Google Drive - Free
One of the things I love about G Drive is that everything can be stored in one place: blog post drafts, podcast scripts, accounting spreadsheets, client pipelines and welcome packs for my clients. I also like to create workbooks using Google Slides so my clients can fill in their answers digitally (I’ve also done this for the My BIG Vision workbook).
Google Drive is essentially where I monitor everything that goes on in my business and thanks to The Mothership, a business dashboard created by a coach I worked with Gemma Went, it’s easy AF to stay on track of things like profit + loss, annual roadmap, income planner and client pipeline (to name a few sheets included). Get your mothership here*.
Dropbox Plus - £95.88 per year
Dropbox is a great place to store images, photos, important documents and I’ve even used it to host video trainings for my group programmes. I love that I can have the app on my phone and easily access content without needing to be on my laptop.
With the Dropbox Plus plan, you get 2TB of storage space which is a hell of a lot! Again, as a social media manager, Dropbox was a great tool to use to store clients images, logos and content. When I had a Pinterest Manager, we used to share pins via Dropbox so I could approve them before they were scheduled.
Activecampaign* - $204 per year
I’ve tried a few different email marketing systems including Mailchimp and Squarespace’s built in email software and although Activecampaign isn’t my favourite in terms of using, it has great functionality. I’m currently on the Lite Plan and nearing the maximum number of 1,000 email subscribers at which point it becomes quite a bit more expensive - time for a list clean I think!
I love the visual workflows you can create with Activecampaign and the way it fits together with Leadpages although it does bother me that my brand font isn’t available to use.
Leadpages - $37 per month
Leadpages is easy to use, creates beautiful landing pages and has high-converting templates so you can drag and drop your way to a landing page for a reasonable monthly fee. I’ve used Clickfunnels in the past but it’s a lot more expensive and I’m really not a fan of the pressuring sales tactics they use.
I use Leadpages as landing pages for my freebies and find it easy to connect with Activecampaign. Plus it has my brand font which is a winner in my book.
G Suite (Google Suite) - £16.56 per month
G Suite is what I use to get my personalised email addresses ending in @rebeccalucyh.com. I currently have 4 email addresses so if you only had one, it’d be cheaper.
Aside from using Gmail, I don’t think I make the most of G Suite if I’m honest and there’s always more important things for me to be focusing my attention on!
Before I dive into the other 8 useful tools that have helped me grow my business, I wanted to share with you The Freelance Business Lounge*, an online training hub specifically designed to support freelancers in their business.
Packed full of bitesize trainings including how to pitch for new clients, boost your freelance confidence, freelancing and parenting, retainers + legal support and creating passive income, The Freelance Business Lounge is a great community to join if you’re looking for support.
I also recently contributed a training - 3 Steps to Pricing Your Services with Confidence as a Freelancer - to help support you with pricing your services. To join The Freelance Business Lounge, go The Freelance Business Lounge*.
Ok, let’s look at some of the other tools I use in my business.
Planoly*- Free
I use Planoly to organise and schedule my Instagram posts. The auto post tool means you can schedule up your content and forget about it. If you’re posting carousels, you’ll get a notification on your phone when it’s time to post so you literally copy + paste the text into a new IG post et voila!
You can upload up to 30 images a month on the free version and up to 30 IG stories (I think) per month. I like to schedule stories in advance too and although they don’t auto post, the fact you get reminders means you can stay consistent with your IG content.
Tailwind* - $119.88 per year
I’m pretty sure Tailwind has a free version but as Pinterest is a key part of my marketing strategy, I like having no limits on the number of pins I can schedule. Features like SmartLoops also means I can repeat popular content and grow my email list on autopilot.
If you found this blog post on Pinterest, it was scheduled with Tailwind. You can get a free month of Tailwind by clicking here*.
Zoom - £14.39 per month + £38.40 for webinar feature
It’s actually been since lockdown that I’ve been consistently paying for Zoom because not only am I having more networking meetings online and catching up with mastermind friends but we have a weekly family quiz on a Friday that Zoom comes in handy for!
I typically stick to the free version when I just have 1:1 clients but when I’m hosting workshops, group programmes or live trainings, I like to use the webinar feature which is extra and can be added on a month to month basis.
Calendly - Free
Calendly is a great tool to have if you have a lot of people wanting to book meetings, discovery calls or clients you need to stay in touch with regularly. Having a page where they can book a call and it go straight into your calendar takes out any back and forth emails - a game changer really.
I’ve used the paid version before to have multiple calendar pages depending on different services but since I no longer offer free discovery calls, I don’t really need it anymore. The paid version also allows you to take payment when someone books a call - great if you sell strategy calls or one off sessions.
Hellosign - Free
Hellosign is my go to for getting contracts and agreements signed by new clients. The free version allows you to have up to 3 documents signed a month although the paid version is still very reasonable.
Being able to get your agreements signed securely online saves a lot of hassle for you and your clients.
PayPal - 2.90% + £0.30p per UK transaction
I use PayPal for recurring payments from ongoing clients as it’s easy to set up and you don’t have to worry about remembering to invoice. I accept US Dollars from my American clients using my PayPal account however the fees are quite a bit higher than Stripe. But sometimes convenience wins.
Also, PayPal is a well-trusted brand so giving clients and customers on my website the option means they’re more likely to buy.
Stripe - 1.4% + £0.20p per European transaction
I love Stripe because you can send an invoice with a payment link so the customer can pay with a credit card. Much easier for the client than having to pay via bank transfer. Stripe also integrates easily with my website which means you can buy my products from here!
Squarespace - £28.80 per month
I know people rave about Wordpress but I wanted a website that was easy to create, easy to update and that I could do myself without a lot of fuss. There are cheaper tiers on Squarespace but I like that I can sell my workbooks and other products directly from my site.