Resources
My time saving list for you...
Over the period of time I've run my agency, I've tested many tools.
I've picked out who was worth listening to and who to ignore.
Feel free to pick from my collection to find something that you are looking for.
SOME OF THE TOOLS I RECOMMEND WILL HAVE AFFILIATE LINKS.
THIS MEANS THAT I MAY GET A SMALL PAYMENT IF YOU DECIDE TO USE THEM, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU.
I ONLY RECOMMEND WHAT I'VE TESTED FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, THAT I LOVE AND PERSONALLY USE.
Creator Toolkit
DESIGN: CANVA.COM
Used for: designing quick social media graphics, headers for emails, GIF's & animated designs for content. Its the only design tool we use with our clients at my agency, because we can easily create on-brand templates for them to use for content. Brilliant! Find out more here.
VIDEO EDITING: WAVE.VIDEO
Used for: designing videos for social media, testimonials, content repurposing, audio-grammes for podcasts, etc. We use Wave for all our client needs at my agency company. It's easy, but at the same time incredible for what it can do. Find out more here.
COPY & WORD EDITING: HEMINGWAY.APP
Used for: drafting copy for website pages, blog posts or other content. Guides you on use of grammar, word count and headers (H1, H2, etc). Find out more here.
LIVESTREAMING: ECAMM (for MAC only)
Used for: recording training with graphics, or stream webinars to social media accounts or Zoom. Incredibly easy to set-up and use. I am a Mac user, so I like things that work well. Find out more here.
WEBCAM: LOGITECH BRIO STREAM
Used for: video calls or training on desktop computer (PC or MAC). This camera has superhero quality and gives you the cool blurry background. Be clear and in-focus for your online work with your clients and videos. (UK Amazon link here).
DSLR CAMERA: SONY VLOG CAMERA ZV-1
Used for: taking out and about and recording videos and taking shots. Has a flip screen, so you can see yourself while filming. You can also use this camera as a webcam in the office and hook up to your computer (PC and MAC). (UK Amazon link here)
MICROPHONES: RODE
Used for: great audio when recording videos or audio on your phone or computer. For recording on the move - I love my good old fashioned wired Lavalier mics, however you could also look at the RODE WIRELESS GO which are fab little things too. For recording at your computer, we have a RODE USB mic that we use that works a treat.
Tech stack toolkit
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: ASANA.COM
Used for: managing template tasks for content creation, managing delegation between team members. Find out more.
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT: AGORAPULSE.COM
Used for: distributing and scheduling content, managing incoming comments across all social platforms. I am a Brand Ambassador and use this tool daily in my Agency business. I can offer you 2 FREE months to try it out > find out more here.
ONLINE COURSE CREATION: THINKIFIC.COM
Used for: designing, hosting and delivering online courses. Find out more here.
SHOPPINGCART SOFTWARE: THRIVECART
Used for: helping with online purchases for your online programmes or products. It's particularly useful for subject matter experts (service providers) who run webinars and want to create offers within the webinar itself. Super easy to use and integrate. Find out more here.
QUIZ SOFTWARE: TRYINTERACT.COM
Used for: designing a lead generating quiz to build your list or generate warm leads into your marketing ecosystem. Find out more here.
VIDEO CONFERENCING: ZOOM
Used for: having one-to-one or one-to-many remote video meetings with people. I completely moved to Zoom after horrendous Skype updates that just kept crashing on my Mac. I haven't looked back. Find out more here.
Who's who list
CONTENT MARKETING: ANN HANDLEY
A real pioneer, and fantastic at her craft. She has a great email newsletter called Ann-archy (her 'hero' content). Pure gold. Check out her website and sign up to Ann-archy.
INSTAGRAM: JENN HENMAN
One of the forerunning experts on Instagram. There are a few out there - but Jenn annoys me the least, and makes the most sense. Hope that's helpful? Find out more about her on her website.
FACEBOOK ADS TRAINING: ANDREA VAHL
Andrea is the real deal and very good at what she does. She runs programmes to teach business owners all about Facebook Ads so they can either (a) run them, themselves or (b) understand them better to delegate it out. She also trains social media professionals looking to add paid campaign work to their product offering. Learn more here.
CUSTOMER / BRAND EXPERIENCE
I have a few people I would suggest here, for different reasons: Andrew Davis (for his Loyalty Loop concept); Jay Baer (for his Talk Triggers concept); Victoria Taylor (for her experience in Luxury Hospitality brands); and Marty Neumeier (brand genius who explains brand experience really well in his books)
BRAND PURPOSE
If you need to delve further into Brand Purpose work (and haven't done my Brand Compass Programme), then look to Simon Sinek (to help with your WHY) or Michael Hyatt (to drill down on your vision)
