We have compiled a list of useful resources that we currently use or have used in the past and highly recommend for your business. Some are free, some are free to try and others come with a monthly cost. If you have any questions or need a recommendation, contact us!
Useful Marketing Resources
Backups & File Sharing
Dropbox
If you do not currently have something in place to backup all your files, you need to get something now! Computers crash and hard drives fail, that’s just part of owning technology. It doesn’t last forever and when it does fail, you better have a backup in place or all those files and pictures will be gone forever! Dropbox is extremely affordable and works automatically in the background to sync and backup everything you tell it to. Set it up and let it do its thing. You can even sync your devices so that you can access your files from any computer or mobile device. I can’t tell you how many times this has come in handy when you are out of the office and need to send a file to someone in a hurry. Just open the app on your phone and everything is right there! How can you go wrong for 10 bucks a month!
Website Hosting
When it comes to website hosting, you have a lot of options to choose from. The most important in my opinion is reliability. If your website keeps going down because you are using cheap or even free hosting, then it may be costing you money to save money! On the other hand, you do not need to spend a fortune to host a website for a small to medium sized business. If you are hosting an informational website or a small e-commerce site, you can still use shared hosting and not spend a fortune to get it up and running.
HostGator
HostGator has several plans to choose from and is expandable as your company grows. You can start with a “Baby” account and move up from there as your needs arise. If you have several domains to host, a business account would make more sense as you can put them all on that same account without spending more money for several accounts.
HostGator also has cloud hosting now which is very affordable and even more reliable than before!
Bluehost
Bluehost offers a lot of the same options as HostGator with similar reliability. HostGator’s customer service seems to be better, however, which is why we always recommend them before Bluehost.
WordPress Engine
WordPress Engine is a powerful hosting provider that offers more speed and reliability for your WordPress website. It does cost quite a bit more than HostGator and Bluehost, but if you can afford it it is a great option for any WordPress website and is expandable as your company grows. This is high-end hosting at a decent price. You will not be disappointed with WordPress Engine.
Email Marketing
GetResponse
GetResponse offers email marketing, webinars, landing pages and marketing automation all on one platform for an affordable price. You can set up auto responders and manage your email marketing with ease. Their landing pages are great for creating good looking pages to send you ppc campaigns and then have them opt in to your lists and auto responders. Check it out and try the free trial!
AWeber
AWeber offers pretty much the same options as get response. Their platform may be a little easier to use if you are just getting started and they do have a nice page builder app to help you create landing pages and opt in forms with ease. A Weber also has a free trial so you can try it out before committing to a monthly payment.
Mail Chimp
Mail Chimp is a great little email marketing program that you can start using today for free. It’s actually free to use for up to 2,000 emails in your list. The paid programs offer a lot more features and you can also drop the MailChimp branding to brand your emails with your own company info in the footer.
Lead Generation
OptInMonster
OptInMonster is a super powerful program to help you create opt in forms that convert! It’s easy to use and you can create responsive opt in forms with ease and have them on your website in no time. You can also increase conversions with exit/intent popups and timed popups that will prompt users to j\sign up for your newsletters and offers. OptInMonster is a great program to have if you are planning on building up your list or promoting to the list you have. You can build your marketing list fast with a tool like this!
Best Keyword Research Tool
Longtail Pro
Longtail Pro is a great tool to use when searching for longtail keyword strings to use in your content development. It’s easy to use and runs alongside Google to find you the best keyword strings for your website.
Image Management
FastStone Image Viewer
FastStone is a great program for keeping your images and pictures neat, organized and easy to find. It’s also FREE for personal use, (About 35 bucks for a lifetime license). ! It’s a great little program that is simple and easy to use. Just install it and the program will scan your hard drive and show all your pictures and images in one place. It even has useful tools to rename, resize, optimize and reformat your images either individually or in batches which saves a ton of time compared to doing it manually. If you post lots of pictures to your website or social media, this software is a must and we highly recommend giving it a try.
WordPress Themes and Graphics
Theme Forest
If you ever need to restyle your WordPress website, a new theme may be just what you need! They are super affordable and Theme Forest has a huge selection of great themes for just about any type of business. There is also a massive collection of graphics, videos, plugins , software and more!
Stock Photos
If you do not have your own photos to use for your website, stock photos are a must these days. You do not want to “borrow” other people’s photos from the internet without permission and run into legal issues later down the line. The good news is stock photos are pretty affordable these days and its really easy to find exactly what you need, when you need it.
Photo Dune
This is a pretty good collection of all kinds of stock photography, graphics, logos, videos and so much more. Photo Dune is easy to use and you can just deposit credits and use what you need when you need it.
Other great stock photo websites include: CanStockPhoto.com, IStockPhoto.com and ShutterStock.com
Contact Us Now!
We can answer your questions and tell you more about what we can do for your business!
Prefer to speak on the phone? Call us now: 603-404-2909