My grandfather was a civil engineer, and he had a workshop in the basement of his home. Tools and woodcraft was everywhere, but neatly arranged like the master craftsman he was. My father has always been fond of using this phrase about using the right tool for the job, and so am I, because it’s really what life (and work is all about). Enjoy this little peek into my toolbox. I couldn’t accomplish a fraction of what I’m able to do without these tools.

It’s worth noting, by the way, that we’re proud to be affiliates for a number of the companies below. Channel partners if you will. So, if you go on to use them as we do, we both benefit. Me in the form of a commission from them, which costs you not a cent. And, you benefit in the form of a wonderful tool that just might help drive your business. Should you fall in love with these tools as I have, why not partner up as well? It’s the way business works, right? Have fun!

Kartra | #1 For Lead Generation and Marketing Funnels

Finally, a marketing platform that does (just about) everything for you.

For a decade, I dreamed of finding a platform that allowed me to create, finesse and scale a variety of lead generation and demand generation efforts using one tool. Kartra finally figured out how to do it. If you’re doing any sort of content marketing or lead generation, and not in the market for an custom-tailored enterprise platform like Pardot, or Eloqua, Kartra can really help make a difference. Done-for-you campaigns, marketing, funnels and membership sites allow you to get up and going fast. And, with legendary copywriter Frank Kern supplying much of the copy, for drip sequences, you lead off on the right foot right out of the gate. In addition to Canva (linked below), THE only tool I’ve ever used online that allowed me to complete a project within its free trial period is Kartra. Can’t say enough good things about it.

CoSchedule | #1 For Content Marketing & Project Management

CoSchedule is another dream tool for me. The only place I put all of my ideas, and schedule all of my content. 

Are you or your team having trouble getting their content pipline moving? Are you missing content distrubution opportunities because your current content calendar allows things to fall through the cracks. CoSchedule will make all that go away so you can finally create, distribute, and manage your content marketing plan. They have monthly plans that run the gamut, and offerings that help single bloggers to complete agencies. Fortune 50 companies use CoSchedule because it stands head and shoulders above others when it comes to project managing content. CoSchedule is another tool I dreamed about for decades and am so happy to now put to use.

Media Temple | #1 For Website Hosting

I only ever use and recommend one domain provider and hosting service: Media Temple.

Ever since switching from a large domain provider to MediaTemple in 2013, I’ve never looked back. I find their 24/7 support to be unmatched, their pricing fair, and their tech easy to manage. I’ve used many providers since first jumping online in 1994, and I know what the good ones look like. One-click WordPress installs help ease you into creating a site if you’re just getting started, and a host of other ready-to-go installs cover just about anything you’d need for marketing and promoting your business. 

Elegant Themes | #1 For WordPress Themes

Divi, from Elegant Themes helps me stay productive at scale. It is the only theme I use and recommend.

Productivity Wins. If you’re building out a new website with a relatively small team, or completely on your own the best way to do that is to leverage the same WordPress theme across your properies. It helps you scale quickly because of the exisiting support structure online, and because the team you outsource to (if you you do) will learn quickly how to manipulate things for you. Which means less time-to-market, and less spend overall.  Elegant Themes’ Divi Theme ships with hundreds of designs of the that use the same theme structutre making its drag and drop functionality simple as pie. Combine Elegant Themes with WPMUDEV, and you may never have to touch WordPress again. Which, of course, is where you want to be.

Canva | #1 For Beautiful Images & Design

Canva changed my life and made me look like a designer. Simple to use and worth every penny.

If you, or your business needs to look good. You, or someone on your team needs to be using Canva. I love graphic designers—they make my writing truly come to life. But, if you’re bootstrapping, or just looking to save on a designer salary that can run upwards of 80K, give another creative employee time to learn Canva. The work they’ll end up with will be top notch, it’ll cost you pennies, and you and your firm will look amazing in the process.