RESOURCES & TOOLS

I’m sharing my top recommendations with you and giving you an inside glimpse at the resources and tools I use to run my online business.

If you’re a new blogger or online business owner this resources page is going to be your best friend! This page is a complete list of all the tools and websites Trevor and I use to run our online businesses. We’ve organized the resources according to where you’re at in your journey:

Lucky for you, Trevor and I are very frugal people, but we also appreciate paying for high value. We love premium tools, but refuse to pay premium prices if we can find a more affordable alternative.

We’ve conducted thorough research and have tested many tools throughout the years. The list below represents the “best bang for your buck” resources to run your business!

Before sharing the resources I use, I need to share an important disclosure:

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase. This is, of course, at no cost to you, and I only share products that I use and love myself.  Please read my disclaimer for more information.

Resources to START Your Business

Home Page Free Start Your Blog Ebook 1

FREE EBOOK

Learn the quick and easy way to start your blog or business website. This 49-page ebook walks you through how to start your blog without all the confusing technical setup. You’ll learn how to create a gorgeous blog you’re proud to show the world. Creating your blog is the first step toward creating a business and life you love. So get started now and download your free copy of the ebook.

SiteGround

SiteGround is the most affordable, robust, and user-friendly web hosting provider we have ever used. Trevor contacted them via LiveChat and SiteGround answered our question within 10 minutes.  He was already on LiveChat with our old hosting provider for 40 mins and they still couldn’t get us an answer. If you want outstanding support and reliable hosting check out SiteGround.

Divi Theme

DIVI is the best WordPress theme for beginners, pros, and everyone in between. The visual builder and premade layouts make it extremely easy to customize pages.  We’ve used a number of different themes to build websites. When we discovered DIVI and the DIVI builder, our minds were blown. We switched our site over to DIVI and have never looked back.  

If you want lifetime updates of DIVI without the annual fees, check out Easy Blog in a Box below.

easy blog in a box

Easy Blog in a Box was created to make starting a website easy for non-techies. You purchase hosting and we handle all the technical setup. When we’re done, you’ll have a  gorgeous website built with the DIVI theme, 9 pre-designed pages and 3 preformatted blog posts, and our top recommended plugins installed.

Easy Blog in a Box includes lifetime updates of the DIVI theme, the DIVI builder, Monarch social sharing, and bloom email opt-in forms. Plus, you get access to our private support group and video training library!

depositphotos

I used to rely solely on free stock photo sites for my website and social media images. You can find some great images, but then you start to notice those images everywhere! You want your images to stand out and be unique to your brand. I love depositphotos because at about $1 per photo it’s extremely affordable.

canva

Canva is a free online graphic design tool that’s extremely easy to use. I was an Adobe snob for years but converted the day I discovered Canva. It’s so simple to use and allows me to create images super fast. Plus, the predesigned templates are a huge help when you’re feeling uninspired.

Protect your website

Bobby Klink, creator of YourOnlineGenius.com provides a pack of customizable legal forms for your website. Bobby is a Harvard Law School graduate turned online entrepreneur. He is the perfect person to provide legal forms and guidance to protect your website and your online business.

Resources to GROW Your Business

Pinterest Traffic masterclass

Sign up for this free masterclass and learn how to grow your traffic and email list with Pinterest. You’ll learn the 3 strategies that create the Pinterest Traffic Trifecta, why these strategies work so well, and how to implement the strategies for optimal results. 

Mailerlite

mailerlite

I am in love with MailerLite. It is the most affordable, robust, and user-friendly email management tool I have ever used. It’s completely free until I hit 1,001 subscribers and after that, prices are still ridiculously cheap.

Not only can I manage subscribers and easily create gorgeous behavior-based automated email campaigns, but it also allows me to create landing pages, popups, and embeddable opt-in forms.

SocialBee

Early on in my business, I had been complaining for months – “why doesn’t someone create a tool that can do it all? It’s so frustrating I have to use three different tools to manage my social media!” When I discovered SocialBee I was floored I found the closest solution to my problem. The best part of SocialBee is you can customize your plan and the prices become even more affordable! The plan we have only cost $20/month and it’s more robust than MeetEdgar, Buffer, and HootSuite combined!

tailwind

tailwind

Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduler and analytics tool. It was one of the first investments I made in my business and so far, one of the best! I attribute 60% of my blog traffic to Tailwind. The Tribes feature alone helped my traffic explode when my blog was brand-spanking new.

SocialPug

Social Pug is a social sharing plugin for WordPress. We previously used Social Warfare (which we also loved until they took down our website a couple of times). 

 

Resources to MONETIZE Your Business

affiliate for angiegensler.com

Have you purchased one of my products or services and love it? If so, you can be an affiliate and earn income just by recommending my products to others! We have 365-day cookies and pay a 50% commission on all affiliate sales and signing up is easy through ThriveCart!  

ThriveCart

Selling digital products or services is a great way to make money online. ThriveCart allows you to sell digital products from your blog or social media accounts. We love ThriveCart because it integrates with MailerLite, Teachable and it has a great affiliate program. We tried to sell our products piecing together free solutions and quickly discovered it costs more in the long run. We missed out on affiliate opportunities and our solutions didn’t integrate with our email provider. #fail.

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing is a course created by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner. Michelle runs an award-winning personal finance blog, Making Sense of Cents. Her course is a step-by-step guide to creating and making money from your own successful affiliate marketing strategy.

She’s helped hundreds of beginning bloggers transform their blogs into profitable businesses through affiliate marketing.

teachable

The three main ways to make money blogging are selling digital products, affiliate marketing, and selling online courses. Teachable is a platform to host and sell online courses and it makes the process super easy. We’ve taken courses on a variety of platforms and Teachable is by far the most user-friendly. Plus, we’ve gone the DIY route for our own courses and it’s clunky. Teachable is simple to set up and it integrates with MailerLite through Zapier.

Resources to ORGANIZE Your Business

asana

asana

Asana is an online tool that helps you create and manage your to-do list. I use the free version of Asana to organize my to-do list, but it’s capable of so much more. You can also manage large projects and collaborate with multiple team members.

With Asana, I can quickly see what I have scheduled to be completed today and start working on the next most important item on my list. And since Asana is an online tool, you can access it from any device. This comes in handy when an idea randomly pops into your head. No matter where you’re at or what you’re doing, you can open your Asana app on your phone and schedule a task.

BRAIN.fm

Brain.fm is “music for the brain” and my secret weapon. The music acts like a freaky hypnotic mind focuser. (Yes, that’s a thing.) Trevor and I both swear by Brain.fm. The second we put on our headphones with Brain.fm we get laser focused and start churning out quality work like a machine.

I’m not sure how it works or why it works, but Brain.fm somehow allows you to get hyper-focused and instantly transforms you into “get shit done” mode.

G Suite by Google Cloud

G SUite

G-Suite is the perfect solution for small business owners to get email, calendar, cloud storage, and google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for their business. Here’s a great article with 12 reasons to use G-Suite. The basic $5/month plan is all you need to get started.

Resources to STAY BALANCED

Miracle Morning

miracle morning

This is one of my favorite personal growth books. I’ve read it multiple times and have adopted the principles to create my own routine that works for me. The Miracle Morning is a practical guide for anyone wanting to supercharge their days and accelerate their success.

ask and it is given

This book is a great introduction in to the Law of Attraction and manifesting your desires. Building a blog is hard work and often mentally draining. Plus, it’s easy to let fear consume you and halt your progress. This book will help you to master your mindset, focus on joy and positivity, and charge forward despite your fears.

mind your business podcast

This is my favorite podcast and the only one I listen to every single week! James Wedmore is the host and he believes “hustle and hard work are not essential ingredients for success.” James dives deep into the world of mindset and helps business owners build their business with balance.