Business Resources for Professional Service Providers

I love the automation that HootSuite enables! When I post a blog, it shares it across social media platforms (and group) that I select, I can post from it and schedule those posts, and I can track conversations in social media to respond rapidly.

I use SproutSocial to coordinate my curated content across multiple platforms as well as to track metrics on my social media efforts. Great to have it all in one place. I'll be really happy when it integrates with Google Plus (it does with G+ pages, to be fair)!

If you don't have a business model in your business, you're just winging it. It all starts here and the business model canvas is the best model and tool set to build a model that I've found.

My blog where I post content designed to help small businesses market better, craft strategy, use social media and so on. Constant Contact ranked my blog as one of the top #15 small business resources that a small business can be thankful for: http://blogs.constantcontact.com/fresh-insights/small-business-marketing-resources/

Digital marketing is both a nirvana and a bugbear for most small businesses - here is my approach for developing a system to create leads and grow business via digital marketing.

My podcast where I share 5 minute chats on marketing, sales, social media and other topics to help small business owners.

Sharing your expertise, knowledge, ideas and so on is the backbone of content marketing and much of digital marketing. Wordpress is the platform that hosts many of the blogs on the Internet. In case cost is an issue, they let you set up free blogs too.

While you can get cheap hosting for your site, if you use Wordpress, dedicated Wordpress hosting is the way to go. Synthesis is a great option and where I just moved my site to.

Death by PowerPoint - avoid it at all costs (although useful on slideshare). Prezi lets you create more interesting presentations that are visually appealing.

I use Skype for almost all of my business calls in my office and some when I'm not in my office. The free version lets you call and video call all over the world, the paid version gives you a phone number and you can add more people while also letting you share your screen.

This app is a dream for busy service professionals! It lets your clients and prospects automatically schedule time with you (paid or free), will send questions, invoices, reminders, contracts, etc. It's like a virtual assistant that works 24/7!

Screenflow lets you record your screen and edit footage. You can also add other media to create videos that are great for webinars, marketing, your site, training, etc. This is Mac software, but Camtasia is similar for Windows users.

Landing pages are where you can send traffic to opt in to your email list and begin building a business relationship with them. LeadPages by LeadBrite is the best I've ever used!

Google Apps is a suggestion I received and one that I may adopt soon. It has email, an set of office tools, and much more. I'm considering it to consolidate all of my email addresses into a single box!

The Evernote family of products help you remember and act upon ideas, projects and experiences across all the computers, phones and tablets you use.

...and one tool to rule them all. Nimble is my goto social CRM tool that keeps all my contacts organized as they flow through my Lead Generation Engine.

Canva makes design simple for everyone. Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations and so much more.

Animatron is a simple and powerful online tool that allows you to create stunning HTML5 animations and interactive content.