Tools

These are tools for bootstrappers, solopreneurs, founders, startups. I use all of these to run my small business. If they’re here, it’s because I recommend them!

Podcasting

• Transistor.fm – professional podcast hosting. (My new startup!)
• Garageband – for editing audio and creating MP3s. (On the PC try Audacity)
• Levelator – automatically fix the levels in your audio files.
• Premium Beat – royalty free music for your podcast.
• ATR2100 USB Mic – a high quality, low cost, dynamic microphone

Online store

• Podia – Podia is an all-in-one selling platform for solopreneurs. It’s where I sell my digital products: downloads, courses, membership, and books. Read my full review here.

Email Newsletter / Drip Campaigns

• ConvertKit – a simple tool for sending email newsletters + created automated sequences.
• MailChimp – another great option for email newsletters and automations. Free for up to 2,000 subscribers.
• Podia – this all-in-one platform also has a good basic newsletter + drip sequence functionality.

Screencasts / Video

• ScreenFlow – screencasting and video editing for the Mac.
• GoAnimate – create cartoons and animations.
• Render Forest – create awesome intro / outros and animations.
• Music For Makers – royalty free music for your videos.
• DeckSet – simple presentations and powerpoints from markdown text.
• Logitech Pro Webcam 930e – a high quality, low cost, video camera for screencasts.

Website / Landing Pages

• WPengine and WordPress – I almost always build my marketing sites in WordPress and host them on WPengine.
• Digital Ocean – all my apps and coding projects are deployed here. I like it way better than Heroku.
• GitHub Pages – a free way to host static sites.
• WrapBootstrap – themes and templates built on the popular Boostrap framework.
• Carrd.co – the best landing page builder I’ve found.

Images / Graphics

• Canva – create banners, ebook covers, social media headers and more.
• Unsplash – awesome, royalty free images.
• Pexels – a great collection of stock photos.
• PlaceIt – easily create Macbook, iPad, iMac & iPhone mockups and demo videos.
• LogoJoy – simple logo generator.

Creating eBooks / PDFs

• Reedsy – I use Reedsy for writing, layout, and publishing of ebooks.
• Grammarly – check your writing for typos and grammar mistakes.

Those are the big ones. I’ll continue to add / modify this list as I think of other things.

Note: some of these links are affiliate links. This means I’ll get a small percentage commission on the sale.