Regular readers will know that I like to mix things up – some of my posts are themed and others are a smorgasbord of wonderful things you can get for nada.
This week, I’ve put together a huge list of my fave things you can get for free that will boost your business and your life.
There’s something here for everyone from complete beginner to advanced marketers…enjoy!
For Content Creation & Marketing:
Canva (canva.com):
- What it is: A graphic design platform with templates for social media posts, ebooks, presentations, and more.
- Why it’s great: Easy to use, even for non-designers. Offers a substantial free plan.
- How to use: Create visually appealing content for social media, blogs, and marketing materials.
Grammarly (grammarly.com):
- What it is: A writing assistant that checks grammar, spelling, and style.
- Why it’s great: Essential for producing professional-quality written content. Free version is comprehensive.
- How to use: Install the browser extension or use the web editor to improve your writing.
Google Docs (docs.google.com):
- What it is: A free, online word processor.
- Why it’s great: Collaborative, cloud-based, and integrates with other Google services.
- How to use: Write blog posts, ebooks, marketing copy, and collaborate with others.
Hemingway Editor (hemingwayapp.com):
- What it is: A tool that analyzes your writing for readability.
- Why it’s great: Helps you write clear and concise content.
- How to use: Paste your text into the editor to get feedback on sentence structure and complexity.
Unsplash (unsplash.com) & Pexels (pexels.com):
- What they are: Free stock photo and video websites.
- Why they’re great: High-quality, royalty-free images and videos for your content.
- How to use: Download images and videos for blog posts, social media, and marketing materials.
AnswerThePublic (answerthepublic.com):
- What it is: A keyword research tool that visualizes search queries.
- Why it’s great: Helps you understand what people are searching for. Limited free daily searches.
- How to use: Enter a keyword to generate a visual map of related questions and phrases.
Google Trends (trends.google.com):
- What it is: A tool that shows the popularity of search terms over time.
- Why it’s great: Helps you identify trending topics and keywords.
- How to use: Explore trending searches and compare the popularity of different keywords.
For Website & SEO:
Google Analytics (analytics.google.com):
- What it is: A website analytics platform.
- Why it’s great: Tracks website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.
- How to use: Install the tracking code on your website to monitor performance.
Google Search Console (search.google.com/search-console):
- What it is: A tool that helps you monitor and maintain your website’s presence in Google Search results.
- Why it’s great: Provides insights into search performance, indexing issues, and backlinks.
- How to use: Verify your website and use the tools to improve your SEO.
Yoast SEO (wordpress.org/plugins/yoast-seo):
- What it is: A WordPress plugin for SEO optimization.
- Why it’s great: Helps you optimize your website content for search engines. Free version is very useful.
- How to use: Install the plugin and follow the recommendations to improve your SEO.
Ubersuggest (https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/):
- What it is: a keyword research and SEO analysis tool.
- Why it’s great: provides Keyword ideas, SEO audits, and backlink information. Limited free usage.
- How to use: Enter your website or keywords to get insights.
For Email Marketing & Automation:
Mailchimp (mailchimp.com):
- What it is: An email marketing platform.
- Why it’s great: Offers a free plan for up to 2,000 contacts and basic email marketing features.
- How to use: Create email lists, design email campaigns, and automate email sequences.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) (brevo.com):
- What it is: An email marketing and SMS marketing platform.
- Why it’s great: Offers a free plan with daily email sending limits.
- How to use: Create email campaigns, manage contacts, and automate workflows.
For Self-Publishing:
Kindle Direct Publishing (kdp.amazon.com):
- What it is: Amazon’s self-publishing platform.
- Why it’s great: Allows you to publish ebooks and paperbacks on Amazon.
- How to use: Format your book, create a cover, and upload it to KDP.
Draft2Digital (draft2digital.com):
- What it is: A book distribution platform.
- Why it’s great: Distributes ebooks to multiple retailers, including Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
- How to use: Upload your book and let Draft2Digital handle distribution.
Reedsy Book Editor (reedsy.com/write-a-book):
- What it is: A free online book editor.
- Why it’s great: Helps you format your book for professional publishing.
- How to use: Write and format your book directly in the editor.
LibreOffice (libreoffice.org):
- What it is: a free and open source office suite.
- Why it’s great: a powerful alternative to Microsoft office, and can be used to format books.
- How to use: create and format documents.
For Productivity & Organization:
Trello (trello.com):
- What it is: A visual project management tool.
- Why it’s great: Helps you organize tasks, projects, and workflows.
- How to use: Create boards, lists, and cards to manage your work.
Google Calendar (calendar.google.com):
- What it is: A free online calendar.
- Why it’s great: Helps you schedule appointments, tasks, and deadlines.
- How to use: Create events, set reminders, and share calendars with others.
Evernote (evernote.com):
- What it is: A note-taking and organization app.
- Why it’s great: Helps you capture and organize ideas, notes, and web clippings.
- How to use: Create notebooks, notes, and tags to organize your information.
Video Marketing:
DaVinci Resolve (blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve):
- While it has a powerful paid version, the free version is incredibly robust for video editing, color correction, and audio post-production.
- Why it’s great: Professional-level video editing without the hefty price tag.
- How to use: Edit marketing videos, tutorials, and social media content.
OBS Studio (obsproject.com):
- A free and open-source software for video recording and live streaming.
- Why it’s great: Perfect for creating webinars, online courses, and live Q&A sessions.
- How to use: Record your screen, webcam, and audio for live streaming or video production.
Podcast Marketing:
Audacity (audacityteam.org):
- A free, open-source audio editor and recorder.
- Why it’s great: Essential for editing podcast episodes, audiobooks, and voiceovers.
- How to use: Record and edit audio files, remove noise, and add effects.
Spotify for Creators (https://creators.spotify.com/features/podcast):
- Free platform to create and distribute a podcast.
- Why it’s great: easy to use, and distributes your podcast to many platforms.
- How to use: record audio, edit, and publish.
Social Media Scheduling:
Buffer (buffer.com):
- Offers a limited free plan for scheduling social media posts.
- Why it’s great: Saves time and helps maintain a consistent social media presence.
- How to use: Schedule posts across multiple social media platforms.
Advanced Website & SEO Strategies:
Keyword Research:
Keywords Everywhere (keywordseverywhere.com):
- A browser extension that shows keyword search volume and related keywords. Limited free uses.
- Why it’s great: Provides instant keyword data within Google Search and other websites.
- How to use: Research keywords for blog posts, website content, and PPC campaigns.
SEMrush (semrush.com) & Ahrefs (ahrefs.com):
- While these are primarily paid tools, they often offer limited free trials or free access to some of their tools. Take advantage of those limited free uses.
- Why they’re great: Powerful SEO and competitor analysis tools.
- How to use: Analyze competitor websites, track keyword rankings, and identify backlink opportunities.
Website Speed Optimization:
Google Page Speed Insights (developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/):
- A tool that analyzes website speed and provides recommendations for improvement.
- Why it’s great: Helps improve website performance and user experience.
- How to use: Enter your website URL to get a speed score and optimization suggestions.
Website Security:
Cloudflare (cloudflare.com):
- Offers a free plan with basic website security and performance features.
- Why it’s great: Protects your website from DDoS attacks and improves website speed.
- How to use: Sign up for a free account and configure your website settings.
More Resources for Self-Publishing
Book Cover Design:
DIY Book Covers (diybookcovers.com):
- Provides free templates and tutorials for creating book covers.
- Why it’s great: Helps create professional-looking book covers without hiring a designer.
- How to use: Download templates and use image editing software to customize your cover.
Book Promotion:
BookBub (bookbub.com):
- While featured deals are paid, BookBub offers free resources and tips for book promotion.
- Why it’s great: Connects authors with readers and provides marketing insights.
- How to use: Explore marketing tips and consider applying for a featured deal.
Goodreads (goodreads.com):
A social networking site for readers.
Why it’s great: A place to promote your book, and connect with readers.
How to use: create an author profile, and participate in groups.
Business Tools
Time Tracking:
Toggl Track (toggl.com/):
A free time tracking tool.
Why it’s great: allows you to track where your time is spent.
How to use: start and stop timers for different tasks.
Online Invoicing:
Wave (waveapps.com):
Free accounting and invoicing software.
Why it’s great: creates and sends professional invoices.
How to use: create an account, and create invoices.
Virtual Meetings:
Google Meet (meet.google.com):
Free video conferencing.
Why it’s great: easy to use, and integrates with google calendar.
How to use: create a meeting, and invite participants.
Your TED talk this week is on one of my favourite subjects – how your brain responds to stories and why they are crucial for leaders (and marketers):
