Tools & resources
Tools of the trade.
As a digital marketing specialist I’ve tried various tools throughout my career and know the right tools can save time and make work as a freelancer easier. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just know the right shortcuts to use!Below are tools I use, love, and highly recommend. I’ve also included my personal reading list + courses from people I know & trust for anyone looking to hone certain skills or niche into specialties.
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Freelancer Must Haves
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Client Management Tool & Invoicing
HoneyBook is the leading clientflow management platform for independent businesses.
Offering powerful tools for communication, contracts, invoicing, payments, and more, the platform puts independent professionals in control of their process and client experience.
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Custom email domain
Google gives you the tools you need to run your business like a pro. Set up custom email, share files securely online, video chat from any device, and more.
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Appointment scheduler
The best online scheduling tool I’ve used. It’s simple to implement and easy for people to click and schedule times with me. It’s great for guest appearances on Facebook and my podcast.
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Video conferencing tool
The ability to hold face – to – face meetings remotely with clients is gold for today’s VA. I love how easy it is to use for group coaching calls with my students and workgroup members. I’ve also used it for FB live interviews as well.
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Voice Communication tool
A must for remote teams. I can send quick messages to my clients or my team discussing hot topics. Sometimes conveying ideas or instructions is best done verbally.
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Freelancer Contracts & Client Agreements
Protect your business in the same time it takes to catch an episode of your latest Netflix binge. Their customizable contract templates are quick and easy to complete, and cost a fraction of working one-on-one with a lawyer.
From friend and attorney Autumn Witt Boyd
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Freelancer Contracts & Client Agreements
Solid client service agreements and everything you need to know about contracts to protect yourself and look professional.
All the templates you need.
All in one place.
All for one price.
From friend and tax attorney Braden Drake. -
Organize and manage business finances
Bookkeeping is not my fave thing, but QB makes it easy to send invoices, track expenses, generate 1099s, and create reports.
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Business Credit - AMEX Gold
Business credit card to establish credit for your LLC and earn points. This is the one I ues
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Banking
Business checking accounts: allows you to have separate accounts for taxes, operating expenses & profit if you do Profit First.
Marketing Tools
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Easy to use online graphic design program
I couldn’t live without Canva! I use it to design graphics for ads, opt-ins, and webinars plus all the graphics in my course.
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AI Content Writing & Idea Generation
ChatGPT is the perfect tool for marketing assistants looking to streamline their workload and improve their productivity. It. can help you automate repetitive tasks, generate new ideas for content, and even provide insights into your target audience.
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Wispr Flow - AI
The voice-to-text AI tool that turns speech into clear, polished writing in every app. Speed up your work. Less typing. Better AI Output.
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Email marketing, automation, and CRM tool
The user-friendly email marketing platform I use. I love the flexibility and advanced features which allow me to segment and tag my email list as needed. They also offer excellent migration services.
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Freelancer Website Builder
Create a customizable website or online store with an all-in-one solution from Squarespace. Also use for invoices, portfolios, contracts, proposals, ecommerce, & CRM. Choose a website template and start your free trial.
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All-in-one platform to sell, market + deliver content
My course is hosted here. I track payments, student progress, and affiliate transactions plus create landing pages for all my marketing inside Kajabi.
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Private Podcasts
Quickly turn your content into private podcasts your audience can listen to on-the-go. More consumption means higher engagement, more sales, and stronger connections.
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Podcast Host
Easy, professional podcast hosting to create, grow and make money from your podcasts.
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Shopping Cart
Shopping cart platform designed to help creators and marketers sell digital products, physical goods, and courses with high-converting, customizable checkout pages. Now sell courses too
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Website Hosting
Your site speed matters – I migrated my website to SiteGround and I’ve have zero issues.
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AI Copywriter in a Box: Brand Voice Custom GPT
Create high-quality content in minutes, in your client’s voice with AI Copywriter in a Box—so you can focus on strategy and charge more for your expertise. I use it in my business, and it’s been a game changer.
If you want to speed up your workflow and get paid for your ideas instead of just your typing speed, try AI Copywriter in a Box. Use code UNICORN for $50 off.
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Video conferencing tool
TubeBuddy is a browser extension & mobile app that integrates directly into YouTube to help me run my channel. It helps with SEO, bulk processing, promotion and more.
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Social marketing and link in bio tool
Group Leads automates email capture and voice-of-customer data from your free Facebook funnel so you can turn new group members into leads and paying customers.
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Audio AI tool
Turn audio into content, like magic. Castmagic is the most powerful AI content tool for podcasts & long form audio. Instantly generate transcripts, guest bios, timestamps, key takeaways, top quotes, blog posts, tweet threads, newsletters & more.
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Calendar + Event Management
Easily increase attendance and engagement by letting users add events to their calendars, embed calendars on your website, collect RSVPs, send reminders, ..
Productivity Tools
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Automated transcription of audio and video
This is the best I’ve found. It summarizes keywords and highlights making it easy to repurpose into blogs or shownotes.
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Project Management Tool
A cloud-based platform that combines the features of a database and a spreadsheet, allowing users to organize, manage, create workflows, and collaborate on information in a flexible way.
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Task organizational tool
This is great for task listing, scheduling, and assigning to team members. I can organize by projects/launches and know where everyone is at all times with it’s timelines.
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Visual online organizer
Great to organize projects and collaborate with clients. Uses boards with index cards which can be moved along a timeline or added to different boards.
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Project Management Tool
ClickUp project management is a simple way to organize all of your teams, projects and work in one place. Collaborate across your whole organization
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Team Collaboration tool
My team and I use this to keep in touch with ongoing projects and everyday tasks. It’s great segmenting projects and including only members who are working on the project to have access.
Business Tools
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Mini Ring light for Discovery Calls
Feel more confident and rock your next discovery call by using the good lighting of mini ring light. It makes all the difference.
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18" Ring Light for Social Media Promotion + Interviews
I use this ring light in my business for all calls, filming reels and social. Good lighting = you look good, feel good, and show up confidently, you book the clients and you put yourself out there marketing-wise.
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Get a Microphone
Here’s a simple mic for I use for my podcast + course recording, teaching and guest speaking gigs. Only $30 on Amazon
For a heavy duty option: Look at the Blue Yeti – $100 on Amazon
Book Clients & Grow your Service Business
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Community & Mastermind for Marketing Service Providers
This exclusive membership is designed for skilled freelance marketers, service providers, and virtual assistants ready to up their game and book out fast. Includes, job leads, training, updates, extensive resource library, and monthly live happy hours.
Learn Marketing Services
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Build a paid marketing services business on your schedule.
Get the real-world skills clients need (email, social, funnels, websites, basic analytics) and the business setup to sell them: clear offers, pricing, client workflows, and a simple path to your first projects.
Perfect for experienced doers who want to stop “helping” and start operating like a marketing pro.
Program Recommendations
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How to build an email list for your clients
My mentor Amy Porterfield teaches she to builds her email list with 1,000 new email subscribers a week in a free masterclass: The Relaxed Business Owners Guide To Building A Profitable Email List
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Director of Operations certification program
Natalie Gingrich’s program is jam packed with everything you need to know about becoming a director of operations. Get better clients, get paid higher rates. Check Out the Director of Ops certification here
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Email Deliverability Unboxed Workshop Series
Cheryl Rerick is an Email Deliverability Expert and the brains behind Automate and Chill®. She’s on a mission to help your emails actually get seen, especially with Google and Yahoo’s email changes.
If you’re sending emails (and you should be), don’t miss her free webinar with EmailSmart. It’s packed with what you need to know to stay out of spam and protect your list.
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Real Estate Transaction Coordinator Masterclass
If you love real estate and are interested in specializing, consider doing it in high demand transaction coordination. Crystal Allen-Harrahill helps you get started and transform your VA skills into a lucrative real estate transaction coordination business.
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Copywriting Training + Course
Want a skill that makes your rates look… more serious? This free training breaks down how copywriters land high-paying projects without competing against 30 other freelancers for the same job post.
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Pinterest Course: Pin Potential
Want a skill that’s actually “package-able”? Pin Potential teaches a complete Pinterest marketing system (9 modules / 130+ bite-sized lessons) plus templates + AI assistants, so you can implement faster—and even turn Pinterest into a paid offer for clients.
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Social Search Strategies Course
In Social Search Strategies That Stick, Meagan Williamson teaches you how to write search-optimized content that keeps getting discovered long after you post—so you’re not stuck being “always on” to get results.
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Low Content Publishing Masterclass
Learn how people create simple “low-content” books (journals, planners, logbooks, etc.) and sell them through Amazon KDP to generate monthly passive incomew ithout inventory, shipping, or customer service. Rachel Harrison-Sund shares her secrets!
Books on my reading list
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These are books I've read and found helpful or come highly recommended and I plan to read soon.
I don’t know about you, but I love to read and find gold nuggets I can apply to my business. My book list includes: mindset, marketing, business practices for service providers, and a few for business owners. Enjoy and let me know what your thoughts after reading them!
For business sense:Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business by Gino Wickman https://amzn.to/3f7oiDA
Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz https://amzn.to/2XBu0u0
Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less by Michael Hyatt https://amzn.to/2Xzcir5
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg Mckeown https://amzn.to/3C366ql
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear https://amzn.to/3nfPh59
Traction: Get a Grip on your Business by Gino Wickman (recommend haven’t read yet) https://amzn.to/38CVyjL
Clockwork: Design your business to run itself by Michael Michalowicz (recommend haven’t read yet) https://amzn.to/38CVyjL
What the Heck is EOS? A complete guide for employees in companies running on EOS (recommended haven’t read yet) https://amzn.to/3pnyksc
For mindset:Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck https://amzn.to/2XC98CW
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks https://amzn.to/3ppnNNi
We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rogers https://amzn.to/3B11KP1
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo https://amzn.to/3E3tiFy
The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday https://amzn.to/3m2gHMH
Quantum Success: 7 Essential Laws for a Thriving, Joyful, and Prosperous Relationship with Work and Money by Christy Whitman https://amzn.to/3vwTLrZ
Why We Can’t Sleep: Women’s New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun https://amzn.to/3E8Luh3
Rich As F*ck: More Money Than You Know What to Do With by Amanda Frances by Amanda Frances (about to read this) https://amzn.to/2Zk8Jpn
For marketing:Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller https://amzn.to/30P4K4I
Expert Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Converting Your Online Visitors into Lifelong Customers by Russell Branson https://amzn.to/30PrSA3
$100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No by Alex Hormozi https://amzn.to/3C2KYQQ
Stories that Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business by Kindra Hall https://amzn.to/3na3hNQ
For biz owners:The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Goodin https://amzn.to/3jnXEe1
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott (recommended haven’t read yet) https://amzn.to/3jor0bW
I’m always adding to this list so check back often. I also love fiction so message me if you’re interested in what I’m reading right now!
Click here for Copywriting Books -
Recommended
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