AG Recommends – Tools and Resources to Power your Success
Welcome to AG Recommends – The Resource Section of Anjuli Gopalakrishna Training and Consulting. Here I have put together a curated list of tools and resources which I strongly recommend for building and optimizing your business. I have tested every recommendation personally and have used it successfully to achieve my business objectives.
*Many of these links in this resource are affiliate links, which means I may get a commission if you complete a purchase. With that said, none of the items that I refer are items that I don’t use or have used in my business.
Content Creation – Graphics and Video
Canva
Canva – Power Tool for Small Business Owners
If you are a small business owner, soloprreneur, and you are not in a position to pay hefty agency fees to create professional graphics for your content marketing needs or even hire a freelancer to do the job, no worries. You can use this powerful tool Canva to create professional looking graphics using pre-designed templates which are fully customizable! This is one of my top entries in the ‘must have’ ‘power-tool kit”
Wave Video
Easy Video Creation Tool
If you are a small business owner, soloprreneur, and you are not in a position to pay hefty agency fees to create professional videos for your content marketing needs or even hire a freelancer to do the job, no worries. You can use this powerful tool Wave Video to create professional looking videos using their in-built stock footage library, which is fully customizable! This is one of my top entries in the ‘must have’ ‘power-tool kit”. Get 10% off Wave.video, an online marketing video maker! by clicking this link right here!
Magisto
AI enabled video editor
We all know that video is the most consumed content of all and most expensive. It needn’t be if you harness the power of Magisto. Create professional videos just like magic, select from its many pre-designed editing styles, royalty free music and add titles and captions. Upload footage – still shots or video clips and Magisto’s powerful AI works for you to create a fully edited video This is one of my top entries in the ‘must have’ ‘power-tool kit” for DIY video content creation.
Ripl
Quick Video for Social Media
Ripl makes sense for you when you need to create quick, bite-sized videos on the go for posting on social media. The interface is easy to use. Use pre-designed templates for text animations and customize to suit your brand’s messaging. You can use your own branding as well with the pro features. Not too expensive either. This is one of my highly recommended entries in the ‘must have’ ‘power-tool kit” for quick video creation, one-click posting or scheduling on social media and instant analytics!
Content Curation
Feedly
Content Curation Power Tool
If you are a small business owner, Solopreneur, or anybody who needs to curate powerful content on a regular basis, then I hugely recommend you to use Feedly. A super power tool for smart content curation from your favorite trusted sources using their RSS feeds. Curate content suitable for your target audience and share the best and most updated content!
Listly
Awesome Lists at your fingertips
Numbered lists are the most consumed online content. Who doesn’t love the top ten most amazing keto recipies or top ten places to visit or top ten restaurants or top ten whatever! Well this is your source to curate and publish great lists on your websites or even multiple platforms. You can even earn money by including affiliate links on your list! I found this Listcle source super cool! You will too. Try it!
The Information
The Intelligent Information Source
The Information made the cut to my list of recommended sources for intelligent news and information because I distinctly found the quality of their content much deeper than elsewhere. I know when I read an article or news here, it is time well spent. Specially if you are someone like me who is deeply interested in technology. This is Information that is deep, intelligent, informative and insightful. Go for it. You won’t regret it.
Answer The Public
Answer the Public is the best kept secret that the ace content creators use to come up with ideas that will resonate with your target audience.With this tool, you can fill your content calendar (fast) and say goodbye to writer’s block with endless content ideas based on meaningful keyword search. It’s a goldmine of consumer insight you can use to create fresh, ultra-useful content, products and services. The kind your customers really want.
Content Research and SEO
Buzzsumo
Content Research Power Tool
Buzzsumo has to be the most powerful content research tool out there to find the most shared and trending content by specific topics or keywords, and to find the top influencers across all social media channels! Even the free version can give you sufficient value, and with paid version you can power packed features and get some serious competitor intelligence analytics too!! This is one of my top entries to the ‘must have’ ‘power tools’ to have in your kit!
SEMrush
SEMrush is an advanced tool and involves a learning curve for the uninitiated. However, it still makes the cut for my recommendation list as it is a powerful tool which can do a lot more than just SEO keyword research. It can truly help you to create and execute upon your social media strategy, competitor analysis, in-depth analysis, and insights. Try it for free and then take a call to buy it for the sheer value it will provide you! Or Simply type in your first keyword in the search bar above and dive into the keyword and SEO research insights for your business strategy! Power packed and one of the BEST SEO tools out there!
Google Keyword Planner
Google Ads Keyword Planner Tool
This is a free tool which Google provides for its advertisers on Google Search. Search Ads can boost your discovery on Google Search Engines via several formats and placements. Even if you don’t want to go for paid ads, it is still a good idea to open an account with Google Ads so that you can use their free keyword planner tool to do your content research. Find the top keywords or phrases people are looking for on Google and align your business messaging and content. This tool definitely makes the cut for my ‘must have’ ‘power tools’ kit.
Ubersuggest
SEO Keyword Tool
To be found and ranked on Google, your business needs to get SEO (Search Engine Optimization) right! What better source to go to when it comes to SEO than Neil Patel – the King of SEO marketing! He has come up with a free tool for researching the top trending keywords in a specific topic and even throws suggestions giving their search volume, cost per click estimate etc. A fab tool and while you are at the site, you will learn loads from his blog!
Yoast
Yoast – SEO Plugin
I know SEO scares a lot of newbies! But is a necessary requirement if you want your business to be search engine optimized. Even if you don’t know much about SEO, no worries! Because if you can get this one plugin installed on your website, then Yoast will take care of your SEO needs! It is easy to install and use. Get all your ‘meta tags’, ‘alt tags’ ‘anchor texts’ taken care of with this one super power SEO tool. This is one of my top entries in the ‘must have’ ‘power-tool kit” for small businesses.
Content Scheduling
CoSchedule
CoSchedule is a one-stop shop to manage and organize your marketing content creation, scheduling, posting, tracking – all in one place. It does have a bit of a learning curve, but once you get a hang of it, you may not need to use any other tool out there! Integrate all your social media profiles, and install the WordPress Plugin and you can manage it right from your website! Go on a free trial!
Planoly
Instagram Posts Planner
If your business is focused on Instagram as the main marketing platform, then Planoly is your best tool to adopt for planning, scheduling and posting your Instagram posts. Create a curated Instagram Feed using the tool both from desktop and mobile. Add well-researched hashtags, get inspiration, find reposts, Planoly offers a lot for the Instagram Peeps! I hugely recommend it.
Loomly
Social Media Marketing Calendar Tool
From all the social media calendar tools available out there, Loomly makes the cut to my list for its ease of use and competitive pricing. Even the base plan gives you solid value and once you are ready to invest, it costs you as less as $20/- per month to get the maximum bang out of your buck with power packed features to professionally manage your social media content creation, scheduling, monitoring, and collaboration. Go for a FREE trial and see its benefits for yourself!
Social Bee
The latest addition to my recommendations on social media tools that help to curate, schedule and publish content on social media channels. I am loving its user interface and powerful features. What makes this truly a winner in my eyes for small business owners and solopreneurs is its truly affordable price! At $19/Month, with SocialBee’s All-in-One Social Media Management Tools and Concierge Services, you could put your social media overwhelm aside and truly focus on your business!
Email Marketing and Automation
MailChimp
The Email Marketing Power Tool
If you are a small business owner, solopreneur, freelancer or blogger, email marketing is your best tool to build your tribe. And Mail Chimp is decidedly the most reliable and robust email marketing and automation tool out there. Powered by Mailchimp you can send unlimited emails to your subscriber base of up to 2000 people for FREE. Requires some learning curve, but totally worth it!
IFTTT
IFTTT – Automate your workflow for FREE
All that you can do with Zapier Integrations, you can do with IFTTT for Free, and that’s why it makes the cut to my recommendations for small business owners and soloprenuers who are looking to automate some of their tasks. Connect the most common apps that you use daily and create ‘if this then that’ kind of trigger and action recipes or choose from already existing applets. Unleash the power of IoT for your business. Try it.
Zapier
Zapier Automation Workflow Tool
If you are a small business owner, soloprreneur, and you run a tight ship, then Zapier can automate lot of work and save you time and money! Connect the daily apps that you using Zapier’s powerful integration platform, write recipes of your own or explore from the many available on the platform and automate your work. Start with simple stuff and graduate to complex ones as you go. My number one recommendation to the ‘must have’ ‘power tool kit’ for workflow automation.
Workflow, Project and Task Management
Trello
Trello – Power Tool for Small Business Owners
I hugely recommend this tool to put all your ideas, projects, tasks organized in one place. Easy to use, track and monitor, Trello’s powerful features will keep you calm and in control. Once you get hooked on, you will stay on this powerful platform forever. It allows for super easy collaboration. Has several integrations with different apps. It is FREE to use unless you go for the premium features. Try it for free and then upgrade if you see the value.
Dropbox
Store and Share Files in Cloud
If you are a small business owner, soloprreneur, you probably will quickly accumulate a lot of files with data, images, videos, PDFs and what not. Dropbox is your best bet to save the space on your hard drive and safely save your files in the cloud. The best part is when you can share files with your trusted people and collaborate in real time. With is a mobile app, you are synched from anywhere and anytime. This is one of my top entries in the ‘must have’ ‘power-tool kit” for smart entrepreneurs.
Online Webinar and Live Video Tools
Zoom
Video Meetings and Webinar tool
I love Zoom for it’s easy to use interface and simplicity. You can invite up to 100 participants for 40-minute duration video calls for an unlimited number of times in the Free plan. And with pro-version, you can schedule and record your video meetings or hold webinars and create authentic content and invite even larger audience without a gitch. Inexpensive and Effective, Zoom is one of my top entries in the ‘must have’ ‘power-tool kit”
Branding Assets and Web Design Tools
99 Designs
99 Designs is my tried and tested recommendation for creating your brand identity assets. Whether it is designing a logo for your website or any other brand collateral, 99 Designs can be your go-to resource for getting professional designers for less. They have recently started with video making services for as less as $499 per video, which includes video scripting, on the spot filming and editing. Give it a try.