Favorite Things

If you’ve ever asked “What do you use for…”, this is the page where you’ll probably find the answer. Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning we get a portion of the sale when you purchase and some are not. We’ll indicate when a link is affiliate below but know that we only recommend products we use and love.

Virtual Work


Zoom (Affiliate)

Yes, we all are getting through virtual working thanks in huge part to Zoom but we’ll all need at least 45 minutes of meeting times going forward. As a marketing consultancy, we always offer to record the meeting so clients don’t have to take furious notes, plus it gives a great touchpoint for contact after our meeting. We’ve had a paid Zoom account since 2017 and it’s been totally worth it.
http://bit.ly/2BQMkP0

Slack
Asynchronous communication has changed our business. From messages not getting lost in an email to quick checks, we use this tool daily. You can use it free and it will store up to 10,000 messages (we started paying after we used it about a year).
www.slack.com

Websites + Email


Svaha

Our favorite email host, Let’s Encrypt secure certificates, they give you space and a secure server, meaning if you want 4 websites and 100 emails or 10 websites and 2 emails, you can do it (as long as it’s under the limit of space of course). Nightly backups and lots of other great things. Most of our clients are hosting for $150/year so not only high integrity company but affordable.
www.svaha.com

Namecheap (Affiliate)
Where do we buy my domain names? Namecheap is not only easy for purchasing but they usually have some kind of deal going and unlike a certain domain reseller that rhymes with Yo Caddy, they aren’t going to nickel and dime you to death… plus the interface is super easy if you have to update your DNS or other management like the online boss you are.
https://www.namecheap.com/?aff=110002 

Elegant Themes/Divi (Affiliate)
One beef most of us who manage WordPress websites have is how every theme is organized and works slightly differently. From a management standpoint, offering clients a flexible but powerful theme that can be infinitely customized and has great support (both written and video documentation and support tickets), Divi is the most popular WordPress theme in the world. We’ve been using it for five years and you can use it too!)
https://www.elegantthemes.com/affiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=71106

iThemes/Backup Buddy (Affiliate)
Our favorite automated backup solution for WordPress.
https://stellarwp.pxf.io/c/3211579/708559/9639

Affiliate WP (Affiliate)
If you want to run an affiliate program through WordPress, this takes all the complicated parts out and makes it work so you can spend time finding the right people.
https://affiliatewp.com/?ref=1003

Imagify (Affiliate)
I ran my images through Smush Pro and then I ran them through this tool and, yeah, this one compressed way more. And $10/month for unlimited websites (there is a free version too but the paid one is unlimited images). 20% off with this coupon!
https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=2206127&u=1452891&m=133994&urllink=&afftrack=

Keywords Everywhere (Affiliate)
If you want to do keyword research without spending a ton of money on a specific tool, we bought $10 of credits over 6 months ago and still have PLENTY of searches we can do. Save your keywords, compare competition, see trends, and discover opportunities with underappreciated but well searched keywords.
https://kwe.ai/OMMsCj

SendGrid
We used to love Mailchimp… until they got bought by Intuit. The templates are easier, deliverability fantastic, and we are cutting costs by around $50/month!
www.sendgrid.com

Gravity Forms (Affiliate)
This is an amazing form software for WordPress: payment forms, conditional fields, and lots of integrations. If you need a form and you have a WordPress site,  you need Gravity Forms!
https://rocketgenius.pxf.io/qnNGNy

LearnDash
If you are looking for a platform to put your online classes out on, this is the program for you! LearnDash easily integrates into any WordPress sight, and works along with creative freedom to put your best self forward in front of your audience.
https://stellarwp.pxf.io/c/3211579/1287834/9639

General Business + Productivity

MileIq (Affiliate)
Running businesses in two states really has people wondering how it happens. Honestly thanks to asynchronous communication and an occasional drive, it’s pretty possible. Pop in an audiobook and enjoy the views and because I forget to log stuff, MileIq is a lifesaver and I get to write off WAY more than the cost of this every year… it even categorizes my drives automatically once I confirm my commute route and where the dog park is.
https://www.mileiq.com/invite/TFJOV 

Dropbox (Affiliate)
I love Google and while I will use it for file sharing, I don’t like doing so. Dropbox will take any kind of file, it’s easy to share with non-Google users, and it works with site backup tools and other daily items we use at Breaking Even seamlessly. They just started offering ‘Family’ plans and while we’re not the kind of toxic workplace calling our colleagues ‘family’, it is a great size for a small company to allow up to 6 people to share folders amongst one another easily.
https://db.tt/jB11NJnq 

Rev (Affiliate)
Need videos, audio files, and other things to be transcribed, correctly and affordably? Rev charges a per minute price and my coupon link gets you $10 off (AKA about 10 minutes of transcription) free.
https://www.rev.com/blog/coupon/?ref=nicoleouellette1

Loom (Affiliate)
The paid version of Loom is 100% worth the cost. Employee trainings, client tutorials, and explaining a screen… so many great applications in sales and customer service!
https://loom.grsm.io/rxy7tzuuxnc8

Canva (Affiliate)
Social media graphics, slide decks, ebooks… we use this for A LOT. And the teams feature makes it possible to collaborate with our clients on shared assets.
https://partner.canva.com/c/3211579/647168/1006

LastPass (Affiliate)
Yes, you need a password management system. No, this is not difficult to set up and use. I can even unlock it on my phone with my face! We switched to the ‘family’ plan in our small company so everyone could keep their personal stuff in their account but we could easily share data among one another.
https://lastpass.wo8g.net/jWjzAe

Wevideo (Affiliate)
Our favorite online video editor is feature-rich without being overwhelming. Also under $100/year to use.
https://wevideo.pxf.io/c/3211579/986714/12983

AppSumo (Affiliate) 
If you love deals on software, you’ll want to join AppSumo to hear about them. We got killer deals on Wisestamp, our email signature software and RelayThat, an ad design software, and BuzzSumo’s email subscription contest plugin, among others!
https://appsumo.8odi.net/BXYxo1

Social Media

Shortstack (Affiliate)
Watching someone try to run a Facebook contest without an app, while not as painful as watching a train wreck, gives similar feelings.
http://mbsy.co/ShortStack/24104508

Manychat (Affiliate)
Chatbots can help you respond automatically to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp messages (among other platforms). Manychat has a great free option and the paid option integrates with your online shopping cart and helps you collect things like email addresses and text messages.
https://mbsy.co/wZTq2

Recurpost
While this scheduler is not the slickest on the market, it lets you make content ‘buckets’ that can be pulled from on a schedule. Functional, affordable, and time-saving.
www.recurpost.com

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