Do you have an online business? If so, you are probably aware that tools that facilitate the day-to-day running of your online business are essential.
If you are new to the digital business realm, you might want to learn about some of the tools that could make running your business easier. Some of these tools can boost productivity, improve sales and transform the way you do business as a whole.
Here are 10 of the most useful tools for your online business. We hope you find them helpful.
10 Important Tools for Your Online Business
#1. Project Management Tools
If you are running a small, medium or large online business and need to work on large-scale projects, project management tools might be beneficial for you. They help you to stay organized by providing a singular platform to communicate ideas, share files and documents and delegate tasks.
There are various types of project management tools available online, some offer free tools however, some have paid options that provide you with more features to facilitate your project management.
#2. Calendar and Scheduling Tools
Running an online business is just like running any other business, you will probably need to schedule meetings or tasks and often with so much to do, certain tasks can slip your mind.
Therefore, making use of calendar and scheduling tools can prevent missed meetings and tasks left incomplete. Google calendar is probably the easiest to use however, there are many calendar and scheduling tools available for online business owners.
#3. Email Responder Tools
Automation is key for the success of any online and business. Email responder tools allow you to set up email marketing campaigns and sales funnels to make your online marketing easier and less hands-on.
Once you set up a campaign, you can focus on other important tasks to help drive your business forward. Email responder tools help to boost productivity too which is vital for any online business.
#4. Graphic Design Software
If you are a solo entrepreneur, you probably do a lot of multi-tasking. Graphic design might be one of the tasks that you find yourself doing once in a while. There are many free and paid tools available online, create graphics for social media, advertising and for blog content.
If you have the budget to pay for a graphic designer, then you probably won’t need this tool but it’s worth having just in case you need some last-minute creative images.
#5. Bill Payment Tools
A bill payment tool that allows you to receive payments and pay bills is also an essential tool for any business. Many online business owners utilize open-source tools that are available freely online, however, it is best to have different options available to your customers.
Bill to mobile merchants, for example, offers comprehensive tools that allow bills and payments to be made from any working smartphone. Utilizing this type of tool is convenient and hassle-free.
#6. Office Tools
Office tools are essential for creating documents, spreadsheets and for drafting blog posts, social media content, purchase orders and contracts.
You can either use Microsoft Word office suite or choose Google workspace which offers many free and paid tools for your business.
#7. Social Media Management Tools
If you have a professional social media manager then you probably won’t need to invest in social media management tools however, they are very useful for boosting productivity for social media marketing.
Most social media toolkits include planning and scheduling tools to facilitate your social media marketing efforts. Use your social media management tools alongside the graphic design tools to create engaging, effective marketing content.
#8. Video Conferencing Tools
Especially since the wake of the pandemic, more and more businesses are using video Conferencing software to keep in touch. You will need it for online meetings, webinars and for hiring freelancers.
Most video conferencing tools offer free and paid versions. The paid versions allowing you to access more features that boost the video conferencing experience.
#9. Video Editing Tools
Video marketing is highly effective therefore if you have products to promote, you should consider creating engaging video content to market your products effectively. Videos are generally 50 to 60 percent more effective than static image posts.
Therefore, if you want to level up your marketing efforts, use video editing software to create highly engaging content to boost your online marketing efforts.
#10. Article Editing Tools
If your business is 100 percent online, you will more than likely need to create blog posts and article marketing content to boost traffic to your websites and online offers.
Yes, advertising works effectively however, articles and blog posts enhance your other marketing methods.
If you write the content yourself, you will need article editing software to identify Grammar issues and general mistakes. You might think you are a perfect writer however, article editing software can provide you with a helping hand to create highly engaging, well-written articles and blog posts.
You can also use these tools to edit emails and social media content to provide you with clean, easy to read copy every time.
Bottom Line
When you first start out as an online business owner, there are many things to consider. Online tools, hiring staff and various other considerations. The tools that we have listed in this article will provide you with everything you need to build a long-term profitable business.
Running an online business will certainly never be easy but you can facilitate the process by investing in the right tools and by building an effective and efficient team to help you along the way.
Email responder tools are often overlooked but they can take your business from zero to hero if you really put your mind to creating engaging, clickable, audience-specific content.
Social media management tools, graphic design tools and billing tools can all work together to help you build and sustain a healthy, profitable online business.
Remember that the tools will only work if you do therefore, utilize these highly effective tools to boost productivity and to facilitate the day-to-day running of your online business.