9 Free Tools I Cannot Do Without

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There’s nothing quite like getting something you want, need, or can make good use of. That’s especially true when the item is free, absolutely free.

I mean no out-of-pocket cost. Nada bucks. It costs you nothing. That’s free. You don’t have to sit through a boring, lengthy webinar. Or give up your email address and go through numerous up-sell pages. Free is best when you go to a website and get the goods.

Well, here’s my gift to you today. These free tools serve me well. They are useful and I use them often. You can upgrade to paid versions if you wish. I’ve done that when absolutely necessary. Otherwise I go with the free version. Click on the name and go directly to the web site.

• Lumen5 – This is a dandy video creation too. It uses AI to turn a post into a compelling video. Simply link to a blog post, select text for each scene, add music and Lumen5 turns it into a quality video for posting on your site, YouTube, or social media sites.

Each scene features your text over an image selected by Lumen5 based on wording in the text. Music is royalty free and part of Lumen5. You don’t appear on camera or record your voice.

Click here for a sample video I created using the free version of Lumen5.

• Canva – Canva is a design program. It’s easy to use and there’s no-cost. Canva is complete with templates making it easy for non-artistic people like me to create images for social media, publications, e-books, marketing materials, infographics and more. Many templates are free. Some require payment. However the program is no-cost. Try it. Click here for a sample of what you can create.

• Dropbox – Dropbox is a convenient file sharing and storage utility. Its cloud based and files are accessible only to persons you give sharing privilege. It allows for group work on a single document, access to files among a group of people, or (as I use it) a repository for large videos I share with closed networks. I also use the paid version making access to e-books and other downloads by closed group members and clients.

• Buffer – This is an extremely easy to use social media manager. Buffer schedules and organizes posts to your top social media sites. I use the paid version. It gives me more power than average users need. However, I used the free version for quite a while. Buffer lets you schedule posts to major social media sites, including numerous Facebook pages, far in advance. I schedule my posts a week ahead. Give it a try and boost your social media presence.

• Evernote – This is one of my favorite free utilities. It allows me to capture, organize, and share notes anywhere. There’s a paid version, as with most free programs, and I continue getting what I need from the free version.

• Bitly – With links getting longer Bitly shortens them for ease of use when sharing on social media, web sites, email, and more. Also Bitly allows you to measure performance via built-in analytics. There is much more to Bitly. Go to the site and explore advantages of using Bitly. It’s more than a tool to shorten links.

• OneTab – This is a nifty extension for Chrome and Firefox. When you have too many tabs open in your browser click on OneTab and consolidate all open tabs into a single list. You can access any tab from the list at any time. OneTab saves up to 95% browser memory. It’s slick, easy to add to your browser, and a good tool when working online.

• Instapaper – This is a bookmarking service owned by Pinterest. It saves (bookmarks) articles you want to read later. Android and iPhone apps allow you to pick up where you left off working at the desk. Or save items via Instapaper from your phone for reading later. I like this extension/app. It helps me with content curation, which is part of my online marketing strategy.

• LastPass – This is an indispensable security tool I use daily. You can safely use the free version to store and manage all your passwords. Setup a master LastPass password and when activated this tool automatically logs you in to your password protected sites.

There are several more tools I often recommend. However, this is the list of my top free online business tools.  Try them and enjoy easier online business returns. Some of them offer more robust paid versions.

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