Over the last four years, we've made five subscriptions that have streamlined and revolutionized our online business. Amidst social media shifts and socioeconomic dips, these resources continue to stand the test of time and make "doing business" a more seamless process for online stores and small businesses.
As we embark on a new upcoming season for FOTO, we wanted to take the time to thank these everyday business heroes and give you a quick inside scoop to some of our favorite resources!
First and foremost, we adore Shopify.
This website platform has been integral to our growth and ability to manage an online store. With thousands of website templates to choose from, we were able to find layouts that felt like us and have been able to continue to customize and breathe life into "fotostrap.com."
We aren't monkeying around; Mailchimp is a newsletter godsend.
They've made it so easy to design email campaigns, schedule email drops and manage lists upon lists for outreach. The interface is clean and user friendly, (so much so that we're pretty sure our moms could even figure it out). We love making things unique to us and being able to tell our brand's story (even down to our font and color choices) and this online workspace allows us to do just that!
Dropbox deserves a mic drop
Every time one of our team members needs to access a file on their cell phone and is able to do so in a couple clicks, we have Dropbox to thank. Dropbox truly is a mobile business' bestie. No matter which coffeehouse we have a workday in, no matter whose computer we are projecting onto the big screen, every file we need access to, we have access to.
Gmail for business has also proven to be quite the game changer.
Not only does it allow us to have legit business email addresses @ our domain, but it also streamlines team communication and keeps us organized. We can easily hop between gmail addresses and google drives, share well-designed notes and sheets with each other and add items to our team's calendar and meeting agendas.
The Adobe Creative Suite has turned our design capabilities from eek to sleek.
Learning and downloading these programs has been well worth the time and money spent. These programs have become the tools we use to make every element of our online presence better: website, social, logo and campaign designs have all benefitted from some Adobe TLC.
What's better than free advice?
Free downloads. Below are four of our favorite free apps that FOTO can't live without.
Wunderlist:
A list-makers dream app. Organize and share lists with your team, and bask in the joyful ding it makes when you cross off an item from your list.
Canva:
Create quick and beautiful social media graphics with this handy photo editor. There are hundreds of templates to choose from and limitless options to take your photos from meek to chic.
Splice:
Edit videos from your phone or iPad with this simple yet powerful app.
Starbucks:
The perfect app for coffee-loving, caffeine-needing starbucksaholics. Order ahead, pay from your phone, and collect stars for free drinks and special offers!
Enjoy this post? Check out our 5 Ways to get Re-Energized post for more personal and small business tips!
Related: #tellyourstory, FOTO, Small Business