A good portion of life these days is tied into the digital world. The fact that you are here reading this blog shows that you might be more tuned in to the digital world than most – I know, shocking, but the average person isn’t a dedicated blog reader. The pace of life online is pretty fast, and things are always changing (looking at you, Facebook), but sometimes those changes are for the better. Sometimes something new comes along that helps streamline your digital life. And today I’m sharing some of the online tools that have helped me manage my blog, my businesses, and my life.
For Bloggers
CoSchedule
Ever write a post, and schedule it, but then forget to promote on social media? Or just need something to help you plan out your posts for the month and easily rearrange? CoSchedule is probably for you. It’s an editorial calendar and social media scheduler all in one, with bonus drag-and-drop functionality. It ties directly in with WordPress, so you can use it from your WordPress backend or from CoSchedule’s site. I’ve got it connected to my Facebook page and my Twitter account for social media scheduling, though it also has LinkedIn, Tumblr and G+ available to connect to. If you have more than one person writing on your blog, it also lets you assign authors to drafts on the editorial calendar so each team member can see what they need to write. Overall, it’s just been really useful and time-saving for me.
For Etsy Shop Owners
Betsi
Once you get to a certain number of listings in your Etsy shop, editing and updating them can be a pain if you don’t have a bulk editing option. Enter Betsi. It’s a bulk/batch editing tool that can do everything from change images and tags, to edit descriptions and variation profiles, to renewing listings and changing shipping options. It has been a lifesaver for me. You know how a few weeks ago I updated the paper options on all of my customizable art prints? I used Betsi to quickly and easily update the photo and variation listings for each of those, all at once. If you have an Etsy shop with more than 1 page of listings, I guarantee you’ll love this. There is a pared-down free version, but the $9/month full version is worth it, believe me.
Treasury Pin
So many pretty Etsy treasuries, and no way to prettily share on Pinterest with an overview of the collection instead of just the first item. Until now. This is a quick and easy way to pin your treasuries, and it’s editable so you can choose how many items in the collection you want to show, and in what order. I’m on an Etsy team that is pretty heavy on the treasury-making, so this has been super useful for me. You can check out my Pinterest board of Etsy treasuries here to see some examples.
For Everyone
Habit RPG
A new way to keep track of to-do items and daily habits. It’s styled like an old-school RPG game, with gold and quests and gear. Completing to-do’s and positive habit actions keep your health at full and earn you rewards. Missing daily to-do’s or negative habit actions (i.e. not exercising) makes you lose health. If you’re a little bit of a gamer geek like me, and want a fun, online way to keep yourself accountable, give this a try. There’s a desktop browser version and an app for tablets/phones – and they sync. It does require honestly on the user’s part, but I’ve been using it for a few months now, and it really helps keep me on track with things I need to get done.
Boomerang for Gmail
This is one that is handy for everyone, but particularly for those running their own businesses. Working late and answering emails at midnight, but don’t want to train your clients to expect you to be at their beck and call at all hours? Enter Boomerang for Gmail. It lets you schedule emails to send at a later time and date. So if you’re writing an email on Saturday night, you can schedule it to send during normal business hours Monday morning. It also has a follow-up/reminder feature, though I haven’t really used that. For the Send Later alone, it’s worth it.
I hope you find some of these useful! What are some of your favorite online tools?
