Running an online business can be tough at times; so many tools, so many moving parts. We’ve created this page of resources so that you can see the tools that we use to organize and run Virtual Content Mentor with. Some of these we use every single day, and others we’ve used in the past and recommend.
If you ever have a question about any of these products or services, just send us an email.
Tools for Content Creation
Deposit Photos
My go-to site for stock photos for my ecovers, blog posts, lead magnets, ads, and more.
Microsoft Office 365
Word, PowerPoint and Excel for documents, slide shows, slide videos, spreadsheets, and pdfs. I also use Adobe for pdfs, but it’s not essential.
Camtasia
Screen recording and video editing. You can get a good deal on a bundle with Camtasia AND Snagit together HERE.
Snagit
Screen capture, image editing, and creation of quick graphics. Perfect for step-by-step posts as you can add numbers, arrows and text quickly and easily. Snagit can also be used to record short videos and has simple video editing functionality.
Vidnami (Formerly Content Samurai)
Incredibly easy tool for creating videos with images and video backgrounds overlaid with text. Can add your own video clips and audio track or record directly in the app. They have a big selection of background music too. Great for making a wide range of videos.
eCover Authority
Easy eCovers that you can design yourself quickly and generate in a variety of 3D styles. I sometimes get 2D covers created on Fiverr.com and then use eCover Authority to create 3D versions. CLICK HERE to get an exclusive discount for Virtual Content Mentor followers.
Idev Affiliate
The affiliate software I use in my affiliate program. this is one of the few affiliate tools that’s beneficial for your SEO. They have excellent tracking to ensure your affiliates are happy.
Canva
Free online platform for creating quick social graphics, coupons, ads, covers, You Tube thumbnails and more. The paid version of Canva includes images, the ability to make templates and social scheduling.
LeadPages
High-converting templates for all types of landing pages – sales, opt-in, thank-you, webinar, etc. Easy to create 2-step ‘leadboxes’ for pop up optins. LeadPages can host your lead magnets and landing pages for you, or there is a plugin or html code to do it yourself. This is probably the easiest option if you don’t have experience creating landing pages, or you want to save time by using a pre-made template that’s proven to convert. They also have drag ‘n drop page options for building your own page from scratch.
Thrive Architect
While we use LeadPages for many of our larger sales pages still, and for many of our pop-ups, we use Thrive Architect (part of Thrive Suite) for designing product pages, blog posts, and other pages on our site. It’s very intuitive and easy to build sleek, professional designs. This page is created in Thrive Architect.
Thrive Quiz Builder
An extremely affordable quiz building WordPress plugin in the Thrive Suite that has more features than most of the expensive online tools. Great for lead generation, data collection, self-assessments, and more!
Trello
Whilst some people love Trello for their project management, here at Virtual Content Mentor we love it for the checklists, and of course, we use Trello to create the digital action guides in our course expansion/bonus packs
Zoom
Zoom is a live video tool where you can record your room. This makes it easy to interview people, carry out discovery calls and do live training! You’ll wonder how you ever managed to do anything without it!
Our Top Website Resources
Site 5
Hosting company with great customer service.
WP Engine
Managed hosting for WordPress sites. Amazing customer service, high security, faster speed, and all sorts of other benefits just for WordPress sites. I used to host Virtual Content Mentor here, and then had things like my affiliate program at Site5. One note, since you can’t get email through WP Engine, I use Google Apps for that.
Namecheap
Domain name registration. Google their latest month’s coupon code before buying anything.
Thrive Leads
Part of the Thrive Suite, this is a plugin for creating and testing opt-in forms – slide-ups, top ribbon, lightboxes, pop-ups, side bars, in content, widgets, etc etc.
Publitio
For storing, managing, and embedding videos, images, and other media. Secure, fast, and affordable!
Woothemes/WooCommerce
The shopping cart on Virtual Content Mentor. They have an ENDLESS number of options for extensions/plugins for adding whatever functionality you want.
Genesis Theme
The theme I used to use on my blog before I switched to Thrive Suite. A tried and true favorite for many people.
Teachable
Our online course platform. I love Teachable because it’s easy to use, doesn’t overwhelm you with a billion options (but still has what I need), integrates with my email platform, and has great support (especially for Pro plan subscribers).
Daily Business Tools
Active Campaign
The full-featured autoresponder and email marketing service I now use as my main tool. Easy to set up automations, segmentation, tagging, and more. Integrates with Woocommerce (via the ActiveWoo plugin) and other shopping carts and services.
SendGrid
For reliably sending emails to my customers and affiliates from both my WordPress site and my affiliate software. No worrying about the whims and potential security issues of shared servers on webhosts.
Backup Buddy
For backing up my WordPress websites. However, for sites on WP Engine, they do the backing up for you. Then you don’t need this.
Dropbox
My important files in the cloud so I can access anywhere and share. I have it on my computers, iPad, and phone!
Evernote
My online filing system for notes, clippings, emails, etc. I also have this on every device so that I can’t lose any notes.
Mozy Home
Online backup for my computer files
Kapersky
Computer antivirus protection
Pretty Link Pro
Create ‘pretty’ affiliate and link redirects as well as tracking link clicks for you.
