Here are 20 Online Tools to Boost Your Business Efficiency and Productivity – As of 21st-century entrepreneurs, tech has made it easier for us to achieve success in our business goals and objectives.
And in this post, I have outlined 20 online tools every entrepreneur should know about or leverage on to improve their business processes.
Note: These tools are free which is really helpful if you’re bootstrapping.
1.) MailChimp
If you have a database of your customer contacts, its important to engage with them frequently to nurture them and get them to like your brand.
You can send them email updates on your activities or promote special offers to them on a schedule.
MailChimp offers a free plan of up to 2000 subscribers.
2.) Hootsuite/Buffer
Social media has come to stay with us.
Automate your social media posting with Hootesuite and Buffer.
With this tool, you can send out your posts to your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and other social media accounts at the touch of a button.
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Save time from posting across different SM platforms and do it at a go from Hootesuite or Buffer.
3.) Canva
Design simple high definition graphics with ease using this online graphic design tool.
With this, you can design flyers, logos, social media posts, email headers, banners, etc.
It’s all free so head over to canva.com to set up an account and get started.
4.) VidCompact
This app makes it easy for you to convert any video to any other file format and also compress data size without losing quality.
Vidcompact is free and has a time-cropping feature that you can use to choose the length of your video.
Head over to Google Playstore to download it now.
5.) Google Drive
No need for memory cards and hard drives when you have Google Drive on your phone or PC.
With this built-in feature of all Google accounts, you can upload and save files on the cloud.
Google Drive is free and you can upload any file type to it securely.
6.) Quik
Maybe you need to make a video but hiring a graphic artist seems impossible at that moment.
Quik is an amazing video graphic app that allows you to create stunning videos with images, add music and you can set up overlaying text as the video plays.
Quik is free and can be gotten via the Google Playstore.
7.) Grammarly
Perhaps you wish to write very easily without spelling and typographical errors.
Grammarly is your answer and you can simply go for the free version on your Google Chrome extension on your PC.
Once installed, you’ll see the erroneous areas of your text as you type and correct in real-time.
If you have the bucks, you can simply go for the paid option which comes with more loaded features.
Go to Settings on your Google chrome then Add extensions to add it to your browser.
8.) gomoney
Tired of not being able to pay for stuff online with ease.
gomoney is an online payment to solution that provides virtual card in Nigeria you can fund and use for online payments for the West African market.
You can use gomoney cards to make payments on any platform in the world.
Go to the Apple store or Playstore to download the app and get started. It’s free.
9.) Skype
Skype is a professional instant messaging platform you can leverage to keep in touch with your clients, host interviews and make international calls at super friendly rates.
Skype is a must-have for anyone dealing with an international audience. It’s free to have an account on Skype.
10.) Zoom
Perhaps you want to do a live webinar for your audience.
Zoom has you covered and comes at no cost for your needs.
Set up an account on Zoom.com, download the app and you’re halfway good to go.
You can learn how to use this awesome online recording app on the go.
11.) Camtasia Studio/Loom
Have you been planning to create an online course? While Camtasia is the software you can buy and install for recording your tutorials and courses, Loom is an online tool that does the same thing for free.
You can go with any one of them and you’re good.
Simply visit camtasia.com to purchase it or loom.com to have access.
12.) Fiverr
This is an online marketplace where you can hire professionals on any field with ease and at a low cost to handle any service you need.
Services start from $5 which is where the name Fiverr was derived from.
Whether you need a writing job or a data scraping job, you’ll find an expert in that field. Create an account at Fiverr.com
13.) Slack
Do you have a team of professionals working on a project but need a more cohesive and robust communication process?
Slack is the answer as you can add all your team members, set up a To-Do list and tasks to handle.
Slack is like an online workstation where you can view what everyone has been up to as soon as they report in their work progress. With this online tool, productivity can be taken to the next level, especially for remote hires.
14.) Astana
Similar to Slack, Asana offers the same thing as Slack so it’s more of your preference thing.
Whichever one you choose, you’re bound to get lots of value.
Visit asana.com to get started.
15.) Online-Converter
The days of tedious file conversion processes have ended.
Do you have a document you want to convert into another format?
All you need to do is type in the keyword ‘free online converter’ and pick any multitude of online conversion tools capable of converting any file from one format to another. Easy peasy.
16.) Facebook Ad manager
Do you sell anything? If yes is your answer, then you need to know your way around the Facebook ad manager.
Fortunately, every Facebook account comes with a free ad manager with which you can set up ads to promote anything Facebook considers legitimate.
There are an estimated 2 billion people on social media with a majority on Facebook and Instagram.
With the ad manager, you can geo-target people who have an interest in what you want to offer.
Anybody can learn Facebook ads and here’s a shortcut to get started: www.facebook.com/blueprint
17.) Paystack
Receive online payments for your products and services has been made easy thanks to Paystack.
This awesome online payment processor has made it possible for you to receive card payments once you set up an account with them.
Account opening is free and their payment pages for receiving card payments are super-secure.
Simply copy the link and embed it in the payment buttons of your sales pages etc.
Go here to begin: www.paystack.com
18.) 2Checkout
Another payment processor solution like Paystack but specifically for the international market.
Do you have a product for the global market and you need card payments?
2Checkou is your answer and comes free too.
Simply visit 2checkout.com to set up an account right away.
It’s fast and secure…consider this option if you’re trying to avoid PayPal and Stripe.
19.) Otter
A superb software that converts your spoken words to text in real-time.
Whether you’re using the free or premium feature, you’ll get a lot of value from this awesome app.
Visit Playstore to grab a download of this amazing transcribing app now.
20.) VPN
This is one of the grand-daddies of online business.
A VPN is a must-have especially if you’re operating from 3rd world Africa where you could have severe limitations from accessing certain platforms.
A VPN helps you cloak your location and visit any platform you want in the world.
READ ALSO: 10 Important Things You Must Do Before Starting A Business
Don’t worry, VPNs are legitimate and aren’t criminal in any way unless you commit a crime with one.
Typically, the best VPNs are paid versions but if you’re cash-strapped.
Download the Opera browser and use its built-in VPN. It’s powerful and effective just like paid VPNs.
If you’ll rather buy a premium one, go for Hide My Ass Premium, Windscribe or Noord VPN.
Ensure they’re all premium versions.
So there you have it, 20 online tools for today’s entrepreneurs.
There are many more but these 20 online tools to boost your business efficiency and productivity are my top pick.
I hope you liked it and if you did, please list your 5 best online tools in the comment let’s share.