Pick your tools

“Good tools are half the battle.”

These tools make your work way easier.

Certainly, not all tools are on the list. Gradually I will add or replace some tools. If you have a favourite tool that you’re missing from this list that definitely belongs here, let me know!  

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Listed by functionality:

1. Documents storage, sharing and sending
2. Photo editing tools
3. Video tools
4. Audio tools to start your podcast and interviews
5. Virtual communication,  conferencing, project briefing,  client contact tools
6. Productivity. Do more in less time
7. Project management tools
8. Prototype tools.  Which tool do you start your project with?
9. Test  your website tools, test user-friendliness, functionality, performance
10. Enquete en survey tools, formulieren
11. Klant contact, after sales, klant succes tools
12. Newsletter tools
13. Accountancy tools

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1. Documents storage, sharing and sending

The best tool for what task? Depends on what you want to use it for; storing and managing documents, sharing within your team, is it a proposal that your customer can sign online or a sales pitch that is accessible to everyone with the link.

• Dropbox
• Google Drive
• Hightail ( focus op creatieve teams)
• Evernote Business
• Wetransfer
• Docusign ( en Pandadoc heeft een gratis versie)

2. Photo editing tools:

• Canva  (they provide free templates for forms, webpages and graphic stuff like logos). 
• Gimp
• Fotor
• Photo POs Pro
• Paint.NET

What about  Adobe Photoshop? I made this list with preferably free tools.

3. Video tools:

• QuickTime (for Mac)
• Apowersoft Screencast
• Open Broadcasting Software
• Screencast-O-Matic
• CamStudio (Windows)

4. Audio tools to start your podcast and interviews

• Anchor
• Hindenburg Journalist Pro ( pay once 200$, ask Bart van Maanen of Freelance Friday about his findings)
• Audicity
• Cleanfeed
• Garageband, ( for music creation. Installed by default on your Mac).

Also:  Adobe Audition and Logic Pro X, are both not free. The first one you pay by a monthly fee and the second you purchase once for $200.

5. Virtual communication, conferencing, project briefing,  client contact tools:

• BlueJeans
• Google Meet
• Loom
• MS Teams
• Slack
• Webex

And the popular one; Zoom
I use also Face-time or Whatsapp video.

6. Productivity. Do more in less time:

• Toggle
• Evernote
• Rescuetime
• Todoist
• Freedom – Block distraction
• Noizo
• Anydo
• Spark

7. Project management tools:

• Slack
• Asana
• Notion
• Kissflow
• Github (for software builders)

No Trello or Basecamp? Correct. I have a slight feeling there are better and more compact tools nowadays such as Kissflow.

8. Prototype tools. Which tool do you start your web project with?

• Webflow
• Miro
• Justinmind
• Adobe XD
• Figma
• Invision
• Microsoft Azure
• Sketch

 9. Test your website tools, test for usability, functionality, and performance: 

• Hotjar
• Userzoom
• Tools pingdom
• Optimizely (not free)

10. Enquiry and survey tools, forms:

• TypeForm
• Google forms
• Jotform
• Limesurvey
• Crowdsignal  (former Polldaddy)

11. Customer contact, after-sales, customer success tools:

The fancy term ‘customer success tool’ sounds a bit hypocritical to me. We are of course talking about a ‘customer tracking’ tool. Doesn’t sound very pleasant, but it is reality.

• Gainsight
• Freshworks
• Hubspot
• Salesforce
• Pendo

12. Newsletter tools, the most commune :

• Spotler ( Your data is on a server in the Netherlands )
• Mailchimp
• Mailerlite
• Sendinblue

13. Accountancy tools:

accountancy,  sales quotes, invoicing and insights into your financial ins and outs

• Getgekko  (a Dutch start-up! I am using this one)
• Moneybird
• Freshbooks  (based in Canada. In case you consider this tool, ask me about it! I have been using this for quite some time)
• One- up

Note: Some tools process customer data in the US. This was allowed with Privacy Shield. This is no longer allowed due to security concerns. As a result, many tools no longer comply with the GDPR.

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Did I forget some…?

Adobe XD – Airtable – Amplitude  – Basecamp  – Clubhouse – Coda – Confluence – Dovetail – Dropbox paper  – Excel  – Freehand  – Google Analytics – Google docs – Google Sheets – Google Slides – Intercom- Jira – Looker – Marketo –  Mixpanel – Mode – Monday.com – Mural – Powerpoint – Qualtrics – Quip – Sketch cloud – Usertesting.com – UserZoom – Word – Wrike – Zendesk  – etcetera…

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