Call this a “Getting Started” kit for any business owner to start taking control of their marketing so that they can see results.

Google Suite

You need to start off with a place to write down a Marketing Plan, and what better Office Suite than Google Docs. Sure Microsoft Office is more professional, but we’re looking for something that works and is FREE. There are tons of templates that you can use as well from sites like HubSpot so that you start off on the right foot.

Canva

Once you actually have a marketing plan in place, you need content right? Canva is a free tool that gives you total creative control over your contnet. You can make masterpieces using this software and they have more templates than I’ve ever seen before in my life. A lot of our ideas at RJ Media came from the templates that they have provided, like checklists and reminder posts.

Later

Next stop, now that you have a marketing strategy and some content, you need to post it right? Well, why not just use the social media platforms themslves. I mean, you can, but do you have time to post every day? With software like Later, you can schedule your posts and stories so that you can focus on your business during the day. Now, no one is saying to make everything you do on social media automated, but something like posting every day needs to be scheduled because then its not rushed, and it can be a more meaningful post instead of just ticking off the checkbox.

Medium

How can you make all of this great content without somehthing to reference from? Meet Medium, the central place for writing on the internet. Medium is a great place to speak your mind and keep a blog going. Now I know what you’re going to say: “Joe, I thought my website is supposed to be where my blog is!”. Of course it is, but not everyone has a website, and this article is for those that are just starting off. By all means, replace medium with your own website hosted on WordPress, Wix, or wherever. You can most certainly repurpose your blog posts on Medium to reference back and drive traffic to your own website.

Google Analytics

The Big One. Nobody, and I mean Nobody can argue that Google Analytics is the most tried and true analytics software on the internet. I mean cmon, it’s a Google backed piece of software and those guys are basically the gateway to searching and being discovered on the internet today. Google Analytics can almost single handedly tell you whether or not your website is making you money. If you don’t have Google Analytics, you cannot tell whether or not your traffic is coming from direct sources, referrals, advertising, or organic social media. You might not think you need to know these things right away, but believe me, once you start getting some traffic towards your website, you’re going to ask yourself: How did they find me?

Asana

You can use all the marketing tools in the world, but unless you have a plan, and more importantly, a way to manage that plan, it will ultimately fail. Asana is used by tens of thousands of companies to help manage their staff, or themselves. As long as you stay organized, and ensure you’re consistent with everything that you do to ensure your marketing is keeping your business up and running. Asana can help with that.