I cannot live without so many clever pieces of software and tools to run my business and make my life run with simplicity.
Here are some quick links for you to take a look at what I use in my business. I only share links to the things I have tried and tested and then implemented into the way we do things here at Peary HQ. Full disclosure, these links are affiliate links.
What you see here are my most favourite pieces of software. I can wholeheartedly recommend them all.
For Any Digital Creativity
Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription
Photoshop to Lightroom,
Stock to the more technical stuff. You can absolutely get the best deal when you opt for a Creative Cloud subscription.
Great upgrades and a real sense of creative community.
For Easy Gallery Hosting
Shootproof
Being able to give my clients a really easy gallery service that works for all of their needs and in the way, they like to view their photography be it on desktop or mobile took me a while to find.
I have so much great feedback from my clients on this.
And it's so easy to use. This link takes you to a free account setup.
For Website Hosting
Siteground
For years I was so frustrated with overly techy customer service. We ran into major problems with one provider where they would switch the site off, not tell us, and then be unable to explain why how this could be fixed.
The minute I moved to SiteGround, I was filled with assurance that my site would be backed up, and if I ever needed it, I could speak to a real human being who was able to explain technical things to me and my team in plain English.
Go and check them out. I promise you will not be sorry.
For Emailing That Gets Real Results
Convertkit
Levelling up my email marketing software has really had a positive impact on my business.
I really love the visual way that Convertkit Works. It makes an emailing chore into quite an enjoyable exercise.
... which is something I NEVER THOUGHT I'd be typing on my website!
For All The Typos
Grammarly
I'm the kind of person who gets into the groove on what I'm thinking about so much that my typing speeds up to keep up with my thoughts.
Unsurprisingly this can lead to a lot of typos (and sometimes just plain gobbledegook).
Going back over things and double-checking them is not my strong suit, and this is what I love about Grammarly. It's all instant as you are flowing in deep-work.
For Securing Your Entire Life
Lastpass
Setting up every single one of your logins, passwords and security reminders in one place can certainly take a little bit out of your busy schedule.
BUT IT IS 100% WORTH THE TIME INVESTMENT
- Level up your security and delete/shred that long list of login notes you have.
- Delegate access to your growing virtual team.
- Keep your passwords secured and changeable with just a click.
Dinghy Insurance - Get £25 Amazon Voucher
The Pay As You Go set up from Dinghy Insurance is INCREDIBLE! I've spent SO MUCH on insuring my business for:
- Equipment
- My photography
- Assistants
- Sub-Contractors
- International Travel
The ability to instantly alter my policy ON MY PHONE to make sure I'm covered for what I need when I need it has saved me so much time and money. You need to check this out.
For Speeding Up The Day-To-Day
Clean My MAC
I really do LOVE using all of Apple's devices in my business, but when it comes to running so many tabs and software at the same time you really can push your machine beyond what it can handle.
THEN I STARTED USING CLEAN MY MAC!
- Check with a click exactly what is making your device run slowly
- Test upload and download speeds of your net connection in a snap
- Run thorough cleaning to keep your machine healthy
- Sync it to keep your phone running fast too
Adobe Express
When you have invested all that money in getting a pro to help you come up with a strong visual identity and brand, you want to know how to use these rules in the right way to be able to knock up that Instagram post, blog header, social media ad that fits with your branding.
I love that I can quickly re-size one design into another on the pro subscription.
I also love that I can give instant access to all of my fonts and colours to a new virtual team member so that they can get cracking for me right away!
To make this EVEN BETTER, there is a built-in social media scheduling tool to make your processes streamlined.
For Closed Captions
REV
Making sure that you have correctly transcribed ALL of your video content creation is crucial in ensuring accessibility to everyone, and it improves watch time.
I've tried doing this on my own - it took aaaagggess.
Then I found Rev!
ContentCal
Posting in the moment all the time is just NOT sustainable for a busy business owner.
You need to schedule and plan as far in advance as possible.
I use ContentCal. It never fails me.
To talk to teams efficiently
Slack
I first tried slack years ago. I was introduced to it as a member of a really busy community. I just didn't get it. It felt like yet another thing to do along with DM's and emails.
Then when I started building up my own team I suddenly realised just how effective this was.
I'm now using this pinpointed way of keeping up to date with my growing team and as a virtual retainer member of a lot of established teams. I would NEVER go back to being stuck in my email inbox. This is so much more efficient. TRUST ME!
Survey Monkey
Gathering feedback is SO IMPORTANT in any marketing activity.
Being able to knock together a really professional looking survey in a snap, and then having people be able to access it online makes this process so much easier than the old fashioned way.
To do this easily, I always use Survey Monkey.
To rock the Gram
Planoly
Being a visual person, I love to be able to envision how my Instagram feed will look over the month ahead.
This is exactly how I train my clients' teams to look at the way they create for The Gram.
Being able to move this around, then group hashtag sets and rest assured that things will be scheduled when you need them to just makes the posting part of making Instagram your editorial honeypot so much easier.
Lightblue CRM Try For FREE For 30days
When you are a professional photographer, your workflows are a lot more complex than the average business.
The team at Lightblue have put this factor at the forefront of all of their design of Lightblue - The Photographers CRM system. For any professional photographer out there I strongly recommend this system. It's just the best.
Proposals That Work
Beautiful AI
Having the opportunity to see which parts of your proposal have gone down well is THE BEST secret weapon. You get this when you present all of your proposals using Beautiful AI.
It's also a cinch to knock up something bespoke and tailor-made for your next prospect.
