Hey guys! Long time no see! I promised I’d be more consistent in my blogging, but here I am. Just ya know, trying to run a business during A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. Hashtag NBD.

Anyways, I’ve been freelancing social media and writing services now for just over 8 months and while it’s been a sharp learning curve, I’m pleased to be able to share some of my acquired “hacks” aka tools with y’all, so today I’m sharing my favorite tools and resources (and some serious savings $$$) for all my freelancers and side hustlers out there. Enjoy!

P.S. I know “freelancers” can do just about anything, so I tried to keep the categories broad and applicable to everyone from editors to designers.

EVERYDAY TOOLS

MileIQ — By far the best mileage calculator. It generates easy-to-read reports and is super user-friendly. My accountant loves it too! Be sure to keep these organized, you can save big when it comes to Tax Season!

FloDesk — To each of my clients with email campaigns I recommend FloDesk, not only it’s user-friendliness but also the templates are to DIE. FOR. So pretty and easy to customize to your brand! I love the auto-save feature too… don’t ask why.

The best news? click the link above and get 50% off your subscription ($19/month vs. $38!) 💸

SOCIAL MEDIA

Later — I’m a very visual person, so getting to see Later’s layout tool for Instagram makes it easy to see if a brand’s feed is on point. Their analytics tools are great, too.

Use the link above and get 10 free posts and see what I’m talking about!

Canva — Where do I start? I upgraded to Canva Pro earlier this year and wonder why I didn’t do it sooner. Not only is their stock photo collection excellent (and not super stocky!) their fonts, colors and effects make putting together deliverables and creating social media graphics a breeze. The best part about Pro? The quick resizing feature. If you have a graphic made for Instagram that you’d like to turn into a story, it does it with one click of a button!

Adobe Creative Suite — If you’re seriously retouching photos or are are in need of the big guns, look no further than Adobe Creative Suite. Essentials for me include Photoshop and Lightroom! (Be sure to download these apps to your phone for editing and applying presets on the go!)

Billing

Honeybook — I did a lot of searching before finding Honeybook. I chose HB due to the versatility. I can invoice, create contracts (their contract templates are incredible!) and track project status all in one platform.

Try it for 50% off your first year using the link above!

WRITING

Grammarly — Even if you’re not a writer, install this on your browser now! It’s saved my back countless times when sending client emails and provides spelling suggestions. I currently use the free version. Hack: Install it into Chrome so it’s always looking out for you!

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you sign up for a service, I may make a commission. However, I would only recommend products that I’ve actually tried and used in my business, and I sincerely hope you find them useful!

XO Caroline