10 Tools to Grow Your Online Business in 2024

Summary

In this video, Emma Sherber Tamir, CEO of Marketing by Emma, shares her top 10 tools for boosting business efficiency and growth. She highlights Google Suite's AI capabilities, ClickUp for project management, LinkedIn for networking, Canva for design, Shopify for e-commerce, AI chatbots for ideation, and automation tools like Zapier and Make. Emma also emphasizes the importance of a quality webcam, a physical planner, and the timeless pen and paper for effective business operations.

Takeaways

• 😀 Emma Sherber Tamir, CEO of Marketing by Emma, shares her top 10 tools for boosting business efficiency and growth.
• 🛠️ Google Suite is highlighted for its AI integration across tools like Google Sheets and Gmail, enhancing automation and idea generation.
• 📈 ClickUp is praised as a highly customizable project management tool, perfect for managing client projects and personal to-do lists.
• 🔗 LinkedIn is reevaluated as a powerful platform for networking, brand awareness, and thought leadership, contrary to previous dismissals.
• 🎨 Canva is recommended for non-designers to create professional-looking designs and graphics with ease, featuring AI-enhanced tools like background removal.
• 🛒 Shopify is used off-label for productized services, streamlining payment processing and offering robust e-commerce functionality.
• 🤖 AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude are valued for their ability to aid in idea generation, overcome writer's block, and summarize lengthy content.
• 🔄 Zapier and Make are essential for connecting different tools, ensuring they communicate effectively and automate repetitive tasks.
• 📹 Emma recommends the InstaLink webcam for its AI-powered features like lighting correction, beneficial for video calls and presentations.
• ✍️ Despite digital tools, Emma emphasizes the importance of pen and paper for deeper thinking, learning, and goal setting.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to introduce and discuss the presenter's favorite business tools that can supercharge an online business for growth, efficiency, and organization.

Why does Emma consider Google Suite as one of her favorite tools?

Emma considers Google Suite as one of her favorite tools because of its variety of tools, recent AI integration enhancing automation and efficiency, and its compatibility with other tools.

What is ClickUp and how does Emma use it?

ClickUp is a project management tool that Emma uses for personal to-do lists and managing client projects. It's customizable and granular, allowing detailed project tracking and team coordination.

How has Emma's perspective on LinkedIn changed and what benefits has she experienced?

Emma initially dismissed LinkedIn but has since embraced it for networking, brand awareness, thought leadership, and business growth, experiencing significant opportunities from her focused efforts.

Why does Emma recommend Canva for design tasks?

Emma recommends Canva because it is easy to use and allows non-designers to create professional-looking designs, infographics, and presentations with built-in AI features for image editing.

How does Emma use Shopify in her marketing agency?

Emma uses Shopify off-label to productize her services, allowing clients to make purchases directly from the website and triggering various automations, including payment processing.

What role do AI chatbots play in Emma's workflow?

AI chatbots help Emma with ideation, overcoming writer's block, summarizing articles, and processing information, saving time and allowing her to focus on tasks she excels at.

Why are Zapier and Make important in Emma's tool stack?

Zapier and Make are important for connecting different tools that don't have direct integrations, allowing for automation of repetitive tasks and reducing the potential for human error.

What is the significance of Emma's new InstaLink webcam in her setup?

The InstaLink webcam is significant because it corrects for lighting and offers advanced Zoom functionality, providing high-quality imagery for video calls, podcasts, webinars, and presentations.

Why does Emma still value a physical planner despite using digital tools like ClickUp?

Emma values a physical planner for the satisfaction of writing and checking off tasks, helping her plan the next day or week clearly and ensuring she doesn't forget any important tasks or meetings.

What is Emma's view on the importance of pen and paper in the digital age?

Emma believes that pen and paper are still powerful tools for deeper thinking, better understanding and retention of information, and working through problems or setting goals.

Outlines

00:00

🛠️ Top Business Tools for Growth

Emma Sherber Tamir, CEO of Marketing by Emma, introduces her top 10 favorite tools for supercharging an online business. She mentions a mix of free and paid tools, emphasizing AI integration for efficiency and idea generation. The Google Suite is highlighted for its AI updates and compatibility with other tools. Emma's experience with various tools and her role in an e-commerce copywriting firm since 2016 lend credibility to her recommendations.

05:01

📊 Project Management and Design with AI

The second paragraph focuses on project management with ClickUp, which Emma finds highly customizable and essential for team coordination. She also discusses LinkedIn's role in networking and brand awareness, contrasting her previous dismissal with the recent success she's had with strategic use. Canva is praised for its ease of use and AI features that enhance design capabilities, even for non-designers, which is particularly useful for creating content across various platforms.

10:04

🏪 E-Commerce and AI-Powered Productivity

Emma discusses unconventional uses of Shopify for her marketing agency, emphasizing its utility in productizing services and handling payment processing. She appreciates Shopify's expanding AI offerings. AI chatbots are highlighted for their role in idea generation and overcoming writer's block. Emma also mentions the importance of tools like Zapier and Make for integrating different apps and automating repetitive tasks, which she finds more efficient and error-free.

15:07

📝 The Power of Traditional and AI-Enhanced Tools

In the final paragraph, Emma talks about the importance of a good webcam for video calls and the benefits of an AI-empowered webcam like InstaLink. She also advocates for the use of a daily planner for organizing tasks and maintaining focus, despite using digital tools like ClickUp. Lastly, she extols the virtues of pen and paper for deeper thinking and better retention, rounding out her list with a reminder of the value of both traditional and AI-enhanced tools in business.

Keywords

💡Google Suite

Google Suite refers to a collection of productivity and collaboration tools developed by Google, which includes services like Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Sheets. In the video's context, it's highlighted for its integration with AI, enhancing automation and efficiency in various business operations. The script mentions how the AI update has elevated every aspect of Google's services, making them indispensable for the speaker's business.

💡ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management tool that allows users to manage tasks, projects, and collaborate with teams. The video emphasizes its customization and granular control, which, despite being initially overwhelming, provides the ability to handle complex project management needs. The speaker discusses ClickUp's role in overseeing client projects and personal to-do lists, highlighting its importance in their workflow.

💡LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform used for networking, job searching, and business development. The script describes the speaker's realization of LinkedIn's value in enhancing brand awareness and establishing thought leadership. It is portrayed as a crucial tool for career growth and business opportunities, regardless of the stage one is at in their professional journey.

💡Canva

Canva is a graphic design platform that enables users to create visual content easily, even without professional design skills. The video mentions Canva's AI features, such as background removal and image editing, which help in producing polished designs for presentations and infographics. It is presented as an essential tool for non-designers looking to create visually appealing content.

💡Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows businesses to set up online stores and sell products. The speaker uses Shopify in a non-traditional way by productizing their services, streamlining the purchasing process, and automating various post-purchase actions. It is highlighted for its payment processing capabilities and expanding AI offerings, making it a versatile tool for businesses.

💡AI Chatbot

AI Chatbots, such as chatGPT, Claude, and Bard, are artificial intelligence programs designed to simulate conversation with users. In the video, they are praised for aiding in ideation, overcoming writer's block, and summarizing lengthy articles. They are presented as tools that save time and facilitate progress by handling tasks that would otherwise be time-consuming.

💡Zapier

Zapier is an automation tool that connects different web applications, enabling them to work together seamlessly. The script discusses how Zapier helps in creating connections between various tools in the speaker's tech stack, allowing for automated workflows that save time and reduce errors. The mention of Zapier's new AI update exemplifies its role in simplifying the automation setup process.

💡Make

Make, like Zapier, is an automation tool that helps integrate different applications. Although not detailed extensively in the script, it is mentioned as an alternative to Zapier for creating automated connections between tools. The speaker expresses a preference for Zapier's user interface, indicating a personal choice in automation tools.

💡InstaLink Webcam

InstaLink is an AI-powered webcam that corrects for lighting and offers advanced Zoom functionality. The video script highlights its ability to provide high-quality imagery, which is crucial for professionals participating in video calls, webinars, and presentations. It is recommended as a worthwhile investment for those seeking to improve their virtual presence.

💡Day Designer Planner

The Day Designer Planner is a physical planning tool that the speaker uses for organizing daily and weekly tasks. Despite using digital tools like ClickUp, the script emphasizes the satisfaction and effectiveness of handwritten lists and planning. It is described as a tool that helps in maintaining clarity on priorities and ensuring important tasks and meetings are not forgotten.

💡Pen and Paper

Pen and paper are traditional tools for writing and note-taking. In the context of the video, they are advocated for their ability to enhance understanding, memory, and deep thinking. The speaker suggests that writing things down can lead to better learning and reflection, making pen and paper invaluable tools alongside advanced technology.

Highlights

Emma Sherber Tamir introduces her top 10 favorite tools for supercharging an online business.

Google Suite's integration with AI for automation and efficiency across various tools.

ClickUp as a highly customizable project management tool with AI features.

The strategic use of LinkedIn for networking, brand awareness, and thought leadership.

Canva's ease of use for non-designers to create professional-looking designs.

Shopify's off-label use for productized services and its AI offerings.

AI chatbots like chatGPT for ideation and overcoming writer's block.

Zapier and Make for connecting different tools and automating processes.

The InstaLink webcam's AI features for improved video quality in calls and presentations.

The importance of a physical planner for organizing daily and weekly tasks.

The enduring value of pen and paper for deeper thinking and memory retention.

The significance of a good quality webcam for professionals in the digital space.

The satisfaction and effectiveness of writing tasks down in a planner.

The role of pen and paper in understanding and remembering new information.

Emma's personal experience and preference for certain tools in her business operations.

The practical applications of these tools in enhancing business efficiency and growth.

Invitation for viewers to share their favorite tools and engage in the discussion.

Transcripts

Are you trying to figure out what tools you can use to supercharge your

business to prime it for growth so that it's more effective and efficient?

Well, stay tuned because I've got a list of my nine favorite tools.

A lot of them are free.

And we're going to be digging into why they're so great and how you can use

them to supercharge your online business.

Hello, it's slightly in the future Emma, and I made a little boo

boo all throughout this video.

I'm talking about nine tools, one I really should have spoken about.

10.

So every time you hear the number 9 just in your head, imagine that

I'm saying 10, and next time I will do a far better job of counting.

But I hope you love this video.

Please subscribe, like, comment, let me know what your favorite tool is, and

let's go ahead and get into the content.

Hello, my name is Emma Sherber Tamir.

I'm the CEO and co founder of Marketing by Emma.

We're an e commerce copywriting firm who has been on the game since 2016.

I have tons of experience with tons of different tools, the

good, the bad, and the ugly.

And today I'm going to be sharing with you some of my favorite tools that I use

to be more efficient, to coordinate with my teams, to keep everything organized.

to automate like a pro and to run my business as efficiently as possible.

So let's just go ahead and dive into my favorite.

And by the way, these are in no particular order, but Uh, let's

start with one of my favorites of all, which is the Google Suite.

The Google Suite has a variety of different tools and what's even more

awesome is recently with their AI update, now you're able to infuse

every single aspect of your Google efforts with AI automation and

efficiency and idea generation.

So everything from Google Sheets to Gmail.

Anything that's stored within the Google Drive is now elevated with AI.

Technology, which is pretty awesome.

What's also great about Google is that it really plays well

with a bunch of other tools.

So it's a great foundation.

It's a great place to consolidate things.

And it is also something that we have been using since day one.

It's a must have tool for us.

Second favorite tool is ClickUp.

ClickUp is the project management tool that we use.

It's where I keep my personal to do lists.

It's where we manage every single client project.

I have a whole video that goes into why I love ClickUp so much.

They recently updated and released 3.

0, which I will admit I'm still kind of getting used to or adjusted to.

It's a big update, but there is a free version of ClickUp if you are

looking to just kind of try it out.

What I find so great about it is it's that it's incredibly customizable

and allows you to get very granular.

What that means is that it might be a little bit intimidating and overwhelming

at first, but it also allows you to really be able to do anything that

you could possibly want to do with a tool like this and allows any team

members or contractors to do the same.

It's great for knowing exactly who has ownership of something, where

a project stands in the pipeline, and being able to get zoomed in and

zoomed out so that I know exactly what's going on on any given day.

It has communication.

It also has AI built right in, a lot with a lot of automations.

And with, uh, with one of my other favorite tools, you can connect it to

any of the other, uh, things that you might be using to run your business.

Now, a new tool, well, it's not a new tool.

It's a new tool to me that is quickly rising in the ranks is LinkedIn.

I feel like I dismissed LinkedIn for a long time as something that Quite

frankly, it felt like a waste of time, and I'm majorly regretting that decision.

For the last month and a half, I've been committed to really spending far more

time on LinkedIn, strategically using it to network, to bring brand awareness,

to establish thought leadership, and to grow our, both our brand and my personal

brand, and it has been incredible.

All of the opportunities that it's generated just from a month and

a half of really focused effort.

So LinkedIn, no matter what stage you are in your career or your business,

is definitely a space that you want to make sure to be spending your time.

It's a great place to connect with peers.

It's a great place to connect with partners, with potential clients.

And it is something that is also going to move with you throughout your career.

So even if you transition into a new business, You've already built

a solid foundation that you can then grow on in your next adventure.

Canva.

I love Canva for one reason.

It's so easy and makes my designs look good even though I am not a designer.

I can easily toss together infographics, I can make a presentation look

spick and span, I feel confident and like I'm putting out something that

looks good, even though I am in no way, shape, or form a designer, so.

Canva, for me, is a must have, especially as I invest more time and effort into

YouTube, into LinkedIn, and really into any of my speaking gigs as well.

Canva is, can allow you to, there's sort of a theme going on here.

Canva also has AI built in that allows you to do all sorts of nifty things.

I love the background remover, but you can also use it for image editing.

and making anything that you're going to be showing to something

else just look beautiful.

So, highly recommend Canva.

I believe they also have a free version as well.

Shopify is another one of my all time favorite tools.

We've been using it for a few years now and You might be puzzled to think,

well, Emma, why are you using Shopify if you have a marketing agency?

And I realize this is not a traditional way of using Shopify.

It's an off label use, if you will, but Shopify is fantastic for us

because we have productized our services, meaning that each of the

services that we offer is a set.

Product package, if you will, where somebody can just go directly to the

website, make a purchase, and then a bunch of different automations

transpire as a result of that.

Shopify consolidates payment processing, which is something that is paying the

tush, and so really glad that they take care of all that, and they have just

more and more functionality and things.

They're also really ramping up.

All of their AI offerings, and it's been a great, easy to use platform to

build a website upon, to continue to adjust and adapt and grow from that,

and if you are in e commerce, or even if you are not in e commerce and are

planning to sell something through your website, Shopify might be something that

you want to consider on that AI trend.

I love a good AI chatbot, chatGPT, Claude, Bard.

These tools are fantastic for ideation, for bridging through writer's

block, for being able to really kind of assess a lot of information

and draw some conclusions for it.

So let's say there's a, a BC article that I don't have the time to read,

I can get it to summarize it for me.

So it helps to do a lot of that.

It's legwork that I may not otherwise have time in my day for, and it really helps

with feeling like I'm actually making forward progress, I'm not getting stuck.

Staring at a screen, trying to think about what to do, what to write,

how to make this sentence better.

It allows me to be able to use more of what I do really well, so that I'm

not getting stuck doing some of the things that are either time wasting.

Or, or leaving me feeling depleted because it's taking so much of my energy.

Zapier and Make are both great tools for all of these other tools.

So, one of the problems that I run into when I am creating my

tool stack is that the tools don't always want to talk to each other.

And it's not that they're not friends, it's just that They don't maybe speak

the same language or know each other yet, so obviously when there's a built

in integration, that's amazing, I'll be jumping for joy, but I don't want

to be limited to only choosing a tool that has a direct integration with

one of the other tools that I have.

And so with Zapier and with Make, I'm able to create all of those connections

so that All of these different tools that I'm working with can talk together and

can automate a lot of the things that are really not necessary for a human to do.

It's a repeatable thing that's following the exact same process

every time Xavier is going to make sure that things are operating.

With fewer errors and more efficiently than it would be

if we needed a human to do it.

So an example would be, in the past, when someone would make a purchase, I

would need to create an invoice for them.

I would need to send them an email with a link to the questionnaire.

And I would need to go into ClickUp or even before ClickUp into my

spreadsheet to create a new project list so that I would be able to

keep track of where the project was.

I would need to create a Google document and a Google folder for that project.

So all of these different steps, none of them were anything

that I needed to think about.

I just needed to make sure that they all got done.

And because there's so many different steps, it was easy to forget something, to

get distracted, to get stuck in something else and have there be a big delay.

And so instead with Zapier, I can automate all of that so that people

are getting what they need instantly.

And so that we're not wasting time doing something that we don't need to be doing.

So we have more time to spend.

Spend on the things that really matter.

So Zapier is awesome.

I'm a huge fan.

I actually prefer Zapier over Make.

There's something about the interface of it that I find to be,

uh, much more user friendly, also.

Zapier has a really cool new update.

With AI, where you can type in what it is that you're trying to do, and

it'll kind of lay the foundations for the automation, rather than needing

to fully build it out from scratch.

So it's making it much faster and easier to get an automation set up and

running, even if you are not necessarily an automation pro, which I'm not.

It always takes me a long time to build those things, so I'm really excited about.

this new update.

I've got three more tools that I want to tell you and these are

a little bit less conventional.

So the first tool is my brand new webcam, which I love.

It is an InstaLink and it is an AI empowered webcam and

it corrects for lighting.

It has cool Zoom functionality and a bunch of other things that I haven't

even begun to figure out yet, but my desk is sitting directly in front of

a window, and no matter what I did, I could not get good light balance.

And now, I don't need to worry about that.

This camera is amazing.

It is a little bit more expensive, but if you're somebody that's going to

be getting on a lot of Zoom calls, or doing a lot of podcasts and webinars

and presentations, It is worth it to invest in a good quality webcam that's

going to give you crisp imagery that's going to allow you to feel confident so

you're not worrying about the quality of your camera and can instead focus

on impressing and doing a knockout job.

So highly, highly recommend this camera.

I've been using it for a few weeks now and I'm just so glad that I discovered it.

My day designer, which is the planner that I use, and you might be thinking,

Emma, what are you talking about?

You just told me that you use ClickUp for your to do lists.

Yes.

Yes, I do.

But let me tell you this, I love a good written list and there's

something about the satisfaction of checking something off the list.

That I just, it's not the same as clicking a little button

and seeing it marked as done.

So every single evening, when I'm getting ready to wrap up my

day, I will plan the next day.

Or if it's on a Friday, then I will also be planning the next week.

So that allows me to get really clear on what my priorities are for the next day.

Anything that I have scheduled on my calendar, so I don't forget

any meetings or important things.

I'm making sure I'm waking up at the correct time.

I've.

I've tried many different planners over the years, and this is the one that

I keep coming back to because it has these full day layouts so that I have

a ca uh, schedule on one side, I have a big beefy section for my to do list,

my top priorities, plenty of space to take notes or to leave little memos

for myself, and I absolutely love it.

I do better work, I get more done when I am using my planner.

And last but not least, A pen and paper.

Do not underestimate the power of pen and paper.

I realize that they might seem like simple, lowly tools when they are

compared against the power of AI.

However, a pen and paper allows us to connect in with certain

things that computers Simply done.

So we actually will understand and remember things better if we write them

down when we're learning something new.

It also allows you to be able to think in a deeper way than you might be

able to in other types of scenarios.

So whether you're trying to work through a plot problem, reflect on

something that didn't go as planned, dream up some new goals, pen and

paper are wonderful for that.

And if you're not trying it out, I, you know, maybe, maybe try a

journal or something like that.

You know, it's just, uh, something to play around with.

So those are my top nine favorite business tools that I use on a daily basis.

I can't imagine running my business without them.

And let me know what you think.

Did I name any of your favorite tools?

Are you using some tools that I should be checking out?

Let me know in the comments below, and if you like this, please give

it a like, subscribe, follow along.

I would absolutely love to have you on this journey, and until next time, bye!