10 free super helpful marketing tools and tips
I don’t know about you, but I love the word free. I’m also all about value, so I don’t just go around hoarding all the freebies I can get my tiny hands on - as tempting as that is. I know a good deal when I see one. So, here are 10 helpful marketing tools and tips that are free for you to indulge in whenever you please.
I tried to pick a few solutions that you may have not heard of. You may notice a few familiar faces though, since well.. we love to add value to our wonderful audience here at Burst.
#CheekyPlug #BecauseWeCan
1) Piktochart Infographics
We live in a visual world, and my favourite way to consume content is through a good old infographic. It’s a shame it takes so long to create one though. That’s why Piktochart is so handy. It’s a drag and drop infographic generator which comes with hundreds of templates to choose from. They offer a free version which does enough to get the job done. Then if you like what you see, you can unlock more features by upgrading to the paid version.
2) The most organised list of emojis ever
Emojis are awesome, and everyone loves them. When it comes to emojis for business purposes though, you may have found yourself struggling to find the one you want. I don’t blame you, there’s no list of emojis out there that has actually been created so that the human eye can easily scroll through. I mean there’s 5 different variations of a monkey and they’re not sorted in the same place.
We got tired of this, so we made our own master list of useful emojis that you can actually use for business purposes. You’ll find groups of emojis which are logically organised inside our master list including: General Business, Retail, Tourism, Sports, Food, Technology, and more. We also made a separate master list for animals, because they deserve their own special section. 😎
3) Emoji Formatting for Emails
The master list above is perfect for pasting into messages, Wiziwig/rich-text websites, social media, or in any general document. When it comes to emails and HTML however, you need to take an extra step in order to make sure the emoji is fully compatible. The easiest way to do this is through Glyths. For example if you want to display the pizza emoji, depending on where you want it displayed you will have to use the following code:
- Email subject line: =?utf-8?Q?=F0=9F=8D=95?=
- Body copy / HTML: 🍕
Use the link below to search for a matching Glyth to the emoji of your choice.
4) Cyfe Dashboards
Monitor your stats with Cyfe. They limit the number of widgets you can use to 5 on their free version, but if you wish to add more you can upgrade for just $14/month on an annual plan or $19/month on a casual plan. They have a hundreds of integrations that allow you to pull stats from popular services like Google Adwords, Salesforce, MailChimp, MOZ, Facebook, Instagram, Unbounce, Zendesk, and more.
5) Free creatives, themes, websites, and VFX
On the first of each month Envato spotlights some of their most popular creatives on their blog, and offers them free for a limited time. You just need to search “Free” followed by the month. These files are only available for free during the month that it’s featured in. So, you have to download them right away if you want them. The June edition can be accessed through the link below.
It’s always a mixed bag, but there’s sure to be a couple of files that you’ll find useful.
6) Adobe Kuler
If you’re not the most colour savvy person or just looking to incorporate some more splashes into your creatives, this is the tool for you. You have the option to explore an infinite amount of existing swatches or you can tweak your own if you have a colour code readily available.
The easiest way to use this tool is to take an existing hex code such as ABFFC8 and pasting it into the middle box under the HEX section. Press the enter key once your new hex code is inside, and you’ll notice that all the colour boxes will change to match and compliment your exact hex colour. From here, you can switch between patterns by clicking through the Color Rule box on the top left corner. If you want more control, try spinning the colour dial by pressing and holding to get some more ideas.
7) Google Forms for Surveys
There are plenty of free survey tools out there, however 99% of them place a cap on their features. Although it’s not the prettiest platform out there, Google offers a 100% free survey tool with no restrictions. It comes with readily available custom branding, real-time analytics, and easy collaboration options.
8) Google Academy
I cringe a little when I see people charging for Google classes or certifications (especially Analytics or Adwords), knowing that Google offers the best program on their website for free. This is partly Google’s fault since they do a really poor job advertising this, but that’s why we’re talking about it here so you don’t make the same mistake.
The first step you need to do to unlock these classes is to sign-up as a Google Partner. It’s a pretty simple process to become a Google Partner if you’re a marketer. Once you become one, they will keep you in the loop when it comes to new products and features - giving you the first dibs at trying it. After you become a partner you will unlock all of their advanced classes and certifications on Search Advertising, Display Advertising, Video Advertising, Mobile Advertising, Shopping Advertising, Analytics, and optimising Mobile Websites.
Alternatively if you don’t want to go through a few extra steps to become a Google Partner, you can click here to access their free Analytics classes or click here to access their free Adwords classes.
9) HubSpot Academy
If you want to learn more about inbound marketing, HubSpot offers some of the most comprehensive classes you can find online for free. After completing the program, you will be given a certification. Get certified in Inbound Marketing, Email Marketing, Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, Growth-Driven Design, HubSpot Design, or Contextual Marketing.
10) Australian SMS Professional: Rapid Induction E-Course
If you are keen for some in-depth strategic knowledge of the Australian SMS industry, we have prepared a Professional Rapid Induction E-Course. This comprehensive E-Course will teach you everything you need to know about implementing professional SMS solutions, and give you insight into how the Australian SMS industry functions.
