As business owners, finding tools that can help you save time and grow your business is always helpful! That’s why we’ve created this list of the best free resources for wedding pros.
25 FREE RESOURCES FOR WEDDING PROS
There are all kinds of tools and resources, but we’re focusing on tools that will help you grow your business, learn more about marketing your business, and help you off-load or automate tasks so that you can focus on what you do best!
Free Design Tools
1. Canva
If you think you already know everything about Canva — think again! They are always improving their product. You can have graphic designers create templates for you, and if you’re interested in going to a pro plan (Just $12 per month, you can have all your branded elements right where you need them.)
Check out Rebel Nutrition’s Instagram Series – Things You Didn’t Know About Canva. You won’t be sorry that you did!
2. BeFunky
If you’re not a whiz with technology, but you know the size photo you need, then BeFunky is the photo editing tool you have been dreaming of! It’s beneficial if you need to create a balanced image in an odd size. Try it out, and we know you’ll love it!
3. Bulk Photo Resize
Maybe you have many photos you need to resize for your blog or similar; this free tool will save you some major time!
Free Photo Sources
You can never have enough photos, and sometimes it’s just not possible to get original images. These three websites have some of the best free photos in the industry! And everyone from big-name corporations to mom-and-pop shops is using them on everything from products to Instagram.
4. Unsplash
5. Pexels
6. Pixabay
Free Social Media Tools
7. Later
Later is one of the best free resources out there — and their paid services are incredibly cost-effective. Be sure to sign up for their email newsletter and/or follow them on Instagram so you’ll get access to all their helpful resources.
(There are many more, but this one is so great, it’s the only social scheduling app our team uses!)
Free Internal Communication Tools
8. Skype
From its desktop app to Skype for Business on your phone — Skype is a free and convenient tool to help you stay in contact with your team without overloading your inbox.
9. Slack
While some love Skype, others prefer a more collaborative option. Those people tend to enjoy Slack as an alternative.
10. Zoom
11. Google Meet
If you’re a G Suite fan and use all of Google’s other tools, you might as well look into Google Meet. It blends seamlessly with their other tools, and it’s free.
Free Email Tools
13. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is constantly improving its product and staying up with the times. As a result, it has a very robust free program, and it works seamlessly with most other software plugin-ins because it is such a well-established company.
14. ActiveCampaign
Okay, ActiveCampaign isn’t quite free, but it’s the next closest thing because it’s incredibly cheap for what it offers. And you can test it out for free.
15. Hubspot Email Marketing
This is a relatively recent development since last year, but it allows you to use email marketing and a CRM from the same company – always nice!
FREE STORAGE
We could all use a little more storage, and here are some helpful options for digital storage. Of course, depending on what you’re are storing, some may be more helpful than others.
16. Dropbox
17. Google Cloud
18. Amazon Cloud Storage
FREE CRM HELP
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, and this is an area that can help eliminate redundant work for a lone entrepreneur. It helps track where a customer is in their purchase journey and makes generating more sales easier.
19. Hubspot
These guys lead the industry as far as being widely used and easy to navigate.
These are just some of the many great resources out there for wedding pros that will help you successfully navigate the wedding boom of 2022-23. (Read more about How to Prepare for the Wedding Boom.)
20. Zoho
FREE TECHNICAL HELP
This is essentially a catch-all for free resources that make life so much better for a business owner.
21. Calendly
Most wedding pros know all about Calendly, but if you’re not using it, maybe you should be! It allows potential customers to schedule appointments without you having to lift a finger or check your schedule.
22. Zapier
Do you have some different software that doesn’t work together, but you need them to? Then, Zapier is the wonder tool that you’ve been waiting for! It connects all your apps and helps automate all your workflows.
23. Loom
Show it, say it, send it. Loom allows you to record quick videos of your screen and your cam at the same time. It’s super helpful!
24. Typeform
Want to try surveys, but not sure where to start? Typeform is an intuitive, free resource to help you get more information from your customers and learn how to serve them even better.
It is also great as a lead-generating tool.
25. Grammarly
This may be one of the biggest timesavers on this list! If you hate simple grammar mistakes or, worse, spend too long proofreading an email, you need this app today! It’s free — though their paid version is totally worth it too! — and it plugs into everything you do, from email to social media, on your phone and your desktop.
BONUS: Answer The Public
This is a fun tool to understand better what people are searching for related to any one topic. You only get two free searches every month, so make them count. Be sure to use only one to two words if possible and click for the United States search topics.
Are you a baker? Search wedding cakes or dessert bars and see what questions people have. Then, use that to create helpful content for your target audience.
We’ve covered many great technical, free resources for wedding pros to help you achieve your business goals, but if you’re looking for even more in-depth guidance, we can help with that too! For example, our sister company, Brandlink Media, can help you build an effective and beautiful website or start advertising on social media, create a marketing campaign, and so much more. (Contact their team today for a free consultation.)
Use these tools to get prepared for the Wedding Boom. Get all the details in our blog on How to Prepare for the Wedding Boom.
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Written by Corrie McGee
