There's a ton of software tools out there. Choosing the right ones for your business can change the game.
Over the years, we’ve worked hard testing dozens of online business platforms to find the ones that can be real game-changers for your online business. Here are the critical few we believe in so much that we use them ourselves.
Important Disclosure: Please Read Before Proceeding
We're proud affiliates for some of these tools, meaning if you click a link for a tool and make a purchase, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our recommendations are based on deep experience with and knowledge of these companies and their products, and we recommend them because they are genuinely helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we may receive. Please don't spend any money on these products unless you believe they will help you achieve your goals.
Most Recommended Tools
Buzzsprout
The absolute best platform to use to launch and grow your show.
Hosting with Buzzsprout puts your podcast in the right spot. From its ease of use, product-centric ethos, devotion to podcasters, and concentration on the fundamental features that actually matter, Buzzsprout offers podcasters exactly what they need.
Circle
The modern community platform for creators—and the easiest way to set up a premium community experience. That's why we use it for SPI Pro.
Circle is powerful enough to support some of the largest and most successful online communities—while being easy to use for community builders who are just starting out.
Circle is fully white-labeled so it can match and integrate with your brand. Your members stay looped into your community—increasing engagement, retention, and connection.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is the only email marketing platform we use, and will ever use.
ConvertKit is our #1 recommended email marketing platform because it has been built with care to the exact needs of creators building online businesses. Their user experience is very user-friendly. And segmenting our subscribers into focused groups so that we can deliver content specific to their needs has never been easier. We’re all-in on ConvertKit.
RightMessage
RightMessage gives us the ability to communicate with our fans on their terms.
It’s hard to get your messaging right, which harms your ability to motivate others to take a call-to-action. Thankfully, RightMessage is here to save the day. Their platform empowers you to dynamically display content and user experiences on your site tailored to individual audience types, which can dramatically boost your conversion rates.
Browse our other tools by category:
Business Platforms
Guideline
We are so grateful that Guideline exists because without it we may never have rolled out a 401(k) plan to our team. It integrates beautifully with Gusto, which we use for payroll. And it keeps us compliant, which provides blissful peace of mind.
Gusto
Gusto makes running our SPI business a breeze. It starts with payroll, which is critical to get right for a growing business. We also use Gusto for PTO tracking, culture surveys, important document capture, and more. Oh, and their concierge team is dynamite.
Help Scout
There's no way we could operate our customer care inboxes without Help Scout. We also rely on Help Scout as the home of knowledge base tutorial content for some of our offerings. It's pure magic in the form of a software system made to delight.
Collaboration Technology
HeySummit
Make online events easy so you can spend less time building while using the tools that you already know and love. HeySummit can bring your audience together on your own terms — offering integrations with popular web platforms, you can launch your first (or next) event within minutes!
SavvyCal
SavvyCal makes scheduling easy by allowing your recipient to compare their calendar with yours to find availability. You can connect multiple calendars and offer different meeting types. Our link gets your first paid month free after your 7-day trial.
Dropbox
Dropbox is our cloud-based document storage system of choice that easily syncs with all of our team's computers and provides simple access controls to third-party contributors. We also dabble with Dropbox Paper for elegant document creation.
Slack
Slack is our beloved digital HQ for all things SPI. We organize all of our communications in Slack using various channels tailored to unique projects, departments, and hierarchies. It's made email almost a thing of the past, which is glorious for our productivity.
Legal & Compliance Tools
StartPack
Startpack.io helps global online entrepreneurs form US LLCs by supporting customers through the incorporation process so they can confidently collect payments, build credibility, stay legal, and make more money.
Iubenda
Iubenda ensures that your website is compliant with the latest privacy laws. They have a variety of services, including policy and term generators, cookie management, and consent solutions. Of the solutions available, we've found this one easiest to use.
HelloSign
The document signing process can be a real hassle—emailing various PDFs back and forth, scanning hard copies, etc. Thankfully, there's a much faster, easier, and more secure way—use HelloSign. We use it for all of our sensitive documents, and always will.
Marketing Platforms
Copy.ai
Write better copy get past your writer's block! CopyAI offers automated creativity tools to generate marketing copy in seconds. Built on top of the world’s most advanced AI language model, CopyAI is helping thousands of people turbo-charge their creativity.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is the only email marketing platform we use, and will ever use. ConvertKit is our #1 recommended email marketing platform because it has been built with care to the exact needs of creators building online businesses. Their user experience is very user-friendly. And segmenting our subscribers into focused groups so that we can deliver…
RightMessage
RightMessage gives us the ability to communicate with our fans on their terms. It’s hard to get your messaging right, which harms your ability to motivate others to take a call-to-action. Thankfully, RightMessage is here to save the day. Their platform empowers you to dynamically display content and user experiences on your site tailored to…
Podcasting Tools
Descript
Descript offers simple and powerful collaborative tools to edit your audio and video just like a text document! Removes the tedious work that often stands between an idea and its expression and focus on developing your craft instead of getting side-tracked with platform fatigue.
Podcast Hawk
Take the work out of getting booked and experience a smarter way to get exposure. Podcast Hawk is the smartest way to get booked using their time-saving and cost-effective software. Guest appearances on podcasts are a great way to promote your brand and grow your business, but you don't have to do it alone.
Buzzsprout
The absolute best platform to use to launch and grow your show. Hosting with Buzzsprout puts your podcast in the right spot. From its ease of use, product-centric ethos, devotion to podcasters, and concentration on the fundamental features that actually matter, Buzzsprout offers podcasters exactly what they need.
Fusebox
Most web-based podcast players are a total bust and only provide limited customization options and a clunky UI. Give your listeners a superior web experience with Fusebox! Utilizing a custom HTML embed code, Fusebox players can be embedded on almost any CMS, LMS, or eCommerce platform.
Project Management Apps
Airtable
If you're a big fan of spreadsheets, then you'll love Airtable as a means of organizing and planning your work. It's become a powerhouse option within the world of project management systems. With loads of customizable options, it's worth considering.
CoSchedule
If you're looking for a content-specific project management solution, then look no further than CoSchedule. It integrates seamlessly with your WordPress blog. It allows for standard editorial workflows to be created. And it centralizes all content creation tasks.
Monday.com
Monday.com is our new go-to work management platform. It's drag-and-drop simple. There are oodles of pre-made templates for a variety of use cases. And it's highly collaborative and visual by design. We use it for darn near everything we do.
Sales Platforms
Rewardful
It can be hard (and expensive) to grow a SaaS business — that's why Rewardful offers a simple way for companies to set up affiliate and referral programs with Stripe. Just connect your account and let us track referrals, discounts, and commissions for you!
Karat
A credit card for creators without limits to grow your channel fast with the credit you deserve. Karat will get you up and running in just 5 minutes with no need for a social security number or effect on your credit score.
Eventbrite
If you run your own events, then do yourself a favor and sell your tickets through Eventbrite. We've tried to adapt other platforms for ticket sales and it never really works. We always come back to Eventbrite, which powers such events as FlynnCon.
Stripe
Stripe is the gold standard for payment processors. Pat uses it to process payments for his private mastermind and workshops. Most SaaS companies today use it for their recurring payments, as we do with Smart Podcast Player and as does Teachable.
Teachable
Offering online courses to our audience revolutionized our business a few years ago. That was possible thanks to Teachable, a market leader in the booming online courses industry. All of our online courses are housed on Teachable because they make it so darn simple to configure content, manage settings, and sell to students. There’s absolutely…
Video Production Tools
SwitchPod
This minimal, versatile, handheld tripod was specifically designed by Pat Flynn and Caleb Wojcik with video creators in mind. It's quick to set up and comfortable to hold.
Frame.io
Frame.io is a key component of Pat's workflow for producing, reviewing, and collaborating on videos. The user experience is off the hook. And upload times are blazing fast. And it's all highly secured. If you're a video pro like Pat, definitely check out Frame.io.
Loom
Loom is a welcomed breath of fresh air in the world of video recording tools. There's a free plan option that's not lacking in features. And videos are saved automatically to the cloud. We use Loom anytime we need to create an important explanatory video.
Wistia
Wistia hosts all of our core educational and marketing videos, including our online course videos and promotional videos. We've been using it for years and have no intention of switching to a different option. We believe in Wistia and are all in on them.
Website & Form Builders
Flywheel
Offering thoughtfully built tools to manage your clients and websites while growing your business. Flywheel handles all of the technical bits and bobs of running a website built on WordPress — including nightly backups, blazing-fast speed, 24/7 support, and free SSL certificate.
Circle
The modern community platform for creators—and the easiest way to set up a premium community experience. That's why we use it for SPI Pro. Circle is powerful enough to support some of the largest and most successful online communities—while being easy to use for community builders who are just starting out. Circle is fully white-labeled…
Leadpages
We have long used Leadpages to create dedicated landing pages to launch a new educational product or experience. Like most brands, we prefer to build pages on our own site. However, whenever we cannot, we use Leadpages to get the job done.