Every creator needs tools. The truth is, you gotta figure out what tools work for you. I'm 100% against the idea that creators can just use anything. I do think in the beginning, you have to start with what you have, but over time you definitely want to invest in the right equipment and software to make being a creator easy.

Let's break down the exact tools you need and how they will help you. (Yes, there might be some affiliate links in here. I mean, we are creators, aren't we?)

The best tool for recording and production, by far, is Riverside FM. Everything is organized on there for you to be a productive recorder. It doesn't matter if you're doing podcasts, live streams, or webinars. Riverside is the platform for you. I currently record 5 to 10 episodes per week, and Riverside handles all of it without a hiccup. They even updated their editor recently. Yes, they have AI baked into the platform to make production and post-editing a lot easier.

I remember back when I first started podcasting in 2016, I was using Audacity and a bunch of other tools, and I would have to listen to the recording second by second to remove the ums and ahs and make sure nobody coughed. It was exhausting. Riverside makes it to where I can produce an ridiculous amount of content extremely fast, so this is gonna be the tool if you're trying to record. Start recording quality.

Now, for distribution, we have Buffer. Buffer is one of those tools that has made social media easier. I'm not a proponent of sitting on social media and scrolling a lot. I like to post my content and engage with people and then get off of there. I just can't live on social. For me, Buffer is amazing because I can schedule across a lot of different platforms all at one time. When you can schedule content that way, the hashtags and stuff, it just makes being a creator a lot easier, not to mention the analytics. I love it because I know what content is doing well. I can export my analytics from Buffer and then go to Clog, and it's amazing.

On top of that, they have this really cool community tab where you can literally see all the comments from each platform in one place and respond there. That right there is a reason to pay for this thing forever. Grow on your socials.

Beehiiv is another tool that belongs on this list. It's the best way to do email lists now. I know this is controversial, but I think the days of just sending people emails to try to sell them your products and services are done. The old school sales funnels are crappy. People know it's coming. They know about the upsell process, and nobody likes it.

Now on Beehiiv, you can send better emails, you can send better content. You can set up a podcast and have an incredible branding website. Beehiiv makes it really easy to not only organize everything but to be very efficient with how you design your process. The automations and the workflows behind the scenes are just a game changer, and I don't think that other email platforms can keep up with how Beehiiv innovates. Now you can see your digital products on here as well. Yes, I'm saying here because Beehiiv is where you're reading this newsletter right now. If you have a newsletter or email list, you got to get them on Beehiiv ASAP. (Save 20% on your first 3 months!)

Now, probably the biggest creator tool that I have that I use every single day is Claude. I know it's not technically a creative tool, but if you set it up a certain way, it can be. I think every creator should be on Claude and have their projects set up where each brand you have or whatever you're working on is its own project. Something I hope Claude adds in the future is a subcategory system so you can have projects within projects, which will be a game-changer. As of now, you can still have a nice project for your brand, have different conversations with the AI system about your marketing content, about sponsorships, everything. On top of that, you can connect Claude to a lot of the tools I've already mentioned and other tools I will mention in this list.

The creators winning, right now, producing more with less time, and two tools that help me do this are Canva and Wispr Flow. Wispr Flow is how I'm writing this newsletter right now. I don't really write. I actually just talk and express my thoughts in words. It's way easier. Save time writing.

Canva is a tool I've been paying for for years. I literally have had a yearly subscription with them since 2016. I think every creator has to have Canva, like Canva versus Adobe. Canva is just better, easily accessible. You can share stuff easier, it's more affordable, the price makes sense, and you can get a ton of projects done. I love Canva templates. I have templates for everything from the podcast to these newsletters. Everything has a template, and I made it on Canva. When I used to work with a bunch of clients, I would have templates on Canva that they would review and stuff. It's just the easiest way to save time.

Another tool that has crept up on my most valuable list is Lovable. I love using Lovable. It's one of those tools that you don't really know how much it can do until you sit there and you use it. All of my brand websites are on Lovable, and my products are on Lovable. It's just the best tool you can use, I think, to create all the things you want to create as a content creator, because you don't need to spend $2,000 or 20 hours trying to build websites and stuff. You can just use Lovable to make it within minutes and be on your way to the bigger stuff like marketing and sales. Build your websites and apps.

Another tool on my list that nobody thinks about is Google Workspace. Google Workspace is how you can present yourself as more professional in this online world. I think creators don't do a good enough job of making themselves professional as soon as possible. Google Workspace makes it really easy. You can add that domain for your brand to your Google Workspace account, and boom, you're already with a professional email. Then you also get access to all the other features like Google Drive, get a ton of space on there, and you get Gemini. If you don't want to pay for any of the other AI tools, this is kind of like a two-in-one bargain here. Gemini is good too! Get your first 14 days free.

Now, when it comes to investing in your tools, I have some thoughts on this.

My best piece of advice is to create content with what you have and add different tools month after month. Every month you add one new tool. It could be a microphone here, some headphones there, a software subscription here. Next thing you know, you'll have a nice toolkit and some nice software to help you create content a lot better, a lot faster, and even more consistently. A rule of thumb: before you buy any production tool, answer this: if a brand wants to pay you today, where would the money go? If you don't have a clean answer, that's the first tool problem to solve.