I've made my fair share of money mistakes. (Remember my $1300 mistakes of 2015??) Today I'm talking all about tools and how to decide between free and paid tools.
Listen to Episode 60 - How to Decide Between Free and Paid Tools
When it comes to investing in your blog, brand, or small business, there is no shortage of options. You can pay designers or developers for your blog, pay for better blog hosting, pay for advertisements, pay for courses and education, pay virtual assistants, pay for memberships, pay for coaching, or pay for tools. I'm sure I missed some things in there.
I'm shocked at how the little potential costs add up on a monthly basis. But what do we really NEED to pay for?
I'm going to speak specifically about how to decide between free and paid tools in this post, but may revisit the conversation with thoughts on how we decide to pay for courses, services, or more.
The thing about tools is that you have to first know your goals to determine what you NEED. What you need and what someone else needs will not be the same. I will always start conversations by making sure you know your why. If you need help with this, consider my mini-course, the Foundation Series, which helps build your foundation for your blog, social media, email list, and images on your WHY.
Your goals will help you understand what tools you need, but you also need to have an understanding of your budget before you move on. If you are bootstrapping your beginnings, you may not have any money or have a tiny budget at the beginning to pay for tools. Know your why and your budget and then consider these helpful questions.
Questions to Help You Decide Between Free and Paid Tools Will It Save You Time?
Will this particular tool save you enough time that it actually DOES equal money? This is a really great question to ask, especially as you are getting started. For me, unless it saves me hours, this is not enough of a reason to pay.
Will It Propel You Forward?
Some tools have the ability to really move your business forward. An example for me has been ConvertKit. It's an email tool that I pay for that absolutely helps move me forward and grow my email list in ways that Mailchimp and Mad Mimi just couldn't. My list growth saw huge surges from the advanced features of using this tool. But for one of my sites I still use Mailchimp because my needs are simpler.
Is There a Learning Curve?
Do you need to learn how to use the tool? I recently bought Camtasia. I know I will use it for my business. But so far I haven't used it because I don't know how to use it and haven't had time to sit down with the program. You may need to consider if now is the right time for a tool with a learning curve. If you don't have time to learn it, then you probably don't need it right this second.
Do You Need It NOW?
Sometimes we get that itchy trigger finger. We want our goose that lays the golden egg and we want it NOW. (Little Willy Wonka reference for you.) But do you NEED it now? Like, right now? If you are trying to stick to your budget, make a list of things you want to buy and then try to buy them in order of immediate need.
Is There a Unique Deal?
You may not need it now, but sometimes you find that amazing deal that happens to be ONLY now. Taking my previous Camtasia example, I don't have time this month to figure it out. But I also know that in the long run I need it and I found a sweet deal that I couldn't pass up. Sometimes you may see a great deal on a tool you don't need this second that you know you WILL need. This might be the only time I'd suggest getting a tool you don't need now so you don't stockpile and forget to ever use it.
Will It Have Direct Impact on Reaching Your Goals?
This is similar to the question about propelling you forward, but it helps distinguish between tools that are fun and tools that really ACCOMPLISH something. My example here is Pat Flynn's Smart Podcast Player. I got a good deal on this tool, which allows you to neatly embed your podcast into your posts and pages. It looked like it would help with shares and make listening easier. Also, it was pretty and on sale. But in reality, it looked pretty but didn't increase any activity for me, so I cut this out of my budget. We all love pretty things, but if you are on a budget or need to cut back, look for tools that may be neat, but not actually DO anything.
Is It a Necessary Tool for Your Goals?
I recently was on the fence about paying for some scheduling tools. I know a lot of people pay for Edgar (a cool $50/month) or an advanced version of Hootsuite or Buffer. While these tools are helpful, I don't see tons of traffic from Twitter, which is a platform more about connections. Paying for scheduling there won't increase connections or enhance relationships. I also prefer to do Facebook scheduling natively, because I see the best results that way. On the other hand, I DO pay for Tailwind, an app for Pinterest scheduling. Why? Because Pinterest is my top traffic referrer and I need to be intentional. There are also great analytics that help me continue to be strategic. This tool helps me with my goals, but a Twitter scheduler would not.
Does It Take on a Job That YOU Don't Have to Do?
One example might be hiring a ghostwriter or contributors for your blog. I personally want to be THE writer and voice. But if it's not important that YOU write the posts as long as SOMONE does, this could be a good tool. (Though I'm talking about people in terms of ghostwriters or contributors here.)
Does It Fall Under Shiny Object Syndrome?
Often the other questions will rule this out, but sometimes for reasons I can't explain, I really WANT something. It may not meet a need or really affect the bottom line, but I get obsessed and keep thinking about it. That's when it becomes a shiny object. I'm not saying you shouldn't invest in something you obsess over, but do ask some of the other questions first before you invest. And realize that you may feel totally happy once you've got your special thing, OR you may be disappointed because you buy it and then realize that you should have gone with your rational senses that it didn't actually accomplish something you need.
Do You NEED It or Do You WANT it?
Similar to shiny object, it's important to think about whether you really need it. I need an email service provider or I can't send email. I need a media host for my podcast or no one can listen to my podcast.
Will It Save (or Make) You Money?
Some tools might cost something, but bring in a return. Many people attribute a tool like Leadpages or ClickFunnels to helping them make sales through sales pages that convert. (Personally, I can't directly attribute any sales to Leadpages, though I've used it a lot this year.)
Is There a Cheaper Version That Works Just As Well?
One alternative to Leadpages is Thrive Pages, which has several features that are similar to Leadpages. People can argue til they are blue about which is better (and you have to really decide which is best for you), but if one is cheaper and you don't have the budget to go above, then go with that one!
Is There a Recurring Fee?
Some tools have a hidden yearly fee if you want support. Or just a recurring yearly fee, rather than a one-time fee. Don't miss this when you buy! It makes a big difference if something is $50 once or $50 every year. That doesn't mean you should only buy the one-time cost tool, but simply know what you're getting into.
Does the Tool Do the Work of SEVERAL Tools?
This year SumoMe made some big changes. I used to recommend it for pop-ups, welcome mats, or smart bars (all email list tools on your site), but I found that my emails were NOT actually getting to my email service provider. Hundreds of emails were trapped in a spreadsheet within the tool on my blog and never made it to my email service provider. I left at that point. Since then, SumoMe also changed its plans so you have to pay WAY more. I wouldn't give them my money after seeing how it failed on the free level, but looking into other options for pop-ups, I kept finding that some tools did one or two things, but I would need another tool for another job. Some were free and some were different prices, so I was toggling between all of these window.
Enter: Popup Ally. It has a HUGE functionality, plays nice with ConvertKit, lets me have like 9 different kinds of signup forms and allows me to easily design them with custom looks and fonts. You can do exit intent pop-ups, block pop-ups on certain pages or on mobile, and even get a little fancy and make it so people already subscribed won't see the pop-ups at all. (I'm still working to get that bit down.) This was a one-time fee while many of the others were monthly, but it did the work of many tools and email is giant piece of my platform.
Want to learn more? You can check out details by clicking through my affiliate link (which gives me a commission if you decide to upgrade!) to get the PopupAlly Pro details.
What Do Other People Say about It?
Ask around, read reviews, and see what you can dig up. Ask people what they use and what good and bad experiences they have had. You will find a mix of good and bad for most tools, so this likely won't give you a definitive answer, but may help you make your decision.
What Is the Return Policy?
This seems basic, but I don't always think about it, especially with things like courses or tools. I recently paid for a tool that just didn't work on my blog, but it had a refund policy so I got my money back. I didn't check ahead of time, but I should have. Always know the policy. Set an alarm on your phone if there is an expiration. Always read the fine print. I've seen some courses where the refund policy includes a piece where you have to do all the worksheets and proved you actually did the entire course and tried things AND DIDN'T SEE RESULTS to get your money back.
I hope that these questions can help you work through the decision to buy (or not buy) a particular tool! I have to really think about it every time and make sure I'm not caught up in shiny object syndrome and that the tool meets a need that is worth paying for rather than bootstrapping to do it myself.
