Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Why You Need Productivity Apps
- Overview of Productivity App Types
- The 19 Best Apps
- Project Management
- Goal Tracking
- Time Management
- Writing and Content Creation
- Website Building and Blogging
- Email, Marketing, and Analytics
- File Storage and Sharing
- Conclusion
Introduction
Running an online business is no easy feat. As an entrepreneur, you have to juggle many responsibilities - from managing projects and deadlines to creating content and connecting with customers. It can be overwhelming trying to stay on top of it all.
That's why using productivity apps is a game-changer.
With the right tech stack, you can eliminate distractions, optimize workflows, tap into creativity, and work smarter instead of harder. This leads to better results in less time, helping your business succeed.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover:
- The top 19 productivity apps that leading entrepreneurs use to build, manage and grow thriving online businesses
- Actionable tips for implementing these apps to maximize productivity
- Specific examples of how these apps can help you achieve business success
By the end, you’ll have a complete toolkit to streamline your operations, outperform competitors, and set your startup or small business up for success.
Why You Need Productivity Apps
Before diving into the apps, let's discuss why productivity software is indispensable for online business owners:
1. Eliminate Distractions
Apps like Focus@Will block distracting websites during working hours. This lets you zero in on important tasks without wasting time.
2. Stay Organized
Apps like Asana give you oversight of all your projects and tasks in one place. This makes it easy to prioritize what's essential.
3. Automate Repetitive Tasks
Instead of manually completing rote tasks, apps like Zapier let you automate them to save hours.
4. Access Information Anywhere
Cloud-based apps like Google Drive centralize your files online. This gives you 24/7 access to important business information from any device.
5. Enhance Creativity
Tools like Canva take the effort out of graphic design. This makes even non-artistic entrepreneurs look professional.
6. Communicate and Collaborate
Messaging platforms like Slack facilitate communication across teams and with clients. This leads to better collaboration.
With the major benefits covered, let's explore the main types of apps you should leverage to boost productivity:
Overview of Productivity App Types
Project Management Apps
These tools like Asana give you oversight of company objectives and tasks so you can plan and manage workflows efficiently.
Goal Tracking Apps
Apps like Strides turn goals into measurable action steps. This promotes accountability and consistency.
Time Management and Scheduling Apps
Calendar apps like Calendly allow you to efficiently schedule meetings, consultations, appointments, and more.
Writing and Content Creation Apps
Tools like Hemingway Editor help you craft polished, professional-grade content quickly.
Website Building and Blogging Apps
Platforms like WordPress make launching informational sites and blogs simple, even without coding skills.
Email, Marketing, and Analytics Apps
Services like Mailchimp streamline email campaigns while providing metrics on engagement.
File Storage and Sharing Apps
Central hubs like Dropbox enable securely accessing and sharing business files across teams.
Now that you know the main categories to leverage, let’s get into the 19 best productivity apps for achieving online business success:
The 19 Best Productivity Apps
Project Management
1. Trello
Trusted by over 2 million teams globally, Trello organizes projects into “boards” of “cards” representing tasks. You can drag and drop cards into columns based on status - like To-Do, In Progress, and Done. Features like due dates, assignments, attachments, and comments streamline workflow.
Use it to: Coordinate marketing campaigns, product launches, or any multi-phase initiative.
2. Asana
Named 2021's #1 project management app by G2, Asana is revered for its simple, flexible interface. It has powerful tools for managers like milestones, portfolio views, and reporting to plan and track complex objectives across departments with clarity.
Use it to: Map out company goals in achievable steps so you can execute flawlessly.
3. Todoist
Trusted by over 30 million people globally, Todoist has won awards as a top task manager. It has robust features to organize personal and team workflows. These include custom categories, notifications, comments, attachments, productivity analytics, and integrations with tools like Google Calendar.
Use it to: Break down big picture goals into assignable daily and weekly tasks so work gets done consistently.
Goal Tracking
4. Strides
Strides is a simple yet powerful goal tracking app packed with motivational features. You can schedule goals in your calendar, log progress with a click, spot trends in customized reports, and stay on track with reminders and notifications.
Use it to: Set SMART business objectives, document wins consistently, and identify where you need focus.
Time Management
5. Focus@Will
We all know distractions hamper productivity. Focus@Will is music engineered to boost concentration and keep you in flow. It activates the part of your brain involved in complex problem-solving by changing harmonic musical properties based on your preferences.
Use it to: Boost productivity and sustain focus while working on business-critical projects.
6. Calendly
Stopping work to schedule meetings hurts productivity. Calendly eliminates back-and-forth emails by allowing people to book times that suit your calendar. It syncs with tools like Salesforce and Mailchimp to streamline booking sales calls, consultations, interviews, appointments and more.
Use it to: Automate scheduling to avoid wasting time coordinating calendars.
Writing and Content Creation
7. Evernote
Trusted by over 300 million users globally, Evernote is the leading note-taking app for capturing ideas and organizing research. Clip web content, attach documents, add tagged notes, sets alerts, and quickly find everything through the search function. Premium plans enable working offline and secure document scanners.
Use it to: Save interesting content you find across the web in one place to tap into later for business inspiration and market research.
8. Google Docs
Part of Google’s G Suite, Google Docs makes creating professional documents and spreadsheets simple—no Microsoft Office required. It's real-time collaborative, built for teams to co-author content online. Share docs with a click, enabling swift editing, feedback and approvals to keep projects moving fast.
Use it to: Streamline all documentation and knowledge sharing for smooth teamwork.
9. Hemingway Editor
Even talented writers produce confusing, bloated copy sometimes. That’s where Hemingway Editor comes in. It highlights dense, complex sentences and common errors like passive voice. Seeing these weak spots lets you refine prose for maximum clarity and readability.
Use it to: Craft compelling blog posts, digital guides, video scripts, newsletters, and other written content that resonates.
Website Building and Blogging
10. WordPress
Want to launch a blog, portfolio site, ecommerce store, membership portal or other robust website—no coding required? With open-source WordPress you get thousands of customization options including themes, plugins, widgets, and integrations. Plus seamless hosting, updates, stats, and securitymanaged directly by WordPress.
Use it to: Launch beautiful, functional websites almost effortlessly.
Email, Marketing, and Analytics
11. Mailchimp
Email marketing drives sales, but pulling it off professionally requires complex automation. That’s Mailchimp's specialty. It makes campaigns, signup forms, segmentation, email design, analytics, and more intuitive. Plans range from free to premium as you scale your list size and capabilities.
Use it to: Capture more leads, engage subscribers, drive repeat purchases, and understand your audience.
12. Aweber
A top email service for over 20 years, Aweber is renowned for delivering emails reliably by optimizing both their open and click through rates. It makes growing your lists easy with signup forms, landing pages, and integrations with leading platforms. With 650+ email template options good design is effortless.
Use it to: Send professional email campaigns that engage your subscribers and motivate them to take action like signing up for a free trial or making a purchase.
13. Hootsuite
Juggling multiple social media platforms is tough. Hootsuite enables managing Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn and more from one dashboard. It allows scheduling posts in advance, monitoring brand mentions, engaging followers, running ads, tracking analytics, and automating reporting.
Use it to: Streamline social media marketing operations to drive brand awareness and sales.
14. Google Analytics
Understanding visitor behavior on your website is crucial for optimization and growth. Google Analytics gives unmatched insight for free. Track traffic volume metrics like visitors, referrals, top pages, geography, technology used and more to unlock website improvements.
Use it to: Monitor website KPIs to boost conversions.
15. Hotjar
While Google Analytics show overall traffic trends, Hotjar records granular site interactions like clicks, taps and scrolling behavior through session recordings and heatmaps. Spot usability issues to refine site navigation and checkout flows. See drop off points in key funnels to reduce abandoned carts.
Use it to: Pinpoint exact issues sabotaging conversion rates to fix them.
File Storage and Sharing
16. Slack
Effective team collaboration requires seamless communication. Slack facilitates this through instant messaging, video calls, notifications, file sharing and task management. It also integrates with a multitude of workplace apps. Organize conversations by channels, groups or direct messaging for productive workflows.
Use it to: Enable smooth internal team coordination that mimics in-person exchanges.
17. Dropbox
When your business data lives across laptops, phones and computers, you risk losing access. Dropbox solves this by hosting everything in the cloud securely. View and share docs, photos, and folders from any device. Real time synchronization means group members access the most updated versioneffortlessly.
Use it to: Stop worrying about transferring files and version control.
18. Google Drive
Like Dropbox, Google Drive stores any file type securely in the cloud. As part of GSuite, it enables real-time editing between collaborators on documents, spreadsheets and slides. Simply share files internally or externally via link. Drive scans content preventing malicious file uploads too.
Use it to: Facilitate smooth collaboration on documentation across marketing, product development, HR and all business departments.
19. Lucidchart
Sketching ideas visually as diagrams and flowcharts clarifies thinking and conveys complex concepts easily. Lucidchart makes creating sleek diagrams simple using templates or starting scratch. Embed charts in documents or share links easily for constructive feedback cycles.
Use it to: Map out plans and visualize ideas to advance projects faster.
Conclusion
This covers the top 19 productivity apps leading entrepreneurs leverage across project management, writing, task tracking, website building, cloud storage, and more.
As you can see, today’s software enables working smarter by eliminating redundant manual processes. It grants efficiency gains not feasible before while fostering team alignment through seamless collaboration capabilities.
The bottom line? Embracing the right technology stack positions your business for scalability by amplifying output while maintaining sanity.
To recap, the four main productivity app types to leverage across business functions are:
Project management apps - Plan objectives strategically
Goal tracking apps - Maintain accountability consistently
Time management apps - Make the most of work hours
Content creation apps - Produce high-quality written, visual and video content
Pick 2-3 apps in each category relevant for you. Sign up for free trials to test out the user experience and integration capabilities.
Within 3 months, you will notice tangible time savings, increased organization, and less stress.
Within 6 months your business growth metrics across website traffic, leads generated, and sales will start accelerating.
Soon you will wonder how you ever ran your enterprise without these online allies!
Let us know the apps you find most useful for achieving objectives by leaving a comment. And connect with us on social media @businessgrowthguide for more digital transformation tips!
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