For those who do not know I have a dōterra business that I created from my living room and the living rooms of others for 5 years now collectively with the most amazing team . We serve thousands of customers collectively face to face as well as online.
Over the past few years I have used apps and other resources to help in order to continually grow my business, share with my community and grow while leveraging my time.
Creation + educating others on what we have learned in our home is my love language and when I feel most alive so I thought I would compile some of my fav resources for you in one place that I use on a daily basis for my business.
Perhaps right now you are looking for a little direction with all your time and how to leverage it for continuous growth in your biz or simply looking for a few new things to add into the day, a few new skills to refine and ways to make it easier... Check out some of the apps I added below and play around to see if they are something that would add value to what you are already doing babes. No time like the present to learn a new skill. I will add this disclaimer... I am ALWAYS learning, I do not have a massive following online but am working on growing that and wanted to share a few things that are working over here. I am not a techie goddess who has a million secrets to share... simply sharing what has been working for me. Shall we dig in? WEBSITE: I was feeling an itch to create a space I can direct people to that would connect them a little bit more online with who I was, resources to guiding them to purchase essential oils, a little information about the opportunity of the biz and a space to Blog.
I decided on Wix because A. it didn't cost me a fortune to buy the domain and B. It was pretty easy to set up and create with a template. There are many amazing templates out there for my fellow DIY babes that want to give it a shot. I will say having professional pictures does go a long way in branding and making it professional but if that's not in the budget right now keep reading for a few apps that can help with editing your images. Also if having someone building a website for you some day is something you are saving up for I know a great girl and an amazing photographer.
Wix works for me though and I like having a space to blog and create more content to share and have found this one currently super simple to use so right now this is working for us.
INSTAGRAM: I have a handful of apps that I am currently loving to make Instagram work for me while not taking up all of my time. I use a collection of my own pictures edited in lightroom (will expand on this in a second) and photos by a few professional photographers to add in as I am still learning the "art" of taking my own pics of myself that aren't just selfies. This space has continued to evolve for me while trying not to obsess over it at the same time.
A few thoughts on Instagram... keep it real, keep it fun, show that pretty face of yours on it, don't overthink it or get attached to the whole "likes/follow game" k?
Scheduling Instagram: Planoly is the app I love to work with. I often schedule Monday afternoons in my work calendar to create and load in the content for the week that I want to roll out. Often I am inspired creatively or with writing throughout the week at all different times of day but hello no one wants to read 30 posts a day per everyone's feed every time you felt inspired to share something. So I create posts in planoly and when I feel inspired to write I open the app and drop my thoughts in there while feeling the inspiration, to save and post at a later date.. This app allows you to creatively see the flow of what you are making, ability to move the pictures around how you please, stores your great thoughts, and even tells you the best time to post to engage better with your audience, you can also create saved hashtags, to add to your post to help more people find your post. This app has allowed me to leverage my time with "the gram". With all this time recently consider scheduling content out for the next month or two to engage with your audience. Creating content in advance during scheduled work hours means that you are not constantly sitting at your phone each day trying to figure out what to post and add to that space. Instead you are giving it time, thought and value while giving you back your time and not constantly feeling like it's another thing.
A few Tips for Pictures: Take pictures in natural light. Try to use a solid background or not tonnes of distractions, make sure the picture is focused. Consider buying a tripod and remote for pics that include you. (I love this one from Amazon.)
I have used the lightroom app on my phone for a year now with presets that I purchased and loaded into the app. You simply take the picture, load into Lightroom and apply the preset.
This creates a flow for my pictures that I use in all my branding to keep "the look" similar. (as shown below, multiple different images but similar flow). It took a little few google searches to figure it out how to upload the presets and learn lightroom but now its quick and easy and gives my content the look I want I purchased the ones I currently use from Phoenix and The Ocean. Etsy also has many great ones you can purchase, to match your style.
Instagram Stories: Have fun with these and use them as a way for people to have a glimpse into what you are doing. I love the Unfold App to create Stories that have multiple pictures, writing and anything that requires a bit more then what insta offers. I use this to create business slides too that I have been able to use as resources over and over. *Creating resources you can keep using equals time leveraging at its finest my love.
Tab Bio: This app is a great way of adding more of your information to your instagram. You are only allowed to link up one link on Instagram. Tap Bio allows you to create several other links for people to be able to find you or the information that you want to share. For example: create links to your website, to purchasing your products if you are selling any, to your blog, to articles you want to share... I like this app in particular bc you also have the option to have your instagram pictures connect to other links, for example your blog post, facebook group etc. all they have to do is click the picture to be guided there.
Creating Graphics: I am not a big tech person so the easier the better. I love Canva for creating. Not a huge fan of using the app on my phone but love the desktop version. It gives many great templates for those needing a little inspiration. You can easily add your own pictures and personalize it. It's a great space to create with many free pictures and fonts to use to create whatever inspires you.
I use this to also create e books, powerpoint presentations, diffuser guide sheets, information cards, customer resources etc. They also have a great printing option that prints in amazing quality, prints and ships quickly and is a great price point. I purchased the business version of canva so I could upload my own fonts and colours. There is a great free option available to all.
For adding words to graphics: Word Swag is still a total favourite of mine. Easy to use, you can add a logo if you have one. Simple, creative and fun. You can load up your own pictures or use many of the ones already available to you in the word swag library. Let your creativity go wild.
Pinterest: perhaps you have created already some great content or are looking for more ways for people to find you online. Never estimate the power of this space still. You can create blog posts, or images and link them to pinterest. Or simply create a space there to connect and grow together. I have lots to learn here but have been enjoying connecting with people in this space. I figure if I am already creating why not add it to another platform for others to see and connect back to who I am as well? The more ways people can connect online back to where you want to direct them to the better for Ex. your website where they can get to know you, purchase your products or learn about any opportunities you are offering. As I learn more love that I think will add value here I will keep adding it to this Blog Post for you. Enjoy, and happy Creating my love.