My toolkit: the tools I run this business on

These are the tools I actually use to run this business, what each one costs me, and what I'd skip if my budget were tight. I update this page when something changes, and I'll tell you when I cancel something.

Monthly list price of the paid plan I'd start on

Monthly list price of the paid plan I'd start on

Systeme Startup	17 $
ElevenLabs Starter	6 $
Free plans	0 $

If you only pick one: Systeme.io

Systeme.io is where I'd start if I were starting from zero today. It puts pages, email, funnels and simple courses in one place, and it has a free plan, which matters when you haven't made your first dollar yet.

What I use it for: email and landing pages. I pay for the Startup plan ($17 a month on my last bill).

Who should skip it: if you already run a WordPress site and an email tool you like, you don't need to move everything. Add it later if your setup gets messy.

Keyword research: Mangools

Mangools (KWFinder) is the keyword tool I'm starting this site with. It answers the two questions that matter before you spend a day writing: how many people search for this, and how hard does page one look?

Why this one: it's simple enough that you'll actually open it. A tool you avoid is worth nothing. I'll report back on how its difficulty scores hold up against where my pages really rank.

Voiceovers: ElevenLabs

The narration in this brand's short videos uses ElevenLabs stock voices, and I label AI voices on every platform that asks. Recording, re-recording and cleaning up audio is the slowest part of making videos, and this skips most of it.

Who should skip it: if you like recording your own voice, keep doing it. Real voices still win trust.

Next on the test bench: InVideo and Pictory

Both promise to turn articles and screen recordings into short videos. I'll use each one for a full month before I write a word about them here.

What I don't pay for (yet)

• Paid ads. Not until a page converts on free traffic. That's the $4,600 lesson.
• Courses. Most of what I needed was free. When I find a paid one worth it, I'll say exactly why.
• Big SEO suites. Useful later. On day one, a simple keyword tool and good writing go further.

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