Favorite Online Resources:
If you’re like me, you are always looking for recommendations for resources that are either free or cheap. Here is a my list of my favorite online resources and software that I currently use and absolutely love. Most have free options, or are fairly cheap. When putting this post together, I couldn’t help but think of the song from Sound of Music “My Favorite Things” by Julie Andrews- it inspired the graphics I chose for this post. Enjoy!
Graphic Design
Canva: This free online tool helps you create professional looking graphics for posting to social media, or printing. They offer some free graphics or you can upload your own. They also offer preformatted designs that you can edit. These are quick and easy.
GIMP: This is a free open source graphic design and photo editor. It has great capabilities for a free source. If you are new to photo editing and design you may need a tutorial demonstrating how to operate this software.
Writing and Editing Resources
Chicago Manual of Style: This fabulous writing and editing resource, while not free, is reasonably priced. It already holds a huge amount of information, but if your particular question is not there, you can submit it to a Q&A, and it will be answered.
Grammar Girl: This awesome blog always has great tips for better writing and editing.
CCC grammar quizzes: Want to keep your skills honed? Check out this free resource for quick sentence structure and grammar quizzes to keep you fresh.
Business Resources
BlueHost: This reasonably priced webhost service has great help services and you can host a WordPress.org website there.
Roboform: This free resource help you keep all your passwords in one place and secure. This saves your brain from having to remember each password. It autofills your passwords for you to!
Google Docs: A Google sign in is required to access this tool, but this is great for collaborations. Multiple users can work on the same document at once, and the user is labelled so you can see who is working on what section of the document. There is also a chat feature so you can discuss the project as its being worked on.
Mailchimp: This marketing software is easy to use with drag and drop capabilities. It’s great for sending out newsletters, creating simple landing pages, and setting up ads. It’s free up to a certain amount of subscribers.
Hootsuite: This social media scheduling tool is free for a limited users and up to 3 social media accounts. This is great for scheduling and monitoring multiple social media accounts.
Dropbox: This is great for sharing files among team members. It is free up to a certain amount of GB. Just drop the file, then share with as many team members as required.
Helpful Associations and Learning
How to be Fascinating: Want to know what sets you apart from the crowd? Take this free quiz to see where your strengths lie, and you can find a whole new avenue to market yourself based on this free quiz.
CAVA: Canadian Association of Virtual Assistants. This association is reasonably priced for membership and offers great perks, and an active job board if looking for virtual assistance work.
VANetworking: This website has a free forum and resources available. There is a paid membership available if looking for more job boards and resources.
Lynda.com: This tool is great for learning new software, programs, and skills. A 30-day free trial is available, after that a monthly fee is required. If you have a library membership, check their resources. You may be able to access Lynda.com free through your library.
EAC: Editors Association of Canada. This associate has an extensive learning database, along with networking opportunities.
These are some of my favorite online resources. Do you have any great resources you love? If so leave them in the comments, I love to find more awesome sites and software!
