We are closing in on nearly a decade of blogging. What Savvy Said (the first version) will be 10 in Jan of next year. And since I started this little space online, boy oh boy has the world changed. Cute little posts on Instagram have turned into a full-blown businesses. The rise of business tools every influencer should invest in has created a whole new market that is impacting the world more and more every day.
But as the internet changes, the new influencers come on scene. The oldies like me often have some very specific things to say. It’s one thing to play the “oh my gosh I can’t wait to do this full time some day” game to “okay, how do I make this a sustainable part of my everyday”. And today’s blog post was created with that in mind.
7 Business Tools Every Influencer Should Invest In
There are new tools coming out all of the time. I’m constantly testing them, so this is just a brief look at some of the business tools every influencer should invest in. If you want to know more about running a sustainable online career as an influencer, I’m your girl. Let’s chat about some of my favorite tools that can change the game for your growth, financial status, and ability to do this job sustainably for the long run.
NordVPN
As I write today’s post, I’m sitting in a coffee shop. Grateful to be in a time in the world where I can do that. And while working from home is one of the perks of doing this job, it can become very isolating after a while.
We can chat about how to manage your mental health as an influencer in a future post. A small way I do this now is to make sure I don’t work from home every day. One of the business tools every influencer should invest in is a reliable VPN like NordVPN. It keeps your work secure no matter where you are.
Now of course, I want to be safe in a cafe with something as precious as the blog. So, the first I do is pop on NordVPN. If you’ve seen the ads, you’ll know they promote online security and help everyone watch TV despite the location they are in.
I use it for both, but mainly security. The last thing I want is to ignore my business’s security and safety when I’m working from multiple places. It’s so easy to use. I can set up shop, hop on free wifi and work anywhere without worrying that someone will steal my data in a public (unsecured network) space.
Which is needed because doing admin at home can feel like pulling teeth some days.
I appreciate knowing I’m protected no matter where I’m choosing to work in the world.
Tech Support
Running a business as an influencer means that unless I hire it out or pretend it doesn’t exist – I do every job. And the one job that makes my brain hurt is tech support. When it’s difference between me banging my head against the table and (inevitably) spend hours googling only to have zero idea to fix the problem or paying someone a small sum, I’m going to pay up.
One of the business tools every influencer should invest in is reliable tech support, and for me, that’s iMarkinteractive. I’ve been using them for years and I can’t recommend them enough. Whenever Google tells me there’s an indexing problem or something automatically updates and takes down the blog, they are there to fix it.
And I do mean FIX IT.
A Real-Life Example of Tech Support in Action
A few years ago, we booked into a hotel overnight to shoot content. I woke up to find that the blog was broken. Not casually, it was fully broken. And I sat on the bed of our hotel room thinking about the content I had a limited window to shoot, or dealing with the fact that having the blog down essentially eliminated my profit for the day.
I hopped on their website, requested a quick fix, and off they went. They sorted it out in a micro amount of time while I did the thing that was in my zone of genius. And it was all taken care of within a few hours.
They’ve also helped me sort out a host of other problems.
When Google randomly stopped indexing my website and the traffic dropped to what a third of what I was getting (YIKES), they were able to fix it. When I found myself in a never ending loop of deleting things to manage the storage limits for my website plan, they gave me an alternative solution that didn’t mean I was suddenly paying 5x as much for my blog every month.
They have been nothing short of miraculous every step of the way. Speaking of which.
Owning Your Own Space
I don’t think blog content is for everyone. Because truly, not everyone enjoys writing every day. However, with AI and other business tools every influencer should invest in, it’s a lot easier to repurpose your short content for a space you actually own.
Which means if Instagram goes down for a day, or maybe you feel trapped in a bad algorithm cycle.
Or quite frankly, the content you’re in the mood to create isn’t what’s popping in the online space. You have more than one way to make money.
Why Owning Your Blog Gives You Freedom and Stability
What Savvy Said is the 2nd iteration of my blog. The original being Savee & Savory. Both were designed kindly by a friend. I can’t recommend enough bartering your skills when you’re building your business and have no funds to start it.
The branding for the current version of WSS was done by Good Golden Creative when she was first establishing her business. I paid her by giving her piano lessons. Don’t be afraid to use what you’ve got to get the job done.
But having this space online as means that no matter what I have an income. Last summer when I was feeling desperately burnt out on navigating short content and my mental capacity for whether not or I was actually meant to do this, I took two months off.
When my dog (and first son) suddenly took a turn for the worst in January with his cancer, I knew I could step away to be with him without having to worry about the impact it would have on the algorithm or if everyone would still be okay if I took a break.
Not a single piece of new content was created on any platform – short or long. And all my bills were still paid. I could rest because I truly knew I had the space to do it and a place I owned that would still continue to get traffic even if I didn’t “feed it”.
Invest In Seo
The version of you who starts this job and the one who decides it gets to profit might be two different people.
When I started doing this, no one was talking about SEO and I didn’t care a lick about it. THANK GOD. These days, I still mostly don’t (which we can talk about more deeply in an upcoming blog post).
Sign up to the newsletter if you don’t want to miss that.
However, I do see value in SEO. I just don’t want to be the one doing it. One of the business tools every influencer should invest in is a reliable SEO partner, and for me, that’s Influencer SEO.
I started working with Influencer SEO maybe a year and a half ago. They are behind the scenes of tons of some your more notable brands like The Skinny Confidential and recommended (if you’re in the blogging community) by The Blog Societies.
They have quite a few plan options. And it’s MUCH more affordable than you think.
If you’re someone who produces short content and wants to repurpose for a long content space like a blog – they can handle the ghostwriting & SEO of it.
If you want them to do all the prep work but you want to write the post, they can help you with that.
I really enjoy writing what I want to write, doing a touch of my own SEO research to make sure I can provide the most in-depth version and leaning into the story telling aspect of being online. So I write what I want and they come behind me to adjust it.
It’s my perfect version of this, and it works. Blog traffic increased 3x the amount since I brought them on 2 years ago.
The Blog Societies
Now you can easily read the free blog Jess puts out here. But I do think the biggest benefit of TBS is the Facebook community. It’s not SUPER popping. However, it’s been a great resource for helping answer niche questions that have come up with blogging.
I, like many of us, have always been the person who pop over to a blog and peek around when I was looking for a new idea to implement.
When I wanted to ditch google ads for something where I would see more profit but I need something I was eligible with smaller blog numbers, I landed on TBS founder Jess’ blog An Indigo Day (formerly My Style Vita), and discovered SheMedia.
Why TBS Is a Top Business Tool Every Influencer Should Invest In
One of the business tools every influencer should invest in is access to supportive communities like TBS, where you can get advice and solutions for the unique challenges of running a blog or online business.
When I was trying to find a new system for manage affiliate links because brands like to change their providers every 6 months and it makes for a crap ton of unwanted work for bloggers, I asked for ideas in the facebook group and got some.
When I was looking for ideas on how to leverage what I’d already created and increase my profit, the TBS community and blog was the thing that helped. The solution here was to check sentence and paragraph spacing for my most popoular blog posts to allow for more organic ad placements which boosted profit in the first month.
You’ll find things like courses that help you learn affiliate and blogger language. They do teach SEO if you want to grapple that yourself.
And if you sign up to be a member, you have access to ongoing education, conversations like previews of the Nordstrom Sale (and how to maximize on it) with people working for Nordstrom, and more.
I do have a code for discounts. SAVANNAH saves you $$$ on your purchases.
Truly, I can’t recommend them enough for creating a space for continual education for influencers & bloggers.
Sanebox
I have a feeling this will change as the most aligned thing for running my brand as it grows. But for where I’m at in 2025 (and while still on the smaller side), I think it’s the perfect tool you didn’t know you needed to help grow your brand.
Nothing is more exhausting than getting yourself stuck in email hell. You open up your inbox to see 500 emails EVERY DAY, and you’re instantly overwhelmed.
Sanebox sorts your emails with AI. It gives you the automatic option of folders like Sanenews, Sanelater, Sane Blackhole, and so on.
So when the brands start popping in with things you actually want to see, you won’t accidentally delete them in a fit of rage because there are just SO many emails.
You can set up folders for more specifics (which I need to do) as well as it learns how to prioritize your contacts over time.
As you grow in success as an influencer, more and more people will want a piece of your time. Loads of them will feel entitled to it (as they often suggest in emails) and energy is precious.
Having a tool like Sanebox makes is easier to do what you actually need to do when you open your email and not instantly feel like you’ve walked into the most chaotic hell.
Ps. I use Sanebox for personal and professional emails. It’s that life changing.
Claude
I’ve more recently started consistently implementing AI in my everyday. And right now, I use both ChatGPT and Claude. ChatGPT can store memory so it’s great at learning my brand and acting as more my business best friend.
But Claude, I use daily to help make sure I’m not overlooking things in pitch emails, crafting responses to brand emails that help me negotiate (despite being pissed off about what they want to offer me originally) and more.
Using Claude to Solve Everyday Challenges
Today, I used it to help me think of the best title for this post. I knew what I wanted to sit down and talk about. However, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how to make it a helpful, locked-in title. Which, as a former English major, is often the quickest way for me to not write the post.
I know watching big influencers or those working with management can feel like the ultimate dream. But learning how to maintain/save your sanity while building a business you own is crucial. What if it doesn’t all change overnight? What if you’re the one who has to build the dream team?
Or what if you just want something small you can manage on your own?
I’ll do a future post on how I use and maximize on ChatGPT for help running the everyday aspects of WSS in the future. For now, Claude is the girl we need to talk about.
When I feel the need to vent about a sh*tty email a brand has sent, I can express my feelings without ignoring them. I can get help crafting them into a helpful, educational, and boundary-setting reply. It’s helped me feel less like I have to do every ounce of this job on my own.
And it means I b*tch about something and still get a solution to it. Which doesn’t always happen when you’re talking to friend. Bless them! They want to understand, but they don’t always get it.
How This Tool Is One of the Business Tools Every Influencer Should Invest In
When my brain is busy and I’m hopping between tasks (probably too quickly). She helps me make sure I’ve caught all the details in an email.
You do have to feed her your perspective on things and I think it’s important you do so.
I asked her to fill in any gaps for this post that you’re currently reading and ultimately didn’t change. Her original suggestions incorporated someone else’s brain and mind in mind. So it’s a great tool but it’s the BEST tool if YOU know how to use it.
If you found this post helpful, drop a note in the comments. Maybe a 🌊🌊🌊. Let me know if you’d like a version of this based on budget. Say what I’d do if I only have $100 or $1000 to start a blog, etc. Or if you have any other specific requests, drop them below.
I definitely plan to do more business-specific content. So if you don’t want to miss it, make sure you subscribe to the newsletter. And feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have a question. Sending you lots of love wherever you are this week. Xoxo, Savvy
