My Top 5 Picks – Plugins, Web Apps, Posts & More – Dec. 9,2015

Yep, it’s about that time again!

This is officially the 3rd installment (I’m working on something better than installment, just bear with me). I’m going to go back and publish the first email I sent out as a post as well and will back date it so we’re keeping things in order (it’s the simple things, right?).  I’m pretty sure today’s list of tools and articles won’t disappoint  (well, ideally none of them will disappoint, right?) and I’m actively using a couple of them.

Just as a reminder when it comes to me sharing My Top 5 Picks: I’ve checked them all out but haven’t necessarily implemented using them or will implement using them. The goal of My Top 5 Picks is simply to share cool stuff I come across that might be of use or valuable to you (and or entertain you to say the least. Who doesn’t appreciate an extra smile or chuckle?).

All that being said, let’s dive into this weeks Top 5 Picks!

Teamwave (web app):
What is is: An integrated suite of business apps for your business that is, ready for this? FREE! Yes… all free! I use something else for project management (and we’re so heavily ingrained in it I don’t see leaving it), but wanted something that I could view everything on ONE screen (that was just mine. My project management software that I use is used for my outsourcing company as well so our clients manage their projects inside of it also). I like the card view that Trello has but I didn’t want everything done via cards (I’m a list gal and like seeing things in list view as well). That’s what I’m using Teamwave for… all my projects. Both my own projects (websites, podcasts, programs, etc.) and my client projects. So far I am LOVING it! And how do you beat free? Oh.. and it’s free for your team too. Nice!
[button url=”http://www.teamwave.com/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#e05455″ size=”5″ left=”yes” radius=”0″]Checkout Teamwave[/button]

Leadin (WordPress Plugin):
What it is: For starters, it’s awesome. And I am REALLY overdue in doing a post, video and podcast interview with these guys. You’ve heard me talk about lead generation, tracking and growing your audience (list), right? This plugin is magical! It’s a free plugin that emails you info. about anyone who fills out a form on your site. You have to really see Leadin in action to understand the brilliance of it, but to see who filled out a form on your site as well as what they’re doing on your site? Amazing! You get to see the different pages they go to on your site as well as publicly available information about the lead! Twitter profile? Facebook link? Linkedin? Cool,huh? Oh… and it’s 100% FREE!
[button url=”https://www.leadin.com/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#2f90a1″ size=”5″ radius=”0″]Download Leadin[/button]

Interact (web app):
What it is: Interact is an online quiz tool that allows you to generate leads with your quizzes! Kind of like those cool buzzfeed quizzes (well, they’re cool to me. I’m a geek… I love taking those quizzes!) you see on Facebook all the time. The only difference is that Interact allows you to capture the name and email of your quiz takers! Not too shabby! I interviewed one of the founders, Josh Haynam almost two years ago and just did a follow up interview with him yesterday (to be published soon). I’m going to be running my own Content Personality Type quiz in the next week. I’m super excited. I’ll be tracking my stats & data for the quiz and will be sure to share that with you guys in the future. One thing Josh shared with me during our interview yesterday was that the quizzes that used an entertainment element converted better than those that didn’t. So of course I decided I wanted to change my quiz, which I’m much more excited about now that I’m going to add a ‘fun factor’ to it! Interact is a premium web app but they have a 14 day trial. SO worth it!
[button url=”https://www.tryinteract.com/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#95aa4d” size=”5″ radius=”0″]Try Interact Here[/button]

Nimbus Screenshot & Screencast (Chrome & Firefox Extension)
What it is: I know, the title is probably pretty self-explanatory, but let’s not make assumptions. I’m a huge fan of Snagit myself but for those who don’t need to use screen capture software daily then a free version is a great alternative. They also make it super easy to determine what type of screenshot you need to capture (full screen, window, etc.) then you have the option of where to send it (or how to share it). I didn’t actually download this (Chrome can be slow enough as it is without multiple extensions), but based on the reviews it looks like a pretty solid option. I’d love to know what you think if you try it. Nimbus is FREE (there’s also a pro version available).
[button url=”http://nimbus.everhelper.me/screenshot.php” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#e05455″ size=”5″ radius=”0″]Download Nimbus Here[/button]

Filament (web app):
What it is: Filament is a blog metrics tool that makes it super easy to understand your site analytics and metrics (as much as I like to think I’m a wiz with Google analytics, anything that helps me understand data from a visual perspective is worth it’s weight in gold). I just signed up with Filament a couple days ago but am LOVING it. You can view your top pages, posts, shares, bounce rate… you get the picture. You get a free trial of Filament and their starter plan is only a whopping $9 a month (SO worth it if you’re more comfortable looking at analytics and metrics from a visual perspective). Filament is also created by the same people that brought you Flare, the social sharing plugin.
[button url=”http://filament.io/” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#2f90a1″ size=”5″ radius=”0″]Try Filament Here[/button]

That’s it for this weeks picks!

Remember, I’d LOVE to hear from you if you have a tool, app, plugin, post, podcast, etc. to share! Just leave it in the comments below!

Check out last weeks Top 5 Picks here