C
Free plan
ChatGPT
General-purpose AI assistant for research, outlines and first drafts.
How I use it: Idea clustering, outline generation and rewriting hooks in five styles before I pick one.
Tools & deals
The tool stack behind a modern personal brand.
Everything I use — or have tested properly — to build personal brands for myself and clients: AI assistants, LinkedIn growth tools, design, video, newsletter platforms, hosting and automation. Honest notes on each, and partner deals when brands offer them to my readers.
Some links are affiliate links: if you buy through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and some include reader discounts. I only recommend tools I would pay for myself. Full disclosure.
C
Free plan
Claude
Long-context AI assistant that excels at nuanced writing and editing.
How I use it: Long-form editing passes, voice matching from client transcripts, and building content systems.
P
Free plan
Perplexity
AI answer engine with cited sources.
How I use it: Fast market and competitor research with sources I can verify.
G
Free plan
Grammarly
Writing assistant for grammar, clarity and tone.
How I use it: Final polish on client-facing copy and newsletter editions.
T
Trial
Taplio
LinkedIn scheduling, analytics and inspiration in one dashboard.
How I use it: Scheduling client content at best times and tracking post performance.
A
Trial
AuthoredUp
LinkedIn post formatting, previews, drafts and analytics.
How I use it: Formatting long posts, saving hook templates and previewing on mobile before publishing.
S
Trial
Shield Analytics
Deep LinkedIn analytics for creators and teams.
How I use it: Monthly reporting for growth-program clients — reach, followers, profile views.
C
Free plan
Canva
Design platform for carousels, banners and templates.
How I use it: Carousel and banner templates clients can edit themselves — the backbone of brand identity packages.
F
Free plan
Figma
Professional interface and brand design tool.
How I use it: Brand systems, logo direction and web mockups for agency projects.
G
Free plan
Gamma
AI-generated presentations, documents and one-page sites.
How I use it: Fast pitch decks and lead-magnet PDFs that look designed.
D
Free plan
Descript
Edit video and podcasts by editing text.
How I use it: Cutting talking-head clips and repurposing calls into short videos.
C
Free plan
CapCut
Fast video editor for reels and shorts.
How I use it: Captions, b-roll and vertical cuts for LinkedIn and Facebook reels.
H
Trial
HeyGen
AI avatar and video translation platform.
How I use it: Product demos and multilingual explainers for sponsor collaborations.
E
Free plan
ElevenLabs
Realistic AI voice generation.
How I use it: Voice-overs for carousel-to-video repurposing.
b
Free plan
beehiiv
Newsletter platform built for growth, with referrals and an ad network.
How I use it: The platform I recommend to creators starting an email newsletter in 2026.
M
Free plan
MailerLite
Simple, affordable email marketing with automations.
How I use it: Service-business clients who need automations and landing pages.
K
Free plan
Kit (ConvertKit)
Creator-first email platform with digital product sales.
How I use it: Creators who want to sell templates and kits from the same tool.
H
Deal
Hostinger
Affordable web hosting, domains and website builder.
How I use it: This website runs on Hostinger. Fast, cheap and easy enough for non-developers.
N
Deal
Namecheap
Domain registration and email hosting.
How I use it: Registering client domains and brand-name protection.
S
Trial
Semrush
SEO and content marketing toolkit.
How I use it: Keyword research for client websites and blog pillars.
N
Free plan
Notion
All-in-one workspace for docs, databases and planning.
How I use it: Client content calendars, idea banks and my lead pipeline.
Z
Free plan
Zapier
No-code automation between 7,000+ apps.
How I use it: Pushing form leads into Notion and WhatsApp alerts.
n
Free plan
n8n
Open-source workflow automation with AI agent nodes.
How I use it: AI content pipelines and repurposing automations for agency work.
L
Free plan
Loom
Async screen and camera recording.
How I use it: Profile audits and feedback videos for clients across time zones.
C
Free plan
Calendly
Scheduling links that remove the back-and-forth.
How I use it: Booking strategy calls across time zones.
T
Deal
TidyCal
Lifetime-deal scheduling tool from AppSumo.
How I use it: A budget alternative to Calendly for new consultants.
Starter stacks
Three complete setups, by budget.
You do not need everything above. Pick the stack that matches where you are.
$0 stack
Start today, pay nothing.
Free
- ChatGPT or Claude (free tier) for drafts
- Canva free for carousels
- LinkedIn native scheduler
- beehiiv or MailerLite free tier
- Notion free for your idea bank
Most creators
Creator stack
Serious about weekly publishing.
~$40/month
- One paid AI assistant
- Canva Pro
- AuthoredUp or Taplio
- beehiiv or Kit (growing list)
- Calendly or TidyCal for calls
Authority stack
For consultants selling high-ticket.
~$120/month
- Claude + ChatGPT + Perplexity
- Canva Pro + Figma
- Taplio + Shield analytics
- beehiiv Scale
- Descript or HeyGen for video
- Hostinger website (like this one)
For tool makers
Get your product in front of people who build brands.
Featured listings, sponsored reviews and newsletter features for SaaS, AI and creator tools that genuinely fit this audience.
Reader deals
Brand discounts, in one place
When a partner gives my readers a discount or extended trial, it goes on the Deals page with the code and the honest fine print.
Browse brand dealsFAQ
Tools — questions
Are these affiliate links?
Some are. When a tool has a partner program I may earn a commission if you buy through my link, at no extra cost to you — sometimes you get a discount I negotiated. I only list tools I use or have tested properly. See the full affiliate disclosure.
Do I need all of these tools?
No. A complete personal-branding stack is one AI assistant, one design tool, one scheduler and one newsletter platform. Start free, upgrade when the time saved is worth more than the subscription.
Can I get my tool listed here?
Yes — I accept a small number of featured listings and sponsored reviews for tools that fit this audience. See the Sponsor page for the website placement option.
Which tools does Shibly personally use most?
Daily: Claude or ChatGPT for drafting, Canva for carousels, Notion for planning, and WhatsApp for client work. Weekly: a LinkedIn scheduler and analytics tool, plus the newsletter platform.