As you can tell, successful modern journalists juggle a number of responsibilities at once. Without a structured team supporting your work, you have to create that support network for yourself. In the beginning, you won’t have the money to hire people to do the extra tasks for you. The next best thing is investing in a suite of tools to make your life easier.

To simplify things for you, we’ve created a list of tools you need now and ones you can look forward to in the future.

Social Media Management

Most social media management tools will function in the same way. They’ll allow you to manage your community, schedule posts and pull performance reports based on your audience. It’s up to you to decide which one works best for your style and process. Here are some of our favorites and why.

• Hootsuite is a free tool where you can manage your social profiles. It’s easy to get started and learn how to use. There is a PRO version of Hootsuite that is affordable and offers more functionality for journalists who receive a lot of online engagement.
• HubSpot is another tool that can handle your social media management. For freelance journalists, this is probably too robust of a tool for what you need. If you run your own site and need a way to manage social, email and contacts, Hubspot is the right choice for you.
• Buffer is a third, well-established social media management tool. It is in between Hootsuite and Hubspot in terms of functionality and price. It would work best for journalists who want to manage multiple accounts on each social platform.

Research Management and Organization

Keeping yourself organized and is the most important element to producing a good story. Here are the tools many journalists leverage in order to maintain order and focus while they work.

• Rev provides transcription services so you can easily transcribe your interviews into editable documents. That in itself is valuable enough. Our app will record your audio, keep it organized, and transfer it seamlessly to our team of transcribers when you need it. Your entire interview process is covered by one single partner.

• Evernote is a tool that will keep all your short notes and ideas organized for you. Whether you type the notes directly into your Evernote app or write them in your notebook and take a picture later, Evernote will keep them stored in the right folder for you to access when you need it. There are free and paid versions of the tool depending on your needs, but the best part is that you can work across your devices to update your folders in real-time.
• Google Apps are a suite of tools that you can use to create your content. From cloud storage and image hosting to documents and spreadsheets, Google provides everything you need to produce a high-quality story. The best part? It’s free.

Content Hosting

Finally, you’re going to need tools that can host all the incredible content that you produce. On top of your social media platforms, you’re going to need these solutions to make the biggest impact with your work.

• Squarespace will host your website and provide you with templates to create a beautiful, user-friendly experience. Their prices are affordable and their customer support is unmatched. If you want your own corner of the internet to publish and own all the content on, you need a Squarespace account.
• Soundcloud is the best place to host your audio files. It feeds into all the platforms that a person might listen to podcasts, while also allowing for files to be embedded on other websites. You get your first couple hours of content free, but then you have to pay a small fee for unlimited storage. If you’re considering venturing into podcast journalism, you need a Soundcloud.
• You also need to claim your personal YouTube account as soon as possible. Even if you don’t want to create a channel and commit to a consistent upload schedule, having one central place where all your videos live will help your authority and your reach. Like all Google programs, your YouTube account is completely free.

The Main Takeaway

If you walk away with one insight, it should be this: you can be a successful modern journalist. The changes in media trends and demands from the audience may shift the final product, but the heart of journalism remains the same. You have everything you need to be successful and stand out amongst the noise. As long as you adopt the right tools and maintain your innate curiosity, you will be well on your way to a successful career as a modern journalist.

Apps Journalists Can’t Live Without

Navigate The Modern Journalist’s Guide to Success:

• Rewind, back to Ch. 4: Personal Branding for the Modern Journalist: Building Credibility
• Start over, back to Ch. 1: The Modern Journalist’s Guide to Success
• See our journalist survey including the New York Times, Forbes, and more: Journalist Survey Results