The tools we actually use
No mystery stack. What we reach for, why, and the move to make. Some links are affiliate links, and we only list tools we genuinely use.
The Plain Media Lean Stack
The tools we trust to get a business to six figures without bloating its costs. Infrastructure you own, in the order we would set it up.
Hostinger
Website and hosting
Why Stop renting your land. Website builders own your data and your site lives on their terms. You want to own your platform.
The move A professional WordPress site and a domain for the price of a coffee. Grab your .com and stop looking like a hobbyist. If you would rather never think about websites, building them is literally our job.
Google Sheets
The zero-cost CRM
Why Do not pay $300 a month for a CRM when you have five clients. You need a simple tracker, not another subscription.
The move One sheet: name, number, money. Use it until it breaks. When you have too many leads to track here, that is the happy day you have earned a real CRM.
Google Workspace
Professional email, cloud, and AI
Why Sending invoices from a gmail address costs you trust. You need email at your own domain, and one shared, organized place for your files.
The move The Business Standard plan gets you the storage and the AI assistant, which drafts emails and summarizes the mess for you. We use it every day.
Brevo
Email and SMS marketing
Why You own your email list. You rent your social followers. Email is still the most reliable way to turn a cold lead into a buyer.
The move Brevo's free tier lets you keep unlimited contacts and pay only when you send. Do not just send newsletters: automate a review request right after every finished job.
CallRail
Call tracking, business numbers, SMS
Why Separate business from personal, keep your own number private, and know exactly which marketing made the phone ring.
The move Local numbers, texting, and instant alerts when a form comes in. Sign up yourself with our link and CallRail gives you a $100 gift card.
Want it handled? Clients on our managed plan get the whole setup done for them, plus AI voice assist for missed calls and instant SMS alerts on new leads.
Northwest Registered Agent
LLC formation and privacy
Why Run a business without an LLC and you are personally on the hook for everything. File with your home address and it goes on the public record.
The move Northwest forms the LLC, keeps your home address private, and gets you set up properly. Do it before you need it.
Two DM
Bookkeeping and accounting
Why The IRS is undefeated. Businesses overpay taxes every year because they do their own books wrong.
The move A boutique firm with 20+ years of experience, actual humans, and our neighbors. Email april@twodm.com, mention Plain Media, and get up to a $300 credit toward your books cleanup.
Email AprilAlso in our toolbox
Cloudflare
Hosting, DNS, and security
Fast static hosting that costs close to nothing, and the DNS and security layer we trust with our own site.
This site runs on it.
n8n
Workflow and AI automations
The plumbing behind our lead routing, review requests, and notifications.
This is what runs when we say a workflow runs without you.
Metricool
Social scheduling and reporting
Posts scheduled in one place, numbers reported without screenshots.
How we keep social running on a calendar instead of a guilty conscience.
Moxie
Projects, time tracking, client portal
Every tracked hour and document your clients can see lives here.
This is the portal you log into as a client.
Tally
Forms and surveys
The nicest way we have found to build a form in minutes.
Our own audit started life as a Tally form.
Calendly
Booking
The calendar does the phone tag for us.
It is how you book a vibe check on this very site.
A quick note on affiliate links
The tools listed here are the exact ones we use and trust. Because we recommend them so often, some of these companies pay us a small commission when you sign up through our link. It costs you nothing extra, sometimes it even gets you a better deal, and it helps keep things like the audit and the Learning Center free.
One more honest note: we are marketers, not lawyers or accountants. The legal and bookkeeping recommendations above are based on our own experience. For your specific situation, talk to a professional, like the ones we just recommended.
No contracts. You own everything.
Start with a free 15-minute vibe check. No pitch, no pressure.