Content Tech Stack 101

The tools you need to get started

January 13, 2023

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Technology is a blessing and curse.

It can help you become more efficient and increase your content output, but it also can bog you down and hold you back.

I’ve received several questions about tech and tools to use as a content creator.

Today, I want to cover Content Tech Stack 101.

I’m going to keep this extremely simple, because:

  • You don’t need much to get going

  • Tech becomes an excuse for not starting

So, if you’re just starting out, here’s the basic tech stack I’d recommend:

I’d recommend three things:

  • A tool for writing

  • A tool for publishing

  • A tool for analytics

Let’s talk a bit about each.

Writing

You need some document tool to write with.

I write and organize all of my content in Notion.

It’s a great cloud-based tool, and the free version is all you need.

You could also use something like Google Docs or ClickUp.

Pick a free tool with word processing and organization features.

Any one will do.

Publishing

Publishing tools allow you to schedule content ahead of time so you don’t need to manually publish to social platforms each day.

This isn’t necessary — I still often manually post content to Twitter and LinkedIn — but I’ve found it helpful to plan ahead sometimes.

I recommend Hypefury and use it for Twitter and LinkedIn (they also support Instagram and Facebook).

You can use Hypefury as a publishing tool, but also do more sophisticated things like auto-plugs, automated DMs, sales campaigns, etc. We won’t get into that stuff now.

I also know folks who like Typeshare and Typefully.

There are many out there.

Pick one you’re familiar with or start with Hypefury.

Analytics

I find analytics tools to be valuable, but I don’t overdo it.

For Twitter, I use Twitter’s analytics dashboard that’s native on the platform. I find that’s good enough for me.

I’ve used Black Magic for engagement purposes, but they also have some analytics features.

For LinkedIn, I use and recommend Shield. I find it’s better than the native analytics currently built into LinkedIn.

For newsletters, I use beehiiv for my all-in-one platform. They have great analytics tools built into the platform.

Those are my three primary platforms, so I can’t speak from personal experience on others.

There are obviously many more tools out there than I mentioned, and we’re only covering writing.

If audio or video is your primary content format, there are plenty of tools out there for you as well.

If you want to go even deeper, you could also look at tools for engagement and your website.

BUT HERE’S THE THING.

It doesn’t really matter.

Too many people get stuck on tools before they even start creating. Don’t do that.

All you really need to start is a writing tool.

You can manually publish and use the analytics native on the platform for a long time.

The main thing is to start.

Action Item

Set a 5-minute timer and decide which tools you will use.

When the timer goes off, stop overthinking this and get back to work :)

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Previous Issues

If you missed them, here are a few previous issues of The Daily Creator you may enjoy:

Helpful Resources

  • If you need a newsletter platform, I recommend Beehiiv

  • If you need a LinkedIn analytics tool, I recommend Shield

  • If you need a social publishing platform, I recommend Hypefury

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