As you probably know, Infusionsoft can do a number of things, for your business, right out of the box, and do them amazingly well. What you may not know is this … It’s the third party apps and resources that really make Infusionsoft exciting.
To get beyond the very good (but basic) functionality of Infusionsoft and start generating some serious ROI, you are going to need some non-native functionality. And that is where the third party developers and service providers come in.
In fact, if you haven’t looked lately, the Infusionsoft Marketplace is teaming with apps. Some work really, really well. Some are a great value …. totally reliable. Others … not so much.
So how do you know which ones to pick?
At The API Guys, we are known for making Infusionsoft do some pretty mind-bending tricks. And our founder, Kim Snider, is kind of an app-geek. So we have been through A LOT of apps and services around these parts.
So that said, probably the best way to answer the question is to tell you what we use, day in and day out. Any why.
So, here we go … in no particular order … what we think are the best apps and services, in each of ten different categories:
1. Hosting – Elite Pro Hosting
This is a webhosting company that designed its entire service around meeting the needs of Infusionsoft powered websites!
Traditional web hosting offerings are built to provide lots of processing power, but very little memory. The end result? Infusionsoft powered websites, particularly sites that feature a high volume of API calls, like membership sites, are really, really slow.
Elite Pro Hosting was specifically created to satisfy the inverse demands of those in the Infusionsoft-space. So while your Infusionsoft-powered site may crawl with other hosting services, it is going to FLY with Elite Pro.
Best of all, Elite Pro Hosting eats their own cooking. They use Infusionsoft to run their business. They also use their own hosting platform (as do we), which means they are constantly pushing their product to the max … a serious benefit of their customers.
Additional perks include:
- 2-Day setup
- 24/7 tech support
- High capacity for large volumes of API calls
- A premium hosting package is less than $100 a month
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: Lots to love here but the bottom line for me is speed, speed, speed. Slow sites leak visitors. -KIM
2. Membership Sites – Memberium
Memberium is the newest and snappiest WordPress plug-in for creating Infusionsoft-powered membership sites.
Access one of thousands of existing WordPress themes or build out your own to create a membership site with a complete unique feel.
Features we think are important:
- Speed – they haven’t loaded this software down with bloat. They stick to their knitting.
- Responsive customer service – Fast and personable help
- Super Scalable — Memberium can slide to scale on the fly
- Price Protection — Not only do they offer new customers a 30-day money-back guarantee but Memberium will NEVER increase your billing rates as long as your subscription remains current
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: This choice is all about speed and real customer service. These guys have been awesome. -KIM
3. Meeting and Appointment Scheduling – Schedule Once
ScheduleOnce is our go-to app for appointment scheduling. We love this app for its elegant design, neat Infusionsoft integration (which tags contacts continuously as they move through different stages), and very reasonable cost.
Some of the other reasons we choose it:
- Integrates flawlessly with Google Calendar … Outlook integration is in beta
- Really intuitive and easy to use interface – front-end and back
- Loads of configuration options
- The ability to create multiple booking pages and connect them to multiple calendars for different users
- Scalable – whether you want to book for one person, groups or teams, ScheduleOnce works
- Time Zone Support – shows users your available meeting times in their local time zone
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: I have actually had someone tell me they were hiring us because our scheduling process was so elegantly simple. Enough said. -KIM
4. Landing Pages – ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels allows you to make beautiful Infusionsoft integrated landing pages that are completely customizable, using a powerful drag-and-drop editor.
If you didn’t have a chance to check out our review of ClickFunnels, take a look at it now. It does a great job of explaining why we like ClickFunnels more than Lead Pages or OptimizePress.
Addressing the matter here, ClickFunnels is a landing page designers dream because functionality is not tied to price. All of their tools, tips, tricks, templates and utilities are included with their basic $97 start-up subscription.
Even though ClickFunnels is only 12-months old, we have been blown away by how quickly they have been able to design and implement new tools and features.
Ultimately, the real value here is in ClickFunnels ability to beautify your pages with the greatest of ease. We all know that Infusionsoft doesn’t make the prettiest of pages, which is why having something like Click Funnels in your arsenal can be a real boost to your business.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: If you would like to see some of our ClickFunnels landing pages, look here, here and here. These were all done in just a few hours with no coders or graphic artists required. And your site doesn’t look like everyone else’s using the exact same template. -KIM
5. Web Site Security – Sucuri
This isn’t really Infusionsoft related but we feel compelled to include it because so many people are oblivious to the threat hackers pose. In the same way business processes are being automated, so is hacking. If you don’t believe us, give Marc Goodman’s Future Crimes a read.
Website security is a very real requirement if you want to operate a successful business in the digital age. Taxes, receipts, billing statements, invoices, payroll, credit cards; these all have a very real and very accessible presence online. If you’re not taking adequate precautions now, the first time your business gets hacked is going to be a brutal wake-up-call. And we promise, it will.
But forget about the safety of your business for a second…what about the safety of your customers? If your company gets hacked not only is your information in jeopardy, but the information of anyone you’ve ever done business with is at-risk as well.
Sucuri offers complete website security for your business with powerful malware detection, prevention and cleanup services.
Right now, as you read this, Sucuri is servicing over 250K domains, stopping 33M attacks per month and cleaning more than 300 websites a day on average.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: The cost/benefit analysis here is a no-brainer. If your site is hacked, trying to clean it up with your own resources can take days. We’ve done. And no guarantee you closed all the backdoors the hackers created. For $199 per year, Sucuri will monitor your site and clean it in a matter of hours if you are hacked. First time you are hacked, you will kick yourself for not doing this, I promise. (NOTE: Future Crimes is high on my list of most influential books I have read in years. Read it!)-KIM
6. Video Hosting – DilogR
For longer than we care to remember we’ve been Wistia people, but that all changed with the arrival of DilogR.
At its core, DilogR is a video hosting platform (though they do have other services) and as far as we’re concerned it is the best video hosting platform available.
Basic features include:
- Customizable video chaptering
- Redirect links
- Pop-up Q&A
- Real-time analytics (views, drop-rate, geo-location, device used, etc.)
But DilogR’s best asset (by far) is the automation it can run in Infusionsoft based on how much of a given video is watched. This is just a killer feature and one that will be immensely helpful to your business.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: I pay $100 month for Wistia. If I want to track video views in Infusionsoft, I have to pay $59/mo to PlusThis and each video counts as one feature used. We have several hundred videos! That won’t work. But with DilogR, I can do all that and more for way less than I pay Wistia and PlusThis. Another no brainer! -KIM
6 1/2. Surveys and Assessments – DilogR
But wait! There’s more …
All kidding aside, DilogR does much, much more than video. It is also a world-class survey and assessment platform. It is crazy what you can do with DilogR.
In fact, there is honestly so much cool stuff, we are almost at a loss to reduce it to bullet points.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: If you are using any other platform for video, surveys or assessments, you owe it to yourself to look at DilogR. This one was a
7. PDF Creation – WebMerge
WebMerge is a way to take data from almost anywhere (including Infusionsoft), merge it into a document and deliver it to the service of your choice.
For example, you can merge data into a Word document, Excel spreadsheet, Powerpoint file, fillable PDF or HTML doc. You can then send it to services like Dropbox, Google Drive, EchoSign, CudaSign and Lob. You can also send the merged document anywhere via email.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: We use WebMerge as a piece of our automated quote and contract signature process because it saves us hours and hours over doing it manually. -KIM
8. Easy Integrations – Zapier
Zapier is an inexpensive and easy way to make 3rd party apps chat with each other over coffee without the need to know how to code.
Operating along a very simple “If-This-Then-That” logic, Zapier will use your triggers to fire your actions without the need for any manual oversight.
Though not entirely free (premium apps come at a small cost), Zapier is nonetheless affordable and, frankly, well-worth any expense it may incur given how valuable it is as an integration service.
Not sure which app you might want to take advantage of?—Checkout the Popular Zaps section for fresh and trending ideas.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: For $14/mo, the number of basic (but really useful) integrations you can do with Zapier makes this a staple in my Infusionsoft toolkit. -KIM
9. Reporting – Graphly
Graphly just won the 2015 Battle of the Apps – so you know they must be doing something right – and they are the first-ever dashboard reporting tool built exclusively for Infusionsoft.
Whether you’re looking for a department-specific tool or something that can monitor the various segments of your business, Graphly can tackle any imaginable reporting need. From monitoring web traffic and lead-sources to meticulously measuring funnel conversion and sales rep performance, Graphly will help you optimize your operation.
Custom charts and graphs are completely encouraged but prefabricated reporting templates are also available for those who need them.
When it comes to accessibility, Graphly makes sure your data is available when and where you need it.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: Reporting has always been a gaping hole in Infusionsoft functionality. The guys over at Marketing Maven just brought Infusionsoft reporting out of the dark ages! It’s new so I expect lots of cool features and functionality int he future. -KIM
10. Training – The Art of Campaign Building Foundations Course
We are admittedly biased on this one but The Art of Campaign Building Foundations Course is the best in-depth Infusionsoft training available.
If you want “an inch deep and a mile wide”, there are other courses out there that provide that. But if you want to understand how to take the engine of Infusionsoft, the Campaign Builder, and harness every ounce of its power to propel your business, this is the course.
KIM’S BOTTOM LINE: Infusionsoft is like a race car. Yes, you can probably figure out how to putt down your street in your race car. But it isn’t what it is designed for and it is a waste of money. Your SUV or your Prius will get you around just fine. On the other hand, you wouldn’t drive your race car in a Grand Prix without some instruction. But once you have it, you can make that race car do some amazing things. That is what my Foundations course is all about. -KIM