Hi, Katey here, you'll see a reference to Tiny Digital Growth which as a difference website I had based solely on automations. Since then have decided to consolidate and have everything under one umbrella-ella because simplifying the process is what I preach and should also be what I practice ;-)

“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” - George Lucas

A friend asked for my opinion on Momence (a calendar scheduling booking app, with email marketing and payment collection + other features) and here's what I recommended...

Before we get into what was recommended, let's frame up the scenario.

My friend is a Spiritual Guidance Therapist. She knows finding the right digital tool is my jam, as I am impartial -- and am prepared to jump ship to another tool or learn about something if it suits my client. At the same time, I hate 'moving house' -- so it has to be pretty darn good for me to want to suggest switching.

Right now she is running her business on:

• Calendly (calendar scheduling app)

• MailChimp (email marketing)

• Stripe (payment processer)

• Wordpress/Hostgator (website and domain host)

All these tools together is costing her approximately $60 per month. We are looking for something centralised, better than the sum of parts and ideally cheaper then she is currently paying.

[Hence, why we are not recommending GoHighLevel, Hubspot or ClickFunnels. They are outside her budget and needs]

If you would like us to look into a automation or tool for you: Contact us 👊

So here's what we noticed and based our recommendation on for her:
[Spoiler Alert: we do not recommend Momence for her. It might work for others just not what my friend needs.]

1. Features & Pricing

Momence has all the right 'features' eg. Calendar, Email Marketing and Stripe Integrations. Bonus features: courses and members area.

Pricing from a website point of view, sucks. Nothing annoys me more than a landing page that says 'Simple, transparent pricing' and the cost of service isn't anywhere to be seen. It does tell you the price per Stripe transaction, but it's not clear what the monthly operational costs are. It's not that clear in the dashboard either.

From a chat with their team, we understand that the basic plan (which covers her needs) would be 'free' - they will charge 5% processing fee for any stripe transactions.

2. Ease of Getting Started...Calendar Appointment Set up

Calendly makes it easy to set up calendar appointments and embed it in any system you need. There isn't much thought required to getting started.

Momence, from a quick start point of view, was killing my let's get set-up mojo. My friend is has some technical skills and she also had issues.

As a result of the inability to just quickly create a calendar, we didn't look into the other features. As it became a "not better than Calendly" option. Which is a criteria for her switching tools.

3. Deciding on something better than Calendly (and MailChimp)

LeadMonk, is another good option instead of Calendly. It also has a great way to see your 'Contacts' and store basic CRM details about people who book via the calendar. However, as much as it is cheaper than Calendly, it doesn't solve the MailChimp need for sending newsletters.

[BTW: Emails and Newsletters are not the same thing. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool, can hold emails and manage 1-on-1 communications. Newsletters are mass communication, typically not personalised. Having a tool that can do both is dependant on the business needs. As my friend wants to send newsletter updates - she needs a newsletter marketing tool to do this. Therefore, LeadMonk isn't the solution for her. ]

ActiveCampaign, Ontraport, Keap - are beyond her email marketing/contact management needs and budget.

Drip or ConvertKit could fill that MailChimp spot. However, SendFox has all the features she needs + Smart Form capability (pre-filling form with information previously supplied). It can also replace her Wordpress website as it has landing pages that can operate like a website and because it's created by Noah Kagan (AppSumo) - it has a lifetime plan for a one time payment of $49.

4. Other considerations

There were other tools considered for my friend's Therapy practice, such as AgileCRM (it's a cheap version of Hubspot).

However, from a 'better than the tools' she currently uses perspective...by simply changing MailChimp and Wordpress website hosting to SendFox. She would be saving around $40 p/m ($480 per year) and is skilled enough to manage this on her own.

Drag and drop, no code setup makes it easy for her to update and edit when she needs and wants to.

Calendly doesn't need to change as it is working well for her and can be embedded into the landing page. If she does want to save more money with a calendar booking tool, AppSumo has great deals and options for her to choose.

However, simplicity is best. Tiny changes create massive results.

So for now, the recommendation is SendFox instead of MailChimp & Wordrpess.

How to choose the right Calendar, Email and Website tool for you:

Here is a quick checklist to deciding what the right tool is for you:

• Confirm your budget

• Be realistic with how likely you are going to be sending marketing emails. If you don't see yourself doing it - a CRM is all you need. Not a newsletter marketing tool

• Are you outsourcing the maintenance and development of the website or self managing?

• If you are self managing, AppSumo deals: TidyCal and SendFox can work for you.

• If you are outsourcing, Hubboss or a person on Fiverr can help.

• Know what you need out of your tools:
  > Calendar tools should have the following capabilities:
  Easy to setup, set a buffer and customise your 'location'.
  Sync with your Google, Outlook or personal calendar
  If you are in a team, have other rules to ensure it books the right person.
  > Email tools should have the following capabilities:
  Easy drag and drop
  Workflow Automations
  Ability to create campaigns - if you need to send newsletters to your list.
  > Website tools should have the following capabilities:
  Easy to update and self manage

  Interconnect with your email tool

• Remember simplicity is best.