At Zinn Hub, we talk to hundreds of digital businesses every year—from freelancers and eCommerce startups to marketing agencies and consultants. The most common questions we get is: “What marketing tools should I be using?” and “What content creation tools should I be using?”

So, based on our clients’ needs and our hands-on experience, we’ve put together this go-to list of marketing tools for 2025. These are the platforms and services we often recommend, grouped by function and explained in plain language.

All-in-One Marketing Platforms & CRMs

If you’re looking to manage everything from emails and automation to sales and customer relationships in one place, these all-in-one platforms and CRMs are built to streamline your entire marketing workflow.

HubSpot – Combines marketing, sales, and support in one smart dashboard.
Keap – A small business-friendly CRM and automation tool we suggest often.
Clientjoy – Great for freelancers and agencies; CRM meets email and invoicing.
ActiveCampaign – Ideal for advanced marketing automation and sales workflows.
Zoho Marketing Plus – Modular and scalable for teams looking to centralise efforts.
GetResponse – Solid all-rounder with email, webinars, landing pages, and more.
Sendinblue (Brevo) – All-in-one suite for email, SMS, and customer journeys.
Ontraport – Designed for automating more than just marketing.
Moosend – A budget-conscious choice for startups needing automation.
Kartra – Our go-to pick for clients building membership sites or funnels.
EngageBay – Perfect for growing teams that want CRM + marketing on a budget.

Email Marketing & Automation

Email is still one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience—and these tools help you do it better. From simple newsletters to advanced automation, there’s something here for every business size and strategy.

AWeber – Simple, reliable email campaigns with solid support.
Kit – A favourite among content creators, bloggers, and influencers.
Mailchimp – Still a solid choice for small businesses new to email marketing.
Drip – Tailored for eCommerce stores with great segmentation and tracking.
Benchmark Email – Straightforward and clean for quick setup and sends.
MailerLite – Friendly interface, great for small teams or solo operators.
Campaign Monitor – Beautiful templates and flexible automation.
Omnisend – eCommerce-first, with email, SMS, and push notifications.
Sender – Lightweight and affordable for getting started.
Elastic Email – Built for businesses sending high volumes of emails on a budget.

Design & Content Creation

Great marketing needs great visuals. These tools make it easy to create eye-catching graphics, videos, infographics, and more—no design degree required.

Canva – You probably already use it and for good reason. It’s fast and intuitive.
VistaCreate – A Canva alternative with strong animation tools.
Adobe Express – A great browser-based option for sleek, on-brand designs.
Snappa – Marketers love it for quick campaign graphics.
Piktochart – If you need infographics or reports, this is a winner.
Lumen5 – Converts blog posts into videos automatically.
Animoto – Handy for quick, drag-and-drop video content.
Stencil – Ideal for rapid social media content creation.
Visme – Versatile for presentations, reports, and infographics.

Staying consistent on social media is easier with the right tools. These platforms help you plan, schedule, and analyze your content across channels—saving time while keeping your brand active and engaging.

Buffer – Trusted for simple scheduling and analytics.
Hootsuite – A veteran platform for managing multiple accounts.
Later – Great for Instagram planning and visual calendars.
SocialBee – Offers powerful content recycling and organisation.
Planable – Perfect for teams collaborating on social media posts.
ContentStudio – All-in-one solution for content planning and publishing.
Metricool – Helps track performance and plan campaigns.
Publer – An underrated gem for cost-effective scheduling and analytics.

Lead Generation & Outreach Tools

Building strong pipelines starts with the right outreach. These tools help you find leads, personalise your messages, and automate follow-ups—so you can connect with the right people faster and more effectively.

Reply.io – Streamlines cold email outreach with automation.
Apollo.io – Massive lead database with built-in sequences.
Hunter.io – Still one of the best for finding verified email addresses.
Lemlist – Add personalisation (even videos!) to your outreach.
Snov.io – Combines lead discovery with follow-up automation.
Waalaxy – Unique in its mix of LinkedIn + email outreach.
Mailshake – Sales teams love it for ease of use and results. Email and Linkedin.
Woodpecker – Keeps your outreach campaigns consistent and compliant.
Smartlead – Handles high-volume cold outreach across multiple inboxes.
Instantly.ai – Uses AI to streamline cold outreach with a human touch.

E-Commerce & Funnel Builders

Whether you’re selling physical products, digital downloads, or online courses, these platforms make it easy to build, market, and scale your online business with conversion-focused tools and seamless user experiences.

Shopify – Still the top pick for most online stores.
WooCommerce – Ideal for WordPress users who want full control.
BigCommerce – Great for scaling eCommerce brands with complex needs.
ThriveCart – Loved for its checkout optimisation and funnel tools.
SamCart – Clean and effective for digital products and subscriptions.
Kajabi – Course creators swear by its built-in marketing tools.
Teachable – A good starter platform for online courses with basic sales features.

Analytics, SEO & Optimisation

Understanding what’s working (and what’s not) is key to growing any digital presence. These tools help you track performance, analyse visitor behaviour, and fine-tune your SEO and ad strategies for maximum impact.

Google Analytics / GA4 – The essential tool for traffic and conversion tracking.
Hotjar – See what visitors actually do on your site with heatmaps and recordings.
SEMrush – Our go-to for SEO audits, keyword research, and competitor tracking.
Ahrefs – Great for backlink data and advanced SEO strategies.
Moz – Clean interface and solid SEO tools, especially for beginners.
SurferSEO – Optimise content in real time with on-page SEO insights.
Ubersuggest – Affordable SEO tool with simple insights.
AdEspresso – Makes Facebook/Instagram ad testing a breeze.
Crazy Egg – Easy A/B testing and visual behaviour analytics.

AI Writing Tools

These tools specialise in generating, refining, or assisting with written content—great for blogs, emails, product descriptions, and SEO-driven writing.

Jasper.ai – A top recommendation for AI-powered content writing.
Copy.ai – Quick and versatile for generating marketing copy.
Writesonic – Ideal for blog posts, ads, and product descriptions.
Frase – Great for SEO-focused content creation with SERP analysis, briefs, and optimisation tools.
ChatGPT – A versatile AI assistant for everything from blog writing to email drafts and campaign ideas. Great for businesses that need flexible, on-demand support.
Claude.ai – An advanced writing assistant known for handling long-form documents and thoughtful content generation. Excellent for nuanced or high-volume tasks.
QuillBot – A powerful rewriting and grammar tool ideal for refining drafts, paraphrasing, and polishing marketing content.

AI-Powered Marketing Tools

Some of the best AI tools go beyond just writing as they also offer powerful features like social media scheduling, personalisation, and outreach automation.

Ocoya – Combines content generation with social media scheduling.
Mutiny – Helps personalise website content for each visitor.
Surfer AI – Write SEO-optimised articles at scale using AI.
Smartlead – AI-powered cold email outreach with inbox rotation and deliverability tools.

A Note From Natalie at Zinn Hub:

We built this list not just from internet research but from real conversations with our clients and partners. These are the tools we trust and often recommend when businesses ask us, “What tools should I be using to grow my business?”

You don’t need them all – but choosing the right few can make a big difference. If you’re unsure where to start or how to connect the dots, our Zinners and our team at Zinn Hub is here to help.

I hope this guide helped you discover a few new tools to power your marketing in 2025. If you found it useful—or even if you think I missed something—drop a comment below. We’d love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation with our Zinn community!

Want to see the exact stack we rely on? Check out our must-have content creation tools for 2025 — personally tested and battle-proven.