4 tools we can’t run our business without

^{This 3-minute read brought to you by the team at Rogue Pine}

In this issue, you'll learn:

• Riverside.fm – How we record everything

• Evernote – Reade’s second brain

• Zapier – The automation layer

• Loom – Communicating without another meeting

Every system we’ve built—podcast, newsletter, client onboarding—runs through one of these four tools.

Nothing super fancy. But these four platforms support how we record, plan, write, communicate, and automate across all areas of Rogue Pine and Grow Rogue.

Here’s how each one fits into our workflow.

Riverside.fm – How we record everything

We record all Grow Rogue podcast episodes on Riverside.fm. It gives us reliable video and audio quality without needing a fancy setup.

We use it because:

• It records each speaker locally, which prevents dropped words or lag

• It gives us instant transcriptions

• It includes a built-in editor for trimming clips or publishing short videos

• It simplifies repurposing—everything we need is in one place

After each episode, we pull the transcript, highlight key lines, and use those for newsletters, social posts, and video captions. It keeps our production fast and consistent.

Evernote – Reade’s second brain

Evernote is where I store ideas, outlines, notes, and early drafts.

Evernote has been part of my workflow since college. 

In fact, I just checked and, apparently, I created my account on my 21st birthday.

I know what you’re thinking…life of the party 😀.

I use it for:

• Capturing headlines, frameworks, and content ideas

• Drafting newsletter outlines

• Storing reference material and client notes

• Personal journaling and strategy notes

Nikki prefers Google Docs for organizing systems and collaborating. So we use Evernote for early thinking and Google Docs for anything shared or operational.

We’ve tested other options:

• Notion felt too heavy for fast capture

• Apple Notes didn’t offer enough structure

This setup gives us a clean divide between private idea development and shared execution.

Zapier – The automation layer

Zapier keeps things moving behind the scenes.

It connects the other apps we use most, including Riverside, Beehiiv, Slack, Google Sheets, HubSpot—and lets us automate tasks that used to require manual input.

Examples from our workflows:

• Tag subscribers in ConvertKit based on what they click

• Send Slack alerts when new leads come in

• Move podcast highlights into our shared content folder

• Route form submissions to the right person

Zapier helps reduce back-and-forth.

It’s a core part of how we manage volume without losing speed or context.

Loom – Communicating without another meeting

Loom is the fastest way we’ve found to share context with clients and our team.

We use Loom to:

• Walk through new proposals

• Show progress on content calendars or websites

• Train team members on internal processes

• Replace long email explanations with screen recordings

Most of our internal system SOPs (standard operating procedures) include a Loom link. 

We also use Loom to introduce new clients to our process without adding another call to the calendar.

Recording a short video adds clarity and personal connection, especially when it’s faster than writing out a long doc.

Final thoughts

Each of these tools plays a specific role.

We use them because they support the way we create, collaborate, and deliver.

• Riverside handles all our podcast production

• Evernote helps with ideation, while Google Docs supports execution

• Zapier connects everything together

• Loom speeds up communication

We’ve tested plenty of other platforms. These are the ones we keep.

P.S.
Our agency creates content like this every week for us and our clients. This helps us generate millions of impressions. If you want similar results for your business, let’s talk.