Mike Thornton recently posted Which Cloud Based File Transfer Service Do You Mainly Use? I thought I would branch out from this article and share 5 online services that I use to run my recording studio business. I have used and trusted these services for many years and rely on each one for supporting my daily business duties.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a one-stop shop for web & email domains, hosting and website building. It's a no nonsense approach to getting your services online. I run 3 websites with Squarespace and find it the best service for building and promoting my business. Many do complain by saying that it's too basic but that is exactly the reason I love using it.

Cost: Business Plan - $216 annual subscription

JotForm

As the name suggests, JotForm is an online form builder. I use JotForm to build powerful forms so that I can sell my online services through my Squarespace website. You can see an example on my song critique page. JotForm also connects with Dropbox so when a customer selects an audio service on my site they can also upload their reference tracks or stems and pay the funds via PayPal all in the form. The easier it appears to a customer to buy a service the more likely and frequently you'll get online sales.

Cost: Bronze Plan - $228 annual subscription

BookFresh - Square Appointments

Some people think I am mad for having a self serving client scheduling system on my site but the fact remains that in the first month of having BookFresh on my site my work increased by one third.

Clients can select an available day, start time and session duration and even pay a deposit or full amount for their session. This for me has been a major online service for my business. It removes the hassle of forwarding bank details or PayPal ID to get client deposits. Also gone are the days of having to trust the client to turn up without paying a deposit. The best aspect of this service is the client reminder. I have it set so an automatic reminder e-mail is sent 48 hour prior to the session reminding the client of my terms. Another automatic email is also set to send one hour after the session asking for the client's feedback on one of my third party review sites such as Google or FreeIndex. This system has rewarded me with over 150 genuine 5 star client reviews. Great reviews help to bring in new clients.

Cost:  $168 total 12 monthly payments

Dropbox

We talk a lot about Dropbox on Pro Tools Expert so I won't go into detail. For me though, Dropbox is one of the most powerful online storage services as many other developers build it into their own platforms, much like what I mentioned earlier with JotForm. In the years I have been using Dropbox I can say that I have had no problems with it so I will continue to use it.

Cost: 1TB plan - $60 annual subscription

Apple Music

When I am songwriting, arranging or mixing I need inspiration tracks and/or reference tracks. For me Apple Music is the only place I'll listen to music for work and for pleasure.

Cost: $119 total 12 monthly payments

Total Annual Subscription Cost

These are just 5 of the online services I use to run my recording studio business. In total these services costs $791 annually (roughly $65 a month), a small price to pay to make my professional life that bit easier.

How About You?

Do you run a recording studio business? If so, why not share some of the online services you use.