Advocate Creator's Gear Guide

DESCRIPTION:

Free and low-cost tools to launch your digital product business—no expensive software required.

THE CHALLENGE: You want to create digital products, but you're overwhelmed by tech tool options. Which ones do you actually need? What's free vs. paid? Where do you even start?

THE SOLUTION: This gear guide gives you vetted, advocacy-tested recommendations for every tool category you'll need—organized by function, with clear guidance on what's free and what's worth paying for.

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

✅ THE FREE STARTER STACK • Everything you need to start creating for $0 • Canva + Google Suite + Loom = Complete toolkit • No investment required until you're earning

✅ DESIGN & GRAPHICS • Canva (free design platform) • Unsplash (stock photos) • Flaticon (icons for documents) • Professional visuals without design skills

✅ DOCUMENTS & DIGITAL PRODUCTS • Google Docs/Sheets/Slides (free) • Apple Pages/Keynote/Numbers (Mac users) • LibreOffice (Windows alternative) • DocHub (fillable PDF forms) • Grammarly (catch typos as you write)

✅ VIDEO & SCREEN RECORDING • Loom (screen + webcam recording) • Zoom (video calls and webinars) • DaVinci Resolve (professional editing—free!) • iMovie (Mac users)

✅ EMAIL & AUDIENCE BUILDING • Mailchimp (up to 500 contacts free) • ConvertKit (up to 1,000 subscribers free) • Google Forms (surveys and assessments)

✅ SELLING & PAYMENTS • Stripe (payment processing) • PayPal (trusted backup option) • Gumroad (simple digital sales) • Transaction fees only—no monthly costs

✅ ORGANIZATION & PRODUCTIVITY • Google Drive (free cloud storage) • Google Calendar Booking Pages (free scheduling!) • Notion (all-in-one workspace) • Trello (visual project management)

BONUS: DVE CREATOR SUPPORTS • APA Marketplace overview (sell your products) • Advocate Creators Network (free peer support) • The Advocates' Economic Leap (exploration community)

Each tool includes: • What it does • Free vs. paid tier details • Best use case • Direct website link

THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE: Start free. Upgrade only when a tool is slowing you down or costing you opportunities. Most advocate creators build their first 3-5 products using entirely free tools.

WHO THIS IS FOR: ✓ New creators just getting started ✓ Advocates on tight budgets ✓ Anyone overwhelmed by tech options ✓ Creators wanting to minimize upfront investment

DOWNLOAD INCLUDES: • 5-page tool guide • Organized by category • Free options highlighted • Ready to implement today

DISCLAIMER: This guide is provided for educational purposes only. Tool pricing and features may change. DVE is not affiliated with third-party tools unless noted. Individual results vary based on your implementation and specific needs.

© 2026 Dawson Visionary Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.