Just saw this thread and had to jump in! Im totally obsessed with my current setup for this stuff. You definitely need to look into Copy.ai Pro Marketing Automation Platform because it’s amazing for cranking out high-quality captions and email copy when you’re stuck. Its like having a tiny marketing team in your pocket! For the actual delivery, I swear by MailerLite Growing Business Plan Email Marketing. Their automation workflows are literally so easy to build, even if you arent a tech genius. Honestly, doing it yourself with these tools is way more satisfying than paying some expensive pro, plus you keep all that extra cash for your soap supplies. Its such a game changer when those emails just send themselves while youre busy working... Youre gonna love how much time this clears up!

Jumping in here because I've been using a specific combo for my shop and I'm very satisfied with the results. If you want a methodical approach to your marketing without breaking the bank, I suggest looking at these options.

• Buffer Essentials Plan Social Media Scheduler works well for Instagram. For about 6 dollars per channel, you get the AI assistant to help with captions and a very reliable auto-scheduler. I prefer it over Hootsuite because the interface feels less cluttered and more professional for daily use.
• Later Starter Plan Social Media Management is the main competitor I tried. It is excellent for a soap shop because it has a visual grid preview. It costs about 25 dollars a month. The downside is the mobile app can be a bit glitchy sometimes, but the desktop version is solid for planning your aesthetic.
• Brevo Starter Plan Email Marketing Automation is my favorite for the drip campaigns you mentioned. Unlike other platforms, they dont punish you for having a growing subscriber list. You pay for the volume of emails sent instead. Setting up a three-part welcome sequence took me maybe twenty minutes total. Combined, these keep you way under your 50 dollar limit. It is a very practical setup for a solo founder who needs to focus on making soap rather than fighting with software... no complaints from my side so far. Basically just gets the job done.

^ This. Also, I love Canva! Its so amazing and super reliable for your data.

• very safe
• total game changer Just get any plan from them, seriously!

Like someone mentioned, the market is full of tools that unfortunately just dont deliver. I had issues with some being super glitchy compared to big brands. Be careful with your data, okay? Rooting for you!

I once helped a friend with her shop and we blew too much cash on Jasper. Price tags suck. You might want to consider Metricool Free Plan Social Media Management for scheduling. It is more robust than Hootsuite for data tracking. For emails, be careful with costs; I would suggest MailerLite Free Plan Marketing Automation for drips.

• Metricool handles IG auto-posting
• MailerLite does the trigger logic Watch those subscriber counts tho... limits can bite you.