Top 5 Tools Every Athlete Influencer Should Know

Want to level up your NIL brand? Use the same tools the pros use.

As a student-athlete building your personal brand, you don’t need a full creative team to produce high-quality content. With the right apps and platforms, you can handle everything from design to analytics—right from your phone.

Here are the top five tools every athlete influencer should know, along with how and why to use them.

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1. Canva

What it does: Graphic design for non-designersWhy athletes love it: Canva lets you create eye-catching graphics, media kits, story templates, quote posts, and more—even if you have zero design experience.

Best for:

• Instagram posts

• NIL media kits

• Branded content

Pro tip: Use Rise Ready’s custom Canva templates to save time and stay consistent.

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2. CapCut

What it does: Easy video editing on your phoneWhy athletes love it: CapCut is perfect for editing Reels, TikToks, or game-day clips. Add music, captions, transitions, or voiceovers with just a few taps.

Best for:

• Game-day highlights

• Training montages

• Off-season day-in-the-life videos

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3. Linktree

What it does: Centralizes your linksWhy athletes love it: Your bio only gives you one link—Linktree turns that one spot into a clickable hub for your NIL pitch form, merch, YouTube channel, and more.

Best for:

• Instagram bios

• Personal branding pages

• Sharing NIL opportunities

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4. Google Drive

What it does: Stores and shares filesWhy athletes love it: Keep all your NIL documents, contracts, photos, and media kits organized and accessible anywhere.

Best for:

• Media kit storage

• NIL deal tracking

• Collaboration with brands

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5. Later or Buffer

What they do: Schedule your social posts in advanceWhy athletes love it: These tools help you plan out your content for the week or month so you can focus on school, sports, and rest.

Best for:

• Consistent posting

• Weekly content batching

• Off-season content planning

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Final Thoughts

You don’t need to do it all at once. Start with one or two tools that make your life easier, then build from there. The best athlete influencers are organized, intentional, and tech-savvy.

→ Download the Athlete Tools Resource Guide

→ Try our Canva Media Kit Template

→ Follow Rise Ready Academy for weekly tool tips

The right tools turn consistency into success.