The following list is a list of tools and service sites that I still personally use in my business on a regular basis. Some it took me a while to find, others are standards in the industry. I have compiled them here all in one place to make it easier for you to get your business going.
Please note that this is not a comprehensive list and I am always adding more tools to my toolbox as time goes on. Also, in full disclosure, it should be assumed that I may make a referral fee on some if not all of these services and products I recommend. (That is for the FTC).
Some of these items are must haves if you’re trying to market online, some are just nice to have and make life easier. Some cost money, some are free tools. I tried to provide as best a mix as possible so that you could round out your toolbox. Check back often as more will be added from time to time.
Enjoy, have fun and make the most of every moment.
1. How do I get leads online?
MyLeadSystemPRO is the leading, cutting-edge educational platform engineered by the most successful entrepreneurs in the home based business arena with one goal in mind: Provide network marketers and business owners all the necessary tools, resources, websites, and ongoing training required to build a wildly successful and profitable home based business.
And it works! The first time I started online, 7 years ago, I would have killed to have this system. I missed it by that much, but I've got them today and they have changed my life!
Video
MyLeadSystemPRO
aWeber is the industry standard in email marketing for a reason. It even integrates with your blog and social media and more. There are several other good competitors, but I work with aWeber and share my email campaigns with my team, so if you are working with me, you need aWeber.
2. How do I get my blog started and promoted?
Blogger is the best, hands down, for a FREE blog. It is owned by Google, so Google puts them high up in the searches. It is easy to use, is mobile compatible and looks great.
3. How do I get my own domain?
I use GoDaddy to purchase all of my domain names. I do not use their hosting or other services at this time. I would not use their domain hosting if you paid me because I keep having to clean up their messes for my clients.
4. How do I get paid?
PayPal is a service that enables you to pay, send money, and accept payments without revealing your financial information. This is a must to have in our industry and you need to have a Business account not just the personal account so you can receive and send money as needed. I have one account for my personal purchases and a separate one for my business.
Xoom is an online international money transfer service. We offer a secure, fast, and inexpensive way to send money from our website to friends and family. Xoom is how I pay some of my outsourcers overseas because it is cheaper to process for everyone than PayPal.
5. What if I want my own server?
After much thought on this, I have become a reseller for my server and you can now get server services thru me. Please contact me at liz at lizhester dot org for more information.
How do I create graphics?
Fivver is a great source for outsourcing everything from graphics to transcripts and tech work. I use them all the time and most jobs cost between $5-20. It is a great way to help out entrepreneurs around the world too as $5 goes a long way in some of their countries!
Paint.net I love for creating my own headers for my sites, graphics for FaceBook buttons and pictures for my children's books. A FREE tool and extremely user friendly and simple.
DepositPhotos is one of two sites I use for stock photos. I find just about everything I need here and their search engine and rates are great!
Dreamstime is a distinguished leader in stock photography and a major supplier of high quality digital images at unbelievable prices.
How do I do video?
Screencast-O-Matic is the best FREE and paid service I've used for my video recording and editing. FREE or very cheep for those just starting out. It runs on my SONY Vaio when nothing else would too. Great, short tutorials to show you everything you need to do.
YouTube is the best FREE service. Not only do they keep the video on their servers and keep up with the bandwidth so your videos never go down, Google prefers YouTube videos in the search engines. If you are just getting started this is the way to go (and even seasoned professionals use it!)
DO download your videos to your backup drive. I use Google Drive for mine. If, for some reason, your YouTube account gets cancelled, you want to have your videos backed up. It doesn't happen often, but be prepared.
Easy Player Pro2 for you are ready to move up in the video world, then there is nothing better than them. From recording to editing to promotion, you can do it all easily and professionally from within their system.
How do I do Social Media Posting easy?
Hootsuite allows you to make One Post and send it out to ALL your Social Media for FREE. They have a paid version, but I've been using the free one for over a year to get effect and productivity!
What if I need more stuff to promote?
JVzoo it is free to become an affiliate at JVZoo. You will have instant access to all of our affiliate tools and training. Simply fill out the form on the bottom at the bottom of this page and you can start earning instantly paid commissions today.
ClickBank is a secure online retail outlet for more than 50,000 digital products and 100,000 active affiliate marketers. It makes a sale somewhere in the world every three seconds, safely processing more than 35,000 digital transactions a day and serve more than 200 countries, and are consistently ranked as one of the most highly-trafficked sites on the web. This is a top affiliate promotion site.
Commission Junction is the largest affiliate network in North America and operates worldwide. Among the top 500 retailers using 3rd party affiliate marketing software, 62% are powered by Commission Junction. This is where you can find big companies to promote like Groupon, Overstock.com, Sears. Etc. More mainstream for niche sites.
What if I need to Conference/Screenshare online?
Google Hangout is FREE and has Screensharing! You can even watch videos with friends. Way cool, but you can only have up to 10 people on the Hangout…BUT if you click the little white box BEFORE you start the Hangout to “Enabel Hangouts on Air,” it will LiveStream to YouTube allowing tons of people to watch and recording it for you.
I use it primarily and it works great!
Skype is for doing things together, whenever you’re apart. Skype’s text, voice and video make it simple to share experiences with the people that matter to you, wherever they are. Skype is used to communicate with your connections around the world through your computer with your headset. This saves on phone charges.
VeSee
FreeConference.com frees you from the hassles and expense of traditional call conferencing services with little or no cost. I use Free Conference when Skype is not the preferred option or not needed for screen sharing. Sometimes there are some challenges but for the most part the service works well and I have been using it a few years.
How do I run my business entirely online?
Google Docs allows us to access the documents, spreadsheets, and presentations you create from any computer, anywhere in the world. (There's even some work you can do without an Internet connection!), work on them in real time with other people, and store them in your Google Drive online — all for free. I pay $5/month for a Terabyte of storage!
FreshBooks makes your business is accessible everywhere, from your iPhone/iPad to your desktop, and your data is secure and backed up in the cloud. It is built for small business owners to get organized and get paid. I was tracking time, logging expenses and invoicing clients in almost no time!
Dropbox is a file hosting website. It offers temporary file hosting to enable users to send and receive large files that are too big for email attachments. Users can upload and download files up to 300MB each for free (up to 1.5GB files can be uploaded with the paid service), and have the ability to manage and edit their uploads.
I keep this on hand when I need to transfer large files. I use their free service and haven’t had a need to upgrade.
DISCLAIMER: It should be assumed that the recommender profits from many of the products, services, or businesses endorsed on. I will only recommend products that I have either created or used myself and find valuable to my business and life. Tools are that, just tools to help you in your life and business. We recommend that all readers use due diligence before purchasing or using any and all products. Nothing here should be considered legal or financial advice. As with any business, your results may vary, and will be based on your individual capacity, business experience, expertise, and level of desire. There are no guarantees concerning the level of success you may experience. The testimonials and examples used are exceptional results, which do not apply to the average purchaser, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone anyone will achieve the same or similar results. Each individual’s success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire and motivation.