BUILDING YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS: THE TOOLS YOU NEED
I thought it would be useful to create a resource page that details every product, tool and service I recommend. If you are thinking about starting a business online in the near future, you should bookmark this page for your reference and convenience. Enjoy! By the way, I only recommend products and services I personally use and believe in.
ConvertKit is the tool I use for my email sign-ups. ConvertKit provides you with the best bang for the buck if you run a blog. It has all the features you need to set up your email list. If you run a blog and are on a budget, try ConvertKit. To get started, here is their free plan.
Wp-Engine. If you have a slow WordPress blog and you really don’t want to deal with any of the technical aspects of speeding up a website, then you should probably sign up for a service like WP Engine. These guys specialize in WordPress hosting and will make sure your blog runs as fast as possible. But naturally, this comes at a price.
Long Tail Pro is my go-to keyword research tool. It helps decode the mystery of keyword research and helps you create solid, logical strategies for your blogging. I have used it for many years and it really helps me think through my keyword choices.
Name Cheap. I have so many domains I have purchased through NameCheap. Think of owning a domain like real estate on the web. If the domain you are after is available, wahoo! Grab it and purchase it from NameCheap. They are a no-frills company, so you don’t pay for a lot of extras. Good by me.
Last Pass. Last Pass is a password manager I use. It’s simple and user-friendly (my kind of tech). I like it because I can share select passwords with my assistants easily. And I can help my folks keep their passwords straight too. I like the ease of use. If you have good passwords, they should be really long and hard to remember. Grateful for LastPass cuz I need my brain for other things.
Trynteract. This program is the testing quiz program extraordinaire that I use. It helps you set up quizzes that are fun, informative, and useful for your visitors and customers. I have used quizzes and tests my entire professional life because I believe they really add value. TryInteract is the tool I use to create my quizzes and tests (except for the ones involving hiring–which require very sophisticated metrics to stay within legal parameters).
PickFu. If you had any idea how I obsess over naming things, you would understand why I love this program. You submit different choices to groups of real human beings and they give you input. Look, it beats waking up in the middle of the night and having to find your phone to write down every recent brainstorm and then not being able to get back to sleep because you are trying to decide which one is better. (Of course, I know nothing about this.)
PickFu will help you choose good alternatives (and get some sleep!).I use this service whenever I need to quickly get feedback on a product listing or website design. Within 15 minutes, you can have real people within your targeted demographic answer a poll or fill out a survey about your product or service. It’s totally worth using before you launch anything!
*Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links to products that will earn me a commission. These are all things that I have experience with that I am recommending because they are helpful and are companies that I trust, not because of the commissions that I may earn from you using these products.