Resources

I’ve created this section of my blog to share some tools, resources, and other things that have helped me along the way in my business. I’ll be constantly updating and adding to this section, so you should probably bookmark it or subscribe to my newsletter for updates. I’m just sayin’.

Books/Mindset

  • 4 Hour Workweek – Tim Ferriss
  • E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber
  • Rework – Jason Fried
  • Crush It – Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Source Control – David Walsh’s Ebook

PRODUCT REVIEWS

These are products and services I have written full reviews of:

More to come!

PRODUCTS I USE & RECOMMEND

The products listed here I use for my own businesses or are by credible experts I have experience with and trust 100 percent. I value my money so to a make a decision which products and services I pay for I always perform extensive research and testing. I search forums, ask my colleagues for recommendations, read reviews and undergo trial periods. I only choose the best solution for my circumstances and have no problems recommending them to you.

Screencasting & Screen Capture

  • Camtasia Studio – Camtasia Studio screen recorder and editor for Windows. This program is worth the investment if you do any sort of video marketing whatsoever. Screencast is a good one for Mac users.
  • JingProject.com – Jing is free software that adds visuals to your online conversations. Instead of typing at people, show them what you’re talking about. I use this software every day. Available for Windows and Mac.

Hosting

I either currently use these providers, or have used them in the past. For a complete tutorial on how to choose a good webhost, see my post here:

How to Choose a Good Web Hosting Provider

  • Godaddy – If you want to call someone and have them pick up the phone when you have a problem, GoDaddy does that. Great for beginners, you can do one-click WordPress installations. Easy user interface for most things like setting up email accounts, hosting accounts, etc.
  • Hostgator – Hostgator is pretty good at picking up the phone when you call, they have a moderately user friendly back end for setting things up. Also have a one-click auto install for WordPress.
  • BlueHost – The advantage to BlueHost is that they have superior customer service. They are probably #1 as far as troubleshooting goes.

Email Marketing & Autoresponders

I have used many email marketing solutions over the past 5 years, all of them are pretty good. Some are better than other, but for specific, small things. I find that once you start using a product for email marketing, you’ll find small things that are annoying but in general anyone worth their salt still delivers the goods, which is the whole point. Just choose one and get going!

  • AWeber – The email marketing  and autorespoder solution I use. Super easy to work, this provider is extremely popular.
  • Text Formatter – Some e-mail management systems have this included in their service, some don’t. If you’re in a rush, use this great (free) formatter. Thanks Yaro!

Outsourcing

  • ReplaceMyself.com – How To Outsource Your Internet Business For $2.50 An Hour To The Philippines. John Jonas, the guy who runs this site, has 16 free videos you can watch on the Philippines and what you should know before you outsource there. If you want access to his “Elance of the Philippines” resume site, purchase the membership to Replace Myself. It’s the same price as signing up for his job search site (yes, he runs it), plus you get all kinds of free additional video trainings and other outsourcing tools. 16 Free Videos on hiring VA’s in the Philippines
  • Source Control Ebook- Master the mindset, do your part to get organized so you can Outsource effectively (awesome forms and templates included). Without a smart system around it, outsourcing can steal more time than it saves. I own a copy and live by it.

WordPress Themes

  • Affiliate Theme – Build a wide variety of dynamic, high converting affiliate marketing websites using a single theme – Affiliate Theme.
  • Personal Branding Theme – The theme I used for the blog you’re on right now. VERY robust product, these guys give you everything you need to brand not only your blog, but your YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook profiles. Step-by-step video tutorials included! (I recommend using Hostgator hosting for this particular theme)
  • Squeeze Theme – Squeeze Theme is the easiest way to create squeeze pages (email collection sites) for WordPress!
  • AgentPress Theme – The theme I used to create my investing website, RedTrolleyHomes.com. Super easy to customize for real estate investors and agents. Very good product!

WordPress Tools & Plugins

  • Gravity Forms plugin – Customize, organize, and manage your WordPress site’s most important data – your opt-in forms.
  • Ninja Affiliate plugin – Automatically convert keywords on your blog into money making affiliate links. Also manage, track, cloak and shorten unlimited number of affiliate links from one central location of Maxblogpress Ninja Affiliate. Great way to monetize your blog!
  • WP Database Backup plugin – This FREE plugin allows you easily to backup your core WordPress database tables. You may also backup other tables in the same database. This saves your info automatically so if the s*** hits the fan for some reason, all your hard work is saved for you!

Blog Training

  • Blog Mastermind – Click here to download the Blog Profits Blueprint, Yaro’s free report on how to set up and monetize your blog. Great resource!
  • BecomeABlogger.com -  Discover The Time Tested And Proven Roadmap To Blogging Success. Watch the 10 Easy To Follow Videos Showing You How To Create Your Blog From Scratch!