Success Toolbox – ALL the Tools You’ll Ever Need
I’m not going to lie to you. It’s not easy to generate a full-time Internet income. You need to work hard and sometimes invest in some tools.
On this page, I’ve included a list of what you’ll need to run a successful business. Some tools are free. Others require a monetary investment.
Side Note: Some of these are affiliate links. That means I’ll make money if you decide to buy. But that doesn’t change my opinion. I’ve personally used everything I’ve listed on this page. And I’ve only included the tools I think will help you!
Anyway, here are the tools I’ve used to make a full-time income online:
Most of my income comes from small affiliate marketing sites. (not in the “Make Money Online” market.)
In my opinion, it’s possible for anyone to generate Internet income. The trick is to have a plan and stick to it!
In this section, I’ve listed a number of resources for creating Internet income.
Affiliate Marketing Strategies: Affiliate marketing is how I make most of my money online. That’s why I’ve created a dedicated section on this topic. Click this link for more information.
Information Products: Having your own product is another way to create online income. But there’s a lot of bad advice about this process.
So I’ve put together a free report on this topic: “How to Create a Profit-Pulling eBook Empire in 2011” This is a detailed description of how I generate $2,000 to $4,000 each month from a single eBook. The best part? This is an income source that’s been on complete autopilot for almost three years. Click this link for more information.
Market Samurai- Success with an online business starts by picking the right niche. The only way to do this is to spend time doing niche research. Market Samurai is the best research tool I’ve ever encountered. It has saved me a lot of time and money. Plus, it takes all the guesswork out of trying to find that perfect niche topic.
This tool helps you identify profitable niches with low competition. With a few hours of work, you can locate a niche that’ll earn an income for years to come. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the Noble Samurai videos to see how it works
Optimize Press- Like I said, email marketing is the key to success with an Internet business. That’s why it’s important to build a list. You can do this by offering a free report in exchange for an email address. This can be accomplished with what’s known as a squeeze page.
Frankly, it’s hard to create a squeeze page. You need one that’s simple; while selling the value of the free report. This is hard to do for anyone who doesn’t have a technical background.
That’s why I like the Optimize Press theme. This tool helps you build a number of things like squeeze pages, sales pages, and launch sequences. It’s the perfect tool for anyone who wants to simplify their selling process.
Google Website Optimizer- Your first sales and squeeze pages won’t be perfect. That’s why it’s important to split-test and slowly make improvements. The Google Website Optimizer tool provides a simple solution for doing it. This is the same free tool I use on all my landing pages.
Host Gator: I use this service to host this blog and a number of my affiliate sites. Host Gator has been an integral part of my business for six years and I’ve never experienced a problem with downtime or having a site crash.
What I like about their hosting is they offer around-the-clock support. That means they’re always there to answer any weird question I have about my website. (Even if it’s 3 o’clock in the morning.) So that’s why I highly recommend their service!
Now if you’re unfamiliar with how to create a website; then I recommend checking out my Build Your 1st Website page. Here I teach show how to register a domain, install a Word Press blog, and make your site go live in less than an hour.
Thesis: I use the Thesis theme on this site. Thesis provides quality search engine optimization, fast page load speed, and an easy-to-customize interface. Also, it provides a very clean design which ensures maximum readability of my content.
Snag It: This is the graphics tool I use to grab screenshots and draw arrows. I’ve found the interface to be extremely intuitive. Snag It is a great tool if you do a lot of screenshot manipulations.
Sumo Paint: This is one of best free graphics tools around. I’m definitely not a graphics guy; but Sumo Paint makes it easy to create simple images.
iStockPhoto: This is where I get the majority of my graphics and photos for this site. What I like about iStockPhoto is the images don’t cost an arm and a leg. Most can be purchased for about $2. It’s great for anyone who is budget conscious.
MarketMe Suite: Social media is a great way to generate traffic to a blog. That’s why I love the Market Me tool. It helps me manage all my social media activity in a centralized location. The best part? It’s completely free!
Fiverr: Here’s another great tool! You shouldn’t try to do everything with your Internet business. Instead it’s best to hire micro-workers to handle different things.
With Fiverr, you can find people to:
- Design website graphics
- Create backlinks for your niche sites
- Write simple articles
- Record audio or video
- Promote social media links
Sometimes the quality isn’t great at Fiverr. But you’ll often find hidden talent that is a lot cheaper than traditional outsourcing sites.
Aweber: You must build a list. You must build a list. YOU MUST BUILD A LIST.
Okay, I didn’t mean to scream there. My opinion is most Internet entrepreneurs fail because they don’t design their business around list-building. Without a doubt, I’m able to live the life I’m living because I built a list around a tightly focused niche.
I recommend Aweber because it’s the best tool for building and managing a list. It’s extremely easy to understand and has a number of tools that help quickly get started.
Google Analytics: It’s important to know how people are finding your blog. Plus you want to know what they’re doing while on your site. Google Analytics gives provides very detailed information about your web traffic. I recommend every site should use this free tool.
Pop-Up Domination: Okay, most people hate pop-ups. But I’ve found that having a pop-up can rapidly grow your subscriber numbers.
I recommend Pop-Up Domination because it provides a simple interface for creating an ad that increases your subscriber numbers. Plus it’s relatively inexpensive.
The only thing I suggest is to use this tool sparingly. I have it set to show up once every 30 days for each person. This is a way to offer a free report without annoying repeat visitors.
Finally, I’ve included a number of inspiring books. Each has become an important part of my overall “Internet Lifestyle” mindset. They’re great for creating a work hard, play hard attitude that can help you get more out of life.
Here are some of my personal favorites:
4-Hour Workweek- If you look around at the many posts on this site, you’d see that it’s heavily influenced by The 4-Hour Workweek. While I definitely work more than four hours, I think this book is must read because it teaches you the importance of living life on YOUR terms.
The Success Principles- Jack Canfield is the man! I’m a pretty structured guy. So that’s why I love the systematic way he lays out how to achieve success.
Crush It- If you’ve watched any of his videos, you would see that Gary Vaynerchuk is passionate about wine. In this book, he describes how to take your passion and turn it into a profitable business.
Getting Things Done- Are you overwhelmed by having too much to do? If so, this book can help you organize your work process and make your life more streamlined.
The Power of Less. I read this right before I left for Europe. This book teaches you different techniques for simplifying your life and removing the stuff that really doesn’t matter. Perhaps you’ll live a zen-like existence after checking it out.
Vagabonding- This is another excellent book about the philosophy of traveling. Unlike other guides that teach you to travel at breakneck speeds, this one emphasizes the importance of taking the time to really enjoy each experience.
Replay- Anyone who knows me personally is often forced to listen to me talk about this novel. Yes, it’s not exactly a how-to book like the others. But I can honestly say it’s changed my life. In this story the character gets to live his life over and over again. Reading it reminds me of the fact that we only get one chance at life, so you’d better make it count!
That’s it for this resource section. If you have any questions then free to contact me
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