Here you will find resources that have my personal recommendation. I will never recommend anything that I haven’t tried or read myself.
I hope these resources prove useful to you. Please note that even though some of the links are affiliates, I am personally using and recommending the following products. I hope they can help you as much as they have helped me.
Books
These are my most recommended books from Amazon. I frequently refer back to these books to help me in my life. I know that there is something in each of these books that can help you, too.
Writing Resources
Article Marketing – I can recommend Henri Junttila’s Article Marketing Traffic Booster ebook, which I bought and used to get me started in article marketing. It’s a great resource because it provides detail instructions on why to use article marketing and how to get started.
EZineArticles.com – This is the site that I use for article marketing. They make it really easy to create your articles and get them seen on the net.
Write for the Web – This is a great writing resource to have whether you are currently blogging or even if you intend to become a freelance blogger. It teaches you so much about the difference between print writing and writing for the web.
Ebooks
31 Days to Build a Better Blog – The bible by Darren Rowse. The title says it all.
Cloud Living – If you intend to try to make any money on the internet, Cloud Living by Glen Allsopp is a must-buy. Another great resource to read.
How to Be Rich and Happy – This is a great ebook to read about discovering what you need to do in your own life to become happy. Once you’re happy, it’s easier to become rich. I actually learned a lot from this book.
Working for Yourself – A fantastic guide by Chris Guillebeau who provides some excellent information on how you can easily start to work for yourself.
Passionate Living – Interesting in living a passionate life? Henri Junttila’s 92-page guide will help you find your passion and find clarity in your life.
Zen to Done – From the master of minimalism, Leo Babauta who writes at ZenHabits.com, this little ebook is a great alternative if you’re struggling with GTD.
Blogging
PopUp Domination – Increase your opt-ins substantially and start building your list by using this highly customizable premium lightbox (pop up window) wordpress plugin.
Thesis Theme – Interested in how I created this website? I used the best premium theme on the internet – Thesis by DIYThemes. You should definitely check it out if you want to create a professional-looking blog. There are tons of resources on the internet regarding Thesis and it comes with its own support forum.
WordPress – The #1 Blog Publishing Platform. Free and easily customizable with wonderful support. If you intend to blog, you should use this platform.
WordPress Plugins – There are so many plugins, widgets and ways to customize your blog.
These are just some of the plugins that I use to customize this site, but there are tons of great plugins out there, too.
– Askimet
– Apture
– CommentLuv
– Login Lockdown
– Sexybookmarks
– Smart Archives Reloaded
– Subscription Options
– Subscribe to Comments
– Thesis OpenHook
– TweetMeme Retweet Button
– WordPress Database Backup
– WP Greet Box
Blogging Forums
Problogger Forum – Darren Rowse’s Problogger membership forum. It only costs $5.95 per month to hang around with and learn from some of the best bloggers on the net. I’ve learned a lot from this forum, way more than the monthly fee, that’s for sure!
A-List Blogging Bootcamps and Forum – Leo Babauta’s blogging forum and bootcamps. I’m a member of the forum and it’s great for new bloggers, plus experienced bloggers to learn from Leo and the team.
WarriorForum – A huge forum with thousands of members in all the different areas of blogging.
Email and Marketing
AWeber – The internet’s most powerful email opt-in service and email marketing/broadcasting tool. This is what I use to send blog broadcast emails and my newsletter. They have a great trial on now. I couldn’t be happier using this company. It’s totally worth it as it’s so easy to create custom forms, emails, and newsletters using their templates.
MailChimp – Another good email service which comes highly recommended. I currently pay monthly for AWeber, but MailChimp is also a good alternative for email marketing and list manager.
Product Distribution
Clickbank – Another digital products retailer. Probably the most popular. Decently priced, and comes with an amazing affiliate program for your products.
E-Junkie – This is a great site to buy and sell products. It’s compatible with various vendors, including PayPal and Clickbank and comes with a very low initial price to use.
Paypal.com – I use Paypal to buy digital products and to receive payments from various affiliate products.Very secure. They accept all sorts of payment methods and is must for businesses who work online. Best of all, it’s free to set up.
Pictures
iStockPhoto – Most of the pictures that I use on the site I bought from iStockPhoto.com. They have various ways to buy pictures and I love their search feature. I use them almost exclusively for adding pictures to my articles.
Flickr – I have used Flickr to find great pictures to add to my articles, especially when I first started this site. There’s no doubt that it’s a great resource for free pictures, but just remember to find Creative Common pictures and to provide attribute if you use the pictures.
