Handy Resources

It’s always handy to have a list of great tools and services in one place. Check out my list of online resources I’m sure you’ll find extremely helpful. They are all tools or services that I either use or can recommend as trustworthy and professional. Enjoy!

WRITING TOOLS

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL): A great place to brush up on your writing technique. They have free writing exercises in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, paraphrasing and more.
The Economist Style Guide: Based on the style book given to all journalists at The Economist. Tons of advice including the do’s and don’ts of writing, common errors and clichés and plenty more – you’ll want to refer back to this site continually.
Visual Thesaurus: Perfect for brainstorming tool for ‘visual’ thinkers. There is also a completely free alternative called Visuwords.
Copyscape: Fantastic tool that detects plagiarism and duplicate content online. I find it invaluable for double checking my articles are always 100% unique. You can use their free service , or upgrade to Platinum for more options.

COPYWRITING TRAINING

How To Create Compelling Copy: An awesome Free SEO Copywriting whitepaper by Brian Clark (Copyblogger & Scribe). Explains the fundamentals of SEO writing and the tactics you need to rank well in the search engines. I devoured this! Brian really knows his stuff.
Simple Writing System: Ever wondered who famous marketers hire to write their copy? One of the most sought after copywriters – John Carlton. If you really want to take your business to the next level with a skill that will last a lifetime, then this is for you. I know you’ll LOVE the stuff John Carlton teaches because it actually WORKS!
Quick Copywriting Guide: This is my Free Report I created for online writers and business owners. Includes a glossary over 400 selling phrases that help inspire your copywriting and fast track your results.

BLOGGING TOOLS

WordPress: The ‘Big Mama’ of blog publishing platforms. It is easy to customize and plenty of support when you need it. All my blogs use WordPress.
WordPress Plugins: Use WordPress plugins, widgets or customizable elements to do almost anything with your blog.
Woo Themes: Easily one of the best Premium WordPress Themes on the internet. They also offer customers great value with two themes for the price of one. I love the classy streamlined designs. BTW – this blog was built using the Busy Bee design from Woo Themes.
StudioPress: Professionally designed and optimized WordPress themes perfect for small businesses or individuals looking to establish their online presence with a WordPress blog or website.

BLOGGER TRAINING

31 Days To Build A Better Blog: Darren Howse of Problogger fame gives you a step-by-step program you take the actions you need to build a better blog. Ideal for the blogger who is stuck in a rut or wants to revitalize their blog.
Blog Profits Blueprint: A Free blogging report which is a must read for aspiring professional part-time or full-time bloggers. I learned alot from Yaro Starak and this report.
Blog Mastermind: Yaro Starak’s professional blogging course which teaches you how to create a part-time or full-time blogging income.

WEB HOSTING & DOMAINS

HostGator: A comprehensive choice of professional hosting services for all sized businesses. I have all my websites hosted through Hostgater. They continually provide excellent customer service and support 24/7.
Bluehost: Another service popular with professional bloggers and marketers. Have a good reputation as affordable and easy to use.
Go Daddy: One of the biggest and longest established domain name registration sites. They also have web hosting and site building services.
Name Cheap: Domain names at extremely competitive prices – plus they throw in Whois Guard to protect your privacy. They are my first choice when buying domains.

KEYWORD RESEARCH

Google Adwords Tool: A Free tool to help you decide what keywords to use for your Adwords campaigns. You can also check to see the popularity of certain keywords and the competition for ads for those keywords as well.
Wordtracker Free Keyword Tool: Spits out a number for the popularity of a keyword of your choice. Search volume numbers can be compared to find the perfect niche, or to choose keywords for your blog posts.
Market Samurai: You can discover the best SEO keywords and your competitors weaknesses with this professional keyword analysis tool. I LOVE this tool and could not do without it.

ONLINE TRANSACTIONS

Paypal.com: Paypal is just ok for selling your own products through them, but you’ll need an account anyways to configure with and accept payments from the above shopping carts.

EMAIL AUTORESPONDER

Aweber: Hands down the internet’s most powerful email opt-in service and email marketing/broadcasting tool. I tried a couple of others when I first started out and there is no comparison.

HIRING FREELANCERS

Elance: Hire a professional for just about any business service you need. I’ve used Elance to get freelancing work as well as to hire consultants.
Odesk: Another popular freelancers website.
Killer-Content.com Professional copywriting services for businesses.
Red Hot Copy: Just like the name you can hire these professionals to write copy with that extra sizzle.
99Designs: This is a unique website that you can use if you need a logo design. It’s in a contest format. You submit the description of what you want, and designers will compete against each other to win money.

INTERNET BUSINESS TRAINING

Super Fast Results: Private internet marketing training forum. I have learned a wealth of information from James Schramko. His advanced internet marketing strategies have made a dramatic difference to the way I do business. Everything you need to know is covered here plus more. Even the tips from the talented members will blow you away.

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

Twitter Expert: A no-nonsense Free report. This is a great place to start if you are setting up Twitter from scratch, or want a step-by-step guide to build your followers. I used this as my checklist to set up my Twitter account.

ROYALTY FREE IMAGES

Please note that some of these links do contain affiliate links and if you decide to purchase the product/service may result in a referral commission that helps support this blog.