13 Free or Cheap Tools, Resources + Services For Online Businesses
Here are some resources that come in handy if you are running an online business or otherwise doing work online to earn money. (Note: some links are my own affiliate links. I will not be offended if you decide not to use them.)
- Blog hosting or blogging platforms - To run a business online, you need either a website or a weblog. Weblogs are easier to maintain and often enjoy higher rankings in the search engines. Get free blog hosting at Blogpost (via Blogger), Wordpress.com, etc. Have your own web domain? Want to run a weblog? Get free Wordpress weblogging software at Wordpress.org. Read more about free domains and hosting plans.
- Search engines: Google.com, MSN Live, Yahoo Search - Great search engines, to find information on whatever it is you want to write about.
- Google Trends - A great way to compare the relative popularity over time of two to five topics.
- Paypal merchant account - your bank won’t give you a merchant account? No problem. Sign up with Paypal for free and start accepting credit cards on your website.
- Google AdSense - got a site? Want to earn money by running contextual advertising?
- Firefox web browser - one of the best web browsers around.
- Skype VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) soft phone software - make free/ cheap phone calls from your computer. [Read more about VoIP software, hardware and services at VoIP Now.]
- Ether - Have a website (even a free one) and want a way to promote your phone-based consulting? Get paid for your talk time by clients.
- Skype + Jyve - Combine Skype with Jyve to have the ability to charge a consulting fee for your time directly from the free Skype soft phone.
- 101 Resources for self-published writers - article. Planning to write a book or e-book to promote your business? Check out this list of resource links.
- Copyblogger - a weblog about quality writing for your website/ weblog by the immeasurable Brian Clark.
- Successful-blog - a weblog about successful blogging by the exceptional Liz Strauss.
- Tubetorial - a weblog with video tutorials on marketing and promoting your Internet business, by the incomparable Brian Clark and friends.
3 Comments to “13 Free or Cheap Tools, Resources + Services For Online Businesses”
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Raj Dash - Internet UltraGeek
Can You Earn A Living Online?
Short answer: yes. I'm doing it. So are others. The hard part is, it takes time. I took me nearly a year because I didn't know about real opportunities. So, in the spirit of this site, I'll teach you what I know + what I learn along the way. For free. No tricks. But if you're not serious, find something else to do. Because patience and knowledge makes a difference. Note: This is not another "internet marketing" site. It's about actual opportunities, what they are, and how to find them. Yes, marketing yourself online will be a part of the process, but it's not about selling software to people to teach them to sell software. Get my meaning?
Short answer: yes. I'm doing it. So are others. The hard part is, it takes time. I took me nearly a year because I didn't know about real opportunities. So, in the spirit of this site, I'll teach you what I know + what I learn along the way. For free. No tricks. But if you're not serious, find something else to do. Because patience and knowledge makes a difference. Note: This is not another "internet marketing" site. It's about actual opportunities, what they are, and how to find them. Yes, marketing yourself online will be a part of the process, but it's not about selling software to people to teach them to sell software. Get my meaning?
Terinea
October 27th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Get blogging is my fav, I’m slowly (I think!) starting learn to post better blogs with number 11) Copyblogger.
» Online Revenue Opportunities: Tutors Without Limits - It’s My Business
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:18 am
[…] Are you a tutor? Do you have Skype? It’s free and is on my list of 13 services/ tools/ resources you need for running a small online business. Skype lets you talk to people for free (or cheap) over the Internet. Newer versions of Skype also allow video calling. It’s a perfect tool for earning money as a tutor. […]
Jackie Ford @ Cpxclick
September 2nd, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Contextual ads operate much like traditional pay-per-click search engine ads. You bid for placement and pay a fee each time someone clicks on your ad, but instead of your ads appearing in search engine results, they appear on web pages on other sites.
I like to compare contextual ads to ads you might find in a magazine. Pick up any special niche magazine and you’ll see ads for products or services related to the subject matter of the magazine as well as ads on subjects that might be of interest to readers in the magazine’s subscriber demographics.
Want a good reason to try contextual advertising? Think volume and exposure. Consider all the sites you visit each day on the Web. Most of these are candidates for contextual advertising. Cpxclick.com claims to have partnerships with over 500 search engine sites in the system already. For a company wanting widespread exposure on the web, I can’t think of another medium that has the potential reach of contextual advertising.