Tools

Tools for Writing, Managing & Promoting Your Blog

Domain Name — You need a unique web address for your blog like www.mysite.com. I use GoDaddy. Use the link here for a 30% saving off the regular price.

Website Host — You need somewhere to host your website that is reliable and reasonable. I use Hostgator. Use coupon code MYBONUSBLOG for a 25% discount.

Bloggers Toolkit — If you only can have one tool, Market Samurai has to the one. It started out being a keyword tool, but it is so much more now. For example, you can put in a keyword, find affiliate offers for that keyword, and it will give you headlines, paragraphs, images and bullet points to build a blog post or ad. There is so much more…You just have to get the Free Trial and see for yourself.

Learn cPanel — Your web hosting account should be maintained with a Control Panel. The best one is called cPanel (included in every Hostgator account). Learning cPanel is critical to having a smooth-running and successful website. Watch the following video to learn how to manage your cPanel so you will not have to spend big bucks on a webmaster.

WordPress Installation — If you want a system that will install a WordPress blog for you for free in a few minutes, check out Expert WordPress.

Backup Often! – You never know when you might be hacked, one of your plugins brings down your site or you just make a critical error in one of your WordPress files. You’ll sleep better knowing that you have a secure backup waiting in the wings. I schedule regular backups using BackUp Buddy. I can also scan my site for malware using this plugin.

Squeeze Page Templates — If you are promoting affiliate products or your own product, an effective squeeze page can improve conversions. Opt In Designs has some very good templates with opt-in boxes so you don’t have to start from scratch. You can get 2 for free, but paid members get 120 plus a lot of graphics.

Video Player — Playing videos on your website can be tricky and you may not want all the junk that You Tube displays with your videos (ads, related videos, etc.). I use two methods on my various sites:

• The Traffic Player — is a WordPress plugin which allows you to easily embed videos from You Tube or anywhere else and you control how the videos are displayed, what controls are allowed and if it auto plays or not. It also comes with very cool skins.
• Easy Video Player — is the best way to manage videos if you want to host them yourself (for example on Amazon S3). You do need to install it on your server which might be a little challenging but then there is an easy dashboard for managing your videos.

Use AWeber To Build Your List — Start building a community of visitors to your website or readers of your blog. AWeber makes it extremely easy to manage your list and communicate with your subscribers. Use the form below to test drive their program.