Tools Of The Trade – Useful Resources
Welcome to the Online Fanatic tools and resources page! I will be listing all the good stuff that I use to help me generate income online.
***Disclaimer: Some of these are affiliate links since I use them personally and I also recommend you use them too since it really helps your online business.***
Table of Contents
Hosting
Everybody that wants to start blogging will need a host. When you are starting out, it doesn’t really matter who you host with, as long as you get one.
GoDaddy – This is one of the most convenient host when it comes to getting a domain. The key features they offer are:
- Cheap Hosting at $3.49/month (This will vary based on their discounts and offer)
- Extension .info domains are only $2.99 (Quite a steal for building niche sites)
- GoDaddy Auctions(Buying expired domains and PBNs as explained here)
BlueHost – This is another host I use to make sure my online income sources are spread out. That way, if something happens to 1 host, some of them will be fine. BlueHost is extremely reliable and one of my main video game sites is hosted on it. The downtime is rare and I am very happy with it.
After you get your hosting done, you will want to install WordPress, which is by far the easiest way to start a blog. If you are starting a forum, use phpBB.
WordPress Themes
I would recommend you start off with free themes first until you find something you like. I personally use only 3 themes. They are listed below:
WPZoom Magazium – A majority of my site is using this theme. It was the first theme I bought and I just rolled with it. This site’s theme is in fact Magazium! In fact, all of my video game niche sites all use this theme. Here is an example.
My Favorite SEO Tools
Majestic SEO – You can use this tool to check out a bunch of stuff such as competitor backlinks and your anchor text ratio. I also use this to check out where my competition get their links from. đŸ˜€
Longtail Pro – This is my to go tool to check keyword competition. All my popular niche sites were built using this tool and it is also responsible for a big part of my income. I have also written a a post on how to use it effectively.
Namecheap – This is just a quick site that allows you to check if a domain name is taken. I haven’t tried their hosting but I have heard good things.
Email Marketing
Aweber – Well, this is a no brainer. Building your email list becomes much easier when you use it. All my sites that collect subscribers use this service. They automate a lot of the email process which makes your life easy.
Video Recording
AVS Video Editor – This is not the most user friendly editor, but the functions are easy to use once you learn the basics. I use it for all the videos I edit and publish for my YouTube channel.
Screen-o-Matic – This is more user friendly and much more suitable for most people. It is also really cheap for what it does!!