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.
![WPZOOM - Premium WordPress Themes](https://www.wpzoom.com/images/aff/300x60_2.png)
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!!