Recommended tools and products
Below you can find a list of tools and resources that we recommend. If you want to build an information business, or you want to give an online dimension to your actual business, they are key tools that you must have.
Note: some (not all) of the links in this page are affiliate links. That means that if you buy any of these products, we will get a commission from the vendor, for our publicity. Having said that, we want to state this very loud: WE ONLY RECOMMEND PRODUCTS THAT WE CONSIDER VERY VALUABLE, THAT WE USE OR HAVE USED OURSELVES, AND THAT WE TRUST. We will never include in this page tools that we do not like or we do not believe in, just for making some extra dollars.
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Domain name registration
First thing you must have to bring your business online is a name for you website/blog. Technically, this name is called “domain name”.
There isn’t much to say about purchasing a domain name… the only important things are:
1. that the name is available (not already used by someone else);
2. the name is easy to remember;
3. and it possibly includes a keyword resembling what you do, such as bestcoffeeintown.com if you sell coffee, or erpsoftware.com if you sell a software for accounting. Vice versa, do not choose cryptic names, such as arhwy42y.com.
There are several companies where you can check the availability of the domain name you’ve in mind, and buy it right away. These companies are called “registrar”.
Our two favorite registrars are:
Pros:
– the most popular registrar in the market
Cons:
– although they seem the cheapest, they are not
Using/used:
– yes (using)
Pros:
– they are likely the cheapest registrar. And since you only buy a name, why not going for the cheapest provider?
– offer additional capabilities, still at good prices
– reliable
Cons:
– none
Using/used:
– yes
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Web Hosting
Once you have your custom domain name, you need to find a company where your website/blog will be physically hosted and will run. The alternative is that you want to buy a server and a dedicated IP address, and run your website from within your facility.
But this is NOT a choice that we recommend: go for the easy way instead, and you’ll avoid a lot of headaches.
This type of provider is usually called “hosting company”, or ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Pros:
– good performances
– excellent support with highly responsive online chat
Cons:
– none
Using/used:
– yes (using)
Pros:
– very popular
– cheap
– they also act as a registrar, so can buy your domain name from them, and host your website there
Cons:
– over the years, online support has recently become very slow, with long waiting time
– if your website is hosted on the same server where a spammer is, and that spammer get blacklisted, your website will penalized as well. And since they have a huge customer base, the risk of being penalized for someonelse’s fault is pretty high. It happened to us several times.
Using/used:
– yes
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Web Technology – CMS
Once you have the name and the hosting, you need to build your website/blog. There are several technology available on the market (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla!, etc.). This category of products is called CMS, Content Management Systems.
The only one we strongly recommend is
WordPress
Hosting companies usually offer free Wordpress download within their hosting plan. So, installing a WordPress website is now very quick and easy.
Don’t download WordPress from this link: go into Cpanel of your hosting plan, and download WordPress from there.
Genesis Framework by Studiopress
Once you have installed a rough WordPress technology, you do not have a fully workable website/blog, unless you are a very technical person.
So, if you would like to personalize WordPress with a nicer graphical look, you need a so called “framework”. There are dozens of frameworks available, from different vendors. Within each framework, you can choose your favorite look&feel template, called “theme” (or “child theme”).
The framework we recommend is: Genesis framework, by Studiopress.
Theme: it’s up to your taste.
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Autoresponder – Email Marketing
In order to develop an online presence, email marketing is key. And the software to automatize email marketing is called “autoresponder”.
An autoresponder software does 3 things:
– creates webforms
– pre-programs series of emails, and runs them automatically
– schedule email broadcasts
There are many products available in the market. Among the most common, our two favorite are:
Pros:
– simple
– cheap
– flexible
– user interface localized in multiple languages (very good if you mother tongue is German, French, Italian, Spanish, etc.) and you’re not so familiar with English
Cons:
– none
Using/used:
– yes (using)
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Pros:
– highest deliverability (thanks to its strict “double optin” policy)
Cons:
– since it almost forces you to adopt double optin (they don’t like single optin), in some markets this policy may decrease your optin rate
Using/used:
– yes (using)
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CRM
While an autoresponder only helps in email marketing, a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software has a lot of additional capabilities to handle the relationship with prospects and customers.
We could spend hours talking about CRM’s, but it’s better if you go browse the web on your own.
Here, we simply mention the one we use:
Pros:
– workflow automation
– it includes full autoresponder capabilities (you do not need an autoresponder, it has full autoresponder functions in itself)
– sales cycle management
– offline tools: direct marketing, messaging, voice broadcast
– invoicing
Cons:
– learning curve is not immediate: you need to invest some time to learn how to benefits of all features
– some capabilities (such as invoicing) are only compliant to USA accounting rules, cannot use in Europe
Using/used:
– yes (using)
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Funnel Builder
Funnel builders are software that create sales effective sequences of landing pages… without need of being an html programmer or a graphic person! So, they are definitely another “must have”. You MUST have a funnel builder in your internet marketing arsenal.
There is currently one product above any else:
Pros:
– landing page building + funnel building, all in one
– incredibly intuitive and easy to use, although feature reach
– includes an ecommerce/cart/payment/order page template that will save you a lot of problems
– growing in features and functionalities: membership site, marketing automation,…
– booming product designed to dominate the market
Cons:
– none
Using/used:
– yes (using)
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Landing Page Builder
If you do not need to engineer complete funnels (that is: sequences of interconnected landing pages), you must at least have a software to create individual landing pages.
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Pros:
– immediate, easy to use
– market leader
– additional functionalities like popovers and a very helpful wordpress plugin
Cons:
– new features made it slower
– does not create complete funnels. You must engineer the funnel manually, connecting multiple landing pages. – – – does not have an ecommerce/payment landing page template connected to merchant accounts (such as Stripe, Paypal, etc.).
Using/used:
– yes (using)
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Link Tracking
A “link tracker” is another fundamental tool. It allows you to create custom link and mask affiliate codes. It’s likely the most overlooked product in the market, yet one of the most useful. We use it daily.
Our favorite:
Pros:
– incredibly easy to use
– great tutorial
– great support
– it works, no bugs
Cons:
– none
Using/used:
– yes (using)
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Graphics
Pros:
– easy to use
– feature rich
– even the free version has so many features
Cons:
– none
Using/used:
– yes (using)
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Webinar
Pros:
Cons:
Using/used: yes.
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Books
If you want to build an information business, this book reveals:
