When I tell people I’ve been blogging and looking at other online resources, they ask me how I got it going since there is so much to learn. So here you go friends, resources to get your started.
If you are interested in starting your own website like I did while working a demanding full-time job, a working wife and 3 kids, let me help you get through the learning curve quickly. I’ve read, researched, podcasted, googled etc. many resources for doing these tasks and choose the ones that fit in my budget (limited to start) and had the most recommendations as good starting tools. Here’s what I’m using (there are more to come as I grow and expand but you have to start somewhere):
Resources for starting your website/blog:
The 5 basic things I did to get started
1) Website Name – Namecheap – To buy a domain (aka your website!). It should make sense for you and if you get crazy and buy 2 or 3 or 50, they are only about $10 each but you have to renew it each year so start off with one. Pick something that make sense to what you want to do.
2) Website Host – BlueHost – Hosting can be intimidating but it’s super easy and you can check out a great video here on how easy it is. (Note: the menus have changed since Pat did this video but it was pretty much the same when I bought this site). By the way, I highly recommend Pat’s site, SmartPassiveIncome.com, if you want to get into online business. Search BlueHost’s help on adding a domain to your hosting account to connect the website you purchased to your hosting account. Then use their WordPress web creator. It’s by far the most popular and widely used in the U.S. and it’s including in your hosting.
3) Email Collection – Aweber – If you at anytime want to bring people back to your site or maybe even sell a product at some point, you’ll want to get your audience’s email address. A potential lead’s email is your business’s most valuable asset so don’t mess this up and you don’t want to skip this. Even if you are only in this for a hobby, you’ll want to “invite” your audience back to your content through emails so collect them as soon as possible with Aweber. Click my Aweber link above and get the first 30 days for $1 to try it out.
4) Web Help! – Upwork (Formerly ODesk) – Don’t know how to set up a website etc., go here and hire someone. After getting frustrating with trying to what I’m sure are simple things, I just started a task list in a Word doc of what I wanted and went over to Upwork and posted a job. I’ve spend $40 so far on this site with Upwork on technical things only and probably saved me 4-6 hours of time. Quick tips here. Go through the tutorials and forums before getting started to know what to watch for, then start with a small job, only do flat fee jobs (vs $X per hour) until you are comfortable and keep an open line of communication (I started using Skype for this to actually talk to the freelancer). Once you find a good consultant, get more stuff done by hiring them again because they are already familiar with your site.
5) Cloud Storage – Dropbox – So this wasn’t new for my website but it’s how I organize all my content before I upload it to the site. You can even share this with other people. If you are’t familiar with this tool, click the link and try it for free (no credit card needed). Read more about the benefits of DropBox on my blog post here.
I hope this helps for your web business. I will add more as I get up and running with other great tools.
Other Resources I use and recommend:
Business:
LinkedInfluence – I came across this resource when I was trying to optimize my LinkedIn profile to expand my network of business contacts, look for possible new readers here as well as possibly find a better work opportunity. I’m still getting return on my investment but if you are on LinkedIn, this course will help you get the most out of it and will pay for itself. See my blog post on LinkedIn to get started if you aren’t quite ready for a full makeover and to become a power LinkedIn user.
Family:
eBates – if you do any shopping online, you are losing money if you don’t have one of the shopping resources like eBates. It will provide coupons online and my favorite feature is that it sits in my browser and tells me if the website I’m on offers an eBates rebate. Give it a try, it’s simple, free and the money you get rebated automatically is a nice surprise every few months.
Note: Also, some of the links above are affiliate links so if you want to try the products and end up purchasing, I will get a small commission (or in the Dropbox case, some extra storage) which can help defer the costs of my website. See full disclosures here.