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traffic exchange, ad exchenge, safemailer, ptc and a adsboard site. Any one have one for sale? Minimum 100 members.

Mail me at:  30ebooks@gmail.com

The title of this article is deceptively simple, but I promise there’s more to pricing an ebook than you would think. The inspiration for this tip came from an email I received from a subscriber, which read…

”I’m planning on releasing my ebook soon and I’m trying to decide how to sell it. (i.e. with resell rights, customization rights, etc) Any tips you could give as to how I should sell it for maximum profits?”

The way I look at it, you create a product because you want to accomplish one of two things:

1. Make a lot of money or…

2. Build your list and generate publicity

You really can’t do #1 very effectively if you don’t charge a premium for your ebook, so in my opinion if you don’t feel your ebook is worth at least $37, then you should consider refocusing your marketing plan from profit generation to list generation. (Note: The $37 figure is not set it stone, but it’s what I’ve found works best for my business.)

So how do you transition from profit generation to list generation? Simple…just offer low-cost (or free) resell rights to your ebook.

If your ebook has resell rights available (and it’s of high quality), it will spread much faster giving you more recognition while building your list at the same time. But let’s not forget…you’ll also make a tidy sum selling the ebook on the front end, and then charging extra for resell rights and customization.

Then all you have to do is roll out another (more expensive product) to your new list, and watch the really BIG profits roll in.

I realize that this idea isn’t anything new, but so few info publishers are actually using it that it’s worth discussing. Far too often I hear of people trying to ”make it big” off of a $17 ebook. I hate to burst your bubble, but it isn’t going to happen!

So instead of busting your butt for a small fortune, bust your butt for a HUGE list. It may not seem as sexy at first, but I promise it will pay much larger dividends over the long-haul.

Though I made a nice profit off of the front-end sales of this product, my main focus was to build my list and increase my name recognition.

Here’s a joint venture technique you can use that I guarantee will get the attention of even the busiest, most successful website owners.

Consider this…

If you were going to approach someone about forming a joint venture or partnership, what method would you use? Well if you’re like 99.9% of the people out there, then chances are you would simply send them a personal email and then wait for a reply.

Sometimes the reply comes, and other times it doesn’t. Well here’s a way to virtually ensure a reply of some sort…

Don’t email your potential partners your offer – MAIL it to them. That’s right! It’s time to dust off those old stamps, break out envelopes and actually send a real, live letter. I realize this sounds a little backwards, but that’s the beauty of it.

Here’s an example…

I receive dozens of joint venture requests every day, some of which are worth replying to, and some of which are not. The funny thing, however, is that of the thousands of JV requests that have cross my path, not a single one has been delivered via postal mail.

So what do you think my reaction would be if I did receive something in the mail? Don’t bother guessing…I’ll tell you! I’d be shocked, amazed, and impressed all at the same time. Even if the offer was not for me, you better believe that I would give it extra-special consideration. (And that’s really all you can ask for when approaching a potential partner.)

But let’s take this one step further…

Instead of just sending a personal letter via First Class mail, try sending it through Federal Express, or even registered mail. Heck, make the person sign for it! :-)

Obviously you don’t want to go too overboard with this, but if the joint venture could earn you thousands of dollars, isn’t it at least worth the cost of a postage stamp. I think so…

I’m going to take a lot of heat from some of my buddies in the Internet Marketing field for this article, but some things just have to be said. Ok here goes…

”You should stop spending all your money on Internet marketing related products!”

So why am I saying this?                                

Well, it all springs from an email I received a few weeks ago from a guy wanting to make a trade for Opt-In Automator. The email went something like this:

”I’m very interested in your product, Opt-In Automator, but I’m really low on cash right now so I was hoping to trade you [product name withheld] for it. If you’re not interested in this product, I have many more that I can offer you.”

So out of curiosity, I asked this gentleman to send me the URLs to his website(s) so I could check out these “other products” that he mentioned.

Here was his response:

”Actually I don’t have my own website, yet. Right now I’m just trying to acquire all the Internet marketing materials I can so I know what I’m doing when I finally launch my own site.”

If you were paying attention, this response should have thrown up quite a few red flags.

For starters, Opt-In Automator does you absolutely no good if you don’t already have your own website and mailing list. So this guy is spending his time and money acquiring products that are useless to him and his business. (That’s not a great formula for success.)

Second, (and this is really the whole point of this article so pay attention) the notion that you must have all the wisdom, resources, and software at your fingertips before you start is simply ridiculous!

Sure, you need some basic knowledge so you have some clue as to what you’re doing. So read an ebook here and there and digest all the free information you can.

But above all else, try something! Just get out there and do it. That’s where you really learn what works and what doesn’t.

I see way too many people fall into the trap of ”Perpetual Preparation”. They spend so much time getting ready to start their business that they never actually get around to doing anything.

And whatever you do, stop wasting all your money buying every ebook and hot new software product under the sun. Instead, buy a domain name and a year of hosting. Buy an autoresponder account, and a payment processor.

In short, invest in the things that directly benefit your business before you waste all your money on knowledge you can no longer afford to use.

Once you start turning a profit, you can let your business fund your continuing education and also purchase that great new piece of software you’ve been eyeing for the last few months.

If you get dozens of emails everyday from people wanting you to joint venture with them on their latest ebook or software project, the majority of which are barely worth replying to. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m always open to joint venture opportunities, but please please please if you’re going to make an me an offer, you better make sure it’s one I can’t refuse. (And this goes with other marketers as well.)

Here’s what I mean… All too often, the joint venture offers I receive go something like this: ”I just wrote an ebook and would like it if you could advertise it to your list. It sells for $17, and I pay 50% commissions. I’d really appreciate your help.” Ok, this joint venture offer has 2 major problems… 1. You can expect any marketer to get excited about an $8.50 commission. (Actually it’s less than $8 after the merchant company gets their part.) If you want someone with a large responsive list to promote your product, your commissions really need to excite your potential partner.

Personally, I expect to make at least $25-$30 off of every sale I make. Anything less and it’s really not worth it to me to send out. 2. Don’t expect big-name marketers to ”help” you for next-to-nothing. I’m a pretty nice guy, but when it all comes down to it, I got started online to make money. And so while I try to help people whenever I can, I have to make sure that I’m meeting my own bottom line. So please don’t beg me (or other marketers) to help. It just isn’t fair to ask someone to sacrifice their own profits when they also have a family to provide for.

Ok, so all that being said…how do you formulate the perfect joint venture offer? Well like I said before, the name of the game is to make someone an offer that they can’t refuse. You do that by selling high margin products, and offering huge commissions. And it may sound crazy, but don’t be afraid to offer people with really huge lists even more than 50%. If there’s a person that you really want to joint venture with, and they tell you that they expect $25 off of every sale (but your product sells for $40)…give them $25! The way I look at it, $15 is a heck of a lot better than $0, and this way you also get your name out there and have the potential to make more sales in the future. (Just make sure that you cover your own costs, especially if the product you market is physical.) This tip isn’t a full blown explanation of joint ventures, but hopefully it’ll lead you in the right direction when you go to email Mr. or Ms. Big about your brand new product.

Now I understand that we’ve been taught our whole lives to ”Think BIG,” but when it comes to product development, whether it be software, an info-product or whatever else, my advice is to ”Think Small”.

So, instead of creating the HTML editor to end all other HTML editors, why not just create a simple program that can fill a common need. That’s how you make a lot of money! And instead of writing

 a 500 page ebook for your first project, why not just create a short, 30-page report on a more targeted area. Not only will it be easier to create, it should also sell better than a lengthy, unfocused manual.

I can assure you that if you follow this advice, you’ll finish a lot more projects, and earn a lot more money. If all else fails, you can ”delay” your really big ideas until your ”little ones” are bringing in some cash. :-)

Bookmarks for you

1 comment

Deleted Domains
DeletedDomains.com is the ultimate tool for uncovering both ”on hold/expiring” domains and ”deleted” domains. Unlike other services that simply offer a list that is updated once or twice a week, Deleted Domains updates their database at least once each day, meaning it is the most up-to-date service of its kind.
Best of all it’s free!
I have personally used this site to locate many top quality domains, the latest of which was DrivingTraffic.com. This one domain was appraised by GreatDomains.com at $7000-$9000. Not too shabby when you consider it only cost me $9.95. Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to do with it. :-)

Jan’s Freeware Collection

This is one of the best freeware sites on the net. Some of their new products include a free ebook creator and pdf generator.

So You Wanna.com

Learn how to do everything from write a business plan, to run a marathon, to mix a great drink. Some of the entries are a little bizarre, but the Money and Technology parts are ”must sees” for any small business owner. (And if nothing else it’s good for a laugh.) :-)

TinyURL

This is a great site that allows you to change your long URLs into shorter ones. It’s a Godsend for people who use free webspace providers, as well as affiliates.
The service is free, but donations are appreciated.

Any Browser

AnyBrowser offers every tool you’ll need to make your site viewable, as the name suggests, in any browser. It’s a great site for people who design their own websites, but even if you had a ”professional” design your site for you, I’d suggest checking their work against this site.

ROI Calculator

Marketing Today’s ROI calculator is an easy-to-use little device that allows you to accurately estimate what kind of return on investment you can expect from your upcoming direct mail or e-mail campaigns and promotions. The ROI calculator is a simple tool that acts as an excellent reality check when you’re determining your marketing costs.

Top Marketing Forums

Warrior Forum   Tony Blake’s Entrepreneurial Success Forum

 Between the Warrior Forum and Tony Blake’s Entrepreneurial Success Forum, you should be able to get just about any question regarding internet marketing answered. These forums are ”must have” resources and should be in any online marketers ”Favorites” list (or Bookmarks for you ‘Netscapers’ out there). :-)

Dynamic Drive

This site has lots of cool javascripts…just make sure you don’t overdo it because a million scripts on one page can get really annoying.

Site Level

SiteLevel can set you up with effective, free search tools for your web site. If your site is more than a couple of pages and doesn’t have a good internal search tool, you’re probably losing many a frustrated visitor. Best of all, the free version should be enough for most small business owners.

Make Your Own Business (From TalkBiz News)

Paul Myers, of TalkBiz News, really has a beauty here. It’s a free service that generates a personalized, step-by-step tutorial for how to start a business online. Just fill in the blanks, and his system will crank out a tutorial, customized to your own skills and goals. I’ve never seen anything like it, and best of all it’s free. Give it a shot!

SWiSH

Swish is software that allows you to create great Flash presentations without even learning (or buying) Macromedia Flash. But do me (and your visitors) a favor…don’t go overboard with your new talent. :-)

Archive.org

This is one of the coolest sites I’ve ever seen.
The Wayback Machine at Archive.org allows you to view old versions of your favorite websites. This can be especially useful if you want to see what changes your competitors have made over the last few months or even years. Who knows, it may give you some ideas for things that you might need to change on your own website.

ChangeDetection

This site tells your visitors about changes to your website every time something is updated. It’s great for archives and membership sites, and best of all, it’s completely free!

ixquick

This is my new favorite search engine…
It works the same as other SEs, but adds an extra twist. ixquick also tells you how many other search engines the sites you find are listed in. It’s a great tool to use when researching new product ideas and scoping out the competition.

TrafficRanking.com

Here’s a free site where you can see how your site ranks in popularity, number of links, and overall visitors. My suggestion: check out your competitors’ sites as well and make sure you’re at the top.

SnipURL

If you’re familiar with TinyURL.com, then you already know what this site does. Basically, it allows you to ”snip” your long URL’s (such as affiliate links) into much shorter ones. It’s a pretty slick little resource for all you affiliate marketers out there.

FreeSticky

Free content sites are all over the Internet, but this one has to be one of the best. It doesn’t matter what your website’s topic is, chances are you’ll find something here that will add value to it.

GotLogos

Do you need a logo for your product or business but don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars in the process? If so, then this site is definitely worth adding to your ”Favorites” list. I’ll admit that I’ve never personally used their services, but at $25 for a custom logo, what do you have to lose

FreeStats

There are tons of hit tracker services on the web, but this one does everything I need and is dirt cheap. (What more can you ask for?)

FindArticles.com

FindArticles.com is a vast archive of published articles that you can search for free. It’s constantly updated and contains articles from more than 300 magazines and journals in every possible category you could imagine.
It’s a great way to add content to your website and a little more beef to your promotions.

SpamNix  

This program uses the same filter criteria as Spam Assassin, and while that may not sound like a good thing it can actually be a tremendous asset. Essentially, what SpamNix allows you to do is to ”test” your emails to see if they’ll make it through the Spam Assassin filters.
Just send your email to yourself using the SpamNix filters and you’ll know for certain if your email message meets the Spam Assassin criteria.
It’s a shame that honest online marketers must go through all this trouble just to send an email to our opt-in list, but as tools like Spam Assassin become more and more commonplace, tools like SpamNix will become more and more necessary.
By the way, SpamNix only works with Eudora so make sure you download a free copy of it by going to

Eudora

Thats it for now with bookmarks so stay tuned…

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You know the internet is a great place to start your own business, but you have no idea how or where to start.
You’ve tried the affiliate programs and the so-called “opportunities” only to be disappointed time and time again.
You want to have your own products, but you don’t have the time or starting capital it requires to roll them out.

In short, you’re stuck…

You have the desire but you don’t have the vehicle. Oh sure, you’ve read about how some “guru” wrote a best-selling book or came up with some million dollar idea. But what about the average Joe or Jane who can’t write and isn’t bursting with ideas?
What do they do?
What do YOU do?!
Well I don’t claim to be a guru, but I can tell you what I did and what worked for me…
When I first got started online, I had almost no spare cash and even less spare time. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit down and write and entire ebook, and so I decided instead to publish a newsletter.

If you haven’t considered having a newsletter as your first product, then take a look at this…

• They’re cheap to develop
• They require less time than writing a full ebook and most importantly…
• They allow you to build a base of potential customers *before* you even release or start to develop a single product

So if you’re still looking for a way to get your foot in the online door, don’t take months and months to write an ebook or develop a product – start a newsletter and build a site that can ”sell” it!
Not only will this put you on the map, it will also be great practice for when you start rolling out your own million dollar ideas.
And who knows? One day you may be looking at your own online empire and thinking to yourself…”Gosh, and it all started with one simple newsletter.” :-)

I said that people should publish a newsletter as their first product, because it’s cheap, easy, and lays a strong foundation for future product rollouts.
I received a lot of great feedback from that article, the majority of which was people thanking me for FINALLY giving their business some direction.
However, I also receive a few emails from people asking me,

”How in the heck do I go about starting a newsletter, and what topic should I pick?”

Those are very fair questions and so I’ll try to address them right now…
You have to keep in mind that there are literally millions and millions of people that can be reached on the internet, and so virtually any topic (within reason) can be in demand.

”Hang Gliding”, for example, was searched over 5000 times on Overture alone. Is that enough interest to start a business? I don’t really know, but I do know that you should be able to find a topic that has a slightly broader appeal than hang gliding. :-)

My suggestion is, first and foremost, to pick a topic that you know *something* about, and really enjoy doing. I know it seems like a cop-out, but this really is the best way to succeed online.
Once you’ve chosen a topic, then see if other people who would be interested in that topic can be easily reached through the internet. Check out the search engines and the newsgroups. See if there’s anyone else out there who shares in your passion.
If there isn’t anyone, then just come up with a different topic until you find something with an audience. Once you have your topic (and a known following) then just choose how you will form your newsletter and build yourself a site to ”sell” it.

Advertise it a bit to this group, and then send out your first issue after about a month of advertising. Depending on the response, you should have a good idea of whether or not it would be profitable to continue to nurture a relationship with this group.
If the response is good, just keep doing what you’re doing and before you know it you’ll have a list of raving fans who trust and respect you, and will pay close attention to any product that you rollout in the future.

Ok, I admit that I have dumbed the process down quite a bit, but there have been whole books written on this topic and so it would be ridiculous of me to try to cover everything in this one article. What I want to do, more than anything, is to outline the basic steps so that you can adapt them to your own business.
In short, I’m trying to teach you how to fish rather than just handing you baked salmon.
So start thinking about what you really really love, and then isolate a niche that you can reach on the Internet. If other people online share in your passion, you could very well have a profitable newsletter on your hands.

Here are some more Bookmarks that you should check out.

Trafficoloy

This is easily my new favorite newsletter. Trafficology’s creator, Wayne Yeager, gives away literally THOUSANDS of dollars each month for new and creative traffic generating ideas. He then turns around and gives these ideas to his subscribers for FREE. I’ve been receiving the newsletter for a few months now, and I have yet to be disappointed. While some of the ideas are WAY too crazy for me to EVER try, the newsletter is *always* entertaining, and often useful.

Onebox

Onebox is an incredibly low-cost service (I believe I pay around $10 a month for it) that provides you with an email address, a fax number, and voice mailbox — all in one place! If you’re just starting out and you need a phone service, but don’t want to pay hefty charges to your local phone company, this could be an ideal solution.

FreeAutoBot

If you’ve been holding off on purchasing an autoresponder service because you’re not willing to pay a monthly fee, you should consider taking a look at FreeAutoBot. Not only are they FREE, but they also don’t place *any* ads in your messages and they allow an UNLIMITED amount of messages AND subscribers.

Translating the Internet

If you do a lot of business with people from other countries, or if you just have friends that speak another language, T-Mail could be just the thing for you.

They give you a FREE email account and it translates your incoming foreign language email into English. It also allows you to surf the web in foreign countries in English.

I realize this won’t apply to everybody, but for those of you who do a lot of business outside of your native land, it could very well be a Godsend.

Free Email Directory

Want your business to go international? This is the best place I’ve found to get email addresses around the world. Think globally, appear local. It has a few pop-ups, but hey, somebody has to pay the bills.

Yale’s Web Style Guide

This is the definitive web style guide covering everything that has to do with site and page design. If you’re new, this site can be a great place to learn the basics. And if you’re an experienced designer, this site is a great place to review the basics and polish your skills.

Self Promotion.com

The World Wide Web is littered with sites that want to tell you the best way to get your site listed in the major search engines. Search engine auto-submitters are also a dime a dozen, so it may surprise you to know that that’s exactly what this site is all about.

The thing that sets this site apart, however, is this sentence (which can be found on the site’s homepage): ”If you feel the site is useful, then pay me what YOU think the advice and service is worth!”

That’s right! The site owner actually offers access to his research, services, and programs for FREE! You only pay him what you think it’s worth. A deal like that is certainly worth a look, wouldn’t you agree?

Cheap Domains

Domain name registrars are everywhere on the net, but this site has some of the lowest prices that I’ve ever seen. Just imagine, less than $10 for a little piece of Internet real estate…amazing! It makes Register.com and Network Solutions look like a couple of highway robbers. :-)

ScamBusters

I think my favorite part of the site is the Urban Legends section. If you’ve ever received an email about anti-perspirant causing cancer or some kid who needs a kidney transplant, (which I think all of us have) then I’m sure you’ll appreciate it as well.

Pay Per Click Analysts

Pay per clicks are a great way to bring targeted traffic to your site, because you only pay when someone actually visits your site. It’s a great idea, but now it’s been copied so many times that it’s impossible to keep up with which ones are worth getting listed in, and which ones you should avoid.

That’s what makes Pay Per Click Analyst such a useful site. They keep tabs on all the new PPCs and tell you which ones are the best. If you’re serious about marketing your online business, then this is one website that you need to have bookmarked.

 Free Web Tools and The Free Site 

 These sites are closely related. Each one of them offers free tools for webmasters and online business owners, so between the two you should be able to find something immediately useful to your business.

CJB.net

If you’re using a long affiliate URL in your promotions, or have an email account that you’d like to get forwarded to your main one, then CJB.net may have just what you need.

They offer free sub-domains, as well as URL and email forwarding, which makes it more than worthy enough to hold a space in my favorites bar. The only downside is that you have the cjb.net ending on your URL, but it’s still shorter than some of the affiliate links out there.

Publicity Insider

Even though this site sells a product, it still has a whole lot of free info on how to get quality PR for your business. And as a person who recently benefited from an online news article, I can tell you that it’s quite possibly the best form of advertising you’ll ever see.

ePrompter

ePrompter will check up to 16 of your password protected email accounts automatically as well as reply to, compose and even forward messages. Depending how many accounts you have, and how often you check them, this little tool could easily save you hours a day.

Click Tracker

This web site offers a free link and click tracking services, and even the pro version is ridiculously cheap. I especially like the fact that their software allows you to have your own domain in tracking URLs instead of the link tracker’s URL.

PageSucker.com

This product will ”suck” an entire webpage on to your hard drive so you can read it off-line. It’s great for people who use dial-up connections.

RefDesk.com

”Think of something you want to know. It’s there!” And you know what…he was right. :-) This site will help you find anything from people, to your local weather, to just about any other random fact that you could find the answer to anywhere else. Check it out if you need to do some product research.

FILExt

How many times have you downloaded something only to have your computer tell you that it didn’t recognize the file type? You then try to open it using the ”Open As” feature, but even you don’t know what the file extension stands for. That’s where a site like FILExt comes in hand. FILExt has just about every software extension listed so you can easily do a search on your ”mystery file”.

Hostica

I admit that I didn’t have time to check this site out, but they claim that they’ll give you a domain free of charge without forcing an ad or banner on the site. They’re site also offers web hosting at $0.25 a month, but like I said I haven’t tested them. With prices like those, however, it may be worth checking out if you’re on a shoestring budget.

MailWasher

I haven’t personally tested it out, but since it’s free I’d say it’s worth giving it a shot it you’re like me and you receive a lot of spam.

Ezine Ad Auction

Ezine advertising is one of the cheapest and quickest ways to get the word out about a product or service. This site allows you to bid for ultra-cheap ad rates in a wide assortment of newsletters. If you’re serious about marketing online, then this site is one that you need to have bookmarked.

Site Viewer

Sites created for one browser type can very often look horrible when viewed through other browsers. This site allows you to avoid such embarrassment by ”viewing your own site as your visitors do.” I’d make it a point of testing out your website using this tool before launching any new sites.

WebAssist

Give your ecommerce site PayPal functionality without having to touch a line of code. PayPal is one of the most popular payment processors online so by including them as a method of payment could very well increase your sales in and of itself.

Boogie Jack

BoogieJack has a lot of terrific information. One amazing little program is called Background Magic. This awesome little tool will create your buttons, borders, background – even skins and screen savers. There is a free version and a PRO version. Works like a charm.

Fresh Devices

Here’s another site with some nifty utilities for you PC users out there. (Sorry Mac users.) They offer free utilities that help you optimize and diagnose your own system. If your computer seems to be getting slower over time, their products may be worth trying.

Courses U Seek.com

Courses U Seek.com is the one of the first educational website to offer affordable courses by email. Courses are offered on a variety of subjects including – Online Marketing, eBook Writing, Web Design etc. All of the courses are under $10, and some are totally free. It’s worth checking out, because as all 4th grade teachers tell us, ”Knowledge is power!” :-)

eFax

This is a great service, especially for companies based outside of the USA who want a US based phone number. It is free and allows people to either leave a short message or to fax you. Messages and faxes are delivered right to your email box. Easy!

404 Research Lab

For those of you who don’t know, file 404 errors occur when you try to go to a webpage that no longer exists in a particular location. This is a fun site that shows you the do’s and don’ts of creating 404 pages, and how you can even profit from them. Most of all it’s fun!

Free Advice.com and Legal Zoom

Both of these sites are legal in nature so I decided to group them together. Free Advice.com is just what it sounds like it would be <grin>, and Legal Zoom has some of the cheapest legal rates I’ve seen. If you plan to setup an LLC or incorporate your business at some point, I would check them out. They also offer excellent rates on patent and copyright applications.

Cool Archive’s Logo Generator

If you’re just starting out and you need a nice looking logo, this could be a great solution for you. Granted, it’s no where near as nice as a professional’s work, but what do you expect…it’s free!

HelpOnThe.Net

Totally free tech support for all your computer related questions. Heck, how can you top that? :-)

 Bookmarklets

Their website says it best:

”A bookmarklet is a cross between a bookmark and a JavaScript applet. Bookmarklets can be saved and used in the same way you use normal bookmarks. While you’re on a web page, you can use them to perform certain functions, from highlighting content converting numbers (like currencies and measurements), search in advanced ways and much more. You do not have to download or install software to use them. For example, I use a word count bookmarklet to quickly count the number of words on a web page since my copywriting fees are based on the length of a page.” As you can see, it’s a pretty nifty little tool so check it out!

Thats it for today. I hope you’ll find something useful for your projects.

I haven’t been posting for a period now so it’s time to share some useful webbtools and sites. This will show up now and for a few more days, so check it out.

1. Doteasy Web Hosting

Free, bannerless web hosting…’nuff said. The only complaint I have is that reliability is not up to par with the paid hosts, but then again, what do you expect — IT’S FREE! While I wouldn’t use it to host my main site, it’s great for testing mini sites and new products.

2. Link Counter 

LinkCounter is a free service that tracks clicks on any link you want to track, from inside, outside, or within your site itself. It’s a great way to track affiliate programs and link exchanges, or to create referring links for sites you trade traffic with. They provide you with an unbiased report that you can use to keep track of your outgoing and incoming hits.

3. Security Metrics 

Worried about your own site’s security? Afraid you might be vulnerable to hackers? Don’t wonder — find out! Security Metrics will give your computer a ”FREE Port Scan” where it will test for the 20 most common TCP/IP ports that are often vulnerable. If you’re like me, the results will surprise you.

4. S.C.O.R.E.

S.C.O.R.E stands for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and they pride themselves on being the Counselors to Americas Small Business. In effect, S.C.O.R.E. is a non-profit group that offers FREE counseling to anyone who has, or is thinking about starting, a small business. I’ve utilized their trained counselors on numerous occasions, and have been grateful every time.

5. TracerLock

TracerLock is another ”spy” type tool that monitors search engines, UseNet groups, and personal ads for whatever word or phrase you tell it to. It’s great for keeping tabs on the competition, and seeing what others are saying about you or your business. They have both a FREE and a paid service, so check it out.

More to come tomorrow…