Recommended Resources & Tools for Building Your Business Online
People regularly ask me what tools they should use to build their online business. Besides the Recommended Resources category, I'm listing more here on this page - and will keep adding as things come up. The following links are affiliate links (yes, I monetize my blog!) but they are all services that I actually use myself so I have no problem with that. Hope you don't either! :)
In no particular order:
Automated Appointment Scheduling / Online Booking System - Web-Appointments / Instant-Scheduling
Web-Appointments.com (aka Instant-Scheduling.com) is an automated, online booking system and I can honestly say that using it has radically changed my business:
- No more being tied to the desk just in case someone decided to call.
- No more unsolicited calls 2 minutes before a scheduled call comes in.
- No more farting around sending emails back and forth trying to schedule a mutually convenient appointment time with clients and prospective clients. What a drag!
- No more 'crossed' boundaries as I unconsciously agree to appointment times that don't actually work that well for me, and...
- No more double-booking situations.
My use of Web-Appointments.com is actually quite straightforward but it works brilliantly for me. I've set my account up to give myself structure and save time and energy. I confess that the set-up took me a while, but that's only because the system's so clever... the creators had thought of every scenario - and I hadn't!
I could, if I wanted to, attach PayPal to my account, so that appointments are paid for in advance - great for coaches offering Laser Coaching sessions perhaps. If I were a salon owner, I could set up my account so that people could book with different beauticians.
Web-Appointments costs LESS than $10 a month and you get a FREE 30 DAY TRIAL. But just in case, that's not enough to entice you, if you click through one of my affiliate links here, you'll get a further 10% discount not available if you go direct. (If prompted to use a Promotional Code, use 'yikes'.)
Audio & Video Recording, Hosting, Streaming & Publishing - AudioAcrobat
I've been using Audio Acrobat for just over 2 years now and it's an essential part of my virtual business tool kit. At just $19.95 a month, it really is tremendous value for money and so versatile. I use it for the following:
- To stream audio files on my website eg. the 'intro to blogging for business' welcome message
- To produce podcasts - ok so I haven't done one for aeons, but AudioAcrobat provides me with everything I need to podcast - including the means to record, publish and stream them.
- To provide my corporate clients with a 'blog post by voice' submission service; the contributor simply calls a number and 'speaks' their story - I create the post for them from the recorded content.
- To publish recordings of my speaking engagements - even when recorded by the event organiser.
- To host clients recordings which appear on their own blogs/websites eg. their own welcome messages
I also have Comments & Questions and Testimonials lines for BBA clients which I really should be using! And if I had a web-cam, I could be doing all of the above in 'video' formats too!
So it's versatile and great value for money, but is it easy to use?
Too right it is... actually, it's ridiculously easy. There are plenty of help notes provided on the pages, really clear instructions for all processes, intuitive navigation and they provide you with plenty of statistics from which to learn how to do things better. Plus you automatically become an Affiliate of their generous Affiliate Program which effectively means that referring 3 new customers gets you your own account for free.
If you haven't got into using audio on your blog or website yet, then I strongly urge you to consider AudioAcrobat. I know you won't be disappointed, so why don't you take advantage of the 30 day free trial period and get started now.
If you're keen to use audio, but don't want to commit to an account of your own, please email me* about my Audio Hosting service - at just $5 pcm* you could have your own 'audio intro' welcoming people to your website without the work. *Address at the top of the page. **$57 one time set up fee applies.
Business Blog Platform - Typepad
Typepad is my favourite blogging platform for business users by far. It's what they do - business blogs. Don't waste your time with a free blog when you can get a professional service for around a fiver a month ($8.95). Click on the image below to get started with your free trial.
Domain Registration & Website Hosting - 123-reg.co.uk
As far as I'm concerned, there's only one company to use (in the UK at least) for domain name registration and hosting and that's 123-Reg. Inexpensive, user-friendly control panel, greater scope without extra charges and great service. Click on the image below to check it out.
Shopping Cart and Autoresponders - TotalBusinessCart.com
Totalbusinesscart.com is a UK 'badged' version of 1ShoppingCart and/or Marketers Choice. It has everything you need to build databases, deliver digital products, set up automated emails (autoresponders), publish newsletters, test your marketing - it even gives you an Affiliate Scheme solution so you can create an army of 'sales people' who earn commission on any business they send your way.
I can't pretend its the easiest interface to navigate, it's not - but there are people out there who can manage your account for you - drop me an email for recommendations on those. In the meantime, Click on the image below to discover everything this powerful internet business solution could be doing for you and your business.
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