Here are the tools that made me successful with my online businesses. These are all highly recommended and have all been used by me at some point during my career. By signing up to one of the services/tools listed below I may receive compensation but you’ll help support me by creating more useful content.
I break down the recommended services into these categories. To jump to the section, click on one of the links.
Web Hosting & Email
Your choice in a web hosting provider is the cornerstone of starting your blog. It’s important to pick wisely as saving a few dollars in web hosting can be pennywise but pound foolish.
Larry's Take
Price | $3.95 - $13.95 per month |
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Promotion | Get A Free Domain Name |
Larry's Take
Price | $21 - $203 per month |
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Promotion | Get 5 Months Free |
Larry's Take
Price | $5 - $4,000 per month |
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Larry's Take
Price | $1.49 - $2,098 / domain / year |
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Promotion | .COM only $8.88 |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $6 - $18 / user / month |
Promotion | The first 14 days are free |
Link Shorteners
It is best to manage your affiliate links in one central location than to manually insert each affiliate link on your website. Affiliate links can change often and outdated links can cost you thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
Also using an affiliate link manager allows you to cloak links so they are cleaner plus allow for conversion tracking. It’s highly recommended you start off using one of these services today before placing any affiliate link on your website.
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $19 - $3,990 per month |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | FREE - $129 per year |
Promotion | Save Up To $70 |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Promotion | 7-day Free Trial |
Email Marketing Providers
Even though email isn’t as popular today as it has been previously, it is still one of the best ways to stay engaged with your audience. I recommend creating a mailing list immediately.
Check out my head-to-head comparison of ConvertKit vs. ActiveCampaign to see which is better.
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud, WordPress |
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Price | $9 - $599 per month |
Promotion | Get 50% Off First Two Months |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud, WordPress |
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Price | FREE - $4,299 per month |
Promotion | Create A Free Account |
Landing Page Software
With any web site, you need to build your audience of visitors to your mailing list and promotions.
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $99 - $199 per year |
Lead Generation Software
Increase your audience by using any of these products.
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud, WordPress |
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Price | $14 - $80 per month |
Promotion | Save Up To 60% Off |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $49 - $199 per month |
Promotion | Try It For Free For 14 Days |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $99 - $252 per month |
Promotion | Try Free For 30-Days |
Analytics
You cannot improve what you do not measure. These tools help track the source of your traffic and how visitors use your website.
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud, WordPress |
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Price | $24 - $249 per month |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | FREE - $999 per month |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $199 - $799 per year |
Promotion | Save Up To 70% Off |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | FREE - $989 per month |
Promotion | Try It Free |
WordPress Themes
I’m a fan of using StudioPress Genesis Framework. It creates SEO friendly content that I use on all of my blogs.
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $59.95 |
WordPress Plugins
Why reinvent the wheel with your WordPress based site, when you can download an existing plugin to make your website more useful. Keep in mind not all plugins are created equal. Unfortunately many free plugins are designed poorly (they are ahem free you know..).
I’m a big fan of paying for commercial WordPress plugins. While there are many great free plugins some of the best plugins available are commercial. Don’t be afraid to pay for a plugin. In most cases, the amount spent will save you time and/or generate more revenue in the long run.
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $39 - $299 per year |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $49 - 249 per year |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | FREE - $349 |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud, WordPress |
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Price | $7.40 - $149 per month |
Promotion | Start Your Free Trial |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $189 - $599 per year |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $39 - $299 per year |
Promotion | Buy Now and Save Up To $150 |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $39 - $299 per month |
Promotion | 14 Day Free Trial |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $199 - $369 per year |
Promotion | Save $40 Off |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $89 - $449 per year |
Promotion | 14-Day Free Trial |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | FREE - $499 |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | $55 per year |
SEO Tools
If a tree falls in the woods does it make a sound? One of the primary ways people will find your information is via search engines like Google. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a way to research, monitor, and improve the ranking of the content you create.
SEO for bloggers is an important concept to understand. These blogging tools can shave off hours in manual research.
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | FREE - $39 per year |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $99 - $999 per month |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $49 - $129 per month |
Promotion | Start 10-day FREE trial |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $59 - $199 per month |
Promotion | Start 7-day trial for $1 |
Shopping Cart Software
If you are selling services or products online you must have an online shopping cart of some sort. These shopping cart systems are flexible to handle either digital products or physical products.
Use ThriveCart or SamCart if you are selling digital products like courses, ebooks, or software. Use WooCommerce if you are selling physical products, though it can also handle digital goods.
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $495 - $690 One-Time Fee |
Promotion | Lifetime License Only $495 |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $49 - $199 per month |
Promotion | Try FREE for 14 Days |
Larry's Take
Platform | WordPress |
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Price | FREE |
Social Proof
One of the more powerful tips mentioned in the book “Influence” by Robert Cialdini is the use of social proof. Showing what others have done, shows to new visitors how valuable is your service.
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $29 - $299 per month |
Promotion | Start Your Free 14-Day Trial |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $199 per month |
Promotion | 30-Day Free Trial |
Miscellaneous
I’ve always been about constant small the 1% improvements. Over time a 1% improvement every week, can yield huge gains after one year. Constantly improve your website and use some of the tools below.
Larry's Take
Price | FREE - $92 per month |
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Larry's Take
Platform | macOS |
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Price | $20 - $40 per month |
Promotion | Get Started For Free |
Larry's Take
Platform | Cloud |
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Price | $7 - $75 per month |
Promotion | Free 30-Day Trial |
