Useful tools and resources for Internet busines

July 11th 2006 Posted to articles, recommended, tips, useful

Here you’ll find a list of some useful and (mostly) free or
low-cost sites, links, and tools available online.

Note: you shouldn’t restrict yourself to using only free or
low-cost resources. If they fit your purposes, then great -
might as well keep your costs down! But remember that free / low-cost
resources can cost you in other ways: time, money, or aggravation.
Price should be only ONE of the criteria you use in selecting
the appropriate tools for your business.

Credit-Card Processing:

For USD Processing:

For Other Currencies:

Niche and Keyword Research Tools:

Good Place to Find Small Business Help:

Graphics:

  • CoolArchive
    offers a free (text) logo generator. Play with different fonts, textures, and
    colors.

  • istockphoto.com is
    a great place to get royalty-free stock photos. You buy “credits” that
    will allow you to pick & choose web-quality photos, medium-quality photos,
    or print-quality photos.

  • ClipArt.com offers
    (obviously) clipart, photos, fonts, animations, and sounds. If you have
    the time, you can find this type of stuff for free. Otherwise this is a
    good option.

  • GotLogos.com -
    clean, simple logos for $25 each.

Tutorial / Help Sites:

  • BigNoseBird

    - weird name, lots of helpful info including some free scripts.

  • Willmaster
    offers various CGI scripts, from form handlers, to content automation
    and syndication, and more. Many scripts are free. Those that aren’t
    are very reasonably priced.

  • RentACoder is a good
    place to get affordable help for programming, website design, graphics
    (web and print quality), and more. Freelancers place bids for your
    business.

Small Business Funding / Financing:

List Management:

  • Recommended! ListMail

    is a script you install on your own server. It allows for unlimited lists, unlimited
    subscribers, customization features, scheduling features, and more. I use this
    script myself for all of my lists.

  • AWeber has a good reputation;
    they’re a “remote” autoresponder service which means you sign onto their
    servers to send your messages.

Email:

  • As an alternative to Outlook (which is usually targeted by viruses
    and the like), take a look at Eudora

    or Pegasus Mail.

  • Spam driving you nuts? Try MailWasher.
    You can blacklist, whitelist, and filter your incoming email prior to
    downloading it through your email software.

  • For good, free web-based email, go to MailBlocks.
    Provides excellent filtering that catches most junk mail while
    rarely identifying legitimate email as “spam”.

Information on How to Get Free Publicity for Your Business:

(that includes newspapers, magazines, radio and TV!)

Offline Stuff:

  • If you need business cards and are on a tight budget, visit
    VistaPrint. They offer
    a set of free business cards from a limited set of template designs
    (you pay shipping, handling, and any upgrades).

  • ExtraValue.com

    is a great place to find high-quality business cards, web cards,
    something they call “snap cards”, and other items to
    help promote your business.

  • CafePress
    gives you an easy way to sell t-shirts, mouse pads, ballcaps, and
    other items from your very own estore. You create the graphic
    that goes onto the products you want to sell. CafePress will
    ship the items to the customer.

  • Web Decals are a nice
    way to get your URL and tagline placed on your car for an
    affordable price. Drive around and promote your site! Static-cling
    decals are available for easy application and removal.

    Miscellaneous Tools:

    • Free virus scanner:
      Trend Micro’s Housecall       will perform an online scan (and clean) of your computer.
      (you should still have antivirus software that runs continuously on your computer,
      such as Norton Antivirus)

    • Software firewall: ZoneAlarm
      helps to protect your private data, and protect your computer from hackers.

    • Get rid of spyware and adware using the free
      Spy Sweeper.

    • Website content: FreeSticky

      offers mostly free (and low-cost) content you can place on your site to add
      interest and relevance. Lots of categories, some news tickers available.

    • General website tools: With NetMechanic
      you can check/fix your HTML, find browser display problems, optimize
      graphics, monitor your website, and more.

      Note: the search engine and site promotion tools are something
      I’ve never used, nor do I intend to… in my experience, site promotion
      just isn’t as simple as clicking on a button!

      They also offer an area filled with free site promotion articles.

    • Personal organizer / word processor:

      TreePad. A “lite”
      version is available free.

    • Protection for digital products:
      Digital Vault prevents thieves from
      stealing downloadable products sold through Clickbank, PayPal, and 2CheckOut.


      Related posts:
    • Ten Free Tools For Search Engine Optimization
      • -There are many forms of Internet Marketing and some, like P.P.C., you have no choice but to pay for. With
    • Get More From Your Website With Internet Marketing Resources
      • -Everyone who runs a website should know about the huge variety of internet marketing resources available to them which can
    • Different Internet Marketing Tools to Improve Web Traffic
      • -If you are selling online or an internet marketer, there are tools that you can use so you can succeed

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