Ana Loves: My Internet Marketing Rolodex
Tools (or lack thereof) won’t make or break your business.
And they won’t make you more money.
But they WILL make your online money making efforts more effective and efficient.
The following list of tools is what I used and/or still do to power Traffic Generation Café.
<Ana’s Rolodex>
Hosting
Hostgator
There’s no such thing as a perfect problem-free hosting company, but Hostgator comes fairly close.That’s where Traffic Generation Café is currently hosted.
Feel free to use the following coupon code to get 25% off your initial hosting package:
anatrafficcafe25
BlueHost
BlueHost is a great option for websites that are getting less than 100,000 visitors a month.
Bluehost has hosting packages starting as low as $4.95/month, so you aren’t going to find a better deal out there.
Webdesign
Thesis Theme - I love Thesis for its built-in SEO capabilities (you don’t need any SEO plugins when running on Thesis), incredible customization potential, the ease of customization even if you don’t know any code (I customized my first one myself), and incredible support and knowledge base.
IM Graphic Designs - meet Ian Belanger, the creator of my current stunning design. He is the power behind all things technical at TGC.
The wisdom to outsource the time-intensive tasks that I have no training for (like website design) came after much frustration, sleepless nights, and emergency Hostgator calls.
When you reach your boiling point, give Ian a call. He’ll give you your sanity back.
Thesis Awesome - if custom design is not quite in your budget just yet (I’ve been there before), then getting a customizable “skin” (a template, in other words) is the next best thing.
I like Hesham Zebida’s (FamousBloggers.net) Thesis Awesome because his skins are designed with conversion in mind - whether it’s list building, affiliate marketing, or product/service sales.
List Building
Aweber - the only autoresponder I’d consider.
Aweber offers a $1 trial month for all new customers. You’ll have access to all features a paid account is entitled to: unlimited lists, email campaigns, automatic follow-ups, broadcasts, and many, many more.
If after 30 days you don’t like them, just let them know and Aweber will give you your $1 back. Guaranteed.
WPSubscribers - my list building plugin of choice.
There are certainly plenty of them on the market these days and I’ve tested a few.
WPSubscribers is the one I am sticking with.
SEO
Market Samurai - the BEST KEYWORD RESEARCH TOOL I’ve ever used, bar none.
Goes way beyond simple keyword research with competition research, rank tracking, domain research, and more.
SEMRush.com - I love, love, love this internet marketing tool.
You know how different rank checkers ask you for the keywords you’d LIKE to rank for and then tell you where you are ranking for them?
Well, SEMRush checks the first 20 spots across Google to tell YOU what you are currently ranking for. This is priceless.
You can learn about different keywords you didn’t even know you were ranking for.
It also tells you which keywords bring the most traffic to your blog, so you can quickly tell which ones you need to push up in the rankings to bring even more search engine traffic.
Take a look at my SEMRush Review to learn more about the tool.
Affiliate Marketing
Thirsty Affiliates Plugin - converts any keywords on your blog into money-making affiliate links, creates professional redirects, adds NoFollow (NEVER forget to do it!), opens links in new windows, AND you can easily insert banners already linked to the product site with your aff link with a simple click.
Also check out my post about the best Affiliate Marketing Programs and how to find/choose them.
Social Media
TweetAdder - this is the very tool that allows me to follow thousands of targeted users on autopilot per day, thus making Twitter my largest referral traffic source.
Here is my TweetAdder review.
Video Marketing
ScreenFlow - screen recording and a whole lot more. Used by most pro video marketers and yours truly.
ScreenFlow makes editing video easy, so I can focus on creatively telling my story and not the tech side of things.
Bamboo Pen Tablet- turns my computer into a virtual canvas, allowing me to create digital artwork with the touch of a pen.I use it to draw on the slides while recording the screen with ScreenFlow; turns boring “I’ve seen it all before” videos into interactive gems.Membership Site
S2Member - (nearly) perfect membership site plugin.
Use it to build list, make money, deliver exclusive content to a particular readership segment - I was blown away by the potential when I first started using it at TGC.
Has a very robust free version, as well as S2Member Pro, which is what you need to run a full-blown membership site.
Marketing Courses
Become a Blogger 2.0 - most blogging courses don’t work.
Very few do.
This one DEFINITELY does.
Originally created by Yaro Starak (Entrepreneurs-Journey.com) and Gideon Shalwick (GideonShalwick.com) and now ran by Leslie Samuel (BecomeABlogger.com), Become a Blogger 2.0 is a blogging course with the mission of helping as many people as possible to set up Authority Blogs, and build successful businesses around those blogs.
Start a Blog that Matters Hundreds of millions of blogs are online today. Thousands more are started every day.
Anyone can start a blog in 5 minutes, but very few people will start blogs that matter.
If you think you have the creativity and dedication it takes to create a blog that matters, you should consider joining Corbett Barr in this course.
Blog Post Promotion: the Ultimate Guide by Kristi Hines - this is an ebook that is packed with actionable advice on how to promote your blog.
Kristi Hines of Kikolani.com is certainly the best expert in the field and she doesn’t hold anything back as she shares how she promotes her blog, contest entries, etc.
Traffic Generation Cafe Plugins
I get asked a lot what kind of plugins I use on my blog, thus I decided to add them to my list of internet marketing tools.
Social Engagement Plugins
CommentLuv Premium - Adds CommentLuv links to comments, protects you from spam, encourages twitter followers, adds keywords to names and increases traffic and community.
Comment Redirect by Yoast - Redirect commenters who just made their first comment to a page of your choice. On this page, you could ask them to subscribe, like you on Facebook and lots more.
Contact Form 7 - simple, but flexible contact form plugin.
ReplyMe - sends an email to the comment author automatically when someone replies to their comment.
Digg Digg - Adds a dynamic bar with sharing icons (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that changes based on browser size and page location.
Tweet Old Posts - randomly picks your older posts based on the interval specified by you. The primary function of this plugin is to promote older blog posts by tweeting about them and getting more traffic.
WPSubscribers - Insert and manage optin form in your blog as well as build your subscribers list rapidly.
</Ana’s Rolodex>
Should you choose to go through my affiliate links and help me to turn Traffic Generation Café into a thriving business, I want you to know this: I truly and sincerely appreciate your business.
PS Please read my Affiliate Disclaimer
(or don’t, either way… as long as you know it’s here…)
Yes, I own/use/recommend all the products/services above and hope that you will as well.
Gasp!
My recommendation is ALWAYS based on my belief that the product and its author will provide excellent and valuable information or service.
In some cases, I will be compensated should you decide to purchase that product based on my recommendation.
In some cases, I will receive the product for free for review purposes.
Always, always, always do your OWN due diligence before making any purchases.
Never purchase anything you cannot afford.
Most people don’t do anything with the products they buy, so most of the time, their typical results are zero.
Don’t do drugs, stay in school.
There is no such thing as a Silver Bullet.
I bet this disclaimer would make a good rap song…
What's Next?
- Discover how to bring YOUR website to life.
- Get the insider skinny on free traffic generation.
- Convert more traffic into more sales.
"When it comes to traffic generation, Ana knows her stuff. She provides actionable information about the latest tips, trends, and technology that can result in getting more visits to your blog or business. Not only does she give great advice, but she puts it to the test and shares the results in a regular income report so you know that her strategies really work if you are willing to put in the effort!"
Kristi Hines, Kikolani.com
"Ana has become someone I look to for a unique insight into all kinds of aspects of running an internet business, but especially for updated SEO information. She does the research and testing to back up her claims, so I refer back to her content when I need to see what is fresh and current in the world of generating traffic to your website."
Yaro Starak, Entrepreneurs-Journey.com
I will never share your email address with anyone.
