A question that pops up a lot is “what tools & software do I need on my pc (or mac) to do online marketing”. And the truth is very little & the good news is the vast majority you can get for free!
Of course if you want search engine optimization software or advance HTML or website creation tools then you’ll have to pay for those but the bare bones software & tools needed to start doing business online are all available for free.
So here’s a list of free resources you can use to help with your online marketing business.
HTML Editors.
I’ve used both of these at different times in the past and for simple “What You See Is What You Get” webpage editing they do the job nicely!
Market Research & Keyword Research
Understanding your target market, its demographics & what keywords you should be targeting for traffic is vital to any online business & these three tools will really help with that aspect of your business.
Word Processor & Spreadsheets
Don’t waste your money on Microsoft Office, Open Office will be able to handle all your word processing & spreadsheet needs and comes with the lovely price tag of $0.00
Blogging
Personally I’m a big wordpress fan & like having total control over my own blog but I know a lot of people find the blogger platform very easy to use so I included it here, but I really urge you if you havent already to install wordpress & just get a feel for it because with it’s endless customization options what you can do with it is really only limited by your imagination!
Communications
Whether your communicating with business partners or customers, Skype can save you big bucks on your phone bill & gives your clients a way to contact you for free. I’ve been using Skype for years & would be lost without it, it’s a must have in my opinion.
FTP Software
Logging into your control panel to upload files to your server is a very cumbersome & awkward way to add new files to your server but using Filezilla you can quickly and easily connect to your hosting account & just drag & drop the files you want into the folders you want. I use Filezilla everyday & it kicks ass!
Web Browsers
If you’re reading this blog on internet explorer then it’s time for a change! Firefox is much more secure & has thousands of plugins that can help your business like ftp plugins & seo plugins. And if your computer isn’t the most powerful machine in the world then Google Chrome is lightweight & fast & will increase your productivity.
Merchant Account
If you’re going to be doing business online then you’re going to need to be able to accept payments & one of the fastest & easiest ways to do that is through paypal. I only use paypal in a very limited way & would urge you to “splash out” the $50 to put your product on clickbank as they will handle your payments & run your affiliate program but if you’re just starting out & need a “Buy Now” button so people can start sending you money for your products or services then paypal is a nice and easy way to go.
So there you have plenty of free resources to help you with your online business. If you’ve got any suggestions or know of any other free tools or products you think will help people then please leave your comments.
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Hey Mark,
I use most of these resources myself, to me they are not just tools you can`t do without but the best out there on the net, especially the free ones like Filezilla for FTP, and Open Office, you know I created my Product using Open Office, it a great open source tool!
Great post later Mark.
Ed.
Hey Ed,
Congrats on creating your product using open office. Just goes to show you don’t need the expensive Microsoft alternative to get the job done.
Mark
One of my favorite blogging tools is Zoundry Raven. Not only is it free, but it is loaded with features such as pinging all the major blog listing sites. It keeps all of your sites and posts easily together in an orderly fashion and has a built in spell checker. The program is not a resource hog on your PC and has been stable without crashes.
Hey Red,
I’ve never heard of that tool. Must take a look. Thanks for the heads up.
Mark
Anytime you get an email that leads to you getting information on free Internet resources it is a blessing, and there are so many available for us to use. I am a big user of Kompozer and Filezilla and I am still amazed at how well these programs work, and even more amazed that they are free.
So I thank you Mark Flavin because as usual some more great stuff that you have given us.
Paul
Hey Paul,
Thanks for the nice comments. Never get tired of hearing em!
Thanks,
Mark
Awesome site with good article information. Keep the good information coming.