These are some of the tools and resources I have used for my business.

I have tested every single one. Hope you find the list useful!

Hosting

Bluehost: This is the company I have been using for years. I’m not super excited about their support. Their shared plan is not the fastest one either, but they are cheap, so if you are starting out (or don’t need too many resources), they are good. However, once you have a serious business, look for a better solution.

Siteground: AWESOME support, every time I raised a ticket I got a reply within 10 minutes (and a proper response). If you are don’t have too much traffic, their shared hosting plans are pretty good (especially the GoGeek), but if you have the money, pick one of their Cloud Hosting Plans.

Keyword research

Adwords Keyword Planner: The great thing: it’s 100%free. You don’t get as much information as when using an external tool, but I’ve spent hours using it.

Market Samurai: If you have some money to invest, this is a great tool. They offer a free trial, and the great thing: it’s just a one time payment.

Long Tail Pro: Developed by Spencer Haws, it’s really fast and the data is invaluable. I used Market Samurai for years until I moved on to LTP, which is the tool I currently use.

Email Marketing

Here it comes down a bit to personal preference. Here are some of the companies I’ve used in the past (and the one I use these days)

Aweber: One of the big players, I used it for some time. The integration with JVZoo was not too good, so I moved to Getresponse.

Getresponse: After spending some time with Aweber, this is the one I tried. Works allright (some people complain about some mixed delivery rate, though).

ActiveCampaign: This is the one I’ve been using for years now, and the one I currently use. Their support is pretty good, and they offer quite a lot of features.

WordPress Themes

Themeforest: Probably the biggest theme marketplace; you’ll surely find what you need here. Prices are reasonable.

Divi: A good and popular multipurpose theme.

WordPress Plugins

FotoPress: Find free images online within your WordPress admin panel and edit them on the go.

Codecanyon: A good source for plugins.

My favourite free plugins: I wrote this list a while back

Outsourcing

Upwork. The bad: they take a 10% commission. The good, you have literally thousands of freelancers hungry for work.

WpHelpr: If you need support for your WordPress site