Here they are,

1) Auto Responder – An A/R could be one of the most important things that you will need in your Internet marketing toolbox. It allows you to store prospect email addresses and deliver email messages to all of your customers and subscribers. You’ll need one to build a list of subscribers in your market. The most common and probably the most relieble A/R service there is Aweber from www.Aweber.com, I use this service myself and find it among the best out there.

2) Shoppingcart – You will need a shoppingcart of some sort if your looking to sell your own products, If your JUST going to do affiliate marketing then you may not need one. But just in case you decide to sell your own products and services then here are a few of the best shopping cart’s i have found.

Infusionsoft – One of the most expensive carts, but very very flexible. It can get a little complicated too, so if your not tech savvy you may want to leave this unless you have a tech guy to do all the setting up for you. This is what i have been using for the best few months and LOVE it so far. I should also mention that it has it’s own built in Auto responder, very handy!

1Shoppingcart – A very good all round shoppingcart with thousands of users worldwide. This is very affordable and also has a built in A/R, however the A/R is not all that great. What alot of people do is use this service along with a dedicated A/R service like Aweber, it all integrates with one another quite easily. www.1shoppingcart.com/

Nanacast – Nanacast looks ugly on the outside, but its pretty powerful on the inside… It can do most things you want however this one does not come with a built in A/R. It’s affiliate tracking is powerful, and also has the ability to host your membership sites. Very good if you don’t fancy setting up a dedicated membership site, you have the ability to run the membership all from Nanacast itself! https://nanacast.com/index.php?

2) Domain Names – If you want a web presence then you’ll need a domain name, I use Namecheap to buy and store all of my domains. It comes with a free whoisguard to help keep your details private, a very good service and I’ll be sticking with this service myself after moving from 1 & 1 (which were pants) www.namecheap.com/

3) Website hosting – You will need a place to put all your websites. That means you’ll need a hosting account, one of the best is Hostgator which has a very handy live support just in case your site goes down you can quickly get in touch LIVE on the internet… wonderful! http://www.hostgator.com/

4) Merchant – if you sell your own products, you’ll need a to take payments. Even if your an affiliate you may need something like PayPal to get paid. PayPal offers a very basic way to receive payments from people, make sure to get an account today! www.PayPal.com

5) Communicate – You will need to communicate with people that are involved with your business one way or another, I recommend using Skype for this. You can voice chat or use the text chat, also has a very cheap monthly plan for calling land lines worldwide, I use this as my main telephone now to ! Love it! (apart from when I’m not in the office – then i use my IPhone)http://www.skype.com/intl/en-gb/home

6) Email – Your going to need email, you probably already have one if your reading this duh, however if your not using gmail then your missing out, VERY powerful email provider that uses labels and stuff instead of folders. Very good search ability too, as it’s made from Google!

7) Web browser – Ok, i used to use Internet Explorer and was fixed in my ways, and it took a miracle for somebody to convince me otherwise to use anything else but IE. But i heard alot of internet marketers use firefox for its cool addons and stuff (so i checked it out) and wow… I have been using it ever since! It’s awesome sauce! GET IT Install it LOVE IT!

Tracking – Testing and tracking webpage’s are a MUST of any serious internet marketer, grab yourself a Google Analytics account (which si free) and you can install code on your websites that will tell you everything from how many visits you are getting to where your visitors are coming from and even what browser they use! and a TON more stuff… you’ll need this stuff if your a nerd like me.

9) Get social media – Open a facebook account, Twitter and YouTube, all good ways to build relationships with people and gain potential clients and customers… If you not already using it… why not? Get connected!

So here you are, the most used tools in my arsenal, and in many internet marketers toolbox’s…

I’d like to know what you use… leave me a comment below if you use and let me know what cool tools you use!

Speak soon,
Dan

Thing thing is.. when we first start an online venture for the first time, the path is really muddy and we can’t see clearly in the direction we need to be heading. Especially these days as we are presented with so many opportunities its hard to discern one thing from the other. And there’s such a wealth of information we must learn that it’s no wonder why most of us get the ‘information overload’ syndrome.

The trick is though to have an online mentor.. every successful person that comes to mind has one.. and you should to. When you get a mentor they will be able to clear that muddy path and make things a lot more clearer for you and and get you going in the right direction and with a good start.

It’s better that you find a mentor that has done something which you would like to achieve… somebody that already has all the experience and has already learned the proven steps to achieving success in your chosen field.

Here are just 10 of the numerous benefits of what an online business mentor can do for you:

1. Working on the Internet can be a lonely experience so just having someone you can contact for advice, who you know has your interests at heart, is very comforting.

2. Having someone advise you on how to select the most appropriate keywords for your website and show you how to optimize your site for the search engines will result in your site receiving more targeted traffic due to higher search engine positions.

3. Being given the exact methods on how to successfully build quality back links and drive targeted traffic to your website will save you a great deal.

4. Receiving guidance on what Internet marketing methods work and how to implement them can save you a fortune in time and money and help you build a profitable online business in a shorter period of time.

5. Having someone with experience who is prepared to critique your website or landing page can offer very sound advice that could increase your conversion rate.

6. An online business mentor will be able to direct to you many free resources online which will save you purchasing e-books and software.

7. Being guided on the important things that matter, but are often overlooked, such as adding a stat counter to your website, using Google’s Webmaster Tools, setting up a free Blog, getting started with Social Networking, etc., etc.

8. The ins and outs of article marketing, how to write articles and set up an author’s resource box in html to gain back links and advice on how best to distribute your articles will set you on the fast road to success.

9. Receiving expert advice on how to set-up and make maximum use of your auto-responder will help build your opt-in list.

10. Help with html and the technical aspects of working online can save you loads of time and frustration.

Just by reading the 10 benefits of what an online business mentor can do for you will reveal that there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in order to build a successful online business.

If you don’t have an online mentor yet.. then i hope this post would encourage ou to find one soon!

You wont regret it!

Take Care!

P.S – Do you have an online mentor already – If so please tell me the experience you have had with them by leaving a comment below.. I’d love to know more.

I’d be sitting down trying to do some work … but then I’d get an instant message from a friend and I’d get into a conversation then the phone would ring… sound familiar? Ask yourself this, how many times a day do you check your email?

It’s said that the most successful people check there email only 2-3 times a day because they have control of there attention. If you get distracted it usually takes 15-20 minutes to get back to the place you were when you were interrupted.

When I started my research into productivity I came across a guy called Eben Pagen, a teacher in productivity and he shared some very interesting things I will now share with you here. You see, there are things that drain our productivity which we need to identify and eliminate.

This modern age has brought us a lot of challenges, we have too many choices, to many things to choose from. In recent studies it was shown that the more success we have and the more choices we have the less happy and fulfilled were becoming. Strange right? But it’s true.

People in this age have more choice, more affluence and less satisfaction with there lives, and less satisfaction with what they have. Instead of doing the things they want to be doing they are running around text messaging, answering the phone, checking there email compulsively and getting distracted and even spending money they don’t have yet on a bunch of stuff they don’t need. The challenge then would be getting yourself to do what it is you want to do.

Most people can’t control themselves, they can’t control they’re own thinking and there own behaviour. When entrepreneurs go to work, they can’t get themselves to do the single thing that will make them the most money and grow there business. If you’re not spending at least half your time figuring out how to get new customers and building relationships with those customers then you’re probably doing the wrong thing.

You need to be spending your time wisely and doing what is most productive for your business. According to Eben Pagen the highest priority in business today is reducing and eliminating distraction and interruption. It literally robs us from productivity and success.

So what is the best way to achieve the most productivity and success for our time? The best thing you can do for yourself is turn off your email client and text messages and learn to focus on one thing for a large chunk of uninterrupted time with a solution Eben terms as the 60/60/30 rule.

This is is how the 60/60/30 rule works. The 60 stands for an hour and 30 stands for half hour. So sixty minutes, sixty minutes and thirty minutes, it’s a two and a half hour cycle. So to optimize ourselves and to get the most out of ourselves we work for sixty minutes and then we work for sixty minutes and then we rest for thirty.

Another way to put this is the 50/10, we work for fifty minutes then we rest for ten minutes then we work for another fifty minutes then we rest for ten and in the thirty you would rest and have a small meal. If you can you should get your self a countdown timer and work down to that.

You see, if we just set some time away to work on a specific task for that pre defined amount of time, for instance the fifty minutes, it actually becomes more freeing. This is because that part of your mind that was saying you have to check your email and your text messages settles down because it realizes it can spend fifty minutes on the task without worrying about your email or your text messages.

It’s important though, when you are taking your rest period, to get up have a little stretch get something to drink and just relax for a little while. On the thirty breaks eat a meal, don’t have snacks any other time. If you do this Eben says that you’ll probably multiply your productivity by three or five times immediately.

So here’s a quick recap on the 60/60/30 two and a half hour cycle.

First turn off your email client, and anything else distracting and set your countdown timer.

1. Work for fifty minutes.
2. Rest for ten minutes.
3. Work for fifty minutes.
4. Rest for ten minutes.
5. Rest for thirty minutes & eat a healthy meal.
6. Repeat steps above if you wish to continue working.

This routine should help increase your productivity, I applied this routine myself a couple of months ago and helped increase my own productivity significantly.

Give it a try and let me know how you get on, I would love to hear your story.

To Your Success,

Dan

P.S How’s your productivity these days?

Let us hear your stories and comments below. I’d love to hear your work routines, and anything that’s been profitable for you.

Let’s all help each other out here!