Affiliate Links and Recommendations
These products are available through partnership programsI only include products that I am willing to personally recommend and that educate or benefit my website clients.
I definitely recommend that companies promote and participate in affiliate programs with reputable products and services that they use regaularly and enjoy. It is a win-win situation for both parties.
Please be assured that I only include products that I am willing to personally recommend and that educate or benefit my website clients. I’m not trying to just get clicks, nor am I willing to recommend products or services that I wouldn’t use myself.
I truly appreciate your support in buying and signing up for products or services through my affiliate links. If you ever have a bad experience with any of these companies, please let me know. It is important to me that I only recommend and represent great companies that maintain high standards of support and service.
As a customer of Dreamhost, we automatically receive affiliate opportunities for referring customers to them.
We are part of the Constant Contact partner program, and certified to provide services for their products, we have extensive training from our past participation in their Authorized Local Experts program.
Email Service Providers
Sign Up for a FREE 60 day trial account of Constant Contact.
The free trial lets you take the Email Plus package for a spin, which includes:
- 60-day free trial (starts when you sign up)
- Unlimited contact upload
- No functionality limits
- Unlimited sending, publishing, and scheduling of all campaign types
- Trial send limit of 100 contacts
Stock Photography
Deposit Photos is a stock photography site, similar to several out there. However, they have some great deals at times and I really like their infographic templates and flat vector illustrations for technology topics. Sign up here via my referral link: http://depositphotos.com?ref=8627856
AppSumo
I have picked up so many digital services and tools through this marketplace. Some of them have been a bit less that ideal, but most of them have been fantastic, with companies that are growing and innovating regularly. At least two of the tools I recommend on this page are from lifetime deals I got through AppSumo. Sign up here via my referral link: https://appsumo.com/r/cofssbe/
Web Hosting
My favorite WordPress hosting company is hands down WPEngine. I’ve migrated several clients from slow hosting or badly managed (GD… cough), services to their platform. Their basic service is about 38% faster on those migrated sites than the previous hosting, and their basic ecommerce service is great for Woocommerce stores. One client with a lot of store traffic moved to a WPEngine custom plan, from an extremely complicated and overly expensive cloud service, and saw not only a massive increase in performance, but also got a dedicated support team and saved money. They specialize in WordPress sites and it shows.
I started using Dreamhost several years ago for a personal blog. I kept using them when I started my business because they have that combination of geek joy and dedication to their customers that resonates with me. While I’ve noticed a trend lately of more tiered services, rather than giving you all the options in one bucket, their VPS hosting service performs really well and is easy to use. Their account types are mostly straightforward and affordable. I no longer recommend their basic DreamPress plan. If you want their managed DreamPress hosting, go with DreamPress Plus or higher, especially with an online store. Or frankly, pay a little bit more and use WPEngine if you do ecommerce.
The HOTH Blog Writing Service
Great, consistent blog posts are so important, but many of the small business owners I talk to don’t know where to start and don’t have time to stay consistent. While I can write content too, I’ve been really impressed with the quality of content available from The HOTH. It is written with SEO in mind and I love when my clients use their service because it makes my job of putting blog posts on sites really easy. The quality of their writers and editors has impressed me.
Amazon
Amazon lets business owners create an affiliate link so that products or books they recommend to their clients can be traced back to their business. The commissions from this are very small, but it makes sense to take advantage of the program because they provide such a large marketplace. When you use a link with my code, you support my small business.
Shop Amazon – Give the Gift of Amazon Prime
Now on to books:
The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
by Guy Kawasaki and Lindsey Filby
In this book, a truly remarkable business guru talks about the importance of passion and purpose guiding start ups, not money. Those that succeed are in business for the right reasons. This helped me make better decisions when I decided to take the leap into starting my own business.
Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
by Steve Krug
Do you have things on your website that might annoy or confuse your visitors? This book has great advice to help you build better content like labels for buttons that make sense and get clicked.
Be a Better Presenter
PresentationZen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
by Garr Reynolds
The overall advice in this book is great, but I love it because of the extra help with presenting on more technical topics. Be more engaging and interesting.
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler
A friend recommended this book several years ago because it taught her strategies to keep her cool when dealing with difficult people during tense work confrontations. I found it valuable in helping me learn to be more objective and avoid making assumptions in many aspects of my life.
The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users
by Guy Kawasaki, Peg Fitzpatrick
Guy Kawasaki is one of the names that comes up most often when people talk about Social Media experts. The advice in this book will help you make sure your time spent on social media is not wasted. There is an art to doing it right and a joy to be found in making social media work for you.