Running an online business alongside a day job is not so much about hard work as it is about smart work. It is, in fact, a combination of hard and smart work. You need to work hard yet smart by having more time-efficient systems in place. Although you can be successful without any of these recommended tools, I strongly advise you invest in tools that will save you time, and ultimately help you earn more money in less amount of time. Over the years, I have used the following resources to improve my business.  

A key component of building a successful online business is to keep your costs low, which in turn, will increase your bottom line.  Common sense right. Part of keeping costs low will be for you to build your own website. If you have never done it before, it may seem like a daunting task. It really is not that difficult. I recommend if you are going to create a website, I recommend you use the tools I have listed below. A domain name, with WordPress installed, including hosting, should cost you about $20-40 per year. This is very affordable to establish and online presence.

Funnel software enables you to turn potentially interested prospects into paying customer by using ‘sales funnels’. Sales funnels are a different than a basic business website as they help guide your prospects through the funnel, where you sales content converts the sale for you. The funnel will lead your prospect to a specific landing page to present your product, and to follow up email sequence should a sale not initially be made. Funnel software will give you a platform to faciliate this process to help you earn more sales. The overall concept is that every sale starts with a large number of prospects that go through your funnel, and a much smaller number of prospects will actually purchase your product. If you get enough prospects into your funnel, you can make consistent sales.

Autoresponders enable online marketers to send emails automatically to their subscribers. The automated, pre-written emails will be directly delivered to the inbox of your subscribers based on when you schedule them to be sent. So why do you need this type of service?  This will help you nurture your leads and turn subscribers into paying customers.  These follow up emails will build trust with your subscribers, provided the emails you are sending to them provide value.  Your emails should be loaded with value first, then you can strategically offer your subscribers relevant product offers at the right time. Here are a few affordable (and some free) services you can get started with.

The key to sales with Print-on-Demand is the be able to upload and create a lot of great designs. However, unless you are a skilled graphic designer with a lot of time on your hands, it doesn’t seem plausible to to crank out a ton of designs to increase your chance for sales. Another key to success is to choose the right niches. You will want to find what products customers are buying, so you will also need a tool to help you find where the fish are biting. Niche research is very important. It could very well determine if you succeed or fail with your business. You will need to determine whether the niche you target is over-saturated with a ton of competition, or perhaps under-saturated with low competition.  Here are some tools to set you on the path to success.

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is Amazon’s publishing platform that allows independent authors to access readers around the world, without going through a traditional press. In a matter of hours, anybody can create an author account, upload their book files, and sell their book through Amazon — all without any setup cost. There are also other platforms you can use for self-publishing. They key is to follow a proven system which enables you to search the right niches where books online are being purchased.  The quality of your books are also so very important, as well as editing, formatting, compelling and eye catching book covers, and book titles.  Click the learn more button to see how to go about utilizing the proper tools to get your publishing business flourishing.