11 tools that have helped make it all possible…

Not all of these tools directly contribute to the bottom line, but each one of them have been very helpful over the last couple years.

• Google Analytics  – which is a wonderful (and free) statistics tool that will help you keep track of your visitors and analyze a lot of data about them. As I mentioned before it now integrates with Adsense to give even more valuable data.
• Semiologic WP Theme – This is the theme I used to use for most of my WordPress sites. It costs about $300 for the full version, but I started with the free version, which I think is far more customizable than the vast majority of WP themes out there already. So if you are just starting out your probably don’t need the full version yet, but eventually it is probably worth considering. For what it has allowed me to do I know that it has paid for itself many times over.

• Google webmaster tools  – This will help you see how Google views your blog. They will also let you know if there are any problems with it that you may not be aware of. For me I had some issues that were really hurting my search rankings, but I found out about them and fixed them and voila! All better.
• Aweber Email Marketing Service – I haven’t been using this too long, but if you read anything about internet marketing, you will certainly hear about the incredible value in having an email list. I have been happy with Aweber thus far.
• Google’s Keyword Tool  – This is a great tool to get ideas about popular keywords as well.
• SEObook Keyword Tool  – I use this to get a ballpark estimate of how many people are searching for particular key phrases.
• SocialPoster  – This tool allows you to submit articles to multiple social sites. I used to use it to submit to about the top 5-10 social sites.
• Hittail.com – This one provides ideas for articles based on what you have previously written about and could probably rank for. I just noticed that the free version is gone. If you have a blog that is established it might be worth paying $10 a month for it – I suggest doing the free-trial and see how much it helps you.
• Stock.xchng  – The best free stock photography site I have found.
• BigStock - The best cheap stock photography site I have found. They have lots of images that you can get for just about a buck.
• Feedburner  – If you have a blog, you will want to burn a feed. Feedburner makes this fun, organized, and easy…

A few more tools that may be worth checking out…

• Scribe SEO Tool for WordPress – I wrote a more thorough review of this tool that the blogging tips subscribers received (you can sign up for free below if interested). But basically, I tried it out and decided not to continue to use it because I thought it was priced a little to high for what I got from it. It can make the SEO process a bit easier, but I just wasn’t sure about spending $27 on it. If they lower the price, I might recommend it a bit more.
• How To Build A Successful Blog Business  – I haven’t read this ebook yet, but some of the biggest names in the business have some great things to say about the book.
• Frugal Theme for WordPress  – This is another premium theme like Thesis and I haven’t tried it out yet, but it seems to be gaining popularity.
• Yaro Starak’s (and Leslie’s) Become a Blogger Training Course  – I haven’t tried this, but have heard good things about it. Yaro is an extremely successful internet marketer and I have learned a whole lot from him. If I were starting out today and could afford the program, I would do it.