Build Your Business With Your Platform
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Welcome to my selected resources page. I get asked about what services and apps I use for my online platform so many times that I had to create this page. Now you can see exactly what I use to build an online web business.

One where I can market my art and share what I get up to. I have tested these services and know what they do. I also do not believe in throwing a lot of money after the latest "shiny object". Each service must benefit you and make sense for your business.

​A word you will see often here is "platform". All this means is the online home and foundation from which you communicate to the world. Of course it is where and how you meet new customers, fans and supporters. 

Step 1: Your Website

Featured:
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​Bluehost Web Hosting

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Your platform begins with a website. Wordpress is the leading website service in the world. But you also need to host the site and that is where Bluehost shines.
The leading Wordpress self-hosted platform is provided by Bluehost.
No argument.

What is Worpress.org? It is software that is used to create beautiful websites and blogs. Most blogs in the world are created with Wordpress. There are many reasons for this, but suffice to say it works very well. 

Bluehost is a service that hosts your Wordpress blog and website. Bluehost have made the entire process simpler by integrating with Wordpress. Now you can open a Bluehost account and install Wordpress from within Bluehost.

Here is a video that I put together that will lead you through the entire process.

Website Alternative: Drag and Drop with Weebly

If you are looking for an even simpler website service you can try the drag and drop type of site. This makes it easier to build a site that is still beautiful and effective. The leader in this pack is Weebly. 

Weebly provide all the bells and whistles of a modern website plus a blogging platform. Yes Wordpress is the blogging leader, but if all you want is a website to host your gallery and blog - then Weebly is for you.
Click the banner alongside to find out more about Weebly.

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Simple Professional Websites Done for You?

If you are technically challenged, but want to sell your art like a pro then ask FASO to help you. They provide lovely professional websites for artists. Many of the world's top artists use FASO so why not you?

Beautiful templates
Email Service
Marketing concierge service
and much more. Start with a free trial.

​ Learn more here.

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Step 2: Email

Building up your own list of clients and supporters through an email service is vital to your business. I cannot overstate that enough. More important than social media by far. By growing a list of fans you can communicate to them via email on a regular basis. This is far more effective than hoping a social media post reaches your core following ( it won't).

There are many excellent email service providers out there. But since you are looking to remain lean and mean I will mention two services that you can use for Free.

1. Mailchimp:

Mailchimp has a powerful mail service that allows you to collect emails, send out newsletter campaigns and allows for automated emails as well. All for free up to 2000 subscribers. I have used Mailchimp for years and it serves me well. 

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2. Mailerlite:

Mailerlite is a new service that is growing fast. It is what I currently use. In many ways it is a cleaner and friendlier service to use than Mailchimp. While Mailchimp is more e-commerce orientated it appears that Mailerlite is looking for a simpler user experience for everyone. It does have all the important features including automation. The free account is currently limited to 1000 subscribers.

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3. Become a Teacher

You do not have to have a teaching degree or diploma to become a teacher. I am of course talking about starting your own business or supplementing your job by teaching your skills. As a creative person you have a certain experience and expertise that can be useful to others. You can give this knowledge away in part or completely. But you can also sell some of this knowledge by teaching others. This is a noble way to make a living or supplement your existing income.

You can do this in physical workshops, online, in books, in community schools and in whatever other way may come up. It is a wonderful world we live in!

Although there are online educational portals I do suggest that you also start building your business on your own digital turf.  Yes even if you teach classes at a bricks and mortar school you can build your online business on the side. It is your future after all!

I do recommend Zenler as an excellent educational platform to build your own online teaching business. Zenler has an unbeatable number of tools that make their platform an all-round teaching business solution.

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More Business Resources:

Blogging and content creation are very important for online business. This includes being an artist. It is helpful content that Google is looking for when it scours the internet. If you blog regularly and produce solid content Google will start sending more traffic to your website. Plus your fans will enjoy visiting your site, sign up for your email list and with time you will have a thriving business.

Of course it is not overnight. but you know that already. if you want to learn about the finer art of content and blogging consider my content course for creative entrepreneurs. The Art of Content Marketing

Software at Great Prices

​AppSumo: Software for Entrepreneurs at a fraction of the price. Useful apps and software can make a BIG impact on your creative business's productivity. That is why I like AppSumo because they use their size to get massive discounts on excellent apps. Simple. Browse through what they have available here.