Everything on this list is stuff I use, or have used (except where indicated with an *), love and wholeheartedly recommend.
Unless the company/product has no affiliate program, I’m an affiliate partner for everything on this list, which means I’ll earn a commission if you click through and buy. Just fyi.
Courses, Coaches & Communities
Catherine Caine – Anyone who’s site is named Cash & Joy has to be cool, and Catherine is. I had the pleasure of interviewing her for the Thriving Artists Project (now ArtEmpowers.Me), and I had a stunning coaching session with her as well. Whip-smart, this one. Truly awesome.
The Fluent Self Shop – I pretty much want to be Havi Brooks when I grow up. I don’t yet own everything in her shop, but that’s probably just a matter of time.
Question the Rules – The infamous, “punk rock” audio interview course with Johnny B. Truant and Lee Stranahan. Not just for punk rockers. It rocks.
Tara Gentile – Tara is another whip-smart cookie who’s leveraged her experience with creative businesses into a full-on enterprise. Your go-to girl for learning to earn from your creativity. I got to interview her for ArtEmpowers.Me, and have also met her in person (she’s just as awesome there as online). Some of her awesome offerings include:
The Art of Earning – The guide for when you’re ready to bust those un-useful ideas about money and re-create your own money story. Also a steal, plus last time I checked Tara was offering it on a “pay what you will” basis. Really!
Email Marketing Kick Start – 30-day email course designed to help you craft passionate, profitable communication that supports your business so it can support you. Daily, bite-size tips that will transform your email efforts into an effective (and non-slimy) marketing force!
Making Motion – A hip, to-the-point (and super-cheap!) guide for actually MOVING on your creative goals.
Third Tribe Marketing – Although I’m not currently a member, my year in the Third Tribe was invaluable. I learned a TON of what I needed to know to get started with my blog-based business, and the connections I made inside have led to lasting friendships and profitable business partnerships. Rocks.
Unconventional Guides – Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Guides are awesome. I have a lot of them. Here are some of my favorites:
Empire Building Kit – Chris’ multi-media toolkit to build your empire in one year. Rocks. Read my reviews here and here.
Travel Hacking Cartel – Not really a guide, per se, this is a fantastic subscription service that is guaranteed to earn you 100,000 frequent flyer points in a year. The site (designed by the brilliant Reese) is amazing, but I confess I almost never visit it, because new deals land in my inbox a few times a week, saving me the trouble. If you want to travel without going broke, the THC is truly awesome.
Unconventional Guide to Publishing – So you wanna write a book? This is your secret weapon to navigating the waters of the publishing industry.
Mailing Lists/Email Autoresponders/Email Marketing
I actually use three different mailing list services, and they’re all designed totally differently. Of the three, I like AWeber the best overall, though the other two are each easier to get started with.
AWeber – This is what I use for Living A Creative Life.
MailChimp – This is what Cory Huff and I use for our JV course for artists, ArtEmpowers.Me
MadMimi – This is what I use with my JV projects with Michelle Nickolaisen (Day of Genius) and Kelly Hevel (Playing Around Workshops – coming soon!).
Web Hosting
BlueHost – My host for many years, they have excellent 24/7 tech support, and have helped me out of many a jam
*HostGator – Although I don’t currently host with HostGator, I have heard nothing but good things about their service. If I should ever decide to try a new host, they’re the ones I’ll go with.
WordPress Themes
Headway Theme – The amazing “drag and drop” premium theme that gives non-coders unheard-of control over their site design, plus includes excellent SEO and other features. The Bomb.
*iThemes – Although I don’t use any of their themes (since I’m in love with Headway), they offer an amazing array of plugins in addition to their themes, many of which I do use and love, especially BackupBuddy. (In fact, I have their full-on Plugin Developer Package.)
Thesis Theme – Before I discovered Headway, I used Thesis as my platform, and some of my less-used blogs are still on Thesis. I haven’t kept up with their developments, so I can’t speak to how it compares to Headway, but for awhile it was the premiere premium theme platform. Allows for lots of control, but as a “non-coder,” I found it frustrating to try and get it to do anything outside of the default. If you’re comfortable with CSS and html, Thesis could be a good option for you.
WordPress Plugins
BackupBuddy – ESSENTIAL! This is the first plugin I always install on every new site or blog. Allows you to easily schedule as many automatic backups as you want, AND automatically sends them offsite to the destination you select! Killer. Do yourself a favor, and don’t build a WordPress site without it.
Popup Domination – Their marketing tactics are, I grant you, excessively annoying. But they do make good products. My sign-up form popup has brought a lot of new subscribers my way. (Note: please, for the sake of all that’s good and decent, do NOT set your popup to go off as soon as someone lands on your page! Nothing is more off-putting. Use the power for good.)
Premise – This landing page plugin by the folks at Copyblogger Media does more than just make it easy to create great landing pages. It contains an entire copywriting course inside! Brilliant.
Scribe SEO – Nifty plugin from those same crafty folks at Copyblogger Media, that helps you easily optimize every post and page on your site for SEO.
Sucuri – ESSENTIAL! Okay, this isn’t actually a plugin — it’s a site monitoring and security subscription service — but if you have a website or blog, you cannot live without this. All you have to do is type in the URL you want Sucuri to monitor, and not only will they notify you if your site is hacked, they clean it up for you. All for your annual subscription.
People, I have been hacked multiple times — before I signed up with Sucuri, my ketubah site, the site that pays my mortgage, was downed by malware for a solid month. Not good. Since signing up with Sucuri, though, I had NO downtime — Sucuri took care of everything before my site was even flagged.
You will get hacked if you’re online. Your best protection is to backup, backup, backup, and sign up with Sucuri.