I get asked a variety of questions about my online business from time to time. I decided to put this page up in order to help address some of those questions. If you have others, don’t hesitate to contact me here.
Domain and Hosting Questions
Q. Where do you purchase your web hosting?
A. I use Hostgator(use coupon code “ericsfriend” for 25% off your first month) but I’ve heard great things about Bluehost as well.
Hostgator’s support has always been top notch when I have needed them. I really like the fact that there site offers live online chat support. It allows me to get simple questions answered quickly without having to go through a support ticket system.
Q. Where do you buy your domains?
A. I buy all of my domains at NameCheap and GoDaddy.
For the most part I stick with Namecheap. The only time I really use GoDaddy is when I’m picking up a domain that is being run through one of their auctions.
Q. WordPress or Blogger?
A. Depends on the project. I currently use both, however this site is run using WordPress and the Thesis theme.
The Thesis theme is extremely customizable and the support offered in their forum is amazing. I’ve tried several WordPress themes over the last two years and I always seem to return to Thesis.
Keyword Research Questions
Q. Do you use any paid tools for Keyword Research?
A. My favorite paid keyword research tool by far is Market Samurai. I use it for keyword research, competition analysis and link building.
Recently I also started using Secockpit. It looks promising but since it is a pretty hefty monthy fee unlike Market Samurai’s free basic version or one time fee for the premium Market Samurai version, I’m not yet ready to recommend it above MS for the average user.
You can download the Market Samurai Trial Version here, if you’d like to give it a try.
Autoresponsders and Email
Q. What Autoresponder service do you use for your list?
A. I use Aweber to build my list and stay in contact with my readers.
Here are some simple steps you can follow to get your Autoresponder up and running today.
Q. Do you use any software to build your list?
Yes, I use an optin pop which you may have seen when you first visited my site. I’ve found that this has worked well to increase my subscribers. Some people complain that optin popups are annoying so I set it to only show once a day per visitor. The number of subscribers I get from it far outweighs the number of people that are turned off by it. You are never going to be able to please everyone.
Currently I’m using Action Popup and really like it. It’s highly customizable. Right now I’m just using the basic settings. But I plan to experiment with some of the advanced features soon.
Affiliate Questions
Q. Do You Use Affiliate Links?
A. Yes. Some of the links on my site pay me a small commission if you purchase through them. I want you to return to my site and if I recommend crap that doesn’t help you reach your goals you probably won’t. Because my goal is to help you succeed along with me, I will never recommend a product just so I can get paid.
More Questions I Get Asked
Q. Early bird or Night owl?
A. Definitely Night owl!
Q. What forums do you suggest for beginners?
A. Warrior Forum and WordPress Goldmine.
