Resources

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the tools I use online, so I decided to gather everything in one place and create this resource page. Below you’ll find the tools that I use, have used, or highly recommend for people wanting to take the same path as I have.

Note: many of the links below are affiliate links, which means that I will earn a small commission if you buy. These are all things I have had personal experience with myself, or highly recommend. I am not just recommending them to make an extra commission.

Blogging

WordPress: This blog runs on WordPress, which has always been very smooth. I don’t love the technical stuff, but wordpress is the best out there when it comes to blogging.

Thesis: I use Thesis as the theme of my blog. It’s the best WordPress theme out there. Makes my life and business as easy as putting on my socks in the morning.

Pixelloop: Dave from Pixelloop is the guy behind the design of Wake Up Cloud. He’ll get your blog looking awesome at a great price.

Charfish Design: Charlie from Charfish Design is the guy I go to for slick and amazing ebook covers. He designed the cover for Passionate Living (he also did the header image on that page).

Hosting

Pair: Great environmentally friendly hosting, excellent support and everything works. They are a bit on the more expensive side though.

Hostgator: An excellent alternative if you’re just starting out and don’t want to pay double for your hosting with Pair. If you want over one month of free hosting, use coupon code: wakeupcloud.

E-Mail Marketing

Aweber: The best e-mail list service available on the planet today. If there’s anything you need when starting out, it’s an e-mail list. Don’t put it off or you will regret it.

Niche Site Packages

Site Build It: This is a complete package program with hosting, keyword research, a step-by-step guide and an extremely supportive forum. It removes the technical obstacles from running an online business. It is what helps me close to $2,000/month passively. If you want to read up on the differences between SBI and blogging, here’s a post on that.

Training Courses

Authority Blogger: This is the course I took when I first started blogging. It’s geared towards people that already know their way around the basics of blogging.

Online Income Mastery: My own course on how to build profitable Hybrid Blogs around your passion, and make a great living. Very comprehensive, yet very simple.

Pictures

iStockPhoto: I use iStockPhoto to get pictures when I really need high-quality images, such as for ebooks or other important pages on my posts. They are excellent, but somewhat expensive if you’re just starting out.

SXC: You can find a lot of free stock images over at sxc.hu. I’ve found that it’s a bit more difficult to find images at sxc than flickr creative commons, but I’ve found some great pictures there.

Flickr Creative Commons: Flickr has a huge community of photographers, and if you filter for Creative Commons, which means you can use the pictures on your blog, you’ll get more than enough to choose from. This is what I use for 99% of my blog posts.

Books

Power of Now: The book that found me in Thailand, and that practically changed my life. If you only read one book in your life, let it be this one. I’ve already read it 5 times.

Way of the Peaceful Warrior: An excellent novel that introduces spirituality in a naturally appealing way. I loved it, and so did my girlfriend!

Accidental Genius: Use your writing to generate your best ideas, insight, and content. This is the bible of freewriting, and I highly recommend it if you are having trouble getting your writing to flow.

If you feel there’s something I’ve missed, please do send me an e-mail and let me know.