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Make sure your output size is the same size your record in

LOL @ qkz283 - can't beat that one

I think we all know the answer for hosting.

Hmm what else:

Firepow - the easiest way to manage and promote my blogs.
Some premium forum memberships - for insights, ideas and networking

Cell Phone - Gotta make calls

Hostgator - Been a good host to me so far, here's to continued success!

HughesNet Internet - Couldn't get cable in my area, so this was the next best thing

3 backlink packet memberships
senuke
unique article wizard
ezine premium
backlink solutions
hostgator
outsourcing
free traffic system

Why?
I need backlinks, and lots of them.

1. Hosting - I would host myself but I prefer a more reliable server than mine:




2. Autoresponder - While I enjoy building a relationship with my customers, it's much easier than traveling around the world to keep in touch:




3. SENuke - I tried to hire these guys to do my backlinks, but they said they had to shoot a music video (Yeah... sure. Next one of them will claim to be Michael Jackson):

What: Without a doubt: Mozy (Online Backup, Data Backup & Remote Backup Solutions from Mozy.com ? Welcome)

Why: Absolutely, without a doubt, couldn't-possibly-overstate-it the most important "insurance" policy available for anyone earning their living online, extremely reliable, easy & smooth, at an unbeatable price.

MozyHome gives you *unlimited* automatic online backup of your PC (or Mac), for $4.95/month!

(You can get 2Gb backup for FREE - no credit card required! Most people can backup all their critical data files - documents, spreadsheets, etc. - with tons of room to spare.)

They also have a *very* reasonable 'Pro' for business, $3.95 + $.50 per Gb / month. I'm able to fit my "server backup" - all my websites, Wordpress installs, databases, graphics, downloads, videos, etc. - in less than 20 Gb. That would be $13.95/mo.

The beauty of Mozy is that it's entirely transparent. You use an explorer-like interface to choose what you want backed up (they even have 10 'default' sets, such as "My Documents" folder + email folders + "Programs" folder + "Desktop" already configured).

You can backup on demand, or give it a time - mine is set for 4:30am. You can also tell it to backup in the background, only during 'idle' time, etc.

Most importantly, the "Restore" works like a charm! I've had the nearly-catastrophic experience of a complete hard drive failure. Took me just a few minutes to log in from another machine, 'authorize' it, and do a complete restore.

I'm guessing that most of us - I certainly was one - do not do backups as we should. It's a pia. But with an automated, online backup, I don't even think about it.

BTW, I do backups of critical data 'locally' (when I remember...), but with this, my house can burn down, I can be stranded in another city, etc., and I can retrieve my entire PC.

Not only is the 'peace of mind' factor worth the money, but this is the epitome of the "why didn't I do it?????" catastrophies that can really be a lifesaver.

Mark

Some great "why's" so far!

Plus Kelly if i was doing a competition for the most funny post then so far your's would win. Thanks for the laugh

Tom Brite

well i'm personally not paying for anything monthly (except for the internet service). but there are a good number of reasons for people to actually be a member of a certain site.

1) hosting

as said by the peeps above, hosting is a need. without a host you have no website (not talking about free blogs), which for most people, means no money coming in. i'm not discounting the fact that there are other ways to make money. but yeah, in most cases, if you have no hosting, you're unlikely to be able to generate a steady stream of income.

2) to get some kickass traffic!

for over a year now, i've contemplated joining the site SubmitYourArticle.com. just checked the site to make sure. they still offer the service at $37/month.

these guys practically submit their client's articles everywhere! not only that, they even submit "spun" versions. so from what i understand by that (people who use the site, correct me if i'm wrong), you can submit a hell of a lot of articles (based on the 8 original articles you submit) per month.

plus with their mass distribution of articles, you can easily add on thousands of backlinks very quickly. plus your articles also get exposed to a wide range of people.

so for an amazing traffic source, submityourarticle.com is something that would be worth paying monthly for.

3) autoresponder

your money is in your list. says it all doesn't it?

if you're in need of money, you can send out promotions (assuming you have a targeted list which follows you closely) and expect to make a decent bit every single time. plus you can also allow other marketers to send out ezine advertisments to your list (for a small fee of course). and this too can help you boost your profits.

so while you might have to pay a monthly fee for an autoresponder service, as long as you use it well to develop a targeted list, you should have no problems increasing your profit margins.


4) your outsource team

some people tend to pay their team of ghostwriters, programmers etc monthly, especially if they know that they will be using them very frequently. saves the hassle of paying them per project. tracking this can be such a b**ch.

plus, by paying them monthly, it gives the outsource team a perceived sense of security as they will be receiving money on a monthly basis. so that would build (theoretically at least?) a sense of trust within them towards you, which would lead to a lot of other good stuff, like higher productivity, hence higher profits (i'm an econs student...).

so this is another monthly "thingy" people pay for.

5) websites similar to submityourarticle.com

these websites help you generate traffic basically. either the sites do it for you, or they teach you how to do it. personally i'd like a balance between the 2. if the site providing the service was to suddenly crash and burn, at least i wouldn't be left hanging as i'd have the know how.

there are a lot of sites which provide traffic generation services. they're by no means cheap. but they're most certainly of top quality (judging by the reputed marketers who run them!) so they should definitely help you expand your business.

and the one's which teach you the technical know how. well, those which require you to pay on a monthly basis are obviously going to be membership sites. and they're also likely to teach you *new* methods (some which most marketers may not even be aware of) of generating traffic, marketing etc. so this keeps you ahead of your competition, allowing you to dominate your niche. which of course means for moolah for you.

this could probably go on and on for ages. but yeah, ultimately, everything you pay for leads (whether monthly or one time) is primarily for the purpose of expanding your profits. why? because as some bloody economist said, all firms are profit motivated.

cheers!

prashant

Currently trying to switch webhosts. I was referred by a online friend. Recently they recieved poor customer support.(no response to a support ticket sent over 2weeks ago) and not all links on their site work/missing. This sent alarm bells off..my bill is due in 2days.Webhosting is obviously important to make long term income online. I'll happily stick with a host that provides excellent service,response times and delivers what they say.

my current and future memberships-
1.webmaster forums-currently only on free forums. Will become a war room member soon.
why: The information/relationships/branding/support/trends gained from being a forum member is enormous.
2. icontact autoresponder-(NOT yet) Will be signing up for trial this week.
why: Autoresponders are important for long term business.
3.IM freebie memberships- who doesn't like a freebie?
why:a great way to see what other im'ers are doing as well. Hopefully one day i'll be able to provide some freebie products in a giveaway event.
4. IM lists- I think i'm on about 30 lists. I've really got to cancel some of them. I haven't cancelled yet,becuase i might miss something!
why: Some are from big names. Great to see trends,and learn things from the big names in IM and blogging.
5. angela's packet(future)- from all the comments on this service here..no doubt i'll use it and continue to use it.like already stated before me,building links helps increase google exposure and build traffic.


what keeps me in a membership:
*excellent service
*product is as promised.
*it doesn't breakdown.(eg webhost)
*value exceeds the costs
*The features and benefits provide value that i can't get elsewhere at a cheaper price.
*convenience
*for information memberships,the content has got to be stimulating,thought provoking,informative.
*Professionalism/appearance of professionalism. (At least a decent website..a picture says a thousand words!).

hosting - No online business can succeed without it.

Autoresponder - I don't make good use of this but I know it is important and can afford to throw away $10 every month in order to learn through practice.

Angela and Paul's backlink - I believe in wash and rinse. It worked for me the first time so I am sticking to their WSO.

Been using GDI hosting services for a few months already. Been paying US$10 on a monthly basis.. Love the tools they have over there. So, why do i keep staying over there? Mainly because of the awesome affiliate program... People need websites, and for that they will need a hosting account. All you need to do is to introduce 10 people who really need a website for their business or so on and your monthly hosting account is free Right now i am happily hosting my website for "free".

Oh, forget to add, those who signed up under you? You get to build a list at the same time for free, mostly under the niche of affiliate marketing or newbie IM-ers.

P.S.: A great bonus just pop out recently, instead of purely a .ws domain, they are now offering the other mainstream domains such as .com and .net so you will not need to subscribe to two different hosting accounts anymore.

Regards,
Edmund

Some great suggestions so far... keep them coming

Tom Brite

Well I have / have had many, but most of the ones I do I pay yearly for.

As for current monthly:

Liquid Web (Got a dedicated server). Why? Because I've been through *three* other hosts in my 12 years online and have either been charged wayyy too high (Alabanza anyone? they sold out though) - and changed/upgraded servers without notifying us in advance, causing scripts to crash. (Looks bad after a launch!)

The other two servers weren't worth their weight in cash either. (poor support, constant down time, mail horrors, etc).

I've used LiquidWeb now for over 2 years - always get support within 15 min or less, and have had absolute minimal down time, plus they fix / help with script and server issues even if it isn't their stuff (within reason of course).

Plus I can set up as many sites as I want (I own over 76 sites... lol - that would be pretty costly elsewhere!)

Lemme think...

Oh yeah - GetResponse autoresponder - while they had a few glitches recently when they switched to their new system, overall I really like my accounts and features and really have no intentions of changing. Like someone else said, one mailing to just one of my lists usually pays for the monthly cost (and I do much more than one mailing a month )

This might sound a little silly to some but...

Widgetbox.com - I pay for the upgraded membership (cheap, $3.99 a month) because I like some of the features it gives over free (hides ads, gives me more stats, etc). Considering it's had over 68000 views since I started (and really don't promote it lol) - I'd say its a useful tool!

iLoveHits.com - got one of the higher levels, pay monthly. Love how Jon's site works, even though I don't get in to surf as much as I'd like (too many other things to do), with the paid account I don't have to worry, my sites still get seen.

TopSurfer - (I pay this usually quarterly) - same as above, don't get to surf too often, but the membership gives discounts on solo ads, and Top Surfer's solo ads are pretty good and responsive, so its worth it to me.

Annual or lifetime memberships to some of Jane Marks' sites, although lately they totally irritate me with how much mail goes through. (Signed up with one email to get mailed at, the other is only billing, and I'm getting emails at both regardless much of the time ) But - on the other side of that - some of the mailings from the sites work, so I won't delete my accounts, just delete most of the emails I'm not interested in reading.

Niche On a Platter - was on this monthly, just cancelled, only because I don't have the time for doing anything with it right now, but good product and concept.

Other memberships I've bought are ones like F5, lots of good content/info that helped me focus a little better.

I'd say that's about it. I buy other stuff regularly (like scripts, sometimes graphics like from iStockphoto.com, but they are "as I need them" rather than a monthly thing - although sometimes it does happen monthly lol).

There's a few I *would* pay for if developed, and I have in the past had many memberships for marketing tools, I just decided that I was spending so much out and not using many of them due to time constraints that I stopped many.

Amber
PS - Already paid for War Room - lol - totally worth it

Damn dimeco thats a long list of stuff!

Keep them coming guys

Tom Brite

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1) Aweber - My lists are my main income source. Aweber is one of the best 3rd party autoresponders.

2) Hostgator - Every serious marketer needs a host. Excellent customer service. Low monthly fee. Hostgator rocks!

3) SMARTS Club - I use some of the social marketing techniques for my client and myself.

Great stuff everyone!

Seems to be alot of stuff repeating itself however that's still cool!

Anyone got any new stuff??

Tom Brite

I'll add:

friendship/relationship building and customer service-
I briefly mentioned in this in my orginal post.
I think its important that the seller builds a connection to audience. Both for service and content memberships. When there is great community the membership is more successful(not just moneywise).
2 examples of successful relationship building in memberships-
1.warriorforum
2.Basecamp

An examples of poor relationship building-
telecommunications co's.(especially here in Oz)
Instead of providing excellent customer service ,customers are made to feel like numbers in a system.
The irony~ to 'communicate' with them(ringing the billing dept), your rerouted to india. so the communications industry is creating incommunication!! LOL
(or communication problems-'incommunication' might not have been the correct word!)

I Use Hittail.com for Long tail keyword analyzer. I seek traffic from SEO so knowing and analyze what long tail keyword my visitor comes is very critical. They catch what keyword people come to my site, list them, and suggest me what the best long tail keyword I have to use. I use their free service (well, there some monthly subscription but I don't think I need it) and works really well.

I also use Freetrafficsystem. Again, I still use their free membership Freetrafficsystem have list of participating blogs and we can store our spun article on blogs that matched with our keyword.

The other is told above,, I use VPS Hosting on Knownhost, Shared Hosting in Dreamhost, paying the outsource team (I'm hiring article writer and Data entry worker)