Plus, most of these tools fail to to take into account the fact that when you’re just starting out, your operating budget is small. At least it should be: remember to consider your overhead costs!

If I’m a new business owner, I need to focus on three things when I’m considering adding a tool to my arsenal:

#1 – Cost

This one is obvious. If my business income is $3,000 a month, I’m not going to invest in a $500/month tool. Unless…

#2 -Potential Return on Investment (ROI)

If I’m fairly certain I can get a positive return on investment (ROI) from my $500, AKA I’ll make at least $501 in additional income every month from using this new tool, then it becomes a stronger contender. However…

#3 – Scaleability

Ideally a tool like this would be scaleable. I want something that works at my level and within my budget, if my business is earning $3,000 a month or $30,000 a month. I don’t want to have to upgrade to a new tool just because my business is growing. I’ll likely have enough growing pains to deal with as it is, without adding in “learning to use a new system”.

With these considerations in mind, I’ve put together a list of 6 tools for launching your business on a budget.

#1 – Dreamhost

First things first: you need a reliable webhost for your business site. It doesn’t matter how great your product, service, or website is if your potential customers can’t access it online easily. That’s why the majority of the “budget” in this post is used for hosting.

I’ve written previously on how to choose the best budget host, and why I personally use and recommend Dreamhost to all my clients. But, in a nutshell, Dreamhost:

• Doesn’t have: high pressure sales, gimmick e-mails, or variable term pricing
• Does have: User friendly backend, proactive updates, and length-of-term based discounts

How is it scaleable?

The vast majority of folks just getting started are suited to Shared Hosting, which is only $9.95 a month when you sign up for 1 year or $7.95 a month when you sign up for 3 years. When your business begins to grow, you can upgrade any time to a Virtual Private Server (VPS) package, which is notably faster and only a few dollars more per month, or a Dedicated Server, which is a critical investment for top tier sites.

PS: interesting in taking even more off? Use my link to save $50. ?

#2 – WordPress

WordPress! You’ve probably heard of it. It runs like 30% of the websites on the planet Earth, and with good reason. WordPress is known as “blogging” platform, but it’s just another Content Management System (CMS). Basically, WordPress makes it easy for people of all levels of technical ability to operate and update a website. These days your need for tech savvy is about as low as it’s ever been. You can even get drag and drop “themes” to easily turn your site into an attractive, effective place for people to learn more about you and your business.

Not sure where to get started? I recommend checking out the Jupiter theme.

How is it scaleable?

When you use WordPress, you’re in good company. Individuals and companies at all levels of industry use WordPress. There’s no limit to the things you can do with it.

#3 – MailChimp

If you know anything about e-mail marketing, you’ve probably heard of MailChimp. 5 years ago you didn’t have to do much to stand out in the e-mail marketing provider world, but MailChimp has always been ahead of the game. These days they offer some of the most robust features around, while remaining affordable and accessible (drag and drop newsletter building, anyone?)

How is it scaleable?

As with the vast majority of e-mail marketing software, you pay based on volume of subscribers. MailChimp is 100% free up to the first 2,000 subscribers. Scaling upward, 25,000 subscribers will cost you $150/month, or about 0.006 cents per subscriber. If you’re very ambitious and tech savvy, you can add MailChimp Pro features for $199/month, which allows you to do fancy things like eCommerce tracking and A/B testing. All paid packages including unlimited e-mails sent, so the sky is the limit.

#4 – Ninja Popups

Speaking of e-mail marketing… If you give a moose an e-mail capture tool, he’ll probably want some popups to go with it. Some folks might tell you that Sumo (formerly SumoMe) is the way to go, but unless you’re already doing a lot of volume in e-mail subscriptions, I recommend Ninja Popups. Here’s why:

• It has an easy to use, drag and drop popup builder
• It works with tons of different apps
• It’s a one time fee of $25

How is it scaleable?

Compare Ninja Popups to Sumo‘s scaling plans based on traffic, and you’ll quickly see why Ninja Popups has the advantage. There’s no concerns about your site’s traffic outpacing its profitability and because Ninja Popups is based entirely on your server and not in the cloud, you’re less likely to see an uncontrollable load time lag.

#5 – Acuity Scheduling

Pro-tip: whether you’re just starting out or well on your way to sustainable growth, you should be using an app to schedule calls. And Acuity scheduling = awesome scheduling. Here’s why:

• It works directly with your calendar
• It allows clients to choose their own time slots
• You set your availability
• You can use it to sell paid appointments

By the way: not so sure about doing sales calls? Check out my post about taking a fresh approach to sales.

How is it scaleable?

Acuity Scheduling is ridiculously affordable at every level. Emerging Entrepreneur ($10/month) is sufficient for basically every solo artist. If you end up with a larger sales team or a multi-location business down the road? Not a problem. The Powerhouse Player package, which includes up to 36 calendar integrations (!) is only $34/month. Other scheduling apps just can’t really compete with that.

#6 – SEO PowerSuite

Yes, this tip is about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Don’t let your eyes cross just yet. SEO PowerSuite is a set of tools that actually make it really easy to optimize your site for search engine traffic. All you need to do is download two of their tools:

Website Auditor – this is the most important one. It’s basically like an organic search report card for your website. Download this tool, use it to analyze your site, and then use their recommendations to repair any issues.

Rank Tracker – this one is for next steps. If you’re interested in getting a bit more serious about search engine optimization for your site (which I definitely recommend you do), you can use this tool for just about everything else. Figure out how your site ranks for certain keywords and find new keywords to target based on how many people are searching for them.

How is it scaleable?

You can do almost everything with the free version of SEO PowerSuite (as noted above), but you can’t: save your projects or intuitively extract the data. This is especially annoying if you’re using it to do keyword research or tracking a lot of keywords. But, the regular price for the “professional” version (which does let you save and export, as well as automate tracking) is only $299.

This is a one time fee, but you do have to keep getting the “search algorithm updates”. They don’t make this incredibly intuitive. The first 6 months of updates are free after you purchase the package. After that you can buy them at a progressive discount based on the number of months you pay for at once. If you’re only interested in one or two of the SEO PowerSuite tools (the most useful are RankTracker and Website Auditor, as I mentioned), it’s cheaper, but 12 months of updates for all 4 products is only about $10 a month in total.

On the fence? I highly recommend keeping your eyes peeled for their annual Black Friday sale where you can get a really ridiculous percentage off standard pricing.

Another simple SEO solution

Another affordable option if you just want to keep a close eye on how your site is performing is AntRanks. You tell it your website URL, what keywords to track, and it checks them daily automatically.

There you have it: 6 tools to launch your business on a budget for less than $200 a year. Each one guaranteed to grow with you.

Anything missing? Questions? Let me know in the comments or send me an e-mail at kelly (at) kirin3 (dot) tech.

BONUS: The perfect tool for selling online

If you want to sell physical or digital products online, you’re going to need a tool that does three things:

• Shopping cart/checkout process (for customers)
• Order management (for you)
• Payment processing (for $$$)

As always, there’s a ton of options out there. Some can only do one or two of those things. And a lot of them are fairly pricey. SamCart has been a good option for years for people who were already established (for $199/month they don’t take a percentage of your sales). But recently they launched a “basic” version. Hooray for scalability!

Here’s what’s great about SamCart:

• Zero tech skills required – just fill in one of the tried and true SamCart sales page templates
• One click upsells and automated funnels – no need to build complex sales funnels
• Allows you to sell digital, physical, or subscription products and integrates with tons of apps

SamCart Launch gives you just about everything the professional version has for just $49 a month (and a small percentage of your sales). That’s effectively 90% off the regular price. For now you can get a 14 day free trial if you click here as a “launch special”. (I’ll edit this post to remove this link when it no longer works). 

Not convinced? Check out a few of their case studies from Stu McLaren and Will Hamilton. I’ve written previously on SamCart and Google Analytics if you’re interested in learning more about tracking and app integration, as well.

Just starting out? Let somebody else help

For folks who are just beginning their foray into eCommerce, it’s probably best to stick with a pre-established platform. Consider your product first, then select a host who best suits your niche.

For example, if your goods are handmade: Etsy is perfect for you.

If you primarily sell digital publications, check out Gumroad.

Are you an author? Give Kindle Direct Publishing a try.

Selling a simple service? Have a look at Fiverr.

I’ve written about using these platforms to create passive income sources before, but read on for more on the nitty gritty of the benefits and disadvantages that come with your different options.

The perks of the package deal

When you look at your Etsy bill at the end of the month you might say: is this worth it? 20 cents per listing, 3.5% of every sale, and 3% plus .25 cents per “direct” payment adds up. For a $10 item bought via direct checkout (AKA a credit card sans Paypal), that’s $1.10 eating into your profit margin.

So what do you get for your $1.10?

In Etsy’s case, you get three things (primarily):

1. Payment gateway
2. User interface
3. SEO, user base, and organic/paid advertising

A payment gateway is always going to cost you (I talk more about that more below). 3% is a fairly standard rate. Building a UI that’s functional and attractive (which Etsy has, for the most part) is an expensive and complicated process. But the most valuable feature Etsy offers to you, particularly if you’re just starting out as a seller, is SEO (appearance in search results) and reputation building.

Buyers don’t have to worry as much about the sometimes harrowing experience of making a purchase online. Although they know essentially nothing about you or your business, potential customers recognize and trust the Etsy marketplace brand.

Moving up in the world? It might be time to go it alone

The biggest disadvantage of going with a platform is the cost. Every single option listed here takes some percentage or flat rate for hosting your products and allowing you to accept payment.

Hosting your own site and eCommerce system can help you skirt these fees, but there’s a lot of expenses involved here as well. You will need and/or want:

• A reliable site host
• An eCommerce platform
• A security (SSL) certificate
• A payment gateway

If you’re less than comfortable with technology, you may even need to hire someone to do most of this for you. Assuming, however, that you’re willing to make the investment of time and money there are a lot of advantages to doing things for yourself.

For one, integrating into an existing, well trafficked site is a great way to superpower your eCommerce launch. If you run a popular WordPress blog about recipes, for example, selling cookbooks or other goodies is a natural choice.

WooCommerce: free eCommerce for WordPress

Running a blog is a great way to get traffic to your eCommerce site–and it’s natural to think of WordPress as a content management system. Of course, WordPress can do so much more than just help you publish your blog.

WooCommerce by WooThemes is a powerful plugin that allows you to create a simple eCommerce platform, right on your site. The basic version is free and can integrate with Paypal classic for no additional fee (other than Paypal’s fees, of course).

If you’re looking to do more, WooCommerce can integrate other cool features:

• Offer online courses with Sensei

• Offer scheduling options with Bookings

• Offer subscription services with WooSubscriptions

But just as a note: these extra features are going to cost you.

WooCommerce is another in a long series of “freemium” services that, once you decide to upgrade, will ding you left and right with fees for additional extensions or capabilities.

That being said, it’s a powerful service, and you can happily use the basic version for free. (There are also a variety of 3rd party extensions that can save you some cash).

Don’t forget your payment process experience!

So you’ve finally decided whether you will self host or outsource eCommerce. You’ve chosen Etsy because it’s reputable or WooCommerce because it’s free. But you can’t forget to think about what the payment process is like!

Buying things is a process. Consider how you shop online yourself. There’s a lot to consider before even getting an item into your cart, much less progressing to checkout.

If the checkout process is tedious or seems insecure, potential customers will give up quickly.

For example, let’s compare the Etsy checkout process versus the Gumroad checkout process for an identical digital item.

Etsy checkout process

With Etsy, even though the item is digital, you can see I quickly get stuck creating a password to even continue the checkout process.

Gumroad checkout process

For Gumroad, I simply click “I want this” and am instantly transported to a secure payment gateway, lightbox style.

To be fair to the folks at Etsy, this is one of Gumroad’s founding principles. But, they also charge more per transaction–5% versus 3% with Etsy. However, there are no listing fees.

The 3 key principles for any eCommerce setup

As you’ve read so far, there’s no one size fits all solution when it comes to choosing to self host or outsource eCommerce. But I will close with a few key principles to keep in mind, no matter which option you go for.

#1 – Make yourself and your product look good

#2 – Emphasize security and reputation

#2 – Make checkout and payment as easy as possible

If you stick to these points, you should have a successful eCommerce setup in no time! ]]> https://kirin3.tech/self-host-or-outsource-ecommerce/feed/ 0 https://kirin3.tech/creators-5-low-tech-ways-to-build-passive-income-sources/ https://kirin3.tech/creators-5-low-tech-ways-to-build-passive-income-sources/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2015 20:03:24 +0000 http://kirindesignstudios.com/?p=193 Heads up, content creators, you don’t have to go to coding bootcamp or work your fingers to the bone to boost your creation-based revenue each month! Read on to learn more about these low barrier methods for building passive income sources.

The real name of the game for passive income sources is “scaleability”.

Sure, doing commissions and taking on freelance projects is a great way to earn, but you’re only human–and you shouldn’t have to work yourself to death to make money doing what you love.

The answer? Digital products.

Digital products are infinitely scaleable!

Etsy

I know what you’re thinking: Etsy, really? I’m already on Etsy, and if I have to take one more trip to the post office–

Stop!

Etsy is more than just handmade goods! Think of the items you create: now take one step backward. What were they before you put on the finishing touches? A pattern, a print file, a pile of found materials?

Offering up a digital version of your original sewing/knitting/crochet pattern, the photo print you were about to make, or a PDF guide on how to create something awesome with the items in your junk drawer is an excellent way to add more volume to your Etsy business without adding more work for yourself–AKA passive income sources!

Learn more about listing digital items on Etsy here.

Gumroad

Speaking of creating PDFs, Gumroad is another great spot for selling digital goodies. When I first started out there, you could really only sell digital books and the like, but now they offer a wide range of services. You can even create subscription services through their interface! My favourite thing about Gumroad is how clean their checkout process is. You don’t have to click through endless pages or unnecessarily enter your billing/shipping address.

You can now even directly embed your products into your page and sell them through the Gumroad interface without needing a SSL (security certificate–the thing that makes your URL bar turn green!) It can look like this:

Buy my product using Gumroad

Or you can embed the entire product page and folks can checkout inline. And all you have to do is click a few buttons and copy and paste the code–low tech, as promised! It’s an awesome tool and I highly recommend it to build passive income sources.

RedBubble

If you create any kind of illustration, design, or photography, you can use RedBubble to put it on all sorts of fun products. The best part? RedBubble does all of the legwork for you. I setup my RedBubble shop on a whim, and now it’s one of my most consistent and totally hands off passive income sources. I’ve sold 43 of these Oh Kale Yeah stickers alone:

There’s a lot of room for experimentation, and it’s totally okay to fail! It’s hard to know what consumers want sometimes, but with interfaces like RedBubble, where all items are made to order, you don’t have to worry about sitting on 100 t-shirts you’ll never sell. RedBubble is constantly adding new products to their lineup of things you can customize with your designs–everything from leggings to pillow cases to laptop sleeves.

Amazon Associates

When it comes to time commitments, this one is the lowest of the low. You already know products you love as a creator: if they’re on Amazon, you can get your share of the profits for recommending them. How it works:

>You share a link of a product you think is awesome

>Someone clicks that link, it takes them to Amazon, and they buy anything

>You get a small percentage of the profit

Yes, you read that correctly: it doesn’t matter if the person who clicked your link doesn’t buy the exact item you shared. There’s one small catch: you do have to remember to get your custom Associates link for the item you want to recommend. Want to make this even simpler?

For those of you with a WordPress based site: A developer called GeoRiot has a WordPress plugin called Amazon Link Engine that simplifies the process for you even further. You copy and paste any old link from Amazon, and GeoRiot automatically customizes it for your Associates account AND serves the correct regional link based on where the user is surfing from. Basically, folks surfing the net in the UK get directed to Amazon’s UK site even if you got your link from the US Amazon site. It doesn’t get much easier than that when it comes to passive income sources!

Skillshare

Skillshare is a subscription based eLearning platform where folks pay a small monthly fee to access a wide variety of classes taught by all kinds of creators. And yes, one of those creators could be you! As their teaching page states, everyone can teach.

If you’ve ever taught a class or workshop before, you’ll know that this one involves quite a bit of work up front. However, once you’ve got your lesson plans in place, teaching a course on Skillshare can be a great low commitment way to generate more income.

The bottom line is: your skills are valuable.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

Monetizing can be difficult (as I’m sure you already know) and it often does involve a lot of work. However, something doesn’t have to be hard to be profitable.

Are you making passive income as a creator in other ways? Feel free to share in the comments below!

UpWork (oDesk/eLance)

Tracking down clients can be difficult, especially when you’re just getting started. Networking is a great resource, but why not go to where the clients are already searching? UpWork (formerly oDesk and in conjunction with eLance) is a great resource for all kinds of freelance work. It’s a global market place, so wages can be a little deflated (especially if you live in the US or the UK) but there are plenty of clients willing and ready to pay a fair wage for your skills. Build a great profile page and start applying–it’s free for the most part–and backed by lots of reassuring guarantees for hourly paid work. It also comes with a time tracker app built in–an essential freelance tool!

Toggl

If you’re working on your own (which most of us are) sometimes keeping track of hours can be tedious. I prefer to bill on an hourly basis for a variety of reasons, and as a result I want exact accounting of how I spend my time. That’s where Toggl comes in. It’s a light weight desktop and mobile app (for tracking on the go, a feature I love for answering e-mails on the train, for example) that tracks your time. Simple as that! At the end of your billing period (which you can determine as you see fit) you can create reports based on clients, projects, etc. You can get even more done with Toggl Pro, including billing clients directly from the Toggl interface. Pricing is competitive and my experiences with the support team have been excellent.

Acuity Scheduling

Both you and your clients are running businesses–maybe you’re in different timezones, on different schedules, who knows. Making time to check in via video chat or phone calls can be really difficult. Acuity Scheduling makes booking times easier. If you have a lot of clients you make time for on a regular basis, you can setup an Acuity account and open set times at which you are available. When one client books in, their time will become greyed out. No more accidentally scheduling two folks on top of one another!

Streak

Streak has been a game changer for me. My inbox is insane. I manage multiple POP accounts in addition to my primary Gmail all in the same space (maybe not the best choice, but I can’t bring myself to change my system…). With Streak you can track and organize your client e-mails from initial contact to making the sale. Doesn’t matter what your end goal is, really! You can always rename your “stages” that e-mails funnel through. You can “box” e-mails related to a project together, you can see which of your messages are still awaiting reply, you can even see when clients read your e-mails. This is just scratching the surface of what Streak can do, and the best part is the basic version is free.

Boomerang

There’s more e-mail efficiency tools where that came from! Burning the midnight oil, but don’t want to look like the type of person who sends work e-mails at 3AM? Use Boomerang to delay an e-mail’s send time until at exact time later or use fuzzy logic to send a message “tomorrow morning”. Not getting a response for an important message? Set it to jump back to the top of someone’s inbox a few days later if you haven’t received a reply yet. Boomerang is a little basic compared to Streak, but still a great tool.

Zapier

This is by far the most versatile of the freelance tools on this list. Got a task you need to automate? 9 times out of 10, Zapier can do it for you. You can check out some of their most popular “use cases” here, but honestly the sky is the limit. Great for capturing leads, scheduling follow up e-mails, populating documents, and almost anything to do with payment management. Some app integrations are considered “premium”, but generally the free version is sufficient for the average user. Need more? They’ve got a variety of monthly commitment levels available.

Buffer

We’re supposed to keep swimming in this social ocean or we’re going down, shark style, right? But maybe you don’t have time to hop on Facebook twice a day and constantly reload your Twitter feed. Stay active on social media without being constantly distracted with Buffer–sit down at the start of the week, line up some posts, and don’t think about it until next Sunday. Curb the addiction to your phone and spend some time in the great outdoors. (Or at least go to the cafe down the street?)

Are there any other apps you use to keep on task while working freelance? Let me know in the comments!