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Selected Resources
I’ve organized the various links in two broad groups, “general†and “musicâ€. While there’s lots of overlap between them, the “music†ones are sites specifically centered on music, while the “general†ones are… well, for all purposes, general! For your convenience, all the blue underlined titles are live hyperlinks, so you can click through from here to check them out. By the way, where possible, I’ve sorted all the listings by their relative web popularity, using the latest “Alexa Ranksâ€. The higher up a listing is – the more popular it’s likely to be.
General: Planning and Research
When working on ideas for your site, some of the resources below may be very helpful, while others are essential.
| Planning and Research | In Brief |
| Google Places/Maps | If you you’re based in a specific geographic location you simply “must†register it here. |
| Google AdWords Keyword Planner | The most comprehensive free keyword research tool from the masters of search themselves. |
| Google Trends | An easy to use keyword and niche analyzer tool. |
| WayBack Machine | Wanna know what the given site looked like some time ago? This is the tool which will show you! |
| BuiltWith | Find out what tools did your competitors use to build their site |
| SpyFu | Detailed keyword and competition research tool. |
| Compete | Research where are your competitors are getting their traffic |
| WhoIsHostingThis | Find out who is hosting the site you’re investigating |
| WhatWPThemeIsThat | Which WordPress theme is being used on the site you’re researching |
| SocialMention | Who is talking about you – or any of your competitors! |
| Long Tail Pro | Find profitable keywords fast |
| Clarity.fm | On-demand business advice |
| Moat | Reverse search for online ads. See what your competitors are doing |
| Website Watcher | Monitor sites for any changes |
| WhosMailingWhat | Direct email data library, superb for competition intelligence |
| IdeaOffer | Get help developing your idea |
And while we’re on the topic of general research and orientation, you might want to read the enclosed BONUS PDF eBook “The Best Internet Marketing Business Models (downloadable through this link on in your Member’s Area) which discusses the most popular ways in which people earn money online. Another BONUS enclosed here is a highly useful “Keyword Research Resource“, which you’ll be able to access through this link or through your Member’s Area. Finally, in the spirit of expanding your general knowledge about all things related to online marketing, I’ve attached another BONUS, “ IM Insights and Tips“ which I’ve written together with the renowned business coach, Charles Holland.
General: Tools and Resources
Some of the links below are extremely useful. Most are free, and the sooner you know about them the better!
| Tools & Resources | In Brief |
| Google Authorship | Essential not only as a social network but also as a Google ranking boost |
| Google Calendar | Plan and share your appointments |
| Mozilla Lightbeam | Works with Firefox only, and shows you who’s tracking YOU online! |
| Dragon Dictation | This allows you to convert your voice recording into written text! Just don’t forget to edit it afterwards |
| Domainsbot | Site name ideas |
| BustaName | Site name ideas |
| Total Commander | Windows Explorer replacement, viewer and FTP client all rolled into one |
| PSD2HTML | Convert your PSD designs to high quality, cross-browser compatible, valid XHTML / CSS markup. |
| Lean Domain Search | Site name ideas |
| Impossibility | Site name ideas |
| Coachtip | Good advice and other resources |
| FileZilla | The world’s leading FTP client |
| DomainR | Site name ideas |
| OfferVault | – |
General: Hosting
There are loads of good hosting companies, some more expensive some cheaper, some specializing in very specific types of hosting. The hosting company I use most often is HostGator, but the list below will show you many good alternatives. Whatever you do, DON’T go for hosts who don’t offer cPanel (like GoDaddy, who should just stick to domain sales!). It will make your life a lot easier!
| Hosting | In Brief |
| Web.com | A popular hosting solution |
| HostGator | Probably the most popular host on the web |
| BlueHost | Possibly the second most popular host |
| iPage | A popular hosting solution |
| Network Solutions | A popular hosting solution |
| HostMonster | A popular hosting solution |
| JustHost | A popular hosting solution |
| WP Engine | Another excellent  large-project host |
| LiquidWeb | Great host for larger projects |
| NetFirms | A popular hosting solution |
| iPower | A popular hosting solution |
| Webhosting Hub | A popular hosting solution |
| Dotster | A popular hosting solution |
| StartLogic | A popular hosting solution |
| Dot5Hosting | A popular hosting solution |
| eHost | A popular hosting solution |
| PureHost | A popular hosting solution |
| EntryHost | A popular hosting solution |
At this stage, it’s probably a good idea for you to consult a couple of additional resources I’ve provided for Full Crusher Course members. The first one is called “Web Hosting Explained“ (available through this link or via your Member’s Area). It’s a step-by-step instruction video about web hosting, plus a web page with more info. The second one is the “cPanel Instruction Course“, which contains 24 short step-by-step instruction videos for you, if you like to get deeper into understanding your site’s back-end.
NOTE: All “Full Crusher Course†resources are intended for you if you like to go “deeperâ€, but in the vast majority of cases sufficient basic concepts are covered within the main course.
General: Domain Registrars
When purchasing your domain name, you need to visit a “domain registrarâ€. While many hosting companies (and not only) also dabble with selling domain names, I recommend you go to specialists like NameCheap. The reason is simple: if your domain is registered with a stable and dedicated company, chances are minimal that they’ll go out of business any time soon, leaving you high and dry. Another reason: they usually offer the best support, rates and terms!
| Domain Registrars | In Brief |
| GoDaddy | World-standard domain registrar |
| NameCheap | Great domain registrar (cheap and reliable). RECOMMENDED. |
| Name.com | A popular domain registrar |
| ResellerClub | A popular domain registrar |
| Register | A popular domain registrar |
| Domain | A popular domain registrar |
| Moniker | A popular domain registrar |
| InternetBS.net | A popular domain registrar |
| HostWay | A popular domain registrar |
| NameStation | Get people to help you come up with names for your site |
| OnlineNic | A popular domain registrar |
| DomainSite | A popular domain registrar |
| FXDomains | A popular domain registrar |
| Netfirms.ca | A popular domain registrar |
| Gandi | A popular domain registrar |
| MadDog | A popular domain registrar |
| YahooDomains | A popular domain registrar |
| ResellOne | A popular domain registrar |
General: Site Monitoring
Once your site is up and running, and indeed even before – when you’re researching your competition, etc – it’s a good idea to get into the habit of monitoring everything. The classic solution is to run everything through Google Analytics, but there are more options, some of which are easier to understand and use than GA. This said, Google Analytics should ALWAYS be used, regardless of what type of site you’ve going to be building.
Here are some of the best and easiest tools to help you with monitoring. There’s many more, of course, but these are the ones I use regularly.
| Site Monitoring | In Brief |
| Google Analytics | Site usage statistics |
| Google Webmaster Tools | Essential monitoring and diagnostics for your site |
| SEMRush | Which keywords send your competitors the most traffic? |
| Alexa | Global site rank as well as broad demographic info |
| Quantcast | Superb demographic research of all major (and registered) sites |
| SEO Quake | Browser plugin which helps you see lots of important statistical details about the sites you visit or query |
General: Web Search
Most people only ever use Google Search. But there’s more to life than that! I’m now using StartPage more and more. While they use Google for all their searches, they do not store ANY cookies or browsing data, i.e. all your searching remains private. Not that I have anything to hide, but I also like my privacy!
Apart from that, you’ll find that the other search engines come up with sometimes diametrically DIFFERENT results! When researching any topic, I strongly recommend using the same search keywords on different engines – you’ll find the best cross-section of articles, sites and resources that way, making your research on just about any subject that much more comprehensive.
| Web Search | In Brief |
| Google Search | The world’s #1 search engine, hardly needs any introduction. |
| Yahoo | The second largest search engine, albeit tiny by comparison to Google, still very useful in many areas. |
| Bing | The world’s #3 search engine, formerly known as MSN – still has plenty of uses so don’t discard it in your research. |
| Ask | A popular alternative to Google |
| AOL Search | A popular alternative to Google |
| MyWebSearch | A popular alternative to Google |
| WebCrawler | A popular alternative to Google |
| DuckDuckGo | A popular alternative to Google |
| Wow | A popular alternative to Google |
| InfoSpace | A popular alternative to Google |
| Info | A popular alternative to Google |
| Dogpile | A popular alternative to Google |
| StartPage | Highly recommended. Same as Google but without the snooping! |
| Webopedia | A popular alternative to Google |
| Blekko | A popular alternative to Google |
| Contenko | A popular alternative to Google |
| Alhea | A popular alternative to Google |
| Mahalo | A popular alternative to Google |
| Yippy | A popular alternative to Google |
General: Turnkey Websites
Throughout this course I do NOT recommend that you use any of the “turnkey†systems you see so much of on the web and even advertised on TV. Not because they’re bad, but because they’re generally not powerful or flexible enough in the long run.  So, their early convenience will come at a price further down the line.
Still, in fairness to you, here’s a list of some of the best turnkey solutions for you to at least be familiar with.
After that, I recommend you skip all of them and go straight for the self-hosted WordPress solution, as recommended throughout this course.
| Turnkey Websites | In Brief |
| Wix | – |
| Weebly | – |
| 1&1 | – |
| NetworkSolutions | – |
| Homestead | – |
| Web.com | – |
| FatCow | – |
| Bandzoogle | band website platform |
| BuildYourSite | – |
At this point here are two additional BONUS resources for you: “Website Templates“, which contains over 700 landing page templates ready for you to modify and use – and “Your Graphics Library“ with hundreds of downloadable files in ZIP format.
The purpose of these materials is not only to give you more do-it-yourself options but also for you to be able to quickly be able to add ready-made elements to your site, be it WordPress or anything else you may have opted for. And when you get to creating special-purpose landing pages and the like, these resources will come very handy indeed.
General: WordPress and Related
Below, you’ll find only a tiny selection of WordPress-related links – primarily the best plugins which I use myself, and also one or two theme suppliers. Additionally, the links to the two major WordPress platforms: the self-hosted one (.ORG) and the publicly hosted and free (.COM).
You should NOT use the .com WordPress for building your site. You SHOULD be a member of the WordPress.com social network and have a basic presence there, but NOT your main site.
You want to have full control of everything and a public solution like this will never quite give you that. Follow the course instructions for how to do this quickly and easily. Also, keep in mind that Googling “Wordpress plugins†or “Wordpress themes†will give you millions more links. But start with the ones below:
| WordPress & Related | In Brief |
| WordPress COM | Important to sign up to as a social network, but to build your own site, we recommend a self-hosted solution |
| WordPress ORG | Self-hosted WordPress (recommended), The world’s leading sit building platform |
| Akismet | Helps to protect you from comment spam. |
| All-In-One Favicon | Easily edit your Favicon |
| Broken Link Checker | Just as the name says: an essential tool |
| Contextual Related Posts | Automatically create internal links on your site |
| Digg Digg | An excellent social sharing plugin |
| Disqus | The best comment management system around |
| Facebook Comments | Allows Facebook users to more easily comment on your blog |
| Facebook Like | – |
| Fast Secure Contact Form | Highly customizable contact form |
| Feedburner Plugin | Manage all your feeds through Feedburner |
| GD Press Tools | – |
| Google Analyticator | Manage Google Analytics the easy way |
| Google Analytics for WordPress | Monitor your site popularity daily |
| Google XML Sitemaps | Help the search engines index your site correctly. |
| Automatically alert your social accounts | |
| PrettyLink Lite | Cloak your affiliate and other links and monitor them |
| Simple CAPTCHA | Additional anti-spam protection, particularly for online forms |
| Subscribe to Comments Reloaded | A great way to quietly build a list |
| Thank Me Later | Thank your commenters automatically |
| TinyMCE Advanced | A handy expansion of basic WordPress functionality |
| W3 Total Cache | Speed up your WordPress site |
| Wassup Real-time Aanlytics | See who’s visiting your site, in real time |
| Wordfence Security | Protect your asset |
| WordPress Editorial Calendar | Plan your article launches |
| WordPress Stats | Like the Analyticator but even more powerful |
| WP Realtime Sitemap | – |
| WP Super Cache | A great way to speed your site up |
| Yoast SEO | The best SEO plugin for WordPress, bar none. |
| WP Duplicate Content Cure | If you outsource article writing, this tool will be very useful to you |
| PopUpDomination | Manages pop up ads for you |
| Welcome Gate | Huge opt-in boost |
| ThemeForrest | – |
At this point, if you’re a Full Crusher Course member, it might make sense for you to learn WordPress more in-depth.
I have thus provided you with a great “WordPress Course“, which is a set of 13 step-by-step instruction videos designed for beginners who just want to know all the most important basics, and see someone show you everything on the screen.
While WordPress is very intuitive and easy, it still makes sense to at least watch these videos because they’ll cut down your learning time very considerably.
General: Cloud Storage and Streaming
If/when your site becomes very popular, you will want to consider connecting it to a more efficient storage (for music, videos and any other bandwidth-sucking media). Here are some of the most popular choices in that regard:
| Cloud Storage & Streaming | In Brief |
| Amazon S3 | Amazon’s cloud hosting for your videos |
| DropBox | Good cloud storage site |
| Box | Good cloud storage site |
| GrooveShark | Good cloud storage site, especially for musicians |
| MyPCBackup | Good cloud storage site |
| JustCloud | Good cloud storage site |
| SugarSync | Good cloud storage site |
| Mozy | Good cloud storage site |
| Indie Shuffle | Music streaming |
| CrashPlan | Good cloud storage site |
| ZipCloud | Good cloud storage site |
| BackupGenie | Good cloud storage site |
| Radio Reddit | Music streaming |
| Indie Rock Café | Music streaming |
| SOS | Good cloud storage site |
General: Ad Trackers
When running your site, it’s a good idea to know everything you can about how well the individual pages perform (in terms of visits, conversions, etc), be they your regular blog pages or dedicated promotional ones. Whether you’re generating your traffic through organic or paid sources – especially when you’re paying for it – you NEED to know. So here are some very useful “ad trackers†(they don’t just track “ads†of course) for you to consider:
| Ad Trackers | In Brief |
| Hypertracker | An excellent ad tracker (I use this one) |
| AdMinder | Great ad tracker |
| AdWatcher | Another ad tracker |
| AdTrackZ | Top ad tracker |
| Click/Counter Tracker | Top ad tracker |
| ProAnalyzer | Another ad tracker |
| ezTrackZ | Another ad tracker |
| LinkTrack | Great ad tracker |
| ClickAnalyzer | Another ad tracker |
| Dynatracker | Another ad tracker |
| GoToProduct | Another ad tracker |
| KaizenTrack | Another ad tracker |
General: Autoresponders
The most fundamental aspect of your entire online business experience is your ability to develop a relationship with your visitors. You do this in many ways (all described within this course), and the one thing that they all have in common is that they rely on what is known as “the listâ€. That’s a list of people who are your members, i.e. either your fans, prospects or customers.
While there are many ways to build and manage a list, you really can’t do this RIGHT without a dedicated tool like an “autoresponderâ€. Here are some of the most popular ones for you to consider:
| Autoresponders | In Brief |
| aWeber | The world’s leading autoresponder service with the highest deliverability rate (I use this one) |
| MailChimp | Great autoresponder |
| ConstantContact | Great autoresponder |
| InfusionSoft | Great autoresponder |
| GetResponse | Another good autoresponder |
| iContact | Great autoresponder |
| Campaign Monitor | Another good autoresponder |
| Office Autopilot | Another good autoresponder |
| AWProTools | Further enhance aWeber’s already superb functionality |
| AddressTwo | Great autoresponder |
| Autoresponse Plus | Another good autoresponder |
| OneClickTool | Automatically adds your webinar participants to your aWeber list |
If you’re a Full Crusher Course member, here are a few additional resources for you. The first on is “Autoresponder Basics“, a set of five step-by-step instruction videos. Next, you’ll do well to read up some more and to watch “Funnel Mastery†– another set of five step-by-step instruction videos and a PDF eBook. Then, consider watching the “List Building Guide“ which contains 11 step-by-step instruction videos. Finally, to give you just about “all†you need to know about this subject, check out “Optin List Mastery Course“, a 5-video step-by-step instruction course, along with two PDF eBooks. Did I mention that this is a very comprehensive and HUGE course…? 🙂
General: Payment Processors and Membership Systems
Another indispensable thing or two you must have is a payment processor and a member management system. While autoresponders manage your LIST, it’s not quite the same as managing your members’ access, transactions, affiliate fees, and so on. The systems below do that and more.
| Payment/Member Systems | In Brief |
| PayPal | The indispensable payment processor |
| InfusionSoft | Another good autoresponder, shopping cart and membership management program |
| JVZoo | Product marketplace and payment processor |
| Nanacast | Another good one |
| Tips&Tricks eStore | Another good one, very easy to use |
| 1ShoppingCart | Another good autoresponder, shopping cart and membership management program |
| DigiResults | Another good one |
| Digital Product Delivery | Another good one |
| TipsAndTricksHQ | Simple and inexpensive but powerful member management and affiliate management solutions |
Since PayPal is a fundamental service you simply “must†have, I have provided a few additional resources for Full Crusher Course members. Among them is the â€PayPal User’s Guide“, which is just a web page in your member’s area, and another is “PayPal SandBox Tutorial“ which is a 4-video step-by-step instruction for how to test your PayPal (particularly important if you don’t have one of the above member management programs, most of which help you manage PayPal without the need of getting down and dirty!). I also thought it would be a good idea to, at this point, provide you with a “Membership Resources and Course“. This consists of two video sub-courses, one in 4 parts, the other in 10 parts – plus a technical analysis of many of the most popular membership programs.
General: Audio/Video Tools
While everyone doing any kind of business or promotions online can benefit from audio and video, for musicians and artists this is simply a must.
While you may already have good tools for this, here are some of the most affordable options for you (including some free ones too):
| Audio/Video Tools | In Brief |
| Windows Movie Maker | Free alternative for video production, PC |
| iMovie | Free alternative for video production, Mac |
| Audacity | Free program which allows you to record your voice |
| Camtasia Studio | Super easy video editor for beginners. The most popular video program online (use ScreenFlow if you’re on the Mac) |
| Wistia | Host and create your videos then analyze their usage. Superb tool |
| ScreenFlow | – |
| Easy Video Suite | A superb program for all your video creation and marketing needs. Great for beginners, but also very useful for most advanced users |
| Audio Acrobat | Create and broadcast on-demand audio and video |
If you’re a Full Crusher Course member, it may be a good idea for you now to consider the attached “Video Marketing Course†– a 21-vide step-by-step instruction  and a PDF eBook as well as a video marketing article pack. Also, a BONUS for everyone: “Video Networks“, a web page with more links, accessible from within your Member’s Area.
Music: Music Production
For those of you interested in music production, it’s a very good idea to follow at least some of the sites and resources below:
| Music Production | In Brief |
| GearSlutz | – |
| Home Recording | – |
| KVR Audio | – |
| SoundOnSound | – |
| Studio Central | – |
General: Content
Content development is one of the lifelines of your online business. You simply can not succeed without it. The links below include sites which are great for content research, as well as sites where you can promote your content as well, or find people who can help you develop it for you.
| Content | In Brief |
| Yahoo! Contributor Network | Great content site |
| About | Great content site |
| eHoe | Great content site |
| Topsy.com | Great for content IDEAS and discovering influencers in the various niches) |
| Sponsored Reviews | Great content site |
| Digital Journal | Great content site |
| Epinions | Great content site |
| Triond | Great content site |
| Demand Media | Great content site |
| Constant Content | Great content site |
| ContentBlvd | Great content site |
| Bukisa | Great content site |
| Wizzley | Great content site |
| Xomba | Great content site |
| Blogging | Great content site |
| ContentGems | A great place for finding and sharing content |
| Helium | Great content site |
| Zujava | Great content site |
| Article Teller | Great content site |
| Content Row | Great content site |
Written content – actually, ANY kind of content – is inextricably linked to SEO. If you write your content without considering a few simple “tricks†for how the search engines will see it, you’re potentially undermining your entire online effort.
With this in mind, if you’re a Full Crusher Course member, I provided a few additional resources, which include “SEO Tips“ a useful PDF eBook; then another eBook which has been written about a system I developed a couple of years ago, called SEOlater, “Site Optimization Guide“. Next, I enclosed “Google Basics“ a 15-vide step-by-step instruction set and a PDF eBook covering many aspects of Google’s tools, services and networks. Finally, I also attach a BONUS page for everyone, with more eBook and Writing Networks.
Music: Music Reviews
Getting your music reviewed is KEY – not only because more fans can learn about it, but also – critically – because it’s extremely useful in SEO terms. For this reason, no music business course would be complete without a list of a bunch of great music review resources:
| Music Reviews | In Brief |
| Organ Art | Organ Magazine Organart is the home of a constantly updated alternative, rock, heavy metal, punk, indie, hardcore, progressive, psychedelic, pop rock music zine as well a source of alternative music news and the home of org records. Well worth a visit 🙂 |
| Pitchfork Media | Pitchfork is a website dedicated to music and the discussion thereof. |
| Parx-E | Parx-e Web Zine friendly site eZine that will give you a Band Review |
| The Mag | The Mag an unsigned and independent music Magazine. A good place for reviews. |
| Club Knowledge | clubknowledge create an “interview” for your Website. |
| Toxic Pete | Toxic Pete “unbiased and constructive music reviews from a lover of all things musical”. That’s what he says and it’s true. |
| BlabNow | Album Reviews, Music Industry Commentary and New Singles Roundup blog |
| Losing Today | LOSINGTODAY Indie Music Magazine. |
Music: Music Submissions
It’s one of those things artists do regularly: submit their best music for consideration for various “opportunities†– film, ads, covers, etc.
A number of music sites provide this service, chief among them being Taxi and Music Xray. But they’re by no means the only ones and if you submit your work anywhere, you should at least consider many of the others:
| Music Submissions | In Brief |
| Taxi | Taxi is probably the largest and most popular premium song submission service. |
| Music X-Ray | This is one of the most dynamic and popular music resource sites on the web today, and they also provide regular placement opportunities. It’s a must-have in terms of signing up there. |
| BroadJam | offers an ‘opportunities’ service for $5-$10 per sbmission depending on what type a paid account you have a broadjam member to enter opportunities. sign up today. you’ll also get other services designed to help independent musicians like you, promote themselves. |
| Music Loops | Our site where you can submit a demo. No fees to join. Price your own tracks, lots of sales, with 50% of the price goes to the composer. |
| YouLicense | direct job opportunities are available here |
| Artist PR | – |
| Music Dealers | A new site where you can upload and create a profile and the people at music dealers pitch your tracks to potential clients. |
| Pump Audio | There is no submission fee. If your music is not used, you lose nothing. You will receive 50% of the license fees we receive for your music. Pump’s deal is completely non-exclusive. Our deal will never prevent you from working with anyone else. |
| Film Music | Paid monthly subscription to submit music to be considered. Immediate Access to our Film/TV Music Jobs Database. Access to Film Music Network Live! 24 hr/day streaming audio of Film Music Network events. Immediate Access to our Film & TV Music Salary & Rate Survey. Full benefits and discounts at all participating Film Music Network Vendor Partners. |
| SoundReef | Swap music for promotion? Not sure what that means but worth investigating. |
| Radio Submit | – |
| StudentFilms | Jobs posted for composers and composer submitting their resumes and profiles. Free to register. Lots of posts like ‘Composer Needed’ and ‘Composer Available’. |
| Music Gorilla | – |
| Indie Music Business | – |
| Minimum Noise | A new site with all kinds of projects for “crowdsourcing musicians”. |
| The Composers Collective | The Composer Collective is comprised of cinematic composers dedicated to creating dramatic scores of the highest quality for film, television, interactive and commercial media. We group composers into innovative and productive workforces, giving the film industry a much-needed resource for intelligent music at never-before-seen productivity levels. This service is known as TeamScoreâ„¢. Choosing TeamScoreâ„¢ puts you on the front lines of the film business as it changes and adapts rapidly to the demands of distributors and consumers worldwide. |
| Humtoo | A global meeting place for music makers and content creators. This site is pretty cool as it is free to signup and submit your music to videos and project descriptions. |
| Feature Sounds | – |
| JestSet Sound | – |
General: Crowd Funding
While I generally prefer self-funding to reliance on outside help, I do understand that it can sometimes be quite impossible to get the show off the ground without at least some assistance. So, rather than looking for individual “angel investors,†here are some popular “crowd funding†alternatives. Just remember that you need to have a solid plan for any of this to work (see the main course for much more on this).
| Crowd Funding | In Brief |
| Invested.in | Popular crowd-funding site |
| Kickstarter | Possibly the best crowd-funding site |
| IndieGoGo | Popular crowd-funding site |
| GoFundMe | Popular crowd-funding site |
| Quirky | Popular crowd-funding site |
| CrowdRise | Popular crowd-funding site |
| PledgeMusic | Popular crowd-funding site, particularly for musicians |
| Razoo | Popular crowd-funding site |
| CrowdFunder | Popular crowd-funding site |
| RocketHub | Popular crowd-funding site |
| AppBackr | Popular crowd-funding site |
| PeerBackers | Popular crowd-funding site |
| SellaBand | Popular crowd-funding site, particularly for musicians |
| SomoLend | Popular crowd-funding site |
| ThePoint | Popular crowd-funding site, can do conditional pledges |
| AngelList | Popular crowd-funding site |
General: Major Social Networks
Taking part in social networks is no longer an “optionâ€. It’s a must, particularly for artists wishing to promote their music and building their fan base.
I selected the “major†networks below not only basing on their massive popularity but also with mind to their utility as “traffic-gettersâ€. Hence, alongside the obvious ones like YouTube or Facebook, you’ll see the slightly surprising “PlentyOfFish†(a dating network). Why? Simply because this and other such networks provide you with access to highly segmented demographics where you can promote to sub-sub-niches with laser precision.
| Major Social Networks | In Brief |
| Google Plus | – |
| Major social network | |
| YouTube | YouTube share your videos with fans, friends and family. The most important social site for an independent artist. |
| You have 140 characters to tell the world what you’re about, what is on your mind or where your next show is going to be | |
| Major social business network | |
| Major social network | |
| Share pictures | |
| PlentyOfFish | Dating network, excellent for traffic targeting |
These are only the “majorsâ€. Many more hugely influential networks below. But first, I felt you might want to go a little deeper into some of the big guns, most specifically from the point of view of paid promotions. And so, for the Full Crusher Course members, there’s the “Facebook Mastery“, a 33-video step-by-step instruction course, as well as “AdWords Mastery“ a 10-video step-by-step course and PDF eBook crucial for promoting not only on Google but beyond as well. Finally, I though this would also be a good time for you to have a look at how you can use the web to conduct local promotions – and with that in mind, check out the “Local market domination“ which is a 10-video step-by-step instruction course dealing with just that.
Music: Social Networks
Joining social networks, creating profiles on them (very important for SEO) is just one of the things you do once you decide to build and online business. The extra reach that this allows you can be invaluable. The relatively minor effort of creating accounts (which can be automated and/or outsourced) is easily offset by both the SEO benefits as well as the simple fact that with each account you’re potentially increasing your audience and its access to your work. While I don’t advocate signing up to “all†of these networks, many of the ones listed below are really VERY important for artists to be a part of. You decide which ones:
| Music Social Networks | In Brief |
| Apple Ping | Ping Apple’s Ping network is like Facebook for iTunes, where you can follow artists and your friends to get new music recommendations and find out what your favorite musicians are up to. Simply “Follow†an artist to get their news updates, and find out what music they’re listening to at the moment. You can add posts to their profiles, or “Like†or comment on their posts (see, we told you it was like Facebook). The same goes for friends: follow their profile, view their music suggestions and post on their wall. As the service runs through the iTunes software, you can also access it through the iTunes apps on iDevices. |
| Channel 4 Music | Channel 4 Music – actually, I don’t think one can create a profile anymore! |
| Mix Cloud | – |
| 8Tracks | 8 tracks dares you to tell us what kind of mood you’re in using only 8 tracks. |
| MixCloud | – |
| HulkShare | – |
| Eventful | If you have an event, post it here and people will find you |
| BuzzNet | is a social media music network where users can share content through profiles or messages. Buzznet is categorized by Music News, Photos, Galleries, Videos, Community, Artists, and Contests. Buzznet is a music, fashion and entertainment news website that hosts user-generated content. Readers vote for the favorite stories, which then become “Buzzworthyâ€. You can “like†and comment on other people’s news stories, and submit your own photos, videos, links, polls and blog posts. Users can also create their own groups, which act as forums. |
| eMusic | – |
| FanBridge | Mailing list that connects bands with their fans and even offers them deals for being members |
| Midomi | Midomi is a music search engine tool that is powered by your voice. You can sing, hum, or whistle a song and your performance will be added to a database. After singing and recording a song online, the end result can be sent to friends and other Midomi users. Midomi sells full albums and individual tracks. Midomi is a network that makes it easy to discover new music and people. The cool thing is that you can search for music by singing or humming part of a song. All you need is a microphone and you will be able to connect to your favorite music, and to a community of people that share your musical interests. You can listen to other member’s voices, see pictures, rate singers, send messages and also buy music. |
| Kompoz | Team up with other musicians both on and offline |
| GoGo Yoko | is a music social network that has the ability to stream and share music. Music players can be customized. Artists can set the price of the music and they also get 100% of the profit. Gogoyoko is more of a social marketplace than a social network, but it’s a great way to stream music free online, and buy tracks straight from artists, without lining record companies’ pockets in the process. You can store purchased tracks on your Gogoyoko profile, or download them to your desktop or a device. Artists get full control over what they charge for their music on the site, and they get 100% of the profit from sold tracks, plus revenue from streaming too. Follow your favorite artists, leave comments on their profiles and connect with other people who share your taste in music. |
| TwitMusic | An extension of Twitter specifically geared towards musical acts |
| Sell A Band | is a music social network where artists can request fans to help fund a music project. You can choose to withdraw the money in between the time of the fund raising efforts up until the Target Budget is reached. Listening to music and browsing the website is free. Currently a Public Enemy rap album is being funded (Flava Flav’s band). Sellaband is a music social network that turns the fans and listeners of bands into their producers, asking them to invest in a band or artist they support so that they will be able to get a recording opportunity. Every single investor that supports a successful band will take home a small cut of the profits made by them. Artists not only get financial support but also share 50% of the ad revenue coming from the free downloads of their music. |
| Internet DJ | is an electronic music social network and forum. Other features include event information news, charts, a DJ database, and MP3 downloads. InternetDJ is a community for fans of electronic music. It’s a platform for people to listen to others’ tracks, find fellow musicians for collaboration, and share their own music with the general public. Artists can post their music for other members to rate and review, and the website has its own charts based on what people are listening to. As well as hosting a variety of electronic music, the website has its own blog, and a user message board. |
| QuarterLife | is a medium-sized music social network that has show information, a My Studio section, Events, Groups, Chat, classifieds, etc. |
| AloneTone | – |
| Dope Tracks | Hip-Hop/Rap based forum where atrists can join forces musically |
| A New Band a Day | – |
| – | |
| JamGlue | allows artists to upload music and get attention for upcoming releases. Artists can also build a remix contest campaign around their music. Fans can remix tracks through JamGlue. |
| CatchMyWorld | – |
| Mint Music | – |
| HayStack | Haystack is a social network centered around people who want to find music through friends and taste makers. You can browse music, pictures, videos and reviews of artists as well as build your own profile and personalize it with images and videos (you can even add them from YouTube). Artists are welcome to sign up directly or through their manager or their label. |
| SoundSwift | – |
| Talent Com Media | – |
| Flotones | is small music social network that shares revenue with indie artists. You can browse digital songs, ringtones, music blogs, albums, artists, and mobile wallpapers on the website. |
| MusoCity | is a music social network where music fans, artists, and retailers can connect to each other. Indie artists can also add MP3s to the website. MusoCity is a music-oriented social network. It provides accounts specifically designed for music fans, artists, musicians, music retailers and music venues. MusoCity is completely free to join and you can start browsing members profiles to make friends, discovering new artists, getting in touch with musicians in your area and finding events and music stores near you. |
| Blissic | – |
| The Indie Place | – |
| Hear The Indie | – |
| Share The Music | is a website that hosts over 60,000 songs and acts as the middleman for people that want to share music. The service works in about seven different languages. |
| Datiff | – |
| Immitter | – |
| Yibster | is a smaller music social network that has albums, videos, musician profiles, games, events, etc. Profiles can be customized similarly to MySpace layouts. |
| OurWave | Each band and or artist gets their 15 minutes of fame with OurWave, they are able to use this site as a promotion tool by posting their music and announce upcoming shows |
| JamNow | JamNow is a social network aimed at musicians that allows them to create audio content online in real-time. JamNow isn’t a site that simply makes you “post and listen†to audio content: its platform enables real-time music collaboration and lets you schedule live jam sessions and listen to musicians that are playing right in that moment. |
| Radio 2.0 | mercora radio / a social network with an integrated free music listening service (that sustains itself through contextual music-centered ads), as well as a personal-webcasting platform. Mercora Radio 2.0 will search your hard disk for all the music tracks you have legally acquired and then you are ready to broadcast your own music library to the world. Each radio station has multiple channels and each DJ can also create his own playlists. |
| iJigg | is a music social network where users can submit and rate music. After uploading music, you can embed it into your Facebook profile or blog. iJigg is a online community that lets you comment on music and share songs. You can rate music and influence what becomes popular, as well as upload your own music to share it with the community and make new fans. You will need to decide whether to open a “listener†or “artist†account, which will give you access to different features (e.g. listeners can download free mp3 of their favorite music, while artists can upload their own music). |
| Amie Street | is an independent music download website where indie artists can sell their music and share revenue with the music social network. The community decides the price of the music based on the popularity. The more a song is download, the higher a price becomes. The top songs are sold for $0.98. |
| Indababa Music | is community of artists to mingle and make music together by recording tracks online. One of their featured programs is a remix content for a Weezer song |
| May Contain Music | is a small music social network that hosts music, event information, venue information, and videos. Flotones is a monetized social network for artists and their fans. The most interesting feature is the possibility to promote and distribute artist’s content via mobile phones (such as ringtones and mobile wallpapers). After you register and add your content, you’ll be able to promote your mobile content at your shows, on your website and on your MySpace profile. You’ll be asked to sign a contract before getting paid. |
| Nibi Mix | – |
| Sonific | Sonific is a social network that offers a great way to promote your music, if you are an artist. It lets users put free music widgets with your music on their sites and promote it to their own audiences, for free. In exchange, Sonific users get free music to use and listen to (download is not permitted) and make their site look cooler – while you get free advertising for your music. |
General: Social Networks and Bookmarking Networks
So what’s the point of providing you with all those links? Simple: you NEED to have accounts with many of them in order to boost your online profile. Some of these networks will require that you actively take part in them, while others don’t appear to care. Be that as it may, you still want to have your profiles established there, complete with links to your home site, offers and whatever else you decide. Now, while you “can†create profiles on all these networks by yourself, that would be a very boring and a time-consuming thing to do. A better option is to outsource this to someone, e.g. on Fiverr or any other freelance site. Anyway – here’s a list of some of the biggest and most important social networks (apart from the “majors†discussed above) and social bookmarking sites:
| Social Net’s & Bookmarking | In Brief |
| Google Bookmarks | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Yahoo! My Web | Major social network and bookmarking site. One button click adds your bookmarks to the search engine giants system, features duplicate detection to help you keep your bookmarks tidy |
| Tumblr | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| AOL Lifestream | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| StumbleUpon | – |
| Mashable | A great social bookmarking site & more |
| Tagged | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Digg | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| HubPages | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Scoop.it | A great way to discover interesting content |
| Squidoo | Major social network and bookmarking site. Lets you “channel surf” the Internet and review sites; it learns what you like and recommends more of the same |
| Hi5 | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Delicious | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Slashdot | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Ebaum’s World | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| FriendFeed | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Plurk | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Technorati | Technorati Add tags to your blog posts so sites like Technorati detect and list your tags. 🙂 |
| Diigo | Major social network and bookmarking site. Highlight portions of a page, write on it like you would a piece of paper, share with your group, and search all publicly saved pages |
| Folkd | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Fark | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Metafilter | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| AllVoices | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| NewsVine | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| BizSugar | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| BlinkList | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Sonico | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| YouMob | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| DesignFloat | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| URL | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| News Me Back | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Bookmark4You | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Indofeed | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Dropjack | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| LinkaGoGo | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| GiveALink | Important social network and bookmarking site. Donate your bookmarks to this site to help them recommend sites and get a better understanding of how each person bookmarks. |
| BuddyMarks | Important social network and bookmarking site. Store your bookmarks online, share some or all of them, discover new sites to visit by searching the public bookmark area. |
| Yemle | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Social-Bookmarking | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Linksprocket | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Kaboodle | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| FWisp | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Jumptags | Major social network and bookmarking site |
| Postolia | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| SiteJot | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Acymca | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| 1 Look 4 | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| A1 Webmarks | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Important social network and bookmarking site | |
| StartAid | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Diggita | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| DesignBump | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Mister-Wong.com | Important social network and bookmarking site. Bookmark and tag, search for tags that interest you, make buddies with people who have interesting saved sites. |
| MyHQ | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| NetVouz | Important social network and bookmarking site. Save your bookmarks in folders, tag them with keywords, share them with others or password protect them. |
| Salisbury Woodworks | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| CloudyTags | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Bruher | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Bookmax | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| BlogMarks | Important social network and bookmarking site. Save your bookmarks, tag them with keywords for easy searching amongst your list, share with others. |
| Uppernodd Project | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Pusha | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Youdoze | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Spider Robot | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| OYAX | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Murl | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Alplist | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| NautiDarcos | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| SpicyPage | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Siland Memoirs | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| iKeep Bookmarks | Important social network and bookmarking site. Folders, search folder names and more. |
| BlogosphereNews | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| DotNetKicks | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| SheToldMe | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Edictos Online | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Efprof | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Look At That | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Golden Midas | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Colivia | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| DesignMoo | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Klicknews | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Connotea | Important social network and bookmarking site. A themed social bookmarking site specifically for researchers, clinicians and scientists. |
| Dizzed | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| TattooEgo | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Bluedot.us | Important social network and bookmarking site. Tabbed user page showing a network of friends, bookmarks, and related tags. Allows you to import contacts from all the major mail services such as GMail and Yahoo. |
| Easy Info | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| WireFan | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Keeeper | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Redrezo | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Lilisto | Important social network and bookmarking site. Ratings, notes, categories, smart categories and in-page editing. |
| Club Elorigen | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Xuefu Sports | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| BmAccess | Important social network and bookmarking site. Bookmark a site, add tags, when you look up a tag, you get the names and a little thumbnail image of the site along with it. |
| Eshop Tong | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Talk Radio Forums | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Farkinda | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Scalene Design | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| ParkBos | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Simple Better | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| MyBookmarks | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| EasyBM | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Call Justice | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Backflip | Important social network and bookmarking site. Check out the most popular links each day, set “The Daily Routine” as your homepage so you can visit your must stop sites each day with ease. |
| j4ak | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Ruils | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Bookmark Favoriten | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Favoor | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Linkroll | Important social network and bookmarking site. Links open in new window, subscribe to tags, browse by archives. |
| Wikio | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Blummy | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Mesh Link Sharing | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Ambedo | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Bildu | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| AllMyFavorites | Important social network and bookmarking site. Create an organized page for your bookmarks that you can share with friends and family, access from any computer. |
| Diggma | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| AllConsuming | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Clickets | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Ma.gnolia.com | Important social network and bookmarking site. Discuss all the saved bookmarks in groups, see what the Featured Linker is all about, join discussions in the Hot Group. |
| Chipmark.com | Important social network and bookmarking site. Browse random “chipmarks”, share them, sort, filter, and get personal recommendations. |
| Unalog | Important social network and bookmarking site. A basic social bookmarking site, but with the ability to look back at specific days and see what was going on. |
| ScoopItNZ | Important social network and bookmarking site |
| Xilinus | Important social network and bookmarking site. Tags, rating, search, public & private listing, drag-and-drop sorting. |
| Feedmelinks | Important social network and bookmarking site. All the usual social bookmarking goodies, but you can also add links via email. |
| i89.us | Important social network and bookmarking site. Export to several formats, see popular & recent bookmarks, ability to shorten URLs. |
| Bibsonomy | Major social network and bookmarking site. Public & private bookmarks, tag cloud, related tags, duplicate detection with the chance to merge their info |
| Shadows.com | Important social network and bookmarking site. Share your already existing bookmarks, discuss and rate sites and see what you can find. |
| Hyperlinkomatic | Important social network and bookmarking site. Import/export, categories, notes, sharing, block users, RSS, tags. |
| Nextaris | Important social network and bookmarking site. Folders, tags, clippings; store up to 100MB for free. |
| Excites | Important social network and bookmarking site. Organize your bookmarks by tags, add comments and notes, share publicly, subscribe to certain tags so you can be notified when a new site is added that may interest you. |
| SocialBookmarking | Important social network and bookmarking site. User and global tag cloud, blogs, social networking, avatars and more. |
| BlinkPro | Important social network and bookmarking site. Dynamic folders, bookmark all links of a page plus all the usual features. |
| Connectbeam | Important social network and bookmarking site. 10MB of file storage, public & private sharing, tag cloud, popular feeds and more. |
| BoingBoing | – |
| Connectedy | Important social network and bookmarking site. Import your bookmarks, batch edit them, check in on hot topics. |
| GetBoo | Important social network and bookmarking site. Export your folders to HTML, import and remove duplicates, delete all bookmarks. |
At this point, you may want to go a little deeper into this whole bookmarking thing, so for Full Crusher Course members, I provide the “Bookmarking Expertise“ tutorial, which consists of  12 step-by-step instruction videos and a PDF eBook.
General: Social Promotion Tools
Getting WordPress plugins or freelancers to actively promote things for you is one thing, but another (complementary) way is to use dedicated tools that integrate with your site and (for a small fee) do most of your promotions for you. Here’s only a small handful of the most important ones (the ones I use myself for my various projects):
| Social Promotions | In Brief |
| SocialMonkee | Automated social bookmarking services |
| OnlyWire | Automated social bookmarking services |
| TrafficGeyser | Automated video and social submissions |
At this point, the Full Crusher Course members may want to check out the “Social Basics“ course which  includes two PDF eBooks plus web page in your member’s area. Also I attach an extended BONUS list of “Social Networks“, available in everyone’s Member’s Area.
General: Hosted Ads
One of the easiest and most popular income-generation methods online is via hosted ads. The most popular solution here is AdSense (the little ads you see while searching as well as the almost inescapable ads so many sites have). But AdSense isn’t the only game in town, so this short collection of links is to show you at least a few alternatives.
| Hosted Ads | In Brief |
| Google AdSense | The most popular hosted ad service |
| Amazon Associates | Alternative to AdSense |
| InfoLinks | Alternative to AdSense |
| Clicksor | Alternative to AdSense |
| BuySellAds | Alternative to AdSense |
| Chitika | Alternative to AdSense |
| Peerfly | Alternative to AdSense |
| Adversal | Alternative to AdSense |
| YesAdvertising | Alternative to AdSense |
| Kontera | Alternative to AdSense |
| TextLinkAds | Alternative to AdSense |
At this point, our Full Crusher Course members may want to go even deeper, so I provided the “AdSense Mastery“ – a 6- video step-by-step course, complete with pre-selected niche and product ideas. I also attach the “Copywriting Basics“ resource which has lots of examples and explanations contained within files in ZIP format, available within your Member’s Area.
General: Product Marketplaces
When considering multiple income streams, it’s inevitable that you’ll be looking for products to promote. Below is a pretty big list of your available options!
| Product Marketplaces | In Brief |
| Amazon | The world’s largest product marketplace |
| eBay | Great online marketplace |
| Craigslist | Great online marketplace and place classified ads |
| Cqout.com | Great online marketplace |
| Etsy | Great online marketplace |
| WalMart | Great online marketplace |
| BestBuy | Great online marketplace |
| Clickbank | Marketplace, and also a fully-fledged payment processor |
| Commission Junction | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| NewEgg | Great online marketplace |
| Share-a-Sales | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| LinkShare | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| Sears | Great online marketplace |
| Overstock | Great online marketplace |
| Zazzle | Great online marketplace to create, buy and sell products |
| Flippa | Great online marketplace to buy and sell websites |
| Envato | Great online marketplace |
| Rakuten | Great online marketplace |
| Café Press | Great online marketplace to create, buy and sell products |
| iOffer | Great online marketplace |
| Bonanza | Great online marketplace |
| MarketHealth | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| Plimus | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| eCrater | Great online marketplace |
| Gumroad | Great online marketplace |
| MadBid | Great online marketplace |
| Ubid | Great online marketplace |
| WebStore | Great online marketplace |
| RapBank | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| AsSeenOnPC | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| BluJay | Great online marketplace |
| Affiliate | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| Online Auction | Great online marketplace |
| AtomicMall | Great online marketplace |
| EpicDirect | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| NeverBlue | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| UniqueLeads | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
| WeBidz | Great online marketplace |
| eBid | Great online marketplace |
| Folio | Great online marketplace |
| WP Wizard | Great online marketplace to buy and sell e-products |
Affiliate marketing is one of the biggest money-earners online, so it’s fitting that we expand things a little bit at this stage. So, Full Crusher Course members can delve deeper with the “Affiliate Marketing Courseâ€â€“ a 7-video step-by-step course which also includes 17 PDF eBooks! Additionally, for those of you who are considering creating your own product (i.e. not just your music but also something to sell on the side), here’s the “Product Creation Workshop“ – a 7-video step-by-step course and a PDF eBook. Next, I thought it would be a good idea to show you how internet marketing products are launched on a popular forum known as “Warrior Forum†– not because you’ll ever be creating internet marketing products, but because the methods and launch considerations are very similar regardless of your niche or indeed your promotional platform. So for those of you interested in something like this, here’s the “WSO Product launch“ course which contains 11 step-by-step instruction videos. Finally, for everyone, here’s a BONUS page of even more Affiliate Links Resources which you can find in your Member’s Area.
General: Press Releases
One of the most important tools in your online arsenal will be promoting your music and events through press releases. Many of the resources below are free, but in all fairness the ones which work best cost a little bit. Still, you should consider them all. The list below only focuses on the biggest players:
| Press Releases | In Brief |
| PR Web | PRWeb Press Release Distribution for small business |
| NME | NME new musical express ..nuf said 🙂 |
| PressBox | pressbox free press release distribution. |
| HypeBot | Instant music “news†at your fingertips |
| Press Association | PA Entertainment is at the heart of the media industry |
| Mi2n | Music industry news network (Mi2N) is an online music newswire with over 350 news releases and announcements per week from independents and majors |
| SoSoActive | What’s hot in the digital age is what SoSo is all about |
| MusisDish | MusicDish an e-journal that tackles the emerging issues facing the online music industry |
| Diskant | Diskant an independent music community based in Glasgow, Scotland |
| KlubKat | klubkat is a youth culture magazine dedicated to unsigned bands and music, world travel, entertainment and the arts |
General: Q&A Sites
A hugely powerful way to promote yourself if by answering people’s questions on the so-called “answer sites†or “Q&A sitesâ€. You probably already know the likes of Yahoo Answers – so here’s a bunch more.
How do you benefit from those sites? Well, after you register you create your profile and it has a link to your main site… And each time you answer someone’s question, your link appears under your answer benefiting your with extra exposure as well as SEO points! But be aware that not all Q&A networks allow you to so blatantly promote yourself – at least not initially. You must be seen as “impartial†and gather lots of points before they let you do that. Still, it’s very beneficial, so many people do this simply because it’s a heck of a good way to generate free traffic. Incidentally, the same exact method works equally well when you post your answers on forums and/or blogs. It’s just that the major Q&A sites usually have truly massive audiences. And massive audiences CAN mean massive exposure!
| Q&A Sites | In Brief |
| Yahoo Answers | – |
| major social network and bookmarking site, incl great Q&A | |
| WikiHow | A popular Q&A site |
| eHow | A popular Q&A site |
| Friendfeed | A popular Q&A site |
| AnswerBag | A popular Q&A site |
| BlurtIt | A popular Q&A site |
| AskMeHelpDesk | A popular Q&A site |
| AllExperts | A popular Q&A site |
| Mahalo Answers | A popular Q&A site |
| FunAdvice | A popular Q&A site |
| Brightstorm Answers | A popular Q&A site |
| AskDeb | A popular Q&A site |
| AnybodyOutThere | A popular Q&A site |
| Cramster | A popular Q&A site |
| Askville | A popular Q&A site |
| Minti | A popular Q&A site |
| Answerly | A popular Q&A site |
| Able2Know | A popular Q&A site |
| AnswerBank | A popular Q&A site |
| AskALibrarian | A popular Q&A site |
| WikiAnswers | A popular Q&A site |
Music: Music Blogging
Building your authority will depend not only on the quality of your music, but also on the quality of your content. The better your content is, the easier it will be for you to place it on other people’s sites (with due credit to you). You can even post partial articles to other people’s blogs, leaving them with a cliff-hanger and a “click here to read the rest of the article†(which, naturally, takes them to YOUR site). The sites listed below allow you to blog outside the bounds of your own site – and more. Again, as with most of the links provided in this course, you’ll be well advised to have at least a token presence on some of those:
| Music Blogging | In Brief |
| WordPress | WordPress |
| Blogger | blogger create a blog. 🙂 |
| Live Journal | LiveJournal |
| Squidoo | Squidoo for people who want to build a page about their passions. |
| Search Engine Journal | search engine journal blog search engine news. |
| Hypem | The Hype Machine – discover, listen to and buy music discussed on the best mp3 blogs. |
| BlogLines | bloglines 🙂 |
| BrainBliss | Feed Shark Ping your blog, feed, or podcast for free. 🙂 |
| MOG | Mog |
| BlogBurst | BlogBurst puts the web’s best blogs in the hands of top-tier publishers to bring you new traffic, new readers, and new revenue. Requirements for acceptance into the BlogBurst network: a weekly posting, family-friendly language and content, distinct, intelligent writing style and an XML syndication feed in a standard format such as RSS, RDF, or Atom – go to their website for more inf. |
| Vox | Vox |
| yPulse | ypulse |
| BandWeblogs | Band Weblogs features music commentary, band and music blogs, music articles, interviews, opinion, tour dates, guest music bloggers and more with free promotion and advertisement for bands. I like this site 🙂 |
| Coolfer | Coolfer a very clearheaded and forward thinking music industry weblog – so they say 😉 |
Music: Music Contests and Competitions
Many musicians like to increase their exposure by signing up for talent contests. For a very small few, this can be a great way to boost their career. For some, it’s also a way to win extra funds and exposure. With that in mind, here’s a short list of some of the most popular and important contests you might consider:
Music: Distribution and Promotions
Some sites are very important to sign up with in order to get your music promoted further. Below is a list of a handful which do a particularly good job in that department:
| Music Distribution & Promo | In Brief |
| YouTube | You simply CAN’T succeed as a music artist without having your videos on YouTube. |
| iTunes | Apple’s payment model was once a closely kept secret, but certain circumstances have brought those valuable figures into the public light from time to time. Most recently, rapper Eminem’s lawsuit against Apple and its settlement in 2010 revealed the exact numbers: for every song sold, labels make about 70% of the sale, while artists make about 12%. The latter amount, if you do the math, comes to about $0.084 for every song download, and $0.84 for a complete album |
| MediaFire | – |
| SoundCloud | SoundCloud – create, record and share the sounds with friends, family and the world. |
| MySpace | is a subsidiary of News Corporation. MySpace Music recently started testing audio advertisements and they have some of the strongest marketing powers out of all the music social networks. Features include My Music, Charts, Featured Playlists, Music Videos, New Releases, Karaoke, Shows, and Forums.. Artists and or bands can link up with people in the industry or with people who love their music. This particular format allows the artist/band to post photos, upload their songs and keep all who are interested informed about upcoming shows. |
| ReverbNation | is a music marketing platform that is used by across 500,000 artists, managers, labels, etc. ReverbNation provides free/affordable venues to grow musical influence on the Internet. A place where artists can communicate with other artists, talk with people in the industry and further their career using the tools provided |
| BandCamp | – |
| CD Baby | CDbaby is one of the most popular Websites for selling your music. |
| SoundClick | SoundClick |
| Rhapsody | music distribution |
| PureVolume | – |
| Bebo | Bebo |
| TuneCore | TuneCore sell your music, not your soul (good strap line)! Get your music into all the leading digital stores: iTunes, Spotify, eMusic, AmazonMP3, Google Play… fast and easy, and keep all your rights. |
| PayLoads | PayLoadz A secure Digital Goods eCommerce service for anyone to sell downloadable goods online – Sell Downloads – Click Here. |
| MP3.com | MP3.com |
| VIRB | VIRB [good] |
| SonicBids | Sonicbids |
| The Orchard | – |
| OurStage | Share and promote music while networking with fans, other bands and people in the industry |
| Ditto Music | – |
| BandMix | BandMix |
| Last Minute Musicians | LastMinuteMusicians |
| Bleep | – |
| Number One Music | NumberOneMusic |
| InGooves | INgrooves Digital distribution of music. Global distribution service, access to over 400+ online and mobile partnerships all over the world. |
| MagnaTune | – |
| RouteNote | – |
| Zimbalam | – |
| Jukebox Alive | JukeboxAlive |
| Indie Music | Indie Music |
| Catapult Distribution | – |
| Unsigned | Unsigned |
| Song Trust | – |
| Artistopia | Artistopia |
| Mondo Tunes | – |
| Pitch My Stuff | – |
| Unsigned Band Web | Unsigned Band Web |
| One RPM | ONErpm A global digital music distribution service and a direct-to-fan social commerce solution for musicians and record labels. Sell Your Music on Facebook. Distribute to iTunes. |
| SpotMeUp | Spotmeup Simple Spotify distribution. Free way of adding your own music on Spotify. |
| Indie Charts | Indie Charts |
| IODA Alliance | IODA Independent online distribution alliance. Comprehensive services for record labels, physical distributors, artists, and filmmakers. |
| EmuBands | Emubands a digital distribution service which allows unsigned bands and artists to sell their music through major online stores such as iTunes, Napster, HMV Digital, Virgin Digital, Tunetribe… |
| Mobile Streams | – |
| Indigo Boom | – |
| JTV Digital | – |
| SoSouth | – |
| iSound | ISound |
| Amadea Music | no fees per album, you get 90% royalties |
| Beta Records | Beta Records |
| Red Nine Music | – |
| A Wave | – |
| HiFive Music | – |
| Sweet n Low | – |
| BandWagon | Bandwagon |
| WeedShare | – |
| T United | Tunited |
| ImpNow | IMPNow |
| Overplay | Overplay is a music Website dedicated to the promotion and exposure of unsigned bands. It’s a full blown Website that offers a good chance to sell your music online, and yes there is a growing music community. |
| Track Seller | Trackseller manages paid music downloads for musicians of any kind and all around the world. Buying music from trackseller means buying directly from the artist. Trackseller lets you add a buy download now-button to your website in minutes. Upload files, add pricing – ready for sale …that’s what They say, anyway 😉 |
| Beatnik | – |
| CD Fuse | CDFuse |
| CI Info | – |
| FadingWays | – |
| HXC MP3 | HXC mp3 |
| Indie Airplay | – |
| Music Lives Beyond | Music Lives Beyond |
| Play Louder MSP | – |
| ShopSonic | – |
Music: Music Forums and Blogs
Taking part in music forums and blogs can be a massively advantageous way for you to spread the word about your music. Typically, you should NOT self-promote there, but your signature (with links to your site and offers) will be more than enough as long as your contributions are valuable. Here’s a short list of good ideas for you:
| Music Forums & Blogs | In Brief |
| BBC Music | BBC Music Going Out goto [IN YOUR AREA]: the latest music news, reviews and features in your area. Plus: BBC 6 Music – Gigs. [UK] |
| 2DopeBoyz | – |
| HypeTrak | – |
| Harmony Central | Harmony Central 🙂 |
| InTheMix | – |
| Drowned in Sound | Drowned in Sound |
| EarWolf | – |
| MuchMusic | – |
| Music Thinktank | – |
| Music Banter | – |
| Kerrang | Kerrang! Forums |
| BIRP | – |
| Record of the Day | Record of the Day :: Messageboard nice one 🙂 |
| Music Discussion | – |
| SongStuff | – |
| Resonance FM | – |
| Indie Music Reviewer | – |
| I Love Music | – |
| FoxBeard | – |
| Xclusize Zone | – |
| Ohh Crapp | – |
| MudCat | – |
| Blooter | Blooter forum and blog |
| That Realish | – |
| We Do It Right Mag | – |
Music: Music Links and Resources
A short list of additional links, resources and ideas for you:
| Music Links & Resources | In Brief |
| Google Music | Google Directory – Arts > Music |
| Yahoo Music | Yahoo! Music Directory |
| MusicMOZ | musicmoz The Open Music Project |
| Taxi Linking | TAXI Linking |
| Open Web Directory | Open Web Directory |
| More Music | More Music Directory of websites for World-wide Bands. |
| InkBlot Magazine | Ink Blot Magazine |
| DURP | DURP Webzine – good links. |
Music: Radio
If you’re a musician and don’t have any radio exposure (online or offline), you’re REALLY missing out! You should make sure your tracks get submitted to these and other online stations for consideration:
| Radio | In Brief |
| Pandora | – |
| LastFM | is a music community that was founded in 2002 and was bought by CBS for $280 million in May 2007. Users can create custom radio stations and playlists. Users can build a profile based on their music tastes. Users can also write public and private messages to the Last.fm community. There is a major focus on Groups and Events too. Last.fm, which you’ve no doubt used already, is a service that keeps track of what music you listen to, and then helps you discover new music based on your preferences. You can use Last.fm to listen to music, find out about artists you may like, get in touch with other people with similar music taste, discover gigs in your local area, as well as create charts that you can publish on your personal site. Last.fm also allows artists and labels to upload their own music and videos and promote them for free. Last.fm is primarily known as a music streaming service, however it also has a large social element too. Users can set up profiles, and connect to existing friends, or find new people who like the same music as them. The website also has a set of forums, and, like Facebook, users can create their own “Groupsâ€. The social side of Last.fm is a great way to find new music, connect to new people, and find out more about artist news and events in your area. |
| TuneIn | – |
| ShoutCast | – |
| Live365 | – |
| Accuradio | – |
| Radio Paradise | Radio Paradise eclectic online rock radio. |
| Soma FM | – |
| XFM | IXfm |
| WorldSings | – |
| Music Alley | Podsafe Music Network |
| Indie 100 | – |
| AIIradio | Artists International Independent Radio live DJ’s presenting your music. Real-time chat with the DJs and listeners during broadcast. All musical genres are represented. International artists and listeners. |
| Maestro | – |
| Radio 1190 | – |
| MeeMix | – |
| R Radio Music | RRadio Music for Independent Artists. |
| Girls Rock Radio | Girls Rock Radio – Internet radio featuring all-girl and girl-fronted bands. |
| EORadio | eoRadio – a free Internet radio station run like a terrestrial radio station, no genre channels, just listen to free music online from the best Unsigned Artists from around the globe. |
| IndieXposure Radio | IndieXposureRadio |
| Kooba Radio | Kooba Radio an Internet radio station broadcasting the best in unsigned and small label bands. |
| Pitt Radio | PittRadio – indie music community and resource. Create music playlists with songs from emerging independent/underground musicians, bands, producers, and DJs. Artists can submit and upload music to playlist charts. |
| Stasmi | Stasmi Radio new Internet radio station. |
Music: Venues and Promotions
A fantastic way to build a fanbase – still among the most powerful of them all – is through live gigs. Here are some sites which may help you in that regard:
| Venues & Promotions | In Brief |
| Ticketmaster | – |
| SongKick | – |
| Ents24 | Ents24 Tickets UK entertainment guide, covering live music, comedy, theatre, shows and days out. |
| OhMyRockness | – |
| Indie Music Festivals | – |
| Lemon Rock | Lemonrock a dynamic live music gig guide updated directly by 1000s of bands, artists and venues. |
| Aloud | Aloud.com Online tickets. |
| London Gigs | London Gigs they’ve got a big list of London venues. |
| Tour Dates | Tourdates A gig listing website for signed and unsigned bands. |
| SplitGigs | SplitGigs a social network that helps emerging bands or musicians find gigs to play, through a simple but highly effective idea: the “SplitGig” i.e. I let your band play at my gig, then you return the favor by letting my band play at your gig. |
| Indie Venue Bible | – |
| Gig Guide | Gig Guide Ltd UK Gigs, band listings and music information… it’s got the lot! |
| Gig Events Guide | Gig Events Guide UK The free online Gig Events Guide is provided to enable the independent music industry to advertise their UK gigs or events. |
| GigsWiz | GigsWiz A ticketing company for venues and promoters that pays artists to promote ticket sales online, providing instant and seamless updating and synchronization across all social media platforms. (UBP: a bit of an annoying website, sorry guys!) |
| Alive | Alive® entertainment guides are a series of monthly local and regional multi-media magazines, published continuously since 1993 and providing unrivalled free coverage of a wide range of entertainment and leisure persuits for Young and Young Middle Aged (Y/YMA) readers. |
| GigMaven | GigMaven Streamlines the booking process for musicians and venues. [USA] |
| Rave Magazine | Rave Magazine Publish your press releases, gig listings, classified ads and more…. all for FREE! |
| Ticket-o-Meter | Ticketometer Lets concert organizers create shows that only take place if a minimum number of tickets are sold. Propose a concert first and book it after selling tickets – the audience has your back. [USA] |
| National Gig Guide | National Gig Guide for live music gigs and events across the UK. |
General: Outsourcing
As you have already gathered, doing all the work that’s needed to all-but-guarantee your online success can be very time-consuming. That’s why it’s a blessing that so many outsourcers are available to do all this work for you – and in most cases for peanuts! Apart from my own outsourcing management company (MEW Services), you can go direct to any of these:
| Outsourcing | In Brief |
| Google Helpouts | Another good outsourcing site |
| Fiverr | Micro-jobs site, where you can outsource work from as little as $5, but a few words of caution: finding the “right†outsourcer may take time; many of the better services cost much more than $5. |
| Warrior Forum | The most popular forum for marketing experts and webmasters, includes a “warriors for hire†section where some of the best freelancers reside. As with all outsourcing, however, due diligence is always advised. |
| oDesk | Another good outsourcing site |
| Freelancer | Another good outsourcing site |
| eLance | Another hugely popular outsourcing site. |
| GraphicRiver | Fantastic templates and graphics |
| 99designs | Affordable website and graphics designs of the highest quality |
| PeoplePerHour | Another good outsourcing site |
| Icon Finder | If you need icons for your products – they’re all here |
| Guru | One of the more popular outsourcing sites. |
| Optimize Press | Create your sales letter, even more flexible than LeadPages |
| Amazon Mechanical Turk | Another good outsourcing site |
| MicroLancer | Specialized in logos, WordPress, e-covers, book layouts and more |
| CrowdSpring | Another good outsourcing site |
| TaskRabbit | Another good outsourcing site |
| Kristi Hines | Another top copywriter with a roster of high profile clients and a CV which reads like Whos-Who on the Internet. |
| GetACoder | Another good outsourcing site |
| SmartShoot | A video outsourcing site where producers can bid for your project |
| LeadPages | A superb online system for building your landing pages |
| Ash Ambirge | Top autoresponder copywriter |
| iFreelance | Another good outsourcing site |
| Dribbble | Superb graphic designers bidding for your project |
| TaskArmy | Another good outsourcing site |
| HireTheWorld | Another good outsourcing site |
| DoYouImpress | fabulous graphic designer |
| Cori Padgett | Worked with some of the biggest brands on the web and offers a wide variety of services from sales copy to blog article writing. |
| KillerCovers | Amazing designs for your eBooks, DVDs, CDs, etc. |
| KillerSalesDesign | fabulous graphic designer |
| SolutionInn | Another good outsourcing site |
| DimpleArt | Very affordable, high-quality caricatures you can create for your website, squeeze page, and overall branding. |
| Adam Maywald | fabulous graphic designer |
| AnitaAshland.com | – |
| MEW Services | Managed outsourcing solutions, extremely cost-effective, where you can select from pre-configured package deals to custom orders. |
| DesignGuruRyan | fabulous graphic designer |
| Vin Montello | Top copywriter |
| SixDegreesContent | Run by Courtney Ramirez, offers a whole team of writers specialized in various aspects of copywriting. |
| Pixelofgenius.com | Top-notch graphic designer. |
| Kevin Rogers | One of the top Clickbank Copywriters |
| Brian Mcleod | Quite simply one of the very best in the business, and another one whose roster of successful clients would impress just about anyone. |
| ReelContent | A very professional company which always creates the highest quality videos for you |
| ArtileZ.com | Another great team of writers, and more affordable than most. |
| Jay White | Top autoresponder copywriter |
| Matt O’ Connor | Top copywriter |
| BlissMediaWorks | Also great, and very affordable too |
And as a BONUS, here are some more Outsourcing Resources for you!
General: Traffic Acquisition
Finally, here are some more resources for you, especially important if you’re considering buying traffic for your offers (be it your album release or a product you decide to cash in on).
For Full Crusher Course members, we have:
- Paid Traffic Mastery – A few additional sub-courses, which will complement your knowledge about traffic acquisition
- Traffic Sources – 6 step-by-step instruction videos
And also a set of BONUS pages with lots of extra links for all members:
- Traffic Exchanges
- CPA and Affiliate Networks
- CPV Networks
- CPC/CPM Networks
- Mobile Networks
- RSS Networks
- Traffic Resources
- Various Networks
- Classified Ad Networks
Recap of All of Our Super-Course Elements:
Extra sub-courses for FULL CRUSHER COURSE members
- AdSense Mastery
- AdWords Mastery
- Affiliate Marketing Course
- Autoresponder Basics
- Bookmarking Expertise
- Copywriting Basics
- cPanel Instruction Course
- Facebook Mastery
- Funnel Mastery
- Google Basics
- List Building Guide
- Local market domination
- Membership Resources and Course
- Optin List Mastery Course
- Paid Traffic Mastery
- PayPal User’s Guide
- PayPal SandBox Tutorial
- Product Creation Workshop
- SEO Tips
- Site Optimization Guide
- Social Basics
- Video Marketing Course
- Web Hosting Explained
- WordPress Course
- WSO Product launch
BONUS sections for all members
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| Book 3 – Chapter 58Final Notes |
Course Overview |
Book 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, , 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, Overview
Bonuses: templ, lib, tips, kwds, models Link Res: aff, class, cpa, cpv, cpc, write, mob, outs, rss, soc, traff, var, exch, srcs, vid Sub-courses: sens adw, aff, ar, bkm, cpy, cp, fb, fun, goo, lst, loc, mem, opt paid, ppal, sbox, prod, seo, opt, socn, vidm, host, wp, lnch
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