8 Free Services for You To Get Started Marketing Online Today

We live in an age of great opportunity when it comes to marketing online. There are many free services online to take advantage of, to market with and make money, but if you are getting started which ones should you use and why? Below is a list of services I would use if starting over. I was faced with this question recently when talking with a friend, and decided to put this post together. The information shared here is geared for those new to marketing online. This information would have saved me a LOT of time if I had it years ago.

8 Free Services for You To Get Started Marketing Online Today

1.) Gmail – Communication

There are many free email services out there, but none are as well received as Gmail (Googlemail in other parts of the world). Google hit it out of the part with a simple user interface on a reliable platform. When you have a Gmail account it is also your Google account, which ties into many other Google services that can benefit your business in many ways, one being SEO. (open an account at gmail.com)

2.) Paypal – Payment

The ability to send and receive payment online is important. Paypal is the behemoth for doing just that, and while not perfect is the service of choice for secure online payment. (Paypal.com)

3.) Clickbank – Find Products to Sell

If you don’t have an established business, and want to learn the ropes marketing online, affiliate marketing is a great place to start. This helps you to focus on developing a highly coveted skill of creating targeted traffic to your sites. Yet, you still need products to “sell”. Clickbank provides products spanning many different markets.

Not having to deal with product creation, customer service, and other issues will save you a lot of time. Use this service to find products you want to sell on your site through ads, recommendations, and reviews. (Get started at clickbank.com)

4.) Business Blog – Publishing

A blog serves as the mouthpiece for your business. Good news is, you can have a blog in under 5 minutes by using one of the free services found here. The blog is the main website where you will drive traffic and links and share relevant Clickbank products.

5.) Mailchimp – Email Marketing

An email marketing list is your first and most important asset. It is important to use a service that specializes in delivering email. Mailchimp is the only reputable email service provider I know of that has a “forever free” option (500 subscribers, up to 3000 emails/mo). They also have an upgrade path as your list grows. They are at Mailchimp.com.

6.) YouTube – Traffic

I think this is the sleeping giant of free online properties for marketers. Many think you need to create videos to have a successful YouTube account (which ties into your Gmail/Google account created in step 1.) It’s actually a social network, and you don’t even have to have videos to have an account that drives traffic to your site (learn more here).

Here is a case study on YouTube for traffic. Get started (with your Google account) at www.YouTube.com.

7.) Twitter – Publishing Links

Twitter serves as your social tool to share blurbs and random 140 character snippets that those in your market would find interesting. More than that you can publish links to new new content on your blog. Twitter also offers a “widget” which allows you to share your Twitter tweets right on your blog.

Tip: Review the targets presented in 3 Rules of Using Twitter for Business post.

8.) Facebook Page – SEO

Facebook pages (formerly fan pages) are great for social interaction on Facebook but also show up on search engine results pages. While it makes sense to use it as a long-term strategy to engage your market, if you are getting started, having as many inbound links from sites the search engines trust (Facebook) is going to help you.

Tip: Be sure to put the entire link to your blog in the page description box.

Here is a great article by Mari Smith entitled 21 Creative Ways To Increase Your Facebook Fanbase. You might also consider these Facebook apps for business to juice your page.

These are the resources I would use if starting from zero today. Questions? Comments? Feedback? Chime in below.