Online Sellers Can Have Economical Computer Resources!

For those of you who may have missed a previous list of good computer utilities and software offered on the Internet for FREE...here is a refined list for you!

These can be useful for any small business, but are especially useful for online sellers who do not have the resources to purchase hundreds of dollars of computer programs in order to manage their listing process.

I have not tried all of them but have been gathering them from recommendations from personal contacts at large corporations, forum users, and technical experts. Some are online, others are downloads.

These are all available for Windows. A very few may be available for MACs. If you have any to add that you know are "clean," post here and I will add them! They are FREE!!

I use a variety of these for my Contemporary Beaded and Silver Wire Jewelry shop - GalleriaLinda, and find them to be excellent choices!

Knowledge, Computer Tips, Q&A - User Friendly

• http://www.komando.com/

Computer & Online Education

• http://www.lynda.com ($25/month, no contract, unlimited access to ALL learning - a GREAT resource - sample training videos here: http://www.lynda.com/home/freeTraining.aspx - highly recommended - I purchase one month about once a year and learn!)

Computer Maintenance and Protection - install and use all (Good, robust, free programs recommended by my computer tech)

• http://www.superantispyware.com/

• http://www.malwarebytes.org/

• http://free.avg.com/ (good, free antivirus - USE IT!)

• http://www.ccleaner.com/ - deletes temp files, frees up space

• http://www.komando.com/downloads/categories.aspx?cat=Security - more excellent choices

Free Email Addresses

• http://gmail.google.com/

Business Suite (word processing, spreadsheet, etc...)

• http://www.openoffice.org/

PDF Generators

• http://www.cutepdf.com/

• http://www.primopdf.com/

Graphics Editors

• http://picasa.google.com/

• http://www.gimp.org/downloads (robust alternative to Photoshop)

• http://www.photoshop.com/express

• http://www.splashup.com/

• http://www.picnik.com/

• http://www.fotoflexer.com/

• http://www.rsizr.com/

• http://webresizer.com/

Animated GIFS (usable for online ads)

• http://www.gifmake.com/

Advanced Graphic Layout

• http://www.inkscape.org/ -save as .eps, not open .eps files. Can edit Illustrator files

Business Charts

• http://ganttproject.biz/ Gantt Charts (timelines)

• http://www.lovelycharts.com/

Convert a PDF to a Word Document

• http://www.somepdf.com/

File Extension Viewer

• http://www.irfanview.com/

Share/Sync Files from Another Computer

• http://www.foldershare.com

Send Large Files via Link

• http://www.dropio.com/

• http://www.yousendit.com/

• http://www.megaupload.com/

Covert File to Another Format

• http://www.zamzar.com/

Make Full Screen Shots of Web Pages

• http://www.thumbalizr.com/

Stock Photos (free or cheap)

• http://www.bluevertigo.com.ar/bluevertigo.htm

• http://www.sxc.hu/

• http://www.istockphoto.com/

• http://www.canstockphoto.com/

• http://www.dreamstime.com/

Free Web Pages

• http://www.webs.com/

• http://www.tripod.lycos.com/

• http://www.wix.com/

Conversions

• http://www.onlineconversion.com/ Convert Anything to Anything Else

• http://www.psinvention.com/zoetic/convert.htm Metric & English Conversions

• http://www.convertworld.com/en/ Convert Anything to Everything

Glue Advice! Glue "This" to "That"

• http://www.thistothat.com/

ZIP Utility (zip up multiple files into one file)

• http://www.tucows.com/preview/194312 (QuickZip)

Find "Spyware-Free" Software and Utilities Here:

• http://download.cnet.com/

• http://www.tucows.com/

• http://www.komando.com/

Utilize Help and Information From Your Selling Venues

One of the ways online sellers can benefit from marketing and selling success strategies is through the selling venues that they use. You can find a lot of selling, promotional, and marketing tips in the venue's documentation that is very valuable!

The forums on each of the venues becomes a treasure trove of shared experiences about everything for selling online. Use it! Even if you just read, you will gain such valuable information that you can use. Read, read, read.

Today, I want to introduce the Sellers' Boot camp going on right now at iCraft.ca!

Sellers' Boot camp is a new admin-supported program started by Christine of PillowThrowDecor for sellers on iCraft.ca! Check out the iCraft.ca forum for lots of details on the Sellers' Boot camp program.

Christine not only produces the most elegant pillows for your home, but she is also a sales expert that creates energy that motivates!

She is the one that started the awesome "Odd Sock" category to move merchandise. Check out PillowThrowDecor's "Odd Sock" deals - unbelievable!

The Sellers' Boot camp program goes for 28 days with assignments for each day that will help you fill your promotional "bag of tricks" by the end of the month. The idea is to get into the habit of spending up to 30-45 minutes a day doing things that will help sales.

Retired from another career, Christine states that a part of her professional background is in sales training. She states, "As independent business people it is all about accountability. I do much better when I know there is a team of people marching along with me every day and are as committed as I am to doing assigned activities!

If you are considering trying iCraft.ca as your handmade selling venue, now is the time! Remember, if you use a referral number when you pay your one-time registration fee, you receive six months of shop fees free for an unlimited number of items! Shop fees are very reasonable. In case you need one, GalleriaLinda's referral number is: 1c28439c38!

Must go...off to boot camp!!

Handmadeology is Coming to Town! (The Internet "Town," That Is...)

Handmadeology is yet a mystery but soon to be revealed on January 26, 2009 by TimothyAdamDesigns! Billed as "a teaching the formula that I use to sell handmade goods online," I know we can all learn practical and easy-to-understand processes to gain more traffic to our stores and web sites, online advertising, and other mysteries.

TimothyAdamDesigns is known for cool, contemporary metal jewelry. He has made a reputable name for himself in his knowledge of the online marketing process and how to use online tools to his advantage. Always sharing his knowledge in his blog, we look forward to the Handmadeology class. Sign up for the handmadeology free newsletter today!

I think handmadeology will have highly useful content, based upon the blog content for the last year and will be recommended for all Indie CEOs!