Simple and Affordable Ways To Build a Creative Online Business
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Recommended Tools and Resources for Your Creative Online Business
Discover the best free and low-cost tools for building passive income as a creative! Explore top platforms for affiliate marketing, digital products, content creation, and more - all in one place. Start your journey to financial freedom today!
*Affiliate links - When you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a commission.
1. Affiliate Marketing Networks:
These platforms connect you with various brands offering affiliate opportunities.
2. Marketplaces for Creatives:
If you love creating digital products like fonts, graphics, and templates, and books, these marketplaces are a great fit for selling your creative works.
- Creative Fabrica*
- Creative Market*
- Design Bundles*
- The Hungry JPEG*
- Gumroad* & Payhip* – Great for ebooks, templates, graphic designs, and printable packs (Note: You can sell your own created products with commercial use rights, but not PLR or MRR content).
- Amazon KDP – Best for both ebooks and print books with passive royalties.
- Draft2Digital* – Excellent for publishing ebooks (Amazon is better for print books).
- Etsy – Perfect for selling printables, digital artwork, planners, educational resources, and graphic designs.
- Teachers Pay Teachers – Best for selling educational resources and teaching materials.
- Systeme.io* & New Zenler* – Excellent for selling digital products as part of online courses, membership sites, and more.
3. Print-on-Demand (POD) Marketplaces:
- Redbubble - A well-known POD marketplace where artists can sell their designs on a variety of products, including clothing, stickers, home decor, and accessories. Redbubble handles production, shipping, and customer service, making it beginner-friendly.
- Spring - A POD platform focused on apparel, accessories, and home decor. You can also sell digital products. Creators can design and sell their products with no upfront costs. It integrates well with social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
- Fourthwall – Platform for creators to sell merch, digital downloads, and memberships.
- Society6 - Specializes in high-quality art prints, home decor, and lifestyle products. Ideal for artists and designers looking to sell premium art-inspired products.
- TeePublic - Owned by Redbubble, TeePublic is a POD platform that allows artists to upload their designs for sale on apparel, stickers, phone cases, and more. Offers a straightforward setup and competitive commission rates.
- Zazzle - A versatile POD marketplace where creators can design and sell a wide range of customizable products, including invitations, stationery, clothing, and home decor. Customers can personalize products before purchasing.
- Merch by Amazon - Amazon’s invite-only POD platform where designers can sell T-shirts, hoodies, and other apparel with no upfront costs. Since it’s integrated with Amazon, sellers benefit from the massive customer base and fast shipping.
- Spreadshirt - A POD marketplace that allows users to sell designs on apparel, accessories, and more. It offers a European and North American market reach, making it a great choice for international sales.
- Fine Art America - Specializes in high-quality art prints, canvas prints, and framed artwork. Best suited for artists and photographers who want to sell fine art prints to a premium audience.
- Printify & Printful (E-commerce POD Integrations) - Unlike the marketplaces above, Printify and Printful act as fulfillment services that integrate with platforms like Etsy, Shopify, and WooCommerce. These allow sellers to create their own branded store while handling production and shipping.
- Gelato - A global print-on-demand platform offering high-quality products such as apparel, mugs, posters, and more. Gelato connects artists with local printing partners worldwide, providing faster shipping and competitive prices. It's ideal for those looking for a global reach and cost-effective printing.
- Displate - A marketplace focused on high-quality metal prints. Displate allows artists to sell their designs as unique, durable, and visually striking metal posters, perfect for decorating walls. It's a great option for artists with graphic designs, illustrations, or photography looking for a premium and long-lasting product option.
4. Graphic Design Platforms and Tools
- Affinity - A professional design software suite (Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher) offering powerful tools as a one-time purchase alternative to Adobe.
- Photopea - A free, web-based Photoshop alternative that supports PSD, AI, and other file formats for advanced image editing.
- Inkscape - A free, open-source vector graphics editor ideal for creating scalable designs, similar to Adobe Illustrator.
- Canva - A user-friendly graphic design tool with templates for social media, presentations, and printables, available in both free and Pro versions.
- Kittl* - A design tool with ready-made templates and AI-powered features for creating stunning graphics, logos, and illustrations.
- Microsoft Designer - An AI-powered design tool that helps create stunning graphics quickly with automation and intelligent suggestions.
5. Free Commercial-Use Image & Graphics Platforms:
- Pixabay - A vast library of high-quality photos, illustrations, and vector graphics available for free commercial use without attribution.
- Pexels - Offers a large collection of high-resolution stock photos and videos with no attribution required, great for blogs, social media, and digital projects.
- Unsplash - A popular platform with professional-quality photos for commercial use, though modifying images is recommended to avoid overuse.
- Rawpixel (Free Collection) - Provides a mix of modern and vintage images, including PSD mockups, illustrations, and PNG graphics. Some content requires a paid subscription.
- 123RF* (Free Section) - A stock photo marketplace providing affordable royalty-free images, videos, and vector graphics for creatives and businesses.
- PNGtree* - A platform offering a vast collection of high-quality PNG images, vectors, and illustrations for personal and commercial use. It provides users with easy access to a wide range of designs for projects like marketing materials, websites, and social media posts. The site offers both free and premium resources.
- Freepik (Free Section) - A great resource for vectors, PSD files, stock photos, and icons. Free downloads require attribution unless you have a premium subscription.
- Vecteezy (Free Collection) - Offers free vector graphics, stock photos, and videos. Commercial use requires attribution unless you subscribe to the Pro plan.
- Public Domain Archive - Features a collection of vintage and modern images in the public domain, free for any use.
- Public Domain Image Archive - A comprehensive collection of public domain images that includes vintage illustrations, clip art, and photographs available for free use in both personal and commercial projects.
- Openverse (by WordPress) - A search engine that pulls from various sources like Flickr and Wikimedia Commons, filtering content licensed for free commercial use.
- Public Domain Pictures - A collection of free high-resolution images that have been released into the public domain. No attribution is required, making it a great resource for commercial projects, blogs, and marketing materials.
- Public Domain Vectors - Offers free vector illustrations, clipart, and icons that are in the public domain. These can be used for personal and commercial projects without any restrictions.
- StockSnap.io - A regularly updated platform with high-resolution, free-to-use images for business and creative projects.
- Reshot - A curated selection of unique stock photos and icons designed for startups, marketers, and creatives.
- ISO Republic - A site offering free stock photos and videos with no attribution required, ideal for commercial projects.
- PikWizard - Provides a variety of high-quality, royalty-free images and videos, including business and lifestyle content.
- Kaboompics - Offers free stock images with a flexible license, allowing modifications and commercial use without attribution.
- Life of Pix - A collection of free high-resolution photos contributed by photographers, available for commercial use.
- SVG Repo - A large database of free SVG icons and vector illustrations for websites, apps, and printables.
- Openclipart - Openclipart provides a collection of free clipart and vector images, all in the public domain. These graphics are ideal for use in personal and commercial projects, and no attribution is required.
- IconScout (Free Section) - Features free icons, illustrations, and 3D graphics with commercial-use licenses.
6. Platforms for Sharing and Selling Products:
- Payhip* - A simple platform for selling digital products, memberships, and online courses with built-in marketing tools. (Note: You can sell your own created products with commercial use rights, but not PLR or MRR content).
- Gumroad* - A user-friendly platform for selling digital products, physical goods, and memberships directly to your audience. (Note: You can sell your own created products with commercial use rights, but not PLR or MRR content).
- Fourthwall – Platform for creators to sell merch, digital downloads, and memberships.
- Systeme.io* - An all-in-one marketing and sales platform offering tools for creating funnels, websites, courses, memberships, and email marketing.
- New Zenler* - A course creation and membership platform with built-in marketing tools, automation, and community features.
- Beehiiv* - A powerful newsletter platform designed for creators and businesses to grow and monetize their email audience.
- Kit* - An email marketing platform with a suite of tools for automation, lead generation, and customer engagement, making it ideal for online businesses.
- Sendfox* - is a user-friendly email marketing platform perfect for creators, offering easy email campaigns, subscriber management, and automation. Through AppSumo, you can get it for a one-time lifetime fee, making it an affordable choice for building and growing your email list.
7. Platforms for Blogging and Sharing Content:
- Substack - A platform for writers to publish and monetize newsletters, offering paid subscriptions and community engagement.
- Medium - A blogging platform where writers can earn money through the Partner Program by publishing engaging content.
- WordPress - A popular and flexible content management system (CMS) for building websites and blogs, with thousands of plugins and themes.
- ClassicPress - A lightweight and secure alternative to WordPress, focused on stability and simplicity, without forced updates.
- Systeme.io* - An all-in-one marketing and sales platform offering tools for creating funnels, websites, courses, memberships, and email marketing.
- New Zenler* - A course creation and membership platform with built-in marketing tools, automation, and community features.
- Skillshare* - An online learning platform with thousands of creative courses in design, business, photography, and more.
- Beehiiv* - A powerful newsletter platform designed for creators and businesses to grow and monetize their email audience.
- Kit* - An email marketing platform with a suite of tools for automation, lead generation, and customer engagement, making it ideal for online businesses.
- Sendfox* - is a user-friendly email marketing platform perfect for creators, offering easy email campaigns, subscriber management, and automation. Through AppSumo, you can get it for a one-time lifetime fee, making it an affordable choice for building and growing your email list.
- Interserver* - A reliable and affordable web hosting provider with strong security, unlimited storage, and great customer support.
- Namecheap* - A budget-friendly domain registrar and hosting provider offering affordable domains, SSL certificates, and privacy protection.
8. AI Tools:
My Favorite AI Writing Tools
- ChatGPT - A versatile AI writing assistant that helps generate content, rewrite text, brainstorm ideas, and assist with various tasks such as blog writing, SEO, and marketing copy. The free version offers strong writing support, while the paid plan unlocks more advanced features.
- Perplexity AI - An AI research assistant that provides accurate and well-sourced answers, making it an excellent tool for fact-checking, summaries, and in-depth content creation.
- Microsoft Copilot - An AI writing assistant integrated with Microsoft products like Word and Edge. It helps with drafting emails, creating documents, summarizing text, and rewriting content efficiently.
- Poe by Quora - A multi-model AI platform where users can access different AI chatbots, including GPT-based models and Claude, to generate content, rewrite text, and gain writing inspiration.
- Google Gemini - Google's AI tool designed for writing, research, and summarization. It integrates seamlessly with Google services, making it convenient for drafting emails, blog posts, and content outlines.
- Claude AI - An AI assistant developed by Anthropic, known for its conversational abilities and nuanced text generation. It excels at writing, summarizing, and creative brainstorming, making it useful for content creation and research.
- GPTZero - A widely used AI detector, originally built for educators. It analyzes text and provides insights into whether it was AI-generated or written by a human.
- Sapling AI Detector - A free and easy-to-use tool that gives a probability score indicating whether text was created by AI. Great for quick checks.
- Writer.com AI Content Detector - A free tool that scans text for AI-generated patterns and provides a confidence score on whether the content is human-written.
- QuillBot - A rewording and paraphrasing tool that improves readability and writing style.
- Grammarly - A grammar and style checker that enhances clarity and correctness in writing.
- DeepL - DeepL Translate is an advanced translation tool known for its accuracy, while DeepL Write is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps refine grammar, tone, and style for professional-grade content.
My Favorite AI Image Creating Tools
- Leonardo.Ai* - An AI-powered tool that helps creatives generate high-quality digital art, concept designs, and illustrations.
- Canva AI (in Canva) - A user-friendly design tool in Canva that integrates AI to help create and enhance visuals, including presentations, social media posts, and more.
- DreamLab (in Canva) - An AI tool in Canva that helps generate high-quality and artistic visuals, ideal for designers and marketers.
- Microsoft Designer - A robust design tool that uses AI to streamline the process of creating polished and professional graphics for various purposes.
- Ideogram - An AI-based image generator that specializes in turning ideas into visually captivating art, perfect for creators looking for inspiration.
- Adobe Firefly - A powerful AI tool from Adobe that helps create and edit images, videos, and more, using generative AI to enhance creative work.
My Favorite AI Video Creating Tools
- Canva - An intuitive design platform with AI-powered tools for creating professional videos, animations, and social media content.
- Clipchamp - A versatile video editor with AI features that allow users to easily create and edit high-quality videos.
- Loom - A video creation tool that leverages AI to help capture and share screen recordings and videos, great for tutorials and presentations.
- Lumen5 - AI-driven video creation software that transforms text content into engaging videos, perfect for marketers and content creators.
- InVideo* - An AI-powered video editing platform that makes it easy to create professional videos using pre-built templates and customization options.
- CapCut - A mobile-friendly AI video editing tool with user-friendly features for creating short-form videos, especially for social media platforms.
- VEED.io - A cloud-based video editor with AI tools to help speed up video creation, including automated captions, effects, and text-to-speech features.
- Pictory.ai* - An AI-powered video platform that allows users to create videos from text, with automatic summarization and editing features to streamline content creation.
My Favorite AI Voiceover Tools
- ElevenLabs - Known for its advanced AI voiceover capabilities, ElevenLabs offers realistic, high-quality voice synthesis. The free plan allows limited access to voices, while paid versions unlock more features and voices for commercial use.
- ClipChamp - A user-friendly video editing platform from Microsoft that includes AI-generated voiceovers. With its free version, users can create voiceovers for commercial use, although premium voices and additional features are available with a subscription.
- Listnr* - A great option for AI-generated voiceovers that supports commercial use. The free version provides access to a variety of voices, while the paid plans offer more features, voices, and higher-quality audio.
9. More Useful Tools
- AppSumo* - A marketplace for lifetime deals on software, tools, and resources for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creatives.
- Notion* - A versatile all-in-one productivity tool for note-taking, project management, and content organization.
- Designrr - A versatile tool for creating eBooks, lead magnets, and digital content. It offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor, allowing users to design professional-quality eBooks, reports, and other digital products with customizable templates. Ideal for those looking to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently.
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Hello, I'm Janet.
I’m a disciple and servant of Jesus Christ. I’m also a wife, mom, teacher, author, Christian Life Coach, Creative Entrepreneur, and Online Business Coach.
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