I love learning about free or dirt-cheap tools that make my job easier, and I know you do, too.
Here’s a quick list of five tools I learned about today, during the second day of the AuthorU Extravaganza.
At VideoHive you can buy and sell royalty-free footage and motion graphics as well as After Effects Project files starting at just a few dollars. Items are priced on the complexity, quality and use of the file. The site is home to a bustling community of motion graphics junkies.
You can add these clips to your YouTube videos, marketing videos or to add special effects. Thanks to Mike Hance for this tip and the next one about where to find thousands of free images from comic books.
Download public domain golden age comics without the need to ask or worry about searching the net for them.
For now, there’s no download limit on registered users “but this might have to change. “
These images will come in handy for blog posts, brochures, videos, reports or dozens of other uses.
Spy on your competitors and profit from their success. Easily uncover the competition landscape by knowing your competitors’ PPC and Organic campaign strategies in seconds.
Build a profitable list of keywords using your competitors’ keywords and by accessing a massive database of related and similar terms and phrases.
This is a subscription service but they offer a free trial–-great if you need to do some quick snooping. Thanks to Judith Briles, host of the Author U Extravaganza, for this tip.
4. The Amazon Button
You know about social sharing buttons. And you know about the Amazon button. But are you including the Amazon button along with all the other buttons at your blog? Book marketing expert John Kremer recommends including it to remind readers you have books for sale.
Need to create or refine your slogan, tagline or 15-second elevator pitch? Use this site to read one-sentence descriptions of movies–-a great way to learn how to be concise. Thanks to screenwriter Mary Jo Fay for this one.
If you attended the AuthorU Extravaganza, what cool tools did you learn about?
Thanks for sharing these 5 websites. Video Hive is one I knew about but I have to check out Digital Comic Museum. Looks like I could have a lot of fun there!
Toni, I was drooling when I saw all those comic books! If you find any more cool tools, come back here and share them. Thanks so much for stopping by.