I’ve been scouring the Internet for over a year getting to know who the best writers are and working out which products are worth buying. It took me about 12 months to get that sorted out.

In the course of my research I wasted hours, weeks, maybe even months following links and reading snippets of information here, there and everywhere. A lot of the advice I found was good but some of it wasn’t, some I already knew and some just confused me more. Unfortunately, when I was wading through all that information I could have been working on my business.

I hope what I’ve discovered will save you from wasting time like I did.

Why Pay For Information You Can Get Free?

We all know that most information is out there on the Internet free of charge. The problem is that it takes so long to find the good stuff and work out how best to use it for your specific circumstances.

Or you can learn it the hard way, but how long have you got? Not all the information for sale on the Internet is snake oil. I’ve discovered some products with invaluable information and shortcuts to success that would have taken the average business person ages to work out.

It’s taken me a year to get to the point where I can confidently say I’ve found some excellent products by people who are genuine, real experts in their fields and great teachers.

Most importantly, their products provide excellent value for money in two ways. They will:

1. Save you time – The tips and knowledge in these products would take months to amass and a lot of trial and error without the shortcuts to success they supply. When you buy one of these products you can cut straight to the chase, save yourself a lot of headaches and make sure your time is well spent.

2. Give an great return on your investment – These products all represent exceptional value for money and are the best learning tools to help you grow your business faster and more effectively. They’re not cheap but they do offer good value for money.

I’ve found two authors whose books or courses I recommend if you want sound advice and clear delivery. What I like about these two writers are the qualities I’m also hoping to provide: broad knowledge, deep coverage and inspiring writing.

When you’re thinking about buying a book or signing up for a course online the main questions are:

• Does this information come from someone I trust?
• Are they really an expert on the topic?
• Do they know how to share their knowledge in an easy to understand and inspiring way?

I’m happy to be able to say yes to all of those questions when it comes to these products. If you’d like to grow your business faster I recommend:

Empire Building Kit by Chris Guillebeau

Suitable for anyone who wants to set up their own small business or who already has and wants to make it the best it can be as fast as possible.

The Empire Building Kit is an invaluable resource including videos with transcripts, case studies, a launch kit and daily emails helping you stay on track.

I signed up in April 2010 and I didn’t think the Empire Building Kit would help me that much because I’ve been running my own business for years but the daily emails are hugely motivational. Now I feel as if there’s someone in my corner who really wants me to succeed. The emails inspire me to keep going when doubt or laziness creep in. Find out more here ^[1].

Chris has several other products worth checking out too. Do you need advice on small business, travel or social media? Start here ^[1].

Cloud Living by Glen Allsopp

I tend be be cynical when I read things like:

“How I generated a 5 figure monthly income and built a 4000 subscriber blog in less than a year.”

Yeah, right! It sounds like hype and knowing the advice comes from someone who’s only just out of their teens doesn’t help. But I’ve done a lot of careful research over an extended period of time and Glen is the first person I go to for advice on Internet marketing. He’s the real deal and I don’t call him ‘boy wonder’ for nothing.

If you’re starting an Internet business this book will show you what’s possible and help you make your business a success. Even if you’re not interested in making an income from paid advertising or affiliate reselling every website needs visitors and Glen’s knowledge of how to get people to visit is well worth the cost price. Find out more here ^[2].

Are these affiliate links?

Yes. The main aim of my blog is to help people live their dream life by sharing empowering tips for life and work. The comments and feedback I receive from my readers are the best payment I could hope for and have sustained me for 14 months.

But to achieve my writing and blogging dreams I now need to run my blog as a business so I’ve opened a store. I’m an affiliate for these products and will be paid if you buy them. The price is the same for you if you buy them direct from the website or by using my affiliate link.

I only list products on the blogging resources ^[3] that I personally recommend.

I want to keep my blog attrative and useful by avoiding ugly, irrelevant paid and pay-per-click ads. After a lot of thought and soul-searching I’ve decided that selling my own products and a limited number of affiliate products is the best way for me to help my readers without compromising my values.

So if you see something that will help you and decide to buy it you’ll be helping me. That’s the kind of win win situation I like. I hope you like it too.

Stay Tuned

Please subscribe for free email updates ^[4] or RSS updates ^[5] if you want to get my blogging tips.

Ready to launch yourself into the stratosphere right now?

Find out more about the Empire Building Kit now ^[1]. Or click here to get my blogging book ^[6].

Photo credit: Will Ockenden ^[7]