Top Resources For Entrepreneurs

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News

Bluecloud Solutions Blog: a resource for people who want to learn more about app marketing, the app business and everything in between. The blog was started by Carter Thomas and has since reached millions of people, helping thousands skyrocket their business and achieve financial freedom.
Mashable: leading source for technology based news
Techcrunch: news website focused on information technology companies
Apple Developer Portal: enroll as a developer and read the latest news straight from Apple
Spike Newswhip: see what is trending right now
Thalamus: a real-time feed for all advertising and marketing news worldwide
Venture Beat: checkout news stories, analysis pieces, long-form features, interviews, product reviews, and videos
App Developer Magazine: news and newsletters from a credible source
Vlogging.com – the latest from the top content creators on the web

Blogs

Bluecloud Solutions Blog: learn about business, apps and life. Lead by Carter and his team
Vandelay Design Blog: A great inspiration blog for web design. This highlights the latest and greatest in thematic design.
Seth Godin Blog: I would be remiss if I didn’t include Seth’s blog on here. Though he can get a bit extreme, he has some brilliant insights into the online world and entrepreneurial thinking.
Sensor Tower Blog: get some solid ASO tips and stats from the guys over at ST
SEOmoz Blog: blog focused around Search Engine Optimization strategies and tips
Matt Cutts Blog – A Google employee who is widely considered the best insider for what’s happening with Google’s algorithms when it comes to SEO.
Tim Ferriss’ Blog – The Four Hour Workweek – I like Tim Ferriss’ data-driven style for both business and personal growth. He talks a lot about the power of experimentation, which I fully subscribe to. The blog posts can get a little sales-y but the core principles are there, including one of my favorites, the 80/20 rule.

Ebooks

The Ultimate Guide To Making Money With Apps: a powerful ebook unlocking app business models to make thousands of dollars. And it is Free
How To Build A Profitable App Empire: the complete guide to everything you need to know about app development. Marketing, hiring, step-by-step publishing, etc.

Courses

How To Make Money With Apps Using Reskinning: over 5 hours of video footage and PDFs teaching everything you need to know about the most lucrative app development model out there
Bluecloud ASO – Coming Soon
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Market Research

Apptopia: Market Intelligence for Mobile Apps. From downloads, to revenue numbers, even what SDKs are used

Google Keywords Tool: search for keywords, ad group ideas, and historical statistics
Google Trends: find out how often a particular search-term is entered in Google
Apple App Store Top Charts: the best place for researching the market and apps on the Top Charts
Google Play Top Charts: links to Google Play’s Top Apps
App Annie: app intelligence and market reports
Top App Charts: see the daily App Store sales rank of all apps for the past 30 days
Distimo: application store analytics company
apptrace: free app analysis service with key data to monitor your app’s performance in the market
XYO: search for apps and get estimated download numbers and data

Tracking Monetization

Appfigures: reporting platform for mobile app developers that brings together all of your app store sales, ad data, worldwide reviews, and hourly rank updates
App Annie: app intelligence and market reports
Appsflyer: app tracking and analytics platform that connects with 900+ ad networks
Smaato: tracking and ad network mediation platform
Applicasa: platform for game developers offers a complete tool set containing a backend as a service, virtual store and monetization

Advertising

Chartboost: allows video game developers to create customized interstitial and video ads to promote new games
AdMob: tools designed to help you with app monetization, user analysis and mediation
iAd: Apple advertising platform for its iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad line of mobile devices allowing third-party developers to directly embed advertisements into their applications
Vungle: enhance apps with awesome video ads
Applovin: allows consumers full transparency by giving them the power to opt out directly from every ad served
Xplode: personalized app recommendations and tools that blend into the user experience.
Playhaven: deep user segmentation to serve highly relevant non-incentivized mobile ads
Adcolony: a premium mobile video ad network and monetization solution
Facebook Ads: ads can appear in News Feed on desktop, News Feed on mobile, and in the right column of Facebook on desktop
Tapjoy: reach and earn new revenue from advertising and purchased download campaigns
AD-X: tracks and optimises mobile application downloads and reports on mobile advertising campaigns

Analytics

Google Analytics: freemium web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports mobile and website traffic
Amazon Mobile Analytics: simply and cost effectively collect and analyze application usage data and usage summary charts
Game Analytics: tool to help developers understand how people are playing games
SplitMetrics: A/B testing of icon, screenshots for App Store and Google Play
Delta DNA: extensive marketing analytics expertise to deliver dedicated tools & technology for gamers
Flurry: basic insights into app performance, or set up advanced analysis of complex events
Mixpanel: instead of tracking page views, Mixpanel tracks the actions people take in a mobile or web application
Localytics: closed-loop app analytics and marketing platform that helps brands acquire, engage, and retain users
HeatData: captures gesture data on mobile to let app owners know exactly where and when users swipe, double tap, and zoom on certain places in the mobile app
Apsalar: mobile measurement & intelligence solutions to measure marketing campaign effectiveness, understand user behavior and create high value

Mockups & Wireframing

POP: helps transform pen and paper ideas into a working prototype
Fluid UI: browser-based wireframing and prototyping tool used to design mobile touch interfaces
balsamiq: wireframing tool that reproduces the experience of sketching on a whiteboard, but using a computer
Mockabilly: iPhone app prototyping tool for creating mockups quickly
App Mockup Tools: pixel perfect OS GUI Element Kits to create wireframes and prototypes

App Messaging

Askingpoint: intelligent rating widget and feedback widget, cross promotion, In-App & Push Messaging, and more
Urban Airship: mobile marketing & intelligence, push marketing, & customer relationships
Pushwoosh: free real time cross-platform push notification service
Appoxee: collects and stores data about your application and the messages sent
Appboy: understand, engage, monetize and maximize the lifetime value of app users
Swrve: two-way, interactive messages in mobile apps. Integrate surveys and video messaging into mobile marketing campaigns

UI Galleries / Design

LaunchKit: A suite of tools including a screenshot builder, review monitor, and sales reporter
Mobile Patterns: discover and store trendy mobile UI designs
Pttrns: collection of design patterns, resources and inspiration
AppShots: create, localize, upload, and manage screenshots
Cover Lover: Create professional covers designs from thousands of templates. Great for webpages and ebooks.
App Sparky: test icons and see how they look different devices and screens. Also exports icon sizes
Make App Icon: previewer and tool to resize and optimize an icon into all formats needed for iOS and Android mobile app
Placeit: image and video mockup templates
Graphic River: for Photoshop, Design Templates, Textures, Vectors, Add-ons, Game Assets, Icons and more
lovely UI: a collection of mobile UI elements
Mobile Mozaic: a gallery of very popular iphone application designs

Stock Resources

CanStockPhoto: great resources, but also solid guys. They’re personnel and support is All-Star. We use them for photos, vectors, and video footage.

Shutterstock: a stock photography, stock footage and stock music provider
iStock Photo: royalty-free stock images, media and design elements
Pond 5: stock media marketplace

Audiojungle: buy and sell royalty-free music and sound effects
Themeforest: website templates and themes from $4

Localization

Google Translate: multilingual service provided by Google to translate written text from one language into another
Angela’s App Services: App Store Optimization (ASO), metadata, and all other research for apps
iCanLocalize: self-managed translating service, which connects professional translators with clients
Gengo: network of approximately 10,000+ pre-tested translators working across 34 languages
Transfluent: language translations in social media, web, and apps
Applingua: helps developers translate their apps into different languages and reach new markets
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App Testing

Diawi: tool for iOS developers to deploy Development and Ad hoc iOS applications directly to the device
Hockey App: distribute beta versions on iOS and Android, collect live crash reports, get feedback from users, and analyze
Droid4x: PC simulator of the original Android system
Crashyltics: crash reporting solution for iOS and Android developers
Crittercism: a mobile crash report and application performance management (APM) solution
Testflight: invite users to test iOS apps before releasing them on the App Store
Applause: helps close the feedback loop between app creators, testers and users, ensuring high-quality apps
InstaBug: bug tracking tool that can be integrated into mobile apps, to provide a seamless way for users to send their feedback or report bugs

Customer Relationship Management

Apptentive: in-app surveys, ratings prompts, reviews, and messaging
AskingPoint: intelligent rating widget and feedback widget, cross promotion, In-App & Push Messaging, and more
CustomerHub: cloud-based software to build a password-protected membership site
Zendesk: cloud-based customer service platform that includes ticketing, self-service options, and customer support features
Freshdesk: customer support software, which brings together multiple communication channels like email, phone, and social networks

help shift: provide in-app user self service including Chat in-app if a user needs extra help
Ontraport: business automation software developer that specializes in assisting small businesses and entrepreneurs

GetResponse : create a valuable marketing list of prospects, partners, and clients to schedule email campaigns

Grasshopper: virtual phone system with free local numbers, call forwarding, and transcribed voicemails
Jira: 2 way communication to follow up with users or testers for additional feedback

User Experience

Appsee: in-app analytics platform that enables you to measure, understand and improve the user experience in apps
Tape Recorder: remotely configure what user sessions to record and watch
Test Fairy: a video tests done, including CPU, Memory, GPS, Network and a lot more
Testbirds: testing apps for mobile devices (Apple iOS, Google Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry OS) as well as web applications

Podcasts

Bluecloud Podcast: COMING SOON
The Tim Ferris Show: Tim deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas to extract the tactics and tricks they use
The Art of Charm: a mix of experienced mentors packing decades of research, testing and tough lessons into a concise curriculum
Today in iOS: the latest happenings with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, AppleWatch, iOS and iPhone Apps

Source Codes

Bluecloud Solutions Source Codes: individual and bundled source codes including games, utilities, and everything in between
GameGorillaz: Some of the best Unity3D source codes made by one of our partners and closest friends

Personal Development

Personal Power 2: personal and professional achievement program to help transform your life and achieve your dreams
Millionaire Mind Intensive: a three day wealth seminar that shows how to reset your money blueprint for extraordinary success
Hypnosis Downloads: help in altering ‘primal needs’ which when unmet can lead to psychological and physical problems

Repositories & Cloud Storage

Github: web-based repository hosting service, which offers revision control and source code management
Dropbox: Store, synchronize and share files online with public access
Box: share, manage and collaborate on valuable corporate information
Bit Bucket: hosting service for projects that use either the Mercurial (since launch) or Git
Google Drive: allows users to store documents in the cloud, share files, and edit documents with collaborators
iCloud: a cloud storage and cloud computing service from Apple

Billing & Payments

Stripe: a suite of APIs that powers commerce for businesses of all sizes
Square: point-of-sale system designed to run on a smartphone or tablet, on your counter or on the go
Paypal: a service that enables you to pay, send money, and accept payments without revealing your financial details
Venmo: a free digital wallet that allows you to pay and request money from your friends
Business Invoice Templates: a free guide + templates for business invoicing
iubenda: privacy policy service and templates

Tracking

Tapstream: send users directly inside an app to a deep destination when they click the campaign link
Distimo’s App Link: identify which country and traffic source consumers are coming from, and what devices they are using
Linkdirector: links with multiple destinations that can be updated at any time.
AppURL: cross platform deep linking to apps across all platforms and devices

Mentorship

Bluecloud Select: get personalized answers to everything you want to know about apps
Carter Thomas on Clarity: hop on a phone call with Carter, an expert in ad networks, monetization, and mobile business models
Meetup: network of local groups for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already created
Quora: a question-and-answer website where questions are created, answered, edited and organized by its community of users

ASO & SEO

Sensor Tower: leading solution for driving organic app growth and analyzing app marketplace intelligence
Mobile Action: App Store Optimization, App Store intelligence, actionable insights.
App Tweak: instant app marketing report

Search Man: data for App Store SEO and competitive intelligence

Appnique: market mobile apps through both organic app store SEO (ASO), and mobile app install campaigns
App Rank Corner: keyword tracking and optimization, suggestion tool, app rankings, user reviews, downloads and revenue
Mobile Dev HQ: case studies and data tol provide the best keywords based on relevance, search volume, and difficulty
App Bot: track search keyword rankings in the App Store and receive daily report of changes

Social Media

Bluecloud Solutions Facebook Page: stay up to date with news and special promotions
Bluecloud Solutions on Twitter: follow Bluecloud for inspirational stories, revenue reports, and giveaways
FB Sizes & Dimensions: a list of all the supported images and their dimensions for each device
How to Create a FB Page for your App: a quick guide with pictures to setting up FB pages for apps
Facebook Developers: Facebook’s developer dashboard and forum
9 Ways to Increase Instagram Followers: tips to grow facebook followers to better promote your projects
Grin – get real-time sub counts for your favorite YouTubers, your own channel, and more (great for researching influencers)

Collaboration

Skype: speak, see and instant message other people online
Teamviewer: remote control your partner’s computer as if you were sitting right in front of it
Evernote: freemium suite of software and services, designed for notetaking and archiving
Join.me: share your screen instantly with anyone
Voxer: a messaging app for your smartphone with live voice (like a walkie talkie), text, photo and location sharing
Google Hangouts: an instant messaging and video chat platform developed by Google

Project Management

Basecamp: a project-management tool with to-do lists, web-based text documents, milestone management, file sharing, time tracking, and messaging
Slack: One of the most popular group messaging and work platforms
Trello: a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards
Asana: a web and mobile application designed to enable teamwork without email
ProjectManager.com: Plan, track, and get reports on all your projects
Teamwork: create tasks, collaborate and manage

Outsourcing

Elance: an online staffing platform to hire or work as a freelancer
Fiverr: a global online marketplace offering tasks and services, starting at $5
Odesk: a global online work platform where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely
Freelancer: post jobs online to find expert freelancers
LinkedIn: a social networking site designed specifically for the business community
TaskRabbit: an online and mobile marketplace that allows users to outsource small jobs and tasks
Users Think: a service that takes care of setup, configuration, user recruiting, and all other hassles for you.
Kaya Systems: Technology & InfusionSoft outsourcing company.
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Website and Landing Pages

Leadpages: landing page generator. An easy way to build conversion optimized & mobile responsive landing pages
WordPress: an online, open source website creation tool written in PHP. Great tool for building any website
Unbounce: Build, publish & A/B test landing pages without I.T.
Instapage: Quickly build mobile responsive landing pages with a drag and drop editor.
AppLandr: Create landing pages for your iOS and Android apps

Screencasting

Quicktime: multimedia technology with a built-in media player
Jing: free and simple way to share images and short videos of your computer screen
Snagit: a screenshot program that captures video display and audio output
Screen-O-Matic: a free screen and webcam recorder to capture video from your computer screen and share it
Snapz: record anything on your screen*, saving it as a QuickTime movie

Books

The Slight Edge: powerful self-help, motivation tool of methods you must to learn in order to make it up the path of success

MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom: a simple 7-step blueprint that anyone can use for financial freedom

The Fountainhead: the story of a young architect, his battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who struggles to defeat him.

4-Hour Work Week: a step-by-step guide to luxurious lifestyles through minimizing your work

Shantaram: a huge novel that has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart

The Bonfire of Vanities: armed with an ego the size of his bond market trading account, the young Sherman finds himself on top of the NYC finance market before he’s 38 years old.

The Call of the Wild: growing up in Northern California, Buck, a regular house dog is unjustly selected to be shipped to Alaska to race and pull sleds.

Work Smarter: a list of 500+ online resources today’s top entrepreneurs use to increase productivity and achieve their goals.

Atlas Shrugged: with the country in a very fragile state, the government looks to the half dozen industry leaders to bail them out. When they won’t cooperate, the government enforces redistribution.

Motivational Movies

Wall Street: Gordon Gecko, need I say more?
Glengarry Glen Ross: Alex Baldwin puts on the best performance of his career. ABC!
Man On Fire: get jacked up before signing on
Boiler Room: an investment firm takes the fastrack to success and ends up losing
Mission to the Edge of Space: The Inside Story of Red Bull Stratos: Redbull documents a record-breaking skydive
Rounders: Matt and Ed dominating the poker table for 90 minutes
The Wolf of Wall Street: the wealth, crime, and corruption of Jordan Belfort
Margin Call: the early stages of the financial crisis
Richard Branson: Bloomberg Game Changers: a look inside Richard’s crazy/brilliant life

Reskin Services

TOAD: Our partners and best reskin and development team out there for quality and affordable projects.
Reskin Games: a trusted company who has worked with hundreds of app developers all over the world including Bluecloud Solutions
Angela’s App Services: service that includes programmers and designers to take care of everything needed to get your app in Stores

Misc Tools & Services

Parse: a backend service to developers. If your app requires a backend, then Parse is one of the options you can choose
SEMRush: an SEO tool that tracks keyword rankings within search engines, providing webmasters information regarding their targeted keywords
LegalZoom: on-line legal and paralegal document preparation services on a nationwide basis
Steve Blank Tools – Everything you could possibly ask for and more
LemonDrone – The best drone videos and drone information on the web

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