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A while back, I put together a list of 10 free tools to enable you to build an online business for free. (Actually, it ended up being 21, but who’s counting.)

Anyway, I already have another 10 that I just have to tell you about, that are not only free but actually really very useful.

Included in the list are

2 CMS packages,

1 email service

4 Analytics solutions

2 Audience segmentation and analysis services

4 CRM solutions

And half a dozen other cool and useful tools.

Yes I know that adds up to more than 10, aren't you lucky?

1: Ning:

If you need a website or have clients that need a website without too many complex services and programming, then it’s hard to go past Ning. It’s free and can be set up in about five minutes. (No, I’m not kidding.) It allows you to implement all sorts of social media tools, connect with friends and business colleagues, upload videos, podcasts, blogs, forums, jobs boards and a whole host of other features too numerous to mention.

It’s also dead easy to use; no complicated signing in to the backend and configuring an admin panel. Once it’s set up you can do it all from the front end.

One of my clients, the Aquaculture Council of Western Australia set up half a dozen different websites within a few days.

If you don’t need the features of a full-blown content management system, then it’s hard to go past Ning.

2: Modxcms:

This was a toss up for number one with Ning, but Ning won out simply because it’s free and so easy. However, if you’re looking for a great CMS, then Modx is well worth a look. It’s free, open source, very well featured and has a very professional backend. It’s easy to install, and once you understand how it works, it’s a dream to manage sites with. It also has a very vibrant support community, and if you have any problems you can usually get answers within a day.

3: MailChimp

There are lots of great Email Campaign and List Managers out there, but MailChimp is currently my favourite. Again, very easy to use and has all the features you would expect from such a service. You even get your first hundred emails per month for free.

4: Piwik, Woopra, Histats and Quantcast.

Four free analytics services.

Piwik is cute, quick and easy to use. It’s similar to Google Analytics but without the clunky dashboard.

Woopra looks simply gorgeous and must have one of the best looking dashboards. It provides similar information as the other analytics packages but everything just seems easier to access.

Histats: Another freebie, it provides the standard analytics information in a fairly straightforward interface. Worth a look if you’re tired of Google Analytics.

Quantcast: This is something different. While it collects the usual data, it is more geared towards defining your audience demographics so that you can sell your reach to other advertisers. It’s much more sophisticated than the other free analytics packages, and if your into segmenting and defining your audience then it’s a great service.

Like almost any online service, you have to experience and play with these tools to see what they can do and offer you. As they’re all free, you have nothing to lose.

5: Clicktales:

Almost another analytics service, Clicktales allows you to record “movies” of what your customers actually do on your site.

Sort of like a visual click analysis.

It also provides heatmaps, link and form analysis enabling you to see just how your customers are interacting on your site.

You can start with 400 page views recorded per month for free. If you want to record more then the price goes up to $99 per month for 20,000 page views to $790 for 240,000 page views.

For the remaining five, just go to my blog here Ten Free Online Marketing Tools.

You'll also find links and screenshots of the different tools.

Have fun.

Mark (aka The Silk Merchant)