Below is what I currently use and recommend.
A majority of the links below are affiliate links. This means if you sign up using my link, I will a small financial kick-back to help support my own small business. Reminder: I only share programs and services I use and love myself. Using these links is a small way to support my small business … so thank you for your support!
My favorite email marketing platform is Flodesk. It’s been a game-changer for my email marketing, with its simplicity, creative freedom, and templates that convert. It offers unlimited subscribers and emails for one extremely low price. I’ve used all of the biggest email marketing programs — MailChimp (best free option), Active Campaign, etc. — and this is by far my fav due to ease, price, and design.
You can get a free trial, as well as 50% off your subscription by clicking here.
Planoly gave me so much relief when it comes to social media. I have the most whiplash-worthy relationship with social media. I love Instagram, hate Facebook, and could take or leave all the others.
Planoly is an Instagram program, however you can connect Facebook and it has a Pinterest planner, as well. It allows me to visually plan out my feed, set dates, write content, and look at reports of engagement. I spend 1-2 hours per month planning out the next 4-5 weeks of content, set to post, and then don’t look at it again until the next month. #winning
You can connect FB and Pinterest too, auto-post if you’d like (or just set reminders to post so you’re not sure about FB auto-post rules), and manage hashtag groups … among lots of other options.
The free version is usually sufficient for bloggers, but has limited capability. The paid versions aren’t expensive and in my love-mainly-hate relationship with social media it’s well worth it.
There came a point when I was tired and unable to sustain my ministry draining my bank account. And I wish I’d had this guide several years ago.
This Ministry to Business Guide is jam-packed and an easy-to-follow playbook for HOW TO EARN AN INCOME from your passion. It has 20 easy-to-follow units, like: an inside look at book publishing, podcasts do’s and don’t, secrets to earning money from other people’s products, and how to take your speaking to the next level, and tons more!
Hope*Writers helps writers make progress and write meaningful words they can share with a reader without sacrificing their meaningful lives.
Membership is open only a couple times a year, and this link will update with that registration when available.
When registration is not open, a button below will link to EITHER the latest training option they have or the Hope*Writer quiz, which will tell you where on the writing path you are stationed.
When I’m at events, it’s hard to collect information from attendees the old fashioned way (pen and paper).
Enter text messaging. I use Textiful to grow my email subscriber list by collecting information like email addresses, first names and more when I’m face-to-face with my audience.
This is a QUICK AND EASY way to grow your email list if you are at an event. Tell your people, “Hey, text this number and I’ll send you XXX.” They text the number and BOOM. New email subscriber.
It’s a no-brainer when it comes to those of us who attend live events. Click below to get 200 credits just for creating an account.
Bluehost offers good customer service, great pricing, and is a one-stop-shop for buying the site domain, hosting (where the site lives), and WordPress (my fav!) management (where you put all the pieces together.
My husband and I use Bluehost for our businesses.
Check out if your desired domain is available now:
I’ve stopped using any other WordPress themes for my website business except those from Restored 316 designs. They are beautiful, affordable, and customizable.
If you are looking to create your own site, without the help of a “web-sthetician” like me, you can’t go wrong with Restored 316.
Good photography is a must. And my phone doesn’t always catch the best photos or lighting. So I use Lightstock and their gorgeous, cheesy-free, faith-focused videos and photos when needed.
Hundreds and hundreds of items are in their marketplace, and they add more all the time.
I’m a planner junkie. I’ve tried them all. And nothing was ever just right for me. Enter the The Business Anchor.
It has been a life saver in keeping me organized — from task planning, emails and blog posts, to financials with my multiple streams of income. Not only is there a print version, but also a digital version and I can customize it to fit my needs.
You won’t be sorry checking this business planner out because it was built for the creative entrepreneur — like you.
For those who are not professional graphic designers (or don’t have a budget to hire one), and need a simple, quick, DIY graphic option, my favorite online platform is Canva.
There is a free version for those who want very basic and don’t mind limited capability. However, the premium version of Canva is stellar and worth the small monthly fee (just under $13) if you are needing graphics regularly.
It allows for creating and saving brand templates (colors, fonts, logos, etc.), creating space for team members, and has better and a more extensive library of fonts, photos, graphics, and templates.
Square is what I use for my financial services — from selling on my website, to selling merchandise in person at speaking events, to creating invoices for webs design customers.
I use it because it’s secure, fast, and easy-to-use. It takes the hassle and headache out of finance for me.
I go back to My Influence Circle for information on the publishing world and best practices for online writers.
MIC is a NON-MEMBERSHIP site that offers classes as you need them. I’ve personally benefitted from the Book Proposal Masterclass and the Secrets to Standing Out roundtable, and I love how it’s a la carte.
I know many of the people who work for MIC, and trust them wholeheartedly within the publishing and online writing community.
I’m represented by Blythe Daniel, from The Blythe Daniel Agency. A small, family-feel agency, I couldn’t be happier with the writer Blythe and her agency have helped mold me into and the book projects they’ve championed.
Every 8-weeks, a handful of appointments open up for a couple of the agents in the agency at MIC.
Having gone through this course, I can say without a doubt EVERY affiliate marketer needs to take this. Learn how to pick the right affiliate partners for your site or platforms & cultivate those relationships, increase sales conversions on your website & strategies for emailing effectively, tactics for creating your own campaigns to make thousands of dollars, and tons more.
Easy-to-use and helpful with tools to make real money from lots of recognizable names. I am a part of both Share-a-sale for some of my favorite brands.
Below you’ll find a few resources I still recommend, however I don’t currently use because either the options above work better for me or I am not in need of their services at this point.
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