Andrea’s Resource Guide
Note: full disclosure, I am an affiliate for some of these, but only because I truly dig ’em. 🙂
Graphic Design
Custom/Hired Design:
>> Post Your Project & Get Bids from Designers:
DIY Graphics:
- Canva: https://www.canva.com/
- Templates & Prefab designs for just about anything online: Creative Market
Color Scheme picker from Adobe:
Fonts:
Find color codes for your visual branding:
Free/Cheap Stock Photos
- unsplash.com
- pixabay.com
- pexels.com
- shutterstock.com
- Also, if you use Canva they have a bunch of stock photos within their platform that you can use.
Websites
For a WordPress website on your own hosting account:
Recommended Hosts: Make sure you always get WordPress or “Managed” hosting.
- My favorite is: Flywheel GetFlywheel.com (this is what I use for my site and most clients)
Domain Names:
- Namecheap.com –this has recently become my preference as Godaddy service has degraded in recent years.
- Godaddy.com
Website Design & Development:
We currently offer website development, contact team@andreaguevara.com for more details and a quote.
For a non-WordPress site:
- Squarespace.com
- Pauline Wiles (Squarespace author website design & templates)
eCommerce:
- WooCommerce plugin for WordPress
Or
- Shopify.com (stand alone)
Squarespace Design & Development:
Pauline Wiles Website Design – I’ve referred folks to Pauline–she does a great job and is a great person!
Test your site pages on several mobile device simulations:
Email Marketing / Email Newsletters
- ConvertKit (my favorite for segmenting your list and more advanced use)
- Mailchimp
- Constant Contact
- Tiny Letter
- Substack
Email Marketing How-Tos
- The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing for Authors (from ConvertKit)
- 7 email automation templates authors can use to connect with their fans and sell books (from ConvertKit)
- Newsletter Guide: How to build a loyal community with consistent connection (from ConvertKit)
- Come together: Event planning for Creators (from ConvertKit)
Social Media Tools
Posts scheduling software:
Apps:
Hashtag Expert (helps optimize which hashtags to use and when to post)
Repost for Instagram (allows you to repost other folks content with attribution)
Truncate long URLs and track clicks:
Test the link you’re sharing, for mobile-friendliness:
Research Resources
- Amazon.com
- Goodreads.com
- PublishersMarketplace.com
- PublishersWeekly.com
- Poets & Writers
- AuthorsGuild.org
- authorcentral.amazon.com
- novelrank.com – seems to be in flux at the moment
Recommended Reads
The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron
The Wart of Art, Steven Pressfield
Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert
Contagious, Jonah Berger
Before and After the Book Deal, Courtney Maum
Event & Conference Listings
- Poets & Writers
- AWP (has a listing of other events and programs nationwide)
I use & recommend:
