Helpful Tools
The sites listed below can help you build a more robust, full-featured site, customized to how you want it.
Domain Names
There are a number of domain name registrars where you can register your domain name. Network Solutions, Register.com and GoDaddy are the most popular. Domain name registration and website hosting are two different functions -- you do not have to have them at the same company, and we even advocate keeping them separate in case you want to move your website to a new hosting company at some point.
Email Addresses
Gmail (Recommended) - The most widely used email address service, providing you with ample storage space for free. They also have a more comprehensive offering called G-Suite that integrates Gmail, Docs, Drive and Calendar.
Yahoo Mail - Another popular service, also free, although they have had some security problems recently.
GoDaddy - Primarily a domain name registrar, it's a good solution to have your domain name and email setup there. That way, you can have an email address that is you@yourdomain.com. They started offering Office365 email as their only option a while back, but I think they maybe went back to offering a more basic email opiton also.
Mailing Lists
You might want to check reviews on EmailToolTester.
MailChimp (Recommended) - A very popular and easy-to-use mailing list service and it's free for smaller lists. They have many newsletter templates to use. It also has many powerful newsletter marketing features.
Mailerlite - We have authors using this service and they seem to like it.
Constant Contact - Similar to MailChimp, maybe a little more business oriented and not as user friendly.
Graphics
Canva - Sign up for a free account and create all types of graphics for your website. One thing in particular you can do is use their Twitter banner template (1500 x 500 pixels) to create a header banner for your website, like this site. You can also upload your own images to use.
Video
Animoto - Animoto is a cloud-based video creation service that produces video from photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows.
Lumen5 - Lumen5 is a video creation platform designed for brands and businesses to produce social content for driving audience engagements online. The goal of the platform is to allow anyone without training or experience to easily create engaging video content within minutes (from their website).
Site Traffic & Stats
Google Analytics - You can sign up for a free account, hook your website up to it, and get all sorts of detailed information about your website visitors. Pub Site allows you to connect to your Google Analytics account and view some of the basic stats right in Pub Site.
Marketing Coach and Consultant
Fauzia Burke
Are you looking for advice and help setting up your author platform but don’t know where to start? Fauzia can jump in and quickly help you make an online marketing priority list saving your time and money. She will work on improving your website, mailing list, social media strategy, and blogging. With over 20 years of experience marketing books, she has a wealth of knowledge to share in a supportive and fun way. You can start with her book, Online Marketing for Busy Authors.
Self-Publishing
IngramSpark
We are proud to partner with IngramSpark. If you are a IngramSpark customer, you can get a discount on your monthly fee for a year. Remember to sign up from the IngramSpark site to get the discount. More info here.
Go Publish Yourself: An IngramSpark Podcast - Tune in to IngramSpark’s podcast consisting of 15-minute episodes on self-publishing tips authors can apply to enhance their publishing success. The podcast is available on all major podcast platforms (including iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and more) and directly from the IngramSpark website. This is a free resource for writers around the world. Catch up on previous episodes and join the current season, Season 2. Listen now!
The Ultimate Guide to Launching a Book for Indie Authors - Launching A Book: Pre-Launch Essentials
Fulfillment
PSSC - A complete fulfillment and order processing service. From their website: Publishers Storage and Shipping is a service business specializing in book storage and order fulfillment for publishers. Our services can vary from acting as an extension of a publisher’s customer service department where warehousing and shipping services are outsourced to providing a publisher with full customer services, invoicing, online shopping cart, sales reporting, warehousing and shipping.