Christina Faith here! I am a wife, author, director, podcaster and serial entrepreneur. It’s my desire to inspire entrepreneurs to Start, Finish and Grow their businesses and ideas. In no way am I a guru or a person that has it all together. I created ChristinaFaith.com in 2006 as a place to encourage others. For the last 9 years I have spent countless hours discovering what does and does not work by attending YouTube University and Google University. From failed ventures, to flopped book sales, to selling it all and starting over again I have learn what it means to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship isn’t glamourous. Entrepreneurship takes a lot of work, consistency and diligence.
I am very grateful to have the opportunity to use media, writing and technology for God’s glory. If you ever wanted to learn more about me as a person you should search the blog and discover my messy life as a follower of Jesus. In 2007 I met the cyber man of my dreams, literally! My husband Allen and I met on Facebook and are now best friends and creative business partners figuring out life together.
Over the last 9 years I’ve had the opportunity to help brands grow and re-think their strategies. When you are in the midst of developing and growing your brand it’s hard to see past what is in front of you. I’ve decided to offer a brand review and evaluation service for $197. Some people call it coaching. I call it a re-evaluation. When you re-evaluate you appraise and diagnosis where a person’s brand is and provide the proper tools to bring growth and balance in areas that are or unnoticed stagnant.
Brand Evaluation September 23rd, 2015christinafaith
I have so many resources stuck in my head. Often times I take those resources for granted because they are apart of my daily life. I often get questions asked about what I use and how I use those resources.
Here are some key resources to get you going in the areas of blogging, entrepreneurship and podcasting.
Blog Platforms to Use
WordPress.org – I’ve been using WordPress since I discovered it. I was originally on blogger but the free and paid theme templates are amazing on WordPress. WordPress.org allows you to fully customize
WordPress.com – free hosting platform that allows you to focus on content
Tumblr – hosted option that focuses on repost ability
Medium – free option created by Twitter co-founder Evan Williams that focuses on contributions
Web Hosting Companies Available
BlueHost- Blue host is the people’s choice. They have plans starting at $5.99 (currently running a special for $2.95). I’ve used Hostgator and GoDaddy as well.
Register your Business/Accounting
Legal Zoom– Incredibly low prices to start and run your business properly
Legal Zoom for LLC – We are a LLC company and that is what we suggest to most budding entrepreneurs. Sole Proprietorship is incredibly risky.
Freshbooks- Online cloud accounting. Run it like a business not like a hustle
Writing Apps
Scrivner – I use Scrivner to write my books and ebooks.
Desk Pm– An independent writing app that I absolutely love.
Evernote– I am an avid user! Without Evernote I would have no organization.
Day One- Day one is my journal app when my moleskine is unavailable.
Blog Themes and Design
Themeforest– The easiest way to get your blog up and running is to buy a good template. Themeforest is my place of choice for that.
99 Designs– If you want to succeed online you need great branding and designs. 99 Designs offers some of the best designs for the lowest price points.
Email Marketing Tools
Aweber– They are a bit expensive if you are just starting out
Mailchimp– I’ve used Mailchimp for years. They are great for a email list under 1000.
Active Campaign– Everyone is switching over. It’s definitely worth a tour. The set up I hear isn’t great but it’s worth it.
WordPress Plugins
Warfare– Has become an industry standard for social sharing on blogs
Yoast- Is a great tool for SEO (search engine optimization)
Buffer – Don’t overwhelm yourself with posting to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and all of the social media networkings. Buffer is great for scheduling your social media interaction and following the analytics.
Co-Schedule – Market your social media post the smart way.
Podcasting Equipment
Call Recorder– I prefer to use the Skype version so that I can edit each vocal separately
Blue Yeti – I use the Blue Yeti and I absolutely love the sound quality, the ability to mute yourself and volume adjustment on the microphone.
Skype– You can use FaceTime but Skype is the most universal and best option for podcasting when interviewing.
GarageBand or Logic for Mac users- We use Logic to edit our podcast. We started with Garageband but needed the ability to edit on a greater scale.
Headphones- The biggest mistake you can make is using Apple Headphones for podcasting. I suggest over the ear headphones. Here is a good article to look into multiple opinions between $75-100.
Podcast Hosting
ZenCast-Is a new company that we use to host our podcast. I absolutely adore the customer service.
Buzzsprout- Great introductory free pricing and amazing customer service.
Libsyn– Used by many. I personally don’t like the UI
Testing Systems
Google Analytics- Free website tracking. If you have trouble setting it up Google’s customer service is amazing.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. I have experience with all of these companies, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because I want you to pay for them. If you have questions about any of the products please feel free to connect with me.
