Blogging Resources
As a blogger, I’ve explored my fair share of tools to help me make my website a success. It hasn’t been an easy journey. It took me 5 years of trial and errors to actually crack the code to blogging. I don’t want you to repeat the same mistakes I did and take forever to see results from your blog.
So allow me to take the stress and hassle out of the hard parts and help you save your time and efforts by investing in the right tools from the get go. I’ve put together the basic tools and resources you need to start your blog and make money from it so you can focus on sharing your idea’s with the world.
These blogging and creative resources are my personal favourites and what I’d recommend to get you on your way to success!
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links – at no extra cost to you.
Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the largest web hosting providers powering over 2 million websites and is easily the best, budget friendly and easiest to work with especially for new bloggers. With Bluehost you can start building your website for as little as $2.95 per month and choose a generous plan that includes a free domain. They also offer a quick 1-click WordPress installation process and have 24/7 support for all your web host servicing needs. I highly recommend and personally use Bluehost for this blog and I’m still a happy customer!
WordPress
If you’re looking for a website builder that is both simple and highly trusted WordPress is it. Most web hosts such as Bluehost work with WordPress and offer quick and easy installation as part of their services.
Google Analytics
Google analytics is your ticket to tracking and reporting your websites traffic and audience behaviour. It is a free service and you should really get it up and running as soon as you’ve built your website. It includes features that can help you identify trends, patterns and engagement from your website visitors that could help you grow your website and identify any changes or improvements you should be making. Also note, brands usually ask to see your analytics as proof for any sponsored collaborations so it’s definitely a tool you need as a serious blogger.
Akismet Anti-spam
Akismet is one of the best and most advanced anti-spam software service to help protect your website from spam and malicious activities.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a free plugin that analyses your posts and content to offer suggestions on making improvements where necessary to help with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) standing. This is important if you want to get more traffic and eyes to your blog so it’s definitely a useful plugin to install.
WP Rocket
The ease and convenience of a fast loading website is crucial if you want to keep the interest of your audience and keep them on your website for longer! Google also takes on board the speed of your website and page loading when it comes to ranking and having a plugin like WP Rocket could be the difference between more traffic. WP Rocket is by far the best plugin to optimise your website for speed and performance.
UpdraftPlus
Sometimes things can go wrong due to glitches and things outside of your control leading you to lose your content! UpdraftPlus is a reliable and handy plugin that backs up and restores all your hardwork so you can have peace of mind.
Shortpixel
Shortpixel is a handy plugin that compresses and optimises your images without compromising image quality. This in return will help you to save space and help your site load faster.
WPForms
WPForms is a powerful drag and drop WordPress form builder for creating professional forms in just a few minutes. They have a range of templates which you can use to create all sorts of WordPress forms such as contact forms, online surveys, donation forms and order forms to name just a few. The best thing is, you don’t have to write any codes, WPForms does all the work for you!
17th Avenue Designs
If you’re looking for WordPress themes with responsive designs that have functional features, endless flexibility and effortless ease of use than 17th Avenue Designs if the one for you (I use it on my blog). They help you elevate and enhance your blog and take it to a whole different level with their beautiful, clean and chic theme templates. Read my post here to learn more.
Flodesk
There are loads of email marketing service providers out there but my favourite is by far Flodesk. It’s a newer platform on the scene but they’ve already taken the email marketing world by storm. They make the whole process of creating emails, optin forms, pop ups, landing pages, newsletters and workflows less daunting and so effortless and easy that you could literally do it in minutes! Unlike other email providers, they offer a locked monthly price for unlimited use and unlimited subscribers which is such a HUGE plus. You can sign up with my link for a free trail and I’ve managed to get you 50% off for your first year here! Don’t forget to check out my post on why Flodesk is the best email marketing provider here.
Canva
If you’re looking for the PERFECT tool to create eye catching designs Canva is pretty much the only service you need. From flyers to social media posts, ebooks to media kits and everything in between Canva can help you to create any of these effortlessly. You can choose from thousands of free templates, stock images and fonts to bring your designs to life, however, if you want to take your blog and social media presence to another level I strongly suggest upgrading to Canva Pro. For a small monthly payment, you will get access to EVERYTHING including premium images, templates and social media and content scheduling.
Tailwind
Tailwind is a great platform that can help you batch schedule pins to Pinterest. It is Pinterest approved and an effective and easy to use scheduler especially if you really are serious about making your Pinterest work for your blog (to drive organic and targeted traffic).
For selling digital products
At some point, like most bloggers do, you might want to create your own digital products and services to add to your revenue and income streams. So, whether you want to create and sell eBooks, printable’s, online courses, memberships or a service, I’ve got a list of the best and most effective platforms on the market:
I’ve added Canva Pro as it’s the ultimate tool to use if you want to create digital products such as eBooks, printables, book covers, planners, templates or any other graphical or printable product.
If you’re looking to create and sell online courses, webinars, coaching programs, memberships and services I feel these three platforms are the best:
Thinkific, Podia or Teachable.
They all offer a powerful all-in-one creating, marketing and selling structure and exceptional customer service and support. All the platforms are easy to use and quite straightforward and offer features to help enhance your product and guide you to selling them more successfully.
To be honest, whichever platform you choose is a matter preference as they’re all quite similar in their services and functionalities. I recommend trying out their free plans to get a feel of which option and price plan works best for you and your product.
