The Ultimate List Of Tools & Resources To Run A Profitable Blog
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you purchase through them.
There are so many working parts to create a successful blog. Here are my favorite resources you should check out.
Blogging Tools
1. Bluehost
If you haven’t started a blog yet, you’ll want to sign up with a fast host that provides good customer service to ensure that everything goes smooth.
Bluehost is my number one recommendation if you’re just starting out. They have awesome, affordable plans that start as low as $3.95/month.
Follow my step-by-step guide on how to start your own profitable blog here.
2. Namecheap
Along with hosting, you’ll need to purchase your own domain name. Namecheap is my favorite – I have purchased over 3 domains from them and have never had a problem.
3. WordPress.org
WordPress.org is my recommended platform to use for self-hosted blogs. It’s very user-friendly and has a ton of cool features to help you get your blog started. Don’t get this mixed up with WordPress.com!
4. Genesis Framework by StudioPress
I recommend getting the Genesis framework when building your blog. It’s a one-time license so you can use it on multiple sites once you purchase it once.
5. Tailwind
Tailwind is a one of the greatest investments you can make on your blog if you use Pinterest to market your blog and explode your pageviews. With this, you can schedule out your pins in advance and send automated traffic to your blog even when you’re asleep!
I use this every day and I get almost 15,000 pageviews a month from using Tailwind!
6. Grammarly
Do you make a lot of grammar and punctuation mistakes when you write? Save yourself time with Grammarly, which will spellcheck and proofread your work as write.
7. Mailerlite
An email list is so important if you’re going to start a profitable blog. Mailerlite is my choice of email service provider to send out campaigns on my list.
8. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a must for bloggers and online businesses who need a reliable email marketing tool to reach their audience by mailing list.
9. Teachable
If you want to create your own e-course, I recommend using Teachable to host it.
10. Sendowl
Creating your own e-book has never been simpler. Just host it on Sendowl and watch as the revenue rolls in!
11. Freshbooks
Freshbooks is a good accounting software to stay on top of your finances as a blogger. It has so many features including invoicing, bookkeeping, and so on.
Learn why you should use Freshbooks here.
12. OptinMonster
Ready to generate some leads and convert your website traffic to subscribers and paying customers?
You need OptinMonster which will do all the hard lifting for you 24/7 even while you’re asleep.
13. MonsterInsights
Help grow your business with the powerful analytics of MonsterInsights, the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress.
14. SEMrush
Need an advanced SEO keyword research tool to help rank your website on Google?
SEMrush is what you need!
15. Short Pixel
Compress and optimize your images with Short Pixel to improve your website speed so your visitors will want to stay on your site.
With one credit, you’ll get 15,000 image optimization credits per month that you can use forever on all of your sites. You can also stack up to 5 credits!
16. WP Forms
Spruce up your online contact forms with WP Forms this year so you can be in better contact with your customers, readers, and brands.
17. WP Rocket
Making sure you have the lowest site speed is so important to keep both your visitors and Google happy.
Decrease your site speed with WP Rocket, the best caching plugin to boost your site’s performance.
18. Skimlinks
Having to join multiple affiliate networks and keeping track of your affiliate income can be a huge pain.
Skimlinks is a one-stop shop that allows you to earn money from your links without having to join external affiliate networks. All you have to do is copy a single code onto your site and your links will magically change into affiliate links.
19. Legal Templates Bundle
Starting a blog and not being legally covered can be a very scary situation. And often the free templates you find online will not protect you legally!
If you’re stuck on what to write in your terms and conditions, privacy policy, and disclaimer pages, protect yourself with this nifty legal templates bundle written by a lawyer for bloggers. You’ll be done editing it in less than an hour and have the peace of mind that you’re protected.
Read my full review on the bundle here!
Essential Blogging Courses & E-Books
20. Stupid Simple SEO
If you’re looking to bring quality traffic from Google search results to your blog, this is one of the best courses you definitely need to invest in!
Stupid Simple SEO is one of the most comprehensive and in-depth SEO courses I’ve ever taken and have learned so many tips and tricks so far.
Check out this masterclass to see if it’s right for you!
21. Easy On-Page SEO
Easy On-Page SEO is one of the most affordable e-books to check out if you’re new to SEO that I highly recommend starting out with.
Debbie Gartner is a seasoned blogger who earns $20,000 a month from affiliate marketing by driving targeted traffic from Google with SEO.
She makes on-page SEO very easy to understand so if you’re a total beginner with no previous experience, this should be the very first resource you start with.
22. Easy Backlinks For SEO
Another great affordable resource to learn from is Debbie’s Easy Backlinks For SEO.
Backlinks are the other half to mastering your site’s SEO and is just as important as on-page SEO.
In this e-book, she teaches how to easily get backlinks to your site without having to do blogger outreach.
I highly recommend getting both the Easy On-Page SEO & Easy Backlinks For SEO e-books together so that you can get the complete picture of how SEO works.
Save $20 by getting both the Easy On-Page SEO & Easy Backlinks For SEO bundle today!
23. Easy SEO Revamp
Easy SEO Revamp delves deeper into SEO and should be taken once you’re more familiar with the basics of SEO and read the previous 2 books above.
In this awesome course, she’ll teach you the tips and tricks on how to easily re-vamp your older posts to increase their SEO ranking.
Want the best deal? Get $54 off all 3 of her best SEO resources (Easy SEO Revamp, Easy On-Page SEO, & Easy Backlinks For SEO) in this ultimate bundle and save a ton of money!
24. Journey To The Center Of Amazon
Journey To The Center Of Amazon is an essential course to take to improve your Amazon affiliate earnings.
If you’re a beginner and haven’t started making money yet on Amazon, this course by Debbie Gartner is the course to take! It’s simple and easy to follow but filled with tons of information for both beginners and intermediate bloggers.
But even if you’ve been blogging for a while and make some money on Amazon, this course still has so many little nuggets of information that I found really eye-opening and helpful.
25. Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers
Learn how to master the art of affiliate marketing with Carly Campbell’s Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers course. She’ll teach you the simple strategies to improve your affiliate conversions in both your blog posts and your email list. Read more about the course here.
26. Blog Flipping Course
If you’ve been looking to sharpen your blogging skills and want to learn how to make even more money by flipping blogs, the Blog Flipping Course is THE course you’ll want to take. Chelsea from HerPaperRoute has flipped numerous blogs and made thousands of dollars and will teach you how you can do the same.
27. Pinteresting Strategies
If you don’t have the funds to purchase Tailwind but you still want to utilize Pinterest, Pinteresting Strategies will teach you how to manually pin with success and get you explosive traffic.
28. Get Paid To Pin
Did you know that you can get paid to pin on Pinterest? The Get Paid To Pin e-Book will teach you exactly how.
29. Genius Blogger’s Toolkit
The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit 2020 is a digital collection of trainings and tools to get you started on your blogging journey. It will give you step-by-step instructions to make your blog successful in 2021 and beyond.
At a 97% discount with 86 products worth $7,484.88, this bundle is so affordable for the amount of blogging knowledge you’ll get from it!
Side Hustle Courses
30. SavvySystem
Get the total blueprint on how you can start your own virtual assistance business with the SavvySystem and start earning $5,000+ a month working from home.
Read my post on how you can start becoming a freelance virtual assistant today.
31. SavvyVault
Do you want to become a virtual assistant and learn more skills to increase your rates and find more clients?
The SavvyVault membership has over 50+ tech courses (with new courses added each month!) that will level up your skills so you can offer more services and earn more.
The best thing is that you can cancel your membership at anytime when you’ve finished upgrading your skills.
32. Become A Pinterest VA
Become A Pinterest VA course is the ultimate course to start your freelance Pinterest virtual assistant side hustle. I earn over $1,000 a month from this side hustle myself and got back my initial investment in the first month!
Read my post on how to become a specialized freelance Pinterest VA today.
33. Diva Dog Bakery
Selling dog treats is the perfect side hustle if you love dogs and baking. And even if you don’t know how to bake, you’ll learn how to bake as well as sell your products online in this sweet little course.
Learn more on how to start a dog treats business from home today.
34. Etsy Printables
Gold City Ventures’ E-Printables Course is the ultimate course to learn how to sell Etsy printables and start making passive income.
Read my post on how to start earning passive income by selling digital downloads on Etsy.
35. Write Your Way To Your First $1K
Write Your Way To Your First $1K is a great resource to check out if you’re looking to get started in freelance writing to supplement your blogging income.
36. Paid To Post
Want to become an influencer and get paid big bucks to post on Instagram?
Paid To Post will teach you how to score sponsored blogging & Instagram jobs, work with brands, and become a high-paid brand ambassador.
WordPress Themes
37. Restored 316 Designs
If you’re looking for romantic and feminine WordPress themes, Restored 316 has a huge selection for you to choose from.
Here are some of my favorite WordPress themes from Restored316:
38. Bluchic
Bluchic is the best choice for professional yet feminine WordPress themes. They even sell beautiful landing pages and social media graphic templates.
Here are some of my favorite themes and bundles for bloggers and entrepreneurs that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a feminine feel:
- Olivie Theme
- Victoria Theme
- ChicServe Theme – Perfect for entrepreneurs and service-based businesses
39. 17th Avenue Designs
17th Avenue Designs is another great WordPress theme site with beautiful designs.
Here are some of my favorite WordPress themes from 17th Avenue Designs:
40. Creative Market WordPress Templates
If you want a more diverse selection of WordPress themes to choose from, Creative Market is the place to go.
Check out my post on 25 of my favorite elegant and feminine WordPress themes here.
Images and Stock Photos
41. PicMonkey
This is an essential imaging tool for everyone, even if you’re graphically-challenged! PicMonkey makes it so easy to create graphics, overlay, and text for your blog.
42. Canva
Canva is a must to create beautiful and eye-catching pins easily for Pinterest in just 5 minutes. Highly recommended!
Check out my full review on Canva for more info.
43. Adobe Photoshop
If you want something more advanced to edit and create your graphics, Adobe Photoshop is my next recommendation.
44. Styled Stock Society
Don’t have time to photograph for your blog or don’t have the skills? The Styled Stock Society subscription has got you covered. They have beautiful and feminine flatlays and mockups for every niche.
45. Ivory Mix
Another great stock photo subscription site is Ivory Mix. They’re super affordable with a library of photos that are professional and feminine, which is perfect for bloggers and entrepreneurs.
46. Pixistock
Pixistock is the 3rd stock photo subscription site that I recommend for female entrepreneurs with over 6,000 beautiful, feminine stock photos, Canva templates, Instagram-ready quotes, and so much more. Every month, 100 to 200 new photos are uploaded.
47. SheBold Stock
SheBold Stock, another wonderful stock photo site for feminine photos. Definitely check them out for bright, feminine photos.
48. Depositphotos
AppSumo is back with their awesome stock photo deal this year. You’ll get 39 royalty-free stock photos of your choice for $100 (normally priced at $500 so a total of 93% off!) from Depositphotos.
You can purchase multiple credits and these credits never expire so now is the time to stock up on these whether you’re a blogger or entrepreneur.
Plugins
49. Yoast SEO
Making sure that you are optimizing your SEO is so important to generate traffic from Google and Yoast SEO is a great plugin to help you do that. Every blogger needs this in their blogging kit!
50. Grow Social by Mediavine
Sharing your posts is so important. My favorite social sharing plugin is Grow Social by Mediavine and it helps get my posts seen by others. They have so many features jam-packed all into one.
51. Pretty Links
Cloaking your affiliate links is a great way to hide spammy-looking links. The free version of Pretty Links does the job and you can even see the analytics of who clicked on your links and when.
Fonts
52. Creative Market
Fonts are so important when creating graphics. On Creative Market, you’ll find a ton of fonts you can purchase for logos, graphics, and more.
53. Etsy
Etsy is another great marketplace to purchase fonts. They have thousands to choose from so it’s worth checking out.
Productivity Tools
54. Erin Condren
If you’re looking for a planner to get organized for the new year, Erin Condren has a ton of fun planners and accessories to do the job.
55. Day Designer
Need to be ultra productive? Get the beautiful flagship Day Designer planner to stay productive during your work day so you can get your to-do list done.
Money Tools
56. Master Your Money Super Bundle
Learn how to master your money when you’re your own boss and make smarter financial decisions with the Master Your Money Super Bundle.
In this course, you’ll get tons of financial tidbits touching on budgeting, defeating debt, growing your income, money mindset, and how to plan for the future.
The super bundle contains 8 e-Books, 13 printables, and 17 e-Courses (38 products in total) worth $1712.95!
Learn how to master your money this year with the Master Your Money Super Bundle!
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