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Favorite Blogging Resources

Starting a blog is tough! You don’t know what you NEED and you honestly don’t know where to start. This resource page was created so that I may list all my recommendations to make it easier for you. This is a full list of what I feel are the BEST resources for bloggers. After the countless research I did when I started my blog, this is my ultimate list of only the things I believe are worth purchasing.

Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below but these are all products I highly recommend. All products have been used/verified prior to putting on this page.

HOSTING & DOMAIN

BLUEHOST: WHEN I FIRST DECIDED I WANTED TO BLOG, I LEARNED THAT THE FIRST STEP IS FINDING A HOSTING COMPANY THAT YOU LOVED! NOT ONLY DID I NOTICE THAT BLUEHOST WAS #1 RECOMMENDED BUT IT WAS SOMETHING I COULD AFFORD! STARTING A BLOG OR ANY KIND OF ONLINE WEBSITE MUST FIT YOUR BUDGET AND I DEFINITELY FOUND THAT WITH BLUEHOST. TO READ MORE ABOUT WHY I CHOSE BLUEHOST READ:

6 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE BLUEHOST.

WORDPRESS: AFTER HOSTING YOU NEED TO BUILD YOUR WEBSITE AND YOU CAN DO THAT FOR FREE ON WORDPRESS (.ORG NOT .COM)

WORDPRESS EASILY CONNECTS TO YOUR HOSTING SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING.

WORDPRESS IS 100% CUSTOMIZABLE AND YOU CAN LITERALLY BUILD ANY WEBSITE YOU WANT WITH THEIR UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF PLUGINS AVAILABLE.

HOST GATOR: AN ALTERNATIVE TO BLUEHOST THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND IS HOST GATOR. THEY HAVE GREAT PRICES & UNLIKE OTHER HOSTING COMPANIES THEY ALLOW YOU TO PAY MONTH TO MONTH IF YOU ARE NOT READY TO MAKE THE ANNUAL COMMITMENT.

NAMECHEAP: IF YOU ARE SHOPPING FOR A NEW DOMAIN OR WANT TO SEE IF YOURS IS AVAILABLE I RECOMMEND GOING TO NAMECHEAP! THEY HAVE AFFORDABLE ANNUAL PRICES FOR A DOMAIN & HAVE GREAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT! PLUS FREE ADD-ONS.

WordPress themes

HELLOYOU DESIGNS: MY VERY FIRST PAID BLOGGING THEME WAS MADE THROUGH HELLOYOU DESIGNS. THEY HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL & AFFORDABLE THEMES FOR ANY TYPE OF BLOG. I CURRENTLY AM STILL USING ONE OF THEIR THEMES.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS AMAZING AND THEY REALLY WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INSTALLING YOUR THEME AND ALL PLUGINS USED DURING THE DEMO.

GENESIS FRAMEWORK: SOME THEMES REQUIRE YOU TO ADDITIONALLY PURCHASE THE GENESIS FRAMEWORK. MOST MODERN THEMES ARE BUILT USING THIS SO IT WILL NOT PROPERLY DISPLAY WITHOUT INSTALLING THIS FIRST.

THE GENESIS FOUNDATION IS SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZED AND FILLED WITH TONS OF OTHER PERKS! VISIT THEIR SITE TO SEE THE ENTIRE LIST.

Read: All About the Genesis Framework

ELEMENTOR PRO: ELEMENTOR HAS BEEN ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE TOOLS SO FAR. OFTEN TIMES YOU HEAR HOW WORDPRESS IS NOT GOOD BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT EASILY ABLE TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR SITE WITHOUT BEING “TECH SAVVY.” WELL ELEMENTOR IS THE GAME CHANGER!

ELEMENTOR IS THE FAST AND EASY PAGE BUILDER FOR WORDPRESS. THERE IS NO CODING REQUIRED. IT IS LITERALLY DRAG & DROP AND YOU CAN CHOOSE TO CUSTOMIZE, MOVE, ADD OR CHANGE ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE.

ELEMENTOR IS FREE TO DOWNLOAD BUT THEIR PRO VERSION HAS HUNDREDS OF ADDITIONAL FEATURES – IT SO WORTH THE COST!

Hello You Designs - Designer Quality WordPress Themes

BLUCHIC PREMIUM THEMES: THESE THEMES ARE NOT ONLY SO BEAUTIFUL BUT THEY ARE READY FOR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. THEY ARE TOTALLY RESPONSIVE AND BUILT TO BE SEO FRIENDLY.

MOST THEMES ARE WOOCOMMERCE COMPATIBLE AND COME WITH EXCLUSIVE PLUGINS CREATED BY THEM!

MY FAVORITE IS THE MAGGIE THEME. CHECK IT OUT HERE

Graphic Design & images

CANVA: THIS IS THE BEST AND FREE PHOTO EDITING / CREATION SOFTWARE WITH PRE-MADE TEMPLATES FOR ALL SOCIAL MEDIA SITES. THEY OFFER SEVERAL FREE IMAGES BUT ALSO OFFER PREMIUM TOOLS IF YOU CHOOSE TO UPGRADE OR CAN PAY PER. IF YOU AREN’T SUPER CREATIVE BUT NEED IMAGES FOR YOUR BLOG OR PINTEREST THIS IS THE BEST GO TO SITE.

PLACE IT: THIS IS AN AMAZING MOCKUP GENERATOR TOOL. YOU DO HAVE TO PAY A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION BUT YOU ARE ABLE TO GET UNLIMITED DOWNLOADS.  YOU CAN PLACE YOUR LOGO ON ANYTHING OR NEW COURSE/DOWNLOAD ON A BOOK OR IMAC FOR AN AMAZING LOOKING AD FOR YOUR NEW PRODUCT!

SMART MOCKUPS: AN ALTERNATIVE TO PLACE IT BUT SIMILAR CONCEPT. THEY HAVE A DESKTOP APP SO YOU CAN USE FROM YOUR COMPUTER INSTEAD OF THEIR WEBSITE AND SEVERAL ADVANCED FEATURES. THEY ALSO OFFER A FREE VERSION OF THEIR SOFTWARE.

UNSPLASH OR PEXELS: GET BEAUTIFUL AND FREE STOCK PHOTOS FOR EITHER OF THESE TWO SITES. I LOVE TO FIND IMAGES HERE FOR MY BLOG AND MARKETING IMAGES. THEY ARE ALL HIGH RESOLUTION AND TOTALLY FREE TO USE AND IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO CREDIT THE PHOTOGRAPHER (BUT YOU CA IF YOU WANT).

CREATIVE MARKET: IF YOU NEED ANY TYPE OF CREATIVE PRODUCT THIS IS YOUR ONE STOP SHOP! YOU CAN FIND GRAPHICS, TEMPLATES, FONTS OR ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF.

BEST OF ALL THEY GIVE 6 FREE PRODUCTS EVERY MONTH.

I ACTUALLY FOUND HELLOYOU DESIGNS FROM CREATIVE MARKET!

PRODUCTIVITY

TAILWIND: I’M SURE YOU’VE HEARD OF TAILWIND OR IF YOU HAVEN’T YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE TERM “AUTOMATION” OR “AUTO-PILOT.” WHEN YOU HEAR BLOGGERS SAY THAT THEY PROBABLY MEAN TAILWIND!

YOU CAN USE TAILWIND TO SCHEDULE POSTS TO INSTAGRAM OR PINS FOR PINTEREST. KEEP YOUR SOCIAL SITES RUNNING WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING HOOKED TO IT ALL DAY. TRY TAILWIND FOR FREE FOR 30 DAYS!

ZAPIER: THIS WEBSITE CONNECTS SEVERAL APPS TO WORK TOGETHER IN ORDER TO AUTOMATE YOUR WORK TASKS. THEY HAVE SO MANY APPS THAT INTEGRATE TOGETHER – WHAT YOU CAN DO IS ENDLESS!

FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN CONNECT YOUR WOO-COMMERCE STORE TO YOUR EMAIL SERVICE TO EASILY ADD SUBSCRIBERS TO YOUR LIST!

CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE FOR FULL LIST OF APPS!

Tailwind Visual Marketing Suite

EMAIL MARKETING

MAILERLITE:  I PERSONALLY USE MAILERLITE WHICH IS A EMAIL MARKETING SOFTWARE. MORE IMPORTANTLY IT’S FREE FOR YOUR FIRST 1,000 SUBSCRIBERS. YOU CAN SEND AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF EMAILS AS LONG AS YOU HVE 1,000 OR LESS SUBSCRIBERS.

IT’S AFFORDABLE AND EASY TO USE. THEY HAVE PRE-MADE TEMPLATES (FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAMPAIGNS) IF YOU CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE YOUR EMAILS LOOK.

MAILCHIMP:  I STARTED WITH MAILCHIMP BECAUSE EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT THEM! DEFINITELY FOR GOOD REASONS. UNLIKE MAILERLITE THEY ALLOW YOU UP TO 2,000 SUBSCRIBERS IN THEIR FREE PLAN BUT ARE LIMITED TO 12,000 EMAILS PER MONTH AND DO NOT LET YOU USE ALL THEIR FEATURES.

I FELT IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO USE BUT THEY INTEGRATE WITH SO MANY OTHER PLATFORMS YOU SOMETIMES NEED TO HAVE MAILCHIMP FOR THE ABILITY TO EASILY CAPTURE LEADS.

PRO TIP: USE BOTH PLATFORMS AND INTEGRATE THE TWO WITH ZAPIER!

AFFILIATE MARKETING

SHARE A SALE: IF YOU ARE TRYING TO MONETIZE YOUR BLOG THEN SHAREASALE IS WHERE TO GO! THEY ARE AN EXTREMELY LARGE AFFILIATE MARKETING NETWORK. THEY LITERALLY TAKE THE WORK OUT OF FINDING COMPANIES THAT OFFER AFFILIATE PROGRAMS.

THEY HAVE A LARGE LIST OF MERCHANTS TO CHOOSE FROM PLUS OFFER ADDITIONAL RESOURCES LIKE BANNERS TO EASILY POST ON YOUR BLOG/SITE.

VIGLINK: SIMILAR TO SHAREASALE WHERE THEY OFFER A LIST OF MERCHANTS FOR YOU TO PARTNER WITH. THE HUGE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THEY ALLOW YOU TO CREATE REGULAR LINKS INTO AFFILIATE LINKS.

YOU CAN CREATE THE LINK ON THEIR WEBSITE OR BOOKMARK THEIR “ANYWHERE” FEATURE TO CREATE LINKS DIRECTLY FROM THE PAGE YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON.

BuSINESS & TRANSACTIONS

WOOCOMMERCE:  START SELLING ON YOUR WEBSITE WITH THIS FREE ECOMMERCE PLUGIN FOR WORDPRESS. THIS FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE PLUGIN ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE THE STORE OF YOUR DREAMS.

IT CAN FIT YOUR WORDPRESS THEME TO MATCH YOUR SITE OR YOU CAN ADD / CHANGE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE. WOO OFFERS MANY OF PAID AND FREE EXTENSIONS TO FURTHER ENHANCE YOUR STORE.

TEACHABLE: THIS PLATFORM ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE AND SELL ONLINE COURSES. YOU CAN BUILD A SCHOOL AND ADD COURSES TO YOUR SCHOOL FOR YOUR STUDENTS TO ENJOY FOR FREE OR PURCHASED.

TEACHABLE OFFERS A FREE VERSION. THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO START WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK OR BEFORE YOU ARE READY TO HOST THEM DIRECTLY FROM YOUR WEBSITE.

WooCommerce

SHOPIFY: : IF YOU DECIDE THAT A SELF HOSTED SITE IS NOT FOR YOU (AKA WORDPRESS) BUT WANT TO SELL YOUR PRODUCTS THEN SHOPIFY IS PERFECT FOR YOU! SHOPIFY IS A HOSTED ECOMMERCE PLATFORM. THEY OFFER ALL THE TOOLS TO HELP YOU BUILD AND GROW YOUR ONLINE STORE!

THEY HAVE SEVERAL PAYMENT GATEWAYS ALREADY INTEGRATED OR YOU CAN ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS USING THEIR OWN INTERFACE.

GET A FREE 14 DAY TRIAL HERE.


Learning

My Blogger’s Vault

POST BY NUMBER:  Learn the step by step process that Suzi from Start a Mom Blog follows to write blog posts that rank well in SEO and keep the reader engaged on the page!

This is the standard process she requires all of her guest post bloggers to complete. It allows you to publish your post quickly so you get more exposure and traffic.

Pinterest Primer:  Everything you need to know about setting up your Pinterest account like a pro!

Learn the best tips to building your Pinterest account to help get viewers to your blog from day 1!