Wondering what the best blogging tools are to help you grow your blog?
I’ve been exactly where you are. And, after nearly 10 years of blogging, I’ve finally found the “recipe” of tools to run a profitable blog.
Each of the blogging tools listed below are things that I actually use.
They are tried and tested and have absolutely earned my seal of approval for the best blogging tools to use for new and experienced bloggers alike.
If you’re new to blogging, then start with my post on how to start a blog.
General Blogging Tools + Resources
Grammarly – There’s no excuse for you to have grammatical errors when there is Grammarly. Yep, the one you’ve seen commercials for! This free tool has been a tremendous help for me when I’m writing my posts. It doesn’t cost anything and is a must-have for all bloggers.
G Suite – G Suite is a must-have if you want to run your blog like a business. This paid version of Google’s ecosystem grants your more Google Drive storage, additional email addresses for your domain, and more! It’s a definite must-have for the business portion of my blog.
Asana – This project management tool is great to keep track of content ideas and progress. I personally love it when I’m working with my VA to communicate things that need to be done. A great alternative is Trello, which I use for my freelancing writing jobs.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Keysearch.co – Keywords are super important for creating posts that get found. While a lot of once free tools are now charging, Keysearch is one of the few that’s actually affordable for new bloggers.
UberSuggest – Finding the right keywords to write about is uber important for blog traffic. That’s where UberSuggest comes in. This site owned by SEO expert, Neil Patel, is free to use for what most bloggers will need. However, if you want additional features, you can also purchase the paid version.
Keywords Everywhere – This browser extension allows you to type in keywords in almost any search bar and see how often its searched for. This is great for keyword planning. Though it used to be free, this extension now costs $10 for 100,000 keyword searches. Trust me, that’s more than enough searches for over a year.
YoastSEO – This free plugin helps you optimize your posts for the reader and for SEO. Though it’s not always 100% accurate, it’s a great guide when composing content.
HARO – A huge part of SEO is getting backlinks from reputable sites. A way to find those opportunities is through Help A Reporter Out (HARO). You can sign up on their site to get emails from reporters looking for experts to interview. There is no guarantee that your pitch will be excepted, but if you try enough you’ll land something.
Courses/Ebooks
I’ll just go on record and say that I’m not a fan of courses created by bloggers. Unfortunately, there is so much trash out there and people are wasting money on poor products that just have good marketing. So these courses and ebooks have been vetted!!
Complete SEO Training + SEO for WordPress Websites – This course gives all FREE ways to improve your site’s SEO step-by-step. I was able to reduce my site speed to less than 3 secs because of the methods taught in this course. Its usually on sale for $12, which is way less than what it’s actually worth.
Easy On-Page SEO – This ebook is great for beginners who need guidance on how to compose SEO friendly blog posts. These are basic strategies that every blogger should implement.
Easy Backlinks for SEO – If you’re looking for non-traditional ways to get backlinks, then this is the book to purchase. It is full of gems that I’ve used to rapidly increase my organic traffic. You can get this with the Easy On-Page SEO as the Easy SEO Bundle to get both at a discounted rate.
The Pinterest Launch Plan – I was able to use the techniques in this course to grow the views on one of my Pinterest accounts to over 1 million. It is also mostly in ebook format, although there are some video sections.
Sponsored Success – I’m at the point in my blogging journey where potential sponsors reach out to me. So instead of navigating this new space blindly, I decided to purchase a course to teach me how to work with brands. This course is super easy to follow, has a ton of information, and comes with a very active Facebook group that the instructor is very involved in. I’ve had every question personally answered.
Email Marketing
MailerLite – I have tried the majority of the popular email marketing platforms out there and I will stick with only recommending Mailerlite. It is the most comprehensive and economical platform that I have found. Their tech support is greater and they are constantly adding new features.
Graphics & Photos
Canva.com – Canva is the only tool that I use for my graphics. It’s ridiculously easy to use and they are always adding cool features. I personally use the pro version; however, you can still do a ton with the free version as well. The pro allows you to use their premium stock images. Prior to Canva, I used Pexels.com and Unsplash for images.
Social Media Sharing
Tailwind – The majority of my blog’s current traffic comes from Pinterest. I don’t have time to pin every single day, so I use Tailwind instead. This platform allows you to schedule pins at optimized times and is the absolute best way to manage sharing on Pinterest.
Apphi – I’ve tried most of the Instagram schedulers on the market and this has been the most reliable with the most features. You can use this app to schedule from your desktop and phone. By far the best in the market.
Grow – This plugin is great for allowing your readers to share your content on other social platforms. It’s free to use and is very reliable.
WordPress Blog Plugins
ShortPixel – The size of the images on your blog has a huge impact on your site speed. This plugin is great for minimizing your images so that your blog can load faster. I recommend purchasing credits, as you can run out of free credits very quickly.
Elementor – This plugin is great for creating customized pages on your blog. You could, theoretically, even design a whole website with it. I use it for building tripwire pages.
HurryTimer – If you’re creating a tripwire page, for a limited time offer then you’ll want this free plugin. It allows you to create evergreen countdown timers that can redirect. This is the best free version of an evergreen countdown timer that I’ve found.
UpdraftPlus – Backing up your site is a must! This free plugin allows you to do so automatically. That’s one less thing that you have to worry about when maintaining your blog.
WooCommerce – This plugin is a free option for creating an e-commerce store on your blog. I do recommend creating a different site just for your shop, as this plugin can take up a lot of space. Nonetheless, for basic shop needs and integration, this is a great option.
PrettyLinks – This free plugin allows you to track your affiliate links and create a custom URL for them.
Google Analytics – This tool isn’t necessarily a plugin, but a code that can be added to your blog. It will allow you to track your traffic and make data-driven content. Google Analytics is completely free to use.
Final Thoughts on Blogging Tools
It’s important that you invest in your blog with the right tools if you want it to be successful.
Each of these tools has contributed to my blog’s growth in some way. I definitely consider them to be the best blogging tools for bloggers at all levels.
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