Isn’t finding the right blogging tool stressful? What if you could get all the best blogging resources and tools in one place? Will it not make your life a bit easier? That’s why I’ve collected all the best blog tools & resources that I use to run my blog as well as recommend you to do the same.
I’ve been blogging for three years. And over the years I’ve used many tools, some I liked some I don’t. This list includes tools that I loved because they made my blogging journey easier. These tools helped me grow my business.
I’ve also included my favorite writing tools that help me produce better content. So if you are a blogger or writer looking for something, you will find the best resources here.
So let’s begin.
Web Hosting
Self-hosting your blog is important if you want the full power to customize your blog. Self-hosted blogs can also be monetized well. Therefore, I recommend bloggers start a hosted website.
Bluehost: best web hosting for new bloggers
I started my blog with Bluehost and have been using it ever since. Bluehost is one of the best web hosting for beginners. Not only is it beginner-friendly but also fast. I’ve never seen my website crash. Bluehost makes sure that my website loads 24*7.
But I love Bluehost because of its wonderful customer support. I’ve run through a lot of problems (sometimes because of a plugin, faulty theme, internal error, etc) and the Bluehost support agents have always helped me fix them. When I started as a beginner it turned out to be the best option for me – and that’s why I recommend Bluehost to all new bloggers.
WordPress Blog Themes
I’m guilty of switching many WordPress themes (many have damaged my site) but I’m glad I did that. Because I learned that not every theme that is free and beautiful is good.
That’s how I found these few gems.
Astra Theme: fast loading theme for bloggers
Astra theme is a simple theme – and that’s what I like about it. After installing many free themes that reduced my site loading speed to 12.8 seconds, I installed the Astra theme. And the first thing I noted, my site speed was 3.4 seconds. And I only installed the free version.
I used the Astra theme for almost a year and it made a significant effect. Having a fast-loading site improved my search rankings and reduced my blog bounce rate. I was so glad to find the Astra theme.
So, if you’re a beginner who doesn’t want to invest in a premium theme then the free version of Astra is an excellent choice.
Click here to get the free Astra theme!
CoachPress Theme: Feminine Theme for Bloggers
I wanted to try out the CoachPress theme and also give my blog a feminine look so I purchased it. It is a good theme with an easy-to-use customizer.
I loved that I got pre-made templates for all pages. I just had to change the text and images and my site was ready. The theme is designed for coaches but it’s also a great choice if you want to build a personally branded website.
Check out the CoachPress theme!
DIVI Theme: an Elegant theme for Bloggers
I reinstalled the DIVI theme on my blog as it was recommended by one of my mentors. And I should say, it’s a great theme.
The best part is the drag-and-drop feature that makes designing a professional website super simple. I can easily pick and place blocks on my pages.
And I don’t have to use a third-party page designer (as it makes the site heavy). The Divi builder plugin just works so well.
Check out the DIVI theme here!
Elementor: Freemium WordPress website builder
Don’t want to invest in a premium theme? Don’t worry! You can use the free Elementor plugin (and use one of its pre-designed professional templates) to design stunning pages.
I did the same thing with the Astra theme. I installed the free Astra version and the Elementor plugin. Then I picked a nice template. And I customized it to make it my website.
Although the free Elementor version has limited features, but enough to get you started. So, if you’re planning to install the free Astra theme (or any other free theme) then Elementor is a great option.
Keyword Research Tools For SEO
Just like themes, I’ve tried many keyword research tools. As of writing this page, I use a combination of both free and paid tools.
You can choose either one or use a combination, both are fine. But if I had to pick one keyword research tool today (after trying many) I’d choose SEMrush.
SEMrush: the all-in-one SEO tool
I started using SEMrush because it was an all-in-one SEO tool. It is just perfect – I can do many things like backlink analysis, keyword research, competition research, content marketing, etc.
I know it’s expensive so why am I telling you about SEMrush? Because you can now use SEMrush for free. You get up to 10 searches every day.
I started with the 30-day free trial but I now use the free version (and I think it’s more than enough if you know how to set filters properly). So, if you want to test SEMrush then start with the free version, once you understand the tool properly then utilize the trial.
Keyword Revealer: best for finding keyword difficulty
I started using Keyword Revealer before SEMrush, and I should say it’s a good tool to compare two keywords. I can easily analyze the overall difficulty of keywords, compare them and choose the easy one.
Keyword Revealer is a new tool, so it’s also affordable. But you won’t be able to do much with it. I’ve only used it for keyword research. If you want a tool for the same then I think it’s a good option.
Answer The Public: Keyword discovery tool
Answer The Public used to be my favorite tool for finding trending questions around a topic until I found SEMrush. It’s still good, you will get many ideas to use as subheadings or to add more sections.
But, you won’t get any analytical data like keyword difficulty, volume, etc. So, I use it sometimes when I want to find new ideas.
Check out Answer the public here!
Writing Tools to Publish Great Content
I’ve been using content writing tools for a while now. Since I heard about AppSumo (where you can find amazing tools with great discounts) I’ve been testing and trying new tools.
Grammarly: Proofreading tool for error-free content
Grammarly is a must-have tool for anyone who publishes content. It just makes the process so easy. I’m not saying that your content should be perfectly error-free but it’s always good to have fewer faults.
Grammarly helps me catch those silly errors quickly and makes the work easy. So, if you publish content then it’s always a good idea to run a quick Grammarly check.
Copy.ai: AI-powered content writing tool
I used to not use AI-powered tools for content creation. But soon I learned that these tools help in coming up with creative ideas, especially Copy.Ai.
Copy.Ai helps me produce amazing copies for whatever I want to create. I can write amazing headlines, lead magnet titles, value proposition, blog content, social media ad copy, etc.
It makes the process easy. So, if you end up with writer’s block frequently, Copy.ai helps.
Check out the Copy.ai tool here!
CoSchedule Headline Studio: Write better Headlines
Writing better headlines is just so important that I recommend it to everyone. CoSchedule Headline Studio breaks down what is important in terms of writing a highly clickable headline.
The tool is free to use, so if you’re struggling with writing better headlines then CoSchedule is the way to go.
Check out the Headline studio here!
Email Marketing Tools
Email marketing is so important for bloggers, in fact, the number one priority since day 1 of starting a blog is to start building an email list. I’ve had way more affiliate sales from my email list than from the blog.
Starting an email list with one of these tools is easy.
Mailerlite: Beginner-friendly email marketing tool
Mailerlite is my favorite email marketing tool. It’s because the tool is simple to use and is free for 1000 subscribers. I switched from Mailchimp to Mailerlite and have been using it ever since.
Mailerlite has all tools to build an email list, create landing pages, segment lists, test email subject headlines, etc. I also appreciate their customer support team’s efforts in fixing the problems.
So, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use tool then Mailerlite is a good option.
Convertkit: Best for creating conditional statements
I have been using Convertkit for my side projects. I picked Convertkit because it allows you to create conditional statements that automatically segment list subscribers based on their responses and send different content.
It’s an advanced concept, I had to learn it for client work but I’m so glad I did. So, if you plan to learn conditional statements someday in the future then you can pick Convertkit from the beginning.
It offers nice tools for beginners with 1000 free subscribers. Once you get used to it, you can start learning conditional statements and try them on your list.
Graphic Designing Tool to Create Stunning Blog Graphics
Yes, you will be creating graphics for your blog, a lot. That’s why you must know the right tools and resources that make your job easier.
Canva: free graphic designing tool
Creating graphics is going to your daily work if you use social media or Pinterest to promote your blog posts. That’s why I use and recommend Canva to everyone.
Canva makes creating beautiful graphics easy, you can even use the resizing option to turn one design into designs suitable for different social media based on their size preference.
Canva pro has many premium stock photos (so you don’t have to take any stock photo subscription), elements, and premium fonts.
Check out the Canva tool here!
Creative Market: best place to find design assets
If you want to use beautiful design assets like fonts, graphics, etc then you can get them at an affordable price from the Creative Market.
They also give out beautiful premium assets for free every week. So, it’s also a good way to collect nice assets to use in the future.
Check out the Creative Market here!
Blogging Courses to Grow your Blog
I wasted the first two years trying to figure out how things work. Now, I do love trying to figure out things. But I know my blog would be better grown if I just learned and applied the proven strategies from the start.
So, if you’re stuck at some point in your blogging journey and not sure where to go from here then I recommend taking blogging courses.
I’ve taken many blogging courses but I’m not going to recommend you all. I’ve only listed the one best course that I found on that topic. So, here are my favorites.
Grow blog traffic
Growing blog traffic is important for bloggers if they are monetizing their blogs using ad networks or affiliate links. Because the revenue depends on how much traffic you drive, it’s a good idea to try various strategies and build multiple traffic channels.
I recommend checking out Angela’s traffic bundle. She has the best ebooks filled with actionable strategies to drive blog traffic.
Check out Angela’s traffic bundle here!
Monetize your blog
If you are not sure how to monetize your blog or have monetized but aren’t getting the results you were expecting, that’s because you’re not doing it the right way. I learned the same lesson when I took Ell’s Mastering sales with Ell course.
I made my biggest income after two months of applying the strategies I learned in the course. Ell will teach you simple strategies and you would absolutely love the course.
Check out Mastering Sales with Ell here!
Affiliate marketing for bloggers
The best affiliate marketing course you can find for bloggers is Affiliate Marketing Superstars by Leanne.
Affiliate marketing superstars is the most detailed course you’ll find for bloggers. You will create an affiliate marketing strategy that will work for you without sounding salesy.
Check out Affiliate Marketing Superstars here!
Pinterest marketing for bloggers
If Pinterest is your concern, I get it. I used to worry a lot about Pinterest when I used it to drive traffic for my blog. Now that my priorities are changed Pinterest doesn’t bother me.
But, it’s still a good source of traffic. If your goal is to drive traffic then Pinterest must be in your strategy. If Pinterest isn’t working for you then you should check out the best course on Pinterest marketing for bloggers – Pinteresting Strategies.
Carly (the Pinterest expert) will teach you everything about Pinterest including how to create a Pinterest strategy that drives results.
Check out the Pinteresting Strategies here!
Email Marketing for bloggers
If you’re having trouble growing your email list or not sure how to monetize it then that’s a problem. You need to fix it quickly because email marketing is 40 times better than any other form of marketing.
You can check out Leanne’s email marketing bundle that includes selective ebooks to help you both: grow your email list and monetize it.
Check out the email marketing bundle here!
SEO for beginners
Do you want to improve the organic performance of your blog? Then your concern must be SEO. In that case, you should check out Angela’s SEO guide which will teach you exactly what to do to get more organic rankings easily.
Check out Angela’s SEO guide here!
SEO blog post writing for bloggers
Want to learn how to write SEO blog posts that rank on Google step-by-step? You should take my ebook on How to write SEO-friendly blog posts that rank well.
I share the exact step-by-step strategy that I use for my blog as well as for my clients to create rank-worthy blog posts. You will learn everything from the research process to post-publishing strategies.
Check out the SEO blog writing ebook here!
Blog content planning
Is blog management overwhelming to you? I get it! I used to get annoyed with so many blogging tasks and take months to publish any new post. My blog used to be a mess.
But I learned blog management and created a process to make sure I publish consistently. Back then I had no idea so I was not able to manage it well. Now, I have to manage client projects along with this blog but I’m able to do it because I have a process.
I use this blog planner (that I created) to manage my blog. You can get it, print it, and reprint it as many times as you want.
Check out the blog planner here!
So, these were my favorite blog resources for you. I hope this resource library helped you find what you were looking for. Want to get a walk-through on how to start and manage a blog? Check out this page!
Is your tool not listed here? Reach out to me and I’ll help!
Good luck managing your blog!
Ekta