Here are over 50 blogging resources & tools to help you start and grow your blog.
A comprehensive list of blogging resources and tools to grow your blog. #bloggingtips #growyourblog #bloggingresources

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure here.

It’s near impossible to grow your blog without utilizing and optimizing several resources and tools for blogs. In this list, I outline over fifty blogging resources that will help you start and grow your blog.

I grew my blog to garner over 37,000 pageviews my 9th-month blogging, and the use of several of the resources and tools below helped me do that.  The blogging resources outlined below are the top ones I recommend for growing your blog.

But before I get into the large list, here is the condensed list of my absolute favorite tools for blogging:

MY FIVE FAVES!

The following five tools are my absolute favorite tools to use as a blogger. All of these tools are so powerful, and I use all of them on a consistent basis.

1. ConvertKit

I can’t recommend ConvertKit highly enough. It is such an amazing tool for bloggers. When I first invested in ConvertKit, I didn’t realize exactly how much the tool could do. After I really got vested into it and learned it’s expansive functionality, I realized just how impressive this email marketing software really is.

Not only does it have the option for creating multiple types of subscriber forms, it also gives you the ability to make landing pages to collect emails.

Here’s an example of a landing page I made through ConvertKit to gain subscribers. Pretty cool!

I also am impressed with their customer service. I am an avid question-asker, so anytime a company has great customer service, I become even more of a supporter.

Ultimately, ConvertKit helps you grow an audience and connect with them. It is an incredibly powerful tool that I not only love using but also use quite frequently!

2. Canva

I am a huge fan of Canva. It is a free graphic design software that allows you to create beautiful works of art. I create all my pins for Pinterest on Canva and all my images for my blog on Canva.

At first, I used the free version of Canva, and it worked great for all my needs. After several years into blogging, I made the decision to upgrade to Canva Pro. I think it’s a great investment because I can do so many more things, such as:

  • Create folders. This is so necessary once you start to have a million designs floating around. It becomes almost impossible to find your designs once they build up overtime. The ability to create folders is wonderful if you’ve blogging for awhile, have lots of images, and need more organization.
  • Add a brand kit. This makes it so convenient when you’re designing because you can add your font and colors to ensure you’re always on-brand.
  • Use transparent backgrounds. This is critical for good design work. If you’re creating a logo, for example, you need to have the ability to create a design with a transparent background. Investing in Canva Pro allows you to just that.

I’m thrilled with Canva Pro and I highly recommend it. If you’re not ready to pay the monthly fee, the regular, free-version of Canva is also still great to use!

3. Tailwind

Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduling tool and, in my opinion, is necessary to have as a blogger.

I actually invested in Tailwind early on because most of my traffic comes from Pinterest. I knew there was no feasible way I could actually pin to Pinterest consistently, so I looked into a scheduling tool.

Tailwind is an official Pinterest Marketing Developer Partner, so you know they’re a huge asset if you want to grow your audience by pinning to Pinterest.

Tailwind has awesome features like the ability to:

  • Easily schedule your pins through a browser extension. In one-click, you’re able to schedule a pin from your blog or a pin that you’ve already pinned to Pinterest.
  • Schedule pins to multiple boards in one-click. This is a feature I use all the time!
  • Discover which pins are doing the best so you can optimize those pins and learn what your audiences likes and clicks on.

I use Tailwind often, but the best part of it is that I don’t have to check it often because it runs by itself once you set it up! I only need to consistently schedule new pins and check my pin and board analytics.

I highly recommend Tailwind!

4. Google Analytics

I’m a former corporate marketer so, of course, Google Analytics is a tool that I love using. It’s also needed if you have a blog.

Once you sign up for the free tool, you’ll get important data about your blog, including how many page views and sessions you get each day/month/year etc. You’ll learn where your traffic is coming from (i.e. Pinterest, Facebook, Google etc.) as well as which posts garner the most traffic. You’ll learn about the demographics of your users, including their age group and gender. And all of these stats are just scratching the surface of what types of data Google Analytics provides.

Make sure to sign up for Google Analytics as soon as you start your blog and then keep track of your website data from Google Analytics using a monthly spreadsheet.

5. Lightroom

When I first started out blogging, I didn’t feel like I needed to invest in Lightroom, but I was so wrong! Lightroom (and having accompanying presets) has allowed me to transform my images on my blog.

Your images are so important, especially if you’re a home decor blogger like me. If you have dark images that are hard to see, you’re not going to gain much traction from them.

Having a Lightroom preset allows you take a photo on your iPhone and, in one click, transform it into a beautiful, light and bright image. My favorite Lightroom preset is Liz Marie Galvan’s bear preset, which is what I use on my blog images.

My blog completely transformed after using Lightroom and a preset because my images completely transformed. Beautiful images make a huge difference!

HERE ARE 50+ BLOGGING RESOURCES & TOOLS TO GROW YOUR BLOG:

HOW TO START A BLOG

Start a Blog Tutorial – In this free tutorial, you’ll learn how to get a blog up and running in as little as 15 minutes. This tutorial is specifically for starting a WordPress.org blog on Bluehost, which is what my blog runs on.

Start a Blog Crash Course – In my free 7-day email course, you’ll learn more than just the basics. Every day, for 7 days, you’ll receive an email that is packed with information to not only set up your blog but also to lay the proper foundation for it so you can begin earning money.

BLOGGING PLATFORM

WordPress – WordPress is the platform that you can use to create your blog. I use WordPress.org to run A Brick Home. In this tutorial, I explain why you should use WordPress.org (which costs money) vs WordPress.com (a free platform) for your blog.

HOSTING

Bluehost – Bluehost is a hosting site for your blog. I currently use Bluehost as my hosting site for A Brick Home. It’s a great option for bloggers who are looking for a quick, reliable, and easy way to get set up.

BLOG THEME SERVICES

Genesis Framework – Genesis Framework is an awesome framework for bloggers wanting a better website. I currently use Genesis in conjunction with a child theme from Restored 316.

Restored 316 – This is where you’ll find beautiful, feminine blog themes. I currently use Restored 316’s savory theme and love it! The theme “savory” is unfortunately no longer offered, but there are tons of other beautiful themes to choose from.

Restored 316 is also wonderful in terms of customer service. As soon as I converted my site over to the theme from Restored 316, they were there every step of the way to happily answer all my questions and make my transition seamless. I highly recommend Restored 316!

Pretty Darn Cute Design – There are tons of beautiful and feminine WordPress blog themes on this site as well!

EMAIL MARKETING

MailChimp – MailChimp is a free email marketing platform you can sign up for when you first start out blogging. I used MailChimp for several months until my blog started to grow, and then I switched to ConvertKit for my email marketing needs. I highly recommend MailChimp if you’re looking for a free option for a email marketing provider.

ConvertKit – ConvertKit is the current email marketing software that I use for A Brick Home. ConvertKit is absolutely amazing for bloggers! It’s incredibly easy to use and the back end is set up in a way that makes sense for bloggers.

You can create all types of subscriber forms – pop up forms, forms on landing pages, in-line forms, and slide-in forms.

You can make one-off emails to your subscribers or use a feature called sequences for tasks like e-courses.

It is such a powerful tool and, in my opinion, 100% worth it to invest in so you can grow your audience and create a meaningful connection with them.

ConvertKit is very user-friendly and makes it easy for us to understand what’s working and what’s not working in regards to forms and email communications.

You can read more about why I love ConvertKit for my needs as a blogger here.

Why I Switched to ConvertKit – This post explains why I made the switch from MailChimp to ConvertKit for my email marketing needs as my blog began to grow. 

ANALYTICS/SEO

Google Analytics – Sign up your blog on Google Analytics as soon as you start your blog so you can track your blog’s traffic and metrics.

MOZ Keyword Explorer – This incredible tool offers free data on keywords including monthly volume, difficulty, organic CTR, and priority.

Google Trends – Google Trends shows you popular and current search trends as well as any search term trend you want to look up.

Moz Blog – An awesome blog that outlines SEO and marketing strategies.

AD NETWORKS

Google Adsense – If you want to begin earning money right away with your blog, you can sign up for Google Adsense, as there is no traffic requirement to begin using them. I started out using Google Adsense when I first started my blog. I eventually switched over to Mediavine after my blog grew, but I enjoyed Google Adsense when I used them and I definitely recommend them.

Mediavine – I currently use Mediavine for my ad management needs for my blog. I switched from Google Adsense to Mediavine after I met their traffic requirement of at least 25K sessions/month. They are a one stop shop and are so awesome! I really love their customer service and I can’t recommend them enough.

AFFILIATE PROGRAMS & NETWORKS

Amazon Associates – You can sign up to become an affiliate with Amazon as soon as you start your blog. There is no minimum threshold or traffic requirement to sign up with them. I started using Amazon Associates soon after I started my blog and I still use them today!

rewardStyle – This is an invite-only monetization platform that provides tools to showcase affiliate links and products on your blog. They work with a large number of advertisers that you’re able to then link to as an approved influencer. I currently use rewardStyle and love this platform as a home design blogger.

ShareASale – ShareASale is an affiliate marketing network that works with merchants and affiliates in many niches, including fashion, home & garden, business and more. I signed up as an affiliate soon after I started my blog and still use them today. You can sign up to be an affiliate here.

Shop Style Collective – This is a monetization platform primarily for fashion and lifestyle influencers. I signed up with them as a home décor & DIY influencer and was able to utilize many of their retailer and brand partners. I stopped using them after I got accepted to rewardStyle, but enjoyed using this platform for many months.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCTIVITY

Tailwind – In my humble opinion, Tailwind is a must-have if you want to grow your blog. It is an incredibly powerful Pinterest and Instagram scheduling tool. It features tools for analytics and marketing as well. They are an official partner with Pinterest and Instagram, making them the premier scheduling tool to use. Tailwind is one of the main reasons I was able to grow my blog traffic so rapidly. I’m a huge fan of Tailwind, and I highly recommend investing in it!

GRAPHICS CREATION & PHOTO EDITING

Adobe Lightroom – I recommend Lightroom for any blogger looking to step up their photography game. It costs $9.99/month and you can get the free app on your phone as well. If you don’t know much about editing your photos, you can purchase a Lightroom preset and then use that in Lightroom to edit your photos in one click – it’s magical.

At the very least, get the free app on your phone. One benefit of paying for Lightroom on your computer is that you can utilize the storage feature for your photos. You can easily take a photo on your phone,  edit it in the free app on your phone, and then have access to it immediately on Lightroom on your computer.

The benefit of this is that you don’t have to use something like Dropbox to transfer your images to your computer. I used the free version of Dropbox for awhile, but now I use Lightroom for photo storage and it works great!

Once the photos are on my computer, I can easily upload them into Canva and put my watermark (logo) on them so they’re Pinterest-ready. It’s a win-win.

A Lightroom Preset – I use Liz Marie Galvin’s bear preset and absolutely love it! It truly makes your phone-taken photos beautiful! There is a hue on this preset which works perfectly for me, but if you’re not into that there are tons of other presets available for purchase out there!

Canva – If you don’t already have it, make an account on Canva! Canva is a free graphic design software you can use for all your graphics needs, such as making pins for Pinterest and images for use on your blog.

They also offer a paid version called Canva for Work that includes some awesome features, like being able to resize your images in one click. I currently use Canva for all of my graphic design needs, and I love it!

STORAGE SERVICES

Google Drive – I use Google Drive for storage space for my documents. I work on a couple different computers in my home, and Google Drive makes it easy for me to work on a document on my desktop and then quickly resume working on it on my laptop.

Dropbox – Dropbox offers file sharing and storage. When starting out blogging, I didn’t want to spend a ton so I opted to use Dropbox because you can use it for free up to a certain point. I stored my photos on Dropbox and then used the app to get them on my phone so I could use them on Instagram.

More recently, I stopped using Dropbox because I now pay for Lightroom which includes photo storage space. (Read “Adobe Lightroom” above for more on this.)

LANDING PAGES

ConvertKit – I currently use ConvertKit to make my landing pages. ConvertKit is an email marketing software and has the power to make landing pages that can be hosted directly on your website. All you need to do it is to install the ConvertKit Plugin, and it allows you seamlessly put your landing pages (that are made through ConvertKit) on your website.

Here’s an example of a landing page I made through ConvertKit.

PLUGINS

Popup Ally – This is a plugin that allows you to display pop-ups on your website. I used to use Popup Ally before I got ConvertKit. 

Yoast SEO – SEO is extremely important to bloggers who want to make money blogging. Installing Yoast SEO will help you optimize your posts and pages for search.

ConvertKit – As mentioned above, ConvertKit is an email marketing software. They provide an accompanying plugin which is extremely beneficial. It allows you to toggle between different forms that you want to be displayed at the bottom of your posts. It also allows you to embed forms elsewhere on your site and gives you the ability to host landing pages on your site. It’s amazing!

Genesis eNews Extended – This is a plugin that allows you to add an opt-in to your email list, if you have the Genesis framework.

Genesis Responsive Slider – This is a plugin that you can use alongside the Genesis framework that allows you to display a CTA (call to action) that you want to promote. It looks like a slider image and allows for page and post display. I currently use it on my blog.

Instagram Feed – This plugin allows you to display your Instagram feed on your blog. I currently use this on my blog.

Pinterest Pin It Button On Image Hover – I use this plugin to show a “Pin it” button when readers hover over an image.

Add Widget After Content – Depending on your theme, this plugin may or may not be necessary. It offers the ability to add a widget after your post content if you need a place for subscriber forms or anything else to be displayed.

Pretty Links – I use this to make all my links easier on the eyes! Instead of linking directly to those crazy long affiliate links, I can shorten them and use my domain in the new URL.

Shareaholic – This plugin is so much more than just share buttons. Shareaholic is a content amplification plugin that offers a wide variety of features including related content, social analytics, follow buttons and more.

Sumome – This is an email capture plugin designed to boost your email subscriptions.

Simple Social Icons – This plugin is one I currently use to display my social icons. It is customizable and super easy to use.

Content Views – This plugin allows you to gather a set of posts and display them in a grid or list format. This is helpful if you want to organize your posts by type for the reader. To give you an example, I use this plugin for my podcast page, so it shows only podcast episodes instead of all my blog posts and podcast episodes.

Easy Google Fonts – I absolutely adore this plugin. I use this on my blog and can easily update my fonts without doing any type of coding!

Updraft Plus – If you have a blog, you should be backing it up constantly to make sure you don’t ever lose all your content you’ve worked so hard to create. Updraft Plus is a necessary plugin that for backup and restore.

BLOGGING ARTICLES: