Blogging Resources & Tools to Help Grow and Online Business
In this article: Save frustration and time by using helpful blogging resources and tools to help streamline your blogging business.
The world of online business is ever changing and growing. As a full-time blogger, I’ve found it’s essential to find resources that help me make decisions based on strategic planning, analytics, and trending topics.
Today I’m sharing with you my favorite blogging resources and tools to help me get all the things done!
Grow your Blog with These Tools
This post contains affiliate links.
If you’re a blogger, you know it take lots of time and patience to grow a blog! Here are some tools I’m currently using (in 2024) to help with keyword research and trending topics.
- Google Trends: This tool is free to use! Check out what topics are trending right now, or filter an exact date. Researching what topics people are interested in and searching for will help you choose what topics to cover in your blog posts.
- Keysearch: I have tried out almost every keyword research tool there is, but now that there are no free options, I’ve landed on keysearch. I use it nearly every day and love it. It’s easy to use and has all the information I need to find in it.
- Done-for-You GA4 Reports: If you were blogging before Google completely changed its analytics reporting system, you will totally understand how frustrating it is to try to find the information you want and need in the new GA4 system. I had two blogging friends highly recommend the services of Done for You GA4 reports and both said, “It was the best thing I ever did for my business!” That was high praise, and I totally agree!!
Done for you GA4 Reports sets up custom reports that you can easily read and find so you can check where your traffic comes from, what pages are being viewed, and even comes with a video showing how you can use the reporting to make better decisions for your blog. I highly recommend!
Warm up your old content with the help of these tools
If you’ve been blogging for a long time, you probably have hundreds or thousands of blog posts you wrote previously. They still contain great information and would be helpful to people if they knew about it!
Having a system to help update old content and freshen it up can help breath life into content that might be cooling off. Here are some tools that I use to help me make decisions on what it worth my time updating!
- Clariti – I use this tool nearly every day. All of my blog posts are imported into this nifty program and I can get a lot of information (like which posts have the most pageviews) at a glance thanks to the amazing filter system they have. As I update old posts, I can make notes of what I’ve done and the results of the changes.
- Rank IQ
Graphic and Web Design
- Want to start a Blog? Here are some helpful courses for that.
When I started blogging over 10 years ago, I did everything by google and searching high and low for tutorials for every.single.little.step. It took FOREVER! And, sadly, I didn’t start out with the best framework base that it could have been. Now I’m trying to get it whipped into shape.
The good news is, now there are great courses available that will walk a new blogger through every step needed to start a blog.
I highly recommend you first start with a blogging course as the first important step.They will save you hours and hours of frustration, plus many dollars on purchasing items you think you’ll need, but don’t!
The following courses I’m recommending are by bloggers I know on a personal basis. Both are very sucessful – yet down to earth – online entrepeneurs who have built their online businesses from the ground up and teach others what they’ve learned in the process.
Sarah Symonds Blogging Masterclass
Sarah Symonds is a very talented lifestyle and home decor blogger at Grace in my Space. I had the priviledge of previewing her course before she launched it, so it comes highly recommended by me!
If you are seriously considering starting a blog that will grow into a business, I highly recommend this. I find her teaching to be very realistic and outlines the whole process of how to get a blog up and running.
What is covered in this beginner course:
- Basics of How to Start a Blog
- How to Pick a Niche
- What it Takes to Build a Blog (the technical stuff)
- Cost of Running a Blog
- Content Creation
- SEO Basics
Fantabulous Blogging 101
I met Jessica from the blog Fantabulosity last year. As I got to know her better, I discovered that not only is she an incredibly talented lifestyle and food blogger, she is also a blog coach! One thing I’ve learned over my many years of blogging is that learning from others is essential. So, I hired Jessica for a one hour consultation call for some advice for my blog business. I found out first hand that she is an incredible blog coach with a lot of knowledge and a heart of care for the people she works with.
Although I haven’t taken her Blogging 101 course, I am confident that the information and teaching would be super helpful and valuable as you begin your journey to having a blog business.
Blog Design
I highly recommend Restored 316 (affiliate link) for blog designs. I’ve been using their themes for years and am beyond pleased with them.
I did install one of the themes myself with their tutorials, but if time is an issue, I highly recommend Hello Chicky Designs if you want someone to just do it for you! Deanna is an expert in installing and getting your site up and running quick. I have been so impressed with her work.
Photography Equipment
Photos are an essential element for blogs. If a blogger wants to take their own photos (instead of stock photos), they will need some good equipment to do so.
The following are the actual equipment pieces that I use on a regular/ daily/ basis.
For those of you who know about photography, you’ll recognize that that camera is considered an “entry level” camera. It isn’t super fancy, but I’ve been doing blog pictures (and now selling food photography images) with just that, and it seems to be working!
At the recommendation of a photographer friend, I purchased the 18 – 105 mm lens with the Nikon D3100 camera body. I used it for absolutely every picture I took for the blog up until August of this year ~ when my husband and boys gifted me with the nifty 50 lens. (A very fitting gift for my 50th birthday!)
I love this handy dandy Nifty 50 lens. In fact, I’ve been dreaming of it for a long time!
The “nifty fifty” lens offers the ability to focus in on an item and have a lovely blurry affect in the background. I’ve been having so much fun with it! Here’s what it can do…
TripodIf you are going to take indoor photos, you MUST have a tripod. Mine is old and faithful (and I can’t find a link to the actual one), but here is one that looks like it would be good to start with. I prefer heavy, sturdy tripods, and I admit it’s difficult to tell which ones online are sturdy and which ones are flimsy!
SHOP Camera Equipment
Accessories for Vlogging (or Instagram stories)
When you begin a blog, you’ll find there are many pieces involved. Social media – such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook are often used to market and promote new posts.
Some bloggers also add TikTok and YouTube videos into their sphere of work.
Although you cannot start out doing it all, as you add things piece by piece you’ll need some equipment to do so.
Here are the basic equipment items I use for Instagram stories and YouTube videos. (Some people refer to it as “vlogging” or video blogging.)
I personally do all my video and Instagram story recording with my iPad mini that I love with all my heart. I do everything on it ~ including all the filming for my Facebook lives, Instastories, and Youtube videos.
The version I have is the Ipad mini 2 with wi-fi and 32 GB.
However, many many people use thier phones for filming, which is wonderful for them!
I use my camera tripod (one is linked above) for all my filming, and just attach this mount for my iPad mini:
Lighting is key when it comes to doing video. This Mount Dog Light Ring kit was gifted to me one Christmas, and I use it a LOT!
Good luck with your blogging journey!
Such great information and resources Rita. I am excited for you and your new group, you are going to do amazing things friend.