Blogging Resources & Tools That Will Help You Make The Best Blog Possible

My recommended blogging resources to help you create the best blog possible:

Ah, who doesn’t love a good resources page? I wanted to make something different rather than your standard blogging resources page that you see on most blogs.

I will be including the standard tools that I use, but I have also included some blogging resources which you might not think of such as health, investing and business books.

You probably already know that there are affiliate links throughout this page. These are all services I use or have utilized in the past. So basically I will get a small commission if you decide to use some of the products/services mentioned in this list of my recommended blogging resources.

Which of these blogging resources should I use?

Now I don’t think that you should just splash out and buy every resource mentioned here. Rather look at the service and if it fits your needs or will help your business grow then go for it, trial it, purchase it.

Many of these I didn’t use when I started blogging five years ago, but now they are essential and help me generate money online.

Any podcast or blog episodes related I will link to next to the blogging resource.

I have also created an entirely free download of this page as a PDF so you can always refer to it as you see fit.

Click here to download or share this URL with your friend to download the blogging resources PDF.

WordPress Versus Other Blogging Platforms:

I’ve used WordPress for over five years now and tried a lot of other similar platforms like Joomla(ew) and others.

I don’t recommend going with any other platform for starting a blog. You can literally get up and running in under 4 minutes with Bluehost+ WordPress. See the video tutorial below:

Here’s a super quick tutorial on setting up your blog on BlueHost.

–> Click here now to get Bluehost at the discounted rate!

You can always upgrade to another hosting company in the future if you do start getting more traffic. I have had millions of visits and had no issues but might consider upgrading in the future.

More blogging resources:

Landing Page Software blogging resources:

• LeadPages: Easily create high-quality landing pages, squeeze pages, and sales pages. LeadPages will help you convert viewers into subscribers or buyers. Best of all, it works both with WordPress and non-WordPress sites as well. I use this for over 30-40 different landing pages, and I can make a landing page in 10 minutes that looks as professional as a 1000$ landing page. Have a look here to see my free blog course one. It is not cheap so make sure you get this when you need it or if you have the budget go for it.

Email Marketing Services:

• Aweber: The most powerful email opt-in service and email marketing tool out there. It’s what I personally use to build my email list, and used by nearly every “guru” and marketer online.
• ConvertKit – A great choice! Compare Aweber and ConvertKit and find what works best for you.
• Mailchimp – Great free service but wouldn’t use their paid version.

Analyzing & Tracking Results:

• PrettyLinks: The BEST link tracking and URL shortener for WordPress blogs. Best feature is that it converts keywords on your blog with the actual links you cloak. A real autopilot plug-in.
• Google Analytics: Google’s free website tracking and analytical tool. A must have for anyone with any website.

Keyword Research:

• Google Adwords Tool: A free keyword research tool. It’s nice to see the popularity of particular keywords and to spy on the competition if you’re doing Adwords stuff.

Image tools:

Image tools are an essential blogging resource. Images can make or break a blog post. Yes, they are that important!

These are some resources I use. If you would like to see them in action check out my YouTube video on 7 tools for writing a better blog post.

Pixabay – Pretty much all I use for finding images. Just try a few different keywords and you will be sure to find some amazing free images. I have found some incredible images on it and highly recommended. Plus its free!

Okay great now you have an incredible image what next? Well rather than just uploading it to WordPress I recommend shrinking it down.

TinyPNG – Another amazing free resource. Simply drag and drop your image to the screen and you get a much smaller file size image. Great for you website speed and great for everyone really!

Canva – Once you figure out how to use it, it is actually an awesome resource. Comes with all the preset sizes you need for making Facebook banners, image banners, Pinterest images and much more! A must and you don’t have to pay if you just use your own images.

That is literally all I use for images, there is way more tools out there and plenty move image blogging resources but I like to keep things simple.

Outsourcing

This is a huge topic but again I will just keep it simple.

Fiverr – I got the majority of my logos created on Fiverr for anywhere from 10 – 40$ well worth it once you can dig through and find the talented people. Focus on highest ratings and always look at past work.

Virtual Staff Finder – I had a full time VA for about 6 months then moved to a part time one for 3 months. His name was Jeff and he was great! If you have the cash this can be the easiest and cheapest way to get a new staff member. You tell them what you want they give you 3 potential candidates and you interview them, pick the best one and voila. I didn’t really have a need for Jeff after a while but will be adding a new VA at some stage in the future.

99Designs – I haven’t really used this but guys like Tim Ferris have used them in the past and they seem to be great. Basically you pay a fixed rate and designers from around the world send in their work, you pick the best and voila(x2) you have a new logo, landing page, book cover whatever you may desire.

Again there is a ton more tools out there but I like to keep it simple.

Sharing and social media blogging tools:  

Sumome.com – These guys busted onto the scene a few years ago, really nothing else even comes close. If you are looking for the best sharing buttons for your website look no futher and I am not even affiliated with them. Use them on every single website I run.

Facebook comments plugin – It really depends where your traffic is coming from. A few of my sites I drive traffic the majority of the time from Facebook so it makes sense to use Facebook comments. On the other side for the whole internet marketing space it seems more standard to use the discuss comments, which is great to but just base it on where your traffic comes from. I find when I do this, I generally get a lot more comments and engadgment.

Thats it, all you need. I have also experminted with a LOT of other tools but just come back to these. Tools like Hootsuite and the likes just don’t do it for me.

Health tools for blogging

Say whaaaa? You don’t normally see health and blogging tools in the same sentance. But ultimatly your health will be a direct reflection on your blog. One of the many things that successful bloggers realize. Read my article on 13 things successful bloggers don’t do.

I learn’t so much of this from podcasts like the Model health show, and my own research over the years.

It is the little things we do in the short term that make the difference in the long term.

Greens Supplement:

Greens supplement – I have tried a variety of these. Organifi is great and some common store bought products. Just make sure they are made from organic ingrediants. Sure fresh juices are probably better but who has time or money everyday to stay on top of its.

Another one I love which raises a few eyebrows because of its MLM marketing is Juice+. I was super skeptical at first to, but a few weeks of taking it my eyes were so bright and my face and skin had never looked better. I have joined up to their MLM program(I know..) but I do believe in them. So if you want to order through my shop, my link is here.

Fish oil / Omega 3,6,9 product

Fish oil is great and really you don’t see befits for a few weeks after taking it regularily. But one of the main advantages is the anti-inflamatory benefits they provide. After any workout we are inflammed regardless if it is cardio or weight training. So they help reduce inflamation and recover faster.

I used to take a nice Krill oil but haves since moved to Udo’s choice to a plant based omega 3,6,9. I take one or two big spoons every day and find they help with floaters in my eye and gym recovery. Plus technially fish get their Omegas from plant based so essentailly you are going to the source.

Bone broth

Has Steve gone crazy? Nope haha. But I can see some of you raising and eyebrow here. Depending on where you live in the world this maybe readily accessible or not. I have recently added it to my diet and am measuring the benifits. The theory behind it is you are drinking a lot more collagen which helps with bone strenth and has a number of added benefits.

I can buy a frozen pack in my local shop for about $10, which lasts me about a week. It tastes actually okay but a lot of people aren’t fans. If you have ever had an Irish stew or any kind of stew its like drinking the water. Really selling it here.

If you do decide to give it a go, make sure the are grass fed animal bones. You can get all different types but yea have a look and see if it is for you.

Thats all for health but I will be adding a lot more to this blogging resources page.

Stocks and investing

This is another topic you don’t see mentioned very often. I am way more interested in investing than I am saving. I happily could invest 1000€ vs save 1000€.

So in the last couple of months I have been dabbaling in the stock market. It is like a whole new world has opened up to me and I have been able to invest far more than I could ever save. Might you lose money? Sure… but think of it more as a long term goal.
If you are in Europe I highly recommend Degiro, they offer by far the lowerst rates accross the board. Even in some cases 80% less! I have saved hundred of €’s using them. Simple to sign up simple to start trading.

With my link you can actually get started and get €20 free, so if it is something you are interested and are devle into it.

Also Investopedia will be come your best friend. So much great free info!

Podasts that are great blogging resources:

I feel like a lot of resource pages should include podcasts. Or at least give a bit of a selection of what they listen to.

In this case I will just link to their website and you can either search Itunes/Stitcher or just press play on their website.

Rather then listing hundreds, I am just going to list my top 5 that I listen to pretty much every week.

1. Smart Passive Income With Pat Flynn
2. Ask Pat – Pat Flynn
3. Pro Blogger – Darren Rowse
4. Eofire – John Lee Dumas 
5. The Tim Ferris Show – not really a blogging resource but worth listening to
6. The Art Of Paid Traffic – Rick Mulready

Other great blogging resources:

• 50 Things everyone should know before starting a blog
• 13 Things successful blogger don’t do.

That is all for this list of blogging resources. I will be adding to it over the coming weeks and if you want to hear the audio version of this resources page, tune into episode 9 of the Niche Around podcast.