Welcome to my latest post on profitable blogging! If you missed the first two posts, you can catch up on how to start a blog to make money and how to actually make money with your blog.
Today, I want to share the sites and resources that have been game-changers for my blog. Setting up your hosting and publishing your first post is easy, but figuring out what to do next can be overwhelming. From finding stock images to installing plugins and joining affiliate programs, these steps are crucial for your blog’s success. I’ve done the hard work of investigating these things, so here’s a list of my must-have blogging resources to get you started.
### Stock Images
When I started, I had no idea where to find the beautiful photos used in blog posts and pins. It’s important to use images you have the rights to, so don’t just grab any image from Google. Here are some great sites for free stock images:
– **Unsplash**
– **Pexels**
– **Pixabay**
– **Ivory Mix**
– **Haute Stock** (great for feminine flat lays popular on Pinterest)
If I can’t find the right image, I purchase from Deposit Photos.
### Image Tools
– **Canva**: This is my go-to for creating blog post title images and pins. You can upload photos, add text, filters, and other effects. They even have pre-made social media templates, and it’s free!
– **Creative Market**: An online shop for digital creatives, offering fonts, clip art, social media templates, and stock photos. They release six new free resources every week!
### Plugins
Plugins are like little apps for your blog. Here are some I can’t live without:
– **Yoast SEO**: Helps improve your posts for better Google rankings.
– **Akismet Anti-Spam**: Filters out spam comments.
– **Cookie Consent**: Manages cookie consent for readers, which is required by law in the EU.
– **WP Smush**: Compresses image sizes to make your site load faster.
– **BackWPup**: Automatically backs up your site daily.
– **Pretty Links**: Great for affiliate marketing by creating clean, short links.
– **Post Gopher**: Turns any page into a PDF lead magnet to help grow your email list.
### Affiliate Programs
Here are some top affiliate programs that work for most bloggers:
– **Ultimate Bundles**: Offers huge packages of ebooks and resources at big discounts.
– **Amazon Associates**: You can find products to promote in almost any niche.
– **Max Bounty**: Good for survey site referrals and the make money niche.
– **Skimlinks**: Turns any suitable link into an affiliate link.
– **Awin**: Affiliate partner for Etsy and many other websites.
### Hosting
I host all my sites on SiteGround and love them! Their tech support is amazing, my sites load faster, and they offer free backups. They even transferred my site from my previous host in less than two hours with almost no downtime.
### Domain Names
For additional domain names, I recommend NameCheap. They offer a wide range of domain extensions, are easy to use, and affordable. It’s a good idea to buy common variations of your blog name to prevent competitors from using similar names.
### Mailing List Provider
“The money’s in the list” is what top bloggers say. I use MailerLite because it’s easy to use and free for up to 1,000 subscribers. You can run multiple lists and set up automatic emails for new posts.
### Blogging Education
Investing in blogging education was a game-changer for me. After spending money on ebooks and courses and applying the knowledge step-by-step, I started seeing consistent results. Here are the courses that made a difference:
– **Pinteresting Strategies**: Carly Campbell’s ebook on getting huge traffic from Pinterest through manual pinning. It’s the best $32 I’ve spent on my blog.
– **Billionaire Blog Club**: Paul Scrivens’ course that goes deep into what makes blogs successful. It’s a no-nonsense look at blogging that provides real insights.
These resources have been invaluable for my blogging journey. If you have any other tools or resources that have worked for you, let me know!