THIRTEEN THOUGHTS

Blog Tips: The Ultimate List of Resources and Tools for Bloggers

Updated November 2019

Or, in other words, I’m spilling all my blog secrets!

Want to start a blog, recently started a blog, want to grow your blog or you’re thinking of monetizing? Then this post is for you.

In this post, I’ll be sharing all the resources that I often get asked about. I just updated my Blog Resource Page adding a bunch of new articles, products and recommended services to that list, so I’d thought I’d also share all of them in this post, as well. Feel free to save this list for later or share it with other bloggers who you think might find this list helpful.

Blog essentials + Resources and Tools for Bloggers

First thing’s first: if you’re thinking of starting a blog, check out my step-by-step guide right here. I run a self-hosted WordPress blog and it’s the only platform I recommend for bloggers who plan on monetizing their blogs. Starting a self-hosted blog requires a small investment- a few bucks a month to start but it gives you total control over things like design, advertising, SEO or other customization.

When you start a blog, you might find yourself feeling overwhelmed at first.

Where do I start?

What do I write about?

How do I get people to read my blog?

If these are some of the questions you’re asking yourself, see my Blogging: Tips for Beginners post, where I share some of my best blogging advice.  As I mentioned in one of my previous Blog Tips posts, there is no right or wrong way to blog. What might work for one blogger, might not necessarily work for the other. The best way to figure out what works for you is to test it yourself- just don’t try to do it all at once.

Writing + Creating Content

No, you really don’t have to be a skilled writer to become a blogger. I was SO nervous when starting my first blog, especially since English is not my native language. Now, writing is one of my favorite things to do and if I could, I’d spend my days writing, non-stop. Maybe with short bathroom breaks.

Some bloggers don’t write at all and only post a few words accompanied by a ton of images. It all depends on what kind of content you create- and keep in mind that it might take some time for you to find your writing or blogging style. I’ve been blogging for nearly five years, and I feel like my writing style is constantly evolving. If you want to write longer or more detailed posts, don’t let the fear of writing stop you. I actually misspelled “Thirteen Thoughts” by an accident once on one of my Pinterest graphics and felt so embarrassed I almost deleted that entire post. Small mistakes happen all the time and it’s nothing you should be afraid of. BUT you should, of course, pay close attention to things like spelling and grammar.

I highly recommend you keep a long list of blog post ideas and write them down as soon as they come to you so that you never feel stuck.

Affiliate Marketing

Blog monetization is not something I’ve ever discussed before, even though I obviously make money from running Thirteen Thoughts. Blogging involves some expenses and, in my case, quite a few investments (like camera equipment, photo editing programs, a desktop computer, a PO Box, etc.) so it’s nice to see it all pay off- especially when you’re doing something you love this much.

I get a lot of questions about making money from blogging and it’s definitely something I’ll be discussing in more detail in the future. I think that one of the biggest misconceptions, especially for new bloggers, is the thought that the only way to make money blogging is through sponsored posts and ads, all while having a huge amount of visitors each month. Times, when you could make a decent income just by running ads on your site, are long gone- unless you get an insane amount of traffic. My favorite way to monetize my blog is through affiliate marketing. Again, this is something I’ll discuss in a separate post, but I did want to include some of my favorite affiliate programs in this post. One thing that I want to urge you to do when using affiliate links, is to only promote products and services you personally love and trust. Keep in mind that when people place an order for a product or service using your affiliate links, they’re putting their trust in you.

You can use affiliate marketing in many different ways including but not limited to: text links, banners, or widgets. It makes a lot more sense to display affiliate banners or widgets in place of ads, as those have the potential of earning you more money.

How to get the most out of your DSLR

Photography

Photography is a huge part of blogging for most bloggers. Our different styles and vibes are what often sets us apart from one another. These are a few resources that you will find helpful if you’re a beginner.

Photography Equipment

Do you really need a DSLR to take beautiful images for your blog? Nope. These days you can even use your phone for blog photography. I personally love my DSLR and can’t imagine blogging without it, although the process of learning to use it was quite frustrating- which is why I love sharing what I’ve learned.

A lot of times (especially on my Instagram) I get asked: “what camera do you use?!” and in all honesty, it’s not as simple as buying the same camera as someone whose photos you love. Nevertheless, I still list and link to all of my equipment, as it’s something I get asked all.the.time.

Themes + Design

Growing Your Blog

It’s no secret that I love Pinterest- I talk about it in almost every single one of my Blog Tips posts. I get over 4 million monthly views on Pinterest and can easily say that my blog wouldn’t be doing nearly as well as it is if it wasn’t for Pinterest.

Pinterest is a great place to grow your blog- especially if you automate it and take advantage of group boards. I’m sure you all realize that it’s not easy to present everywhere as a blogger- especially when also working full-time and having “a life”. I highly suggest you automate what you can, and focus on a few outlets or social media channels that drive the most traffic to your blog. For me, this happens to be Pinterest.

WordPress Plugins

Have I missed anything? Is there anything else you’d like to know? Let me know in the comments!

I will be updating this list periodically.

This content uses referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.

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