Thinking of building your online platform or brushing up on those web 2.0 skills? I’m sharing the best blogging tools that I use all the time.

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Original photo by Rachel Moenning 

When it comes to blogging, you can spend a lot of money, or you can spend a little money. I don’t think either is inherently right or wrong, but I think it’s worth noting that you can DIY as much of your blog as you want.

These are some of the best blogging tools of the trade to maybe make it a little easier on you. Click To Tweet

In this day and age, everyone and their brother has an eCourse or a subscription mastermind group that makes big promises. And some of them even deliver. I just got burned by so many of those early on, so I think it’s only fair to suggest that maybe you approach those with some skepticism.

Also, let’s just be real. Any information you need in this day and age can be found on the internet. It may not be easy to find, and you may have to wade through a ton of really bad information to get the good stuff. But it’s out there.

So consider this a post where I’m sharing what I consider to the best blogging tools. It’s by no means comprehensive, and definitely won’t take you from someone who has never seen a content management system into a 100,000 page views a day blogger. But these are some of the best blogging tools of the trade to maybe make it a little easier on you.

Best Blogging Tools

Blogging Books

The One-Hour Content Plan: The Solopreneur’s Guide to a Year’s Worth of Blog Post Ideas in 60 Minutes and Creating Content that Hooks and Sells by Meera Kothand

It’s no secret that I love to plan my posts out a really long time in advance. I’m obsessed with my editorial calendar, and I think once you start using one, you will be too. This book is a great way to walk through the process of creating an editorial calendar, and how you can create posts that really resonate with your audience. One thing I really like about this book is the author walks through the process of finding a long tail keyword, and then how to phrase the headline to make it infinitely more clickable.

The Badass Blog Planner: Your Guide to Defining Your Purpose, Creating Clarity, and Building a Year of Killer Content by Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to blogging. She’s been doing it for a while, and teaching others how they can build their online platforms has been her day job for years now. Her stuff is relatable, but I think it’s best for people who have a strong vision for their brand in mind. So if you’re just thinking about a blog, maybe don’t check out her books or eCourses until you know what it is you want to blog about.

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick

I met Peg Fitzpatrick at a conference a few years ago, and I love what a positive person she is. She definitely has some intense social media knowledge, and I love how she’s so ready to share it in the average Instagram post. If you’re looking for a book that gives you some best practices for how to use your social media as a blogger, check out this book by Peg and Guy Kawasaki.

Blogging Subscription Services

Skillshare

I’ve talked about Skillshare roughly one billion times, and that’s because I love it so much. Skillshare has classes on pretty much everything from branding to storytelling to Instagram to drawing. If you have a creative hobby you want to pick up, Skillshare has your back. And it goes without saying that there are a ton of blogging classes on Skillshare. I would definitely consider it a one-stop shop for starting your online platform.

Tailwind

I held out a really long time and didn’t use Tailwind. It’s not because I didn’t think it worked. In fact, I think everyone knows how Tailwind is pretty much the only way to get steady Pinterest traffic to your blog. For whatever reason, I just didn’t think I would be able to figure it out. Well, I signed up for a free trial and figured it out in like 5 minutes, and here we are. I even use it for Instagram scheduling now. So, if you want to get your Pinterest and Instagram presence under control, there is nothing better than Tailwind.

Siteground

This is one of those unsexy blogging things. But if you have a website, you need a place to host it on the internet. Your hosting is basically what keeps the lights on, and you have to have it. I’ve used other hosts in the past, but switched to Siteground because they made it so cheap and easy to switch to HTTPS. I can’t recommend them enough.

Best Blogging Tools Click To Tweet

Tell Me Your Favorite Blogging Tools

Which blogging tools help you? What’s your favorite book on blogging or social media? Is there a software that has made your life as a blogger os much easier? Tell me in the comments.