The Best Blogging Resources You Need To Start A Blog

Are you thinking of starting a blog? Well if you are, then you’ve come to the right place. In this post, I have gathered a list of blogging resources that I use now, have used in the past, or have been highly recommended by others within the blogging community.

Starting a blog can be scary and challenging. And blogging for beginners takes a lot of work. However, the reward of starting a blog is so worth it. I’ve learned so many things about blogging, about being apart of a community, and most of all I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’m so happy that I started this blog and figuring out the best blogging resources to use has helped me tremendously!!!

It doesn’t matter what niche’ you are thinking of when starting a blog is because these blogging resources are universal and can be used by anyone. These blogging resources that I have listed below are used by bloggers, small businesses, large businesses, and even Fortune 500 companies!!!

These blogging resources will help skyrocket your blog and enable you to have a successful blogging business.

So if you are thinking about starting a blog, or if you are in the beginning phases of starting a blog, then read this list of the best blogging resources that you should use.

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This post contains affiliate links to the products that I use and recommend. If you click on any of the links and make a purchase, then I may earn a small commission. For more info click my full disclosure.

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Best Blogging Resources for Website Hosting

Bluehost 

Bluehost is the best web hosting platform to use. I currently use Bluehost as my blogging platform.  

When I decided to start a blog, Bluehost came highly recommended by some of the best bloggers out there in every niche.  It was practically a no-brainer for me to choose Bluehost as a blogging resource. This blog platform is incredible for hosting my site. 

In fact, Bluehost has been the #1 Top recommended hosting platform by WordPress.org for 15 years, yes 15 years!!

Bluehost has partnered with WordPress to become a powerhouse of web hosting, working together to provide the best platform to build your blog with providing everything you need all in one place to help build and catapult your new website. 

When you sign up for Bluehost, you will also get a free, yes I said FREE domain for the first year you sign up. Now that’s just too good to pass up. Especially when you a starting a new blog, we need all the freebies we can get. And this freebie is definitely worth it.

Bluehost also provides 24-hour customer service 7 days a week via phone, chat, and ticket submission.

WordPress

WordPress is the most preferred website builder and it is automatically included with your Bluehost account.  That is perfect because you can start building your website within minutes.  And a very HUGE bonus is that you get a free domain name as well. 

With WordPress, you can build your website seamlessly from ANYWHERE at any time.  

Everything is right there within the platform for your website needs, yes I had to say it again because this is AWESOME. 

Also included is getting to choose from 100’s of themes and plug-ins.  WordPress comes with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) right from the start. This ensures that your website will be capable of getting ranked further and get more clicks by being more exposed.  

And, check this out, you can even get your own email that is specific to your domain name and brand with a Microsoft 365 account…for FREE.  You want to have an email with your brand and domain name on it so people will know who you are. That’s the whole point right, you want your BRAND to be known.

WordPress also has an app that you can download to your phone and write new posts, edit old posts, copy and share with just a click of a button. I mean how cool is that? 

So, needless to say, I like WordPress as one of my favorite and most important blogging resources. And I don’t just like it; I love using WordPress.

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WP ENGINE

Another great hosting WordPress platform that is popular amongst large and small businesses is WP Engine. 

They are a leader of a digital experience platform, allowing you to create your website any way you want, providing over 30 open source technologies.  This platform includes the four pillars: Site Building & Management, Open Source Flexibility, Site Speed, Scale & Security, and Site Analytics.  

Build a better website with Genesis Pro, a subscription plan that gives you additional premium tools you need to aid in a successful, beautiful, scalable website with built-in SEO.  The tools include Genesis Blocks Pro, Genesis Framework, Genesis Custom Blocks Pro, and Studio Press. This can be added on to your WP Engine account, or you can make it a stand-alone purchase. The great thing is that it is optimized to work with other hosting platforms too.

If you join now, then you are in luck. WP Engine is currently holding a PROMOTION where you can get 4 months free. Also, there is a special deal for Genesis Pro where you could get up to 30% off of the annual fee. Don’t hesitate too long because this promotion only lasts until Jan 1, 2021.  Sign up and add this wonderful blogging resources to your website today.

Best Blogging Resources for Blog Themes

Blossom Themes

Blossom Themes is beautiful feminine WordPress themes that you can use for your blog.  These themes are modern, elegant, and ready to use for your site right away.  There will be no worries with trying to build your own site or trying to figure out coding.  Here you can customize your website with simple clicks and choices to fit your style and blogging needs. 

It’s super easy to customize, switch layouts, theme colors, blog post layouts, and more.  

Also, it’s great for integrating social media platforms as well.  Blossom Themes are gorgeous and have unique designs that will help your blog stand out. Whether you are a fashion, food, lifestyle, beauty, or travel blogger you can find a stunning theme to be useful and just for you.

And what I really love about Blossom Themes PRO is that it comes with the option to download their plug-ins like an Email Newsletter so you can grow your audience. 

In addition, it includes widgets galore (12 to be exact) for example, Advertisement, Author Bio, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and MORE available to fully optimize your blog.

Plus,  purchasing the PRO membership won’t hurt your pockets either, you can get a Feminine Pro design starting at just $49!!

I love using Blossom Pro themes as one of my blogging resources, which is what I currently use.

It makes my blog site look so beautiful, feminine, and professional at the same time. Try it out today.

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Studio Press

If you are looking for a more classic, crisp, and clean theme then Studio Press themes are the one for you. StudioPress themes are professional premium themes with features of SEO and with enhanced strict security.  

Studiopress has several themes to choose from with additional features enabling you to customize the theme’s colors, headers, custom page templates. It’s easy to build your site with just a push of a few buttons and you will be ready to launch your site.

Their themes also come with their own collection of widgets to choose from to customize your site even further. The themes consist of child themes which makes it suitable for those that want to keep the functionality and framework for the theme while making a few tweaks. 

StudioPress is a part of WP Engine that provides Award-winning customer service, 24 hours support all year round. So no matter when you need them, they are only one call away. 

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Best Blogging Resources For Email

When starting a blog you need to create an email list. Having an email list is essential for getting your website off the ground.  So there are quite a few email marketing companies that you can use. Here are two great email list options.

Mailerlite

MailerLite is one of the fastest-growing email marketing services in the world. Designed for people of all skill levels, MailerLite helps you create professional email campaigns.  I really like that their features are intuitive and easy to use yet they’re just as powerful as other email tools.

The awesome features include:

• The easy drag & drop editor
• Landing page builder
• The many pop-up variations
• Advanced automation
• In-email quizzes, surveys and other interactive elements

If you ever need help, you can contact their 24/7 live support or browse through the many helpful resources. They also have an active community on Facebook where customers inspire and support each other. Click the link to create your account.

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MailChimp

The great thing about MailChimp is that it is free for up to 1,000 subscribers.  When you are first starting out, you should use the free email list that is offered so that you can build your audience and learn how to use the platform.  

Mailchimp lets you create campaigns, they have email automation, and an RSS option to automatically send emails to your subscribers when you have a new blog post.

They also provide several customizable templates you can use for your newsletter, to make announcements, or for product promotion, amongst many more.  And to get new subscribers, Mailchimp has sign up forms and landing pages that you can build and design. 

Try Mailchimp today. 

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Best Blogging Resources Plug-Ins

Pretty Links

Pretty Links is a plug-in used on WordPress that enables the redirection, shrinking of URLs, and aids in affiliate marketing tracking.

I use the Pretty Link plug-in to make my blog post links prettier, shorter, and less spammy.  Especially the affiliate links, since most of them are super long like 2-10 lines. I mean that’s just a lot of clutter and ugliness to have on your website.

“Ain’t nobody got time for that”.  

So instead of all the clutter, I use this AMAZING blogging resource to showcase what I want the link to look like on my website. I just add a word of my choosing to my domain name to complete the link. This way it doesn’t look like an affiliate link, it looks like a regular link to my website, and then it gets redirected to the affiliate page.

For instance, instead of me using my entire blog post name southernverse.com/holiday-gifts-for-travelers. I decided to shorten it to southernverse.com/holiday. I did this specifically so I could put this shortened link on my Instagram Bio. It just looks better when it’s shortened and gets straight to the point.

Pretty Links is also great to use to track how many clicks I get on my affiliate links as well.  I save all of my social links in this plug-in too, like IG and FB. So anytime I want to insert a social link or any link on my blog post, I just type in the keyword in the search bar. And PRESTO, it’s done.  I don’t have to constantly type in the entire URL, because I already have it saved. 

It’s so simple to use, convenient and saves me a ton of time.

This is definitely an awesome blogging resource that you will not regret using, try it here for free.

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Best Blogging Resources For SEO

SEMrush 

SEMrush is an all in one platform SEO software provider that helps EXPLODE your business. How? By finding trends that you could target for your blog, using its massive 20 billion keywords research database. 

SEMrush also scrutinizes data and provides you with suggestions on how to skyrocket your website and popularity on-line. 

SEMrush offers over 40 tools to assist you in marketing your business and increase your traffic.  

Their tools have been “Award-winning marketing tools that are used by 45% of Fortune 500 companies”.  But don’t be intimidated by that because SEMRush is perfect for bloggers and small companies that are just getting started too.  There are plans that are catered to every niche and business no matter how big or small. 

These award winning marketing tools include keyword search, competitor analysis, local SEO, website monetization and many more fantastic tools. 

You can try the tools for FREE for 7 full days!! 

You NEED this blogging resources tool in your life so that you know what your competitors are doing to have massive traffic and so that you can pinpoint what people are searching for and want to know.

Click here to try it today!

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MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights is the Best WordPress plug-in to use for Google Analytics.  It is easy to set-up within minutes by clicking through a couple of buttons and you will be ready to launch. 

With the MonsterInsights Lite, it has easy to view pie charts and line graphs that show your stats and pageviews on a daily basis.  Not only can you see that, but it provides the percentage of bounce rates that you have, which just means how long someone actually stays on your post.  

Plus, it captures stats of the top 10 countries your viewers are browsing from.  Also, MonsterInsights provides you a list of what the Top Posts along with the number of page views you have. This blogging resource is a must-have.

Now if you upgrade to Pro, it’ll unlock a plethora of additional insights like SEO Score Tracking Custom Dimensions, Google Optimization, and much more. 

This plug-in is incredible because it’ll help you analyze what content is popular and received well with your viewers and what content needs to get better.  It allows you to optimize your site to tailor to the needs of your viewers and take the guesswork out of what they like and read.

So if you want to GROW your blog traffic, improve your content, and make more money through affiliates then download MonsterInsights today!   

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Best Blogging Resources for Grammar & Editing

Grammarly

Let me tell you. Grammarly is AWESOME!! Why, because it helps you stay grammatically correct, that’s why. In this day and age with the rise of social media acronyms, that these kids are using makes it kind of difficult to type in the correct grammar when everyone is talking in codes. LOL (no pun intended).  However, you don’t want your new blog or business to look like you are just texting a friend. So that’s why you need Grammarly.

Yes, you NEED Grammarly so that when you start your blog, it can look professional and it’ll show that you look like you know what you are talking about. Grammarly is awesome because it will correct your grammar, spelling, and punctuation on your website. It lets you know if you spelled something wrong when a red line appears under your word.  

With the Free plan, Grammarly also suggests if you need to make a sentence clearer.  It lets you know when you have redundancy in your writing posts and corrects capitalization. 

Then, with the Premium or Business plan, you will get even more advanced correction tools like suggestive word choices, help with re-adjusting your tone to ensure you aren’t coming off too demanding, and ensuring you are writing with confidence and being friendly. 

Premium also helps you with formatting, delivery, and detects plagiarism by checking your words against 16 billion web pages.

I mean whoa..that’s HUGE. Right?  

It would’ve been much harder for me to proofread my posts if it wasn’t for Grammarly, it has helped me tremendously in ensuring I have less grammatical errors and have excellent flow. Click here and try Grammarly now. 

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Marketing & Social Media Blogging Resources

Tailwind

Tailwind is used to plan, schedule, and analyze Pinterest pins. It has helped me grow my website traffic immensely.  When using Pinterest you need to continue to be active and save pins to keep up with the algorithms of Pinterest. 

However,  manual pinning can be time-consuming, and that’s where Tailwind comes into play. You can automate your pins with the click of a button.  One of the features that I really love is that Tailwind provides the best optimal times to pin in order to get the most viewing and expand your REACH.  You don’t have to figure that out at all, Tailwind automatically chooses the best time slots for you.  All you have to do is click a button and queue up your pins and let Tailwind handle the rest. 

**One more thing, Tailwind has an amazing feature called Tailwind Tribes available that you can join. This is a community of like-minded Pinners with content you can share, and reach audiences that’ll love and share your Pins too! It’s kind of like a Group board on Pinterest…but on STEROIDS!!

Since I’ve joined Tailwind Tribes, my blog traffic has exploded! 

So save yourself some time and increase your audience by remaining active on Pinterest by using Tailwind.

If you want to see how you can get the same incredible growth, click here to try Tailwind for free today.

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Canva

Canva is a Simple No-Frills Design Tool. I use Canva to make my graphics and Pinterest Pins. It’s easy to use and they have 1000’s of templates, millions of premium photos, checklists, and more.

Create With Editing Features That Give Your Designs A Professional Polished Look.  

Don’t worry if you don’t have any design skills because with Canva, no design skills are necessary.   You can make your website logo, create graphics to use on social media, and send in your email lists. Believe me you need to have Canva when you decide to start a blog, because graphics is everything. People love to see images and stunning graphics and with beautiful colors to match.

It is so easy to use, you don’t have to be a graphic guru to have great photos and templates. Canva provides pre-made templates, and you can add, delete, or alter the template any way you want. You can change the background, add fun animations, try out different fonts. I mean, the options are endless. 

You can try Canva for FREE or go PRO.  When you go Pro, that’s where you get access to ALL 20,000+ templates, 2 million free stock photos, printables, greeting cards, animations, and INFOGRAPHICS will become available to you.

Create Your Own Templates, Edit With More Handy Tools & Share In Any Size Within Minutes

So, let’s be real. Creating eye-catching Pinterest Pins and beautiful images are a must when it comes to us bloggers. This is what will explode your blogging traffic and get you more CLICKS by using Canva.

 Try It For Yourself Free For 30 Days!

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Best Security Blogging Resources

NordVPN

NordVPN is a service that is used to keep the government from intruding on your internet browsing. It’s on-line security system gives you the freedom to browse with confidence. 

I use NordVPN so that I can connect to the United States servers versus using the internet servers where I currently live in the United Kingdom. Using NordVPN assists in preventing cyber attacks on my computer and hackers getting my important personal information. 

I have been using NordVPN for almost 4 years. It is incredible software for privacy and security for my web browsing needs. 

I began using it mainly while traveling and living overseas, in certain countries, some United States websites are BANNED. Yes, banned. Since I am a born and bred US citizen, I could not have that. NordVPN has literally saved my emotional and mental state.  I don’t know if I could bear not having access to my essential websites or watch my favorite shows on American networks.  

Not only that, if you are traveling and want to use a public free Wi-Fi you want to ensure that no one is spying and trying to take your info. Instead, you can use NordVPN to ensure that you’re browsing and personal info is SECURE. 

Plus, NordVPN can be used for the entire family too. You can connect it to up to 6 devices and have a secure network for everyone.  I mean, you can’t beat that!!

You can connect to ANY country, from anywhere, at any time. 

NordVPN is the BEST VPN out…Hands Down!!

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That’s my list of the best blogging resources you need to start a blog. Leave a comment below to let me know what resources you will use.

I would love to know how my post has helped you. Until next time my friends.