Although I don’t typically write about blogging, it has been incredibly helpful for me to read other blogger’s insights about what has worked for them on their blogging journeys. I’ll update this page from time to time to share what resources I personally use and what has been a great help for me. Before I get started, though, let me share a couple of things I’ve learned.
For one, blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t believe the articles and posts about making it big in the blogging world with little effort. It all comes down to providing your readers with great and helpful content. If you’re a newbie blogger or just starting to think about growing your blog, keep your eye on the goal of creating interesting content and a meaningful community. Page views come and go. Don’t let your self-worth be reliant on whether you have thousands of followers and page views.
I have been blogging for many years but it was only in the summer of 2014 that I decided to start Little Girl Designs (and essentially start all over with blogging!) It has been a wild ride, but I am so grateful that I get to do this. Blogging has been a creative outlet for me and although it is a lot of work, it still is really fun. Here are some of my favorite blogging resources, ranging from hosting plans to a full online course that will grow your blog like crazy!
Resources for Getting Started
Bluehost – The best blog host in my opinion is Bluehost. We’ve used Bluehost to host our blog and other websites and have been very pleased with the results. When we’ve had problems or questions, we have contacted support, and they have been very helpful. They have hosting plans that start at $3.95/month which is pretty incredible. (You can learn how to start a blog right here.)
Angie Makes WordPress Themes – When we first started the blog, we (my husband and I) chose a free theme to get it off the ground and running. Free themes work fine for the most part, but we realized early on that there was only so much we could do to customize the site. And there were many times when I thought, “Oh, I want to do this!” and then couldn’t.
We started looking around for a theme to buy and found Angie Makes. Her themes are gorgeous (we use Halle) and they are easy enough to update for a newbie like me. My husband is a graphic designer and was really impressed by how the theme’s “back end” was set up. I love, love, love this theme! Oh, and by the way, the developer for Angie Makes regularly updates the theme which is incredibly helpful. This has helped us as WordPress makes updates to not end up with a clunky outdated theme.
ConvertKit – When I started this blog, I signed up for a Mailchimp account because it was free for the first 2,000 subscribers. This is a misnomer, though, since I had to start paying early on because I wanted to use automations. (Automations refer to emails that go out automatically at a set time; for instance, a series of emails for a letter-writing challenge.)
We also had to buy several plug-ins and my husband got to put in long hours trying to make their Groups feature work like a List. This probably sounds confusing (it is), but the long story short is, we really tried to make it work because other email programs are more expensive. But after two years, we decided to move on. We researched Drip and ConvertKit and went with ConvertKit. It is light years more intuitive than Mailchimp as it was created for bloggers, and I’m now wishing we switched earlier. Yes, it is more expensive, but you will save yourself a million headaches down the road. Believe me. (You can try a free trial by clicking here. Worth it.)
Update: I don’t use Pinterest schedulers anymore for my business, but I did use BoardBooster for 2 1/2 years and Tailwind for almost a year. Both have their advantages, and I liked them. With Pinterest updating their algorithm so much, I found it better to live pin rather than schedule out my pins. I have not noticed a traffic slump since doing this.
FREE {and incredibly helpful} Resources:
Learn All About SEO—Search Engine Optimization (SEO) might not sound like the most interesting thing in the world to you right now, but if you want your posts to be seen and found in search results on Google (and other search engines), you’re going to need to know the basics. MOZ.com has a comprehensive and free SEO guide for beginners that is very helpful. I’ve gone back to it a time or two to brush up!
Chasing Creative Podcast—I love this podcast so much, I’ll just take a quote from their website to share with you: “Chasing Creative is all about how everyday people can make creativity a priority in their daily lives. We’re talking to regular people who have insights and action steps you can take TODAY to make your creative plans happen.” Wonderful insight here. I was honored to be a guest on one of their episodes. You can click here to listen! 🙂
Cost-effective Resources:
How To Blog For Profit: Without Selling Your Soul
The Creative Retreat workbook—I created a resource to help you DIY your own personal retreats, a must if you’re growing a business. I love taking blogging retreats because I’m able to set aside focused time to brainstorm content, write posts, and dream up new resources.
For When You are Ready to Go to the Next Level:
Elite Blog Academy – If you are ready to start treating your blog as a business, I recommend signing up for the Elite Blog Academy. Enrollment is only open once a year, and the course is more expensive, but So Worth It. (I more than paid back the course within 3 months.)
Elite Blog Academy follows in the footsteps of How To Blog For Profit: Without Selling Your Soul, but goes into much more depth, offering a video “class” for each chapter, handouts, webinars, and homework assignments. It is also updated each year with current information (the book has not been updated.)
There is a lot of information in this course, and it took me several months to go through all of it. I found that EBA was a great resource for laying a foundation of how to create a profitable blog. I actually started seeing results before I finished the course. It really works. (P.S. Here are some ideas for earning money fast so you can invest it back in your blog.)
One last thing about Elite Blog Academy. If you click the image below, you can get Ruth’s free workbook, Goal Setting For Bloggers. This is a free bonus (that is awesome, by the way) and will also give you an idea as to what Ruth’s teaching style is. A total win-win. 🙂
