When I started my blog in August of 2016, I spent so much time looking for resources and tools that were free to give me guidance and help. When you’re new to blogging, you don’t want to spend a lot of money. Mainly because you haven’t made any yet and you’re not sure if you will. You also need a lot of help in the beginning from more experienced bloggers, and you need tools to point you in the right direction.
I’ve rounded up some of the best free resources and tools for new bloggers. These helped me out a lot when I first started and I still use them!
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7 Day Start A Blog Challenge
If you don’t have a blog yet, you’re in luck! Here’s a step by step guide to setting up a blog in 7 days. Even if you already launched but you’re not sure if you missed a few steps, you can still read through it! A lot of people skip a couple of behind the scenes things or just aren’t aware that they’re missing a key element!
Blog Structure Blueprint
I wish this had been around when I first started. It’s by Ruth Soukup who runs Elite Blog Academy. She’s one of the top bloggers that makes millions every year.
This is a simple tool that lets you structure your blog content and map out what your blog is about. I highly recommend this resource for beginner bloggers. But even if you’ve been blogging for a while, this will still be helpful to visualize your content strategy.
Google Analytics
Even if you use WordPress and have the Jetpack analytics, you need to use Google Analytics as well. It’s the industry standard and what sponsors will ask you for when they ask about your stats. It also connects with a lot of influencer networks to allow them to see your stats automatically.
7 Surefire Ways to Boost Your Blog Income Overnight
This free ebook was one of the first that I came across when I started looking for blogging information. It’s also by Ruth Soukup of EBA.
This is a short ebook but has a lot of great ideas about how to increase your blog income. If you’re brand new, you might not have enough content to do some of these tactics. But you might as well grab it now so you have the information for later.
Social Bluebook
You need to know how much your social shares are worth. Social Bluebook is a free tool that will analyze your blog and social channel stats. It gives you an estimation of how much to charge sponsors for content. You can even email a quote from their website! I use this tool regularly to set my sponsored content prices.
10 Steps to Take When A Blog Post Goes Viral
Don’t wait until you have a viral post to get this quick guide. Learn what you need to do before it happens so you can make the most of your traffic spike!
Co-Schedule Headline Analyzer
Co-Schedule is a company that sorts out your editorial calendar for your social media. But it has a free tool that analyzes your blog post titles and email subject lines.
They know a lot about what gets clicked on and what emails get opened. So they have a formula for what works best. Just input your blog post title and it will give you a grade and suggestions on how to make it better. One of the best free resources for bloggers.
Secret Blueprint for Blogging Success
This is the secret formula for running a successful blog. It’s basically an overview of everything you need to know.
Paletton
Trying to pick a color scheme for your blog can be hard. Paletton lets you choose the main color, then suggests colors that go with it. It gives you the exact color codes so you can always get the same colors.
Choose one color, then decide if you want to be monochrome or have multiple accent colors.
Paletton even gives you a website preview of your color scheme, and it will let you change the secondary colors around to give you a better idea of how it will look.
Goal Setting Workbook for Bloggers
This workbook is really helpful for figuring out your goals and how to achieve them. It’s another one by Ruth Soukup and EBA. (Can you tell I’m a big fan of hers? I’m in Elite Blog Academy and it’s the best course I’ve taken.)
It’s very motivational so if you feel like you’re hitting a slump, use this workbook!
Using this free workbook will allow you to prioritize your tasks so you can get better work done rather than just “spinning your wheels” as Ruth says. You’ll be able to work on what’s important rather than just tedious tasks that don’t really help your blog or help you reach your goals.
How to Blog Email Course
This is my own email course that I offer! It’s free and it gives you weekly blogging tips in your inbox. It starts out with beginner blogging tips and gets more advanced as you go. You’ll get all my secrets that I’ve learned from over a year of research and trial and error.
8 Bad Blogging Habits and How to Break Them
Identify your bad habits and quit them before they steal all of your time. I’m still guilty of the first two. (Not even going to lie.) I’m getting better about the first one. But number 2 is just who I am now! lol
Creative Live Online Courses
If you’re looking to learn more about photography, blogging, graphic design, or even how to edit audio or video, Creative Live has free live video courses. The on demand courses you have to pay for but the live ones are free. And you can RSVP for upcoming live courses so you don’t miss them. They usually replay on a loop for 24 or 48 hours. Just sign up and it will email you when your courses are available live.
120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas
Having a hard time with content creation? Here’s a handy PDF of blog post ideas to get your creative juices going!
Canva
I make most of my Pinterest images in Canva. It’s free to use but you can upgrade to import your own fonts and get extra graphics, but I’ve been using the free version. They have image size presets that are nice. They’re just the right size for each social media. And you can make PDFs too! One of the best free resources for bloggers.
The New Blogger’s Guide to Guest Posting
Guest posting can build your backlinks and get you more referral traffic. This is a quick guide to doing it right and getting the most out of a guest post.
Skimlinks or Viglink
Skimlinks and Viglink basically do the same thing. They turn your links into affiliate links. It’s so much easier than to join a bunch of networks or programs. With Skimlinks, you’re automatically in all of the programs they offer. Viglink gives you most of the programs automatically but you do have to qualify for some big ones like Amazon and Walmart. You can install both of them on WordPress with a plugin. But you should only use one at a time. I don’t think they play well together.
2018 Blogging Trends eBook
Want to know what’s going to be popular this year? Here’s an ebook about what’s new and what you should be thinking about and working on this year.
What are your favorite free resources for bloggers?
Let me know in the comments below! I hope all of these give your blog a boost. Maybe more traffic and money are in your future! Don’t forget to sign up for my free How to Blog email course. If you haven’t fully set up your blog yet, you can learn how to start a blog step-by-step with my 7 Day Start A Blog Challenge.
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This such an informative list. Would be of great help for a lazy blogger like me. Thank you for this post.
I love Canva and use it all the time, but I never heard of Social Bluebook. It sounds like something I should definitely check out. Thanks for the great tips!
Great list of resources, thanks so much! I’ll be definitely using some of them
THanks for this information! Even when you think you’ve covered your bases something you may have missed often presents itself. Pinning this to review later in the blogging journey!
I’ve been blogging for a while, but I can definitely use some of these. I didn’t know about some of them. Thanks!