Here are my top resources recommendations for those starting a blog or wanting to monetize their blogs:
(Some of the following links are affiliate links. There is NOTHING recommended on this page that I haven’t purchased myself and don’t love to use. Our full disclosure policy is really boring, but you can find it here.)
Blogging has totally changed my life – in more ways than I could possibly tell you in this one little sentence.
Being a full time blogger (my sahm job) allows me to have autonomy over my time and – most importantly – the way my children are raised. I can’t even imagine a life where I have to drop them off at daycare and not see them for 8 hours on end. I hope you find some things in this list of resources that help you create the life you want too!
All the following resources are things that I have paid for / used and LOVE. These blogging resources allowed to me to start making a full time income after just 7 months of blogging.
Read my Income Reports to see how blogging has become my full time job!
For more in-depth discussion on all the following resources, AND further recommendations, here is my full blog post of the best blogging courses for 2022!
BLOGGING RESOURCES FOR TOTAL BEGINNERS:
FREE TUTORIAL – How to Start a Blog and Make Money This step-by-step guide walks you through everything you need to know to get started RIGHT.
Bluehost Hosting – (for those on a stricter budget) your blog must be self hosted. I know you’ve heard it a 1000 times, and there’s a whole bunch of reasons. But the big ones are this: you have control over your blog and when something goes wrong there’s 24 hour support. You can get a package for $4.95 / month, and it comes with a free domain name. It is FINE to start your blog on cheap hosting and move on to a better hosting company once you are making some money. For step by step guidance – here’s a 100% FREE tutorial on how to start a blog!
GeneratePress Theme – the theme I am using on both my main sites, and currently recommend. It is ADA compliant, mobile responsive, and very fast. These are THE MOST important features to consider in any theme, in my opinion! (Also, it’s cheap, which I really like LOL.)
The 12 Month Blog Plan (FREE) – great for beginners, who want a step by step “what you should be working on” over the next 12 months laid out for you.
Stupid Simple SEO – If I could tell you to take ANY SEO course as a BEGINNER, this is it. This course covers how to set up your site FROM THE START in a way that will please Google and make getting traffic easier in the long run. I SO wish I had had this information when I started blogging!
Pinteresting Strategies – this is my step-by-step playbook on how I use Pinterest to send great traffic to my websites. In 2022, Pinterest is VERY DIFFERENT than it was in 2016, and this course has been updated regularly over the years to ensure that it’s still the best advice I could possibly give for Pinterest traffic success. It includes a case-study for driving traffic to a BRAND NEW BLOG.
The Traffic Transformation Guide – It’s one thing to create a blog, and whole ‘nother thing to get people to come TO your blog. Lena has TWENTY-ONE awesome strategies (many that I would absolutely never have thought of) and she gets 400k pageviews PER MONTH. I LOVE this book!
Blogcabulary Plus – If you just wish you had all aspects of blogging terminology in one place, not just defined, but with examples and images – this book is for you. It is super affordable and it explains every aspect of blogging – from a complete beginner perspective.
The Blog by Number course – this is a VERY thorough and budget friendly course for anyone who wants a little hand holding in the first few months.
CreativeMarket offers FREE fonts + fun things every week. – I’ve found these useful for pins and images. Make sure you always check the terms!
RESOURCES TO TAKE YOUR BLOG TO THE NEXT LEVEL:
Bigscoots Hosting – (for those that can afford to spend a little more). This is where my sites are hosted, and they ARE worth the slight extra cost. Once your blog is paying for your hosting, you should consider being on a faster, more reliable host like Bigscoots.
Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers: Everything You’re Missing – I created this course to help you make better affiliate conversions. It is NOT for beginners who are looking to learn how to find and add affiliate links to their posts. This course focuses on CONVERSION STRATEGIES. (How to actually get people to make the choice to BUY things from your links.) It also has a detailed module on how to use affiliate marketing in EMAIL.)
Freebies that Sell + Serve (FREE) – Learning to make money via list building and monetization through email takes understanding what makes a good lead magnet. I’ve never come across another course (and this one is free at that) that explains it so clearly. You won’t regret making the time to watch this training (and it won’t cost you anything either)!