Grow Your Blog: Tools and Resources

laptop computer open to a blog page with a cup of coffee and paper pad to the right

I love blogging, finding new and awesome products to help grow my blog, and helping others develop their blog. People ask me all the time how to start and grow a blog, and of course how to make money. Well I want to share with you some of my favorite resources and tools I’ve used to grow my blog over the last 2 years.

One of the best things I ever did for my blog was switch from Blogger to WordPress! I got Bluehost as my hosting company and bought a theme and boy did things change.

My page views  tripled in the first month I switched! ABL went from getting 30,000 page views a month to 90,000 the next month. Those results may not be typical for everyone, but it made me a believer!


Bluehost! They are amazing! When I first switched over to WordPress from Blogger (which I highly recommend) they were my life saver. I made the switch myself and at the time I used a theme that was not very user friendly. I broke my site a bunch of times and would call them crying and they would fix it for me! Yes I literally cried… Humbling moment people…

StudioPress Premium WordPress Themes

Genesis Framework and Child Themes. You want your blog or website to look fabulous without spending a fortune? Genesis Framework by StudioPress offers style, SEO optimization, is super user friendly, and has amazing service. They have a variety of themes to choose from to style your blog/website to your liking. I am currently using the Magazine Theme. Also more SEO services company information can be found here if you are looking to invest in SEO services for your Blog. SEO is very important for a new blog as it allows you to bring in an audience, whether it is to create sales of merch or bring in new sponsership deals. This is why choosing a great SEO company is so important for the success of your Blog.

Ahalogy is a great tool for busy bloggers…. well really all bloggers that want to grow their brand on Pinterest. It allows you to schedule out your own pins, and pins from others on Pinterest. They use fancy algorithms to schedule pins during times of increased traffic so you will reach more people. They also give you access to other great content to pin, and statistics on how your pins have done. This in turn helps you increase your pinterest traffic and increase your followers. I have seen a great increase in Pinterest followers and traffic since starting Ahalogy. Apply today, it’s free!

 

Canon Rebel: Another splurge that paid off big time was purchasing my Canon T4i.  Some of my old photos make me cringe compared to what they are now. They are still not perfect, but I’m learning to use my camera more and more. Don’t have the money to spend? You can find older models like the Canon EOS Rebel T3i for much cheaper. I just use the standard lens kits my camera came with. Recently, I borrowed a 50 mm lens from my neighbor to try it out before purchasing my own. Apparently this is the lens to go with if you have a food blog. FYI  you can write off expenses that you use for blogging, like a camera, on your taxes.

PicMonkey is a great tool for photo editing! It’s like a super easy version of Photoshop. I’ve used it for years and they are constantly making it better, easier to use, and creating new tools. This last year I upgraded to the Royal version and have loved all of the pretty fonts it came with. I use PicMonkey not only to edit photos, but also create graphics and my social media buttons.

There you have it folks… My favorite tools to grow your blog! I will be updating this list with new tools I’m using periodically. What kinds of tools do you use? I would love to hear about them!

grow your blog tools and resources

This post contains affiliate links. These are all products I use and love!

13 Comments

  1. Great post! I’m currently using Blogger and haven’t had any major issues with it thus far. I’m coming up on my one year anniversary and have been thinking about the pros vs cons of switching. It seems everyone is on board with switching away from blogger. What do you think is the reason your views went up SO significantly after the change? Just a cleaner and clearer blog layout to navigate??

    1. Thank you! I love your blog Amy! You do such a great job! One reason people are making the switch is because WordPress and Genesis are much more SEO friendly (AKA people will find you more when you are searching on say google.) That is what I think made such a big impact. Plus, my site loaded faster so people are less likely to click off! Put these things together and it made a huge difference. Hope that was helpful! Switching can be daunting but it’s totally worth it. When I made the switch it helped me start to make a real income rather than a check every few months.

  2. Thank you so much for this post!!!! I recently got the Canon Rebel for Christmas and am obsessed. The pictures are amazing, even for a total photog amateur like me!

    I too am currently on blogger- mostly just because it’s what I’m familiar with. Is WordPress a LOT more difficult to use/learn/pop standard HTML codes in? (I am NO CODING EXPERT- I Just copy and paste things I want to add to my page or posts!)

    Thank you again- you and your blog are adorable!
    Alicia

    1. Korilynn, used DSLR cameras can be found fairly cheap as more experienced photographers want to upgrade their equipment. Check your local Craig’s List or eBay. I recommend Canon over Nikon for someone just getting started with a DSLR camera as Canon’s menus are a lot easier to learn.

  3. Great article! Thanks for sharing the information. Also, we have a Google + Party and would love for you to join us!. The Ultimate Party on Google+ is every Friday.

  4. These tips are so helpful. I hadn’t heard of Ahalogy, but I’m looking forward to checking it out. I am still trying to figure out the best way to get more traffic to my site, and these tools seem like great ideas!

  5. I’m SO glad I came across your site!! I haven’t heard of a few of your suggestions, like Ahalogy… I’ll definitely check it out! I think I need to figure out Google+ a bit better. I’m on it but I rarely go to it, still spend so much time on Facebook so maybe it’s time to just dive in. Thanks again! 🙂

  6. Fantastic resources – thank you so much. I had never heard of Ahalogy but will definitely be looking into it now. I’ve just made the switch from Blogger to WordPress and I am so thankful I have done it early in my blogging life rather than later. I too use the Genesis framework and purchased a Studiopress theme and it is worth every cent knowing I have a secure and stable template. Love, love, love it.

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