This is just a small list of tools I use for my business on a regular basis, or have in the past. They can be used for a variety of work related tasks, especially in the content creation areas.
Every one of these products or services have helped my blog to grow, and are products I am proud to support.
Be sure to check back on this section often, as we will be adding more recommendations as we go, to cover a range of business and career resources.
Some of the links within this post, are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I may earn a small commission from qualified sales. Read the full disclosure here. Thank you For Your Support!
Blogging Tools
Bluehost
When I first came up with the idea to start my blog, I spent about 6 months on research before finally taking the leap. I didn’t want to step into unknown territory without a good understanding of how this world works and what was involved, going forward. 🧐
I started from step 1, of course…finding a website building platform, and hosting to make it public. The one solution kept coming up in my research time and again, from soo many different people.
That was to choose Bluehost for the hosting, with Wordpress as my site builder (easy on us newbies…lol).
I did exactly that, and I’ve yet to be disappointed with my final choice. That was more than 2 years ago.
As a newbie, I definitely had a learning curve happening. It didn’t matter. The tech support at Bluehost alone, was impressive. I called them more times than I can count!
Always helpful. Always gracious with their time. And always fixes any problem I might have caused myself along the way. 😩 That by itself makes it worthwhile to let them host my site.
Oh, and they are totally affordable! The tech side of things is pretty great too 😉
Highly recommend!
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is another tool that kept coming up as a highly reccommended tool for blogs. If you are starting a blog with the idea of monetizing it, this is a super valuable tool.
Not only is it a great teacher of SEO (search engine optimization) when it comes to Google search practices, but it also provides you with in depth readability tips and other key components that Google looks for when deciding where to place you in search results.
Because of Yoast, my articles tend to rank much higher in search results.
I chose the premium version of this tool, because it offers so much more in terms of keyword suggestions, content analysis, and support.
Though, the free version will definitely get you started on the right path.
WP Rocket
You don’t realize how important this plugin is, until your site loading times start taking up to 15 seconds or more for the average visitor! No one sticks around for that nonsense.
Valuable lesson learned and fixed within a week, (with a little help from a Fiverr freelancer).
WP Rocket is the plugin that was used and continues to keep my site in good working order. In short, WP Rocket helps with faster loading speeds, thus improved user experience.
The more content you add to your site, the more important it becomes to maintain javascript, image optimization, and other back end things that slow your site down.
While there are other plugins for this type of maintenance, I have found WP Rocket to be everything I need at an affordable price.
MonsterInsights
The headline of an article you write, can be a make it or break it situation. That’s why I use MonsterInsights to analyze my headline for me in real time as I’m creating my post.
It rates my headlines on a scale of 1-100 and even gives suggestions on how to improve it for better search result exposure and conversion.
MonsterInsights also works in tandem with Google Analytics to give you quick stats on your website overall, at a glance.
I’ve been using this Google Analytics plugin (free version) for many months now, and I love it!
Tailwind
Tailwind is a really nice tool to have if you use Pinterest to drive traffic to your website. Not only is it great for pre-scheduling your pins, it offers free eye catching design templates for you to use, and a community section for collaborating with other creators.
Some of my more popular pins have come from Tailwind. The AI scheduler and other tools are pretty spot on. If you configure your account to your needs, you can even get free recommendations on the sort of social media posts you should put up, on any given day.
If you sign up for any of the communities, you will find it to be quite beneficial for exposure and growing your audience.
This is all with the free account.
If you sign up with this link, for a paid account, you automatically get 50 Ghostwriter Credits.
Blogging Courses & Ebooks
Ana – The She Approach
Whether you have been blogging for a while or just beginning your journey, I highly recommend checking out Ana from The She Approach.
In just 2 years of being a content creator, I’ve studied many different people, for thousands of hours. There are a handful of people I follow and learn from, every day.
Ana is one of those people.
She has videos, courses, and tutorials for every stage of growing your blog. From accumulating more traffic and beginning to monetize, all the way to publishing your first ebook, she guides you seamlessly through the blogging world in a way that isn’t overwhelming.
Regardless of what phase you are in with your blogging journey, any of her products will have you well on your way to being successful!
The above are but a few of Ana’s coaching products. You can see her full list of products here.
Creative Solutions
Canva
Canva is very much like having Adobe Photoshop, but useful in more ways, and without the price tag. I can’t say enough about this company!
They have awesome design templates for just about anything you need, from resumés and checklists, to Instagram stories, Pinterest pins, cookbooks, and everything in between.
I went with the free plan for a long while, because it gives you so much. However, if you have the budget available, I highly suggest going with the annual Pro plan. I purchased it several months ago, and I have accomplished so much more with it!
It’s not just a tool for content creators. It’s a quick and easy solution for presentations, flyers, invitations, posters, documents, and so much more.
Highly recommend for a variety of everyday tasks.
Fiverr
Talk about one of the largest Classified sections you’ve ever seen!
If you need a job done that requires someone more experienced than you in that area, Fiverr is your one stop shop for finding skilled candidates.
There are freelancers for virtually anything you can think of, and they don’t require the same commitments you would have with an employee.
Fiverr is also a great resource for those who want to earn money in any capacity, whether it be part time or full time.
As a freelancer, you are able to advertise your skills for short term jobs that don’t require any commitment from you, except for the jobs you decide to accept.
You are able to set parameters around how many jobs can be forwarded to you, so you don’t take on more than you can handle.
You can set your own rate of pay, your own hiring terms, etc. It is an ideal work platform for anyone, even if you’re just looking to earn a little extra cash for the holiday season.
