Below is a list of software, courses, and other resources I recommend either because I have either used them personally, know people who have used them, or know them to be valuable and of high quality. Because I value these resources and wanted to recommend them to others, I joined their affiliate programs if they had one, meaning some (but not all) of the links on this page are affiliate links.
If you have any questions about any of the resources on this list or would like to discuss them further, or if you would like to suggest a resource to be added to the list, feel free to email me: ashley {at} thebloggingaboutbloggingblog {dot} com.
Online Software
Graphic Design Tools
Canva – Online software for creating and editing graphics and images using a simple drag-and-drop editor. Free with a paid upgrade.
Unsplash – Website for finding free, high-quality photos. Crediting the photographer is appreciated, but not required.
Pikwizard – Another site for finding free stock photos.
Small PDF – Online tool that lets you manipulate (compress, merge, convert, annotate, etc.) PDF documents. Free with a paid upgrade.
Social media post templates – Save time designing social sharing images from scratch by buying a pack of professionally designed graphics you can customize in Canva.
Ebook templates – Save time writing an ebook by buying a beautiful, pre-designed template to paste your text into.
Opt-in / free download templates – Easily create freebie downloads to attract new email subscribers by buying pre-designed templates.
Social Media Management Tools
Post Schedulers
Tailwind – Schedule posts for Pinterest or Instagram, recycle your own posts, share your pins with “Tribes” where they can be shared by others in your niche, and analyze your stats. Paid software.
SmarterQueue – Schedule and recycle posts for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Consistently repost your own content, schedule a share for individual websites you come across using a browser extension, or bulk import content from other blogs in your niche to schedule for shares on your social media profiles. Paid software; offers the ability to customize a pricing plan to include only features you need.
Later.com – Schedule posts for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest in a visual calendar. Automatically posts to Instagram with a “link in bio” option (your followers can click the link in your bio to find a link associated with a post). Paid software that offers a free option.
Buffer – Schedule posts for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest using a browser extension or directly within your social media. Similar to SmarterQueue, but without the ability to recycle posts. However, it does offer a free option, which is nice when you’re first getting started.
Email Marketing Tools
ConvertKit – Email software with lots of features specific to the needs of bloggers. Does not offer a free option, but it’s easy to import subscribers from other email softwares if you decide to start with a free software and switch later.
Mailchimp – Popular email software that’s free to use for up to a certain number of subscribers.
HelloBar – Notification you can use to invite your website visitors to sign up for your email list.
Sumo Smart Bar – WordPress plugin that’s a cheaper alternative to HelloBar.
Productivity Tools
LastPass – Store complex passwords for all your logins in one place. Much more secure than using the same password for everything (if one of your accounts gets hacked, all your accounts are vulnerable!), and much more convenient than having to remember which password you used where. I use the free version, but there is an optional paid upgrade.
Trello – Manage all your to-do lists in one place. Create and organize lists and easily drag and drop list items from list one to another. The phone app works just as well as the desktop version. The free version is great, but there is an optional paid upgrade.
Gmail at Custom Domains – Allows you to have a gmail address (or multiple gmail addresses) at your custom domain name. You can also create aliases that direct to the inbox of your choice (for example, contact@yourdomain.com can redirect to yourname@yourdomain.com). Paid software.
Loom – Record a video of your computer screen with optional sound recording and/or your face appearing in the corner of the video. Easily start recording by clicking a button in your browser. The free version works for me, but there is an optional paid upgrade.
Appear.in – Online software for video conferencing (including group video chats). Chat guests don’t have to create an account; they simply click a link to join you in your “room”. The free version works for me, but there is an optional paid upgrade.
Slack – Chat software that allows you to organize chats and share files with groups or teams you’re a part of. Large companies may need the pay version, but the free version will be adequate for most users.
IFTTT.com – Automate functions between multiple softwares. Examples: Someone mentions you in a Tweet, and an email is sent to your inbox; You publish a blog post, and a link is shared to your Facebook page. Setup is very user-friendly, and it’s free to use.
Zapier – Automate functions between multiple softwares, similar to IFTTT.com but with far more capabilities. Takes some time to learn, but the possibilities are amazing. Examples: Someone purchases your ebook, and their email address is added to a spreadsheet in Google Docs. Someone completes your survey in Google Forms, and if they give a certain answer, they are added to your email software with a specific tag. Free to use for two-step tasks (one action triggers another action), but multi-step tasks such as the ones I described above require a paid account.
NewsFeed Eradicator – Free Chrome browser extension that will replace your Facebook News Feed on desktop with a motivational quote, so you don’t get so distracted by Facebook when you have to log on for work purposes.
Product Creation Tools
Gumroad – Platform for uploading and selling digital products such as ebooks. Not free, but very affordable, and includes the ability to have affiliates for your products.
Teachable – Platform for creating and selling courses. Free to create an account and build your course, but requires a paid subscription to publish and start selling. Popular choice for online courses because it’s very user-friendly for both students and course creators.
Lulu – Publishing software for selling print-on-demand physical books and ebooks. I use it to offer a print version of the workbook that goes with one of my online courses.
Mockup Templates – Showcase your digital products (ebooks, courses, graphic designs, etc.) in photos that show them as a physical product (great for sales pages and promotional images).
Launchaco – A very user-friendly page builder for creating a sales page or landing page to promote a product or service. For an affordable yearly fee you can connect your own domain name, but you can use the software for free by using a WordPress plugin like Pretty Links to create a redirect from your website to the URL hosted at their domain.
Checkli – Easily create free checklists as lead magnets. Export your checklists as PDFs, share a read-only link to them, or embed a simple download form on your site to capture email addresses.
Business Management Tools
Quickbooks – Way easier than spreadsheets (once you get it set up) for tracking business earnings and expenses.
WordPress Plugins
Read this blog post for a list of WordPress plugins I like.
Blogger Education & Support
Starting a Blog
Start a Blog! – Free, self-paced, online course by me (Ashley)
Blogging as a Business
Troubleshoot Your Blog – Online course by me to help you figure out exactly what you want from your blog and make a plan for getting there.
Blogging Business Review – Service I offer to review your website and business and create a personalized Action Plan for your blog
Email Marketing
A Beginner’s Guide to ConvertKit – Free mini course
Email Rockstars – Online course about effective but non-pushy email marketing
SEO
Monetization
The Lazy Guide to Affiliate Marketing – Online course
The Fast Guide to Launching – Online Course
