Do you feel stuck trying to succeed in this blogging world?  Well I am right there with you!  It is so hard trying to figure out what products will help you and what products are not worth your time and money. 

The surprising thing is, the more I researched, the more I realized how many top bloggers use the same products.  Some of them, like Convertkit are a little pricey, but many of them are very affordable!

These tools and courses are vital to helping your blog succeed.  It’s not just a coincidence that so many top bloggers use them!  It is also a great idea to follow bloggers you admire. Not only to get familiar with great content, but to see what products they are using to succeed! 

Below I am listing 4 tools that I see successful bloggers using.  I personally use these products as well.  These products give me a solid foundation and I feel like they are what I need for my blog to move forward. 

This post contains affiliate links.  If you click on one of my affiliate links and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.  This comes at no additional cost to you.  Please know that I only recommend products I use and love!

Here is the list of affordable tools to help your blog grow:

1. BLUEHOST

Here is where I have to be completely honest with you,  I am not a “techy” person!!  However, having a great web host is very important.  Your web hosting company is a big part of how your website gets delivered to your customers/visitors.  From research it seems like most top bloggers use Bluehost or Siteground.  I am not familiar with Siteground, but do use Bluehost. 

Here is what I like about Bluehost:

• Its affordable
• They have 24/7 support to help me
• Its reliable, and I have been blogging almost a year now.
• It was easy to install wordpress

Here are some more features listed on their site:

• Free Domain
• Free SSL Certificate
• Moneyback Guarantee for 30 days (see details on their site for specific guidelines)
• #1 recommended web hosting by wordpress.org

Finding a web hosting company is a big step.  When I first started looking, I had no idea where to start.  As a beginner, I wanted a hosting site that was user friendly and affordable….and that is exactly what I got with Bluehost!  Click Here To Check Out BlueHost.

2. TAILWIND

Tailwind is a pin scheduler.  It is an incredible tool to help increase the traffic from Pinterest to your blog.  Time is very valuable to top bloggers and tools such as this, free up time.  Tailwind has what is called a smart scheduler which allows pins to be posted to Pinterest at the most opportune times.  So if you are out with your family, or on a hot date with your hubby….you can still be pinning at peak times creating more traffic for your blog. 

Tailwind is very easy to use, but if it still makes you nervous, they have video tutorials with great instructions on how to use their site.

Here are just a few of the benefits of using Tailwind:

• Smart Scheduling Feature
• Tribes (Groups to share your pins)
• Its Affordable
• Pin Looping Feature (in the process of being rolled out still)
• Pinterest Analytics- Stats to show you which of your boards is the most popular.  This information is very valuable for driving more traffic!

The cost on a monthly basis is $14.99….and a little less per month if you pay annually.  However, before you buy anything Try A Free Month By Clicking Here!    

3. SEND OWL

Send Owl is the best site to sell digital products or subscriptions!  Many of the best blogging eBooks are sold through Send Owl.  The site is incredibly easy to navigate, plus if you are serious about making money blogging….Send Owl is the site you need. 

Create your product, upload it to Send Owl and their site will take you through the rest.  In less than 5 minutes you will be ready to sell products and start making money!  To check out Send Owl Click Here. 

4. MAILCHIMP

OK, as I mentioned a lot of top bloggers actually use ConvertKit for their e-mail marketing…however, many of them first started with a free service such as Mailchimp.  Mailchimp is free up to 2000 subscribers and has a ton of great features! 

Here are some of the features I use with Mailchimp:

• Send automated e-mails to share blog updates
• Send automated welcome e-mail to subscribers
• Create landing pages for subscriber incentives
• Send additional e-mails to share information with my subscribers
• Create separate e-mail lists based on incentives
• Create a pop up subscriber box (you can create a pop up box with Mailchimp or use a plugin)

Your e-mail list is critical to your success as a blogger and Mailchimp has all the features to get you started.  As I mentioned, it is free…SO CHECK IT OUT HERE!

5. The Best E-Book!

I have been blogging less than a year, so I don’t have money rolling in yet.  With that being the case, I have to be very careful what blogging products I spend money on.  I have bought a few things here and there like a focus planner and a few other small e-books.  In the beginning, I wasn’t willing to spend money on the products I really wanted (and needed). 

You don’t have to go far to see how many bloggers recommend Blog By Number or Pinterest Ninja and I wasn’t sure if I should spend the money.  However, spending money on sub par products wasn’t really working either. 

All the cheaper e-books left me disappointed, so I finally broke down and spent the money.  It was the best thing I could have done!  I bought Income Journey by Suzi Whitford at Blog By Number, which was a great book (she uses Send Owl ), but my absolute favorite is Pinterest Ninja (she uses Send Owl too)!

I could hardly put Pinterest Ninja down.  It included so many tangible things to help increase the traffic to my blog.  I am very familiar with Pinterest and it still gave me so many helpful tips and instructions to start implementing right away.  I feel like this was the key I needed to take my blog to the next level! It is very helpful in understanding how to create a consistent brand and the power of adding intentional keywords, all very important for getting more traffic.

If you are ready to increase your traffic and succeed in the blogging world, these are some of the tools that can make it happen!  The top bloggers use what works, so pay attention to what they are using and see if it would be a good fit for you.

I would say good luck on your blogging journey, but its not about luck…it’s about being intentional!

Thanks for checking out my post!  

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