The Complete List of Blogging Tools I Use as a Full-Time Blogger
Curious to know my must-have blogging tools as a full-time blogger? I’ve created a quick, easy-to-reference list of all of my favorite blogging tools that I use in my day-to-day.
Some of the links below are commissionable, meaning I earn a small amount when you purchase through them. This does not affect your price at all.
One of the easiest ways for me to help new bloggers grow is by being transparent with the blogging tools that I use.
Had I known about a lot of these blogging resources when I first started, I probably could have grown much faster and saved myself a lot of time.
My hope is that whether you’re looking for the best web host, graphic design tool, or social scheduler, that you can find something new and useful in this post.
If you want to see the blogging tools that I use on a day-to-day basis, check out my blog on the 7 Best Blogging Tools I Can’t Live Without.
My Favorite Blogging Tools
As my content strategies change, so will the list, but this is my current list of blogging tools that I either use constantly or highly recommend for new bloggers.
Website & Hosting
WordPress.org – A self-hosted blogging platform that requires a hosting site. Different from WordPress.com.
Bluehost – A web-hosting site that is easy and affordable for new WordPress bloggers. This is what I used for many years before switching to WPX.
WPX Hosting – A premium web-hosting site. This is what I currently use because it offers better page-load speeds for image-heavy sites.
Social Scheduling
Tailwind – A Pinterest scheduling tool that allows you to schedule, bulk pin, design pins, view analytics, and more.
Preview App – An Instagram scheduling tool that allows you to schedule & auto-post, rearrange your feed, view top hashtags, edit, and more.
Editing & Graphic Design
Canva Pro – Hands down the best design tool for creating graphics, logos, worksheets, etc with a drag-and-drop editor and thousands of templates. There is a free version, but I use the paid version and love it.
Lightroom – Photo editing app. I use the paid mobile app version.
Tailwind Create – Make dozens of pins in a matter of minutes with their easy-to-use pin creator.
InShot – Video editing app. Especially great for creating TikToks and Reels.
Finding Content Ideas
Buzzsumo – Enter a website or keyword to find the most shared content
Pinterest Trends – Look up keywords/topics to see when they are most searched on Pinterest
Google Trends – Look up keywords/topics to see when they are most searched on Google
Answer The Public – Enter a keyword/topic to see the most commonly asked questions about it
Content Planning
Trello – A card-based task management tool. Allows you to create lists, assign people, add deadlines, create checklists, and more.
Google Sheets – Great for organizing ideas, monthly KPIs, budgets, etc that can be shared with others.
Writing
Google Docs – Draft posts or create outlines that can be shared with others.
Grammarly – A writing assistant extension that helps you avoid spelling and grammar mistakes.
Hemmingway Editor – Avoid lengthy, over-complicated sentences and ensure that you’re writing for your audience’s reading level.
Email Marketing
MailChimp – An all-in-one email marketing platform that’s easy-to-use and offers free plans.
Analytics & Site Data
Google Analytics – Measure your site’s traffic, top pages, audience demographics, and more. THIS IS A MUST.
Google Search Console – Tools and reports to measure your site’s search traffic and performance. AN SEO MUST.
Keyword Research
Keywords Anywhere – A chrome extension that shows you monthly search volume, competition data, and more.
Google Keyword Planner – Enter a keyword to discover how often certain words are searched and how those searches have changed over time.
Keysearch Pinterest Keyword Tool – Enter a keyword to discover Pinterest keywords related to your topic.
Stock Images
Canva Pro – With a Canva Pro subscription, you get access to their full library of stock images and video.
Pexels – Free stock images.
Unsplash – Free stock images.
Blog Monetization
Google AdSense – Display advertisements that are targeted to the site content and audience
Sovrn – Add code to site to help with content monetization, link monetization, and affiliate marketing.
Courses
Perfecting Pinterest – I can’t say enough about this course! Whether you’re a new blogger or experienced, this course has literally something for everyone. When I first started following Sophia’s advice, I got my pin impressions from 100,000-1m in a few months. Definitely worth it!
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing – This is an excellent course for new bloggers who want to understand the ins and outs of affiliate marketing. It shows you the exact strategies that Michelle used to take her affiliate income from $0-$50,000.
Understanding WordPress – A crash course into the ins and outs of using self-hosted WordPress. It will literally walk you through everything you need to know in digestible chunks.
Traffic Transformation – Increase monthly page views with this 21-step guide. It’s a LOT of info to process and take in, but can significantly increase your traffic if followed!
