BLOGGING RESOURCES & TOOLS

I’m sharing my top recommendations with you and giving you an inside glimpse at the resources and tools I use to run my business.

If you’re a new blogger or online business owner this resources page is going to be your best friend! This page is a complete list of all the tools and websites Trevor and I use for this blog. We’ve organized the resources according to where you’re at in your blogging journey:

Lucky for you, Trevor and I are very frugal people, but we also appreciate paying for high value. We love premium tools, but refuse to pay premium prices if we can find a more affordable alternative.

We’ve conducted thorough research and have tested many tools throughout the years. The list below represents the “best bang for your buck” resources to run your business!

Before sharing the resources I use, I need to share an important disclosure:

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase. This is, of course, at no cost to you, and I only share products that I use and love myself.  Please read my disclaimer for more information.

Resources to START Your Blog

FREE EBOOK

Learn the quick and easy way to start your blog. This 49-page ebook walks you through how to start your blog without all the confusing technical setup. You’ll learn how to create a gorgeous blog you’re proud to show the world. Creating your blog is the first step toward creating a business and life you love. So get started now and download your free copy of the ebook.
DOWNLOAD NOW

SiteGround

SiteGround is the most affordable, robust, and user-friendly web hosting provider we have ever used. Trevor contacted them via LiveChat and SiteGround answered our question within 10 minutes.  He was already on LiveChat with our old hosting provider for 40 mins and they still couldn’t get us an answer. If you want outstanding support and reliable hosting check out SiteGround.
GET SITEGROUND

Divi Theme

DIVI is the best WordPress theme for beginners, pros, and everyone in between. The visual builder and premade layouts make it extremely easy to customize pages.  We’ve used a number of different themes to build websites. When we discovered DIVI and the DIVI builder, our minds were blown. We switched our site over to DIVI and have never looked back.  

If you want lifetime updates of DIVI without the annual fees, check out Easy Blog in a Blog below.

GET DIVI

depositphotos

I used to rely solely on free stock photo sites for my website and social media images. You can find some great images, but then you start to notice those images everywhere! You want your images to stand out and be unique to your brand. I love depositphotos because at about $1 per photo it’s extremely affordable.
CHECK IT OUT

canva

Canva is a free online graphic design tool that’s extremely easy to use. I was an Adobe snob for years but converted the day I discovered Canva. It’s so simple to use and allows me to create images super fast. Plus, the predesigned templates are a huge help when you’re feeling uninspired.
GET CANVA

Protect your website

Bobby Klink, creator of YourOnlineGenius.com provides a pack of customizable legal forms for your website. Bobby is a Harvard Law School graduate turned online entrepreneur. He is the perfect person to provide legal forms and guidance to protect your website and your online business.
GET THE FORMS

Resources to GROW Your Blog

Traffic trifecta masterclass

Sign up for this free masterclass and learn how to explode your traffic with Pinterest. You’ll learn the 3 strategies that create the Pinterest Traffic Trifecta, why these strategies work so well, and how to implement the strategies for optimal results. Plus, you’ll learn 5 Pinterest myths that are hurting your business.

SIGN UP NOW

mailerlite

I am in love with MailerLite. It is the most affordable, robust, and user-friendly email management tool I have ever used. It’s completely free until I hit 1,001 subscribers and after that, prices are still ridiculously cheap.

Not only can I manage subscribers and easily create gorgeous behavior-based automated email campaigns, but it also allows me to create landing pages, popups, and embeddable opt-in forms.

GET MAILERLITE

Bloom

Bloom is an email opt-in and lead generation plugin for WordPress. Bloom integrates with MailerLite and allows you to create beautifully designed mobile responsive opt-in forms. Generating leads from your blog is crucial to your success so make sure you have eye-catching forms that compel your readers to take action!

Bloom is normally $89 per year, but if you purchase Easy Blog in a Box you’ll receive lifetime access to Bloom!

GET BLOOM

tailwind

Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduler and analytics tool. It was one of the first investments I made in my business and so far, one of the best! I attribute 60% of my blog traffic to Tailwind. The Tribes feature alone helped my traffic explode when my blog was brand-spanking new.
GET TAILWIND

Monarch

Monarch is a social sharing plugin for WordPress. We previously used Social Warfare (which we also loved) but Monarch is part of the Elegant Themes family and integrates nicely with the DIVI theme.

Monarch is normally $89 per year, but if you purchase Easy Blog in a Box you’ll receive lifetime access to Monarch!

GET MONARCH

Resources to MONETIZE Your Blog

affiliate for angiegensler.com

Have you purchased one of our products or services and love it? If so, you can be an affiliate and earn income just by recommending our products to others! We have 365-day cookies and pay a 50% commission on all affiliate sales and signing up is easy through SendOwl or Teachable!  

BECOME AN AFFILIATE

sendowl

Selling digital products or services is a great way to make money blogging. SendOwl allows you to sell digital products from your blog or social media accounts. We love SendOwl because it integrates with MailerLite, and it has a great affiliate program. We tried to sell our products piecing together free solutions and quickly discovered it costs more in the long run. We missed out on affiliate opportunities and our solutions didn’t integrate with our email provider. #fail.
GET SENDOWL

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing is a course created by Michelle Schroeder-Gardner. Michelle runs an award-winning personal finance blog, Making Sense of Cents. Her course is a step-by-step guide to creating and making money from your own successful affiliate marketing strategy.

She’s helped hundreds of beginning bloggers transform their blogs into profitable businesses through affiliate marketing.

GET THE COURSE

teachable

The three main ways to make money blogging are selling digital products, affiliate marketing, and selling online courses. Teachable is a platform to host and sell online courses and it makes the process super easy. We’ve taken courses on a variety of platforms and Teachable is by far the most user-friendly. Plus, we’ve gone the DIY route for our own courses and it’s clunky. Teachable is simple to set up and it integrates with MailerLite through Zapier.
GET TEACHABLE

Resources to ORGANIZE Your Blog

asana

Asana is an online tool that helps you create and manage your to-do list. I use the free version of Asana to organize my to-do list, but it’s capable of so much more. You can also manage large projects and collaborate with multiple team members.

With Asana, I can quickly see what I have scheduled to be completed today and start working on the next most important item on my list. And since Asana is an online tool, you can access it from any device. This comes in handy when an idea randomly pops into your head. No matter where you’re at or what you’re doing, you can open your Asana app on your phone and schedule a task.

GET ASANA

BRAIN.fm

Brain.fm is “music for the brain” and my secret weapon. The music acts like a freaky hypnotic mind focuser. (Yes, that’s a thing.) Trevor and I both swear by Brain.fm. The second we put on our headphones with Brain.fm we get laser focused and start churning out quality work like a machine.

I’m not sure how it works or why it works, but Brain.fm somehow allows you to get hyper-focused and instantly transforms you into “get shit done” mode.

GET BRAIN.FM

G SUite

G-Suite is the perfect solution for small business owners to get email, calendar, cloud storage, and google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for their business. Here’s a great article with 12 reasons to use G-Suite. The basic $5/month plan is all you need to get started.
GET G-SUITE

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