When I say “blogging ain’t easy,” that is a massive understatement. When This blog started back in 2004, I was on a teeny Blogspot-hosted blog writing updates about my current crochet project. Since then, I have morphed into a DIY and home improvement blog with 3 other pet project blogs, such as Mommy’s Notebook. I have taken multiple blogging courses, my favorite being Elite Blog Academy. The following 7 must-have master data management tools for bloggers will improve productivity, save your sanity, and make your site better (which will ultimately lead to more traffic AND more money!)
1. WordPress
WordPress is my favorite blogging platform for many reasons. Not only is it easy to use, it is so customizable with plug-ins and themes that you can make your blog stand out with little-to-no design knowledge. As I mentioned above, I started on a free Blogspot blog, but paying for your own domain is a must for website authority. That is usually $10/mo. Hosting ranges from $5 to $15 a month. Then you have to choose your blogging platform. Did I mention, WordPress is free?
2. Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a vital plugin that helps you set your blog and posts up for Google and Pinterest to easily analyze. It helps you pick a focus keyword, and lets you know if your post is too passive, sentences are too long, or your keyword is not being used enough in your post. Going through old posts to revamp them with Yoast SEO can be tedious, but the payoff is huge!
3. Canva or PicMonkey
Both Canva and PicMonkey are popular and free image editors to make your photos pretty. They both feature paid subscriptions that add more photo-enhancing features. I personally find PicMonkey to be more user-friendly. However, if you take the time to learn Canva, you can do so much more with it. Both are worth their weight in gold when it comes to buying a subscription.
4. Trello
Trello is an swesome planner that you can use for project or post planning, brainstorming, or even setting up a calendar. It is great if you have more than one person on your team, so everyone can be on the same page.
5. Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is free and easy to use if you’re stuck on what keyword you want to focus your blog post on. You can have it tell you how many searches that term gets a month and it makes suggestions for similar variations of the keyword that you may not have thought of. It’s a double-edged sword because the really popular keywords are also going to have a lot of competition on Google, which is why long-tail keywords work best.
6. Pixabay
Pixabay is my favorite free stock photo site, as the commercial license is very easy to understand and most photos on the site do not require attribution. Understanding licenses for photos can be confusing and tricky, and every site tends to use their own legalese to explain it. Pixabay has a great selection with easy-to-understand licenses.
7. Grammarly
Grammarly will be your best friend when you are writing posts. Not only is it a spell-checker, it fixes your grammar. Making an account is free, and having an account opens more features. You can save words to your dictionary, check for plagiarism, and so much more!
Do you use any other blogging business tools that you find invaluable?
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