It’s hard to believe I’ve been blogging since 2008 and making passive income from it to supplement my retirement. If you have a blog or want to start one, whether you are a Baby Boomer or an aspiring blogger of any age, I’ve created a list of blogging resources that I love and use.
You may want to bookmark these blogging resources for your reference as I update them often. Hopefully, it will help you avoid making the blogging mistakes I did when I first started out.
Read more about how to start a blog here. If you haven’t set one up yet, here is a step-by-step tutorial to install one on Bluehost in minutes. Bluehost now has super fast cloud hosting.
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links to brands that I have partnered with. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please read my site Disclaimer and Privacy/Cookie policy if you have any questions.
Although there is a learning curve, a blog is not that hard to set up and is much easier than when I first started. If I can do it in my 60s so can you. However, I’m not a fan of free blogging platforms like WordPress.com, Google Blogspot, Weebly or Wix, because you don’t have as much control over your content and there are restrictions as far as monetizing your site. I use WordPress.org with Bluehost hosting and it’s worked out for me for all the years I’ve been blogging.
Note to bloggers – Do not allow someone else to host your site for you, You need your OWN hosting account. This can be disastrous if you have a falling out or that person is no longer with us. I have seen the sites of people I know crash and burn because of this.
Get started on the right foot
- WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress and is the #1 Blog platform out there today. Don’t confuse it with WordPress.com, (hosted by WordPress) which has several limitations. The software for WordPress.org is free to use but you will need to purchase a hosting account to install it. (This will cost you somewhere around $100 or less per year which is very little.) You can then install WordPress using your hosting account’s one-click installation program. There are thousands of WordPress themes and plugins that can be integrated with self-hosted WordPress and they can perform practically any function you can imagine.
- GoDaddy – I buy all my domains at GoDaddy because they are affordable and reliable although I prefer Bluehost to host my websites.
Email Marketing
- MailChimp: MailChimp is an effective email marketing service that’s free for the first 2000 people on your list. They offer opt-in forms, broadcast emails, and RSS campaigns. For a small monthly fee, you can also add an autoresponder.
- MailerLite is another free email marketing service I use. It has two types of plans: free and premium. You can compare the features between the free and premium plans on the Pricing page. The free plan is automatically applied to every account upon approval. It allows you to use up to 1,000 unique subscribers and send up to 12,000 emails every 30 days.
Work remotely
- Find writing and other remote work with FlexJobs – Do you want assurance you will get paid? Do you desire to work from anywhere in the world? This site offers legitimate work with no ads, scams, or junk.
Time management software
- OnceHub is what I use as my online scheduler to book clients and organize my time. If someone wants to book an appointment with me all they do is click the link that I have set up and they can find a time that works for both of us to meet. The appointment can be integrated into both of our online calendars. It also connects to my Zoom account and sends out my personal Zoom link. If you want, you can also create a link or button to put on your website or your email so clients can book you directly from there.
Making videos is everything these days
You can increase your reach and traffic when you make videos whether they are on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. The tools below are what I use for creating and editing them as I find it difficult to do it directly on my smartphone.
- Camtasia is my video editing tool of choice and I have been using it for years. There are other programs out there such as Adobe Premier, as well as some free programs but Camtasia is very versatile. It’s especially good for how-to videos and for integrating PowerPoint. You can upload your videos directly to YouTube and other networks or save them as a local file. Techsmith provides online tutorials, updates, and support.
- Snagit is fabulous for creating screenshots, editing photos, and recording short videos, and is fairly simple to use. You can also edit your images and videos using its native editor to add text, callouts, resize, crop, add watermarks, graphics, and more.
- Canva is best known as a site to help you design amazing social media graphics using templates and images but you can also create and edit videos on it. It has a free version but the paid version gives you tons of options. I use the platform constantly for everything to do with images and videos.
- Zoom became essential during the pandemic but is easy to use to host webinars or interviews that can be recorded and downloaded as videos.
Graphic Design
- PicMonkey is a program I’ve been using forever in addition to Canva to easily create, resize, edit, and add text to your photos. There is a free version but I can’t live without the Pro version because it has so many great options.
Podcasting
I had a podcast for several years and am a long-time voice actor so audio is something I know about. Technology changes frequently but there are some resources that are still going strong.
YouTube is adding a podcast element. If you have a YouTube channel you can simply create a new podcast in YouTube Studio. It will ask you to upload a square podcast logo and a description and then it adds podcasts to your playlists. Once you create a podcast you simply add it to that playlist or add some of your existing videos to it.
The advantage of hosting your podcast on YouTube rather than on podcast streaming sites is that YouTube is the #2 search engine on the Internet and you can easily monetize your podcast with Google ads. Find out more about creating a YouTube podcast, here.
If you want to create a podcast the traditional way, you can host it on sites like Libsyn, Buzzsprout, or Podbean. Most of them allow you to submit to podcast streaming sites like Spotify, and others.
Getting Paid
- Paypal is essential if you want to get paid or send money to someone else. It’s free to sign up but be sure to upgrade to Premiere, which is also free. This will also give you a QR code and a unique link to give to others to pay you, you can create payment buttons for your website and send invoices. It offers large sending limits of up to 60,000 in a single transaction. If you use your PayPal balance or bank account there is no fee. It costs 2.90% + $0.30 if you use a credit card and 5% if you send money internationally. Instant transfers charge 1.75 fee.
- Venmo is another very cool app that is owned by Paypal. It lets you safely share payments on your phone. I’ve used it to sell furniture, pay at garage sales, and even taco vendors. All you need to do is connect your bank account and you can send payments and transfer your money received instantly to approved merchants using your profile name, email, or phone number. No personal information is shared but you can send emojis to share your payment with friends in the app. There is a 3% fee when you use your credit card but it is free to send money if you use your Venmo balance, debit card, or bank balance.
- Zelle is a banking app that allows you to send or receive money through your own bank or credit union. You can enroll with your online bank such as Chase, or Wells Fargo as well as other participating banks. All you need is an email address or mobile number to transfer money into another person’s account or receive it yourself. It doesn’t charge fees to send or receive money but check with your financial institution to see if they have tacked any on. Not all financial institutions offer it.
- CashApp is currently the most robust app that allows you to pay anyone instantly. In addition to sending and receiving money, it gives you the ability to send stocks with a fractional shares option, buy bitcoin, and file and receive your tax refund. You can avoid its 3% fee by using your debit card rather than a credit card or receiving money through Cash App. There is an instant cashout fee of up to 1.75%.
- Ko-Fi is a company that allows you to collect donations on your blog or social platforms without paying fees. It gives you a link or you can even create a button for your website. It’s great for artists, actors, podcasters, and anyone else who wants to monetize.
Where to find stock photos
It’s critical to use licensed photos to avoid copywriting violations, which can be costly. The sites below offer free or reasonably priced photos you can use on websites and social media. Some only ask that the photographer be credited.
- I personally use Canva because it is an all-in-one site to design graphics and has a large library of photos.
- Big Stock Photo – For licensed stock images I sometimes use Big Stock Photos. You can purchase a package of 25 images for $49 that you can use for blog posts or social media shares.
- Pixabay – Free images to download for bloggers.
- CanStockPhoto – Stock photography with no sign-up required at affordable rates.
- Fotosearch.com has an extensive collection of royalty-free stock photography, clipart, illustrations, and stock footage.
- MorgueFile – Also offers free images
- GoGraph Stock Photography – low-cost stock photography.
- Burst – Free stock photos powered by Shopify that can be used for commercial websites.
- Unsplash – Truly stunning free images, attribution not necessary.
Photo Storage
Photos and videos can jam up your computer but can be automatically saved to cloud storage sites.
- Amazon Prime Photo Storage gives you unlimited photo backup for full-resolution images with your Amazon Prime Account and 5 GB for Videos. Plus, you get all the advantages of Amazon Prime for streaming, shipping, books, grocery delivery, and more.
Monetize your blog and social media sites using affiliate marketing
If you have an active blog or are active on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok, you can promote products from brands you love and earn an affiliate commission. It’s free to sign up for an affiliate program and you get paid when someone purchases a product you promote.
Once you sign up with the companies below and are accepted, you can get tracking links that can be embedded into your content from brands you wish to promote. If a person comes to your blog or social media profile and clicks on the link you have inserted and purchases something, you will earn a small commission for that sale. This is a passive way to earn extra income.
- Amazon Associates – This is one of the easiest programs to get started with, especially for affiliate beginners. Join Amazon’s associate program using your Amazon login. You can add text links, or create ads and widgets. You can also set up an Amazon Influencer store – See mine as an example – which you could link to your blog or set as your “link in bio” on Instagram.
- Shareasale
- Linkshare – by Rakuten
- Awin
- CJ Affiliate
- Impact
- Brandcycle and Mavely offer higher commissions than some listed above.
- Collective Voice is excellent for fashion bloggers and you can create widgets to display on blog pages as well as create your own TapTo.Shop store to link to.
Ad networks
Using a snippet of code or plugin that you install on your blog, you can run targeted ads on your site without thinking about it. Ad networks generally pay less than affiliate relationships unless you have major traffic. You also don’t have a personal relationship with the brands that come up, as you may with an affiliate, but can control categories you do not wish to appear on your site. Their artificial intelligence can pinpoint what a reader likes and dislikes and presents a unique set of ads on your site customized to that reader.
- Google Adsense – Make sure you have a Google account – (Gmail) You can apply for an Adsense account, add a code to your site, and ads will come up automatically. Or you can place scripts in particular places on your site so that ads only appear there. Most bloggers start out with Adsense and may graduate to other platforms if they meet blog traffic criteria.
- There are several ad networks that will give you more bang for your buck. I am currently using SheMedia as it is in sync with my content and easy to set up. I also love that they host webinars, hold events, and offer support to women bloggers.
Expert blogging advice
- The best WordPress Themes for Blogs – Here are some other suggestions for WordPress themes from a very reputable source, QuickSprout.
- How to Speed up WordPress – The speed of your site makes all the difference in your success as a blogger.
More blogging resources
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