After blogging for over a decade (making money from it for over six years), I’ve collected a variety of resources that have helped me make money online. I want to share these resources with you!
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Note: some links are affiliate. That means I’ll earn a commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy to learn more.
Physical Tools
If you want to take photos for your blog (or create social media content), you need a good tripod. I’ve used and loved my Fotopro tripod for years.
It’s super easy to set up, portable, and even comes with a Bluetooth remote. So whether I’m doing a photoshoot in my home or on the go, it’s a great way to take photos securely.
As much as I love using natural lighting, it’s just not always possible. If you ever have to film before or after work, you need a good source of artificial linking, such as a ring light.
I have a ring light that hooks right onto my iPhone. Filming short-form videos and taking photos is super easy, and you can adjust the brightness to meet your needs.
Taking photos of flat lays has never been so easy. If you need a blank white background for your photos or videos, I recommend using a white poster board.
You don’t need to shell out hundreds of dollars on a fancy backdrop, especially as a beginner. Give a basic poster board a try for your next photoshoot.
Good audio is essential when recording short-form and long-form videos. If you record on your phone, you’ll want to get a Bluetooth microphone.
That way, you can place the mic where it needs to go and not worry as much about camera placement. Give this cute microphone a try when shooting content.
Digital Tools
If you’re looking for affordable yet powerful website hosting, I can’t recommend SiteGround enough. I’ve used it since 2016, and it’s worked for me from having one blog to multiple.
They offer a few different tiers based on your needs, and the first year comes with a nice discount. I also love their customer service and how it even includes technical help if your website ever has any issues.
Who doesn’t love a good project management tool? I used Trello for years but recently started using ClickUp to manage my blog post and social media content ideas.
You can add documents, such as any spreadsheets you use for tracking things like affiliate programs or keywords. It’s a great option to keep a list of post ideas, and you can always do the keyword research later.
I’ve moved to primarily using native schedulers for Instagram and Pinterest. However, if you use a lot of social media platforms, you may want to try a look such as Later.
They offer a free trial, and the paid versions aren’t the most expensive they could be. You can upload media and save captions, which is great if you have different hashtag sets that you want to use.
Once you reach the point in your blog where it’s time to create an online course or membership, look no further than Teachable. I’ve taken a few courses through the platform, and it’s great for students.
As a course creator, you have a ton of tools, and you can start with the free plan to see if you like it. You can upload all kinds of media, which gives you a ton of flexibility.
When it comes to selling smaller digital products like eBooks, I recommend Easy Digital Downloads. You can start using it for free or upgrade to a paid version for more features, like email marketing integration.
This WordPress plugin lets you upload your digital download files to your website. Whenever someone makes a purchase, the plugin will send the file to the customer, so you don’t have to lift a finger.
Templates
If you want to make money blogging, you NEED a few essential legal pages on your website. These pages protect you from legal action, and they form an agreement between you and your readers.
The last thing you want is to get in trouble for not having the proper disclosures on your blog. I recommend purchasing legal templates from a lawyer, like Amira of ASelfGuru so that you know you’re covered.
Every WordPress blog needs a good website theme. I use Astra on one of my other blogs (not this one), and I used to use it here until I wanted a bit of a different look.
This theme is particular nice because it has a free version but also premium features. You can test it out to see if you like it before upgrading or moving to a different theme.
Courses
Perfecting Blogging is one of the best courses on blogging that you can find. Sophia, the creator, has built a seven-figure blog, and she started doing it as a busy college student.
The course teaches you how to do SEO and keyword research to ensure you’re writing blog posts people want to read. And it covers how to write and format your posts to make them engaging and easy to read.
Along with Perfecting Blogging, Sophia created Perfecting Pinterest. This course focuses on her Pinterest strategy that gets her hundreds of thousands of page views.
Pinterest is one of the best platforms to share your blog, and this course has a full strategy for you. That way, you don’t have to mess around for months to see if something sticks.
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money from your blog. It can be overwhelming to try and learn it from scratch, and I wish I took a course on it earlier on.
The course Affiliate Marketing Superstars has both videos and text, so you can learn how you prefer. It covers everything from the basics to setting up your strategy.
If you’re not ready to pay for an affiliate marketing course, I totally get it. Luckily, the same woman who created AMS has a free email course for you.
You can get emails over five days with different tips and tricks to help you get started. So if you’re on a budget, you can still learn a little more in less time.
Maybe you want more affiliate marketing strategies, but you can’t quite afford AMS. I’d also recommend Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
The course creator has made hundreds of thousands of dollars from affiliate marketing. Plus, this course is a little more affordable than some other options out there.
One of the first courses I took for digital marketing was The Instagram Marketing & Sales Academy. Nicole has helped tons of people grow their careers and earn money with IG.
While some aspects of the course are outdated (there’s nothing on reels), the basic info never changes. You can learn how to brand yourself and set your IG profile up for success.
If you’re looking to learn more about creating digital products, Pocket Products is great. It focuses on creating smaller offers that you sell for around $50.
You can create these products in a long weekend and start selling them. Plus, this course covers how you can use those products to grow your email list.