Blogging Tools You Need To Build A Profitable Blog

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Essential Blogging Tools You Need To Build A Profitable Blog

If you have a product, service or opportunity that you want to get in front of lots of people, blogging is a very effective way to do this.

A blog is also a great way to build your brand, it can help to build authority so people listen to you even if you’re not an “expert” and it can help to add credibility to you with your audience.

Moreover, search engines LOVE blogs. They prefer content over squeeze pages or sales pages.

It’s the same with social networks, if you e.g. want to advertise on Facebook, they often don’t approve your ad if you send the clicks to a squeeze page, they prefer ads leading to content.

If you want to build and grow a profitable blog that generates leads and sales 24/7 on automation, you can do it with these essential blogging tools that will do the work for you!

6 Essential Blogging Tools To Build a Profitable Blog

Tool #1: WordPress

There are several platforms you can use, but the WordPress platform is by far the best for blogging. Many professional bloggers will agree that WordPress is the way to go.

Make sure you’re using WordPress.org and not WordPress.com, here’s why this is important: WordPress.org is the right solution for people who start a blog to promote a small business or to create an e-commerce site.

WordPress.com on the other hand, is a free blogging platform. Anyone can create a blog for free on this platform. This platform is perfect for someone who just wants to have a blog without the intent on making money through their blog. They have the blog only as a hobby.
If you use WordPress.com or any other free blog platform, you must know that you don’t have any control or ownership of your blog and business. => Tips about Free Hosting

If anything should happen with your free blogging platform, you’ll lose all your hard work and content without notice. Therefore, for your business you want to have your own personally hosted WordPress blog, giving you full control and ownership.

That takes us to the next tool you need: Hosting.

Blogging Tool #2: Web Hosting

A web host is a company that rent out their services and technologies to host blogs and websites on the internet.

Hosting is a paid service and the price for it varies a lot, it depends on what’s included.

In some hosting packages like e.g. iTheme’s, it’s included important services like back up, site restore, technical support and security so you have to do some research to find out what’s best for you and your needs.

When you’ve chosen a host company, you buy your domain name, that is the URL – the website address – on the internet. It’s easiest to buy it from your hosting company, but you can buy it from another company too if you want.

The web host company I’m using for my blogs is SiteGround. I’ve used them for the last 3 years and I’m very happy with them. SiteGround offers hosting at three different levels, the uptime is 99,99% and their customer service is fast and efficient.

Use this link for a special offer => SiteGround Special Offer

When you have chosen your hosting company and domain name, you install WordPress. Then you have to choose a Theme for your Blog…!

Blogging Tool #3: Blog Theme

The next tool you need for your blog is a Theme, it gives the design, feel and look of your blog.

You get several themes for free to choose from when you install WordPress on your domain (your website / blog URL). You can play around with them to test and see the different looks they give your blog, then you have to choose one.

I’m using a theme called Optimize Press. It’s not free but it’s robust and I choose it because it’s possible to build sales funnels with it: opt-in forms, capture pages, sales pages, thank you pages etc. It’s also possible to build membership sites with this theme.

You can check it out here => Optimize Press

Even if you decide for a different Theme, you can still use Optimize Press as a Plugin or the WP Web Designers Toolkit to create pages for sales funnels and membership sites etc.

Blogging Tool #4: Email Autoresponder

This tool you need to collect your blog visitors’ contact information.

You want to build a list of your blog visitors – and customers – so that you can then stay in touch with and follow-up with them.

With an autoresponder (AR) you can send your list broadcasts and special offers, or a series of pre-written emails that automatically are sent out to them. It’s an excellent way to engage and build a relationship with them – and to present and sell your products and services.

There are many email autoresponder companies to choose from. Again, you have to do some research and choose a company that offers the services you need and at a price level you’re happy with.

There are some companies that are free – at least to start out with. I haven’t tested any of them, but MailChimp is one I’ve seen around for some time. ConvertKit, GetResponse, Constant Contact are some other well-known AR companies.

I use Aweber since several years. The pricing is decent, and it’s fairly easy to use. If you want to try it, you can do so 7 days for FREE if you click here => Try Aweber for FREE

For big or established companies that need and can afford more complex systems, there’s e.g. Keep / Infusionsoft and HubSpot with integrated autoresponders.

Additionally, you may want to have a conversation bot to greet and answer questions 24/7 on your blog like this one => ChatBot

Blogging Tools #5 and #6: Plugins and Widgets

Plugins and Widgets are interconnected so I put them together here as tool 5 and 6.

It’s basically thanks to them that it’s possible to add complicated functionality to a blog, without any web coding.

Back in the days when WordPress was created, it was mainly used as a blogging platform.

Since then, the functionality of WordPress has been improved so that it can handle complicated web builds, like e.g. eCommerce solutions, without any additional or manual web coding. Plugins and Widgets play a large part in this improvement of flexibility and functionality.

Plugins:

Plugins are extensions you install on the server. It’s very easy, you just click on the Plugin you want, then click install and then activate. Some Plugins work in the background, some you have to customize.

For example, if you add a Plugin for Social Media Buttons to be displayed on your blog, you will have to add the URL:s for your Facebook Page, your Twitter account, your Pinterest account, your YouTube channel etc in the settings.

Widgets:

Widgets on the other hand, are drag-and-drop content areas that you can add to your WordPress site, when its Plugin is activated. WordPress has a few default places for Widgets that come with the initial installation, e.g. Search and Recent Posts. Some themes add widget ready areas in the sidebar, some also add areas in the header and footer.

There are MANY great plugins and widgets you can add to your blog. Before you start adding too many though, keep in mind that too many may slow down the speed of your website and some may cause problems because they are not compatible with your Blog Theme. These are things to consider before you download and install a Plugin.

I’ll just mention a few plugins here that I think are important to have for a business blog.

8 Important Plugins For a Business Blog:

Social Media Like and Share Buttons: To get people to Like and Share your posts and pages – you must have Social Media buttons displayed on your Blog.

There are many different Social Media plugins to choose from, but most important is that you display like and share buttons for Social Media platforms that are frequently used by your visitors and subscribers.

Yoast SEO: This plugin, created by Yoast, is a great tool to help you optimize your blog posts for SEO, so that they show up in the search results when someone is searching for one of your blog posts’ specific keywords.

Akismet: This is a default plugin when you install WordPress. Make sure you activate it and get your Akismet Key. It will help to keep spam comments away.

Google Analytics: Google analytics is a free analytics tool, that help you track visitors and get detailed information about them, such as demographics, how they find your website, which posts and pages get the most visits.

There are several good plugins you can install for this, but which one that’s best for you depends on the size of your business, how advanced analytics you want etc, here are some tips => Best GA plugins

Pretty Links Pro: This is a link management plugin, it allows you to make your own affiliate links and to manage them.

WooCommerce: This is one of the most popular and widely used eCommerce plugins for WordPress, and it has all the features you need to create an online store.

BackupBuddy: If you don’t have any backup included in your web hosting plan, I’d recommend you to have BackupBuddy. You don’t want to risk losing everything you’ve written and built on your blog!

BackupBuddy is not free but it’s easy to install and use, and you also get Stash Live back ups. This real-time, cloud-based backup service is included in the BackupBuddy plugin and it’s really useful when you’re working on your blog and something goes wrong… then with a click you get everything back again! With BackupBuddy you can also restore your WordPress blog completely.

WordFence: You may have virus protection and firewall included with your hosting plan, then you probably don’t need the WordFence Plugin for security, but check the status of your website security carefully.

Make sure you have a firewall on your website to protect against malware and virus etc. I use WordFence (the paid version) and I highly recommend them. They helped me three years ago when I discovered a virus on one of my blogs, and their service was outstanding.

(Side note: The web host company I was using three years ago (JustHost.com), directed me to SiteLock when I reported to them that I had a virus on one of my blogs. My experience with SiteLock was a nightmare. I was so disappointed with them – they charged me lots of money – and they didn’t even solve the problem with the virus I had. Then I found WordFence, they helped me get rid of the virus and to a much lower price.)

So there you have it! If you don’t have a blog for your business yet – it’s time to set it up NOW!

If want to learn more about how to build a profitable Blog, click here

=> How To Build A Blog In 5 Minutes Or Less

And if you already have a blog but it’s not giving you leads and sales 24/7, now you know what blogging tools you need to fix it and automate your blog to start seeing results for your business!

In case you want some tips what to blog about, here are some tips for you! => Content Ideas For Blogging

Let me know if you have any questions about building a profitable blog or about any of the tools I recommend.

And if you found value in this post, please LIKE and SHARE on your favorite social media network! Thanks!!

This blog contains affiliate links for tools I use and recommend which means at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase.

The Ultimate Branding Blueprint:

This is a fabulous course when it comes to building an Influential Brand, Blog and Online Sales Funnel that attracts leads and sales for your business.

My Bonuses to you if you purchase the UBB course from my affiliate link => The Ultimate Branding Blueprint

Bonus I: 30 min. FREE consulting with me, when you can ask me anything about your blog, blogging tips and online marketing. I have done this course myself, so I know it’s awesomeness!!

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Get back to me if you have any questions – and also when you have purchased UBB via my link so we can decide on a suitable consulting time => Contact

Tailwind:

Tailwind is a fabulous social media scheduling tool that can supercharge your social media marketing. This tool makes Instagram and Pinterest scheduling much easier and so much more efficient. => Tailwind $15 credit

Build your list fast:

Add new subscribers to your email lists – automatically and dynamically – directly from inside Facebook™ using Lead Ads => Video Creation Tool Free Trial

BackupBuddy:

Make sure you get this great tool if you don’t have any backup or restore option for your website or blog => BackupBuddy

Security:

Security is a must because unfortunately there are so many computer viruses and hackers out there. I highly recommend WordFence.com or iThemes => iThemes Security Pro