Back when I started blogging all I used to function was my Blogspot post editor and well, my mind… During the years of building my online business + blog, I realised that you can’t really do it alone. I’m not telling you to hire an assistant or force your other half to do proofreading for you, not at all! Instead, make sure you rely on the best tools out there to make your life easier!

You might also like:

• Blog Hosting Review: How to choose the best Web Host for your Blog?
• Why Your Blog’s Success Depends on Your Web Host?
• 5 Tools For Better Blog Scheduling

Today, I collected some of my favourite tools for blogger & creatives that I personally use on everyday basis, let’s go:

HOSTING:

Bluehost

If you are interested in creating a thriving website that actually brings you income, then paying for trust-worthy hosting, such as through Bluehost, is a MUST. Don’t worry, it’s very cheap as well to go through Bluehost AND you get a free domain too. This way, you will be able to run your own shop or implement advertisements or affiliate links into your website. Making money on free website builders or any other free blogging platform is very difficult, and in most cases never happens. Most customers, advertisers, and companies are looking for trust-worthy partners & your self-hosted WordPress website can help you give that outstanding experience to your potential clients.

NAMECHEAP
If you’re using self-hosted WordPress.org you probably have this sorted out already, but even if you’re thinking of a new project or another blog- it’s a great idea to register a domain name in advance. You can also use custom domain with your Blogspot blog. Getting rid of .blogspot.com domain ending makes you look way more professional and it’s super easy to complete! Read: How to Set Up a Custom Domain on Your Blogger Blog?

PLUGINS:

YOAST SEO
Boy I was wrong for not taking SEO seriously for so long! I can already see such a change in my stats just because of using right keywords, titles & describing my images. It all wouldn’t be possible without Yoast SEO plugin. It makes it so easy to manage all the things needed for my blog to stay on top in the search engines.

ESSENTIAL GRID
Installing Essential Grid made it so easy for me to create my Free Resources Library. That’s where I host all of my worksheets, printables & free blog designs that I share with my newsletter subscribers. It makes my files look organised & downloading all of the freebies is super simple!

SOCIAL MEDIA:

BUFFER
I only started using Buffer a couple of weeks ago & I’m not looking anywhere else for better Twitter handling tool. It allows you to post pictures with your posts which already made a huge impact on the traffic I get from my tweets. I signed up for a premium pack which allows me to schedule 100 tweets per account & it seriously saves me loads of time in managing my social media every week.

BOARDBOOSTER
Guys, since I started using Boardbooster for scheduling my pins, the traffic I get from Pinterest EXPLODED! I now only have to spend an hour a week adding new pins & deleting some of the old ones and that’s it. It really allowed me to spend more time on creating new projects & brainstorming new ideas.

Read: 5 tools for better blog scheduling

NEWSLETTER GROWTH:

MAILCHIMP
Building newsletter at the early stages of your blog + biz is crucial. Currently, I use Mailchimp for building my list & it has all you will ever need to get started. It’s so easy to use & it’s free for upto 2000 subscribers which is brilliant! Seriously guys, go ahead & register now, you will thank me later!

LEADPAGES
I was postponing signing up for Leadpages for ages, but I’m so glad I finally did! It’s pretty pricey, but look at this as an investment! Leadpages made launching my e-course so easy & I feel very excited about learning more ways to use it for growing my newsletter as well as blog + biz in general.

p.s. If you’re looking for a free alternative Instapages offers 30-day free trial, guys!

PHOTOGRAPHY + DESIGN

HOW I EDIT MY INSTAGRAM PICS?
Read the post above to find out all of the steps I take & apps I use for editing my insta shots. I also edit a lot of my blog pictures the same way. Seriously, if you’re not editing your photographs with these apps, you’re missing out!

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP & LIGHTROOM
I use Adobe software for all of my graphics, blog design elements and photography editing. They now also offer monthly payment plans and if you learn to use them, your life is going to change to the better, trust me! You can seriously create EVERYTHING with those & there are plenty of tutorials for you to choose from & learn.

Let me know what are your favourite tools to use for running your online biz or blog! I’d love to hear what you guys swear by!