secret's out:
My Tried & True Recommendations for
useful blogging resources
When you first start blogging, it can be a lot to get a handle on all at once. I don’t blame you – I was in the exact same boat as you! It’s a whirlwind of excitement, frustration and on the spot learning. I’ve compiled this tried and true list of helpful blogging resources to get you started on the right foot. In this list, you will find my top recommendations for what I used to get started, maintain my blog and make it aesthetically pleasing. For any additional tips, check out the ‘blog’ category for blog posts to help out the beginner blogger.
In this page, I use affiliate links. For the full privacy policy & disclosure, click below.
the basics
domain name
Your domain name is your chance to define you! What is your brand? What is your blog about? How are you going to reveal yourself. Purchasing a domain name sets the tone for your brand and how you’re going to market yourself across your blog and social medias.What is a domain name?
A domain name is your website’s address! (For example, www.cynspo.com). This can look like a .com, .org, .blog, etc. Purchasing a domain name (pluse self-hosting) allows you total control of how you want to run your website, as well as how you can monetize from your website! Namecheap allows you to do that easily by purchasing your domain name with them!
With prices starting as low as 1.99 and free WhoisGuard protection (means people cannot find your personal information through your domain!), it made my choice easy to purchase my domain from them!
PLUS many hosting sites (such as SiteGround) allow you to sign up for hosting services with a previously purchased domain! Easy right!
hosting site
As a new blogger, you may want to start for free. This may save you money in the beginning, but you have limited customization over your site, and you may not be able to monetize your blog as you would like. This is why it’s recommended you take the leap and go self-hosted! There are several different hosting sites to become self-hosted, however I personally recommend SiteGround. They are so great, they walked me through the complete set up of my site!
They offer round the clock support (I have chatted with them several times for things I couldn’t figure out on my own, and they were prompt, kind and eager to help each time!), affordable pricing and my website operates at optimum speed! If you’re new to blogging or looking to switch your host site, give SiteGround a try! My special link will get you web-hosting for $3.95 per month (with better deals the further you purchase in advance)!
privacy policy
When you take the steps to go from hobby to professional blogger, a privacy policy is a must. A privacy policy provides transparancy to your readers regarding how your website collects data (whether it’s through your email list, cookies, asking them to fill out a form, etc.). Not only does it look professional, it’s actually an FTC requirement and something brands will look for when they want to work with you (along with a disclosure).
I personally recommend Iubenda – their affordable privacy policies are embeddable links that are always updated and refreshed. Any time you make a change to your privacy policy, it is immediately reflected (and you don’t have to do any of the work!). You can check them out (and get 10% off your first payment through my special link!) here!
time out
Investing in your blog means investing in yourself
When you first start out, you may cringe a little at the thought of how much it seems to start a blog. The investment you make when you start your blog is the investment you’re making in yourself, and you will be able to make it back. Unfortunately, free platforms may be a great place to run a hobby blog or start out, but you have limited if any options to monetize.
start with the basics
It’s tempting to purchase every course, theme and bootcamp going, but it adds up. Start with the basics – your theme, domain, and privacy policy. These three are important pillars when it comes to building your site, protecting yourself professionally and setting yourself up for success. When it comes to monetizing, you will need to be self hosted and have a privacy policy located on your blog (the domain name and the host site are more or less a packaged deal, one is useless without the other!)
do your research
Not every trick or strategy is going to work the same for every blogger. Take the time to do your own research, and always shop around for a better deal! I ended up purchasing my domain name from a separate site than my host site – it was cheaper for me at the time, and there was no hassle when it came to integrating my domain into my new hosting site! There’s more than one way to do something – always. Make sure you check out all possible options before reaching a decision!
theme
Your theme is essentially the face of your brand – what do you want your blog to look like? Whether you decide to go for a clean, crisp theme or a more detail oriented theme, there are are few things to keep in mind. No matter what theme you decide to go with, keep it neat if you can – clutter is difficult to navigate and can decrease your page speed. Keep the ads, widgets and features organized as best you can. No matter what colour you decide to go with, make sure you tie them into your brand colours and that you can effectively market yourself including them. You want people to look at your blog and immediately associate it with you!
My go to for themes is Creative Market – I’ve purchased all 3 (yes, I’ve gone through 3 theme changes in two years!) from Creative Market. Their pricing is on point, and you can also sign up to be an affiliate for their products! In addition to themes, they have stock photos, fonts, graphics, illustrations and so much more – perfect elements to add to any pin design, graphic design or spruce up a blog post with stock photos.
stock photos
Stock photos are a great way to step up your blog’s appearance. Stock photos can aid in your blog’s professionalism, and give it that themed, cohesive look that holds it all together. They’re especially handy if you don’t have time to take photos yourself, or feel like your photography game could use some work. I personally use stock photos, and my go to’s are:
STYLED STOCK SOCIETY – (they have a lifetime membership option which I invested in and haven’t looked back).
canva
I seriously would not be able to blog without Canva. From creating pins for Pinterest, to blog graphics, to accessing their stock photo library – I cannot recommend them enough. They have both a free and paid version (the paid version naturally grants you access to more ‘pro’ features, but if you’re just starting out, the free version will do just fine!
email list builders
Creating an email list is the best way to secure your audience all in one spot! Consider social media as rented property. You don’t have control of if or when it’s going to shut down or change course (we’ve all been through too many algorithm changes lately!). Your blog and your email list are property that you own – you have access to your audience even if social media decides to take a hike
There are so many email subscription starters to choose from (Convertkit, MailChimp & MailerLite!) I personally use and love MailerLite, however you may find another service to fit your needs and your blog more!
social media platforms
Speaking of, while social media isn’t the be all end all, it can be a great way to help build your audience and drive traffic to your site! Depending on what your strong suit is (ie. writing, visual content, video content, audio etc.), you may find yourself leaning towards one platform over another. Wherever you find yourself leaning, as long it’s helping your traffic instead of hurting it, go for it!
reminder:
it may not always come together in one day.
good things take time
Starting a blog is overwhelming and can be a steep learning curve. Trust the process, take it day by day and breathe. You won’t have everything figured out in one day, and that’s okay. Take a breath and remember why you started. You’re here for a reason, and you’ve got this.
pinterest help
Tailwind
the basics
Pinterest is a search engine, just like Google. The bonus is – Pinterest is a visual search engine – meaning there’s room for creativity! I’m sure you’ve all spent hours browsing the site before – now, you get to create pins that will go viral (and skyrocket your blog traffic!). Check out Ell Duclos’s Pinterest Course – what helped me get back to over 1 million monthly viewers after a malware hiatus! Check out her affordable course here, and if you like it, you can become an affiliate yourself!
monetizing your site
affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the many ways you can monetize your site. By placing affiliate links for products and websites throughout your site, you have a chance to generate an income if your audience shops through your affiliate links. Note, you must disclose there are affiliate links on a page (like I did above!) before any affiliate links appear on the page. Below are a couple of Affiliate Programs that are highly regarded, and can help you monetize even if you’re new to blogging!
