Here I will list the tools for bloggers that I have found to be actually useful and not just affiliate fluff.

Let’s be real for a minute, the fact is, the blogging (and affiliate marketing world) is full of gurus selling you every tool under the sun while promising you $20k a month if you just use THIS tool.

You wanna know something?

I can’t stand it. It’s the dark side of this business.

Because of this, I decided to create a page where I will ONLY recommend tools that I have personally paid for, used, and find to be a valuable asset to your blogging journey.

No tossing products your way to snag a quick sale.

I promise.

With that said, here are some tools I use today that I have found to be great assets to blogging.

Whether it be to increase productivity, streamline processes, or just shouting out my favorite theme or hosting provider, I’ll do it with honesty.

While I don’t know that it’s necessary to say that, just search “make money blogging” on YouTube and you will see the thousands of “gurus” hawking every tool imaginable and promising you $50k each night when you sleep.

Spoiler Alert…

The “gurus” are the ones getting $50k in their sleep because they convinced thousands of subscribers that the tool will launch their growth or shorten the Google sandbox effect.

So, snake oil salesman pitch aside, here are the tools I personally use and recommend for bloggers.

Tools For New Bloggers

Siteground Hosting:

Fast hosting is essential for any successful niche site, and SiteGround is one of the best options out there. It offers fast loading speeds, reliable uptime, and even provides email accounts for your sites with domain names.

This makes it easy to manage your email and website all in one place.

I recommend Siteground. They are very affordable, have solid support, and for like $4/month you get unlimited sites, one free domain, and a free SSL certificate, oh, and email accounts for each site!

Like many, when I first started blogging I didn’t know where to start so I googled “WordPress website” and found myself signing up with the first result of WordPress.COM.

If you are even considering them, don’t. It’s so flipping expensive.

For example, if you want your site to be able to have plugins and ads, you will need the WordPress.COM “business plan” that runs a whopping $300 a year and that’s $300 per year for EACH WEBSITE.

So, as you can imagine, after my first year I ran as fast as possible to a new host. 

Shopping for a new hosting provider is exhausting, everyone’s reviews are just affiliate funnels and you don’t really know what’s good and what’s not. 

After lots of guessing and wondering, I just went with Dreamhost. So far, it’s good, no complaints, and will update if it goes bad. 

Themes

Looking for a lightweight, free and FAST theme for your new blog and you don’t know where to start?

I get it, I was there myself and made the huge mistake of going too big and too fancy with my first blog.

Here are the 3 Themes I have used and recommend:

1. OceanWP: With its sleek and modern design, extensive customization options, and fast loading speeds, OceanWP is the perfect theme for anyone looking to build a professional and high-performing website.
2. GeneratePress: If you’re looking for a lightweight, user-friendly, and highly customizable theme, look no further than GeneratePress. This versatile theme is perfect for beginners and experts alike, and offers a range of features to help you build a successful website.
3. Astra: Astra is a lightning-fast and highly customizable theme that’s perfect for any type of website. With its easy-to-use customization options and extensive library of pre-built templates, Astra makes it easy to build a professional and high-performing website in no time.

Plugins

I don’t use many plugins, but when I do, I make sure they are useful, helpful, and don’t impact site performance.

With that said, these are the ones I use and NEED:

Link Whisper: Interlinking is an important aspect of SEO, and Link Whisper can make it easy. This plugin helps you quickly identify relevant internal linking opportunities and add links to your content. This can help improve your site’s overall SEO and keep visitors on your site longer.

ConvertKit: Email marketing is a crucial component of any successful niche site. ConvertKit is a powerful email marketing tool that makes it easy to manage your email list, send out newsletters and promotions, and automate your email campaigns. It’s also user-friendly, making it a great option for beginners and experts alike.

Ad Networks

So, ad networks are everyone’s favorite topic. After all, we are here to make money and ad revenue brings in the dollars at the end of the month.

But…

There are so many unknowns before you get started with an ad network injecting code all over your site.

Will this Ad network slow down my site?

Will my website be approved?

What will the EPMV or RPM be?

I get it, and those are valid questions.

As you may have, I started with Google Adsense.

Now, there is nothing wrong with Google Adsense, but, by far the biggest complaint is the low earnings.

Ezoic

Revenue optimization, analytics, and site speed are all important factors when it comes to building a profitable niche site. Ezoic is an all-in-one platform that helps you optimize your site’s ad revenue, analyze your site’s performance, and improve your site’s speed. With Ezoic, you can save time and money by having all these features in one place.

Once my site started seeing a few thousand visitors a month, I was accepted to Ezoic (this was back when there was a minimum traffic requirement).

Fortunately, that minimum traffic requirement has been removed and now ANY site can run Ezoic ads, so honestly, Ezoic is a no-brainer these days.

Ezoic may slow down your site, BUT, they have free access to their LEAP technology and it dramatically speeds up your site and also lets you remove the other plugins you may have to speed your site now.

I’m currently at a perfect 100 (on mobile) using Ezoic LEAP!

My EPMV hovers around $35. If you aren’t sure what EPMV is, it’s an abbreviation for “Earnings Per M Visitors”. The “M” in question is the Roman Numeral of the number 1,000.

So, for an easy example, if your site sees 10,000 pageviews/visitors, and you have a $35 EMPV, you can expect to earn an estimated $350 in ad revenue.

Between the good EPMV’s, no traffic requirements, and the LEAP site speed access, Ezoic is truly a no-brainer today.

Backlinks

Despite some naysayers who claim that backlinks no longer matter, the truth is that they remain a crucial part of any effective SEO strategy. In fact, using backlinks to boost your search engine rankings can be a highly effective way to grow your site’s traffic and revenue.

As an example, I’ve personally had great success using the HARO (Help A Reporter Out) Backlink Service from Niche Website Builders to build high-quality backlinks to my main site. 

By responding to relevant HARO queries and providing valuable insights to reporters and journalists, I was able to secure backlinks from a number of high-authority websites in my niche.

Keyword Research

Lowfruits.io: Keyword research is a crucial aspect of building a successful niche site, and Lowfruits.io is one of the best tools for the job. It offers a range of features to help you find the best keywords for your site, including search volume, competition, and keyword difficulty scores.

Email Marketing

ConvertKit: Email marketing is a crucial component of any successful niche site. ConvertKit is a powerful email marketing tool that makes it easy to manage your email list, send out newsletters and promotions, and automate your email campaigns. It’s also user-friendly, making it a great option for beginners and experts alike.

Blogging Course

Passive Income Geeks Course: If you’re looking for a blueprint for success in niche site building, the Passive Income Geeks Course by Morten is an excellent option. This course covers everything from niche selection to SEO to monetization strategies, and has helped many people achieve success in their niche site endeavors.

Overall, having the right tools is essential for building and growing a successful niche site. By using these recommended tools, you can optimize your site for revenue, improve your SEO, and build a loyal audience that keeps coming back for more.