My Keys to Business Success
My Tried and Trusted Resources
As a seasoned full-time blogger, these are some of my favorite tools to run my business seamlessly.
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Web Hosting
For years, I’ve worked with one of the most highly recommended web hosts, BigScoots. They respond to my support tickets in literally a minute. They also offer excellent site speed and security features that protect your site and make it fast.
Legal Documents
For the required legal pages on my site (and any other legal documents I need in blogging, like various contracts), I use documents from the legal store of Amira (A Self Guru), a lawyer in this field.
Email Marketing
I use Substack, but if you want more customizable email marketing than Substack offers (tags, segments, funneling, automated sequences, monetization, etc.), Kit is excellent for higher-level creators and small online businesses. I used them for several years prior.
Email Sponsorships
I have been using Paved to secure email sponsorships with minimal effort. You simply post a profile with your stats and offerings, and brands buy slots in your newsletter. It’s highly seamless for busy creators who don’t have time for all the back-and-forth.
Email Referrals
SparkLoop is another unique way to earn. Sign up to get referral links for other popular email newsletters. Share the link, and when your followers sign up to receive the promoted email newsletter, you earn a commission. The conversion rates are great because you just need to get qualified leads, not “sales.”
Keyword Research
I use KeySearch, which is a lot cheaper than other paid SEO tools out there but still gives you a lot of helpful data. It’s also way more user-friendly!
Bookeeping
I use QuickBooks to manage my books. It’s cheap and easy, and my accountant knows how to use it, too.
Automated DMs
I use LinkDM for the “comment for the link” function on Instagram and Facebook. It’s cheaper than other tools and gets the job done!
Affiliate Links
Skimlinks is an affiliate conglomerate. You can instantly access thousands of retailers’ affiliate programs by signing up, all in one dashboard. Additionally, you can easily create links with a single click.
Affiliate Link Shop
ShopMy is a new affiliate marketing platform that influencers have been loving. It provides access to smaller stores and lets you create a digital shop, among other benefits, such as access to unique discount codes.
Pinterest Research
For Pinterest SEO, I recommend a new tool called PinClicks. It makes it quick and easy to mine Pinterest’s algorithm to craft pins (visuals and copy) that are more likely to be seen. My analytics have reached all-time highs since I started using them.
Graphic Design
Canva is an excellent resource for creating logos, printables, high-quality blog content, social media graphics, and videos quickly and easily. Their technology continues to improve. I highly recommend the paid version.
Digital Goods
Etsy is another great place to purchase digital goods for your blog. For example, I have purchased some cheap photo presets and social media templates here.
Payroll
Gusto makes it cheap and easy to run payroll as an S-Corp. or other small business.
Courses
Good courses usually come at a price, but that price most often saves you more time and money in the long run. I have taken over 100 courses, and personally recommend the following blogging courses, which are all foundational to your blogging and/or digital marketing knowledge:
