The Best Affordable Resources for New Bloggers
When I was in the beginning stages of blogging, I was looking for the best resources to help me get going with one important criterion – they couldn’t break the bank! By using these resources I was able to get enough sessions to get in with an amazing ad network and start making some money!
All of these resources are $50 or less and I come back to them time and time again to refresh and relearn. I hope you find them as useful as I do!
This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
The idea of blogging sounds so simple. You write a few blog posts, people read them and you make tons of money. When you actually start blogging, you realize how far off that actually is! There’s the technical side, the marketing side, then the what the hell am I doing side, etc…
Related: Three Podcasts Every Blogger Needs to Listen to
You probably started a blog because you have a message and you want to get it out there while making some cash on the side. I don’t think you’re ready to drop a ton of money on expensive courses and mastermind groups that might make your head spin. I definitely was not.
Yes, I am sure the expensive courses are extremely valuable and worthwhile. But for me, and you might relate to this, I don’t feel like I can drop that kind of money on something I just started AND a big course would be way too overwhelming for me right now. I prefer little segments of information, not a huge course that will probably stress me out!
Let’s get going!
Free Resources
Start a Money Making Blog – Free 5 Day Email Crash Course
A lot of bloggers offer free courses that will help you set up your blog. I like this one in particular from Heather and Pete Reese at itsalovelylife.com for several reasons. First of all, they are hugely successful so they know what they are talking about. Second, they use literally every avenue of marketing on their blog so you can get an idea of what you might be interested in. Third, they walk you step by step through the process of starting a blog the right way, the way where you make money. Lastly, you get access to their private Facebook group so you can chat and brainstorm with other beginner bloggers and get great advice. Plus, they always do fun giveaways. Totally worth the free price tag if you ask me!
Your Host’s Customer Service
Do not be afraid to contact your host either by chat or phone. I use Bluehost and they are so helpful! Yes, you are paying them so it makes sense that they are helpful, but before you hire a tech guy or shell out some money for a service, check with your hosting company to see if they can help. They have answered so many questions and fixed a number of issues for me.
Resources for $25 or less
How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul
This was the first blogging item I purchased. It’s a paperback book written by Ruth Soukup that you can find on Amazon, and even better you can get it for free with Kindle Unlimited. I got it on my kindle at first and it was such a wealth of information that I bought the paperback to have as a reference (I’m old-fashioned!). Ruth is an extremely successful blogger and the brains behind Elite Blog Academy (EBA – one of those blogging courses that I’m dying to take!) so she knows what she’s talking about. This book is very straightforward and easy to read with lots of tips and strategies for running a successful blog. She lets you know exactly what you need to be doing to blog for profit. The only downside is that the book is a little outdated, but it’s totally worth the money to get the basic framework of how to make money from blogging.
Cracking the Code to the Amazon Associates Program
This ebook is a must-have for new bloggers. Amazon is one of the easiest affiliate programs to join, and as a newbie I found it easy to incorporate their products into my posts (because they sell everything, hello!). Ashli of the Million Dollar Mama wrote this helpful ebook on how to make money using Amazon. She shows you how to sign up, how to put the links in your posts and then she gives you tons of tips on how to make sales through your posts. I learned so much from this book and started making money through the Amazon affiliate program right away. It’s a quick read and it will get you motivated to blog!
Resources for $35 or less
Blogcabulary
This is the ebook I wish I bought first! It is seriously the number one, legit source of basic blogging information. Nataly, from Love and Paper Flowers, wrote 200 pages worth of knowledge that every beginner blogger needs. You get EVERY blogging term out there, defined and clearly explained, reviews of the tops resources for bloggers, and my favorite – 7 blogging tutorials. She shows you how to add your sitemap to google (no idea what I’m talking about? I didn’t either but you need it!), how to set up a Pinterest widget on your site and sooooo much more. She also gives you a list of the best Facebook groups to join, Pinterest group boards that accept bloggers in ALL niches and the top Tailwind tribes to join. You will feel so much more confident about blogging after reading this book. It’s an excellent resource.
Resources for $50 or less
Pinteresting Strategies
This was the first ebook I purchased when I started blogging and I got immediate results. Carly from Mommy on Purpose runs a successful mommy blog and her straightforward, tell it like it is approach is awesome. She explains her strategy of manually pinning on Pinterest to get tons of page views and blog traffic, and it works! I saw results literally the next day. She explains the strategy in detail and also gives you information on how to set yourself up for success on Pinterest (content, group boards, pins, keywords, etc.). To date, the majority of my blog traffic comes from Pinterest thanks to this ebook! I highly, highly recommend getting a copy for yourself. Another bonus is you get to join her Facebook group which is a serious wealth of knowledge.
I hope you found this post helpful. If you are just starting out as a blogger, let’s connect and cheer each other on!
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