Blogging is hard.
Each blog post can take hours if not days of research and writing, not to mention the time it takes to set up a WordPress website.
What would happen if you could free up 20% of your time by using software. If it takes you 5 hours to write a blog post and you plan on having 100 of them on your site, then saving that 20% of time will yield 100 hours.
Tools just make blogging easier.
Each written blog post has many things that go into it:
- SEO
- Keyword research
- Planning
- Coming up with ideas
- Copywriting
- Optimizing for site speed
- Correcting grammatical errors
- Creating digital products
- Coming up with catchy titles
- Joining affiliate programs
- Analyzing the blog’s performance, and more.
Luckily there are tools that can help bloggers with each of these daunting tasks.
Using software can help you leverage your time for better activities. Instead of coming up with blog post ideas, let AI brainstorm them for you. Instead of scanning your text for errors, let a browser extension do it for you. Instead of keeping all ideas in your head, let the software do it for you.
With that said, here’s a list of what I think are the most essential tools for bloggers that actually save me hundreds of hours of time.
What are the best Blogging tools?
Quillbot can paraphrase, simplify, check grammar, and plagiarism of your text.
It’s one of my favourite sites when I need to check if all the commas are in their right places and if I write a bunch of complex sentences it helps me simplify them.
Get started with Quillbot.
2. Notion
Notion is a single space where you can think, write, and plan. As a blogger, this versatile tool can be used in many ways such as:
- Selling Notion templates to your audience
- Planning blog posts
- Collecting and saving quotes, ideas, articles
- Writing blog posts using NotionAI
- Keeping a list of blog post ideas
- Doing keyword research and competitor analysis.
Since you can turn Notion into a space that suits your needs, it can act as a spreadsheet, a blank page, or a complex web of dashboards that hold all of your thoughts & ideas. Notion can be your second brain so that you can keep your head clear of what it does best.
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
Get started with Notion.
3. Envato Elements
Envato Elements is an all-in-one creative subscription for people like photo or video editors, designers, freelancers, and of course – bloggers.
If you’re writing blog posts you’re going to need images. Images put life into your blog posts, they make them more appealing and help you get the message across. Not having them will make it seem like the reader is looking at an old black-and-white book without a single illustration in the next 100 pages.
It’s just boring.
Think about it, would you rather choose to read a blog post that only has text or one with images that clearly show what the text is about?
That’s where Envato Elements come in. It has a massive library of creative assets (12+ million) that you can choose from, especially stock images.
Most bloggers get their stock images from free stock photo websites which means that most blog posts about the same keyword usually have repeating stock images that don’t make them stand out among one another. That’s why using Envato Elements can help your blog posts stand out among the competition.
You can use Canva to add graphics and text to stock images to make them stand out even more.
Also, if you already have or are planning to start a YouTube channel then Envato Elements is exactly what you need.
To find out more read my full Envato Elements review here.
Get started with Envato Elements.
4. Shopify
Selling products can skyrocket your blog’s revenue.
Shopify is an e-commerce website builder suited for selling digital or physical products online. It has a user-friendly interface that lets you set up a professional-looking website within minutes with its built-in website builder.
If you’re planning to sell products online then Shopify is the best place to start hosting your website.
Learn how to set up a Shopify store here.
With Shopify, you can easily list and fulfill products that you sell on your site. It also has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to write blog posts for your brand and make adjustments to your website. It’s the best place for anyone looking to sell products online.
Whether you’re a small business owner, a solopreneur, or a dropshipping beginner, Shopify will help you get your online store up and running in no time.
Get started with Shopify.
5. ChatGPT
The AI revolution is here – take advantage of it.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. Its interface looks like a chat field with your friend but instead of chatting with a friend, you do it with AI.
You can ask AI any question that you want and using data that it’s been trained with it will try its best to answer your question for you.
You can also use a variety of chat prompts to fine-tune its answers to something that you want.
Compared to tools dedicated AI blog writing tools like CopyAI, ChatGPT makes a lot more general mistakes when writing full-length blog post.
ChatGPT is best for generating:
- Blog post ideas
- Catchy headlines
- Blog post outlines
- Keywords
Get started with ChatGPT.
6. Grammarly
There’s nothing worse than reading a blog post that’s full of grammatical errors.
Grammarly is a browser extension that automatically checks your spelling across your whole browser and lets you correct it. It’s an essential tool for every blogger because it allows you to automatically correct accidental grammar mistakes as you’re writing and it even detects the tone of every sentence. Grammarly also shows synonyms and definitions of words that you select.
The best part is that you don’t have to think about it. Grammarly works across all websites which means that whether you’re writing an email, a message to an old friend, or a product description you can be sure that there will be no grammar errors.
Get started with Grammarly.
7. Fiverr
If you treat blogging as an online business then you probably have thought about outsourcing writing sometime in the future.
Outsourcing can free up time and let you focus on the more important things. Fiverr is the go-to place to find and test out freelancers that can do all sorts of tasks.
As a blogger, you’ll probably be looking to outsource either writers, developers, or graphic designers.
Fiverr has a lot of competition among people who have their gigs listed on the platform and so that means that prices are low.
It’s not going to cost you a lot to test out many different copywriters and then pick the best one for you if you want to work with them long-term.
Get started with Fiverr.
8. Google search Console
What gets measured gets improved.
Google Search Console is a place where you can see all the analytics of your blog. There you can submit your sitemaps to make it easier for Google to discover and index your blog posts.
Search Console displays your site health data, all the impressions, visitors, and even positions for which your blog posts rank on Google.
Get started with Google Search Console.
9. Jasper AI
Jasper is an AI copywriting tool that’s designed specifically for writing copy for businesses, blogs, and even YouTube channels.
But how is it different from free tools like ChatGPT? Jasper is designed and customized specifically with copywriting in mind. That means that your sales copy or your blog posts will not sound generic just like any other answer that you would get from ChatGPT.
The best part is that you don’t have to think about complicated prompts to ask the AI to write something because it’s already been configured for you.
If you want to write convincing sales copy or blog posts that are unique and unlike anything else other AI tools generate then you should definitely try Jasper.
Get started with Jasper.
10. Semrush
Keyword research is the bread and butter of every blogger.
Semrush is a platform that you can use for keyword research and online ranking data, including metrics such as search volume, your site’s backlink profile, and cost per click. It also lets bloggers analyze the traffic of other blogs to get ideas for growing theirs.
If you’re looking for the best tool for growing organic traffic to your website then Semrush is the way to go.
With Semrush you can:
- Access over 24 billion keywords for 130 countries
- Run in-depth website audit based on 130+ checks
- Get recommendations to improve your content to increase search rankings
- Track and analyze competitor websites and marketing strategies
- Create and track your PPC campaigns
- Draft, schedule, and post content on social
- Create and schedule white-labeled or branded reports
Get started with Semrush.
11. Hostinger
Every blog needs a good host.
Hostinger seems to hit all the marks when it comes to hosting. Their prices are low, support is extremely fast and helpful, they have a built-in free website migration tool, free domain protection, and a 99,9% uptime guarantee.
If you’re a first-time blogger then Hostinger is the best place to host your website.
Get started with Hostinger.
Was this list of the best tools for bloggers useful?
There you have it – my list of the best blogging tools for beginners.
Of course, the tools that you use are merely that – tools. In the end, it all comes down to you. The quality of your blog depends on how you utilize what you have at your disposal, whether it be all these tools or none at all. Even a blogger that uses all the tools in the world can be outranked by one that works smart, not hard. Tools just help you do it. The difference between a good and a bad blog shows over time.
So pick the best software that suits your needs best and happy blogging!
And if you haven’t started your blog yet, I’ll leave you with a few useful resources that will help you set up your site in no time: