The best blogging tools to grow your website and get more clients
I get asked *all the time* for tool and software recommendations so I decided to put this post together so everyone could benefit.
Choosing the right tools and resources for your website can be very complicated and often involves a lot of trial and error. That’s why I’m sharing the tools and resources I personally use to grow my website.
I recommend these blogging tools and resources time and time again to my clients. I hope you find this guide helpful and that it gives you a headstart when it comes to figuring out how to improve your website and get more visitors.
I’m including free and paid resources so there’s sure to be a resource that will suit you (they’re all brilliant!).
Some of the blogging tools and resources I’m recommending are affiliate links. I have highlighted the affiliate links with a *. If you buy through my affiliate link I will get a small commission, but it won’t cost you any extra.
I have been recommending most of these tools and resources for years and they are all things I personally use, so please don’t worry, I’m not recommending them because I have an affiliate link, I’m recommending them because they are tried and tested.
Website Security
It might not be the most exciting topic in the world, but please do take some time to protect your website as it is a major business asset. It’s important to back up your website, block malicious traffic, and filter for spam. Below I’m sharing some of my favourite tools to help enhance website security.
CleanTalk Anti-Spam
Clean Talk anti-spam is a very affordable way to filter spam comments and it can also block spam comments from being submitted through forms on your website. At the time of writing, it costs about $12/year and they often have a sale, so you might be lucky and pick it up for even less!
Updraft Plugin
Do yourself a favour and automate regular website backups.
It’s easy to set this plugin up and there’s a free version that might suffice for your needs.
Save yourself the headache of losing your website content.
CleanTalk Anti-Spam
Did you know that spam comments take up space on your hosting account and if you aren’t regularly deleting them you could end up being charged more by your website host? The thing is, spending time deleting these comments isn’t a very effective use of your time. Far better to filter for these comments in the first place.
Get it here >>> CleanTalk Anti-Spam plugin
Email Marketing Service Provider
Mailerlite
Grow your audience and nurture your email list with this email service provider.
Mailerlite has a fantastic free version that I recommend to business owners who have fewer than 1000 email subscribers. With the free plan, you can create sign-up forms for your freebies, send weekly newsletters, and also set up automated email sequences to nurture your audience. You can also use the free plan to create waitlists for your upcoming offers.
Mailerlite is my email service provider of choice and it allows me to ensure that my newsletter subscribers get the website and marketing content they choose. The free plan allows you to tag and segment your audience so that people only receive the newsletter that’s of interest to them. You can easily preview and test your emails before you hit send.
You’ll really appreciate how easy it is to setup and manage.
Mailerlite has a drag-and-drop builder, so you don’t have to code and it’s easy and quick to write a newsletter. If you’ve been putting off starting your email list, don’t delay, just sign up for Mailerlite and your Future Self will thank you!
Get it here >>> Mailerlite
SEO
WP Rocket
If your WordPress website is a bit sluggish and slow to load it can be off-putting to visitors and they might click away. WP Rocket is a plugin that can help to improve your site speed performance (and you don’t need to know how to code to use it).
Get it here >>> WP Rocket
More tips >>> speed up your WordPress website
Membership and Course Platform
No Hassle Membership and Course Platform*
I host and deliver all my courses and my membership on the Nohassle course and membership platform.
NoHassle course and Membership platform is user-friendly and allows you to create unlimited courses and memberships for a low fee. The interface is powered by MemberPress, a very powerful plugin that protects your content and ensures that only the people you intend to have access can see your content.
You can easily create coupon codes, give trial access to your courses and memberships and offer one-time or recurring payment plans to your clients. Their customer support is second to none.
Find out more here >>> Nohassle membership and course platform *
More tips >>>must-have tech tools
Screen Recording
Loom
A fantastic tool for screen recording or making talking head videos (where course participants can see your face). Recently, Loom added functionality to create transcripts and you can easily embed videos on your website or in your course or membership platform. The free plan is extremely limited, so I recommend signing up for the Pro version (it’s not that expensive) so you can avail of the tools full capabilities.
I also use Loom to create:
- welcome videos when a client joins one of my courses
- quick tech tutorials in response to client queries
- explainer videos for my blog
Get it here>>> Loom.com
ScreenPal (formerly known as Screen-cast-o-matic)
Another tool for screen recording and making talking head videos. I love using ScreenPal for recording tech tutorials, making screen recordings, etc. It’s really easy to edit using this tool and even though I’ve over 200 videos hosted on the platform, there’s no sign of running out of space yet. If you’re going to invest in a tool for recording your screen for courses or memberships, this is the one I recommend you go for. I’m a Certified Screen-cast-o-Matic Educator, I decided to upskill because it’s a tool I use all the time and I wanted to make sure that I am maximising its capabilities.
Find out more about ScreenPal >>>ScreenPal: Best Online Course Video Software – Marieosullivan (themarieosullivan.com)
Adilo
Yes, I have 3 different tools that I use for hosting videos! I invested in all of them at various times. I snapped up Adilo on a lifetime deal and I recommend it for clients who want to host audio recordings at a very affordable price. It’s really easy to create attractive thumbnails for your course videos using this tool and you can embed your recordings in your course or membership site.
Website and Social Media Graphics
Canva
I use this for creating social media graphics and creating images for my website and course and membership. I recommend signing up for Canva Pro as it has so many extra features compared to the free plan. With the Pro plan, you can save so much time by resizing your images for all the social media platforms you use, and adding your logo, fonts, and hex codes to your brand kit so you can easily access them.
AI
Closers Copy
If you suffer from writer’s block and find it difficult to know what to write about, Closers Copy could be an amazing tool for you.
