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The number of bloggers in the US has been increasing every year since 2014. That year, 27.4 million people updated a blog at least once a month. In 2020, the number of bloggers in the US alone is set to be an astounding 31.7 million.
That's both good and bad news for new bloggers. First, it depicts blogging is a thriving industry. However, it also highlights the stiff competition. Depending on your niche, you could have thousands of competitors vying for the attention of the same set of audience on the Internet.
That being said, you'll need several blogging resources to make sure your blog stands out as authoritative, creative, and worthwhile. Here is a list of the best tools that’ll help you start a new blog and establish it as an authority resource in your niche.
This app allows you to place your written content into its platform. From there, it gives you back a readability grade based on factors such as adverbs, use of passive voice, phrases with simpler alternatives, hard-to-read sentences, and more.
You can use it either for writing or editing your content. The readability score allows you to analyze your content, whether a high school kid will understand it or not. Hemingway App is available both as a free and a paid tool.
2. Grammarly
Poor spelling or grammar can induce confusion, lower your credibility, and may even cost you dream job opportunities. Grammarly has a free and premium option, both of which will enable you to edit your content based on factors such as tone, correct spelling and grammar, and more.
You can even run it through a filter that allows you to curate content for different geographies such as the UK, the US or Australia, using correct terms. The AI-enabled platform is available for desktop, Google Docs, MS Word, and also as a standalone app.
Your blog needs an online identity--one that you will share with the world. A domain name can not only give your blog a great identity online, but it can also help in branding and promoting it. The way to achieve this is to use new domain extensions such as .ONLINE, .SITE, .PRESS, etc. These allow you to get meaningful and relevant domain names that are contextual to the blog that you’re building. For example, if you’re sharing baking recipes online, then your blog’s domain name could be www.bakewithemily.online or if you’re sharing your thoughts on the current events, then you could go with www.mybulletins.press.
This small but useful tool ensures you're using words that are captivating, unique, and not overly repetitive. Simply plug in any word or short phrase, and this website shoots back a list of related words using their online thesaurus. The extensive database provides you enough alternatives to use in your content.
5. Evernote
Evernote is a note-taking app that also promotes collaboration and organization. This app allows you to save everything (notes, photos, clips, documents, business projects,) sync it across all your devices (phone, computer, tablet,) and share it with friends, family members, fellow bloggers, and more. Evernote promotes creativity and teamwork, two essential factors in blogging.
6. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is an SEO (search engine optimization) tool that can help you organically grow your search traffic, monitor your niche, and check in on the competition without them ever knowing about it. While you should focus on the integrity of your own blog, doing competitor research is vital to help you stay ahead of the curve. By researching your competitors, you can see what they're doing right or wrong, and replicate the strategies that are producing results for them.
7. Mailchimp
99% of internet users check their email at least once a day, and sometimes more. Therefore, you just cannot ignore sending emails to your subscribers. Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that helps you get the word of your blog out via email. Mailchimp can help you with building your audience, creating compelling emails, sending them to the target audience, and analyzing the performance of your email marketing campaigns.
8. Upwork
If you want to hire content writers or want to design a featured image or get help collecting and sourcing data, you can always rely on Upwork. The platform connects you with the best freelancers from across the globe. Be ready with your requirements, decide your budget, post your ad, and you will receive many applications from freelancers willing to work with you. Upwork helps you with getting things done in the right way at nominal prices.
9. Headline Analyzer by Sharethrough
A compelling headline can help you get readers to your blog post. A misleading headline can harm their ability to make accurate references. And a boring headline can keep them from clicking on your piece altogether.
Headline Analyzer by Sharethrough scores your headline based on factors such as readability and how captivating it is. It also evaluates the emotional response a headline triggers. Further, it provides you with a detailed analysis of how you can improve it for maximum click-through-rate (CTR.)
10. Canva
Create captivating images with this tool that offers both a free and paid option. The platform offers a multitude of templates that you can edit as per your requirements. Create social media posts, featured images for blog posts, infographics, flyers, business cards, logos – all while using eye-catching, attention-grabbing templates and color schemes. Since it’s a cloud-based tool, it supports collaboration with team members.
11. Buffer
Sharing your blog posts on social media can help increase their visibility. Buffer is a social media automation tool that offers three products—Publish, Reply, and Analyze—that make the process seamless and straightforward. The Publish product helps you plan and release thumb-stopping social media content, Reply offers a shared team inbox to boost communication, and Analyze lets you measure metrics and create reports out of them. You can use Buffer on your phone or desktop and make social media management a breeze.
The Bottom Line
The ultimate aim of using these blogging tools and resources is to produce stellar content, automate redundant tasks, facilitate collaboration with team members, and, most importantly, utilize your time effectively. If you use these tools in blogging, you will definitely witness success in a few months.
Before purchasing the premium plans, sign up for a free trial, if available. Once you are sure about the tool, buy it without a second thought.
Alisha is a Senior Content Marketing & Communication Specialist at Radix, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .ONLINE and .TECH. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
