The Best Free Blogging Tools For Your Website
Saturday, May 30, 2020Blogging takes a lot of time and effort. There are so much research, maintenance and technical skill that go into running a blog, but your life can be made a lot simpler with a few tools. Running a blog with a full-time job is doable with the right know-how. From spell-checkers to keyword searchers, there are so many things you should be using to improve your blog. Here are my favourite free blogging tools that have helped me improve my productivity while doing half the work!
Grammarly
Grammarly is my best friend when it comes to writing blog content and school work. I don't publish anything without running it through Grammarly first. If you take anything away from this post, it is to use a spell checker! Although Grammarly isn't perfect, it is more than appropriate for blog content. There is also a built-in word count and writing scorer so you can keep track of what you've written and how good it is.
I love having guest writers on my blog. Unfortunately, there was one post I put through Grammarly, all to reveal 100 issues that needed fixing. From poor spelling to sentences that didn't even make sense, it felt like a lot to handle. Please make sure you're using a good spell checker, whether you're writing for yourself or another person. Nobody wants to read a post where there are spelling errors, missed out words and confusing sentences.
I've never paid for Grammarly and probably never will. There are premium errors which get a little yellow underline. You have to pay for Grammarly to tell you about the issue and fix it, but it's easy to correct yourself. For example, it may tell you there's a comma missing, so you can add that in for free. Sometimes the word choice isn't great, so switch around the sentence and change the highlighted word. Once you pick up on what the premium errors mean, you definitely don't need to be spending money on this helpful tool!
Tailwind
Tailwind is used to schedule Pinterest and Instagram posts. It is a great tool, especially if you are going away for a weekend or so. The free trial of Tailwind lets you schedule posts, analyse reports and reschedule unsuccessful pins. You get a set amount of free scheduled posts before you have to pay for the membership, but it is useful to keep these pins for when you need to use them!
Canva
Canva is the perfect tool for helping you create digital content such as Pinterest pins and banners. Most bloggers will use the free version of Canva to create their pins. There is a decent range of free fonts and stock photos, but you can upload your own. There is also a paid-for premium version, which you can invest in if you want to use more features. Canva is one of the nicest design tools I have used for my blog. It has a drag and drop feature, which means you can create high-quality designs quickly.
When you're starting out, the free version is all you need. There are enough tools and features to help you go a long way. You can create graphics, eBooks and even templates on Canva. It's a versatile tool which I'd highly recommend signing up for. It recently had an update where you can make video pins and schedule Pinterest content from the website. Canva is a great tool if you want to have a go at making digital content for your blog.
Social Media
Social media is the best free tool for promoting your blog. You could use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook etc. Social media is free to use and enables you to access up to 3.96 billion people worldwide. It allows you to meet people within the blogging community, which is great if you need help or a little boost. Using social media also is one of the best forms of promotion for your website. With so many people using it daily, you'd be silly not to! Plus, your blog probably won't take off without it, unless you have crazily amazing SEO.
Every social media platform is different. It's worth considering who your audience is, what will give your niche the best promotion and if you have time to manage multiple channels. For example, Pinterest is useful if your content uses images, helpful for topics such as baking or travel. Instagram has a younger generation, but niches such as fashion or beauty can thrive here. It's always worth making a few accounts and seeing what works for you. There are so many social media channels out there, make the most of all that you can! Plus, it's free promotion.
MOZ
MOZ allows you to check your DA (domain authority) and PA (page authority). These authorities are scores out of 100, essentially ranking your page. The higher your DA score, the more valued your content it ranked. If you want to know more about DA score, I did a whole post on it and how to boost your score!
Every month, you're allowed 10 free score checks. This is more than enough for your blog as your score won't change every day. I'd recommend checking every 2-4 weeks. Note, your score will naturally fluctuate as new changes are made. MOZ offers other things too and gives you an analysis of where your DA comes from. It is a helpful tool to help grow your DA and know where you are at!
The other free tools Moz allows you to use are the Keyword Explorer and Moz Bar. The keyword explorer helps you to target your keywords better and rank higher on Google. I haven't used the Moz Bar, but it gives you live metrics on the go! I also signed up for the free month trial of all the Moz premium features. While I wouldn't pay $150 per month, but if you have a month of hardcore SEO, it's worth using the trial and maximising its uses. Moz is a great free tool to be using, especially when you're getting more into your SEO.
Unsplash
Unsplash is one of my favourite stock photo sites. There are many others to choose from, but Unsplash stands out with their high quality and extensive range of photos to choose from! This is an important tool, and it is one I'd recommend having on hand in case you need some last-minute stock photos for a post. It is always handy to download a bunch of photos for later on too!
Answer the public
Answer The Public is a great resource when thinking of to write. It allows you to search keywords (I'd recommend your niche or something you want to write about), and see what the public are searching for on Google! Using Answer The Public may allow you to increase your traffic by targeting topics that people are searching for. I love this tool and also think it is really interesting to see what people are looking for!
Notion/Trello
So, I am one for planning. I love both of these project management sites, as well as my old fashioned notebook. Trello is fantastic as you can make a board, create a task and within each task, make a checklist of things to do! Notion is also great, especially for working with others. With both of these, I love how you can easily drag and drop things into columns, so you're always on track with the things you're doing. They are brilliant tools for keeping track of what you're doing.
These are the tools I love to use. I use them frequently, if not, daily for blogging. They keep me organised and make my daily life run a lot smoother. I swear by these tools and highly recommend them. What tools do you use for blogging? Let me know in the comments!
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21 comments
Love this post Emily! I also just started recently with blogging and a few of these free tools I am definitely going to use myself!
ReplyDeleteThat is brilliant, good luck on your journey!
DeleteEm x
Those all are great tips to help new bloggers get around the blogging world. Canva is an amazing tool for making your own personal pins to help you boost your blog up.
ReplyDeleteCanva is great and I use that one a lot for all of my pins. I used to use Fotor but found canva gave me a lot more options!
DeleteEm x
This is a great post Em! I haven't heard of some of these resources so I will definitely be using them! Thank you for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteEm
planningwithem.com
Thank you, I am glad these are going to help you out! I think they are really helpful and there are so many tools out there!
DeleteEm x
I have been using canva! But I think I might check out unsplash. Also I never hear of Answer the public, these were so helpful! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNikki O.
Love all of these resources!! Grammarly is such a good one - massively overlooked, it doesn't usually come up in lists of resources, but it's so handy to have!!
ReplyDeleteI used to use tailwind, however, stopped using it whilst I went travelling then when I returned I pinned manually and have had my best growth yet - just a struggle to maintain whilst working full time. Apparently something changed in Pinterest algorithm, it can regonise manual pinning? that's what I heard anyway - I'm always switching up my methods to see what works best.
Hayley || hayleyxmartin
Love this! I use canva on the daily!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a helpful post. There were a couple that I hadn't heard of before so I will definitely be checking them out.
ReplyDeletewww.thekellydianereport.co.uk
Never thought to use Trello outside of work! I should also use Grammarly, mine is terrible and I'm always telling people.
ReplyDeleteI use Grammarly, Canva and Tailwind. Lightroom is another useful app if you want to edit your photos. I'll definitely check out Unslpash. Thank you for sharing this post!
ReplyDeleteAmazing...Thank you author!
ReplyDeleteMany good advice! Probably we should use Grammarly as well because we are not native speakers... We spend a pretty long time proofreading everything!
ReplyDeleteAnd we love tailwind :)
Great post, and every helpful! There are a few resources here I have heard of, but I'll be looking into them now!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I use most of these :)
ReplyDeleteNic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
Great list!! Never heard of Answer The Public but will check it out now! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh, thank God for these tools! Especially, Unsplash!
ReplyDeleteThis post is very helpful. Especially for a new blogger like me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post Emily x I have just joined Unsplash, as I was looking for a site that did free stock photos for my blog x Great post thank you!
ReplyDeleteSarah
https://www.dreamcashe.com/
Such a great list, Em!! I use most of the tools you've listed. My favourites would have to be Canva, Grammarly and Unsplash!! I found out about Answer the Public a few months ago and am liking it too :)
ReplyDelete