Resources

THE TOOLS I USE TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL BLOG

Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.

Please know that I only recommend companies I actually use, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.

SiteGround

Ad for Siteground

I recommend using SiteGround for the following reasons:

  • Site Speed (They helped reduce my site speed by 10 seconds, that’s huge!)
  • Performance
  • Affordable – I paid $65.40 with Bluehost and I could have paid only $47 for the first year with SiteGround
  • Once your traffic grows you can easily move to their “GoGeek” plan like me and it is the most inexpensive plan compared to the other Hosting sites I found.
  • The SSL Certificate is FREE! Google will begin to penalize websites that are unsecured if they do not have the “S” at the end of HTTP (the “S” indicates that it is secured).

Take a look at my step-by-step guide on what you need before you purchase.

ThemeForest

Ad for themeforest, a blog template for purchase

I help many people create their websites and when it comes to finding a theme (website template) I always direct them to Themeforest. Themeforest is where I purchased my blog template and I’ve used them for the other 3 websites I’ve created. My theme was only $19 when I purchased it, you do not have to spend a lot on a theme contrary to popular belief.

Milotree

Milotree is the popup that should have come across your screen if this was your first time visiting my site (on desktop anyway), see below example.

Ad more milotree, a popup ad.

This is what Milotree does, creates a pop-up on your website with an objective to convert your website visitors into followers.

Think about it, when someone visits your website they are only there to read an article based on your advertisement.

They are not thinking, “Hey, I like this content let me follow them for more content like this.” People need a reminder, and Milotree does that.

Gaining Pinterest followers is important. The more Pinterest followers you have, the greater the chances of increasing your website traffic and credibility. I attribute most of my Pinterest followers to Milotree.

Grammarly

An ad for grammarly, a downloadable tool to fix grammar mistakes on your computer

I LOVE this tool.  It literally corrects all of my mistakes (but still use your best judgment at their suggestions) and it helps me remember which punctuation should be used when and where.  If you want to look like a professional blogger having spelling mistakes is a huge turnoff and messes with your credibility.  This tool is a MUST for all bloggers.

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8 thoughts on “My Resources”

  1. Hello! Is there any sort of security program that you use to protect your website? Have you ever had any issues with hacking or anyone trying to use your work? Thank you!

    1. Yes, I use the All In One WP Security & Firewall plug-in. They block any potential hackers. I haven’t had any issues thanks to this security.

  2. Hi! I so appreciate all of the information on your site. I couldn’t decide the best way to ask a general question, so hopefully you’ll see this comment! I am looking to start a blog. I am motivated to get out of my traditional job with baby number 2 on the way (sounds familiar I’m sure). My goal is to get a site going before the baby arrives, so that after my maternity leave, I will be free and clear and at least with a plan for some income. The main question I have is what you think about the feasibility of two people running a blog together. A mom friend of mine is in a similar boat, and we think we have a good concept for a blog that is built on our shared but different experiences, styles, and personalities as women and mothers. I’d like to make it work, but I’m a bit worried about how we will figure out splitting the money, and even the taxes related to it being a shared venture. Have you heard of folks doing this before? Have any advice or strong opinion on it? I appreciate any guidance! Thank you!

    1. I was going to do this blog with 2 friends initially and now looking back on it I’m SO glad I didn’t. I have complete control on the content, the decisions and most importantly the Money! Especially starting out you won’t make a lot and to split that would hurt. I do know the guys over at dollarsprout built a 100,000/mo blog so splitting that is not that bad. So, it could work…but personally, knowing what I know now, I would not share this with anyone and would advise you to just go all in yourself.

  3. Hi Max!
    I have gone back and forth on starting a blog. I currently work part time as a math/science tutor and I was wondering what your thoughts are on starting a “tutoring blog” that gives a crash course in certain areas of math or science with example problems. My thinking was that I could get some web traffic by providing this free information and then I can also offer my services if there is a need for one-on-one tutoring. Do you think this is a viable option for having a successful blog? Or would you recommend sticking to other areas for blog content?
    I’ve done some research and it looks like the major competition would be with Khan Academy (which offer free content videos).
    Thanks.

    1. Hi Marcy,

      I think a tutoring blog would be great and a great platform if you wanted to promote your course. I definitely recommend doing your research, write down your plan until you have a clear understanding of how to execute and your competitive advantage. I don’t think you’ll need to worry about a high search volume of people coming to your site but a specific target audience would be more beneficial and a way to sell your course. As you write articles on your blog related to tutoring topics ALWAYS promote your course at the end of the article. You want to provide free valuable information and let your readers fall in love with you so much that they won’t have any problem buying your course, and if they see that you provide great information for free they can only assume the information you have in your course is even greater and that’s how you get the sale. I hope that helps and let me know if you have any additional questions.

  4. Hi Max,
    Thanks for this great information. I’m just starting out as a blogger. Please let me know how you choose a theme from Theme Forest. As a new blogger, how do you get to know the best one to use? Which theme do you use on your blog?
    Thanks.

    1. I look for something that has been tried and tested, so it must have good reviews, mobile-friendly, responsive and that it’s been updated within the last 6 months (so I know the website developer stays up-to-date). It also must have a look that I like, I also read the reviews and look for comments about how fast they are responding. Just getting started you’ll want a developer that will respond quickly to things that need to be fixed. I usually search for a wordpress theme and just search for what I think looks like what I want and price of course.

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