Free Blogging Resources: 28 Resources That Don’t Cost a Dime!

Blogging resources…who doesn’t LOVE some FREE STUFF?!! I know new bloggers who aren’t making money yet especially appreciate it, but even seasoned pros love to learn about free resources to help them on their blogging journey. I’ve rounded up the best blogging tools (that are FREEEEE!!) that I personally know, use, and LOVE!

The best blogging resources for beginner bloggers

Although I 100% believe that a beginning blogger should invest in their business, it never hurts to find amazing FREE resources as well, right?! I use every single one of these free tools when I first started…and I STILL use them today!

1. Top Hat Rank Webinars

Food bloggers know and love these monthly webinars, but I feel like they are a secret to bloggers in other niches! These content-packed hour-long episodes focus a lot on keyword research and SEO (search engine optimization) but also cover important topics like writing blog posts, Pinterest, affiliate marketing, backlinks and SO MUCH MORE!

Put this monthly webinar on your calendar every month…and binge the old episodes ASAP! They a gold if you are looking to create solid, optimized content.

2. Google Analytics

New bloggers should set up Google Analytics ASAP on their new site. It’s super important to track your progress! You can make it easy on yourself and use the (FREE!) MonsterInsights plug-in.

3. Google Search Console

This site is a great place to check which keywords your site is ranking for and also to see if you have any Google Discover traffic from Google Web Stories. It will also give you a picture of your site’s overall health and if you’re passing Core Web Vitals.

4. Google Site Speed Checker (Page Speed Insights)

Page Speed Insights is an essential tool to make sure your blog’s site speed and be sure it is passing Core Web Vitals. You need to check this regularly so you know your site is fast. Sites with poor speed or that don’t pass Core Web Vitals will be dinged by Google in the rankings.

5. Canva

I could not live without Canva!!! I use it for everything from making Pinterest pins to creating freebies and opt-ins for my email list. The free plan is awesome, but you can upgrade to the paid plan and get access to TONS of great stock photos and designs to use for your website/freebies/pins/social media posts, etc. I also love their “brand guide” where you can keep all of your brand fonts, colors, and logos in one place.

6. Google Calendar

I used to be a solid paper and pen gal but Google Calendar has been my best friend for years now. You can create all different color-coded calendars or organize different things. For example, I have a personal calendar, an overall blogging calendar, and a calendar that shows my email topics by week.

7. Trello

There are all sorts of “organization” tools out there: Asana, Monday.com, Evernote, Air Table…the list goes on. I have tried all of these and Trello (once I got the hang of it!) is by far my favorite. The free version is all you need as a solo blogger!

8. Facebook Groups

A great resource to connect with other bloggers and get questions answered is Facebook groups! Some of my favorite blogging groups are: Productive Blogging (by Eb Gargano of ProductiveBlogging.com), Blogging Like We Mean It (by Carly from Making Sense of Cents), Food Blogger Central (by Nagi from Recipe Tin Eats). I’d love for you to join our Blogging Lifestyle community, too!

It’s worth noting that although these groups can be super helpful–they can be a time suck, too. Just be mindful and intentional about how you use these groups.

9. Podcasts

I LOVE podcasts! Don’t just limit yourself to blogging podcasts, either. Find online business podcasts you love, too as they can really level up your game and force you to think as a business owner, not just a blogger! Here are my 15 favorite podcasts!

10. Keywords Everywhere

Ok, I am adding this one because it USED to be a completely free keyword research tool. Now it’s paid, BUT it’s still SUPER affordable and easy to use! It’s like $1/month and you get loads of searches! Plus, when you download the browser extension it will give you lots of related keywords to your search as well. It’s a perfect tool for beginners. It’s definitely worth a bit of extra cost.

The best free blogging resources (for beginners AND non-beginners!)

11. Yoast SEO

One of the first plugins you should download! Basically, Yoast helps your site perform better with search engines by giving you insights into how best to optimize your content. It’s a must! I’ve only used the free version.

12. Mailerlite

I started with this email marketing platform because it was (surprise!) FREE for the first 1,000 subscribers. It does everything I need it to, including email automations, sign up/opt in forms, and more.

13. Weblizar Pin It Button

This free WordPress plugin allows you to have a Pin It button on images on your site when you hover over them. I use Tasty Pins now (paid) but this is the best option if you want FREE!

14. Chat GPT

This free tool can help you save so much time (and brain power) when blogging! I never write my posts with ChatGPT but I use it for things like: 1) Writing introductions to blog posts, 2) Writing sales copy (gives me ideas), and 3) Getting related keyword ideas.

15. Workflow Freebie

To be successful with blogging you NEED a solid workflow! Learn how to create a workflow with this free download and training!

16. Blogging Checklist

I live and die by my blog post-writing checklist! I always forget things! This checklist shows me what I need to do before and after I publish a post! I have used this since I first started blogging and use it almost every single day!

DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST

17. Later

I use Later for the Link in Bio feature (free up to a certain amount of posts/month). But it’s also a great option to schedule your posts across social media platforms. As of this writing, you can schedule ONE social media platform (5 posts per month) for free.

18. Grammarly

Although it can be glitchy, I LOVE Grammarly!! The free version is just fine for editing spelling and grammar on blog posts. If you want more advanced features like suggestions for tone, usage, and sentence structure, then you have to pay. The free version has been fine for me!

19. Ivory Mix

Ivory Mix is another site full of gorgeous, styled images. It’s a paid membership, but I honestly “lived” off their free images you can download for many months! Just sign up for their list and you get access to tons of free stuff!

20. Unsplash

Unsplash is a database full of beautiful images you can use. Most of it is free, too, as long as you use it for personal or commercial use (meaning you can’t sell the photos, obviously).

21. Creative Market

Creative Market is just that…a “creative” market full of graphics, fonts, templates, etc. People are selling them, however, you can sign up for their newsletter and they give you loads of free stuff every week!

22. Pinterest Ad Manager

I am assuming everyone has a Pinterest account! Just make sure it’s a business account (free). A business account will give you access to the Pinterest Ad Manager tool which will allow you to do Pinterest keyword research!

Basically you just “pretend” you are running an ad and put in which keyword you want to target. Then Pinterest will give you TONS of related keywords that have search volume on Pinterest.

As you can see in the example below, my keyword is “bedroom decor” and it gave me tons of other ideas (there were over a 100+ related keywords!) This is literally the best place to get content ideas especially if you want to optimize for Pinterest searches.

23. 50+ Email List Ideas

On her website, email marketing guru Kate Doster has a free download of 50+ email list ideas if you’re in a rut as to what to send your email list. It’s super helpful and will spark lots of ideas.

24. Email Welcome Sequence Ideas

Another great resource if you are having trouble with your email list, is Liz Wilcox’s email welcome sequence ideas. It’s free when you sign up for her list. Liz isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and you don’t have to embrace her actual STYLE, but I get so many good ideas from her! (and she and I are VERY different!)

25. Amazon Affiliates

Of all the affiliate programs, Amazon is typically the first one bloggers sign up for. You’ll earn a SMALL commission from products sold, but two good things: 1) Just about everything is on Amazon! 2) You not only earn commission on the products you recommend but anything else that person puts in their cart!

26. Share a Sale

Share a Sale is an affiliate marketing platform that hosts TONS Of different brands that you can earn commission from! No matter what your niche, if you want to start earning money from affiliates, Share a Sale has partners in ALL categories…from food to business tools to clothing!

27. Collective Voice

Collective Voice (formerly ShopStyle Collective) is the same idea as Share a Sale but commissions seem slightly lower (I could be wrong). HOWEVER, the interface is so freaking easy to use and I love it! If you have a product you want to share, you just paste in the link to that product and it automatically creates an affiliate link for you. It’s super user-friendly and the perfect place to start affiliate marketing.

28. Google Drive

I LIVE by Google Drive ya’ll! It’s just such a streamlined way to keep everything in one place….from my editorial calendar to my blog post photos. It’s also great when you want to share links to downloads and freebies with your audience.