This blog post is about sharing blogging tools that I have used personally to help me become a professional blogger and grow my blog over the past year.

1. empowernet work.com http://www.empowernetwork.com/dailyresidual/blog/1-killer-tools-to-grow-your-blog-this-year/
14 Killer Tools to Grow Your Blog This Year
They say that a mechanic, or even a carpenter, is only as good as his tools…
I say the same can be said about a blogger.
Of course, you might be able to get by trying to f ix everything with a screwdriver (or duct tape)…
…BUT, having a comprehensive toolkit would make anyone much better in any prof ession.
That’s what this blog post is about…
This blog post is about sharing blogging tools that I have used personally to help me become a prof essional
blogger and grow my blog over the past year.
A majority of the tools that I use are completely f ree and very ef f ective, while others have required a small
investment.
This is not a comprehensive list of tools, as there are literally hundreds of thousands of possible ones.
This is a list of tools that I have personally used to create content, generate traf f ic, capture leads, and convert
sales.
So, let’s get started…
1. Custom Theme – Thesis

2. One of the most important things when starting up your blog or looking to grow your blog is to select a theme
that not only looks nice but also has clean code f or the search engines.
For years, Thesis by DIYThemes has been my go-to theme f or all of my blogs and even client websites.
The code is clean, the search-engines love it, and it’s very simple to use.
Now, I use this.
2. Reliable Hosting – Hostgator
If you are going to purchase your own hosting, then I recommend Hostgator.
I have personally used Hostgator f or over 5 years and have never once experienced any interruption f or any of
my 50+ websites.
Making sure that your website works and can be accessed online crucial if you’re goal is to build a successf ul
business online. Downtime is just unacceptable.

3. 3. Email Marketing Tool – Aweber
Capturing the emails of your blog readers is an essential step when building a relationship with your audience
and building an email list.
All successf ul online marketers will tell you that building an email list is one of the most important steps f or
building a successf ul business.
Aweber is easy to setup and simple to use. Sign up f or $1 and test it out f or yourself .
4. Editorial Calendar
Coming up with content on a regular basis is one of the biggest challenges f or bloggers.
I have f ound that keeping an editorial calendar has made this part easy f or me and has improved my blogging
ten-f old.
I simply create a spreadsheet in Google Drive with a list of topics and categories that I will write f or each day.
This keeps me organized and more productive.

4. 5. Double Your Productivity
The Results Machine by Gavin Mountf ord has been one of the best tools I have ever purchased.
It not only organized my blogging, but also the time that I spend on personal projects and f amily time.
6. Evernote
Have you ever written down a blog post idea on a notepad or post-it note only to not be able to f ind it when
you need it?

5. Well, Evernote will def initely be a lif e saver f or you…as it has been f or me.
I save everything in Evernote. When I think of a blog topic I simply pull out my iPhone and make a quick note
about it.
7. Google Alerts
Want to know what everyone else is writing about your topic? Want to stay up to date with trending topics?
Then use Google Alerts.
Simply enter any keyword that you would like f or Google to keep an eye on f or you and they’ll let you know
when anyone writes about it or mentions it.
This is a sneaky way to spy on your competition.
8. Google Keyword Tool

6. Even though it’s f ree, the Google Keyword Tool is still one of the best and most widely used keyword research
tools on the market.
And why wouldn’t it be? The search juggernaut itself is giving you the best keywords to target when writing
your blog posts.
Apart f rom telling you how popular your keyword is, the Google Keyword Tool will also give you hundreds of
keyword suggestions that you might never have thought of .
9. Keyword Researcher
Keyword Researcher is a tool that I like to use to come up with keyword ideas that I normally would never think
of .
The way it works is you f eed it a keyword and it pulls up thousands of auto-complete versions of that
keyword.
These keywords are gold because they are actual phrases that people type into the Google search box.
10. Royalty Free Photos

7. There are dozens of sites where you can f ind royalty f ree photos f or your blog posts.
This is important because you don’t want to risk violating any copyrights.
I used to have a list of sites that I would visit bookmarked on my browser. At times it would take me over an
hour to f ind just the right image.
I now use a f ree website, PhotoPin.
Simply enter a keyword that describes your ideal image and PhotoPin will pull up hundreds of photos f rom all of
the royalty f ree photo sites f or you to use.
11. Screen Recording Software
At times I will record a tutorial on my computer f or my readers.

8. At times I will record a tutorial on my computer f or my readers.
I use Screenf low f or this.
Screenf low is a very simple to use screen-recording sof tware with prof essional quality editing f eatures.
And once you’re done recording you can upload directly to YouTube f rom within Screenf low.
A f ree alternative that might work f or you too is Jing.
12. HootSuite
Keeping up with all of your social media accounts and posting to each one is def initely one of the toughest
things to juggle.
Hootsuite makes that all simple by bringing all of your social activity under one dashboard.
I use Hootsuite to f ollow conversations and post to multiple social prof iles at the same time.
13. Document Sharing and Syncing

9. Sometimes I will write a blog post directly f rom my iPhone and iPad only to realize that a picture or f ile that I
wanted to share was back home on my desktop.
That’s why I use Box. Box keeps all of my f iles neatly synchronized across all of my devices and even gives me
access to them in the cloud.
I’m never without all of my f iles thanks to Box.
14. Fiverr.com
I use Fiverr all of the time. It’s almost like an addiction f or me it’s so cool.
Basically, you can get anyone to anything f or you f or only $5.
Need a banner designed? Want a new logo? Need some quick backlinks? Or a quick virtual assistant?
Go to Fiverr and get it done f or $5.
These are some of the top tools that I have used to increase traf f ic to my blog, generate leads, and convert

10. sales.
Click here to learn how I made $1,625 in a single day f rom my blog.