7 Best Blogging Tools For More Traffic & Revenue

by | Jun 6, 2022

We talk about this all the time but any investment you make in yourself or in your business is worth it. 

If you treat your blog like a hobby because that’s what makes you happy, that’s great. But at Pursuit of Passive Income, we teach you to run your blog like a business from day 1. 

Any business needs tools and software to grow. Let’s talk about the essential tools every blog should implement to gain more website visits and increase revenue.

Bluehost

Bluehost offers reliable web hosting at a reasonable cost to get your blog up and running in minutes. They also offer a free domain for a year. Sign up for web hosting, install WordPress with a single click and your site is live!

DIVI

Don’t make the same mistake I made trying to get by with a free theme. It’s not worth the brain damage. The DIVI Theme allows you to completely customize your website with a full complement of drag-and-drop elements.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit is the best email automation software for affiliate marketing businesses. Their easy-to-use templates and advanced segmenting of contacts and lists make it our favorite email software on the market!

Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is an essential tool for bloggers to ensure articles are properly optimized for search engines in an effort to rank higher and drive more traffic to your site.


Starting a Blog has never been easier, but with the ease of access comes greater competition in the space. The right tools and software give you an advantage and a better chance of succeeding with your blogging business. 

So what tools do you need to set your blog apart? 

Disclosure: PPI is reader-supported and may receive commissions when you click through the affiliate links (which are great products we use and stand by). This site is not intended to provide financial advice and is for entertainment only. You can read our affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.

There are plenty of useful tools out there, but let’s take a look at our favorites, and why we recommend each. 

What Are The Best Blogging Tools?

There are so many aspects of our blogging business that we have to get right. Website hosting & design, a nice logo, email marketing, social media, keyword research, the list goes on. 

Plus, running a blog is demanding as far as putting out a constant stream of new and useful content for your readers complete with the right SEO to get you recognized by Google. 

We need the right tools & software to stay on track and continue to grow. There are so many software & services we use at Pursuit of Passive Income to keep everything on track, but we tried to limit this article to the essentials.  

So here are our best blogging tools with some commentary for each. 

1. Bluehost

The Best Web Hosting For Your Blog

Start Your Blog With Bluehost

Bluehost offers reliable web hosting at a reasonable cost to get your blog up and running in minutes. They also offer a free domain for a year!
Reliable Web Hosting
Pricing: Plans Start at $2.95/month
Promotion: Free Domain For A Year

 

Bluehost is the most trusted web hosting service on the market by a long shot. It is extremely reliable and has a full complement of features that make starting your own website a breeze. 

Your blog is a collection of files that live on the internet. Bluehost offers the servers you need to store those files for very cheap. Plus, when you use our link you will get 66% off your hosting through Bluehost. 

Once you have your website hosting set up, you’ll need a website builder like WordPress to organize all your files in a manner that makes sense for your website visitors.

Key Features:

  • Reliable Web Hosting
  • Free Domain For A Year
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • 1-Click WordPress Install

Pricing Plans

Bluehost offers four pricing options to get your website up and running, but we recommend the Choice Plus Option.

Basic Plan

The Basic Plan starts at $2.95 per month and offers hosting for 1 website with 10 GB of storage.

Plus Plan

The Plus Plan is $5.45 per month, offering unlimited websites with unlimited storage.

Choice Plus Plan

The Choice Plus Plan is our recommended option to get everything offered under the Plus Plan with Domain Privacy and Backup included for the same price of $2.45 per month. This is the best option if you’re serious about blogging.

Pro Plan

The Pro Plan is much more advanced and will run you $13.95 per month. Go Pro if you run a large-scale eCommerce business and need advanced features.

2. DIVI by Elegant Themes

Most Popular WordPress Theme In The World

Fully Customizable Theme

Don’t make the same mistake I made trying to get by with a free theme. I can promise you it’s not worth the brain damage. The DIVI Theme makes your website completely customizable with a full complement of drag-and-drop elements that will have your site looking great!
Customizable WordPress Theme
Pricing: $249 Lifetime or $89 Per Year
Design Your Website With Drag & Drop Elements

 

The Divi Theme by Elegant Themes is a carefully crafted WordPress Theme for your website. It offers complete customization with a full complement of drag-and-drop elements so you can get your site looking just the way you want. 

I speak from experience when I tell you this theme is worth it if you have the extra money to spare. It will save you tremendous time and effort in the short term and in the long run. 

When I first started Pursuit of Passive Income, I tried to get by with a Free Theme and after about 20-30 hours of struggling to get the site the way I wanted it, I broke down and paid for the DIVI Theme. 

It is safe to say that is one of the better decisions I’ve made and haven’t looked back. If you’re stuck trying to figure out a nice design for your website, feel free to use PPI as inspiration and copy our general template for how we have things laid out.

Key Features:

  • Powerful WordPress Theme
  • Customize Your Website
  • Build Faster
  • Unlimited Use
  • Join Over 806,875 Users

Pricing Plan

The DIVI Theme offers two pricing options, both of which come with the same features.

Yearly Access

If you’re dipping your toe in the water or want to keep expenses low, feel free to go with the annual fee of $89 per year.

Lifetime Access

For those of you that are ready to jump in and want to save some money in the long run, Elegant Themes offers Lifetime Access to the Divi Theme for a one-time fee of $249, our recommended option if you’re serious about your blog.

3. ConvertKit

Best Email Marketing Software

Why ConvertKit?

More than 425,000 online business owners trust ConvertKit to deliver their message and convert subscribers into customers. I recommend ConvertKit for its simplicity, making it super easy to use.
Best Email Software
Pricing: $9/Month Creator Plan
Promotion: 14-Day Free Trial

 

Email marketing software gives you the highest return on investment (ROI) among marketing channels – $38 for every $1 spent.

With a return like that, it’s imperative to focus on building out an automated email sequence that converts your audience into customers. 

ConvertKit is the #1 trusted email software for creators, with impressive testimonials from big names such as Pat Flynn and Tim Ferriss. 

The rise is popularity is largely due to its simplicity (the #1 reason I recommend it) and its advanced segmentation capabilities. 

The emails look like they are sent directly from a Gmail account, and the simple tagging system allows you to send certain emails to the people that truly care about the content. 

Key Features

  • Unlimited landing pages and forms
  • Email broadcasts
  • Community support, live chat, and email support (in paid version)
  • Automated funnels and sequences
  • Free courses and training
  • Email autoresponders
  • Integrations with leading e-commerce tools
  • Fully customizable templates
  • Build an email list with free email sign up forms

Pricing Plan

The pricing plan of ConvertKit is staggered across three levels, all of which can be paid monthly or yearly. However, opting for the annual plan is more cost-effective as you get two months of free service.

Also, note that the cost of these plans (except the Free Plan) will increase with the number of email subscribers you have.

Free Plan at $0/month
  • Community support
  • Unlimited landing pages and email broadcasts
Creator Plan at $9/month
  • Live chat and email support
  • Free migration from other affiliate marketing tools
Creator Pro Plan at $25/month
  • Priority support
  • Advanced reporting and subscriber scoring 

4. SurferSEO

Essential SEO To Boost Search Rankings

The SEO Savior

SurferSEO may not be the affiliate marketing tool you want to take to the prom, but it’s about as important as your Mom. It will provide you the necessary keywords and phrases you need to include in your content in order to rank higher on Google.
SEO & Content Strategy
Pricing: $49/month Basic Plan
Promotion: Coming Soon

 

This one may be the least sexy to talk about, but that doesn’t make it any less important!

SEO is essential to any affiliate marketing business that relies on organic traffic. Proper SEO and the right semantic keywords within your webpages can be the difference between page 1 & page 2 on Google. 

Depending on the search volume for that keyword, it could mean the difference between 100,000 website visits (and thousands in affiliate commissions) and very little traffic at all.

SurferSEO helps ensure that you are using all the appropriate semantic keywords Google is looking for to help you move up in the search rankings. 

So when Google is searching through the various articles related to a specific search, they scan the article for keywords and phrases. SurferSEO tells you exactly what those phrases are for each specific keyword, and gives you a score based on how many of each phrase you use in your article. 

The higher your score, the more likely you will show up on page 1 of a Google search around your target keyword. The implications are huge. 

So sign up for SurferSEO today to start seeing your article move up in the rankings!

Key Features:

  • Generate a Perfect Content Strategy
  • Rank Your Content Higher in Google Search
  • Build Article Outlines
  • Content Suggestions

Pricing Plan

Surfer offer three tiers of pricing depending on the number of articles you write per month and how many team members you will have collaborating on the platform. 

Feel free to choose the best option to suit your needs. 

Basic Plan at $49/month

  • Optimize 10 Articles/month
  • Audit 20 Articles/month

Pro Plan at $99/month

  • Optimize 30 Articles/month
  • Invite 3 Team Members

Business Plan at $199/month

  • Optimize 70 Articles/month
  • 10 Team Members

5. Jasper

The Most Advanced AI Writing Tool

Write Faster With A.I.

If you’re serious about your blog you face the challenge of producing consistent content. Jasper is an AI writing tool that will write your article for you complete with the necessary semantic keywords using the SurferSEO integration. Level up your content production today!
Powerful AI Writing Tool
Pricing: $49/Month Starter Plan
Promotion: Claim 10K Words Free

 

Believe it or not, blogging isn’t about writing. Successful bloggers aren’t spending countless hours writing content. Instead, they are assembling content with tools like Jasper. 

Jasper is a powerful AI writing tool that is trained to take a target keyword and produce content (in this case a blog article) with all the relevant words and phrases Google expects to see in a top article. 

So for you bloggers looking for a tool that helps you produce more content with maximum efficiency, Jasper is for you.

Simply start a sentence or give it a headline, and Jasper will write the article for you. Integrate with Surfer SEO and you’ll be producing quality content optimized for Google in no time!

Key Features:

  • Create Original Content That Ranks
  • Optimized SEO For Google
  • Assemble Content 10X Faster
  • SurferSEO Integration

Pricing Plan

Jasper is priced based on the number of words per month you ask it to write. The website allows you to estimate the words you’ll use and gives you a price based on that usage.

There are two plans to choose from based on your needs.

Starter Plan

The starter plan will run you $49 per month for 35,000 words. It allows you to write short-form content like product descriptions, ad copy, etc.

Boss Plan

The boss plan starts at $99 per month for 100,000 words and allows you to produce full-length blog posts at warp speed. Simple math ($49 for 35,000 words vs. $99 for 100,000 words) makes the Boss Plan our recommendation for serious bloggers.

6. Fiverr

Outsource Your Online Business

Fiverr’s Endless Opportunities

Fiverr is a marketplace for business owners to outsource specific services provided by professional freelancers. From logo and website design to video editing and data entry, Fiverr has you covered at a reasonable cost!
Hire Freelance Services
Pricing: Free Account
Promotion: 10% Off Your First Purchase

 

If you’re unfamiliar with Fiverr, you are missing out on one of the most useful tools of our generation. 

I know that may seem a bit over the top, but I use Fiverr constantly when I need something done quickly and don’t want to break the bank. When I don’t have the skill or time to get something done, I will go to Fiverr.

There are people on there offering every skill under the sun, from video editing and website design to social media management and logo design. 

Whatever you need to keep your online business moving forward, there are people there to help you get there. Definitely check out the endless freelance services offered on Fiverr!

Notable Services:

  • Website Design
  • Logo Design
  • Video Editing
  • Social Media Management 
  • Ad Creation
  • SEO
  • Illustration
  • Data Entry
  • The List Is Endless!

Pricing Plan

It is completely free to create an account! Each gig or service has its own advertised price and you are free to filter results to fit your budget.

Pricing ranges from $5 for entry-level services to $10,000+ for large jobs and other unique professional opportunities. 

7. WordPress

Build Your Website With WordPress

World’s Most Powerful Website Builder

Once you have your blog hosted online, it’s time to build out your visually appealing website with WordPress. They have plenty of themes to choose from and the endless plugins will have your site humming in no time. 
Essential Website Builder
Pricing: Free With Bluehost
43% Of The Web Is Built On WordPress

 

While Bluehost provides the servers to store all of your files online, WordPress is the website builder that allows you to organize those files in a manner that makes sense for your readers. 

WordPress is completely free and offers the most comprehensive selection of features through an endless library of plugins and other tools. 

Trusted by over 43% of websites online, WordPress is the go to solution for building your website.

Key Features:

  • Customizable Designs
  • SEO Friendly
  • Responsive Mobile Sites
  • High Security
  • Powerful Media Management

Pricing Plan

WordPress is completely Free and can be installed with a single click through Bluehost. Simply sign up for Bluehost, Install WordPress, and you have your blog up and running.

Summary: Best Blogging Tools

Any successful business must leverage tools and software to operate and grow. As a blogger, we have a lot going on, from producing content, designing our website, updating social media channels, sending out emails, and so on and so forth. 

We need to know when to invest our profits back into the business so that we can become more efficient and eventually more profitable. I say it all the time, but the best investment you can ever make is in yourself and in your business. 

So if you’ve found a tool on this list that will save time and make you more money, there’s no need to feel bad about the investment. I currently use all of these tools in my business, and while some of them aren’t cheap, they allow me to produce more content in an effort to grow the business and grow the bottom line. 

So again, here is our list of Best Blogging Tools:

  1. Bluehost
  2. Divi by Elegant Themes
  3. ConvertKit
  4. SurferSEO
  5. Jasper
  6. Fiverr
  7. WordPress

Certainly, if you have any questions about any of these tools, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a more in-depth opinion. 

But overall, I recommend each of these tools because I personally use them in my business in an effort to be more efficient in my activities. 

If you’ve found a tool you think will help you out, give it a try! Most of these tools have free trials or money-back guarantees, so use those to your advantage where you can. 

Other than that, the best advice we can ever give is to JUST START 🚀

As always, we wish you nothing but success!

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