I’ve made a whole list of services, tools, and equipment I use for blogging. Without each one of these, I’d be lost.
I have included affiliate links on this page, but I wouldn’t mention them if I didn’t highly recommend them. These are all things I personally use and find necessary.
The Best Recommendations for Blog Tools, Equipment, & Services
Here’s everything I use to maintain my blog including services, programs, and equipment.
Hosting with Bluehost
Hosting is just something you need when you have a professional blog. Bluehost has been awesome for my hosting needs! Not everyone is a fan of Bluehost, but I’ve never had a problem with them. Anytime I’ve had an issue, they’ve been extremely helpful and quick to fix it. Plus, they’re super afforable! Right now, you can get hosting for as little as $2.95/month. That means you can keep your blog up and running all year for under $40.
Click here to sign up for that awesome deal!
Transferring a Blogger Blog to WordPress
I got my start on Blogger, which was a great free option. But once I wanted to get more serious and turn my blog into a money-maker, I knew I had to make the switch to self-hosted WordPress. I did the transfer from Blogger to WordPress by myself with the help of a DIY transfer kit from Blogelina. You can read about the move here. It was inexpensive (only $37) and very easy to follow. I definitely recommend it if you’re comfortable doing it yourself. Blogelina also offers a service to do the transfer for you! Options are linked below AND you get a FREE year of hosting with both of them!
Themes
I use the Genesis framework along with the Magazine Pro theme, both from Studiopress. The Genesis framework is always highly recommended to use with a child theme (like Magazine Pro) because it’s search-engine optimized to help with ranking and is really well designed. On top of that, it’s extremely customizable. I chose the Magazine Pro theme to go with Genesis because I liked how the layout was made to look like a full magazine-style website rather than blog entries down the page.
Online Tools/Services
Media.net – This is what I use for my ads. I’ve found it pays much more than Adsense and doesn’t require high stats to join. Sign up with my link and earn a BONUS 10% on your earnings for 3 months!
CreativeMarket – get fonts, overlays, stock images and more. I go here for all of my design needs, especially fonts!
Leadpages – I use this to create opt-ins for my email newsletter, which is important to build up. It’s super easy to use and has greatly increased my newsletter sign-ups since I started using it!
Boardbooster – Great service for scheduling pins on Pinterest and growing your following. I am now over 11,000 followers on Pinterest and Boardbooster has helped me get there!
Equipment
Camera – Canon 70D. This is one of the best DSLRs available. I use it for all my pictures and videos.
Lenses – I use my 60 mm f/2.8 and 85 mm f/1.8 the most. They both give that beautiful blurred background everyone loves. I also have a 50 mm f/1.8 that I use frequently too.
Tripod – I use the Dolica Proline tripod. Best tripod I’ve ever had. It’s sturdy and wasn’t too expensive.
Ring light – I have a really great ring light that is perfect for when I make videos or take self portraits. I also use it as an additional light when the lighting is too low. I couldn’t get such amazing photos without it.
Studio Lighting – When I’m taking pictures in the dark or making videos, I use my studio lights from Amazon to brighten up my area along with the ring light above.
Tabletop studio – This tabletop studio is unbeatable for product photography. I’ve had people think I was using stock photos because that’s how good they look when I use this. It comes with lighting and a seamless white background.
I hope you find this recommendations list useful and have found at least one new thing to use or try.
