My 6 Favorite Blogging Resources That Have Helped Me Grow My Blog (so far!)

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While I’ve only been doing this thing called blogging for a little less than 5 months, I’ve received several emails asking me about blogging, how I’ve grown my blog, and how I’m able to find the time to blog with two little kids. Since I’ve received so many questions about blogging, I thought I would write a post dedicated to my favorite blogging resources that have helped me grow my blog and keep me from spending 40+ hours blogging each week!

I love blogging. I love the writing. I love the relationships I’m beginning to build with other bloggers. I love the community that is building here at The Mom on Purpose. I love learning new things and growing something from the ground up. However, I love my family more. I love to spend time with them and not being connected to my computer all the time.

Because of this, I’ve done a lot of research to find the best blogging resources that will give me the biggest bang for my buck as well as my time. I spend about 15-18 hours a week working on my blog and I don’t have any intentions of increasing this any time soon. While I’m sure I could grow my blog much faster if I was willing to dedicate more time to it, I’m just not at this point in time.

At this point, I want this to be a part-time job that I truly enjoy that provides our family a part-time income. My first job right now is to be a wife, mom, and homemaker. Blogging comes 4th, so finding ways to streamline the process and save time have been crucial for me!

There are 6 blogging resources that have helped me turn this little blog of mine into a small part-time income stream in less than 5 months.

1. Building a Framework

I’ve read a handful of books on blogging and Building a Framework is by far at the very top of my list! It’s comprehensive and written in a way that even the non-techy person can understand! It goes through absolutely every step from starting a blog to growing an audience to monetizing your blog. Abby is so down to earth and comes from very humble blogging beginnings which makes her book so relatable to the novice, beginner blogger. If I could recommend one book to read to create and grow your blog it would most definitely be Building a Framework.

2. Tailwind

Tailwind is my number one time saving trick that literally helps to drive over 70% of my traffic (from Pinterest) every single day while I play with my kids, cook dinner, exercise, or even sleep! Literally this little tool is the best investment I make in my blog each month!

Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduler. Basically, this means that I can go in and schedule out several pins to go out on my Pinterest account each day without me having to be sitting behind my computer actually doing the work. It takes me about 30 minutes to schedule out my entire month worth of pins.

For the month of March, Tailwind is offering $30 in credit to all new subscribers! Plus, you can do a 30 day free trial to see if you like it!

(Psst…Abby goes into great detail and created an awesome video walking you through how to use Tailwind in her Advanced & Master packages of Building a Framework! It’s super helpful!)

3. Bluehost

Bluehost was the very first thing I purchased when I decided to start my blog. It’s where my blog is hosted. This is basically like renting space online for your blog to be located. From what I’ve researched, Bluehost is great for beginning bloggers and, so far, I would have to agree!

I’ve only had one small issue with my blog being “down” for about an hour. Once I realized something was wrong, I went straight to my email. To my surprise, I had already received an email from a Bluehost representative letting me know that they knew of the problem and were working on getting it fixed quickly. It was literally back up in less than an hour!

They have great customer services and awesome prices! If you are new to blogging, this is the best place to get started with hosting.

4. Restored 316 Designs

When I first started blogging, I thought I was going to be stuck with the basic wordpress theme because there was no way I could afford to hire a designer to create a website design to the tune of $500+. Then I discovered Restored 316 Designs! They sell several different website designs for wordpress blogs that are super cute and feminine as well as affordable.

Having a well-designed blog is one of the things that is going to make your website look professional and keep people coming back for more! While I still have a long way to go, I know that having a simple theme has really made a huge difference in the style and layout of my blog!

Restored 316 Designs has amazing customer service! I have emailed them several times about questions with my theme and they have always responded in a timely manner and answered my questions thoroughly! They’ve even walked me through how to do some HTML edits…something I could never do on my own!

5. Genesis Framework

Boy, did this confuse me more than just about anything else when I first started blogging! Apparently, when you purchase a theme from a place like Restored 316 Designs, you are getting a “child theme.” This child theme must have a “parent theme” that it works with to create the actual design of your blog. From my research, it seems that most themes I’ve found run under the Genesis Framework.

The way I look at it is the parent theme (Genesis Framework) is the floor plan of your blog. The child theme (Restored 316 Designs) is all the pretty decor! 🙂

The Genesis Framework is a one-time purchase. If you do ever upgrade to a more custom design for your blog, most of the time it will be in conjunction with the Genesis Framework. Yes, it is one more expense when you are first starting out, but in my opinion it’s worth it so that you can get a really nice theme!

6. How to Blog for Profit without Selling Your Soul

As much as I love Building a Framework, How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul definitely comes in a close second. Ruth Soukup is the blogger behind Living Well Spending Less as well as the owner of Elite Blog Academy. I’ve not taken her blogging e-course because I just can’t justify the price right now. However, this book has been one of the best resources to help me build my traffic.

Ruth has an amazing Pinterest strategy that she details in her book. She goes in depth on how to write a successful blog post, create a blogging schedule, and use social media to drive traffic to your site. She definitely knows her stuff with her blog driving 1.5 to 2 million page views each month!

Psst…You can get this book FREE when you sign up for a free monthly trial of Audible! This is one of my favorite apps! I listen to books while I’m cleaning, cooking, driving, and (cough, cough) blogging! 😉 If you haven’t tried it out, get your first month FREE and use your first credit to get How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul!

While The Mom on Purpose is most definitely still a very, very small blog, these are the resources that have helped me grow my blog in the first 5 months. You won’t find anything here that costs several hundred dollars because that is just not in this small blogger’s budget! However, I know that all of these things have contributed to the small successes I’ve had and I’m so glad that I decided to invest in them in the beginning.