Massive List of Free Resources for New Bloggers

 

Free Blogging Courses, Tools, & Platforms for Beginners

When you first start your blog or online business, it’s natural that you won’t have a ton of money to invest. And while I strongly believe you should make investments to really see your blog grow, it’s also nice to try out some free tools to see if this is the right career path for you. So, here is a huge list of free resources for new bloggers.

I hope you find them as helpful as I did.

 

This post contains affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure here.

 

Free Blogging Tools, Resources, & Platforms

You’ll be happy to learn that many blog related resources offer free versions of their service. Others are just always free as a way to gain subscribers, traffic, etc.

Here is a list of some of my absolute favourite tools and platforms that I still use today.

There are a lot of goodies here that you can’t possibly sign up for all at once…

 

Save this post for later so you can refer back to it as you need to!

 

Grammarly – This handy tool checks your spelling, grammar, and punctuation anywhere you write online. Even if you think you’re a great speller, Grammarly can drastically improve your writing.

 

Elementor – This plugin helps you create beautiful, professional looking landing pages for your blog. Follow this link, select “Plugin” and scroll below the pricing chart to access the free version.

 

Answer The Public – This free keyword research tool finds questions that people ask on forums, blogs, and social media and provides you with a huge list of keywords.

 

Interact – I love Interact for creating quizzes. You can use a fun quiz as your opt-in freebie or just create one to get to know your audience better.

 

Freebie Resource Vault, by ME! – Yep. I have all sorts of free goodies. From free Pinterest pin templates, stock photos, blogging terminology cheat sheets, and lots more. Check out everything available and get free access HERE.

 

MailerLite – I use and love MailerLite as my email service provider. They are a great choice for bloggers new to email marketing. They are free for your first 1000 subscribers.

 

Trello – Blogging is busy. And overwhelming. Trello makes it easy to plan, schedule, and stay productive. This productivity and planning app is great for project management. I use it to plan my client’s Instagram posts and we can work collaboratively or individually.

 

Notion – This is another great project management tool. You can use it to plan your blog posts, YouTube videos, social media strategy, and more! This platform is also used by one of my clients and we’re able to work as a team quickly and easily.

 

Canva – I don’t think there’s a blogger out there that doesn’t use Canva. This online design software offers amazing capabilities, templates, graphics, photos, etc. Use it to create your blog graphics, logos, Pinterest pins and everything in between.

P.S. Grab my 5 Pinterest Pin Templates for Canva for FREE!

 

Tailwind  – While I don’t personally use Tailwind for Pinterest anymore, I know lots of people who still do. Others use it to grow their Instagram accounts and schedule posts.

 

Teachable – A top choice among pro bloggers for hosting an online course. If you’ve got something valuable to teach, a course is a great way to create income. Teachable offers a wide range of prices, depending on your needs. But they do offer a free plan as well.

 

Shareasale – This affiliate marketing platform is fabulous for newbies looking to get their feet wet in earning affiliate income. It’s easy to use, free to join, and has a lot of great merchants to choose from.

 

Impact – Like Shareasale, Impact is an affiliate marketing platform where you can find merchants within your niche ready to be promoted.

 

 

Sendowl – I use this amazing platform to make consistent income in 4 different ways! I run my online store through Sendowl. I operate my affiliate program there as well. They offer a 30 day free trial for new online stores.

This easy to use platform offers great affiliate opportunities even if you don’t have your own products. And it’s free to join as an affiliate (scroll to the footer and select “referral program).

Learn more about those 4 ways to earn with Sendowl here.

 

Amazon – Becoming an Amazon Associate is often one of the first things bloggers want to do. Joining the Amazon affiliate program offers a ton of earning potential. Everyone has an Amazon account. Linking to products on your blog is just a no brainer.

To join or just get more info, simply scroll to the bottom of Amazon.ca or Amazon.com and find “become an associate” OR go here (Canada) or here (US).

*Note – there are a lot of rules. Check out the free Amazon course mentioned in the next section.

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Related Reading: How to Get Started as an Amazon Associate

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Pinterest – My number 1 source of traffic. Blogging and Pinterest go together like peanut butter and jelly. Just make sure you join as a business.
More info on how to do that properly here.

 

Quora  – this question and answer website can be a great place to find new readers. Create an account and answer questions relevant to your blog. If it’s helpful, leave a link to a blog post. You’ll get some traffic and a chance to solidify yourself as an expert in your niche.

 

 

Social Media – I have to mention social media. If you don’t already have accounts, it’s time to join Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter to grow your brand. All are free to join of course.

P.S. Facebook groups are a great place to learn and grow your blog. Here’s a list of some of my favourite groups you can join for free –  The Best Facebook Groups to Grow Your Blog

 

YouTube – Video content is hot right now. Not only is it a powerful way to reach your audience but YouTube is also one of the best ways to learn new blogging skills. There is an endless supply of helpful tutorials on the many technical aspects of blogging you’ll need to learn.

 

2 Years Worth of Email Newsletters from Kate Doster – No idea what to send your email list? Get 2 years’ worth of strategically planned weekly newsletter topics, your subscribers (and wallet) will love.

 

Pin Template Starter Pack – I use and love Carly Campbell’s Pinterest Pin Template subscription. I pay $15 a month and find it well worth it.

But she also has free templates you can test drive (and reuse repeatedly) HERE.

 

Affiliate Partners List from Debbie Gartner. Debbie offers over 250 of the best affiliate programs to join (by niche). Grab it for free, join great programs, and start promoting!

 

7 Day Blog Growth Challenge from ME – This one is to give bloggers a little inspiration to do something quick and easy each day for a week to give their blog a nudge in the right direction.

 

The Journey of an Online Buyer from SiteGround – Whether you use SiteGround to host your blog/website or not, you may want to pick up their free guide that will help you to better optimize your website to increase conversions by understanding what your buyer’s online journey might look like.

 

Become a Booked Out Virtual Assistant by Abby Ashley – If your blog isn’t earning you full time income as soon as you’d like, you may want to consider offering virtual assistant services to make extra cash.

Personally, I do both. I make a full time income from my blog and my VA business. And this is the free webinar that got me started!

 

Email Swipe Files by Liz Wilcox – Liz is a super fun email marketing expert whose main claim to fame is her popular EMM (Email Marketing Membership) where she basically writes your emails for you.

The cost is $9 a month, but you can grab the swipe files totally free to get a taste of her style. 

Floral Monthly Planner PLR printable by Faith’s PLR Printables – Have you heard of PLR products? They are a fantastic way to grow your email list or fill an online shop with profitable products, quickly and easily!

You can learn more in this post, but this free PLR planner would make a great opt-in freebie and a way to try PLR risk free.

 

Survey Junkie – This one isn’t really a blogging resource. But you’re here because you’re trying to make money online, right?

You can sign up for Survey Junkie totally free, take surveys while you’re commuting or watching t.v. and earn money. Thought it might be worth mentioning 🙂

 

Welcome Sequence Template – by Lizzy Goddard. Lizzy just does things differently, in a way that leaves you excited and ready to implement her trainings and ideas. Grab her email welcome series template if you have no clue what to send subscribers once they opt into your list.

 

 

Free Courses For New Bloggers

At some point, you’ll need to actually buy some blogging education if you really want to make a go of this. But there are some great courses out there to ease into various topics and lay the groundwork for your education.

These are some of my top choices of free courses to help get you started on the right foot.

Free Start a Blog Course by Carly Campbell – This is exactly as it sounds. Step by Step instructions on starting a blog.

And Carly is amazing. Her blog, her courses, her Facebook groups…just everything, is amazing.

 

Intro to SEO by Debbie Gartner- Quite possibly the most important aspect of blogging. SEO – Search Engine Optimization. Learn it and learn it well. You will regret it if you don’t. Debbie is an SEO expert and her courses/ebooks are great.

 

Make Your First Affiliate Sale by The She Approach – Affiliate marketing is one of the top ways bloggers make their money. Ana at the She Approach offers this free course to teach you the basics and how to get started.

 

 

Freebies That Sell and Serve by Kate Doster – You need to start building an email list ASAP. How? You create an opt-in freebie to offer your readers in exchange for their emails.

This free webinar is probably the best free course I’ve ever taken. It is full of information and value from one of the best email marketing experts in the biz.

 

Legally Blogs by Blogging For New Bloggers – It’s true. You need to have certain things on your blog or website to operate legally. Avoid fines by learning what you and your site need with this free legal blogging course. I turn to this school for all my legal needs for my business.

And while I’m on the topic of blogging legally, be sure to grab their free Copyright Notice Template too!

 

Instagram Strategy Guide by Cat Gets Social – Instagram can valuable source of traffic if done correctly. Don’t just wing it! Learn what works on Instagram and how to create a winning strategy with this free course.

 

Intro to Amazon Associates by Debbie Gartner – Debbie does it again with this free course that will help you get started as an affiliate for Amazon. She makes between $4,000-$5,000 a month with Amazon. So you can trust she knows her stuff.

 

Blogging For New Bloggers Fast Track, again, by Blogging For New Bloggers – A 5 day email course that is full of actionable tips and strategies to help you start your blog and be earning money within 6 months. 

 

Storytelling Techniques That Connect & Convert: Free Guide, by Karon Thackston. Learn how to use the power of storytelling to connect with your audience. This concept is so powerful that Harvard University teaches it! It’s definitely worth looking into!

 

 

Tips for using free blogging tools

I hope you’re anxious to get started learning from all these amazing free resources, tools, and platforms.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed if you sign up for a bunch all at once. I’d suggest you create a new folder in your email to keep track of all your new login info and access links to these freebies.

I’ve actually heard of some people sign up with a brand new email address – dedicated just to resources like these. Then there is no guesswork about where to find the needed info to access everything.

You won’t be able to tackle each thing all at once and it may slip your mind unless it’s in one easy-to-find place.

Have fun and enjoy it all!

P.S. This resource list will continue to grow as I find new tools worth sharing. So you may want to pin this for later and keep checking back.

 

Related Reading:
Best Blogging Courses to Boost Your Income
13 Common Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

 

Save this post and sign up for each freebie later!

Helpful resources for new bloggers – all free!