As bloggers, we know how important it is to have the right tools for the job. Blogging can be a lot of work and it is nice to have free tools that make our lives easier. In this article, you will find a list of 10+ free tools for bloggers that can help with publishing, researching, promoting and other aspects of blogging.
While blogging is a business and should receive the same attention and resources as any other business, sometimes you just want to start a blog for free and give yourself an opportunity to see how it goes without a huge investment.
These tools will help you do just that.
Free Tools for Bloggers – Platforms
Blogger
Blogger was created in 1999 and is one of the original blogging platforms. Blogger makes it easy to create a blog, write posts, add pictures or videos and share your thoughts with others online. Plus Blogger has integrated Google analytics so you can see how many visitors are coming to your site!
WordPress
WordPress is the most popular and flexible blogging platform that allows for free blogs as well as paid hosting (starting at $37/year) if desired. WordPress offers templates for different types of sites such as magazine format, portfolio style or photo gallery styles which all use responsive design making them perfect for mobile devices. With over 28% market share worldwide WP can be used by anyone from an individual blogger like myself who wants to have greater control over their site, to a business that wants to have their own blog for marketing purposes.
Tumblr
Tumblr is also another platform for creating blogs but what sets Tumblr apart from other platforms is its social community aspect. You can post text posts as well as images and video which then gets shared on your followers’ dashboard pages (or dashboards). And you don’t need separate accounts either – you just create one account and all of your content goes wherever that account goes.
With these blogging platforms there are lots of tools that allow bloggers the freedom to customize their blogs however they see fit – whether it’s with design, layout or content. And best of all? All three platforms offer free hosting so getting started is easy and won’t break your wallet either.
Free Tools for Bloggers – Analytics
Google Analytics
With Google Analytics, bloggers are able to view how many people visit their website (an important metric for any blogger) as well as where those visitors came from, what they did while on the site and more! This tool also has an “Audience” section in which bloggers can see who visits most often; sorting by country, demographics like age/gender/location etc.
The next time you feel stuck trying to come up with a good blog post idea grab Blogger’s Blog Topic Generator or Google Analytics to give you a push in the right direction.
Google Search Console or Webmaster Tools
Google Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools) is a free tool from Google that bloggers can use to check whether their blog was indexed and if so, how many pages are indexed. Blogger’s SEO section also displays the number of visits coming from search engines for each post on your site which gives bloggers insight into what type of content resonates with internet users.
Moz
The Moz tool is one bloggers will want to take advantage of when looking at SEO because this free service offers bloggers information about how much traffic potential new content could receive based off keywords used in the post title or meta description so bloggers know if what they’re writing is worth publishing! The platform also provides other important insights such as the bloggers domain authority, page authority and more.
As you grow in blogging it will be important to keep track of where visitors come from – giving you an idea if certain posts work better than others or if there are any gaps in traffic sources. These tools will help blogging newbies get started off right by showing them ways they can publish, promote and research more efficiently without spending a ton of money.
Free Tools for Bloggers – Research
Bloggers often need to find sources for articles that they want to write. One way bloggers can do this is by using Google’s “Scholar” function which pulls up top hits on a topic based off of available scholarly and academic content from around the world (in English).
Scholar allows bloggers to view full text journal articles as well as books, reports or other nonfiction texts. And if you’re looking for something specific like an article from 2000 then just type in your parameters – such as author, title, publication date etc – and Scholar will pull relevant results all at once!
Bloggers can also use Google Scholar to find out what their competition is up to and see which articles are getting the most views. Bloggers who don’t want to break any copyright laws should read through the limitations section of this tool before using it for content research purposes though – as doing so may violate some copyrights!
BuzzSumo
Bloggers can also use BuzzSumo to find content topics that are trending right now. With this tool bloggers are able to view which articles from their niche have been getting the most social shares (which is a great indicator of popularity) as well as see what influencers in their field are talking about and sharing the most too!
Bloggers can type in a specific topic or niche to see the most shared content related to that subject. Bloggers who need help with brainstorming topics should try BuzzSumo – it could give them some good ideas for future posts!
Free Tools for Bloggers – Promotion
One of the biggest challenges bloggers face is getting their content out there and seen by others. Bloggers can use social media to promote their content but it takes a lot of time, effort and energy – not to mention some technological know how like knowing which updates are important for each platform! Luckily bloggers don’t have to go at this alone as they now have access to tools that make promoting easier than ever before.
Agorapulse
Agorapulse offers bloggers an easy way to manage multiple social media accounts from one dashboard while also providing analytics on when posts were made so bloggers never miss deadlines or forget about scheduled promotions again! Plus Agorapulse has integrations with many different platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and more! This link has an offer for 2 free months after your one month trial, after which you can downgrade to a free plan if that works for you.
Revue
Another great tool bloggers should take advantage of when promoting their blog posts is Revue. This free email marketing service offers bloggers tons of features including the ability to send up unlimited emails per month and easily create sign-up forms for their blog with a few clicks! The service also offers powerful analytics so bloggers can see how many people subscribed or unsubscribed from their list.
I’ve migrated my Marketing Hyperdrive newsletter to Revue which you can see here.
Triberr
Triberr is a blogger’s dream come true as it offers bloggers the ability to share their content across multiple social networks and partner with other bloggers for even more exposure. Triberr has been called “the LinkedIn of blogging” in that bloggers can find new connections, collaborate on blog posts or promote each others work – all from one dashboard!
Scoop.it
Scoop.it is a powerful content curation platform that bloggers can use to find quality content related to their niche and then share it with the world! Bloggers are able to subscribe or “scoop” up new posts from various sources as well as create collections of articles based off any topic they want – like tips for running an online business, social media marketing etc.
Slideshare
Bloggers who are looking to create more in-depth content should use Slideshare as a way of getting their message across. Bloggers can generate and upload PowerPoint or Google Slide presentations, PDFs or videos on the platform – all for free! Bloggers will also be able to embed these slideshows onto other sites such as blogs or websites too which could help drive traffic back to their site.
Free Tools for Bloggers – Graphics
When bloggers need to create images for their blog they often have to spend time searching the web for free stock photos or paying a hefty fee. However, there are some great tools out there that bloggers can use and all of them offer quality graphics with no price tag attached!
Pixabay
Bloggers who want high-quality photography without worrying about licensing restrictions should check out Pixabay which offers over 800 thousand royalty-free images (and videos) from across the globe – including a wide selection of public domain items.
Other Free Image Resources : Unsplash
Easil
Easil is a great tool bloggers can use to create professional images for their blog with just a few clicks. Bloggers can also create infographics, posters or presentations using this free tool.
Other Free Graphics Tools: Canva
Free Blog-Friendly Image Editing Services
Blog post images are often the very first thing that people notice when they land on a blog and so it is important to make these graphics as professional looking as possible. Luckily there are some great tools out there for bloggers who want high-quality images without paying any money!
Pixlr Editor : Pixlr editor allows Bloggers to edit their photos with dozens of different effects – such as flares, glows, bokeh and more! Plus Bloggers can use an assortment of fonts (or upload their own) before sharing their new images with the Blogging Community.
Pixlr Express : For Bloggers who want to do more than just edit and share they can use Pixlr express Chrome Extension to create graphics, posters and presentations in a matter of minutes!
Free Tools for Bloggers – Ideas
One of the biggest challenges bloggers face is coming up with fresh content ideas that readers will enjoy – not to mention finding all the information needed on specific topics without having to spend hours researching everything from scratch every time! Thankfully there are some great free tools out there for helping bloggers overcome this challenge by offering them top-notch content to publish and research in just a few clicks.
HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator
HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator is a great tool if you need help coming up with blog post ideas. You can simply enter any noun you want to blog about and have countless ideas presented to you.
Factual
When bloggers have the facts at their fingertips they can create posts that will always be well-received by readers – not to mention save time and energy researching everything from scratch! Factual offers bloggers access to more than 600 million data points on thousands of topics which is perfect for content needs ranging from travel reviews, tips about specific cities or even business industry information.
Expertise Finder
For bloggers who want help finding all the necessary information needed for creating high quality articles there are sites like Expertise finder that offer pre-written blog posts as well as word lists (such as synonyms) so bloggers can create their own posts even without any experience in specific topics.
Feedly
Feedly lets bloggers view all of their favorite blogs (or any RSS feed) in one place – no matter where they’re located on the web! Plus Feedly offers some powerful organizing features like sorting posts by unread/starred status as well as filtering through unreads only or starred content only which helps keep things tidy when browsing feeds.
Free Tools for Bloggers – Writing
Grammarly
When bloggers write posts they want to make sure that everything is as perfect as possible – and this includes making sure their grammar, spelling and punctuation are flawless! Luckily there’s sites like Grammarly which allows bloggers to do just that by proofreading a blog post before publishing.
Hemingway Editor
For bloggers who don’t want to make the mistake of writing in passive voice or using too many words, there’s sites like Hemingway Editor which automatically detects these issues and allows bloggers to see what their posts will look like before publishing.
Jasper
For bloggers struggling to come up with headlines or outlines for new content, there’s Jasper. This free tool is a virtual assistant that Bloggers can talk to in order to create interesting blog post ideas – or even have the content written for them (at the Pro level)!
Evernote
Evernote is a great tool bloggers can use in their everyday life to take notes, create checklists and even save articles for future reference. Plus bloggers who sign up with Evernote Premium will be able to synchronize all of the content they have saved on this site across multiple platforms so it’s always available when needed!
Trello
While blogging may not seem like an organizational task at first glance, bloggers need to make sure that everything from blog post ideas, scheduling posts or images needs are well-organized – which is where Trello comes into play as this free tool helps bloggers keep track of everything without any hassle at all.
Free Content Marketing Course for Bloggers
The Blogger’s Mindset – How To Create 10X Content 10X Faster is a great primer for excellent content marketing, and is available for free.
For more training, here’s a list of more than a dozen content marketing course options.
Free Tools for Bloggers using WordPress
One of the most powerful blogging tools many people don’t think about is WordPress plugins! These programs extend the capabilities of blogs by adding extra features that might not be available otherwise, such as Google Analytics integration or social media buttons at the end of blog posts. The following list includes some great free plugins for bloggers that will help them save time, stay organized and more!
Social Media Share Buttons for WordPress
Blogging can be very time-consuming so it makes sense bloggers would need some help in marketing their content via social media channels such as Pinterest or Facebook. Fortunately there are free tools for bloggers who use WordPress where all the work of installing share buttons has been done for them with plugins like AddThis Social Sharing Toolkit (which also offers analytics) or SumoMe (a suite of tools that Bloggers can use to promote their blogs). Shareaholic is one of the best options though! That’s what I use on all my blogs.
Analytics for WordPress
There are a number of free analytics programs bloggers can use when creating blog posts and websites – including Google Analytics, CrazyEgg or HotJar. These sites offer bloggers valuable information about who is visiting the site in addition to what sections people are interacting with most often on each page so blogging becomes even more fun!
Shortcodes
If bloggers want to save time and go one step further in the blogging process, there are also a number of shortcodes available for use with blogs! Shortcode plugins allow bloggers to insert content quickly into their blog posts without having to manually create it themselves. For example, TinyPress offers bloggers access to popular features such as quote boxes or call-out boxes that can be inserted by simply typing out the relevant code (e.g., “tinypress_quote”).
Akismet
Bloggers who want to stay protected from spam comments should install Akismet. This plugin also allows bloggers to have complete control over how spam is handled and what specific words will set off a warning light for blogs.
Gravity Forms
Gravity forms are the perfect option when bloggers need help creating contact forms, registration pages, surveys or any other type of form on their blog without having to code anything themselves (or paying money). These plugins allow bloggers to easily create fully responsive forms with no coding experience needed!
SEO for WordPress by Yoast
SEO for WordPress is a free plugin that bloggers can install and use to not only make sure their post ranking improves but also save time by automatically changing the title, meta description and more.
Google AdSense
One of the most popular ways bloggers are able to monetize their blogs is through Google AdSense which offers bloggers a way to earn money from each visitor who clicks on an ad at any given moment. The good news? This program has some great tools like automatic targeting or even setting up custom geographical regions where bloggers want their posts shown!
URL Shorteners
Bloggers who want to tweet out content or link back to specific posts without having long URLs can make use of URL shortening sites like Bitly, TinyUrl or Goo.gl (but beware not all domains allow this!). This allows bloggers to easily share shortened versions of blog post addresses quickly without clogging up Twitter feeds with large strings of numbers!
Wrapping Up
Bloggers should have some of these tools at the ready when it comes time to write, publish, promote or research content! These free tools for bloggers help you work smarter not harder so you’re never scrambling again.
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