Hey there, blogging friends! I have put together a list of resources for you to consider when building your blog. I am still at the beginning of my journey. Thehableway.com has been live for less than a year. Sharing my experiences about different affiliate marketing and training courses may save you some valuable time!
Disclosures: I am an affiliate of Grammarly, Amazon and “It’s A Lovely Life” Courses. I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you click through and purchase anything through these links.
My FlexOffers.com and Moo.com links are publisher refer-a-friend programs!
Training Courses
It's A Lovely Life Courses
There is no shortage of courses, both free and paid, for bloggers. I have taken quite a few at this point. I started with “How To Start A Blogging Business” by It’s A Lovely Life. I have gone through their free 5-day Crash Course, their paid Travel Blogging Blastoff Course, SEO Bootcamp & Affiliate Marketing Bootcamp. I have found these courses to be worthwhile and most importantly, I gained a remarkably valuable community.
You can head straight to the FREE 5-Day Crash Course here where they teach you how to start your blog for just $2.75/month (billed yearly) and receive a free .com for 1 year:
Adventure In You Blogging Fast Lane Courses
Additionally, I have taken the “Blogging Fast Lane Webinar” by Anna & Tom, founders of the successful travel blog Adventureinyou.com. This webinar gave me a vision for how I wanted to lay out my blog’s hierarchy. It is completely free and gave me valuable information about how Google ranks your framework! It may help you as well!
Affiliate Marketing Tips
Flex Offers
Flex Offers is an excellent place to start your affiliate marketing journey. Once you are accepted into the program and complete your profile, you can decide which advertisers you want to apply for. I was surprised by some of the advertisers that approved me given my blog is under one year old. I like FlexOffers because they have thousands of advertisers that use text links and banners. This makes it possible to use many different forms of marketing. Please join me by using my referral link below and start choosing advertisers that best fit your niche!
https://publisherpro.flexoffers.com/registration?RID=1148416
Amazon Associates
I have not cracked the Amazon Associates code yet. I have made enough sales to be an active associate. It just feels like a lot of work for earning nickels and dimes (not exactly, but you get the idea). I do plan to keep working at this because I know it can be valuable!
A few things to remember when getting started:
- You must make three qualifying sales within three months. After you reach this milestone, they will review your account.
- Those three qualifying sales must be from organic traffic. If you have a family member or friend who purchases anything, it will not count.
- It is possible that the number and time limit of qualifying sales changes on occasion. I have seen a few different numbers so make sure that you review the most recent guidelines.
ShareASale
ShareASale is the newest (to me) affiliate marketing group that I have joined. I am still learning the ropes with this one but see great potential. Being part of a few affiliate programs gives you the flexibility to find more merchants that your blog aligns with. Join me below!
Independent Affiliate Programs
If you find a brand or business you would like to work with, go straight to the source. Sometimes, they will have an in-house affiliate program without using a third-party like FlexOffers. This method has proven successful for me. I am a direct affiliate of several brands that I believe in which makes it incredibly easy to promote!
Budget-Friendly Digital & Print Marketing Tools
MooSend - E-mail Platform
As great as Constant Contact might be, I couldn’t justify adding it to the list of monthly payments. I knew there were other free email marketing platforms out there that would work for my current mission. As my website grows, this may change. For now, I am using MooSend.com. MooSend gives you up to 1,000 email recipients before it is necessary to upgrade. They also have an easily understandable layout for designing your campaigns.
Canva - Design Anything
Having a digital design degree makes me a little bit picky in this category. I am always trying new online and downloadable applications to make my life easier.
So far, I have found the most success with Canva.com. There is a free and paid version. I am using the free version as it fits 100% of my needs and expectations at this time. You can make designs for all social media platforms with their wide selection of templates.
https://www.canva.com/join/defendant-tapir-stern
Moo.com - Excellent Print Services
Bloggers don’t always think of business cards right away! When I found out that I was invited to a media preview for a beautiful botanical garden in Richmond, VA, I realized that I needed business cards! I would be meeting quite a few professionals specializing in different media and I had to make an impression. Enter Moo.com! I got gorgeous business cards quickly. I uploaded my own design, chose the specs and received them inside of a week. Head over to Moo.com using this link to get 25% off your first order! (Not an affiliate, just a fan!)
If you have already used Moo.com, you can still get 20% off with code “BIZCARD” until March 1st.
IncFile.com - Start Your Business TODAY!
If you want your blog to be successful, it should be a legal business! While you may not think it is necessary at the start, it is best to take care of right away. Most affiliate marketing groups and paid partnerships require participants to submit tax forms. I began my business back in 2018. I have always worked with Incfile due to the ease of setting up my LLC and the automated process to keep in compliance. Save the headache, and get started with Incfile below!
Grammarly - Elevate Your Writing
Grammarly has been a gamechanger for my writing journey! It grades correctness, clarity, and engagement. Every single post I write goes through Grammarly first. I have even started using it to check the content of my emails before I send them. It elevated the technical aspects of my writing and has given me a lot more confidence in my delivery.
They have Free, Premium, and Business plans for your specific needs. Check it out below and never go without Grammarly again!
Amazon - Elevate Your Presentation
If you happen to be selling anything on your blog, sometimes you will need to ship things out to customers. One of the businesses I have is a clothing boutique housed on Poshmark.com. Having the correct shipping supplies makes a huge difference in cost and presentation! I have curated a list of the best products that I use and order from Amazon. Check out the list here or click the Amazon link below. If you haven’t used Poshmark before, click the link below and use LAHable25 for $10 off your first purchase from any closet when you sign up for the platform!
As I learn and grow, I will add to this list. I will share my knowledge with you, success, or failure! As I mentioned before, the blogging community is the most valuable resource when establishing your empire.
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Thanks for this list! I love how helpful the It’s a Lovely Life courses are!
Thanks for the information. I have done the 5 Day Crash Course – it was great. And then took the 30 day one as well – again extremely helpful. I haven’t been quite as consistent with the other tools – so thanks for the reminder.
Great information. Thanks for the ideas! I love the ‘It’s A Lovely Life’ Courses too!
I LOVE Canva! I have been dropped by Amazon twice – hopefully 3rd time is a charm. Each case was 6 months long but I did not qualify. I agree it may be more work than it is worth.
However, I think going through specific companies to be partners/affiliates has worked out for me. Amazon and CJ Affiliates, not so much. I will look into flexoffers – I am not familiar with them. Thanks for the info.
I feel like I am missing something with CJ affiliates. It seems like a similar layout to Flexoffers so I don’t know why it’s not working out as well. Best of luck to you!
Great post! As a new blogger it is always great to see others post what has worked for them. I’m sure this will be a valuable resource for many. Thanks!
Thanks for the list! I just signed up for Amazon… so I guess I will see how successful it is. I have not yet looked into anything else as my blog is only a couple months old, and right now, the techy stuff has been occupying my time! Lol
Great info thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your secrets! Very helpful!
This is great list of resources! I know I can use all the resources I can find! 🙂
Great list of resources! No matter what business we are in everyone can use a good resource! Thank you!
I have never heard of Flexoffers, I will have to check them out. And I agree with you on AMZ … not much money there unless you have TONS of traffic. Great tips!
Thanks for gathering these resources in one post! It’s both helpful and encouraging to see someone else who’s on the newer end of this share what they’ve tried!
I am going to sign up with flex affiliate group. I use CJ alot.
I hope that you find much success with it! I have been using it for about 6 months and I’m very pleased with it.
Great resources! I second the importance of the blog courses!
Great post, especially for new others like myself. Funny thing i was doing research last night on constant contact alternatives so I’ll check out your reccomendation.
You might also want to check out Mailchimp. I do not have experience with it personally but have heard good things!
Excellent resources. We have participated in courses from Its a Lovely Life.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for compiling the list. It’s nice to have a list of resources all in one place.
It’s A Lovely Life really can’t be beat! The classes are all top notch! I hope to take the pin success bootcamp in the future.
Great resource for new bloggers.
Thanks for sharing these. I’ll have to check out the flex program.
I am a graduate of the It’s a Lovely Life program – although they keep coming out with new content, so do you ever really graduate? Lol!
Great tips! I agree with most of them! I am coming up on 1 year of blogging soon. I have learned a few things from your post, I’m going to check out Flex Offers and Moo.com. Thanks!
Great resources for bloggers who are just getting started!
Great tips! I have found affiliate marketing to be the hardest way to earn money. In 4 months I haven’t made a penny with it, but with sponsored posts I’ve secured 5 gigs.
This is a great list. I, too, have found several of these to be helpful and I also wasn’t aware of a few of them – thank you!
Thanks for sharing these resources and your experience with them. I’m still trying to crack the code on Amazon too.
Thank you for your valuable information. I have several affiliates but I will check out Flex Offers.
What a great list of resources for those just getting started and for those that have been around.
This is a great resource! Nice starting point for newer bloggers!
This is a great list! Lovely Life courses really are great! They’ve helped me a lot! I also really enjoy Canva too! 🙂
These are excellent suggestions! It all takes time to come together and I’m still learning new things! The process of making money with a blog requires consistency and staying open to opportunities.