How to set up a blog - what tools will you need to make it a success?
If you are serious about making money blogging, there are a number of tools that are indispensable, a few tools that are nice to have in the box and about 27 million tools that are completely un-necessary. This is a list of the tools that I consider vital to anyone's success. I am not going to go into great detail with each one,but using this tool box is an effective way of time management when blogging for a living.
I am going to assume a certain level of knowledge on your part. This is not a beginners list. If you have never set up and made a blog or website - these will most likely mean nothing to you. But if you are an intermediate blogger - this is a good list. If you are an expert - you will already have your own list, and there may be something you can add to that list from this one.
I certainly recommend checking these out and then making your own decision as to what tools are appropriate for your own personal toolbox. Some of them are free; some of them are inexpensive; and some of them cost a lot of money. Where you are in your blogging career and what your long term goals are will determine which ones you need or desire. And of course - your reasons for blogging in the first place. There are many reasons to start blogging and not all of them are to do with making money, although that seems to be everyone's obsession. It may well be that a blog is a convenient way to share photos with friends half way 'round the world, or an outlet for your unusual poetry or a way of venting anonymously.
Whatever your reasons for wanting to blog, it is certainly possible to get started blogging with very little money outlay, but at some point, if you are interested in doing it for money, you are going to need to outsource certain tasks and at another point you are going to need to look at your time management and determine which tasks they should be unless you are blogging for some private reason. There is nothing on this list that I do not pay for and use myself. Nothing. I have tried dozens of tools and systems - I am not bothering to list the ones I have tried and found useless - that would be too big a list. 
Blogging Software
- Semiologic - WordPress on steroids. I wouldn't think about setting up a wordpress blog or CMS without using this software. I cannot recommend it enough. This site is built using it and the control over ad placements and CSS is amazing. Worth the $300 cost any day.
Finding a profitable niche/Keyword Research
- Market Samurai - perhaps the most versatile and useful piece of affordable keyword research software on the planet. I have had more sophisticated software - but for the price - this one takes the biscuit - free trial period that will convince you to buy it. Well worth the $97.
- The Keyword Academy - $1 for the first month and then $33 a month for invaluable advice, networking and link building. Worth every penny and if you don't think so after a month - you are one dollar poorer. I can't remember the last lesson I learned for a dollar.
- Niche Horde - $97 a year for an automatic niche/keyword finder that will knock your socks off.
- Webcomp Analyst - $67 for an incredibly useful piece of software that suggests keywords but more importantly analyzes the competition for that key word or phrase. This software takes a few minutes to do what will take hours to do manually and allow you to far more easily dismiss keywords are going to be overly hard to rank for. Absolutely worth the money.
- Google Adwords keyword tool - I am sure this needs no introduction to any but the beginner, still - just in case, here is the starting point for any search engine traffic assault. Find the level of search volumes, competition and cost per click on adsense for any keyword or phrase.
- MSN adCenter Labs - the MSN version of google's keyword tool, but with added functionality. And who wants to rely solely on google?
Webhosting
There are some benefits to using the free blogs and websites available, but - on the whole - it is far safer to own your own domain and host your own websites on your own paid web hosting provider. There are millions of these companies offering webhostimg. I have not tried them all, but this is a list I can promise do a good job and will not actively rip you off:
You are probably going to want to use several different hosts to take advantage of interlinking sites using different IP addresses.
Affiliate and advertising programs
There are lots of ways to make money with a blog - but unless you are selling something - either advertising space or an affiliate product - you are going to struggle. This is a list of advertising and affiliates I have used. (At least the ones I am prepared to admit to.)
- Google adsense. Contextual ads based on the content of your pages using a pay per click/impression model.
- Clickbank. Affiliate sales model paying a commision based on the value of the sale. Wide range of products and a good reputation.
- DoubleClick. This is google’s affiliate program.
- Commission junction. Affiliate commissions.
- Amazon. Affiliate commisions.
- Pay Dot Com - Affiliate commissions. Excellent range of products - A few wonderful products and a lot of crap unfortunately. But - the good ones are worth finding amongst the dross and it works well with a paypal account.
Building incoming links
The Internet is a constantly changing environment and this section went out of date. Contact me for the best current link building networks.
Mark, which one of these link-building sites (besides Ezine and HP) do you actually use yourself? Just wondering. I have a blog, though I’ve been treating it just like a writing gym and creative playground. But now I’m planning to create another blog, which I’ll take more seriously. I probably can’t afford Linvana and Bruce Force, though. Also, I’m totally inept about wordpress. So I’ll probably start my new blog on Blogspot and then move it to my own domain later once I have better understanding of wordpress. That shouldn’t be too difficult to do, right?
I use most of them actually – although I tend not to repeat the exact same pattern. There is nothing on this list that I have not tried and tested myself. Value for money wise – I think the 1waylinks network is pretty good deal.
I really suggest you bite the bullet with your own domain and set up your own wordpress blog on your own hosting account. It is really not expensive. You can move later yes, but that means all sorts of aggravation. You will have to learn at some point and I think it is better to make the mistakes with a brand new minimal content blog than with an established one that you cannot afford to screw up LOL
Great blogging arsenal Mark, I have considered going for the Semiologic and the Keyword Academy, I will be trying out others later. Quite informative, bookmarked.
Thanks Andrew = hopefully some of this will be useful. I would not consider setting up a blog without using semiologic.
Great post. Have used a few of those methods myself, though I’ve restricted myself to the free ones so far. Finding it difficult to get started with the paid sites, but I guess it’s just a matter of doing it the first time!
I read How to Get Started on Hub Pages this morning. I also read all of your pages. Fabulous information. Noticed you do not mention eHow. Have you used them, if so what is your opinion?
Go on, be a devil, give synchronized swimming one last try.
Thanks for the blog. I’ll get back to it when i have gained more knowledge.
Jcoe
LOL Never!
I was enjoying your articles until I came upon this one. I do not believe for a second you have payed for all those services nor do I believe its needed.
IMO you are obviously writing a paid for article promoting these products.
Well – Would you like me to prove it to you? Not often anyone calls me a liar – but when they do it tends to be while they hide behind the Internet. I have used or use today all these tools and have paid for or still pay for all the ones that need to be paid for. Plus dozens of others which I have found not to work.
I make a living doing this, and sorry – you are wrong. Unless you are extremely lucky – you need to buy some tools to save time. I am not a liar and will not recommend tools I have not tried and found to work.
You are correct in assuming I make affiliate income for some of these tools, but some of them are actually free. I was not paid to write this though.
Although – just exactly how do you make money doing this without using any of the (non affiliated) advertising programs I recommended?
Great information But… Have you forgotten we are in a recession or maybe even the worst depression since 1929? I am serious about blogging, but can’t afford to pay anyone anything for anything. Why not an article about FREE ways to promote your blog. Now THAT would be helpful.
Thanks,
Joe
Joe Russ´s last [type] ..What To Write About
No matter what business you go in to, you need the proper tools in order to be successful – and that certainly includes Internet marketing and blogging. I use Micro Niche Finder for the majority of my keyword research, and although I have heard of Market Samurai, I have not tried it yet. Most of what you have taught here I am already doing, so you’ve helped me feel more confident that I’m on the right track. Just like you, Mark, I’ve tried a lot of marketing tools and products that weren’t worth a dime, and then there are others I wouldn’t want to be without. I’d like to know what auto responder you are using, so I’ll just subscribe to your “occasional newsletter” to find out for myself.
Mark Owen´s last [type] ..PLR Content
Great list of resources. I am still trying to strengthen my online presence and some of these blogging tools will be really useful.
Hey Mark,
Here are a couple more great programs you can earn 50% commission from.
This one is for local businesses, but will work for any website.
http://localbizgorilla.com/
This one is more geared towards bloggers or anyone wanting to earn money online.
http://blogchise.com/
Let me know if you have any questions, want in to check these out further, or want to set up a discount coupon code to offer to your list.
If you want access to the programs, I will need to set up access for you.
Be sure to check out the affiliate tools and banners.
Warmly,
Dave
Great list of tools for setting up a blog. However don’t you feel $300 a day is a little too much for someone who is just starting in the web world. I haven’t tried Semiologic before but would like to know more about it. Also could you tell me which affilate programs are the best as I haven’t made a single penny out of the ones I am using in my blog.
Have you visited the semiologic site? There is all the info you need there. Affiliate programs depend on your traffic.