Best Blogging Tools to Grow Your Brand in 2024

Businesses with active blogs attract 67% more leads than companies that don’t blog. This is why it’s a great idea to start a blog in 2024, even if it’s a little late in the game.

And if you’re considering starting a blog, you have to find the right blogging tools to build it right and maintain it successfully.

That’s why, in this article, we’ll go over some of the best tools for:

• Blog hosting
• Blog planning
• Blog writing
• Blog design
• Blog promotions
• Blog analytics

Let’s get you started with some amazing blogging tools.

Starting a blog can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it’s essential to equip yourself with the right tools — starting with a domain name and hosting.

Best Blogging Tools for Hosting

Selecting an appropriate domain name and hosting platform is a fundamental step in starting a blog. Your domain name represents your blog’s identity while hosting ensures your website is accessible to users on the internet.

Selecting a Domain Name

To choose an effective domain name, consider these tips:

• Keep it short and simple: A shorter domain name is easier for users to remember and type into their browsers.
• Incorporate keywords: Including relevant keywords in your domain can improve SEO performance by making it clear what your blog’s focus is.
• Avoid numbers and hyphens: These characters can be confusing when verbally sharing your site with others or remembering how to type it correctly.
• Select the appropriate extension: .com domains are the most common, but other extensions like .org or .net may also suit your needs depending on your niche audience.

Finding Reliable Hosting Services

Your web host ensures your website functions effectively, loads quickly, is secure, and has a consistent uptime. Here are some factors to consider when selecting a hosting service for your blog:

• Type of hosting plan: Different types of plans include shared web hosting (most affordable), VPS hosting (more control), and dedicated server hosting (best performance).
• Scalability: Ensure that your chosen provider can accommodate growth in traffic, storage, and other resources as your blog expands.
• Customer support: Prioritize providers with responsive customer service to resolve any technical issues quickly.

Let’s explore some popular blog hosting options:

1. WordPress.org

WordPress reigns supreme as a self-hosted, open-source platform celebrated for its customization options. With thousands of themes and plugins at your disposal, you can tailor the look and functionality of your blog to precisely match your vision.

While WordPress offers immense flexibility, be prepared to invest time and effort in learning its intricacies and managing technical aspects like updates and security.

2. Content Management Systems (CMS)

For those seeking a more streamlined approach, Content Management Systems (CMS) like HubSpot present an attractive alternative. These platforms offer user-friendly interfaces and typically handle technical maintenance for you, allowing you to focus on creating and publishing compelling content.

CMS platforms often provide built-in SEO tools, analytics dashboards, and integrations with other marketing tools, simplifying your workflow.

3. Website Builders

If ease of use is paramount, consider exploring website builders such as Wix or Squarespace. These platforms are designed for beginners, offering intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-designed templates to jumpstart your blog creation.

While website builders may have limitations in terms of customization compared to WordPress, they provide a hassle-free solution for bloggers who prioritize simplicity and speed.

Best Blogging Tools for Planning

Before you can start creating content for your blog, you need direction and purpose. This is where planning tools come in.

Let’s dive into some must-have tools that can help you identify who you are writing for and what you should write for them.

1. Brainstorming and Content Ideation

Every blog post starts with a spark of inspiration. But sometimes, that spark feels more like a flicker. The following tools can help you reignite your creative fire and discover fresh, engaging topics that your audience will love:

• Answer the Public: This tool is a goldmine for uncovering the questions your audience is asking. Simply enter a keyword related to your niche, and Answer the Public will generate a visual map of related questions, giving you tons of content ideas.
• Buzzsumo: Want to know what’s trending in your industry? Buzzsumo allows you to see which content is performing best on social media, giving you valuable insights into what resonates with your target audience.

2. Keyword Research

Understanding which keywords to target is essential for attracting organic traffic to your blog. These powerful keyword research tools can help you find the sweet spot between search volume and competition:

• Google Keyword Planner: This free tool from Google is a great starting point for keyword research. It provides insights into search volume, competition, and related keywords.
• Semrush: A comprehensive SEO toolkit, Semrush offers in-depth keyword analysis, competitor research, and more, making it a favorite among experienced bloggers and marketers.

Best Blogging Tools for Writing

Feeling overwhelmed by the blank page? Don’t worry, even seasoned bloggers sometimes stare at their screens, unsure where to begin.

Many bloggers struggle with finding the time and inspiration to consistently create high-quality content. But what if you had a secret weapon? Or better yet, a whole arsenal of them?

Here’s the good news: BrandWell can streamline your entire content creation process, from generating keyword ideas to organizing your editorial calendar and creating blog posts.

Here’s a typical workflow that marketers use to write long-form content with BrandWell:

Step 1: Enter a seed topic into the keyword research tool to generate a list of relevant terms and phrases.

Step 2: Look for keywords with low ranking difficulty and decent search volume. These phrases are perfect for building your content around because they are easy to rank for.

Once you have chosen a keyword(s), click “Create Content” and wait a few minutes for the AI to write your article.

Step 3: When your blog post is ready, go through the SEO sidebar and make little tweaks to your content until you’re satisfied with how it reads.

When you’re ready to publish, just click Save and your article will automatically sync with your WordPress blog.

If you are not happy with the initial keyword list or outline generated by BrandWell, you can run a topic report to take a peek into your competitors’ strategies and create a custom brief based on that. Here you can add/remove/modify H2s and H3s as you see fit.

If the first draft feels thin, continue pulling more sections from the Ranking Content dropdown to improve the depth of your blog post.

Beyond long-form blog content, BrandWell also has a generative AI chatbot called AIMEE that can write any type of marketing content. Whether you need ad copy, landing pages, email sequences, video/podcast scripts, or social media posts, BrandWell is the only tool you will ever need to grow your brand.

Best Blogging Tools for Design

The design and layout of your blog are essential to drawing readers in and maintaining their interest. According to 73.1% of web designers, a non-responsive design is the number one reason why visitors leave a website.

A visually appealing blog not only enhances the user experience but also helps you establish a strong brand identity.

Choose the Right Theme

Choosing the correct theme for your blog is critical as it sets up the atmosphere for all your website pages. Many blog platforms like WordPress offer free and premium themes, but how do you choose the right one for your blog?

• Responsive: Ensure that the theme you choose is responsive so that it looks great on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones.
• User-friendly: Opt for a theme with easy-to-use navigation menus and clear typography to enhance readability.
• Customizable: Look for themes that offer multiple color schemes, font choices, header layouts, etc., allowing you to personalize your blog according to your preferences.

Add High-Quality Images and Graphics

Ask any seasoned blogger or content creator about the secret sauce to an engaging blog post, and they’ll likely tell you: it’s the visuals!

In a world saturated with information, high-quality images are key to capturing your audience’s attention and making your content stand out.

But where do you find the perfect images to take your blog posts from bland to brilliant?

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a professional photographer or graphic designer to incorporate stunning visuals. There are tons of free stock photo websites and easy-to-use image editing tools available.

Here are a few of our favorites:

• For Free Stock Photos: Websites like Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels offer extensive libraries of high-resolution images that are free to use for both personal and commercial purposes. Simply search by keyword, browse their curated collections, or explore trending images to find the perfect fit for your blog post. If you’re already using BrandWell to write your blog post, it’s easy to add stock photos from the text editor as images are already displayed based on your keyword.
• For Easy Design: If you need to create custom graphics, social media posts, or even edit your images, Canva is an intuitive, drag-and-drop design platform that makes it easy for anyone to create professional-looking visuals. With thousands of templates, fonts, and design elements to choose from, you can easily brand your images and create cohesive visuals for your blog.
• For Image Editing: Image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop can help you create custom images for your blog posts so you don’t have to rely on generic stock photos.
• For Image Optimization: A slow-loading website can frustrate users and lead them to abandon your site before they even read the content. To ensure optimal loading speed, compress images using tools like TinyPNG, minify HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files using plugins such as Autoptimize, and implement caching solutions like the popular WordPress plugin W3 Total Cache.

Best Blogging Tools for Promotion

Social media is the most popular platform for driving blog traffic. It’s the fastest way to increase the reach and engagement of your blog. 

By linking your blog to your social media accounts, you can easily share content and interact with readers on a more personal level.

To successfully integrate social media into your blogging efforts, consider using these helpful tools:

1. Buffer: This popular scheduling tool allows users to plan out their posts across various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram ahead of time – ensuring consistent posting frequency with no manual effort required.
2. Hootsuite: Similar to Buffer, Hootsuite is a comprehensive social media management platform that enables users to schedule posts, monitor engagement, and track analytics across multiple accounts.
3. AddThis: This app offers customizable sharing buttons for your blog, making it easy for readers to share content on their preferred platforms. The tool also provides analytics data on how your content is being shared and engaged with.
4. Sumo Share: This tool offers eye-catching social sharing buttons that can be easily integrated into any blog layout. With mobile-responsive design and various customization options, Sumo Share can help increase the likelihood of readers sharing your content.

Unlike social media where you’re promoting your blog to a general readership, email marketing lets you promote your blog to people who are already interested in your offers.

Build a loyal readership by creating engaging email newsletters. Tools like Mailchimp and Constant Contact offer user-friendly interfaces, customizable templates, and automation features to help you grow your email list and share your latest content with your subscribers.

Lastly, explore content-sharing platforms like Reddit, Medium, and Quora. Share your blog posts strategically within relevant communities and engage in discussions to drive traffic back to your website. Remember to follow each platform’s guidelines and prioritize providing value in your contributions.

Best Blogging Tools for Analytics

Only 32% of bloggers regularly check their blogs’ traffic analytics. They either don’t know how or don’t have the tools to analyze their data.

Understanding how to use analytics tools is crucial for tracking your blog’s performance and making data-driven decisions. Here are some popular analytics tools that can help you monitor your blog’s growth, user engagement, and overall success.

Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a powerful and widely-used tool that provides valuable insights into your website traffic, audience demographics, behavior patterns, and more. By integrating Google Analytics into your blog, you can measure page views, bounce rate, session duration, and conversion rates.

Google Search Console: Google Search Console helps bloggers understand their site’s search performance on Google search results pages (SERPs). It offers information about organic search traffic sources while also providing suggestions for improving visibility in SERPs through better SEO practices.

Frequently Asked Questions: Best Blogging Tools

Which tool is used for blogging?

The most commonly used tool for blogging is a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress, Blogger, or Wix. These platforms provide an easy-to-use interface for creating, editing, and publishing blog content without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

What are the purposes of blogging tools?

Blogging tools serve various purposes such as simplifying content creation, organizing and managing posts, improving website design and layout, integrating social media sharing options, and tracking user engagement through analytics tools. They help bloggers create professional-looking websites while streamlining their workflow.

What are the 5 major components of a blog?

The five major components of a blog include:

1. Title: The main heading that summarizes the post’s topic.
2. Content: The body text with relevant information on the subject matter.
3. Images/Videos: Visual elements to support and enhance the written content.
4. Social Sharing Buttons: Tools to encourage readers to share your content on social media platforms.
5. Comments Section: A space where readers can engage in discussions related to your post’s topic.

What is the most popular among early blogging tools?

In its early days, Blogger was one of the most popular blogging tools available. Launched in 1999 by Pyra Labs before being acquired by Google in 2002, Blogger offered users an accessible platform for creating blogs without needing advanced technical skills. However, WordPress has since become the dominant CMS in the blogging world due to its extensive features and customization options.

Conclusion

Want to drive more organic traffic to your website, boost brand awareness, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry? Then it’s time to start blogging — or level up your existing content strategy.

With a tool like BrandWell by your side, you can easily create content that readers — and search engines — will love.