Ever wonder how people make money blogging? Starting a profitable blog can be overwhelming but you can do it step-by-step with these free blogging printables from Elite Blog Academy 2019.
When you’re starting a blog, there can be an overwhelming amount of information about where to begin, how to set goals, how to get organized and how to get it done. You’ve got to find a few trusted sources to lead you on the right path but you don’t know who to trust and if what’s “right” before you start.
As a blogger for the last 6 years, I’ve downloaded lots of free blogging printables and resources to help me find my way. And I’ve wasted my time on advice that didn’t work.
What I have learned is that to start a profitable blog, you need 4 qualities (luckily these don’t cost you a dime):
- A clear vision
- A passion for writing and serving your audience
- Consistency (my biggest struggle), and
- Efficiency
If you waste your time chasing squirrels and shiny objects rather than getting things done, you’ll never achieve that profitable blog and work from home dreams you want. That’s why I’ve narrowed down the best free blogging printables for beginners and those that have been around a while like me.
Printables that will help develop your clear vision, get you excited about writing and serving the people who need to hear your message, and provide the foundation you need to get things done to setup your profitable blog and keep it running smoothly.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links as indicated by an asterisk. Purchases from these links may provide a small commission to me at no extra cost to you. Refer to my Full Privacy Policy and Disclaimers here.
The 5 Best Free Blogging Printables for all bloggers
Here are the 5 Best Free blogging printables that I’ve found and use, I wish I had these when I first got started blogging so many years ago! Whether you’re a beginner blogger or a seasoned veteran, these printables will help you clarify your vision, your goals, and take your blog to the next level.
- Do You Have What it Takes Assessment*
- Secret Blueprint for Blogging Success*
- 7 Surefire Ways to Boost Your Blog Income Overnight*
- 8 Bad Blogging Habits & How to Break Them*
- 10 Steps to Take When Your Blog Post Goes Viral*
Do You Have What it Takes Assessment
Sure we have our eyes set on the prize but do our personalities have what it takes to reach the goals you set out in #1? To succeed as a full-time blogger or small business owner?
This quick (less than 5 minutes) assessment* will you help you:
- pinpoint your struggles and strengths to see if you have the potential to become a professional blogger/small business owner.
- Provide constructive feedback and action steps on how you can improve in 8 different areas from focus to gratitude to take that next step towards your goals and your definition of success. faIt’s an eye-opening exercise and it nailed me to a T.
Secret Blueprint for Blogging Success
The Secret Blueprint for Blogging Success* walks you through the 4 essential steps in the EBA framework from start to finish. This free workbook will help you:
- Refine your message so that you set a solid foundation for your content, your message and to attract loyal readers and raving fans
- Grow your audience through building your email list, rocking your social media and thinking outside the box to get your blog noticed
- Monetize your platform through various revenue streams so you can find what resonates with your audience and identify what you do best
- Build your business with tools and resources so you can create a vision and plan for your business and its growth
7 Surefire Ways to Boost Your Blog Income
I spend a LOT of time reading blog income and traffic reports and seeing what works for other highly successful bloggers. But sometimes when I read them I think, yea I’m not developing my own products, stellar courses and making TV appearances.
I’m still struggling writing a weekly newsletter or weekly blog post (lack of consistency is my biggest struggle). What are the baby steps to getting to that point so I can at least earn enough to cover my blog expenses and start putting money in the bank?
I found the 7 Ways to Boost Your Blog Income Overnight* extremely helpful. Honestly I think “overnight” is a little misleading. It will take some time to get approved for affiliate programs and ad services if you aren’t already a member. But it goes through the various income streams and quick wins you can do to start making income once you’re approved.
Learn my favorite affiliates and ways to make income when you subscribe to my blogging newsletter. My blog is an open book because I want to encourage you to succeed and achieve your work from home dreams too, it’s why I write blogging tips so much!
8 Bad Blogging Habits & How to Break Them
After blogging for several years, I’ve developed LOTS of bad blogging habits and this free 8 Bad Blogging Habits & How to Break Them* guide nailed EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. What’s more important is that Ruth tells us how to break OUT of those habits with constructive, practical and realistic advice. What if what’s holding back your growth is you? Grab this guide and break the bad habits so you can focus on what really matters for your blog and readers.
10 Steps to Take When Your Blog Post Goes Viral
If you’re lucky enough to get a post go viral, it’s best to take advantage of the situation. You might be so excited that you don’t know what to do first. The 10 Steps to Take When Your Blog Post Goes Viral* gives it to you straight of what to do so you can optimize the post and figure out how how to do it again!
5 Free Blogging Printables for Beginners
I wanted a dedicated space just for beginner bloggers because I know even starting a blog when you’re not a tech expert can be daunting and overwhelming. You want it done right from the start so you don’t have to fix your mistakes later (trust me on that one, I’m still doing a lot of fixing).
Here are my favorite free blogging printables for beginners.
- How to Setup a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog*
- 20 Free (or Almost Free) WordPress Plug-ins*
- 120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas*
- The Essential Blog Post Promotion Checklist*
- EBA Blog Structure Blueprint*
How to Setup a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog
I started my blog on the free Blogger platform years ago. As my passion for blogging grew, I found it increasingly difficult to use Blogger. I didn’t know enough about coding to figure out how to make my blog do and look like the other cool blogs I followed.
So I moved to self-hosted WordPress and have never regretted it. WordPress has so many free themes to make your site look beautiful and work well and countless plugins to customize your site for exactly what you need. And if you want to get started making money on your blog, you MUST be self hosted.
This How to Setup a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog* guide will walk you through setting up your self-hosted blog so you can get started quickly.
20 Free (or Almost Free) WordPress Plug-ins
I was on Blogger for a year before I moved to a self-hosted WordPress site. I found it so hard to navigate Blogger and get the coding just right to do simple things. I loved that WordPress had a huge assortment of plugins with coding already in it to do whatever I could think of (besides write my content for me).
This 20 Free (or Almost Free) WordPress Plug-ins* guide has lots of essential plugins I rely on to keep my site fast, block spam, and manage my blogging tasks and data efficiently without slowing down your site. There are quite a few on here I will be downloading to help make blogging easier.
120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas
When I first started blogging, I scrambled for blog post ideas and haphazardly blogged whenever I felt like it. I paid for a content management course to try and get focused and plan out content (it was awesome, by the way). But this free 120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas* is awesome too because it gives a huge tickler of topics you can write about (and really I think for blog post ideas or your email newsletter because I really struggle with email ideas too).
The Essential Blog Post Promotion Checklist
The Essential Blog Post Promotion Checklist* is a quick 2-page guide of things to check before you publish and to promote the post once you do. I love a good checklist and there are several things on this list that I often forget to do. Why is it we realize what we forgot as soon as we’ve published? This checklist will help make sure you do what you need to before and after you publish your post to attract readers and raving fans to your blog.
EBA Blog Structure Blueprint
Now that you’ve decided that you want to pursue blogging for income, you want your blog to shine, right? You want readers to visit, find exactly what they need to help them solve the problem they are having and you want them to hang around awhile to check out all the awesomeness you have to offer.
But honestly, readers can’t do all that if your blog is a disorganized mess. Believe me, I know. After many years of haphazard blogging and writing anything I fancied, it’s hard to get your menus, pages, categories and tags laid out in a way that makes sense and so that readers will enjoy their visit to your blog.
The Blog Structure Blueprint* is just a couple pages that will help you map out what your blog should look out to improve your reader’s experience. I need to go through this blueprint each year and audit ease of navigation to make sure my readers can find exactly what they need.
Grab these 10 Free #blogging printables to make more money from your blog starting now! Click To TweetBonus! Free Blog Planner 2019
I might be biased but this is the free blog planner 2019 I created to help manage my blogging tasks, statistics, income/expense and passwords. My biggest problem was having a place to record my ideas when and where I need it. I’m very forgetful so I didn’t want to forget my ideas.
I made 3 versions of this planner for you:
- Google Sheets so it’s accessible from your laptop or phone app,
- Microsoft Excel for those who prefer Excel to Sheets, and
- a printable from pdf so you can print the pages you need and stick them in a pretty binder for those who love to write things down.
I keep adding sheets to it and would love to hear from you what you would like to see to help track your progress and ideas to grow your blog further. The planner has the following worksheets that you can customize in Sheets or Excel to suit your needs:
- 12 editorial calendars
- 12 editorial calendars with blog post & social media promotion checklists
- Evergreen Post Ideas Worksheet
- To Do List
- Monthly Reminder Checklist
- Google Analytics Statistics Tracker
- Subscriber and Social Media Statistics Tracker
- Income and Expenses Tracker
- Password Tracker
- Linkup Party Schedule
- Posts Linked Up Tracker
- Notes Pages
- Blog Post Index
- Review Template
- Pin Tracker
I love to create free blogging printables and have more in store. Grab the free blog planner 2019 and stay tuned for more and future updates exclusively for my newsletter subscribers!
So How Do You Start a Profitable Blog?
It’s not difficult to start a profitable blog if you take it one step at a time, focus on it, get it done and move on to the next step. It does take time, passion, motivation and dedication.
Here’s how I would do it if I had to do it over again:
- Come up with your blog idea. What are you passionate about? What message do you have to share with the world? How do you want to inspire people?
- Pick a name that people can remember, is easy to spell and exemplifies what your blog is about. (Tip: don’t have an apostrophe in your blog name. The ‘ in “Mom’s” in my blog name often appears as “Mom%37s” or some gibberish like that when I try and leave blog comments).
- Setup your blog on WordPress with hosting and domain name.
- Setup your blog business:
- Get a separate Tax ID # for your blog
- Get a separate bank account for your blog
- Get a separate PO Box for your blog if you don’t want to use your personal mailing address on your email newsletters (for US residents at least)
- Talk to an accountant or a lawyer if you need help setting up your business legally and financially.
- If you can afford it, sign up for Elite Blog Academy* when it goes on sale March 4-8, 2019. It’s the best foundational blogging course to take you from writing your first blog post to growing your blog into a profitable blog business. You can read my full honest review of Elite Blog Academy to help you determine if EBA is right for you.
If you can’t afford EBA then focus next on these topics using the free resources mentioned above and below as a start:
- Get your blog theme and appearance organized (use the Blog Structure Blueprint).
- Plan and write content. Find your voice and be authentic to yourself (use the free blog planner and 120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas).
- Promote your content (setup your social media accounts and use the Blog Post Promotion Checklist).
- Setup your blog for monetization (use the 7 Surefire Ways to Boost your Blog Income for ideas).
- Setup your email newsletter service. I use Mailerlite* because it’s free to 1,000 subscribers and then very reasonably priced for the amazing tagging and workflow capability. I switched from Convertkit in June 2018 and have been pleasantly surprised at the service for the price.
If you signup for Ruth’s EBA waiting list*, for example, you can see how she crafts her emails. She is the master of sending relatable emails that makes connections to her audience and gets you to click on what she’s offering. Then figure out how you can do that for your readers. (see the Blogging Made Simple training too)
- Focus on developing products, services or other monetization strategies in #9 to grow your business (see the Blogging Made Simple training)
There are lots of free blogging printables out there but these are the best for beginners and those who’ve been blogging for awhile alike with proven success from bloggers in many niches. The key to starting a profitable blog is to stay true to your vision and the message you have to offer. To be organized and take it step by step, to focus on each aspect to see what you do best while being true to yourself and your readers.
Thank you for sharing these awesome resources. You are an inspiration.
Thanks so much Miriam, I’m glad you found them helpful. I love helping other bloggers too!
Love these blog resources!
Yay, glad you find them useful, I love free resources that help me get my blog organized and growing!
You are an inspiration! I have fibromyalgia, 2 young children, an adult child who is about to have her own child(making me a Grammy -gasp-). I feel as though there is so much on my plate and I just never know where to even begin-reading your posts tells me-nobody’s perfect and I’m not alone! It also gives me hope of accomplishing similar goals-so thank you!!!
I’m so happy to hear that my post inspired you and helped you feel not so alone in your journey with Chronic Illness and motherhood. Positive messages like yours are what keeps me writing. Congrats on being a grammy! My kids aren’t close to making me a grandma yet but i can’t wait to be able to spoil my kids the way they get spoiled by their grandparents!! Are you a blogger too? What goals are you chasing? I’d love to encourage you on your journey and help in any way I can!
Thanks for passing along all that you have learned!
Of course Michele! I hope to help other bloggers in their journey too!
These are all awesome tips for bloggers either beginners or pros!! Will definitely save this and share it to other fellow bloggers 😉
Great tips and resources! Pinning so I can explore all these in depth later 🙂
Thanks so much Liz, I hope you’ll come back as I’m continuously updating this as I find new tips and tricks that help me!
Thank you for sharing these resources. I am a new blogger and they are helpful without being overwhelming.!
I’m so glad they help you Pat. Starting a new blog is exciting and even as a veteran blogger, I am still easily overwhelmed with everything everyone tells me I should be doing. Take it a step at a time and enjoy the journey!
Thanks for the freebies! I need to learn how to better organize myself as a blogger. I also want to learn how to increase blogging income.
Great tips & tools! This is something I need to work on for certain. 🙂
Thanks for sharing these wonderful opportunities to make money. I could really use them. Also, when it comes to my grades, well, I don’t do housework, so I get an “F” there, and a “C” on cooking. Otherwise, it’s all “A”s.!
I love this! I’d probably give myself a “C” all the way across the board but at least I can check out these resources and hopefully become a “A” student in one section!
As a blogger, I don’t think we can ever stop learning. Reading tips and tricks for blogging and learning from others is what helps us grow our blogs.
I definitely need to make a clear plan for where I’m going with my blog and how I intend to get there – there are some great resources in here for that!
I am so bookmarking this post ! Lots of great tips for bloggers, and I love the Elite Academy. I keep thinking about going all in for the full course but I haven’t committed yet. You are so right, blogging is a journey and you really have to remind yourself that sometimes the progress may seem small, but it still counts.
I totally believe in focusing on small victories, those accomplishments add up!
EBA has been life changing for me and my blog though honestly I’m not done implementing everything yet, it is a LOT of information. She’s very transparent in giving us so many worthwhile recommendations, it takes time to get it done. Let me know if you have any questions I can try to help you answer and I’ll be glad to. I can’t wait to see what the new course has in it, it sounds completely amazing if you’re trying to focus on blogging for business.
Oh, Tanya, my dear, you are WAY too hard on yourself!
I can’t believe you gave yourself a C in blogging and an F in organization! You are my hero and inspiration in BOTH of those areas!! Yikes, what does that make MY grades??
Maybe I haven’t told you enough, but I am incredibly impressed by the changes you have made to your blog in the past year (and more) – so, so impressed. It looks SO professional and you have such unique, helpful, original content here every single week. I honestly don’t know how you do it, since we kind of live parallel lives in many ways. I have been dipping my toes into learning more about blogging (after having multiple blogs for over 10 years!!), and I am so overwhelmed by all that I am NOT doing. I post to my blogs every week, but that is about it. I haven’t changed, improved, or upgraded them since I put them together (using basic ready-made templates on Blogger! lol). I am starting to get excited about doing a little bit of upgrade work, but I don’t know how to find the time. You should be very, very proud of yourself for what you ave done with this gorgeous, professional-looking blog. Definitely A+ work!
As for organizing, I haven;t been in your house, but I bet it’s not nearly as bad as you think, especially since you seem to have very happy & healthy & well-adjusted kids 🙂 Certainly, it can’t be much worse than mine. As for mental organizing and planning, you are the champ! Again, I turn to you for inspiration. I thought I was a good planner, but you have shown me so much that I didn’t know about planning & organizing. How do you think you accomplished SO much and upgraded your blog to its current polished state? Planning and amazing organization. Again, I haven;t see your house, but based on what I have seen you accomplish, you need at least a B in planning & organization.
And now, I suppose I should click through to those resources for being a successful blogger, but I can;t possibly add more to my to-do list!
Thanks for all the inspiration – keep up the good work!
Sue
Book By Book
Thank you for sharing these – I love reading about blogging tips and learning more, these are so helpful x
These are some great resources! And I love the idea of having grades even after school. I’ve got to figure out what my score is!
I love all of Ruths blogging advice. These are great resources. Love the idea of taking stock or grading my performance in all areas.
These are great, I definitely need to work on my blogging because I fear my life report card is a lot lower than yours!
I need to check these out! These are great resources for someone just starting out or someone wanting to expand their knowledge.
What a great way to look over your goals & read evaluate it. I love the feedback and tips. Thanks for sharing.
These are great tips! I need to start monetizing my blog. It sounds so overwhelming most days, but it would be nice to earn some money from it!
These all seem like amazing resources. I am pretty new to the blogging world, so anything that will help is great in my book!
The personality assessment sounds so neat, definitely doing that after commenting! Having a blueprint and finding what works for you is so important, when it comes to blogging. You gotta do what your passionate about.
I score the lowest on Housekeeping! Not a major I like to take part in. LOL. So it gets put on the backburner over most things. Great resources to look into for new bloggers to check out oo!
Those are some great tips and tools you shared. I will certainly be checking them out and taking that personality test too.
So much food for thought, I have been winging it for so long and doing OK but I will try and use some of your tips to be better and more successful. This is my business and I thank you for all your help.
I know I need to take the time to figure out where I need some improvement, but I have been lacking the motivation to sit down and do it. Thanks for the nudge.