BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Are you ready to finally make your blogging dreams and ideas a reality? Before you begin, here are a few resources that’ll set you up on the right track:

1. Set Up Self-Hosted Word-Press Blog: New to blogging? The first step is to build your self-hosted WordPress Blog and we will show you how to do just that AND explain why this step is so important.
2. Set Up Social Media Accounts: Though you may not be ready to spend time promoting on social media, obtaining accounts with your blog name now will be pivotal!
3. Build Your Blog Bootcamp:  Once a year we hold a 5-day bootcamp that is designed to make you ready for EBA when we open our doors to the public – complete with easy to follow along video instructions and a super supportive and informative community on Facebook.

BLOG SETUP & DESIGN

You’ve bought your domain, set-up the bones of your blog, now for the fun part…designing your blog and digging into all the capabilities that WordPress has to offer:

• Blog Structure Blueprint: A clear blog structure is critical to a blogger’s success. Find out how to organize your blog so that your readers can always find exactly what they’re looking for & become raving fans! It’s a game changer, and right now you can get it absolutely free.
• Understanding WordPress by Grayson Bell: Free course created by iMark Interactive founder Grayson Bell to help entrepreneurs understand the WordPress platform and everything it has to offer.
• Fiverr: Marketplace where you can hire developers and designers on a budget
• Restored 316: Fantastic source for professionally designed WordPress themes using the Genesis framework as well as a resource for starting and growing your blog!

TECH HELP

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the technical details around starting a blog. If you need tech help, we recommend these companies:

• BlueHost: Fantastic hosting service for new bloggers offering a great experience for new users with their partnership with Wordpress and quick and helpful customer service team.
• Grayson Bell – iMark Interactive: Full-service Wordpress support company offering one time or ongoing support.
• Agathon Hosting: Great option for hosting and technical support, especially for more experienced bloggers.

TIME SAVING APPS

Pressed for time? Running a business while still doing everything else your day demands can be tough. That’s why we recommend these apps to help you stay efficient and save time:

• Google Drive: With this app you can access company documents from anywhere! You can share documents, photos, spreadsheets, and more.
• Notability: We also love Notability because of its syncing capabilities. Download the app on your phone, tablet, and computer and use it to capture ideas when you are out and about.
• WORDPRESS APP: You can blog from ANYWHERE on the go.
• SOCIAL MEDIA: From Facebook to Instagram, to Twitter, most of us exclusively look at social media from our phones, so why not start using the apps for business purposes on the go?

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

As bloggers, we have a million and one tasks to check-off at any given time. That’s why project management software is SO useful. Nothing will slip through the cracks with these tools:

• Asana: Program that allows you to easily track tasks associated with upcoming projects so that nothing slips through the cracks Also great for building editorial calendars!
• Trello: Another tool that allows you to prioritize and organize your tasks and monitor progress on upcoming projects.
• Google Team Drive: provides shared spaces where anyone on your team can easily create, store, search, and access files anywhere, from any device (Yes! There’s even an app!)

TOP WORDPRESS PLUGINS

Plug-ins are amazing customization features that help your blog feel like it was custom designed. Here are a few we use and recommend:

• Social Warfare: Allows you to add social share buttons to your site making it VERY easy for readers to quickly share your content which is the ultimate goal!
• Yoast: The Best SEO Plug-In!
• JetPack: 
• WordPress Editorial Calendar: This plugin gives an overview of all the content scheduled on your blog and allows you to drag-and-drop posts, move them around, or make changes and edits — all in an easy-to-navigate calendar platform.
• Akismet: Automatically filters through comments and form submissions and filters out SPAM.
• Google Analytics: Allows you to track your site statistics easily

WRITING TIPS

It goes without saying that your writing is the heart of your blog. To help with writing and editing, here are a few resources we recommend:

• • The New Bloggers Guide To Guest Posting
  • Blog Posts that Resonate
  • How to Find Your Voice as a Blogger by Shelly Jefsen
  • 120 Awesome Blog Post Ideas
  • Grammarly

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graphics help bring your words to life, but you don’t have to have a master’s degree in design or excel at photoshop to make beautiful images. Here are the tools we recommend:

• Canva: Free Graphic Design tool to create blog post images, Pins, and more!
• PicMonkey: Another free graphic design option for your blog images
• Adobe: More advanced tools to support graphics needs for your growing business
• Shutter Stock: Great source for a variety of beautiful stock images.
• 123rf: Great source for a variety of beautiful stock images.
• Vimeo: A great place to host and share your videos

MARKETING & EMAIL HELP

When it’s time to put on your marketing hat, here are a few resources we highly recommend, from email marketing software to website pop-ups.

• Drip: Our top suggested paid email Marketing service with fantastic reporting capabilities and plenty of opportunities for customization to fit your business.
• ConvertKit: Another great option for paid email marketing software allowing you to easily create forms and segment your customers giving you a clear picture of your audience.
• HelloBar: Easy to build bars and sidebars for your site to make email list building easier than ever for you AND your readers!
• LeadPages: Allows you to build amazing landing pages and tracks leads and traffic
• Irresistible Email: Take your email game to the next level with our Irresistible Email course. Tip: Combine with Unit 5 of EBA and you will be unstoppable!

E-COMMERCE & PRODUCT SALES

Monetizing your blog and creating products to sell is a huge part of growing your business. Check out the eCommerce and sales resources we love:

• Shopify: Online Store Platform
• SendOwl: Another Option for an Online Store but specializing in digital products
• InfusionSoft: A super robust client relationship management (CRM) software. It can tackle your most complex marketing needs and challenges. Build out campaigns to drip emails out to clients on the exact days of the week you want or even use the software to take orders!
• Product Launch Playbook: a comprehensive guide for how to plan and execute a launch from start to finish, so that you understand, step-by-step, exactly how to get organized, how to prime your audience, how to write to sell, and, most importantly, how to actually drive sales
• Memberium: Our current LMS (learning management system). It is a great place to host courses and integrates seamlessly with Infusionsoft and Wordpress.

SOCIAL MEDIA HELP

Want to expand your reach? Maybe it’s time to bring on some experts? Here’s who we highly recommend:

• Simple Pin Media: Kate Ahl and her team at Simple Pin Media are Pinterest geniuses. They will help you increase your online presence on Pinterest by increasing exposure through paid and organic traffic.
• The Ad Strategist: Amanda Bond is the creator of The StrADegy System—a framework for helping people turn attention into revenue with Facebook ads. She’s the official Facebook advertising news correspondent for Social Media Examiner and a HubSpot Academy instructor for their Social Media Certification. Best of all—she’s our paid traffic ninja for Ruth Soukup Omnimedia.

FAVORITE BUSINESS BOOKS

These invaluable business books have filled us with new ideas and helped transform our business. Here’s a short list of our favorites:

• Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod
• The Magic of Thinking Big, David J Schwartz
• Eat that Frog, Brian Tracy
• Strap on A Pair, Abby Walker

FAQ & MORE

Still Have Questions?

Please visit our FAQ page here to find what you are looking for or email Maggie at eba@ruthsoukup.com.