New to Smart Blogger? Start Here!

If you’ve landed on this page, you either clicked out of curiosity or desperation.

Either way, the treasure trove of links provided will point you to a handpicked selection of our most valuable posts.

Whether you are a first-time blogger and unsure of where to begin or a seasoned veteran needing to freshen up your writing skills, everything you need is right here.

So pick a section below that speaks to where you are right now, and dive in!

Want to start a blog but don’t know where to begin?

You have something to say and want your words to go out into the world to teach and inspire the generations to come. And a blog is the perfect platform for spreading your ideas. But you have a problem – the same problem every beginner blogger has – you don’t know what you don’t know. And here’s the truth, what you don’t know can hurt you.

Find out how to make the right blogging choices before you even start:

An Open Letter to Writers Struggling to Find Their Courage – Want to be a full-time writer? Are you scared to make the leap and quit your day job? You need to read this.

How to Be Unforgettable – Are you afraid of slipping through the cracks and passing into oblivion? You aren’t alone. The good news? You can change it.

How to Be Smart in a World of Dumb Bloggers – Here’s the painfully honest truth about what it takes to be a popular blogger. It’s brutal. It’s ugly. It’s unexpected. And you’re not going to like it.

On Gluttony, Selfishness, and Unleashing the Power Within – Is your blog making you selfish? Do you crave more traffic, more subscribers, more money? Here’s the antidote – and the real secret to making a difference.

Suicide, Shame, and the Painful Truth about Accomplishing Your Goals – The shocking reason why most bloggers fail. It isn’t a lack of talent, bad luck or traffic.

Already blogging but struggling to get traffic?

Your blog looks mighty fine, and you have a dozen or so quality posts published. You’re pouring your heart and soul into your content but the problem is, nobody’s reading it. Well, almost no one – your stats boast an audience of 1, but most likely it’s your mother.

Time to read up on how to drive traffic to your blog:

How to Get More Traffic and Traction by Promoting Your Content Like a Boss – Want to know the promotion secrets of the power bloggers? Here are six ways to make sure your blog content gets the traffic and exposure it deserves.

77 Resources That’ll Get You More Traffic Than Naked Pictures of Kim Kardashian – Still waiting for the perfect traffic tip? Check out this procrastination-busting “monster” list of traffic resources to get you moving.

11 Traffic Techniques That Are a Waste of Time for Beginners – Ever wonder if the traffic techniques taught by experts actually work? We reveal 11 techniques that waste beginners’ time – and 4 that work like crazy.

Why Your Blog Is Going Nowhere (and the Truth about Getting Traffic) – Ever feel like your blog is stuck in quicksand? You write lots of posts. You promote them. But still…nothing. You could suck at writing.

Why Your Site Gets Such Pitiful Traffic (and What to Do about It) – If your website gets embarrassingly little traffic, you may be making one of these far from obvious mistakes.

Need to improve your writing skills?

Here’s the thing. Blogging is writing. The better a writer you are, the better a blogger you’ll be. But how do you hone your writing skills so that people love reading and sharing your work? Start by studying these posts.

No matter how long you’ve been writing, you can improve. Here’s how:

297 Flabby Words and Phrases That Rob Your Writing of All Its Power – Ever worry that your writing lacks power? Did you know that certain words and phrases can weaken your writing without you realizing? Learn which ones here.

317 Power Words That’ll Instantly Make You a Better Writer – Ever wish there was a shortcut to tap into your readers’ emotions? An easy way to make them feel exactly what you want? Well there is. Power words.

20 Rules for Writing So Crystal Clear Even Your Dumbest Relative Will Understand – Ever wonder why your ideas aren’t spreading? It could be because your writing simply isn’t clear enough. Follow these rules to achieve perfect clarity.

7 Simple Edits That Make Your Writing 100% More Powerful – Ever wonder why your writing lacks the impact of your writing heroes? Find out the simple secret they don’t want you to know.

The Sin of Originality (and the Truth about Building a Popular Blog) – We’re all trained to believe originality is essential for standing out, but the fact is, it can be dangerous, even deadly.

Want to avoid the most common blogging mistakes?

Even experts make mistakes. How do you think they became experts? Trial and error, baby. Fortunately, you have a choice. Learn the hard way and bump your head against the same mistakes as everyone else, or use your brain and learn from the failures of others.

If you want to avoid some common pitfalls, read these posts:

12 Blogging Mistakes That Make You Look like a World-Class Idiot – Don’t be surprised when you publish your great idea, hoping it buzzes around the blogosphere, and it tanks. Not just tanks – but explodes in an inferno of criticism.

The 7 Dumbest Mistakes You Can Make When Launching a New Blog – Getting readers is complicated. Getting readers is hard. As a new blogger, don’t make it harder by tripping over these common launch mistakes.

6 SEO Sins That’ll Put You on Google’s Naughty List – Did you know Google can make your blog disappear from its search results? Here are the six mistakes most likely to land you on their naughty list.

21 Warning Signs You Chose the Wrong Topic for Your Blog – You’re not getting much traffic. You’re not getting many comments. You’re not making any money. And now? You’re getting a little worried.

Why Posting Every Day is a Silly Strategy (And What to Do Instead) – If you doubt your ability to be a successful blogger, it may be your strategy; most specifically, posting every day. Here’s why this strategy is downright dangerous.

Looking for tools and tips to make you a better blogger?

You can get lost in the sheer number of tools available to speed up, organize, analyze or make your blogging more efficient. New plugins and apps seem to burst forth from the internet’s electronic womb on a daily basis. It’s out of control. Knowing which one to use and which to avoid is a huge time suck. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Save yourself time and frustration. Here are our favorite tools and tips of the trade:

63 Blogging Tools That Will Make You Insanely Productive – Ever wonder if you’re using the right tools for your blog? Check out this list of essential tools to grow your blog from nothing to a seven-figure business.

9 Plugins for Growing Your Email List That Work So Well It Feels Like Cheating – Growing your email list is one of the smartest things you can do as a blogger. These WordPress plugins make list building so easy they should be banned.

The Ultimate List-Builder’s Resource Guide: 111 Links to Double or Even Triple Your Subscribers – Embarrassed by the size of your email list? This monster list of resources will turn you into a list-building master in double-quick time.

27 WordPress Hacks Every Serious Blogger Needs to Know – Ever wonder if you’re wasting time in WordPress? These little-known hacks will transform you from a WordPress wimp into a WordPress wizard.

The Simple Blog Tweak That Gets You More Social Shares Right Now – If you’re not taking advantage of social metadata, you could be sabotaging the spread of your content. Here’s exactly how to get it working on WordPress.

Want to make some money from your blog?

Of course, you love to blog. We get it. Blogging fuels your heart and warms you right down to your soul. But can we be brutally honest with each other? And if that’s all you ever want from blogging, awesome. But! If you want to pour that passion of yours into a honest-to-goodness money maker, there are a few things you need to learn first.

Monetizing your blog isn’t a mystery. Here’s how you do it:

The Ethical Way to Earn Money Online (Even If You Have Nothing to Sell) – Looking for an easy way to earn some money with your site? Here are five golden rules for promoting affiliate products without looking like a sleaze ball.

The Guilt-Free Guide to Earning an Honest Buck from Your Blog – If the idea of selling from your blog feels a little sleazy, find out why getting paid to help people is actually way more ethical than doing it for free.

How to Catapult Yourself from Diddly Squat to a Booming Online Career – Ever wonder how people actually build a career online? This case study reveals exactly how a well-known (and well-paid) freelance writer started out.

Make Money Blogging: 20 Lessons Going from 0 to $100,000 per Month – Can you make money blogging? The answer is YES – if you follow these hard-won lessons for building a profitable blog from scratch.

13 Reasons Why Blog Ads Are a Silly Monetization Strategy (And What to Do Instead) – If you think advertising is the best way to make money from your blog, think again. This post explains why blog ads just make you look silly.