Blogging & Website Resources

Business Tools

These items aren’t just for bloggers, online business or content creators. If you’re starting a business, you’ll probably at some point need payroll and an accountant. (Because, just like with the courses I recommend, you can do it yourself… or you can focus on the thing that actually makes you money – the reason you started a business – and let a money expert handle the numbers.)

Payroll Software

I’m just getting started with Gusto, so I’m not an expert yet, but let me say that when I started my first business, I used the most commonly recommended payroll software, ADP, and it was a nightmare. Super complex, and clearly designed for big corporations, not solopreneurs.

Gusto’s who thing is being the opposite of that, and they offer a lot more services as well.

My new accounting firm (who, by the way, specializes in doing the numbers for bloggers and influencers) recommended Gusto, and I trust them just based on the fact that they understand me and my business.

Accountants for Creative Businesses

I’ve changed business accountants/ tax people several times in last few years. It’s always been a hassle of a process resulting in disappointing, mediocre service. So far, Cookie Finance has been far better, friendlier, more efficient, more responsive, and they understand my business vastly more than anyone else.

(They exclusively work with bloggers, influencers, and other creative online businesses, and they’re the only ones I’ve found who get it.)

Their service is all-in-one, meaning they include everything you need in one price – bookkeeping, taxes, and help. You’ll have two real people on your account who you can talk to – with unlimited calls, emails, advice and timely answers to even potentially silly questions. I know from experience that you don’t get this kind of service from most firms, even if you pay more than Cookie charges. Highly recommended.

The Best Courses I’ve Taken

I’ve taken tons of blogging courses on topics from social media to WordPress to SEO strategy to email marketing.

Can you learn this stuff for free on the Internet? Maybe. It depends how much time you want to spend / waste, how truly motivated you are, and how good you are at separating good advice from online BS. (And it’s really hard to be good at that when you don’t know the topic yet.)

These are the courses I recommend and for whom:

Where to Start as a Beginner:

• To get started with SEO, the first thing I’d recommend is signing up for a month of Internet Marketing Gold (details on it below) and taking Kyle Roof’s Beginning SEO course. He’s a great teacher and a true expert. (Neither of which are guaranteed when you’re just sifting through YouTube videos.)

• For beginners starting specifically a travel blog, Super Star Blogging by Nomadic Matt is a good overview of everything all in one place. (From choosing a blog name, to setting up your website, to social media, guest posting, working with companies, and more.) If you’re overwhelmed, this is much better than getting lost on Youtube looking for answers!

• If you’re considering a travel blog or any other type of website (whether it’s about crocheting, or mountain biking, or financial planning), or if you’re not necessarily interested in being the face of your website, then The Authority Site System is definitely the place to start. It’s made by AuthorityHacker – a team of some of the industry’s top experts on how to create and grow profitable websites, starting from zero. I’ve taken several courses from them, including that one that walks you through improving your core web vitals, and I continue to learn from them. I find their content to be some of the most useful on the topic. You can get an idea of their teaching style from this useful free webinar, and their podcast (the Authority Hacker Podcast) is also excellent.

SEO Courses:

• Internet Marketing Gold is a monthly course subscription that calls itself “Netflix for SEOs.” It includes dozens of courses (on topics ranging from blackhat TikTok strategies, to SEO for real estate agents, to how to sell your website). I subscribed for 5 months and took lots of courses, but you could subscribe for just a month and get a ton of value out of a few courses. First and foremost, I highly recommend any of the courses by Kyle Roof, but especially his On Page Optimization SEO course. While Stupid Simple SEO (below) is about finding keywords you can rank for, On Page SEO is more about finding strategies to rank for the keywords (and topics) that you actually want to write about.

• Stupid Simple SEO is a more advanced course that teaches an SEO strategy, not just quick tricks. The focus of the course is how to find low-competition keywords that you can rank for, based on your site’s authority. (So it’s fairly high-level. You’re not learning what a keyword is in this course. Before taking this one, it’s useful to know the basics of SEO, so that you can understand what to take away from the course. For that, I would definitely suggest Internet Marketing Gold, above.) I do apply many elements of the strategy I learned from Stupid Simple SEO, but I don’t follow the method exactly.

Social Media Courses

• I’m calling this one a “social media course,” because that’s what its teachers are best known for, but really The Creator Passport is the best, most systematic course I’ve found (by far) on building an online business as a travel content creator. The bulk of the course is social media (detailed content creation techniques, analytics and strategy for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube) but it also has a ton of information on how photography, videography, drones, creating a website from scratch and lead magnet from scratch, contracts and negotiation, and so much more. I’m doing the course right now (fall of 2024) and even though I’ve been a professional in the space (and making a full-time income) for years, I’m learning a ton and finding it really useful. It doesn’t come cheap, but honestly if you’re serious about this business, I think it’s fully worth the investment. If you’re looking for something that’s less of a commitment, look at the next item.

• If you’re feeling overwhelmed by Instagram, as I was, Christina McEvoy’s course Insta Success can give you a great foundation, especially if you’re just starting out. What I loved about the course is that’s it’s not just about Instagram. She doesn’t just focus on how to go viral, but more on use the platform to benefit your business goals, even without a huge audience. That means everything from creating high-quality content (photography, engaging captions, what to do with hashtags, etc.), to creating your media kit and negotiating deals with brands. (And she’s certainly teaching from experience: She used brand deals from her Instagram to fund traveling the world for years with her husband and two sons.) But honestly, as someone who already had a lot of Instagram knowledge when I started the course, the ongoing monthly coaching call with guest experts are what I’ve found most useful about this course. I still tune in to most of them, even a couple of years after going through the course material, because Christina does a great job finding guest experts on everything from email marketing to SEO to how to do your taxes as a content creator. Super valuable.
  • NOTE: If you enter my name, Ketti Wilhelm, in the “Referral” box at check-out, Christina will know I sent you and I’ll get a small commission. Thank you!

Travel Writing Courses:

• There are countless online courses for SEO and social media, but very few about the most important part of blogging: The actual writing. That’s why I’m currently working through How to Become a Successful Travel Writer. The course was created by Nomadic Matt, but it’s taught by the writer and editor David Farley. (Who also teaches writing at NYU and Columbia.) Even though I have a degree in Journalism and have been writing online and for magazines for years, I’m still learning a lot from it!

The Best Website Hosting:

First: SiteGround – Ideal for Getting Started

I’ve been using SiteGround hosting for several years, and I wouldn’t use anything else. I was on DreamHost before, but it had a lot of down-time and not very helpful customer service. So I did a lot of research and decided on SiteGround, which has 100% solved both of those problems!

You can certainly find cheaper hosting, but honestly, this is something worth doing right. Cheap hosting can cause website crashes, lost content, slow loading times (which are terrible for SEO), and other hassles that you’ll have to fix with a patchwork of plugins down the road.

Also, Siteground’s customer service chat feature – with real tech people – makes life easier when something inevitably goes wrong, or whenever I have a question. I have used this more times than I can count, and I swear it’s made me trust Siteground with my business.

Then: Big Scoots – More Advanced Hosting

I need to write up some more details on this, but here’s the gist: Big Scoots’ Managed WP Hosting plan is what I switched to when my traffic outgrew Siteground.

I did a lot of research, and talked with a lot of blogger friends, and Big Scoots is what came across as the fastest, most secure option with the best customer service. (And I’ve definitely put that to the test, as I started rebuilding a new site with a new theme – more on that below – right after I switched hosting. Their support has been absolutely perfect.)

The Best WordPress Themes: Restored 316

Again, you can always find a free theme, but if you’re planning to a build your blog into a business, you’ll want a premium theme that’s flexible, has great support, and will give you room to grow.

Tilted Map is built on the Splendor Theme (on the older Genesis Framework) from Restored 316 (a small company founded and run by a single mom).

I’ve been using it for several years and love it. It’s a beautiful layout, but best of all, the service from Restored 316 truly makes the price of their themes a total steal. I have emailed them dozens of times with questions and customization requests, and they always get back to me within a day(!) with a friendly greeting and a custom solution. That level of service is literally worth thousands of dollars, and believe me, you will not find it from most theme providers.

The Genesis Framework has been the industry standard for years. It’s well-built, fast, SEO-friendly, and of course, really good looking so readers don’t abandon your site! (You can think of Genesis like the basic apartment that your website lives in, while a “child theme,” like Splendor is all of the furniture and decorations inside.)

But now Restored 316 is building themes on the Kadence Framework, which is what I would use if I were to switch themes now. From everything I’ve read, it seems to be just the next step forward from Genesis – even faster and more flexible. I don’t see a ton of theme builders using it yet, so it’s great to see how Restored 316 isn’t sleeping on new improvements.

(Here’s more about switching from Genesis to Kadence.)

Pinterest Management

I used to handle the Tilted Map Pinterest account myself, but in my never ending quest to hire more help so that I’ll have more time to dedicate to actual content creation, photography and writing, I hired Jody – a real Pinterest manager – and haven’t looked back.

Before I found her, I’d also tried having VA’s handle my Pinterest, but I find have a dedicated expect gets me better results. Plus Jody sends monthly analytics updates that are detailed and informative and help me understand what’s working and why. Hand-off was a breeze, I didn’t have to teach her anything, and now I literally let her handle everything Pinterest-related, and just enjoy the extra traffic.

If you’d rather do it yourself, Jody also has her own course on Pinterest to teach you the ropes. I haven’t taken it (since I know longer want to know how to do it, I just want it done) but based on the results I’ve been getting from her management, it’s clear she knows what she’s talking about.

The Best WordPress Plugins

I do a lot of research before choosing WordPress plugins – especially the not-free ones below. I also pay for other plugins, but these are the few that I absolutely recommend and love.

How I made my awesome destination map:

I get this question a lot! The answer is the WordPress plugin Interactive Geo Maps Pro.

Graphic Design Tools

I’m really happy that Canva exists because it’s much simpler (and cheaper) than Photoshop or other software. It’s what I used to make my Pinterest images (before hiring my professional Pinterest manager) and simple graphics like this one for my Instagram.

The paid version of Canva (“Pro”) gets you advanced features and quality stock images, and a few surprisingly useful features like the ability to resize any project. You can also have multiple team members, which has been necessary as my blog has grown.

My Professional, Human Designer

For when you’re tired of Canva and looking for a real graphic designer, I highly recommend Hollis Callas. She created my Tilted Map logo as well as the entire brand design (fonts, icons, colors and more) that you see all over Tilted Map.

And if that’s not enough, she’s done work for Samsung, Walt Disney, Metallica (yes, the band Metallica), and lots of other big names. You can check out her beautiful patten designs on her Instagram.