Are you looking to grow your blog and increase your blogging income? Explore the best blogging courses and resources that can help you grow traffic and earnings.
Since I launched my blog a decade ago, I’ve earned over $5,000,000. Along the way I’ve helped many people improve their finances, earn extra money, travel more, pay off debt, and reach other personal goals.
Blogging transformed my life. It provides a meaningful income and allows me to do work I love while earning thousands of dollars each month.
My blog began on a whim after I read about a personal finance website in a magazine. At first it was simply a hobby to record my personal finance progress—I didn’t even know blogging could generate income when I started in 2011.
What began as a personal journal quickly grew into more. I wanted a space to write about finances, build a supportive community, and track my progress. I didn’t start Making Sense of Cents intending to earn money, but within six months I was already making income from blogging.
Today, Making Sense of Cents supports my family and career, and it all began without a plan to monetize. Over the years I learned a lot through trial and error and by investing in quality blogging courses.
The best blogging courses taught me concrete strategies that increased both income and page views. Many readers ask about the tools and resources I use, and I truly believe investing in education—ebooks, webinars, and courses—speeds progress substantially.
Below is a curated list of blogging resources, including courses, worksheets, and guides that will help you grow blog traffic, boost revenue, and build a sustainable online business.
Related posts that you may find helpful:
- How I Successfully Built A $1,000,000+ Blog
- How I Grew To 350,000 Followers and Made $60,000 In 6 Weeks On TikTok
- How I Grew From 0 Subscribers To Over $100,000 On YouTube In Less Than One Year
- The Daily, Weekly and Monthly Habits for Building a $100,000 Blog
Here are the best blogging courses and resources.
How do I start and grow a blog?
Before diving into courses, I recommend reading my guide: What Is A Blog, How Do Blogs Make Money, & More. It covers important topics such as:
- How to choose a blog name
- Which niches tend to be most profitable
- Blog design basics
- How many views you need to monetize
- How many posts to publish before launch
- How to get indexed and noticed by Google
- How long it usually takes to earn money from a blog
- Common blog monetization methods
- How bloggers receive payments
Other recommended posts: How To Create and Set Up Your Custom Blog Email Address, What You Need To Know About Affiliate Marketing For Beginners, and How To Earn Money Blogging: Your Top Questions Answered.
How To Start A Blog — Free Course
If you’re brand new to blogging, start with my free course “How To Start A Blog.” Delivered by email, it covers the essentials in a seven-day format:
- Day 1: Reasons to start a blog
- Day 2: How to decide what to blog about
- Day 3: How to create your blog (step-by-step WordPress tutorial)
- Day 4: How to make money blogging
- Day 5: Tips for passive income from blogging
- Day 6: How to grow traffic and followers
- Day 7: Miscellaneous blogging tips for success
This is a practical free course that walks you through starting and growing a blog from scratch.
Design your blog with an easy WordPress theme
Designing your blog can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. For many new bloggers, buying a quality theme and moving forward is the fastest route.
WordPress themes like Kadence and Astra are popular choices because they make customization simple. There are also free themes available through WordPress—simply go to Appearance > Themes in your dashboard to test and activate them.
If you prefer a premade design, consider purchasing a professionally designed theme to save time and get a polished look quickly.
Earn affiliate income — the best way to make money blogging
Affiliate marketing is my top method for earning revenue. My course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, teaches step-by-step strategies for building passive income through affiliate partnerships. Over 8,000 students have taken the course, and I’ve earned well over $1,000,000 from affiliate marketing on this site.
The course explains how to build affiliate income streams that can generate revenue day and night.
Form sponsored partnerships with brands you love
Sponsored content can be a significant income source. Making Sense of Sponsored Posts, a course I co-created with my sister, walks you through finding sponsorships, negotiating rates, maintaining relationships, and doing right by your readers. Together we often earn substantial monthly income from sponsorships, and the course teaches practical strategies to secure and manage those deals.
How do I increase traffic to my blog?
Increasing traffic is essential if you want to monetize a blog. The best courses focus specifically on traffic growth and diversification—relying on multiple sources reduces risk if one channel changes.
For Making Sense of Cents, traffic comes from Pinterest, Facebook, SEO (Google), media features, and returning email subscribers. A balanced strategy helps protect your blog and sustain growth.
Recommended traffic resources:
- Traffic Transformation — 21 strategies to grow from 17,000 to 400,000+ monthly page views in under a year. This guide is full of actionable steps for immediate implementation.
- Pinterest Pin Templates — A set of 30 easy-to-use templates to create eye-catching pins that drive traffic from Pinterest.
Grow through SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) drives organic traffic and deserves focused attention. Learning SEO can be a game changer for long-term traffic and revenue.
SEO courses and guides I recommend:
- Stupid Simple SEO — A comprehensive SEO course popular with bloggers. It covers practical tactics that I refer to often.
- Easy On Page SEO — A clear, step-by-step approach to on-page SEO so your posts can rank well in search.
- Easy Backlinks for SEO — An ebook detailing 31 effective backlink-building tactics.
- Get Your Keywords Together — A guide to basic keyword research using free tools.
Build an email list
An email list is one of the most valuable assets a blogger can have. Unlike social platforms, your email subscribers are yours, and emails deliver direct access without relying on algorithms.
Your newsletter is where loyal readers gather. I use ConvertKit for email marketing—its support and onboarding are helpful, and it offers a free trial for new customers.
Where to get your blog photos
Images make content more engaging and easier to read. Never use photos from Google or Pinterest without permission, as that risks copyright issues. I source images from three main places:
- My own photos. I often use phone and DSLR photos, particularly for travel posts, and share some on Instagram.
- Ivory Mix. A favorite stock photo resource that offers numerous lifestyle images and unlimited downloads.
- DepositPhotos. An affordable stock photo site that often sells packs of images at a discount.
Website legal templates
Legal pages are a crucial but often overlooked part of blogging. If you need templates, the Website Legal Templates Bundle includes essentials like:
- Privacy policy
- Terms and conditions
- Disclosure statements
- Affiliate terms and conditions
- Cookie policy
- Earnings disclaimer
- Sponsored post disclosure
To avoid common legal mistakes and stay compliant, learn about the most frequent errors bloggers make and how to fix them.
Free blogging resources
If you already run a blog or are considering starting one, these free resources provide practical help across many blogging areas:
- Affiliate Marketing Cheat Sheet — Quick, actionable tips for earning affiliate income.
- 8 Easy Tips To Make Money From Sponsored Posts — A free cheatsheet on securing and executing sponsored partnerships.
- The Free Blogging Planner — A printable workbook for planning posts, daily/weekly tasks, and blog goals.
- How To Make Money Blogging Bootcamp — A free 7-day video workshop covering niche selection, content creation, traffic strategies, email lists, and monetization.
- How to Get Millions of Visitors from Facebook — A free training with a system for consistent Facebook traffic, building followers, crafting viral content, and scaling visits.
- How Anyone Can Create an Online Course That Sells — Free training on the seven-step process to create, market, and launch a profitable course.
- ConvertKit — Recommended email marketing provider with excellent support and a free trial.
What is the best blogging course?
All the courses and resources listed here are among the best available and are worth considering. Pick the ones that align with your goals—whether you want to grow traffic, build income streams, or scale to six figures.
Are blogging courses worth it?
Yes. Quality blogging courses save time and eliminate guesswork. Instead of testing random strategies, a course provides a clear blueprint so you can take the next right step with confidence.
These resources teach how to make money from blogging, how to start and grow a blog, and how to scale your brand—potentially to six-figure income levels.
Do you want to learn how to grow your blog? What tips do you have?