• About Polished Habitat
    • About Me
    • Contact Me / Media Requests
    • Partner with Us / Advertise
    • Terms of Service, Privacy, & Disclosure Statements
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • Home Decor
  • Room Makeovers
    • House Tour
    • Space Reveals
  • Cricut
  • Organizing
    • Most Popular Organizing Posts
    • Closet Organization
    • Bathroom Organization
    • Kitchen Organization
    • All Organizing Posts
  • Cleaning
  • Letter Board Ideas

Polished Habitat

Blogging Resources

Post Contains Affiliate Links - You pay the same price, I get a small commission. High Five!

Over the years, I’ve spent countless days and frankly, quite a bit of money, learning all I can about the business of blogging.

It hasn’t been an easy journey, but I meet my goal of replacing my old salary. Even better, I’ve met incredible friends and experienced incredible things.

Blogging isn’t a get rich quick career, but with the right skills, hard work, and a bit of luck along the way, it can be hugely rewarding.

I gathered up my favorite blogging resources and information to help you start or grow your own business.

First, I wrote a book!

Loading…

BLOGGING RESOURCES

Hosting – I’m going to break from the crowd and NOT recommend BlueHost despite them wooing me with HUGE affiliate payouts. I wasn’t happy with the hosting service or customer service. My host was recently bought by LiquidWeb and they haven’t been bad, but I don’t have enough experience to recommend them yet. I’ve heard good things about SiteGround for small blogs and OrangeGeek for medium, but no personal experience.

Email List/Newsletters – I switched from MailChimp to MailerLite and I LOVE them. The price is lower and I find the platform much easier to use, even though it still does everything I need. Make sure you have a way to collect emails from day 1. Email subscribers are your biggest fans and aren’t impacted by social media algorithms.

Staying Organized – I use Airtable to organize everything in my life now!

Instagram Scheduling – I use Later because I can schedule from the computer or the phone. And it’s free for up to 30 posts/month!  If you pick another scheduler, just make sure it sends the post to your phone at the scheduled time and you still have to push it live manually. Any of the 100% automated schedulers are against Instagram TOS. Instagram has shut a ton of them down in the last few months, and accounts have been banned in the process.

Pinterest Scheduling – I use Tailwind.  Just make sure you set up and use board lists to make pinning faster!

Slides from a Beginning Blog Monetization Presentation – I was invited to do a class at a local co-working/entrepreneur center and while they aren’t as helpful without the coordinating talk, I think they still give a good overview.

MediaVine – I wholeheartedly recommend the team at MediaVine for ad management. They have a 25K session/month minimum and one of your first goals should be growing to that point. They maximize how much ad revenue you will receive and do it with tons of integrity!

COURSE/BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Building a Framework – This is the best beginner/intermediate blogging course I’ve found. It’s just as good, or better as one I took that was 4 times the price.  It’s the only course you need to get started and is worth well more than the price tag.

Photography Basics for Blogging – I’d recommend the Pro package with Lightroom videos, because learning Lightroom has been the #1 improver of my photo quality AND a huge time-saver. 

SEO Course – This one is a bit more advanced and more of an investment since it’s a monthly fee. I’ve done a couple other SEO courses in the past and this one is far easier to understand. Plus there is a Facebook group where Jeff answers questions, which is priceless! For total beginners, just use the info in the Building a Framework book. When you’ve conquered all the basics, this is a great next step!

Bloggers Guide to Taxes Ebook – This ebook is under $5 and a must read if you are planning to monetize your blog!  

RULES & REGULATIONS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Legally Using Affiliate Links & Sponsored Posts:  FTC Guidelines for Disclosure & 2017 FTC Warning Letters/Clarifications 
STAYING an Amazon Affiliate:  Amazon Affiliate Program Rules  & Most Common Mistakes
Don’t Anger Google:   Google Adsense Rules

Need blog coaching?  

Email me at melissa@polishedhabitat.com with info about your blog and your goals. If we’re a good
fit, rates start at $250 for an initial site review and personalized recommendations.
Packages including monthly consulting calls are also available. 

Welcome!

In 2013, Melissa started Polished Habitat to share her skill of mixing decor & organization to add style & function to everyday life at home.

Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more.

In 2018 &  2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, she was also short-listed by the Amara Blog Awards for Interior Styling, International Division.

Need to reach Melissa?
Email: Melissa @ PolishedHabitat.com

Affiliate Disclosure

Polished Habitat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Copyright

Please keep in mind that all text and images on this blog are the property of Polished Habitat (formerly A Prudent Life).

Projects are for personal use only.

Photo Use Policy

You are welcome to share 1 image for an online round up or feature if you clearly link back to my post and use nopin code.

You are not permitted to remove watermarks, crop or edit my photos, use my images without credit, print my images, or share more than 1 image online without my written permission.

The 1 image used can NOT be a collage image or any image I have created that includes text. Please email me with any questions about acceptable use! THANK YOU!

Copyright © 2025 · polishedhabitat.com