A Practical Software Directory for Solo Builders
by Michael Wu
Elevate Your Income Without Quitting Your Day Job. Discover How to Earn Passive Income Without Falling into the 'No Traffic' Trap. The Ultimate Guide for Aspiring Blogpreneurs. Your Blogging Journey Starts Here! Do you dream of earning passive income from your blog but can't find the starting line? What if you could unlock a blueprint that guides you from first post to financial freedom? Tired of pouring your heart into blog posts only to hear crickets? What if you could captivate an eager audience hanging on your every word? Ever wonder why your blog isn't making money, even when you've tried everything? What if you discovered the monetization secrets that could turn your blog into a gold mine?
LEARN MORE →Sharing your knowledge and giving readers a reason to return
A useful article can introduce people to your work, answer their questions and help them understand what you know.
Tools in this category will help you to...
Publish articles, organise a growing collection of posts and connect with readers interested in your subject. Some platforms provide a hosted blog with its own address. Others place your articles within a wider community or deliver new posts to subscribers by email. Consider where your intended readers spend time, how much control you want over presentation and what you can maintain alongside your other work.
Choosing where to publish? Read our short publishing guide below ↓
The directory is developing incrementally. We’ll add research and first-hand testing as we carry them out, while keeping straightforward listings useful for discovery.
Blogger is Google's hosted blogging service for publishing articles, illustrated guides and regular updates. A Google account gives you access to the publishing tools, free hosting and a Blogspot address, without arranging separate web hosting. Choose a theme, adjust the appearance and add text and images to your posts. Built-in statistics show how readers find and use your blog, with Google Analytics available for further detail. You can also connect a custom domain purchased separately. Blogger offers a low-cost way to establish a publication, although finding readers still depends on useful content and how you share it.
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LinkedIn Articles lets you publish longer pieces alongside your professional profile or a company Page you manage. Share practical guides, explain an industry issue or draw on your experience to help potential clients and professional contacts understand your work. The editor supports headings, images, links and embedded content, while published articles appear in your profile's Activity section. Article publishing is available with a free LinkedIn account, without separate hosting or a Premium subscription. Use the website editor; this feature is not available in the mobile app. A related newsletter option lets readers subscribe to a continuing series of articles.
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Medium combines article publishing with a community of readers and writers. Publish practical advice, explain an idea or share experience through its online editor, without setting up a separate website. Readers can follow your profile, respond to your work and discover articles through relevant topics and recommendations, although distribution is not guaranteed. A free account lets you publish individual articles. Paid membership expands access to member-only reading and is required to create your own Medium publication, a separate space for organising stories under a shared identity. Earning through the Medium Partner Program involves additional eligibility requirements.
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Substack provides a hosted home for articles with optional delivery to subscribers by email and through its app. Publish a continuing series, build an accessible archive and let readers subscribe for future posts. You can publish to the website alone when a particular article does not need an email announcement. Free publications have no platform subscription charge, regardless of subscriber numbers. If you introduce paid subscriptions, Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue, with Stripe fees charged separately. An optional custom domain carries a one-off US$50 connection fee, alongside the cost of registering and renewing the domain itself.
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WordPress.com provides a hosted blogging service with publishing tools, themes and software updates managed for you. Create articles with text and images, schedule posts and organise your growing publication. Readers can follow your blog through WordPress.com's Reader community or receive new posts by email. The ongoing free plan includes a WordPress.com address, unlimited posts and pages, and 1 GB of media storage, with WordPress.com advertisements shown to visitors. Paid plans let you connect a custom domain, remove those advertisements and expand storage and design options. This provides a starting point for a blog that may develop into a broader website.
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Start with the people you want to reach. Professional contacts may already follow your work on LinkedIn, while a hosted blog gives you space to develop a collection of guides. A publication with email subscriptions can help interested readers return for the next article. Choose one main home that suits your subject and the time you have available.
Answer a real question, explain a process or share something you have learned. Specific examples and first-hand experience give readers a reason to spend time with your work. Where relevant, offer a clear next step, such as another useful article, a related resource or a way to contact you.
Free publishing can be enough to begin. Before upgrading, check whether you need a custom domain, more storage, fewer advertisements or paid subscriptions. Keep your own copies of articles and images, and check the platform's export options if moving your publication later could matter.
A small collection of useful, current articles is a practical starting point. Share them where the subject is relevant, respond to thoughtful questions and update information when it changes. Look beyond page views: returning readers, useful conversations and relevant enquiries can tell you more about whether your publishing is helping your business.