The lovely bloggers at Traveling with T, Estella’s Revenge, and GirlXOXO have once again produced December prompts that are both laid back and informative. I’m fascinated to learn the tools each of us use and have already incorporated a few from reading the bloggers’ posts who are participating.
These are just a few tools I consider must-haves for blogging.
First though, a disclaimer. Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that should you make a purchase using one of these links, I may make a very small commission. Please know I will only recommend products and services that I use and love.
Number 1 tool is my MacBook. I’d be so lost without it. Scary to admit, but my MacBook is my ‘precccciiiooouuussss.’
Learning Photography ~ The absolute best instructor I’ve ever taken an online course from is Emma Davies of A Year with My Camera. She is not only an expert photographer but also has the credentials and personality to teach. Her methods are encouraging with recommendations on tweaks that take your photos to whole ‘nother level. Now she’s got a workbook that’s as amazing as she is!
SiteGround. Thanks to a recommendation, I’ve updated my hosting to SiteGround, massively upgrading my page load time. The customer service is prompt, helpful and they never make me feel like a ditz when I ask a question. . .17 times.
I’ve used Mailchimp ever since learning I ‘must have’ an email list. And I still like Mailchimp…but, I’ve found an email service that delivers the moon. So of course I went with moon delivery! Have you tried ConvertKit? OH. My. Goodness! So worth the investment!
Social Media Scheduling Tools I’ve tried several other social media scheduling tools and so far, CoSchedule by far, rocks my world. Their blog is chock full of goodness and information. Their response time is immediate. And, when I first signed up for the free 14-day trial I didn’t have a chance to try it out, let them know, and my trial was extended for another 14 days! Loved this company ever since.
UBB – Ultimate Book Blogger. I’ve been using UBB ever since it first came out and I’m using one of Ashley’s WordPress Themes at the moment. If you’ve been blogging about books for any length of time then you’ve probably ‘met’ or at least heard of Ashley at Nose Graze. Her book review plugin – ultimate book blogger is a great way to keep track and sort book reviews. Her theme is responsive and easy enough for me to tweak {the one who knows almost nothing about back end design}. Plus Ashley is incredibly quick to respond to questions or issues and I’m happy to support a fellow book blogger in any endeavor to earn a living from blogging.
Design Your Own Lovely Blog. Chock-full of ideas, tools and tips, Marianne’s ebook has been a tremendous resource for me. Plus, she’s always posting tutorials on her blog. If I have a question about anything blogging related, I check Marianne’s site and ebook first.
What tools do you use for blogging? Please do share in the comments!
