When you think of skills and tools that would make blogging easier for you, what is one thing that comes to mind? For me, the idea of time management is a huge part of what makes it possible for me to blog with such a hectic schedule. And to be honest, I kinda suck at it- the time management thing. But luckily there are five things (programs/sites) that make blogging easier for me and allow me to manage my time like a pro.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is basically a great social media scheduler. You can link your Twitter and Facebook and then automatically schedule out your posts. For me, I have a Pinterest group board full of posts that I will pull from and promote via twitter.
I know a lot of people don't like using a media scheduler, but when you aren't close to a computer all day and need to tweet out promotions and other blogger things, then a scheduler is an essential time saver.
Price: FREE
Tailwind
Pinterest is such a great business, blogging, and marketing tool, but the goal is to get eyes on those amazing vertical images that you have spent so much hard work on. The idea behind group boards is the answer. The boards, which a lot of people can be apart of, help provide the audience for you.
I have so many group boards, and when ever I wanted to pin something to multiple boards, I had to do pin everything individually to each board and it would literally take me about an hour. It was painful and annoying. After doing the painful activity for a few months, I finally discovered Tailwind and haven't looked back. Tailwind allows me to chose which boards I want a particular pin pinned to, and then it schedules out those pins so my profile isn't bombarded by multiple pins of the same thing. It has become such a lifesaver, especially because I have almost 30 group boards associated with my profile.
Price: $15/month after 30 free day trial; but you can earn free months for everyone that signs up using your link
ps. sign up here :)
ps. sign up here :)
Canva
Semi-professional graphics are essential to blog posts. Why? Because if you want someone to be interested in your stuff, then the main/hero image and Pinterest image MUST be aesthetically appeasing. I have used Photoshop, PicMonkey, and other graphic editor programs, but nothing compares to the power of Canva.
The main thing I like about Canva is that you can use it for free or pay for the Canva for work. In the free mode, it will save your designs so you can go in an edit, give you access to their fonts and colors, and even give you free templates. In the Canva for work mode, you will have access to all of the templates, can save all of your templates- colors, fonts, ect, upload your own fonts, and even resize things. It saves so much time.
Price: 2 options: free or $12.95/month after 30 day free trial
VSCO
If you have been living under a rock and don't know what VSCO is, let me tell you. It's a camera & photo editing app. Basically VSCO is android the equivalent to Afterlight for Apple, but is available for both.
The main thing that I like about VSCO is the filters and how easy the app is to use. I like the whole idea of a cohesive Instagram feed, and VSCO is my answer. I am able to showcase a particular filter and then edit the photo itself to make it look better.
Price: FREE
Stock Photo Subscriptions
If you don't have a great camera or the want/need to take beautiful photos for your blog, then stock photo subscriptions are your answer. They are basically photo pack taken by semi-professional photographers and can include flat lays. The subjects are always different- beauty, lifestyle, tech, etc. The nice thing about stock photo subscriptions is that whoever is offering the subscription only sells/ gives out a limited amount of the photo packs so not everyone including you, your brother, your neighbor's cat's best friend's owner will have all of the same ones.
On the other hand, if you don't want to pay for stock photos, you can always opt in for a mailing list and get free stock photos every month. In this post, I detailed 10+ places to get FREE stock.
Personally, I love stock photos. They are nice to be able to create a branding because essentially you can manipulate the photo; you can add text, crop, etc.
On the other hand, if you don't want to pay for stock photos, you can always opt in for a mailing list and get free stock photos every month. In this post, I detailed 10+ places to get FREE stock.
Personally, I love stock photos. They are nice to be able to create a branding because essentially you can manipulate the photo; you can add text, crop, etc.
Price: Depends on subscription
What makes blogging easier for you?
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