Favorite Blogging Tools and Tips

First off I want to apologize to my DIY followers!  I promise not to post about blogging often but I had to share with my fellow bloggers a few of my favorite tools!  I’ll be back to DIY projects next week! 🙂

BLOGGING TOOLS

MacBook Pro

BigScoots

PicMonkey Photo Editing

Tailwind

Tasty Pins

Pitch Perfect Pro

Listed below are products and resources that I absolutely love!!  My favorite blogging tools and tips!

Computer – Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display 

My computer is my life.  If you would have asked me a year ago how often I used my computer I would have said rarely.  I checked Facebook, Instagram, email and such all on my iPhone and iPad.  Since I started blogging I never realized how much I love a good computer.  I bought a white macbook in 2009 and just last month it decided to start dying a slow death.  With blogging, a laptop is pretty essential so it was time to invest in a new computer.  I LOVE my MacBook Pro and its capabilities.  I’m an Apple snob but everything works together so perfectly when using Apple products.  Plus the retina display is amazing when editing photos!

Camera – Canon EOS Rebel T5i Digital SLR with 18-55mm STM Lens

I don’t claim to be an amazing photographer by any means but an average person can take pretty nice photos with a nice camera.  And then think of the photos you can take when you actually learn how to turn it off of Automatic mode. 🙂 I’m still learning but I’m having a lot of fun!

Lens – Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

This lens is leaps and bounds better than the lens that comes with the Canon DSLR.  The other one is great but this one is so much more crisp and clear!  It takes gorgeous close ups as well!

Flash – Neewer TT560 Flash Speedlite

I’m still learning…as I am with my photography but man this sure helps light up a dim room!  I did not edit either of these photos below.  My basement does not have very good natural light.

Shutter Release Remote Control – Neewer 

This tool allows you to take a picture without touching the camera which in turn minimizes the possibility of your hands shaking.  You can set your camera down on a table or tripod and push the button and it helps create a seamless photo.  You can also take selfies of yourself if you want!  Who needs a selfie stick when you have this! 😉

 Tripod – Davis & Sanford Tripod w/ Tripod Bag

Tripods are pretty self explanatory but they are great to keep your camera steady and to frame the perfect picture.  You’d be surprised how much better photos can look when you have the camera set on a steady tripod.

Building a Framework: How I Turned My Hobby Blog Into a Six-Figure Income In Just Two Years by Abby Lawson

I can’t rave enough about this book.  It teaches you everything from the very beginnnings of blogging to how to manage social media.  The first few chapters I didn’t read because I had already set up my blog and theme but I wish I would have known about this book from the beginning.  It would have made the entire process of starting a blog much easier.  My blog has grown over 30,ooo+ page views in the past few months and I attribute a lot of that success to Abby’s book.  This book and Board Booster are my 2 major traffic drivers to my blog I believe!

How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul by Ruth Soukup

It has 4.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon with 238 reviews!  Doesn’t that say enough! 🙂

Co-Schedule – Plan Awesome Content. Save a Bunch of Time.

I love, love, love Co-Schedule!  It has completely changed how I blogg.  When I started blogging I basically posted when I wanted to post with no specific schedule.  I’m one of those people that like to check things off their to do list but surprisingly I was not keeping track of posts.  This tool has been amazing because I can schedule posts and see it on a calender.  This also allows me to post on social media and schedule to Facebook and Twitter from the app as well.  It shows the app at the bottom of my post on WordPress and allows me to schedule those two social medias as soon as I finish my post.  You can also sign up different social media platforms but some may cost more…such as Pinterest.  I leave Pinterest scheduling to Board Booster.  (Read below.)

PicMonkey – Photo Editing Made of Win

I love PicMonkey!  There is also a great one called Canva but I haven’t really figured that program out yet.  I can be a creature of habit so once I figured out PicMonkey I figured I would stick with it. 🙂  With PicMonkey you can edit photos as well as create really great collages for Pinterest or your blog.  Here’s an example of a collage I made with PicMonkey.

Board Booster – Pin Scheduling Tool for Bloggers

I decided to save the best for last!  I LOVE Board Booster!  I am fairly new to it and it has done amazing things for my blog already!  It seemed confusing at first but it is actually quite easy to navigate.  If you need a little more guidance with it Corey at Tiny Sidekick has a really great tutorial.  It’s worth every cent…haha it’s only $3.99.  My blog has generally had it’s highest referral rate from Pinterest but since starting Board Booster I went from about 30%-40% referral rate to about 60%-70% referral rate.  I have also almost doubled my views and sessions!  I seriously can’t talk more highly about this program!  It’s worth it!!!

*This post contains affiliate links but I LOVE all of these products and highly recommend them!*

I hope I’ve helped you find some really amazing tools to better your blog!  I depend on all of these things daily and love what they have done for my blog!  Now go check them out because trust me they will save you tons of time when it comes to time management!!  Have a great weekend everyone!