My Favorite Resources for Blogging

There are tons of different resources that can be used for blogging. From writing tools to photo editing to social media, there are so many options. So for today’s Guide to Blogging, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite resources that help me blog.

Social Media Resources

Later

I’ve mentioned Later in some previous Guide to Blogging posts because I personally find it to be one of the best social media scheduling apps. All of my Instagram posts and Pinterest pins are scheduled through it. My Linkinbio is through it. I schedule all of the social posts for Geek Blogs Unite with it. Later is one of the three tabs I always have open when writing and scheduling content. You can also schedule Instagram Stories through it, collect content from communities to share, and track analytics.

There is a free plan for Later. I personally have the Premium plan, but I started with the free and used the free version for at least a year before upgrading so the free version will do the job.

IFTTT

IFTTT stands for If This Then That. It is a cause and effect scheduling service with tons of uses. I personally use it for Facebook and Twitter posts that are recurring. So that formula is “If it is the 4th of the month, then this post will post to Twitter”. It is best used for things you want to be done automatically, like if a new blog post goes live then make a pin on Pinterest. IFTTT is completely free.

TweetDeck

TweetDeck is Twitter’s scheduling platform. You can connect multiple accounts to a single user, schedule tweets, and monitor each of those accounts on one screen. It is also the only place where you can see a truly chronological feed. I mostly use TweetDeck to schedule tweets. My archive tweets, ICYMI tweets, and some promotional tweets. It does have its limitation though like you can’t schedule polls and you can only access this on desktop. But it is completely free and my preferred way to schedule tweets especially when I want the link preview to be seen.

Writing Resources

Grammarly

Grammarly is a browser extension for spellcheck and clarity editing. I am the self-proclaimed queen of the typos, especially when I am typing quickly. So Grammarly has saved me on multiple occasions. It works on most websites and platforms, WordPress included, so it won’t just help you when writing posts but also sending emails, using Google products, and more. I use the free version which does all I need it to do, but there is a paid version with more features.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is my content calendar system. I’ve used a few different systems and always end up returning to Google Calendar. I’ll definitely do a content calendar GtB in the future, but will briefly go over why I use Google Calendar. Mainly, it is free with really no limitations. I am very much a color coder, so I make individual calendars t represent different categories like reviews, first looks, how-tos, etc. Each post idea is an event for that calendar and it is easy to drag and drop to plan out content.

Graphic Design Resources

Adobe Photoshop

My go-to is always Photoshop. It is the program I know the best, can use the quickest, and get great results. Plus I can do a ton of different things with it. I also use the Photoshop mobile app to quickly edit photos, which is great for when I am out doing an event or experience and want to quickly edit before sending them to my computer for a post. If you really want full creative control of what you make, I recommend Photoshop.

I currently have the Photography plan, so I just have Photoshop and Lightroom, which is $10 a month.

Canva

For those that don’t want to go the Photoshop route, Canva is a good alternative. It is free and full of different templates to get you started. There are some templates and assets that you can pay for, but there is a library of free ones and you can upload as well. Of course, Canva is going to be more limited than a Photoshop, but for featured image designs or social media graphics, it is a good option.

PicMonkey

PicMonkey is one I used to use a lot when I started blogging. It also has templates and free assets you can use and you can upload to it as well. My brother actually uses PicMonkey a ton for his business and they turn out pretty amazing. There is a free trial, but there is a paid option for more features.

Creative Market

I mainly use Creative Market to buy graphics to use for the blog. You’ll see these in my featured images in social media graphics for new posts. I do buy all of them, but the majority of sets I buy are between $3-$7. For this, it really depends on your need for what you find there.

Font Awesome

Font Awesome is best known for its icons. They have a giant library of different icons from brand logos to tech icons to people and more. They have a free set of icons that you can use with attribution and that is what I have used for myself. But there is also a pro version with more icon options that you can pay for and not need to attribute. These can have a bunch of uses whether for graphics you make or social media icons to link your socials to on the blog.

Miscellaneous Resources

Paypal

I mainly have a Paypal for the blog to manage the money I put into and get out of the blog. So money from my Patreon goes there and I use it to buy Creative Market graphics or for my Gsuite. I wouldn’t say Paypal is a necessity but can be helpful if you are putting money into the blog in various ways.

MailChimp

MailChimp is an emailing platform that is great for newsletters. I run my Guide to Blogging newsletter with it. It is super easy to use and get started with. There is a ton of features and options you have with it, like automatic emails when someone subscribes, scheduling, saving templates, and more. It is free for the first 2,000 subscribers, and then you’d have to upgrade.

WordPress app

I am actually surprised at how much I’ve been using the WordPress app on my phone. I mostly use it for when I come up with a post idea and just want to jot it down, I make a new post draft in the app and save it there. It is also really nice for when I want to scroll through the reader and see what other bloggers have been writing from the comfort of my bed at the end of the day. My biggest pet peeve with the app is that I can’t access portfolios on it, and the portfolio system is how I do Guide to Blogging. So I can’t as easily jot down a GtB post idea like I can a regular post.

So that is the majority of resources I use or recommend for bloggers! I am sure I am forgetting something, but that just means I can write another post with a new list at some point, right?

Have any resources you love? Share them in a comment below.

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