I love tools, tips and techniques! I am a how-to kind of girl who loves handbags full of tips, tricks and things to get the job done. While still in this learning phase while blogging, I am soaking it all in. People have asked me: "What's in your blogging handbag?" I get excited when I hear this question and in the interest of not overwhelming people including myself, I had to become a bit more organized. (Sssshhh! I still have lots of tools under all of the organization!)
I am becoming a bit of a gadget girl as social media has grown by leaps and bounds and everything from website templates, to branding tools, to creation techniques have peaked my interest. Besides my everyday notepad, pen and paper, I have become familiar with some great tools which help me along my blogging journey. Everything from writing a blog post to scheduling and creating images.
Since I am still a bit of a newbie in this area, I figured I had to start somewhere and here is what's in my blogging handbag:
My website: Now on Squarespace has been my saving grace. Everything in one place: the blog, the site itself, adding pages and graphics were easy once I had it down. Bee Fells Creative built my site and I am so pleased and now I am getting comfortable doing things here and there.
Canva: I was introduced to Canva in 2016 by several bloggers and when Bee Fells Creative did my first set of social media templates. Since then, Canva has took off for me and it is so easy to use. Upload your images or create new ones using the templates they have on fie. Mostly all of the social media formats are covered: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and much more. A really great tool for planning to post or to post a quick image or image quote on social media.
Pinterest: Yes, Pinterest has been amazing and I could pin pins all day on blogging to include blog titles, how-to structure a post to what images to use.
Instagram Hash Tags: It is so easy these days to hop onto social media or even the web to search for ideas and tools around your subject matter. I have found Instagram to be the best and one of the first things I did when going live with the new website, I searched for and followed some amazing bloggers and writers. Check out this Instagram post found here and take a look at the hash tags in the comments. This is how I found and connected with many of the bloggers and writers I admire today.
Last but not least: A good tablet or smart phone device. I prefer the Apple products (iPhone, iPad) and there are so many good devices out there. Sometimes you see the perfect picture while you are out and about and it helps to have a good device for planned or spur of the moment photos for your blog.
So, there's my list: Squarespace (or other website platform), Canva, Pinterest, Instagram, Good tablet or smart phone. Do you use one of the items mentioned? Do you have others to add? Share in the comments. I love trying new tools and I am sure others would also.
