Hey guys, thank you for stopping by my blog!
Today, I woke up and noticed that I now have 300 blog supporters and I’m so overwhelmed and thankful! In honor of my blog growing, I want to start sharing some tips and tricks that I’ve been learning when it comes to my own blog. When I first started my blog, I wasn’t sure if it would reach many people. Writing is my passion but it’s so much more fun when you have an audience that you’re reaching! I’ve been seeing a lot of “I want to start a blog, but I don’t know where to start” all over social media lately and I totally understand that! Starting a blog can be quite overwhelming when you don’t know where to begin.
In this post, I’m going to be sharing my top 7 tools that I personally use to create my blog posts. There’s a lot more that goes into creating blog posts than just typing something up then clicking “Publish.”
An Idea Journal
Before even writing my very first blog post, I bought an “idea journal” which is exactly what it sounds like. A journal for all of your ideas. One thing I learned is that if an idea pops up in your head, write it down immediately or you might forget about it later. My original goal was to add as many ideas in my journal as possible every day so I would always have something to write about. The truth is, that’s pretty unrealistic and really hard. Writing down one or two a day is more realistic. If I don’t have any ideas or I run out, I will look at other blogs that have a similar niche as me for inspiration.
A Planner
My planner is pretty much my lifeline and not only for blogging. It’s one of the most helpful tools, I think, you can have in your daily life in general. For blogging, I personally like to write down the days that I want to write a certain blog post and then the day I want to publish it. I will also write down the social media platforms I plan on sharing my published post to and what times. I’m a very visual person and like to see everything laid out before me, so a planner is a must have for me. You don’t have to get too crazy and plan out every little detail like I do sometimes, but I recommend at least writing down the days you plan on publishing.
Camera / Pictures
A couple of years ago, I saved up and bought the Canon G7X Mark ii as a birthday present for myself. It was the best decision that I’ve made. I originally bought it for my YouTube videos but the camera quality is amazing and is perfect for capturing the best blog pictures too! Now, you don’t need a fancy or expensive camera if you have a blog. You don’t even need to have an actual camera. I know what it’s like to have only your phone to work with and guess what? That’s perfectly okay! You can still capture great photos for your blog with your phone. Another option is using free stock photos. What’s that? Read about the next tool!
Canva
Canva is a tool that I use for all of my blog posts! The main thing that I use it for is to create visually appealing blog graphics. When you click on an article or blog post, usually the first thing your eye is drawn to is any pictures right? Canva has so many great templates you can use and modify for your own blog post!
Like I mentioned above, you can use free stock photos if you don’t feel like taking your own pictures for a blog post. Stock photos can help keep that visual appeal and keeps your readers interested. Luckily, Canva has a wide range of free stock photos you can use! Whatever the subject you’re writing about, chances are that you will find a perfect stock photo to use on Canva.
Pinterest is one of the best places to get some ideas rolling! There are so many “blog help” posts circulating around that have even helped me when I’ve hit writer’s block! Pinterest is also a great place to share your own blog posts. There are about 175 million people who use Pinterest a month! Whether you’re trying to figure out how to grow your blog, the best way to title your blog, or if you’re just trying to get your own blog post to be seen, Pinterest is the app I cannot recommend enough.
Grammerly
Somebody once told me, there’s no such thing as a perfect writer. Although I pride myself in my writing skills, I know that even I make mistakes. When you are writing your blog post, it’s easy to be so focused on what you’re trying to convey that you misspell a word or forget a comma. Let’s be honest, if somebody sees a ton of grammar errors throughout your blog post, it might be hard for them to take your blog seriously. No worries though! Grammarly is a writing assistant that automatically catches any and all errors that you make. It makes blogging so much easier knowing you’re publishing a post that’s error free. The best part is you can download the Grammarly extension on your computer and it’ll always pop up wherever you’re typing.
Google Trends
Google Trends is actually something new that I’ve using for my blog. You put in a keyword that you’re thinking about blogging about or adding it as a tag, and it will tell you how popular that word or phrase is being searched in other states! For example, the phrase “How To Blog” has a high search interest right now of 100 in District of Columbia and 83 in Washington! This is a great tool to have if you want to see how popular the topic you’re blogging about is and what states have a higher search rate!
Ready To Create An Awesome Blog Post?
Those are the 7 tools that I use and recommend to create a successful blog post! I still consider myself a new blogger since I’ve been blogging for less than a year so I’m definitely still learning. As I learn, I will share my new tips and tricks with you because I believe that we’re all in this together. If you have any tips for blog posts that I haven’t mentioned, leave them down below in the comments!
I want to say thank you again to everybody who keeps up and reads my blogs. You’re making this dream a reality and it’s the best feeling ever. I appreciate you all.
Xoxo,
Amanda Burnett