10 Blogging Resources

Hey Y'all,
This is a post for all of my readers that have a blog themselves!I love blogging.. It gives me a creative outlet and it keeps me learning all about technology throughout the entire year. There are a few websites that I have no idea what I would do if I didn't know that they existed. Some of my most used blogging resources are apps, but I do use quite a few websites as well! I was thinking.. Why in the world should I keep my favorite resources to myself, when I can help you and your blogs at the same time:)

1. VSCO Cam {app available for android and ios}: VSCO Cam really comes in handy when I am getting pictures ready for my blog, Instagram, Pinterest.. Ect. There are many different filters and settings on the pictures that you can change to edit your photos. You can adjust things like the brightness, sharpness, saturation, and others in your photos.

Before:

After:

2. Picmonkey {Website}: If you ever need an easy to use photo creator and editor, Picmonkey is the one for you! It's so easy even my mom figured out how to use it! You can use this tool to crop, add text, frames, doodles, add filters, add touch ups to a bad selfie, and create simple text images for blog posts. I find myself only using the free version of Picmonkey. I have been using Picmonkey for a few months now, and I am still doing fine with just the free version. 

3. Polyvore {App and Website}: Even though Polyvore is an app and a website, I find myself using the website version much more than I use the app. It can be a little tricky to figure out at first, but basically.. You search for items/brands/products that you are interested in, and you click the heart on that item. When you click on create, and you go under the my items tab, all of the items that you have favorited show up! You can use Polyvore to like and share fashion inspirations or create blog images with it. Polyvore also really helps with traffic. If your sets look good, and you use them in a blog post, and then pin them from that blog post... People will find your blog via Pinterest. 

4. Canva {Website}: Bloggers can use Canva to create images for your blog posts. It has lots of different images that you can use for your images, and also many different text styles. You can choose if you need the size of the canvas to work out for a Facebook cover photo, a business card, or even Pinterest. I recently found this tool, and I find it very helpful! Oh, and since I'm so into Canva, let me know in a comment if you have any tips and tricks to share about Canva. 

5. PiktoChart {Website}: Have you ever seen those infographics on pinterest? They are very filled up to the top with information images that can be included in a post or shared on Pinterest. I have not used Piktochart personally, but I have heard very good things about it. 

6. HubSpot's Blog Topic Generator: Every blogger has those days where you know you need to write some blog posts, you just have absolute no idea what to write about! Recently, I came across this blog topic generator. Basically, you put in 3 nouns, and the generator gives you ideas for blog posts that you can write that have to do with the 3 nouns that you put in! How nifty is that? Sometimes the grammar won't be correct, or the topic won't make sense, but take it easy! It's a computer.. It's certainly not perfect.. Here's an example:

7. Mail Chimp {Website}: Ever wanted to create a newsletter for your blog? Mailchimp is THE tool to use. It makes putting together a newsletter easy as pie! It only took me 30 minutes to get everything put together. If you have any questions, the team at Mail Chimp put together quite a few tutorial videos up that help an awful lot! 

8. Grab my button code generator {Website}: If you have seen those buttons in other blogger's sidebars that say "Grab my button" or "Take me with you" with an html code, and wondered how they did it.. Well, I have the answer! This website has a code generator that will give you the correct HTML code for your image so that other people can paste it into their sidebar's! 

9. Rafflecopter {Website}: As a blogger, it's important to run giveaways every now and then. Sometimes, giveaways can be very stressful. Especially when you don't have a nice and easy to use program like Rafflecopter to use! I use rafflecopter for all of my giveaways. It is so much easier than counting up the entries all on your own. Rafflecopter will collect entries and then draw a winner at the end of the giveaway. 

10. Hello Bar {Website}: Look up at the tippy top of my blog^ You see that bar up there? That's my hello bar! These bars are very helpful when it comes to welcoming people to your blog, sending them to other accounts of yours that you would like for them to follow, or collecting email addresses for your newsletter. Hello Bar is a very helpful tool, and it's super easy to install this into your blog. All you do is copy and paste some HTML code into your blog.. And there ya have it! A Hello Bar:)

11. Pinterest {Website and App}: Of course I had to include a bonus resource for y'all! Seriously, If you don't have or use Pinterest either on the website or the app... Wow, you're really missing out! Most all of the traffic to my blog comes from Pinterest. But Pinterest does require a little bit of work. You have to pin at least twice a day just to let people know that you're still online and active! Also, don't just pin your blog stuff. PIN EVERYBODY;s STUFF! Follow lots of people, and pin your favorite images from them. Pinterest is really a good way for bloggers to help bloggers if you know what I mean. EVERY BLOGGER NEEDS A PINTEREST ACCOUNT. 

I hope that all y'all use these resources and that they are as benficial to you as they are to me and my blog. If you see that I missed a good resource, please leave me a comment with the link and I will include it to the bottom of this post. The same goes with me. If I come up with any other resources or websites that y'all should use.. They will be linked below, so keep checking in with this post! 

LINKS TO OTHER POSTS ON BLOGGING: 

-Blogging Don'ts with Ashley

-Twitter Tips

-What Kristin Likes in a Blog

-The Importance of Communication

-Spreading Virtual Sunshine

OTHER RESOURCES:

-Easel.ly: create visuals and diagrams for your blog

-Photo Pin: free images for bloggers

-Moldiv {app}: collages, photo grids.. ect. 

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xx-

Cathleen