To date, I’ve been blogging for over six years already.
Blogging takes A LOT of time and effort to do. It takes an hour or two to write one single post not to mention the amount of admin work you need to put into it. From answering emails, taking photos, editing posts to scheduling everything to go live, blogging can be overwhelming.
Thankfully through the years I’ve discovered tools that helped me blog better. And today I thought it would be nice to share my blogging essentials with you.
If you are thinking of starting a blog or already blogging but having difficulty balancing the day to day challenges, this post is for you.
Canva
Canva is an online photo editing application. It is the main tool I use in creating the thumbnails I use for my blogs as well as all the social media posts you see on all of my platforms.
What I love most about Canva is it is free and you can do almost everything with it. You can create awesome designs by just dragging and dropping all sorts of elements.
Through Canva, I was able to piece together my own brand kit. Blog thumbnails became a piece of cake for me. You can create designs in bulk and save them as a template for faster use. The platform also provides free stock photos for every kind of design you may need.
There’s also a Canva app that is readily available for download on any smartphone. Having the app helped me truly blog on the go. I can conveniently edit photos and save it on my phone for later use.
PhotoScape
It was my eldest sister who actually introduced me to PhotoScape. PhotoScape is a fun and easy photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance photos. I use it mostly to brighten photos, add depth, and more.
I describe PhotoScape as Photoshop for the lazy. It has a user-friendly interface with all the basic photo enhancement tools like color adjustment, resizing, and more. It also has a batch editing function for those who really want to be productive.
Here’s one example of a photo I took before and after I edited it out on PhotoScape.
Canon EOS M3
In 2016, as a birthday gift to myself I bought the Canon EOS M3. Since then I use it for both blogging and vlogging. It has been one of the best investments I have ever made! Not only is it affordable but also the fact that it functions like a DSLR but is so compact.
Almost three years now but the camera still works smoothly. I have traveled with it to South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan and it just functions flawlessly.
Google Docs
I use Google Docs to store up all of my blogging contents. It’s where I drop almost everything from my blog post ideas to any other content I need to do.
Google Docs is the most productive tool I use as a blogger to create content. It offers the easiest and simplest way for me to write content. It has the added functionality of spelling and grammar suggestions plus I can use it even on my phone.
Other amazing features of Google Docs I love are:
- The Explore option where you can do a quick Google search for any word.
- The Define option which opens up to a dictionary window.
- The Hyperlink where you can easily interlink to any other articles available on the internet.
- The Voice Typing which I typically use when I am transcribing an audio material.
Google Docs also constantly save whatever you type so you don’t need to worry in case the internet connection suddenly went off. You can also choose to make any file available offline so you can still write down content without the internet.
Another amazing feature of using Google Docs for blogging is that it has quick references to Google Calendar, Google Keep and Google Task.
If you are not using Google Docs for your day to day blogging, you are missing a lot. This quickly became one of my blogging essentials.
Google Calendar
This is another Google product that increased my productivity so much. I use Google Calendar as my Content Calendar for both SavingsPinay.ph and IzzaGlinoFull.com. What’s great about Google Calendar is you can create multiple calendars for every area of focus you may have.
Personally, I have a separate calendar for SavingsPinay and IzzaGlinoFull. I also have a calendar for general events in my life. You can also drag and drop events, color code based on your specifications plus really personalize everything.
iOS Trio - Macbook Air, iPhone 11 and Airpods
Lastly, I need to include my so-called triad of productivity tools - Macbook Air, iPhone 11 and Airpods.
Macbook Air
Last May 2019, I upgraded my blogging laptop to a Macbook Air. It was one of my prized possessions and what unlocked so much creativity and productivity in my life.
As an avid user of IOS products, I feel like I finally have everything I need to work seamlessly. The Macbook Air gives me so much flexibility. It really is an investment worth doing especially if you are only after browsing and writing and not really heavy on gaming.
iPhone 11
I also did an upgrade on the phone I am using. The iPhone 5S which I had for the past 2 years and a half, is already broken so I decided to buy a new phone. I was about to buy an iPhone 8 but there were no more stock so my sister encouraged me to settle with the iPhone 11 instead.
At first, it was too big for my liking. I felt like I won’t enjoy using it that much. But, almost two months now of using it and I adapted real quick. I had an iPhone 11, 64 GB.
Airpods
When I got my first credit card last year, the very first thing I bought was an Airpods. I really love it for its convenience. I can play music across my Macbook and iPhone without having to plug or unplug any wire. Plus I still have music even if I am away from my device.
For someone who needs music to get in the productivity zone, Airpods are such a great buy.
That’s it for my blogging essentials.
What is/are your blogging essential/s?
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