Running a blog is fun, I love blogging myself. It’s your chance to create your own little space on the internet, where you can say what you want and truly be yourself. It’s a way to meet new people, learn new skills and share your ideas. It’s also a great way to make extra money and even launch your own business in time.
But, if you want to take your blogging seriously, it can also be tremendously overwhelming. You need to build social media followings, grow an email list, develop your writing and photography, learn about coding and web design, engage with your audience and pitch for work.
When you are trying to do all of this, you need technology. At the very least, you need a smartphone or tablet to write posts and take photographs. But, as you grow, you might want to start utilizing more tech. Here’s a look at some of the things that you might want.
A Laptop for Blogging
It’s entirely possible to start a blog on your smartphone. You can write posts, send emails, take photos and interact on social media. In fact, you might find that some areas of blogging, like Instagram, are always easier on your phone. But, if you want to take things to the next level, you might want to invest in a laptop. You’ll be able to type faster, do more with editing photographs and make more customisations to your site.
However, that doesn’t mean that you need to rush out and buy the most expensive computer on the market. As long as you’ve got a keyboard, internet access and decent speeds and memory, you’ll be fine.
A Camera
Photographs are one of the things that help your blog stand out and get noticed. With so many blogs out there, good photography is often what sets the more serious bloggers apart. If you can start with an entry-level DSLR. Spend time practising your photography and avoid the automatic button. Then, as your skills develop, and your confidence grows, start investing in new lenses and other photography equipment.
Stock photos can be used if you don’t have any images of your own, read my post on where to get free and paid images.
Canva
Once you’ve taken your photos, you’ll need to edit them to the correct size for your blog posts. I recommend using Canva. Here you can create pins, images for social media, e-book covers, the list goes on. Canva provides hundreds of stock photos too!
Tailwind
Tailwind takes the headache out of manual pinning to Pinterest. Consistency is the key to using Pinterest and a steady stream of pins sent using Tailwind is the best way to bring targeted traffic to your blog.
Read my post on why I used Tailwind for Pinterest scheduling.
You may also be interested in reading how many times I post per day on Pinterest.
A Smartphone
You can add more tools and tech to your arsenal, but you’ll always need your smartphone. So, if it gets broken, look at a repair company like Mobile Computer Repair as soon as possible. You’ll use your phone to write notes or take pictures on the go. You’ll be able to reply to comments while you are out and use your social media apps to share updates. Your phone allows you to maintain contact with your audience wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
A keyword Tool
Keyword research for your blog posts can be done with or without keyword tools, however, many bloggers like to use them to save time. Two tools I recommend are Keyserch and Jaaxy.
Grammarly
When it comes to software, there are a few things that you need. Social media apps, an online calendar, voice recognition software, photo and video editing software and more. But, these depend on what you want to do and how you speak to your audience.
Everyone needs Grammarly. It’s a simple tool that can sit in your toolbar, and checks all of your spelling and grammar. It also looks at your word structure and choice, detects repeated words and offers more suitable replacements. The basic version is free and a must, even for those who think they are excellent writers. We all make small mistakes sometimes.
