Today, I have a fun, helpful post for all my fellow bloggers out there!
Let’s face it, blogging takes a lot of time and effort and it isn’t cheap. Whether it’s hosting your own domain, transferring to self hosting, or even just paying for internet access….there’s money involved. And most bloggers just do it for fun and not to make money! So already you’re in the negatives in terms of blogging income. So it’s important to take advantage of the all the free resources out there that can help make your blogging experience easier and more efficient. Luckily, there is a lot out there for you to use and today I’m highlighting 5 of my favorites that I use often.
1. Buffer
This is the website and app I use to schedule of promotional tweets for the day. When I’m busy with work or class, I definitely don’t have time to sit on social media and tweet about my posts for the day. That’s where Buffer comes in. You create your tweets for the day all at once (usually I do it the night before), and then schedule them for different times throughout the day. You can schedule them for random intervals or choose specific times. It’s a great way to amplify and get the word out about your work without having to do it in real time.
This is a great resource for replying to comments. In the past, I had trouble finding time to reply to comments and would often get pretty behind with it. But once I discovered this app, it became easy to just reply on the go as soon as comments came in. You can do it when you’re waiting in lines, walking to class, or just have a moment of down time. It’s quick, convenient, and it makes replying to comments so much more efficient than doing it on the computer.
3. Pic Monkey
I pretty much use PicMonkey everyday and it is truly one of my favorite blogging tools out there. Not only can you edit pictures, design graphics, and make collages, but it’s AWESOME for adding text to pictures and creating pinnable images. You can see some of the things I’ve made in PicMonkey in almost all of my posts (including this one…see the graphic above!). It’s very easy to use and they even have an upgrade option that gives you even more flexibility and choices with your designs.
4. Latergramme
Just like Buffer, this is a great app for prescheduling social media posts! Except this one is for instagram! If you want to promote a specific image from a post, say a recipe or pinnable image, then you can upload it to Latergramme and schedule it for a specific time during the week. This is great if you want to remind people about a giveaway you have going on or if you don’t think you’ll have time to re-promote a post later in the week.
To me, GA is the standard for analytics data and tracking. Not only is it the most used by companies when they are looking to gauge reach and work with bloggers, but I’ve found its reportings to be the most accurate. Plus, you get a ton of data and information about your site for the small fee of NOTHING. That’s right. Totally free and you get awesome insights on your audience, page views, unique visitors, and even the sites that are driving traffic to your blog. This is definitely worth signing up for and the set up is pretty straightforward and simple.
In addition, a lot of blogging tips and tricks are just a simple google search away. I’ve also found that reaching out to other bloggers is a gold mine of information! People are generally very helpful and responsive if you have questions about something. We are a community after all and supporting one another only makes us stronger. Also, PLUGINS. There are so many awesome plugins that can really enhance your blog and most of the best ones out there just happen to be FREE.
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52 responses to “Top FREE Blogging Tools”
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Google Analytics and PicMonkey are the ones here I use the most, but I hadn’t heard of Latergramme yet! Definitely checking that out. Thank you so much!
No problem! Enjoy!
love picmonkey & wordpress!! what are your favorite plugins?
Hmmmm I think I should do a whole post on that LOL! There are so many good ones! Stay tuned!
This is great!!! I tend to see here and there posts about how to make money on your blog and although I don’t discard that in the future, free blogger tools are extremely helpful for me right now.
Same here! They are such great resources!
Kaila, I look up to your blog a lot and how successful it is, thanks for sharing some of your secrets 🙂
Wow Amber! Thank you so much for such a nice comment!
I use all of these except for Latergramme – will definitely have to look into that one!
They’re all great! 🙂
Thanks for this reference. I’m familiar with all but the latergram for instagram! Awesome!
No problem Sue!
Okay so I worked in social media for years and never heard of buffer… especially because it is free! Going to have to try that one out 🙂
It’s awesome! I use it every day!
Great list of resources! I’ve been looking into a scheduler, but didn’t want to pay for one. Going to try Buffer – looks great!
No problem!
Wow I had no idea about Latergram what a great tool! Thanks for sharing all of your tips and tricks 😉
xo C
Of course! Hope they help!
That’s funny–I don’t think I’ve ever used my wordpress app to respond to comments. I’ll check out latergramme which is one I haven’t heard of.
It’s a great resource!
Thanks for sharing all of this, Kaila! I always love when bloggers share the things/info the helps them be successful. I’m going to check out these links!
Hope they help!
Thanks for sharing! I’m definitely going to look into latergramme and buffer… they would make my life a lot easier 🙂
Buffer is AMAZING.
Great tools & tips!
Thanks Megan!
Thanks a million for these Kaila! I am so clueless when it comes to all the fancy apps and tools one can use for improving a blog, so to have these laid out in an easy to understand format and with detailed explanations of what each tool can do is so helpful to me.
I’m afraid I don’t have a favourite blogging tool at the moment, having never used any…but after trying the ones you have listed out I suspect I will 🙂
Yay! I’m happy you found them useful!
Wow, I never knew there were great tools like that at no cost. Thank you so much for sharing these, Kaila! ‘No time for nothing’ is totally me, too, during the week so I’ll look into Buffer right now. I hope it’s easy to navigate because TweetDeck confused me …
It’s super easy to use!
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I am fairly new to PicMonkey and it truly is life changing!! I love creating fun motivational images!
I agree! Definitely one of my favorite sites!
Those are all great resources for blogging! I use PicMonkey all the time too. I use Hoosuite to schedule my social media and follow hashtags.
Thabks Mattie!
Great list – I like Canva for designing graphics and LOVE Buffer. I am going to check out Latergramme – thanks for the tip 🙂
Oh yeah Canva is great too!
I like using PicMonkey and I want to look into Google Analytics. Thanks for the reminder on that!
No problem!
I didn’t know about the WordPressApp for comments – so helpful – and also checking out Latergramme. I definitely use all the others you mentioned 🙂
The wordpress app is really convenient!
I’m starting to get the hang of Picmonkey lately as I’ve been getting a little more into using Pinterest–I know I still have a lot to learn, though!
Its a great tool!
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I just started using Buffer and use it for Facebook, too. Has anyone else found that your FB posts with Buffer don’t have as much reach? I still love it, though and it makes me still feel a part of the Social Media game even when I am not on it. I found you through SITS! 🙂
I actually never use it for FB posts! But I’ll have to try that out! Thanks for stopping by!
I didn’t know about Latergramme. Thanks for the tip!
No problem!
Wow! I never knew that a program was finally created to schedule Instagram posts…thanks!!
What theme/framework do you use to design your blog….I love how it’s so clear! Thanks Kaila!
I use genesis!
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I’m so happy that I have come across this post and your blog (I’m a bit late to the part, I know). I started my blog ages ago but haven’t been very good at updating it and I’m now hoping to blog on a regular basis.
The apps suggested sound brilliant, I haven’t had a clue on how to put my blog out there so this will defo help, thanks!
Thank you so much for stopping by! I am happy you found my blog too! 🙂