Getting a blog set up is quite daunting, and maintaining it is not a task for the fainthearted. With the technical details of registering a domain and setting the site up to entice viewers, the process before you even start writing can take quite a while. Then, your passion project will require dedication and consistent management while you build a core audience. Fortunately, some tools can help you on your journey. Whether you’re about to start up your very own blog or you’ve already been at it for a few years, we have a list of some blogging essentials that will help you make the time spent managing and writing much more efficient.
Notebooks
Yes, you heard that right – real-life notebooks indeed do help with writing and scribbling down ideas when the computer is not nearby. If you run a design blog or something that requires sketches or pictures, unlined notebooks are the better choice. But if you want to write prose, then finding a well-lined notebook is critical. Moleskine us/ and Field Notes both make astonishing notebooks that are both stylish and easy to carry around discreetly.
If you prefer to take notes on the computer, there are quite a few fantastic apps to do that. Evernote is the standard, as it can sync across all devices. However, if you’re an Apple user, Bear is an up and coming clean note-taking app that syncs across all Apple devices and uses an intuitive hashtagging function to categorize your notes.
CoSchedule (or another scheduling calendar)
One aspect of maintaining an interested audience that many bloggers underestimate is the importance of keeping a regular posting schedule. Especially in the age of social media, keeping readers coming back to the website is totally necessary. CoSchedule is just one example of a calendar that can send you reminders on when to publish content and when to start planning new content. There are many like CoSchedule, and it would be wise to keep an eye out for other calendars that fit your personal style better.
WordPress Plugins
Assuming you use WordPress for your blog (which the vast majority of bloggers do), then you absolutely must know that there are plugins built-in WordPress that can be integrated into your blog. These plugins range from keeping your blog secure and keeping spammers away from the comments to social sharing buttons and SEO analytics. We recommend using plugins like Gravity Forms for gathering blog readers’ emails, and any Google Analytics you can get your hands on to understand where your readers are coming from and at what times they read your articles.
Storage
Putting together blog posts with hyperlinks, high-quality pictures, and even gifs and videos can take up significantly more space than you first think. Add this to the fact that it’s always a good idea to regularly keep backups of your website in case that something terrible happens, and you’ll soon realize that you need a place to store all of the information you’ve built upon your blog. You can either purchase an external hard drive that has enough space to last for years, or you could use an online cloud-based service to do the same. Dropbox and Google Drive will effortlessly sync anything you specify into the cloud so you can access it anywhere and anytime.
Of course, these are just a few of the blogging essentials that everybody needs when they are starting out. As you fine-tune your content and get settled into a rhythm, you’ll find certain tools that are necessary for your specific niche. Every day of writing is a learning process, but make sure not to forget one thing during this journey: have fun!