Tools for Blogging That I Can’t Live Without

It’s hard to believe it but Tea for Me Please is turning 12 this year. Blogging can be a lot of work but it’s also very rewarding. These are a few of the tools that I find absolutely indispensable to keeping the blog running while maintaining my sanity (most of the time).

Hootsuite

Keeping up with social media is always a challenge. I’ve been using Hootsuite for years because it allows me to view all of my platforms in one place. It is especially helpful for Twitter lists and scheduling links to be shared. It is such a time saver to reply to comments and tweets without having to visit each individual social network. I currently use the free version but will upgrade to pro when I have a lot of client work

Planoly

Planoly helps me to plan and schedule Instagram posts. With it, I can stockpile images for my feed and stories as well as visualize what they will look like before they are posted. I have a long commute so I’ll often use that time to plan all of my posts in the mobile app, including captions and hashtags. I love being able to access it to my desktop too. The free version works well but does have some limitations. I pay for the Solo plan every month.

Canva

I have zero artistic abilities so making graphics for the blog has always been a bit of a struggle for me. Canva is a web-based platform that makes it super easy to design high-quality images. They have tons of templates that are already perfectly sized for all fo the different social networks. I use for all of my header and Pinterest images as well as for more advanced projects like the Tea Blogger Directory (I swear I’m still working on it!). I have been using the free version for years

PicMonkey

Did I mention that I also don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to Photoshop or other professional image editing software? PicMonkey is a web-based tool for editing images. I have been using it for so long that it has become an essential part of my blogging routine. As they’ve evolved I’ve had to upgrade to their Basic level but it well worth it for the time that it saves me.

Adobe Lightroom

As much as I enjoy using PicMonkey for editing blog images, I tend to use Adobe Lightroom for editing pictures for Instagram. The app is free to use and presets can be purchased from a variety of sources. I find the workflow is much faster than other tools, especially if I am at an event and need to post an image quickly.

Google Keep

I use Google Keep to record notes for tea reviews as well as for keeping track of blog post ideas. You never know when and where inspiration will strike! It is so helpful to be able to search my notes when I need to find something. I also love being able to access them from my phone or from the desktop.

I know a lot of my readers are also bloggers, whether they write about tea or other topics. Are there other great tools for blogging that I missed? Let me know about it in the comments!