Anthropologie Leggings // Starbucks Mug // Love Style Life by Garance Dore
Have you always wanted to start a blog? I think NOW is the time! New year, new adventures, right?
One of my favourite things about blogging is learning. I spend waaayyyyy too much time researching blogger tips…blogs about blogs are the BEST. Over the past (almost) 2 years, I’ve uncovered tons of tools for blogging success.
Lol now I just need to implement them.
ANYWAYS. One thing I’ve figured out is that not everything works for everyone. All bloggers are different, and everyone has something different they focus on. Some people LOVE Twitter and find that is the best way to promote their blog. I’ve been on Twitter for 6 years…still can’t get into it. To each her own, right? There are resources for everyone’s blogging style out there, and I’ve finally found what works for me.
Since it’s New Year, New You time, I thought I’d help out any readers who want to dive into blogging and have no idea where to start! I’ve compiled a few of my fave resources for editing, analytics, and blogs about blogging. They are suuuuuper simple and everyone probably already knows about some, but there’s got to be someone like past-me out there who is looking for a place to start.
(PS: let’s count how many times I can say blog/blogging in this post………..)
Ask Jess
I am forever indebted to Jess for teaching me how to blog. I found this lovely lady on Instagram what feels like a century ago, and fell in love with her blog, The Golden Girl. A few months ago, Jess started a weekly video series called “Ask Jess”, which is exactly what it sounds like. Every week she answers viewer questions about all things blogging…and it is SO incredibly helpful. If you’re a brand new blogger (or, like me, struggle to keep it together), Ask Jess is an amazing way to start. Jess has some really kickass tips on everything from blog design to working with brands to analytics, and everything in between. Also she’s basically the sweetest human I’ve ever encountered, and her videos are like sitting down for coffee with a friend. I would know less than nothing about blogging without Jess…if you’re interested, click over to her blog and sign up!
The Blog Market
The Blog Market is another unreal blog about blogging. Aside from articles about ALL KINDS of blogging topics (seriously, anything you want to know about blogs, they’ve got you covered), they compile weekly resources on designated blogging topics. For example, this past week’s weekly resources were about Promoting Your Blog & Business. Whether you’re a blogger looking for tips & tricks or an Etsy shop owner looking to improve your brand, The Blog Market has anything and everything you could possibly want to know.
Iconosquare
I know I’m not the only one who is OBSESSED with Instagram…it’s my #1 data killer, but I’m totally okay with it. Instagram is also my favourite way to promote my blog posts…this is where Iconosquare comes in. Iconosquare is the best way to track your Instagram analytics. UNFORTUNATELY, you now have to pay for the service…such a bummer. But to be honest, it can be soooo worth it if you’re a heavy Instagram user. My favourite aspect of Iconosquare is the Optimization section. This tells you the days/times that you most frequently post, and when you receive the most likes/comments. This is super helpful when deciding the time to post your pics, as it shows when your followers are most active.
Google Analytics
This one is pretty boring for anyone who is a seasoned blogger, but it is SO CRUCIAL!!! When you link your blog to Google Analytics, you can see an up to date breakdown of your blog stats…I find that this is much more accurate than the metrics given through your blog host. It’s kind of fun to see how much your blog has grown, or how much a really kickass blog post affects your pageviews. Analytics are also key in building a media kit and starting to work with sponsors…I find that many companies are partial to working with bloggers with >10k uniques!
Duh, Carly. We all know Pinterest is great. Move along. I know everyone loves Pinterest, but it isn’t just for DIYs and wedding inspo. Pinterest really is an amazing way to learn blogging tips & tricks! It taught me how to use my DSLR camera, and taught me so many photography hacks. If you’re in need of a quick tutorial or some inspiration, Pinterest is the way to go. I also keep a secret board of blog ideas…whether it be DIYs to try, new fonts or layouts, or the 300th chart of what aperture and ISO means (I’m embarrassed by my forgetfulness when it comes to camera settings).
Canva and Picmonkey
I combined the last two together because really they go hand in hand. I am USELESS when it comes to Photoshop…I try to stumble my way through editing, but it isn’t nearly as easy for me as I wish it were. I miss iPhoto and it’s easy editing…the new Photos app on Mac products doesn’t have the same kind of retouching qualities. In comes Canva and Picmonkey: my favourite ways to edit photos. Picmonkey has really great retouching capabilities…this is where I edit all of my photos and touch up any horrific breakouts on my close-up shots. I love it because I find it so easy to make my photos have the same colour composition. I also make my collages in Picmonkey…in my opinion it’s like an easy, cheap version of Photoshop. Does the same thing, but is pretty much idiot proof. Canva is where I make my header images…great title fonts and (again) is crazy user friendly.