5 favorite blogging resources to help busy bloggers- and who isn’t?- be as efficient and organized as possible. I bet you haven’t heard of some of these.
I wrote a post a while back sharing my five favorite blogging resources. The more I thought about my list, though, the more resources I kept coming up with. I knew I couldn’t stop at just five.
Here are five more favorite blogging resources.
1. podcasts
Podcasts are the new Discman. I listen to podcasts while I cook, while I shower, while I work out. Basically, if my hands are working, but my brain is relatively free, there’s usually a podcast on. Granted, with two little ones around, I don’t always catch all the information, but I love that I can learn about writing great content, optimizing social media, or pricing sponsored posts, all while doing other things.
My two current favorite podcasts are Launch Ladies and Brilliant Business Moms. Both are packed with brilliant nuggets of information for any blogger or entrepreneur.
2. pin count
Ever wonder how many times your posts have been pinned? This awesome tool allows you to paste a URL and see how many times it has been pinned. It’s the easiest way I know of to get the pin count for your posts, and a it’s a great tool to determine which posts and photos are most appealing on Pinterest.
3. the blogging elite
The Blogging Elite is a Facebook group for bloggers. It’s an amazing resource to network with other bloggers. You can ask questions and crowd-source problems. There are daily threads to promote engagement on social media and individual blog posts. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your blog and meet and connect with bloggers.
4. dafont
Dafont is a website offering free font downloads. Do you want to use fonts in PicMonkey to brand your photos, but you don’t want use the same 12 fonts as so many other bloggers? Use Dafont to download any fonts you like, and then use PicMonkey to put those fonts on your photos. Not sure how to do that? I have a step-by-step tutorial here.
5. 30/30
I know there are a ton of apps out there promising to boost productivity. I’ve tried a few, but 30/30 is by far my favorite. It allows you to set timers of different lengths for different tasks. When the timer for one task goes off, the timer for the next task begins.
I love to set 8-10 minute timers for several different social media networks. I’ll spend 8 minutes commenting on photos and following new people on Instagram, and then 30/30 will alert me when my time is up. I’ll move on to 8 minutes of pinning, and then 8 minutes of retweeting and following, etc. It’s my favorite way to stay engaged on social media without wasting time.
Don’t forget to check out my blogging page for a ton more resources.
Ok, I’m only familiar with two out of the five of these! I’m going to take a look at the rest of them this weekend.
Yay! I hope you find them helpful!
I came to your website when I was searching for some recipe. I don’t know whether this is the right place to ask this. Can you please write a post about on what occasions I need to gift my kid’s teacher ( Christmas, thanksgiving, teachers day etc). My first kid just started kindergarten and I am new to all this gifting.
Whom should I include ? Class teacher, School bus driver, music teacher, gym teacher ?
If I am to give them gift cards, what would be a reasonable amount ? Or what kind of gifts do I need to buy ? I ask you all this since you are also a teacher. I will be eagerly waiting for your post or reply.
Thanks
Thank you for your comment, Siva! I’m not sure this is something I’d write a post about because I don’t think there are any occasions you *need* to gift your child’s teacher(s). Christmas and teacher appreciation week (in the spring) are common gifting times, but it’s completely up to you.
As far as who to include, that’s your call, too. His main classroom teacher, and any aids, would be a good start. It’s always nice to recognize art and music teachers, bus drivers, secretaries, etc. if your time and budget allow.
As a teacher, I can tell you that, truly, any gift is appreciated and treasured. Even something as inexpensive as a handwritten note or card is special, whether it’s from you or your child. If you choose to give a gift card, any amount is nice, even $5-$10. Gift cards to local restaurants, coffee shops, or school supply stores are appreciated; Amazon, too.
When it comes to gifts, most teachers would tell you that things like mugs, knickknacks, and lotions are what they need the least; they likely get more than they have room for. Most teachers spend their own money on classroom supplies, especially mid-year, so you could stock up on extras from you child’s list and gift those.
Like I said, there are really no rules to teacher gift-giving. Anything is appreciated and it really is the thought that counts. Your child’s teacher will be touched that you thought of him or her. I hope this helps, Siva!
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I got an idea.
You’re welcome! I know the teacher(s) will love anything you do!
I used your font resource and loved it! Such a great tip!
Thanks, Angela! I have physically pull myself away from that site- I love it!
Love these! I need to up my organization game. i’ll have to check out some of these to stay on top of some of blogging tasks! One of my favorite resources is the Pinterest source URL…if you copy this link below and then add the link to your blog homepage after it it will show you all pins pinned organically from your website! That’s one of my favorites 🙂 Thanks for sharing all these!
https://www.pinterest.com/source/
Thanks for sharing, Lauren! I don’t think I’ve seen that before. Checking it out now!