In today’s guest post, Krista, of Spending The Weekend, is sharing her Top 5 Tools for Beginning Bloggers.
If you’ve been looking for just the right tips and tools to get started, this is a must read post.
The Top 5 Tools I’ve Used As A Beginning Blogger
Six months ago, I started my blog to document my busy weekends. In September, I decided that I needed to share my blog with the world more, and do something to increase my readership. I wasn’t sure where to begin — it felt like the Internet was a maze, and there was no easy answer. Sure, I had connected my Twitter and Pinterest pages to my blog, but there had to be something more!
I started by googling for answers. As a new blogger, it’s intimidating: there’s no one website that highlights the most popular tools for blogging; it’s almost a “choose your own adventure” story, without knowing where that story will go. Through some sleuthing on other bloggers’ posts via social media platforms, I came across a few tools that have since proved to be the most helpful for me. Please note that the tools I’ve used have been free as of yet — there’s no reason to pay for tools until you have the need (read: a significant amount of traffic on your blog) for something more substantial!
Top 5 Tools for Beginning Bloggers
1. Hootsuite
I use Hootsuite to schedule many of my Twitter and Instagram posts. This is convenient because not everyone will be logged onto social media when you are, and they may miss your posts. Scheduling your posts for times when your followers may be more apt to see them is important to increase your number of views. Alternatively, you can schedule your posts to post throughout the day, which can also help in targeting different demographics.
If you don’t use Twitter, it’s time to log on. Twitter Analytics will give you data on who interacts with your account and how. It also tracks the number of followers, tweet impressions, profile visits, and more. Analyze this data to see what works and what doesn’t, then tailor your tweets to fit you and your brand, and see the activity increase!
3. Bloglovin’
Imagine if Pinterest and StumbleUpon had a baby, but specifically for blogs — meet Bloglovin’. Bloglovin’ is designed to introduce you to new blogs in your category, as well as to help you share your own blog posts with the world. This tool lends itself to interacting with other bloggers: once you find other blogs you like, comment on them — and link your blog to your comment! Other commenters and that blogger may notice that your name is highlighted, be intrigued by your comment, and decide to visit your blog to see what you’re all about.
Once you’ve created a business page for your blog on Facebook, Instagram will let you convert your account to a business account and view your Insights. This tool is similar to Twitter Analytics in that it will show you the engagement of others with your account. Use this to see which posts are the most popular on your account and the data to analyze why.
This tool is actually an app, but an extremely useful one. Say that you’re having a busy day, and you didn’t get the opportunity to create a colorful and interesting post for your Instagram page, but you still want to be active on your account: use Repost for Instagram to find a relevant picture for your area of interest. Drooling over the most recent culinary creation of someone you follow? Repost that picture, crediting them for it, of course! This tool will help keep you active on your account as well as draw others who may like that picture too; if other users see that this is something you like, they may be enticed to stick around to see what other content you produce and/or share!
Now It’s Your Turn
I hope you enjoyed my Top 5 Tools for Beginning Bloggers. Now I’d like to hear from you! Which social media platforms or tools do you find the most useful in marketing your blog? Do you have any recommended tools for beginning bloggers? Let us know in the comments below.
About Krista
Hi, I’m Krista. I live in eastern North Carolina about an hour away from the Outer Banks, but spend a lot of my time traveling around NC, and go hiking every chance I get. I eat and promote healthy eating and living on my blog, Spending The Weekend, and work for a university during the week.
For more information on my journey in blogging, check out my blog over at Spending The Weekend!
About NCBN
NC Blogger Network is North Carolina’s premier community for bloggers. We bring bloggers together for events, education, networking and paid opportunities working with relevant brands. Join today!
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