7 Best Blogging Tools for 2021

3 years into the game and it’s safe to say I still love blogging; I love finding new ways to write and bring you all along for the story of my life. I do feel like now that I’m older, married and the like I’m discovering what I love to write about. In order to make those things happen though I like to have certain tools in place to make things easier for me. This is an updated post sharing my 7 Best Blogging Tools for 2021.

Evernote; Top Tier Blogging Tools

Blogging like anything can be a lot of work; thank goodness for technology and other resources that make make it just a bit easier. One of my go to resources that I definitely cannot live without is Evernote. Evernote is a digital note-taking platform that has a cloud like feature available on any device where you can create notebooks with information behind them. This is where all of my writing magic happens. I used to like hand writing my blogs, but honestly it wasn’t easy to edit in that way. Evernote is the ONLY WAY I keep up with blogging. It’s pretty interesting to think about how much I really like Evernote for blogging, because it didn’t used to always be this way.

I’ve been using Evernote for almost 4 – 5 years now and it is an easy on the go way for me to access my blog posts, current or in progress; I can access my running list of ideas, add on the go, check things off and keep it moving.  I could write my blog posts out using any type of program, but to be able to see my list of notes while I work on other pieces simultaneously is really dope AND helpful for me. The search feature makes it easy to find anything, as I work, it auto-saves so I never feel worried or stressed about losing anything.

Evernote allows me to stay organized and makes copy and pasting right into WordPress effortless because who is really about to re-type everything?

Google Drive

This goes beyond blogging. If you have a gmail account and you aren’t use Google Drive, I’m not even sure what to tell you. Google Drive is how I keep up with photos, documents, templates (for both of my businesses), contracts and the like. I’m not a “can you wait until I get home kind of girl” unless absolutely necessary. My goal is to be able to work remote anyway so creating this routine of access from anywhere really helps me feel like I’m living that out.

Aside from organizational purposes and business purposes, using G Drive is the easiest way for me to access my photos when it comes to blogging. The moment I take photos and edit them, I drag and drop (or upload) right into my Blog Photos section and now I have all the photos I need at anytime. I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’ve been on the go and someone hits me up asking for a head shot. I could easily tell them I’ll send it later when I’m on my computer, but sometimes later is too late and they need it immediately and in that instance, I’m able to send it right away.

Google Drive isn’t limited to just photos or documents, you can build out your G Suite with the apps and tools you need to help you work most efficiently. Inside of G Suite, I use Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Photos, Google Sheets and Google Calendar. There are a ton of other apps that can be integrated into your G Suite, so don’t feel like you have to use these, but if you’re looking to be more efficient with what you need to do, I would recommend giving these a try, ESPECIALLY if you already have a gmail account.

Pinterest

Aside from getting my daily aesthetics and inspiration fix, Pinterest is where I run to when I need blogging ideas or a more refined way to title something. Pinterest is the next best thing aside from Google and if you aren’t using it to search for things, you’re missing out. Everything from the quotes I find, to unique CTA’s for my newsletter, Pinterest never fails me.

Aside from what you can find on Pinterest, if you want to draw more traffic to your blog, you need to be sharing your blog post photos to Pinterest and linking back to your website. WordPress users (and most other platforms) have a plug-in or integration so you can Pin photos directly from your blog post. Instead of pinning just one, Pin them all because you never know who is going to be drawn to what. In the last several weeks, manually pinning photos from my blog and from Instagram has boosted my engagement not only on Pinterest but also on my site. Remember your goal is to get as many eyes to your content as possible.

Lastly, Story Pins, if you have access to them, you have to use them! Video is becoming more and more front of crowd across platforms. Pinterest reach is similar to Tik Tok reach.

iPhone 11 Max Pro

The iPhone 12 is out, so camera wise it’s greater than the 11 Max Pro but I still use my phone heavily for content. I record in 4k and save the videos I make for reels in 4k so it is the best quality it can be without being the latest device.

You know your budget and life, for some people getting a new phone for blogging is a better overall choice compared to just getting a camera. We’re all different phases in our lives, but as long as you have access to a good camera on your phone, you’re in a good position.

Canon M50 Mirrorless Camera

I upgraded to a Canon M50 camera at the end of 2020. I had been self shooting more and loving that content, but knew I would need the camera quality for moving forward in this blogging journey and I’m so glad I switched. I stopped using stock photos once I rebranded last summer and since then I like the creative direction I’ve taken my photos and how it translates into images for my blog.

Stock photos are great when the branding matches and where my brand was going, they no longer fit so the camera upgrade made the most sense for blogging. At first it was a learning curve, not because I had no experience, but getting comfortable with any new device has it’s challenges. This is a great camera if you are wanting to vlog or take cleaner pictures. I still use a mix of iphone photos, but for blogging tools and if I wanted to use my photos for my blog they needed to be higher quality.

Flodesk; Must Have Blogging Tools

Last year I switched from Mailchimp to Flodesk and it’s been the best decision ever as far as improving my blogging tools. Visually Flodesk is much more beautiful than Mailchimp ever was and as far as workflows and opt-ins, segments and the like, it’s so much easier to navigate. Flodesk has definitely added to my consistency as far as my newsletter and just really added to the experience that is Daily Dose of Luxury. It’s businesses like Flodesk that makes blogging exciting. Get on the list below.

A5 Planner

Last but certainly not least, my A5 planner is one of the main ways that I stay on top of blogging. Using my systems to help me stay on track, writing down what absolutely must get done and celebrating myself for doing it has made a difference for me this year. I feel way less all over the place because my planner gives me a one day at a time scope.

All of that said, these 7 tools make blogging a breeze and continue to make it an experience that I look forward to.

What are some of your favorite blogging tools?