Top 5 Resources I Use For Blogging

I've been doing this blogging thing for a little over a year and a half, and I've definitely learned a few things through trial and error through it all. Every blogger does things a little bit differently and has methods and tricks that they swear by, so I thought I would share mine. I know there are a lot of people out there thinking of starting a blog, or maybe you've started one but have no clue what to do next (don't worry, half the time I still have no idea what's going on), so hopefully these tips are helpful!

1. Picmonkey. I seriously use this website for everything (www.picmonkey.com). You can pay for an upgraded version, but I don't really see the need for it. You can do anything from editing photos to creating blog buttons all for free. I am by no means a graphic designer (quite the opposite, actually), but I wanted to design my own blog. It probably took me 10 hours longer than it would a professional, but it was fun to put time into creating something myself. I have always designed my own blog templates, and I use Picmonkey for everything. Literally, everything.

2. A nice camera. I'm not saying you have to have a DSLR to be a blogger, but many blogs will benefit from nice pictures. I take almost all of my recipe images with a basic Sony DSLR and try to use it for as many photos as I can. I don't lug the thing around every day, so I still post plenty of iPhone photos too. For photos in which I am looking to showcase something, like recipes or crafts, I like to use my DSLR.

3. Pinterest. I share a new recipe with you all every Tuesday, and I find many of them on Pinterest, but that's not exactly why it's such a great resource. I did a blogging series called Pinterest 101 about the most effective ways to use Pinterest to help your blog. I get the most traffic each month from a couple of recipes I pinned a year ago on Pinterest. Pin your content, install a "pin it" button, and get verified on Pinterest. Pinterest and blogging is like peas and carrots, yall. 

4. Google. When I see HTML, I might as well be reading Japanese. My husband was a computer engineering major in college, so he gets it. I was a marketing major, so I don't. At all. Any little change I make to my blog, I google it first. Google will be your best friend with blogging, and there has been a tutorial written about every little thing you could ever want to know. When I need to make an HTML or design change, I google the heck out of it before I touch any code.

5. Time. This is the resource every blogger uses the most. You can have the greatest ideas for post topics in the world, but you have to find the time to sit down and type it all out. I try not to carve out time to blog because I don't like the pressure that brings. Sometimes I just don't feel like writing, and other times I want to crank out 5 posts in an afternoon. I write when I feel inspired to write or feel I have something worth saying, but I do have to find the time to do so.

What is the biggest resource you use in blogging?