Official Beginner Blogger Toolkit: 11 Tips and Tricks

This Beginner Blogger Toolkit & shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LoveYourPC #CollectiveBias

New to blogging? Don’t miss our Official Beginner Blogger Toolkit, featuring 11 must-know tips and tricks to get the job done well!

As a blogger, it can be tough to find your way.  Whether you’re looking for a source of income or you just want to share your story, there are so many components that need to be executed.  A new blogger in 2017 has a much different path than the one I took, back in 2011.

Being a blogger can be rather isolating… it’s just you and your computer.  Which is why it’s important to have the right PC and the right software to get the job done.

Official Beginner Blogger Toolkit

Beginer Blogger Toolkit: Hardware

Your Work Partner: Dell Inspiron with Intel’s 8th Gen Intel® Core™ processor 

Battling old equipment?  It’s probably time to upgrade.  It’s essential to have a fast machine capable of operating multiple large apps at the same time and with lots of storage.   Did you know that there’s a 40% performance jump between 7th Gen and 8th Gen Intel core and 2x better performance compared to a 5-year-old PC?  Yup.

With my new Dell Inspiron 2-in-1, available at Best Buy, I save time with the instant wake experience.   Plus, I can run all of the apps mentioned below, and I LOVE using the Cortana voice command.  Nothing like a digital personal assistant to help me pull up a recipe hands-free in the kitchen!

Beginner Blogger Toolkit: For Your Blog

The Foundation: WordPress.org

If you ask almost any blogger, they’ll say the same thing – WordPress.org is the way to go.  It’s flexible, easily updated and accommodates so many different themes.  Don’t confuse this with WordPress.com which has very limited usability.

Streamline SEO: Yoast SEO Premium 

This comprehensive plugin is installed in WordPress.  Yoast SEO ensures that my meta descriptions, blog text, images, and slugs are all optimized using the focus keyword(s) I’ve selected for the post.  It also helps me review the readability of my post – ensuring that the text is easy to read, doesn’t contain consecutive sentences with starting with the same word, and that sentences are the appropriate length.

Keyword Search and Identification: Jaaxy 

Want to know the right words to use in combination for the maximum reach?  You’ll receive 30 trial searches, then can  upgrade to a paid account if you end up loving it as much as I do.  Jaaxy helps me narrow down the perfect keyword combos to make ensure my posts reach the most impressions.

Invoice Management: GoDaddy Bookkeeping

Once you start incurring expenses (and hopefully making $$$!!) it’s time to start keeping track of it.  I’ve found that GoDaddy is exceptionally user-friendly and helps with the accounting come tax time.  My least favorite time of the year…

Beginner Blogger Toolkit: Visuals

Graphic Design: PicMonkey

Make your blog look beautiful without a degree in graphic design.  PicMonkey is one of those tools that is great to have access to, even if you are comfortable with more advanced graphic design software.  It’s free (with premium upgrades available), versatile, and very easy to use.

Perfect for editing photos, creating banners, Pinterest images, and other visual elements for your blog ands social media profiles.   And, with the touchscreen on my Dell Inspiron, it makes photo editing easier… and more fun!

Video Editing: Adobe Premiere Pro 

Turn raw footage into flawless productions with Premiere Pro CC, the industry-leading video editing software. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned pro, you can edit, adjust color, refine audio, and more — all in one seamless, integrated workflow.

Beginner Blogger Toolkit: Share Your Work

Email Marketing Management: MailChimp

I’ve found that the social media reach of my blog posts can often be out of my control.  Facebook and Pinterest are often changing their algorithms for sharing content.  What you can control is your own email list.  I manage my subscribers and send out new content to them through MailChimp, which makes automation easy.

Pinterest Marketing: Tailwind Tribes

You have a Pinterest account and you’re creating Pinterest-worthy images, so why aren’t you getting more re-pins?  Try joining relevant tribes through Tailwind.  You’ll add your content for other bloggers to share, and in exchange you’ll pin theirs.  It’s a win-win for everyone.

Media Kit: Microsoft PowerPoint

Want to secure paid blog posts?  Giveaways?  Or maybe you’re looking to start out with product reviews?  Give yourself a professional look with a beautiful media kit.  Although there are many software tools that claim to do this job specifically, I’ve found that the best tool to use for this job is PowerPoint, mostly because it allows for easy updates.

Influencer Networks: Social Fabric

Connect with other bloggers and brands, through influencer networks.  These groups are a fantastic way to learn from the best!  Plus, be the first to find out about conferences where you can… gasp… meet in person with the people behind the computer!  I’ve been astounded with the number of opportunities and sense of community with Social Fabric, but there are dozens of others that offer valuable networking opportunities as well.

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