I am totally fucking obsessed with blogging.

After more than 3 years blogging on RTC, it really has become an obsession. 

More often than not, activities feel like they’re taking me away from blogging because I enjoy it so much. I am even resentful when I feel too tired to work on it.

Fortunately, I’ve learned how to balance life and blogging over my 3-plus year blogging career.

I’ve come across a number of helpful blogging tools that enhanced my experience. What’s more important is that some of these tools made blogging more fun.

Here are 9 blogging tools for an absolutely incredible blogging experience:

---

Canva

Canva is an incredibly helpful App. 

In short, Canva allows you to create amazing promotional designs on your phone. 

You can add words and shapes over photos, and they also provide free stock images.

It’s the quickest way I know of to create content for micro-blogging on social platforms, because you can save your own designs and reuse them. It’s a great way to establish a consistent brand image on social media. 

Yoast

I had no clue what I was doing with search engine optimization until I installed the Yoast plugin.

Yoast allows you to enter keywords for your posts, and it provides tips on how to properly optimize posts and pages for search engines to find.

It’s very easy to install, and then it automatically shows up on pages and posts after the plugin is installed and activated.

My writing would actually be a lot different without Yoast, though. It does make recommendations that alter some sentences.  

On the other hand, it has helped me understand the value of sticking to 1 topic, and I’ve improved at breaking down my points.

Overall, Yoast is a helpful blogging tool for learning SEO and basic writing structure.

Related Post: SEO Tactics for Bloggers

WordPress App for Uploading Photos & Answering Comments

Although I don’t use the WordPress App for publishing blog posts, it’s great for uploading photos and answering comments.

There is a media section to upload photos, or you can upload photos within each individual post.

In addition, there is a comment section to approve and answer comments quickly on the go. 

There are now 2,153 comments (including my responses) on RTC since November 2015, which I’m super appreciative of! I try my best to answer comments within a decent time frame. However, sometimes I take a day or so when I’m super busy. The WordPress App has definitely helped me with staying on top of comments.

Noisli

I’m using Noisli to focus on writing this post right now.

Here’s what they do:

“Improve focus and boost your productivity.

Mix different sounds and create your perfect environment.”

Check out noisli.com for more details.

Quality Theme

I was very skeptical about spending money on a blog theme a first. But I’m beginning to understand the benefits of upgrading since I made the switch to Mai Theme.

In short, my e-mail subscribers have increased significantly since I upgraded my theme. 

This caused me to realize the importance of an aesthetically pleasing website that is well organized.

A few of my favourite theme creators are Mai Theme and Colorlib. If you’re new to blogging, Colorlib has quality themes for free.

Macbook or laptop

Sorry, post-pc enthusiasts. But iPads and even advanced mobile phones don’t cut it yet.

I mean, I use my phone for social media, photography and for some of the apps mentioned in this post. However, I can’t easily build a self-hosted WordPress website on a post-pc device. I need a Mac!

For example, one of the reasons I upgraded to the theme I’m currently running was the ability to feature a homepage. I had to edit HTML5 code and had to use the “customize” option on WordPress’s platform. Simply put, I wouldn’t have been able to do this on an iPad.

As such, a MacBook or other equivalent laptop is required. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 for Notes 

Ok, you can use almost any device to take notes. 

But I wanted an opportunity to highlight the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 because it’s an excellent blogging tool.

It’s fast and precise with the S Pen for Apps like Canva and WordPress. It’s also an excellent device for YouTube, reading online content, social media and multitasking. 

Most importantly, it’s fantastic for taking notes. One if its best features is that it allows you to write notes on the lock screen. The notes can be saved without even unlocking the phone.

Personally, I have been goal-setting in physical notebooks for years now. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has replaced the physical notepad, though, and it has allowed me to take my goals to a new level.

Nikon DSLR Camera

Admittedly, you don’t need a quality camera to be a successful blogger.

A Smartphone camera will do just fine, or Canva offers free stock images if you’re not into photography.

But if you’re interested in photography as a hobby and view your blog as a creative outlet, an entry level DSLR might be a good option.

From this point forward, all photos on this blog will be shot on a Nikon D3400 or Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

Airpods

If you live in a big city like Toronto, AirPods can be a great blogging tool to help with focus in a busy cafe.

Of course, there are better noise cancelling options out there. However, I prefer AirPods simply for convenience. 

They are extremely mobile because of the clever design and they recharge fast. 

On the down side, they are expensive and not the most frugal option for an FI seeker.

---

Conclusion

I realize this is not the most frugal post for a financial independence blog. But I am a believer in enjoying life and having a passion for what you do. That’s what financial independence is really about.

Moreover, there’s a tremendous amount of work that goes into blogging—writing, editing, photography, links, SEO, promotion, social media and more.

Fortunately, I found these blogging tools to enhance the experience and ease the workload. Hopefully the tools mentioned enhance your blogging experience too.

---

I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post contains advertisements by Google Adsense and Amazon affiliate links. This post contains internal links, links to RTC social media accounts and two links to external blog theme websites.

Connect with RTC

Twitter: @Reversethecrush

Pinterest: @reversethecrushblog

Instagram: @reversethecrush_

Facebook: @reversethecrushblog

Email: graham@reversethecrush.com