My 4 Favorite Blogging Tools

The key to effective blogging is using the right technology, tools and hardware. That’s where the HP Pavilion x360 comes in. The HP Pavilion x360 is not your typical personal computer. In the spirit of bending the rules of technology, it’s designed with a detachable keyboard giving us four awesome “modes” to play in.

I’ve been lucky enough to partner with HP to show you how I use the HP x360 for blogging (ok- and for catching up on my favorite TV shows!)

The HP x360 gets its name from the 360-degree hinge for ultimate flexibility. No matter which way you use this convertible PC, the latest touchscreen technology makes the most of notebook, stand, tent or tablet mode. The HP x360 has 4 modes (laptop, tablet, tent, and stand). I use the laptop mode for my typically blogging, since it’s easiest for me to type on the physical keyboard. The tablet mode is excellent for browsing sites like Pinterest, where I get inspiration for my blog posts (and my upcoming wedding!) The tent mode is ideal for catching up on my favorite TV shows that I missed during the week. My bed time is 10 pm, so anything on after that is watched the following day after dinner.

In the spirit of the 4 modes, I’m going to share with you my 4 favorite blogging tools that I’ve used over the years.

4 Favorite Blogging Tools

Hootsuite Pro

As any blogger knows, social media is a huge part of running a successful blog. You want to work on building your community, finding influencers to share and engage with your content, and schedule your posts at the perfect time. Hootsuite allows you to schedule all your social media posts in advance across multiple networks and measure the results. You can also keep track of your favorite accounts in custom dashboards for easier Twitter browsing. Sign up for a free 30-day trial here (it’s only $9.99 a month after that!)

Bluehost

Bluehost might not technically be a blogging “tool”, it is a game-changer. Bluehost is the hosting service I use for my blog and where I purchased my domain name from. Even if you already have a blog through another host, you can easily switch on over to Bluehost. They offer unlimited domain hosting, unlimited hosting space, unlimited email accounts, a free domain name, a free site builder w/ templates and free instant set-up for WordPress. Their customer support is excellent (via phone or their online chat) and they have so many other features. To create my blogs and websites, I just log in, pay the fee (currently it’s only $3.95 a month), click a few buttons and then I’m done. They guide you through the process of creating a website’s look/feel, have a logo and graphics center, and lets you see your website stats and visitors. Sign up here.

Google Analytics

If you have any sort of website or blog, you need to set up and use Google Analytics. It gives you every statistic you could imagine- who is viewing your blog, which pages they are clicking on, where they are located, and much, much more. There’s a ton of advanced features you can access if you know a bit about websites/SEO, but for newbies they present the basic information very clearly. Best of all- it’s free! This post from Seer shows you how to add it to your blog. This post gives you a basic overview of what data to look at.

Pinterest

I know Pinterest isn’t really a tool, but it is crucial for bloggers. I just checked my stats in Google Analytics and saw that in the 3 years I’ve been blogging, almost 19% of my traffic came from Pinterest. For some bloggers, the number may be even higher (like food bloggers or crafting bloggers). I pin every blog post I write on Pinterest, re-pin relevant posts and make sure to share the love with my other fellow bloggers. You can follow me on Pinterest here.