Blog tools you should definitely consider

I know in blogging, taking programs, applications, widgets, etc. for granted is easy to do.  I know with me, my main focus is getting the task at hand completed.  Whether it be wrapping up a post, running an analytical report, rolling out a blog hop, setting up ad spots, creating a giveaway, updating my blog design, etc., the most important thing is to get it done in a timely fashion ‘cause, let’s face it, there’s always more to do!  Today, I’d like to take a step back, take a breather, and remember the tools I currently use that help me tremendously with the various aspects of blogging.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that these tools are what makes it all come together; what makes me be able to present to you Cropped Stories!

Just when I think I don’t have a topic to blog about, it hits me like a ton of bricks.  Just because I know of the existence of these blogging tools doesn’t mean everyone does.  And why shouldn’t you know about them?  If it’s going to make your life easier, than I’m going to share them with you!

BLOG TOOLS TO CONSIDER

DOCUMENT STORAGE:

Google Drive: sync files to your computer and share them
Dropbox: Share your documents, photos, videos, (pretty much anything)

CREATING:

1. Forms
Wufoo: “The Online Form Builder”
Google Drive: Just go to Create/Form and choose from a variety of templates
widgetbox (Form Pro): “Easily create and share a customizable form widget”
MailChimp: “design and send email marketing campaigns”.  Great for creating newsletters!

2. Link ups
inlinkz: “easily create and manage link-ups”

3. Giveaways
Rafflecopter: “the worlds easiest way to run a giveaway”
promosimple: “Creating a new giveaway is just a matter of a few simple steps”

4. Polls/Surveys
Polldaddy: Online survey software
SurveyMonkey: Create a survey and share via a link or display it in a pop up window
Poll Code: “Create and customize your own poll”
widgetbox (Poll Creator Pro): Create a poll widget

5. Ad Spots
Passionfruit: “The easiest way to sell your own ads”

6. Fun Stuff
Hello Bar: “Direct Your Visitors and promote your website’s most important content”

CONTENT SHARING:

AddThis: Create code for share buttons like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. to display on your website
widgetbox (BLOG/FEED): Create a customized blog feed widget

CAMPAIGNS:
Looking for giveaways or a product to review, look no further.

Sverve: “Monetize your influencers by promoting the brands you like”
SocialSpark: “connects Advertisers and Publishers to create sponsored blog posts”

ANALYTICS:

Pingdom: Website performance monitoring. See how quickly your website loads.
Feedjit: A live traffic feed
Backlink Watch: Track your number of backlinks

CLIP ART/PHOTOS/DIGITAL TEMPLATES:

Photobucket: Upload/download, edit, and share photos and graphics
Flickr: Upload photos, organize, and share via links or with html code
The Coffeeshop Blog: A great resource for anything digital like photo templates, frames, clip art, graphics, textures, photo actions, and more
My Freebies Page: Another great resource for photo templates, frames, borders, printables, and more

Did I cover everything?  Not even close, but it’s a good start!  Hope you find this post helpful and if you know of additional blog tools that weren’t included on my list, feel free to drop me a comment and fill me in!

If you missed my previous post, A sponsor spotlight and the dog days of Summer giveaway, I hope you’ll check it out!  There is still time to enter into the giveaway for a chance to win some exciting things!  You can also head over to Her & Nicole for a chance to win a $30 Barnes & Noble gift card that I’m giving away! 

My featured sponsors:

 

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