I love talking about blogging, so I welcome the emails and they previously inspired me to launch the Blog Talk Tuesdays series that popped up on the blog several months ago. (In case you’re new around here, I previously published a bunch of blogging-related posts with tips and tricks related to everything from how to start a blog to increasing blog readership and balancing blogging and real life, which you can find on the Blogging page underneath the Favs tab.)
Though I still consider myself very (very!) far from an expert when it comes to blogging know-how, I figured a roundup post that included information about some of my favorite everyday blogging tools might answer questions for some of you out there, especially those relating to adding text to images and editing photos since I’ve received more and more requests to specifically address this on the blog.
If you’re tech savvy or have been blogging for a long time, these tools may be old news to you, but if you’re late to just about every techy thing that springs up like I am, maybe something will pop out at you!
I’ve learned about most of these tools from other bloggers or through many, many Google searches that I’ve done when I’ve become frustrated with something and searched for a shortcut!
Everyday Blogging Tools
This website is a dream! I use PicMonkey to add text to photos, edit images and more.
I created the following images by uploading a photo to PicMonkey and playing around with the various editing options on the site:
(In case you are interested, if you click the above images, you will be directed to the original post where they were first featured.)
This is my favorite website for quickly editing photos. It is free to download and makes editing pictures a breeze. Picasa’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” button that I mentioned in my previous blog post about photography and photo editing is my best friend.
Original photo:
After “I’m Feeling Lucky” editing:
You can also add text to images with Picasa, but I prefer the font options offered by PicMonkey.
Picasa text:
I personally find that PicMonkey has more options when it comes to adding a little flare to photos.
As a huge fan of Pinterest, I love it when bloggers make pinning recipes, workouts and other photos really easy. I try to remember to add the Pin It button below recipe or workout images for my fellow Pinterest addicts. There are plugins you can use to automatically add a Pin It button to your website, but I prefer adding it right after a specific image and use the coding created by the Pin It button that you can find on Pinterest’s Goodies page. Pinterest provides detailed instructions that will walk you through how to embed the Pin It button into your blog posts.
Windows Live Writer is recommended by bloggers over and over again and I have to reiterate this recommendation. It is a free downloadable program and makes every aspect of blogging easier for me. When I first downloaded the program, it easily cut the time I spent blogging in half. I no longer had to wait forever for photos to upload and utilized the program’s user-friendly features. (Note: Windows Live Writer is compatible with PCs. MAC users typically recommend Ecto, though I’ve heard mixed reviews about Ecto.)
Back to basics, baby! I use Excel to create a lot of the treadmill workouts or interval workouts you see pop up on the blog. I’ll create a spreadsheet with all of the speeds, inclines, etc. in Excel and will either use the image as is after changing background colors like you can see here and here, or I’ll upload it into PicMonkey and add fun text and color to the image, like you see below.
For that image, I typed up the minutes and resistance level in Excel, took a screen shot of the image and uploaded it to PicMonkey where I added the colored text.
Question of the Afternoon
- If you’re a blogger, what blogging tools or programs do you use most often?
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I love posts like this! Thanks for sharing Julie 🙂
Now to read the rest of the Blog Talk posts….awesome!
ooh picmonkey! i’ve been looking for a site like that after the one i used to used shut down! thank you!!!!
Thank you for this!
Julie–this post was SO helpful! I’ve already used some of the tips you suggested but your elaboration on everything really helps me out! As a newbie blogger, I thoroughly enjoyed all this information and will be using it as a reference point for sure 🙂
Awesome. Pic Monkey is going to be my new best friend. Thanks for the reference!
Thanks for such an awesome post and sharing your knowledge. It’s great when other bloggers like to share 🙂
Do you use PicMonkey to make the word balloons on your Sadie pics then? Also, what do you know about uploading photos on your blog…I keep seeing comments about how you should host your photos online somewhere else rather than your blog?? I’m not really sure what this means lol or how one would do it! Is this something that happens over time as your blog gets older and you therefore have more pictures on it? Meaning, the more photos, the slower your blog?
Ahhhh so much to learn! 😀
I know my blog is so completely….um…..elementary? 🙂 I never go anywhere without my IPad, and I do all of my pictures and blogging from it. The only thing I use the laptop for is editing pages, and its a miracle that I even know what that means!! Most of your post just flew right over my head. My laptop is vintage and super slow, so I have forced myself to learn to do as much as I can from the IPad. One day, I’ll quit being so cheap, and buy a new laptop so I can utilize all of those awesome blogging tools, because I do LOVE my blogging. Thanks for all of your informative post! I love them!
Julie, you rock! Thanks for sharing these. Some of them I knew about, some of them I didn’t. I use Windows Live Writer and LOVE it. I also use PicMonkey, and I think it’s amazing. I need to figure out how to add the Pinterest button to my posts. So thank you thank you!! 🙂
Very cool! Thanks for sharing these tips.
I need to try PicMonkey. I currently use Photoshop, but maybe PicMonkey would be faster.
I love WLW too – it definitely makes things go faster, plus it’s great to see what it’ll look like when it’s posted. Having the formatting right there while you’re writing the post is awesome.
Thank you for posting a good site to play around with pictures. I just recently started a blog called Vodka Infused Lemonade and i’m hoping to play around with my pictures. Love the fashion portion of your blog. I just discovered it so i’ll have to read your workout tips and your meals.
Thanks again,
Agi:)
This post came in the nick of time. I’m working hard to change/grow my blog and there are some great tools and tips here. Thanks for sharing!
Love this! Thanks so much for the tips, can’t wait to get started and use some of it on my little baby of a blog 🙂
Great blogging tips, lady! These are super helpful – thank you! P.S. I’m a KD too 🙂
Thank you so much for publishing this post! I am a new blogger and have been wondering how other blogger’s post text on their pictures! This post was so helpful!
Pic Monkey and Picasa are definitely two of my favorites. I’d be lost without both of them!
Fantastic article! Thank you 🙂
SUPER helpful post! Thank you for sharing this info!
Such a great post! I’m going to use that Pin It function now!
Is pic monkey like the old picnik? I loved that site and was so sad when it closed 🙁
I don’t know what I did before Windows Live Writer, it’s so much easier!!!!
I’ve only just started using picmonkey and love how easy it is.
I looooove windows live writer! I honestly don’t know how I’d write a post without it!
LOTS of great info here! I have been on the fence about doing more blogging…my past attempt has been meek at best. I had a bit of an epiphany realizing that my subject matter was just so specialized that I didn’t have enough content to keep myself interested let alone other readers! I also realized that what I liked to read in a blog was about real lives, in progress, bad hair days and all. So today I’ve been working on doing some layout tweaks and playing with some of your suggested tools to help me. THANKS SO MUCH! You are a true inspiration to us wanna be bloggers! I even mentioned your blog in my “coming out” post!
http://fabulouslyflawedcrochetcreations.blogspot.com/2012/08/its-new-day.html
This is such a great post! I just started my blog about a month ago so this information is so helpful! Thank so much, I’m definitely going to follow your advice.
Im new to blogging this is such a help. Please take a look at my blog/site and let me know what you think.
Julie, this post was perfect timing! I just started my blog a few days ago, and your section on Blogging (including this post today) have been amazingly helpful. I’m already looking forward to playing around on PicMonkey…it looks like so much fun!
I just have st share. My happy news is I ran 16k without stopping once yesterday. Ouch I can feel my legs today. I wouldn’t normally comment but I’m so proud of myself. I’m training for a 1/2 marathon and 16 k is the furthest I’ve ever run. Not stopping or wanting to throw up afterwards really gives me confidence to believe in 2 weeks time I’ll be able to face the challange of the half. Your blog wives me much needed motivation, so thank you for helping me to get out the door
good luck on your half!! you will do GREAT!
Never heard of Picmonkey and it looks great.. Thanks for the example which gives a clear idea of what I’m going to get..Going to try it now….Thanks for your extensive list 🙂
Ah, thank you for sharing! I’ve always wondered what programs you use to add text to your photos (great hint for fancifying excel spreadsheet images as well!). Love, love love your blog and never miss a post. The workouts you post always inspire me to get moving. The circuit exercises are my favorites!
Recently (very!) started blogging. I’ve been reading blogs for a while now and it’s time to start writing!
I LOVE that you did this post today! I’ve been wanting to blog for so long now, I’ve been reading yours for over a year! I finally made my first post tonight, but find blogging still very confusing! Anyways, thanks Julie!
Thanks for posting this!! I have followed blogs for quite a while, but I have had my own blog for less then 24 hours and this will definitely help. Thanks!
Picmonkey is calling my name – thanks so much for sharing!!!
As a mac user, I love a program called “Mars Edit” that works really really well – almost exactly like Windows Live Writer. They just published a new version and it’s amazing!
This is fantastic! I am just getting into blogging and my sister actually sent your site over to me as an example of some of the ones that she reads consistently. It’s taking me a while to figure things out and this is such a huge help! I always wondered how people wrote on the photos! Any other tips send them along!
I had never heard of PicMonkey but I’m so excited to try it out! I just started my blog in April and so far my favorite tool is Windows LiveWriter – I’ve been debating switching to a Macbook and LiveWriter is about the only thing keeping me from taking the plunge, it’s that good 🙂
So THIS is how you make those images and charts with the workouts that kill me 🙂 Good post and really helpful tools for making images with text that will be very “pinable.”
Thanks for the great post! I just started blogging about a month or so ago and this is really going to help. GREAT POST!
Hi! I must say, I read this and it really hit home. I am not someone who comments on blogs (and i read a select few, including yours, daily). Its weird, I just feel awkward commenting on things. But I wanted you to know how much I do enjoy your blog! Its great and very fun to check in with, not to mention great ideas for recipes, workouts, etc. I am a BRAND NEW blogger. I have been wanting to start one for months but have been scared (horrible excuse, I know) but I finally did it. http://www.nourishandmove.worpress.com I clearly have a long way to go but this post was so appropriate for me! Thank you for sharing and thank you for opening up so much of your life on here. 🙂
I’ve got to tell you that I keep clicking on the “You may also like” posts and before I knew it, half and hour had gone by while I read pbfingers! 🙂 I have just started my own blog on wordpress, but really agree that it would be best to create my own domain name & drop the .wordpress. Will this cause all of my previous posts to disappear?
Thank you so much for sharing these tools Julie. I admire your authenticity and gift of sharing/teaching with your readers. Plus, your love for Sadie speaks volumes to a fellow dog lover like me. It’s my dream to write more…for magazines/online resources, so I look to you for guidance ALL THE TIME! Hugs!
I am not sure if anyone mentioned this but I use the Buffer App (www.bufferapp.com) to load up some tweets and facebook posts so I’m not sitting at my computer all day, but I have an active internet presence. It allows you to schedule posts, shortens your links, and lets you use a few accounts at a time!
Thank you so much for the tips! I am attempting to blog again, and definitely need them 🙂
Thanks heaps Julie! I am fairly new to blogging and love all the tips. I’ll have to check out ecto- since I a dedicated mac user 😉 haha.
Hi Julie
Thanks so much for publishing this! I’m a new and technologically illiterate blogger, and these tips were really helpful. I started using LiveWriter and Picasa, and you’re right – they really do speed things up.
Thanks SO much for recommending PicMonkey! I’m a graphic designer, so it’s a habit for me to pull every. single. picture into Photoshop to crop and resize and adjust the colors. Then if I want to make a workout or add type, into Illustrator it goes. That process takes FOREVER!
I wondered how you have so many pictures and roll out blog posts so quickly, and I’ve always been wary about using online editors. But PicMonkey is amazing! I’m actually motivated to blog more now that I’ll be saving so much time. Thanks again for sharing!