THE 9 MUST HAVE APPS FOR BLOGGERS UPDATED WITH MORE APPS
My iPhone is my lifeline–seriously.
Checking to make sure posts went up correctly, keeping my eye on stats, answering emails, keeping my thumb on social media… I’d be very disconnected without it.
I have a few apps that when using, I often find myself saying, “What would I do without this?!” and I wanted to share them with you. Here are my favorite apps for bloggers:
1. Facebook Of course, right? But seriously. Can you imagine having to keep up with groups, share links and respond to notifications if you were only using your computer? I’d become very overwhelmed very quickly. (Android Facebook App)
2. Twitter This might be a no-brainer for you, but I held out on the old-school Twitter app for a long time. I used several other apps to tweet and never loved them. When I finally switched to the Twitter app, I fell in love. You can easily see who follows you and shares your contentand they recommend new friends based on who you are connected with. Big. puffy. heart. love. (Android Twitter App)
3. WordPress If you’re on WordPress.org (you are, right? Trust me when I say your blog needsWordPress.org) this app is my #1 must have. Respond to comments, add posts and images, edit posts and images, check your real-time stats (along with search engine terms, most viewed posts, and where people click out of your blog) and even read your favorite blogs with this app. (Android WordPress App) Update: The WordPress app also allows you to use the stat feature for Jetpack! Get real time stats and keep an eye on your blog numbers easily by signing up.
4. Your blog Have you made an icon for your blog yet? Having an icon on your home screen makes it super easy to click over and check things out. To do this on an iPhone, open your blog in Safari and wait for it to load. Click the arrow on the bottom of the screen and click, “Add to home screen.” (Directions for Android)
5. InstaRepost I didn’t add Instagram to this list because… well… I ran out of room. I’m assuming you have Instagram already and want to tell you about an app that makes Instagram even more social–InstaRepost. Find a user in InstaRepost and repost their photo via your Instagram account (credit is automatically given). It’s a great way to show your followers cool things that have been posted! (Android InstaRepost App)
6. Feedly I am slowly falling in love with Feedly. I started using Bloglovin after Google Reader died and didn’t love their app. Feedly categorizes your groups by color (love that!) and is easy to browse on your phone. (Android Feedly App)
7. Facebook Pages Manager Yes, there is a different app for pages (and actually, a different app for messenger!). It’s easier to navigate than the regular facebook app, it gives you access to your scheduled posts and just like the desktop version, you don’t have to log out and then back in to switch pages. The only thing missing from this app is the ability to browse your facebook feed as your page. I bet that feature is coming ;) (Android Facebook Pages App)
8. PicStitch Do you have a few images that you want to share, but don’t want to clog up everyone’s feeds? Thank you for that! Use PicStitch to make collages of your photos so you can share once, but share the entire experience. (I can’t find the Android PicStitch App, buthere’s a link to similar apps)
9. Pinterest You need to use Pinterest if you’re a blogger–it drives long term traffic to your content. Pinning from your phone is perfect because you’ll pin a little here and a little there. You definitely don’t want to log onto your computer and “pin dump” or pin a bunch of things at the same time. People will scroll down to get past your pins and not pay attention to any of them. (Android Pinterest App) Need more Pinterest help? You can find my Pinterest Tips and Tricks for bloggers here.
THERE YOU HAVE IT – 9 APPS I THINK ALL BLOGGERS NEED. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE APPS FOR BLOGGING?
Update – 8/2014 Since originally writing this post almost a year ago, I’ve added 9 more apps to my arsenal! Here they are:
Google Analytics Google just released an app for their analytics! It shows all of the most used stats, but my personal favorite is the real-time visitors. (Android Google Analytics App)
Google Adsense Keep track of your daily earnings across all of your sites in real time with this app. (Android Google Adsense App)
Google+ Rumor has it that G+ is the next Facebook. Whether you agree or disagree, the G+ app makes it easy to keep up with your friends, connect with others in groups, and more. (Google+ for Android)
StumbleUpon Though it’s not easy to Stumble posts in this app, it is easy to use the Stumble feature, which will give your website stumbles more clout. (Android StumbleUpcon app)
MailChimp If you use MailChimp for your blog’s email newsletter or RSS feed, you can keep track of your open rate, recently sent campaigns, subscriber list, and more in their app. Aren’t using MailChimp yet? Here’s an easy tutorial I wrote to help you set up that pretty email that matches your blog. (Android MailChimp app)
Buffer I often sing the praises of Buffer, and here’s another reason to sign up. I share my *old* blog posts often using Buffer instead of a plugin that randomly tweets your old posts. I also use Buffer for managing my client’s social accounts. I have access to all of my pending and previous shares while on the go, making it easy to re-share posts on the go. On Friday afternoons I usually sit down for 15 minutes and set my Buffer queue to share my top posts thorugh Facebook and Twitter throughout the next week–15 minutes, friends. (Buffer for Android)
Hootsuite You’re more of a Hootsuite person than Buffer? That’s ok. As long as you’re not sharing your posts using a plugin (why? Read #3 here.), you’re a-ok in my book. (Hootsuite for Android)
Triberr Wish you could share posts from all of your favorite bloggers, and have them share yours, as well? You need Triberr. The only downside is they don’t have an app yet. That shouldn’t stop you from using it on your phone, though. Head to Triberr, click the box with an arrow pointing up on your toolbar, then click Add to Home Screen. You’ll soon have a pretty Triberr button like I do, and you can share away!
Dropbox Do you hear angels singing? That’s because Dropbox has answered the prayers of people everywhere. Sync all of your files in the Dropbox cloud and have access to them from any computer or mobile device. As a blogger, this app is huge for me. Sign up for a free Dropbox account here. Save your post images and switch from laptop to desktop easily. Grab them from your phone to share on social networks. Seriously-it’s my favorite app. (Dropbox for Android)