Best Travel Blogging Resources: May Travel Blog Update

Best Travel Blogging Resources

Four months ago, I set my travel blog free into the world and every month since I’ve documented how it’s been doing. I blog, have a full-time job and I write fiction novels so there never seems to be enough time in the day. To juggle all of that and make my blog the best it can be I have relied on a few resources that I’m going to share with you. I hope this post helps other busy bloggers make the most of their time. So without further ado, my list of the best travel blogging resources:

**Disclaimer: This post contains an Amazon Affiliate/other affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase I will receive a commission at no additional cost to you! **

For Writing

Microsoft Word

Nothing beats good, old-fashioned Microsoft Word when writing a blog post. You have more editing and formatting options and you have a back-up copy just in case WordPress catches a glitch.

Grammarly (Free)

I am the queen of missing words and throwing commas around like confetti. The free version of Grammarly has been invaluable to me. It helps me clean up my posts and weed out grammatical and spelling errors. No program will find absolutely everything but having another set of eyes, even digital ones, can help you put out better work.

For SEO

KWFinder (Free Plan)

I have had so much trouble finding a good keyword tool. I’ll either find one I like and then be gut-punched by the price or I’ll find an affordable one and then it’ll turn out they only take PayPal. After four months, I have finally, FINALLY, found the best keyword tool for me. KWFinder offers five free daily searches which is perfect for a blogger on a budget. It will show you the keywords you can rank for and a list of other keywords you can try.

SEO is a long game and the sooner you get started, the sooner your blog can begin fighting and clawing its way to the first page. So far a couple of my posts have made it all the way to page 2 and that was when my blog was only three months old. I have my keyword research and Yoast to thank for that.

Yoast SEO (Free)

The Yoast SEO plug-in won’t give you the keywords but it will tell you if you’re using them correctly. I see it as my SEO checklist. It goes behind me and makes sure I’m ticking off all the boxes. How many times have I used the keyword in my post? Is it in the first paragraph? Is it in my meta description? Yoast is an amazing SEO tool and time-saver.

For Social Media Management

Buffer (Paid Pro Plan)

I use Buffer to schedule all my social media posts. It’s how I keep up with Tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking and blog post sharing. Without Buffer I would have been stretched way too thin trying to manage my blog and be active on five different platforms.

Note: You don’t need to be active on five, ten, twenty platforms. You can focus on the platforms that are best for your growth, even if that’s just two of them.

Tailwind (Paid)

For Pinterest scheduling, I use Tailwind. Tailwind was one of the best blog investments I made. I have hundreds of pins scheduled to go out over the next few months which has allowed my Pinterest traffic to remain steady and constant and has allowed me to focus my time on other blog projects.

Social Warfare (Paid Plugin)

Social Warfare is the one responsible for the cool social share buttons you see sticking to the bottom of every post. I love this plug-in because I’m able to craft specific social media blurbs and descriptions for Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. I’m also able to set the graphics I want to be used when someone shares one of my posts.

For Social Media Graphics

Canva (Free)

I use Canva to design my Pinterest pins, Facebook graphics and Twitter images. Canva makes it so easy to design and use the same templates that it takes me less than ten minutes to knock out a graphic for Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. There are some great features on the paid plan but so far I’ve been using the free plan and have been more than satisfied.

For Images

Pixabay (Free)

I go to Pixabay for all my beautiful stock photos. They are all free and can be downloaded in four different sizes which saves me time. I don’t have to bother with downloading a photo that’s too large and then uploading it to a photo editor and then downloading it again and then uploading it to my blog. You get the point. With Pixabay, I get a free photo in the size I want and done.

There It Is!

My list of the best travel blogging resources to make life easier for busy bloggers with full-time jobs and a life on the side. A mix of free and paid tools that I hope will get your blog where you want it to be that much sooner.

Good luck and happy blogging!