Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Top Ten Blogging Tools

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is:

*Top Ten Tuesday* Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As A Book Blogger Easier

  1. Goodreads - Before I started blogging, I was writing reviews on Goodreads and it naturally led to blogging!  I LOVE Goodreads and always check out prospective reads there before I go anywhere else.  I especially love Goodreads Shelves - they make life so much easier!
  2. NetGalley - When I first started blogging, I assumed that I would need a huge following before I'd have access to any ARC's or free books for review.  Then, I found out about NetGalley and thought, "What the heck, I might as well try it!"  I was shocked to be accepted for almost every book I requested.  Now that I have a bigger following, my only problem is not requesting too many books - I need to get to them all!
  3. Blog Tours - I really love participating in blog tours.  I almost always try to review, but sometimes it's nice to throw in a spotlight post or a book blitz to make my life easier.  I REALLY love it when blog tour hosts provide me with HTML.  All I have to do is make some minor adjustments and add in a bit of my own flair (or add in my review or other info).  What could be easier than that? 
  4. My Kindle - I wasn't much of a Kindle reader before I started blogging, but most review copies come in eBook format, so it's kind of a must.  I still love paper books, but I've come to really appreciate my Kindle as well.
  5. The Library - Even though I do a lot of blog tours and NetGalley reviews, I still really love to read paper books.  But I hate to break the bank (and my bookshelves) by buying every new book I want to read.  The library is a wonderful place!
  6. Rafflecopter - Rafflecopter is the best thing since sliced bread.  I mean it.  It makes giveaways so darn easy!!
  7. Google Calendar - I don't know how I'd survive as a blogger without a good online calendar.  Absolute necessity as far as I'm concerned!  (Although even with a good calendar, I'm still a procrastinator!)
  8. Twitterfeed - I'm not much of a Twitter user, so I have to admit that I wasn't really even putting my posts up on Twitter.  But, recently Roxanne over at Bewitching Book Tours introduced me to Twitterfeed - it automatically posts for me.  Problem solved!
  9. Scheduling - Sadly, it wasn't until relatively recently (maybe a month or so ago?) that I realized how to schedule my posts.  I know it's pretty obvious, but I just hadn't noticed that option over there.  Boy, is life easier now that I can schedule ahead of time!
  10. Bloglovin' - I LOVE Bloglovin'!  Yes, there are lots of other feeds out there, but Bloglovin' is the only one I pay all that much attention to.  It just seems so easy to use - it sends me an email with new posts and I can easily scroll through the newest posts at Bloglovin.com.  Oh, and I LOVE that I get an email for every new follower and it's so easy to follow back!
  11. Other Bloggers - Yep, I know that this is #11, but I couldn't leave this one out!  Not only do my fellow bloggers have a wealth of information, they are a fun bunch of people who I love interacting with!  
So, what's helped you the most with your blogging?