Hey y’all!
If you are just starting out as a blogger or need a little content pick me up, this post is for you! When I started blogging years ago, I remember feeling lost and didn’t know the first place to start. With a few years under my belt and some good advice from others, I have a learned a few great tips for blogging and content creating!
+ Free Stock Photos
There are a lot of great websites to find good quality stock photos that are royalty free, meaning you can use them without paying for them. My go-to websites for free stock photos are Unsplash and Pixabay. I use Pixabay for vector images and illustrations to give posts a little pop of color and something fun. Unsplash has a lot of really good photos and the quality is A+! I have seen some bloggers use images from Unsplash to fill in content gaps on Instagram and while that’s not really my personal style, Unsplash’s high caliber photos look great on all social media.
Tip: make sure you know where you are allowed to use images! Different websites have different rules!
+ Editing Websites & Apps
So you are ready to make your own Instagram stories but you aren’t sure where to find free templates that actually look good. Look no further- I gotchu! My top two websites for templates, banners, and a bunch of other projects are Canva and Crello! Canva is what I used from day one and their styles and options have only gotten better. They do have a paid premium subscription option but I still use my free account! I utilize Canva for my Facebook and Instagram stories, post templates, making fun social media quizzes, a a lot more!
Crello also has a paid membership option available but the free account has a lot of access to editing tools and templates. If I can’t find something I like on Canva, I’ll jump on Crello and check out what they have. Their animated post options are really cute and I have used those for a few different posts. If you check out Crello, I recommend looking at their templates for Instagram video stories!
+ Photo Editing
Girl, yes throw the filter on that photo! I never used to use filters and sister, let me tell you- filters change the entire game! If you have some dark light, the right filter is going to light everything up and smooth it all over.
VSCO (yes, like the VSCO girl stereotype!) is a wonderful free app for filters that do the job. However, the number of filters is limited for the free version! There are currently 10 filters available for free, but if you want to invest on a paid membership, it is $20 for a full year and that allows complete access to the app and editing tools.
Snapseed is the other app I use! I haven’t played around with it a lot but it is a good resource for editing! I learned most of how it worked by sitting down and trying out all of the options and going by trial and error, but that’s also how I learn best. I’m sure there are other apps out there that are better but Snapped is free so I can’t complain!
+ Join Facebook Groups and Instagram Pods!
Facebook groups for bloggers are a fun way to make friends, get some of your blog posts views, and to expand your blog’s followers. It’s completely free to join groups on Facebook and I promise you that you are going to find people you will click with!
Instagram pods/messaging groups are another way to get engagement on your posts, plus you can interact with new and upcoming bloggers or influencers. Supporting fellow bloggers is an awesome way to get out there!
I hope that some of these tips may have helped you and given you some ideas to get started on your blog! Drop your blog links down below! I would love to read some of your posts and support you!
Until next time,
Mimi In Motion 