Blogger Resources

We all have a story.  You need to tell yours.

We need to hear yours.  You’re the only one who can tell your story like you do.

Blogging has been one of the most helpful things I’ve done during my infertility story.  It’s given me a supportive, understanding community that has surrounded me during one of the hardest times of my life.  If you’re thinking about blogging during your own infertility experience, let me encourage you to do it!

Here are some resources that have helped me build this blog.  Some of the links are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking on them.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the resources.

Hosting

There are several free, fantastic blogging platforms that are easy-to-use and have a variety of design themes and options.  I started off with a free Blogspot account, but switching to a self-hosted WordPress blog has provided me with more flexibility and control.  I used Bluehost for hosting for several years.  They are good for starting out, but I’m now at the point where I want a company with a little better customer service response time.  So, I recently switched to SiteGround and am thrilled with their customer service.

Blog Design

I use the Genesis Framework, which is one of the most highly recommended and widely-used frameworks.  I also use the Glam Theme from Restored316, which runs on the Genesis Framework.

   I also used Tasha from My Cute Lobster Designs to design my header, blog button and favicon.  Tasha was a pleasure to work with and has very affordable prices.

Technical Help

I knew I’d need some help when I decided to move from Blogger to WordPress.  Tanya at Blogelina took care of everything!  She was fantastic and I highly recommend her Blogger-to-Wordpress service.

More recently, I hired Grayson from iMark Interactive.  He helped me with some technical issues I was having.  He responded quickly to my emails, and was a pleasure to work with.

Design

I use Canva to make most a lot of the images and graphics you see on my page.  The basic membership is free.

Photos

I get a lot of my photos for free from UnSplash.  Their photos have a Creative Commons Zero License.  Sometimes I also find good photos on Pixabay.

I also purchase a lot of stock photos from DepositPhotos and iStockPhoto.  Both companies offer reasonably-priced plans.

Email List

I use Mad Mimi to send out my blog posts as emails.  It’s super-simple to use for your email list and their customer service is lightning fast.  They have 3 very affordable plans, and one is even FREE!

Social Media

Hands-down, the BEST investment I’ve made for my blog is using Tailwind.  Tailwind allows me to schedule pins on Pinterest in advance.  My pageviews and web traffic exploded after I started getting serious about Pinterest.  If you’d like to try it out for free, use my link here or click on the image below.

I recently started using Planoly to help me plan and schedule my Instagram posts in advance.  I’m really loving how it helps me see how my layout will look.  It’s definitely helped me get more followers.  Use my link or click on the image below to get a $10 credit.

Productivity

I use Evernote to write my post drafts and keep them organized.  It’s fantastic and it’s FREE!

 

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