Blog views and other obsessions – two great tools for your blog

~ Book Club Mom

Like everyone else, despite the tough year we’ve all had, I learned a lot of new things in 2020. Today I’m sharing two great tools that are great for blogging.

Canva

You’ll feel like a graphic artist once you get familiar with how Canva works. It’s a graphic design platform with thousands of templates to use on your blog (like my new banner and this blog’s graphic) on social media and for other print items. The free version has loads of options. I had to learn how to use it for work and I’ve started using it more for my blog. What I like best about it is that the images you create are custom-sized for posts on a blog, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. so you don’t have to worry if you have the dimensions right. And I also like how they suggest color schemes based on any images you upload. Really great!

Linktree

I learned about Linktree from my boss. You know how on Instagram you can only have one link in your profile and that any URLs you include in a post are not actually linked to anything? And on Twitter, even though you can include live links in your tweets, you can only have one link in your bio. Kind of frustrating. Well Linktree lets you put all your links in on one link – it’s clean and easy and the free version is all that I need. Thanks, Boss!

I hope these are helpful tips for you, too. What new things did you learn this year about blogging and social media?

Thanks for visiting – come back soon!

61 thoughts on “Blog views and other obsessions – two great tools for your blog”

    1. Isn’t Canva great? And I just learned about LInktree about a month ago and can’t believe how simple it is to use. Thanks for stopping by, Alethea – hope you are doing well.

    1. Hi Nicki – I added Linktree to my Facebook page too. Isn’t Canva great? I love how professional the results are. You can really get pulled into it though – we joke at work about spending way too much time playing around with designs – haha!

  5. I’ve been using Canva for years. I did take the free upgrade to the pro version for three months, but the free version gives me all I want so I did not renew my subscription. They tried to persuade me to stay with the pro version and gave me another three months, but I let that expire.

    I can’t find Linktree in the app store on my iPhone. Do you know if it’s available on IOS? It could also be that’s it’s not available in the UK.

    1. Hi Hugh – yes I don’t think I need the Premium version of Canva either. There are already a lot of options. I’m not sure if you can get Linktree as an app. I set up my account on my laptop using Chrome. Let me know if you can get Linktree online in the UK. Thanks for the visit and comment.

      1. Apologies, Barbara. I thought it was an App. I’ve had a look on my iMac (Desktop) and found Linktr.ee.com. I’ve just signed up. Thanks so much for telling us about it.

    1. I get it – I only recently opened an Instagram, mostly to teach myself how to use it because we have a new account at work. There is a limit to how much time I can spend on social media so it’s one of the last things I look at when I have time. Thank you for reading and commenting, Betsy!

  10. Great tools. I have explored Canva, but because I have access to an artist in residence, I don’t need too many graphic tricks. Thanks for sharing!

  12. Thanks so much, Barb! I’ve used Canva in the past, but not for a very long time, and there have obviously been a lot of updates since then. Am looking forward to checking it out. Linktree is a brand new word to me, but it looks awesome!

    1. Hi Mary – thanks for stopping by and commenting. I resisted trying Canva because I was intimidated, but I am very happy with it now that I know my way around it a bit. Definitely not an expert, though. I hope you find Linktree useful – it’s a handy little tool!

  13. I’ve heard quite a bit about Canva but I’ve never used it. That will be change now with your endorsement (as well as all the comments here)! I’ll look into Linktree as well. Thanks for the tips!

    1. Hi Marie – I hope you find Canva and Linktree helpful – I love fooling around on Canva and have learned a lot since I started using it. Thanks for the visit!

    1. Hi Lynette – Canva has been around a while, but I resisted trying it because I was a little intimidated. As for Linktree, I only recently learned about it and think it’s a really useful tool. Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂

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    1. Hi Meggy – I’m a complete amateur on Canva, but I’m learning as I go. I was glad to learn about Linktree for work, but I’ve also used it for my blog. Thank you for the visit and for commenting and sorry for such a late reply! 🙂

  20. I started using Canva at work too for educational purposes and absolutely loved it. I started using it to design graphics for my blog and for my educational YouTube channel. It’s great. I mat give LinkTree a try. I know several people who use it.

    1. Hi CeCe – I think librarians are in the middle of a Canva craze! I know we are. I hadn’t thought to use if for YouTube – I’m going to check that out. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. This reply is so late – eek!

  21. I’m behind the times because I’ve never heard of Canva but will check it out for my blog. And I only have FB, as I’m not on Instagram or Twitter. Blogging and occasionally posting on FB keep me busy enough. 🙂 Thanks for the tips, Barbara!

    1. Hi Lauren – the simple strategies often work best. I tend to get away from that because I like to see what’s out there. Thank you for reading and commenting. Just getting back on the blog after a short break. Sorry for the delayed reply! 🙂

  22. Happy New Year, Barb! And thanks for the recommendations. I’ve heard so many good things about Canva. I really do need to take some time to play with it. Learning new things (on computers) isn’t intuitive for me for some reason. But you’ve inspired me. 😀 😀

    1. Hi Diana – I think you will be able to figure Canva out. If you’re learning without pressure, that’s the best. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. I’m terribly late with this reply – just coming up for air! Hope you are doing well 🙂

    1. Hi Gina – yes I agree about Canva. There are so many options and it makes me seem so professional! Linktree is very useful when you can only share one link. Thanks for stopping by – hope you are doing well 🙂

    1. Hi Lisa – we’re all on a Canva craze at work – I’d never used it until a few months ago – it took me a while to figure it out, but the options are terrific – even the free version. Thanks for reading and commenting. Hope you are doing well. This is such a late response – I feel like I’m always catching up here!

  27. I’ve seen Linktree around but had no idea what it did. Thanks for the info. I use Canva all the time and love it. I also like Waterlogue, which is an app for taking photos and turning them into *paintings* Cool thing about that is you can upload your paintings to Canva and then use Canva to make something unique.

    1. Hi Ally Bean! I haven’t heard of Waterlogue – that sounds really cool. I’m going to check it out – is it just a phone app or can you use it on a laptop? Thanks for reading and commenting, too! 🙂

      1. I think it’s only for your phone. I make the improved photo in Waterlogue on my phone, then send it to my phone photo file. From there I upload the improved photo into my desktop computer photo files. Then move it to Canva which I have on my desktop computer where I can see it clearly. It’s a process.

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