This is the last in a series of 5 blog post we will be doing. We are looking at answering 5 questions you should be asking yourself when you are looking at your business or professional service firm’s blog. Who are you blogging to? Why are you blogging? What are you blogging about. When should I be blogging? And finally, what tools can I use to accomplish what I want to accomplish? Or in other words, how do I do it?

Previously in Part 1, we asked and discussed the question, “who are you blogging to?”. In part 2 we asked “why are you blogging?”. In Part 3, we ask the question, “what are you blogging?”. In Part 4, we asked “when should I be Blogging?” And in this the last of the series, we are going to look at the tools we can use to accomplish what we want to accomplish.

Essential Tools for Blogging

1. MarsEdit is my editing tool which I use to draft my post and post them to my blogs. One thing I like about using a third party publishing tool is the fact I can draft blog post while I am off-line, save them to the draft folder and published them when I get back to my Internet connection. MarsEdit works with most blogging platforms too.
2. NetNewsWire is my RSS reader fo choice. It is actually amazing how powerful NNW really is. Not only will it integrate with MarsEdit. I can send a link from it via email. Post to Del.icio.us and view the feeds right in NNW too. You can set up smart list and smart subscriptions to watch for search terms and things you want on your watch for list. Another cool feature is what they call “Dinosaurs”. With this feature I can find feeds that have not been updated in a long time and delete them. Keeping my subscriptions organized. You can also use Google Reader.
3. ImageWell is a small, but powerful, image editing application that lets you quickly resize, crop, watermark, edit your images, take screenshots and then instantly upload them to the web, save to your computer or email them to a friend. ImageWell also lets you annotate your images with text, shapes, arrows and lines, quickly and easily. And it doesn’t stop there - add a drop shadow, a shaped border, flip or rotate your image, adjust the sharpness and brightness, plus so much more.
4. TextEdit is a highly versatile word processor, including tools to format and layout your page, edit and stylize text, check spelling, create tables and lists, import graphics, work with HTML. I use this great little too to start the process of putting blog post together. I did not come up with the idea on my own. I got the idea from Problogger and his video post called, My Blog Posting Workflow. Here’s how I use it. When I get a blog post idea, I open up TextEdit and start a document with the title or idea title. I than add to it as I thing of things I want in the post. I did that for this post too. I put a title and than made a list of the tools I planned to include in this post. Watch Darren’s video and you will get a better idea of what I am talking about.
5. Skitch is an image capturing tool I use to clip images and send them to MarsEdit to than be inserted into a blog post. I used it to capture the images you are seeing in this post.
6. ScreenFlow is a great screen capturing tool. You can actually make a movie of what you are doing on your screen. I use it to make screen cast, which by the way, you will be seeing soon here on Blog for Profit. What is great about it, the application is powerful enough to simultaneously record from your iSight or DV camera at the same time as your screen (and your microphone and computer’s audio!).
7. ScreenSteps helps you turn screen captures into documentation that your readers will love to read. I have done some for Blog for Profit and they have worked well. They are easy to follow and use by your readers.
8. Call Recorder is an easy way to record Skype calls and podcast interviews. Call Recorder is an add-on for Skype which automatically transforms your audio or video calls into QuickTime movies.
9. skype is my phone. I no longer have a landline in my office. So, when I am making calls to fellow bloggers and clients, I use skype. Not only do I use it as my phone, I use it for most of my audio chats, including the recording of a podcast we are doing on Macs in the Office. It also works with Call Recorder as I mentioned above.
10. Adium is a free instant messaging application for Mac OS X that can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, and more. My only complaint with it is the fact it does not support video chats yet. Maybe that will happen soon.
11. Firefox is the browser I use the most for blogging purposes. I use certain add-ons, extensions and plug-ins that only work in Firefox. And, its tab browsing is pretty cool too. With all of the tools available with Firefox, it is an essential tool in my opinion.
12. Google Calendar is also a must have. I use it to keep track of my “editorial calendar” and my to-do’s. However it does not have a built in to-do list, so I use another essential tool, remember the milk. It is located right on my calendar so I can keep track of my task.
13. Gmail is not only my main email program. It is a way I file away blog ideas too. I set up “secret” email address where I send myself an email that is filtered to a folder where I store post ideas. With Gmail’s great search abilities, finding what I have filed away in Gmail is easy to find.
14. Mindjet MindManager is an organizational chart software that stimulates and captures that vision by enabling me to work smarter, think creatively and save time to create and innovate more effectively. I use it to plan major blogging projects.
15. TweetDeck is a desktop client for twitter. Twitter is a whole other blog post. Twitter is a great way to get blog post ideas. I used it today before I wrote this post by asking what others were using as must have tools. It is a great R&D tool and a wonderful place to interact with other bloggers and thought leaders. Don’t discount it until you have read more on it. I have a number of [blog post here on twitter.]
16. Moleskine notebook is my one non-computer based tool. I use it to write down ideas and thoughts when I am not on my computer and something comes to me.

As always, I am glad to discuss blogging with you further. Drop me an email at grant@g2webmedia.com or leave your comments here with your questions.