Related read: What's On My Christmas Wish List
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Tech equipment
1. Laptop
I used to be a PC girl. I grew up a PC girl, but once I got a taste of a MacBook at a company I worked for I became a MacBook fan.While you don't need a MacBook to be a serious blogger, I highly recommend one if you want to start creating designs for yourself or others. With a MacBook, getting and using professional design software and having an overall better experience is easier.
If you're not looking to get serious about designing or don't have the money for a MacBook a nice PC is the way to go.
2. Lighting
Finding good light for taking photos can be tricky. Especially when the time changes and the days are getting shorter. A Ring Light can provide some additional lighting for taking videos or pictures.The ring light I have is the Neewer 18" Ring Light Kit. I use it to shoot videos, take pictures of products, and for video calls I have for my full-time job.
Other types of lighting I've seen content creators use are Softbox Lights, Umbrella Lights, and even lights that clip to their phone or computer like the one I use.
3. Backdrops
When I first started creating content I never realized how helpful having good clean backdrops would be for to me to shoot talking head videos or take product shots.
For shooting products, I sometimes use poster board. It comes in many different colors and depending on where you get it you don't have to spend a lot of money. An alternative to poster board is photography backgrounds like these. They can look like marble, wood, or stone.
Office equipment
5. Colorful pens and notepads
While I use my Google calendar for a lot of my planning I'm still a little retro in that I like to write out a lot of things. And it's more fun to write things out when you have colorful, fun notebooks and pens.Online subscriptions
6. Social media scheduler
This is an online tool that lets you schedule posts for your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and multiple other accounts. These types of tools are lifesavers because you can plan your social content in advance and not have to remember to post every single day.Here are a few social media schedulers I use and would recommend
- SocialPilot which has a repeat post feature, bulk upload, and a calendar format to view all scheduled posts. This is helpful for me because I'm very visual.
- Later helps you easily plan your social feed and auto-publish your posts so you don't need to do anything else once you've scheduled your post.
- Planoly is similar to Later as you can visually plan, schedule, and auto-post to my feed. Plus you can also schedule your stories so you get notifications on when to post a new story.
7. Pinterest scheduler
I don't really consider Pinterest social media which is why I didn't include it with the social media schedulers. Tailwind is a good option because you get a lot of great data and analytics, plus schedule optimization based on when your followers are most active.Design and graphics
8. Canva
This online design tool has been helpful to me as a blogger because it makes graphic design easy for non-designers like me. You can sign up for a free account and create designs for social media covers, blog graphics, posters, and more. Or you can sign up for the Pro option which gives you more access to images and other features.I love how simple it is and that I can use my own images or free ones available through Canva. If you want to see how I use the free version of Canva to create my blog graphics check out How To Create Blog Graphics With Canva.
9. Creative Market
One of the things I wish I had some money for is a new design theme for my blog. I've seen a few on the Creative Market that I really like, but can't afford right now. Getting a gift card to the Creative Market would be awesome and could go towards that purchase.Another thing a Creative Market gift card could be used for is images, new fonts, and graphics such as product mockups so you can showcase your creations for sale.
10. Etsy
A gift card to Etsy is a good idea as this is another place where you can find awesome design themes and graphics that can be used for your blog or other business materials.
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