Cool Tools: Blog Editing Software

Have there been times when you’ve been writing online in your blogging platform of choice, and you hit save or post and all you get is a blank screen? Doesn’t all the hard work you’ve just lost make you want to scream?

So you start composing your posts in Word because it seems safer. But when you copy and paste your content into your blog, all kinds of crazy stuff happens like odd spacing, weird type and strange font sizes. So, you spend half an hour getting rid of all the crappy code that Word puts into your post, which makes you want to scream even louder.

Blog editing software makes posting easier
You can avoid these problems by using blog editing programs. Instead of writing live on the Internet, the program resides on your computer – and your work is saved to your hard drive. These programs also allow you to create posts (though not go live) without an Internet connection. This means you can write in the bleachers while your son is at baseball practice or when your Internet connection goes south.
My favorite blog editor, which was recommended years ago to me by Jim Turner aka @Genuine, is Windows Live Writer. You can download it for free. I use it for all my TypePad and self-hosted WordPress blogs, though it’s compatible with any blogging platform. Also, with LiveWriter, you can preview your work ahead of time too see almost exactly how the fonts, spacing, colors, and pictures will look on your blog.

Adding pictures
Besides spell check, I love using it for placing pictures in my posts. Within LiveWriter, you have the ability to crop and resize photos, create a border, tilt the photo, or add a watermark. You can even add effects like sepia tone or improve the lightness and contrast or sharpen the picture. While it’s not a total replacement for a graphics package like Photoshop, it sure saves time since you don’t have to do all your photo editing in another program.

Also, if you practice SEO tactics, you can easily rename photographs with alternative text without going into the HTML code. You can easily add links to photographs, or create links to open in a new window, too.

LiveWriter Plugins
Not enough coolness for you? There are dozens of LiveWriter plug-ins you can add to help you do even more. One of my favorites is Polaroid Picture, which makes your pictures look like old fashioned Polaroids. The plugin even lets you tilt the picture or add a caption.

A new one I have to try is FacebookPhotos, which allows Windows Live Writer users to add photos uploaded in your Facebook profile directly to your blog posts. This is handy if you’re blogging on your laptop at a coffee shop, and all your photos are on the hard drive of your desktop at home. You can now upload them to Facebook for future use as well as to be enjoyed by friends and fans.

Other blog editor software
Windows Live Writer is only for PCs. If you have a Mac or don’t like Windows products, check these out:

• Qumana Blog Editor (Windows/Mac OS X) – Price: Free
• Ecto (Windows/Mac OS X) – Price: $17.95
• MarsEdit (Mac OS X) – Price: $39.95
• ScribeFire which is a free Firefox Extension

Anne-Marie Nichols is the Social Media Manager at Mom Central Consulting. You can also find her blogging up some healthy recipes at This Mama Cooks!

Anne-Marie Nichols