Like most bloggers that make money, I started out as a hobby blogger and my blog slowly and gradually became a full-time moneymaker, part-time gig for me. One thing that has surely contributed to my success is the tools I use. I thought it would be helpful to share with you some of the blogging tools I use on a daily basis. These are programs I could not live without:

iGoogle

Ok this isn’t OSX, but it IS browser based and it works in Safari. In the last few months I’ve used iGoogle more and more to help me; manage my RSS subscriptions with Google Reader, keep quick notes with Google Notebook, learn more about my websites with Google Webmaster Tools, check my traffic with Google Analytics, and manage my AdSense accounts. I like working this way because I use several different computers to blog, plus my iPhone, and it is impossible to try and keep everything synced up. With iGoogle I can simply login to my account from any computer and have all of the above mentioned tools at my fingertips.

Blogging

I like the WordPress admin panel, although sometimes it feels a bit cumbersome. Also, because I post to multiple blogs, I needed a program that allowed me to switch between accounts quickly. When you don’t need to access the WordPress admin panel to add plugins, change options, add users, moderate comments, etc., try using Ecto. I guarantee you won’t be able to live without it.

ImageWell

ImageWell is the quickest and easiest way to resize and upload images. I like to add images to my articles and I use ImageWell on a daily basis to help save me time and headaches. Simply drag and drop images from your browser or hard drive to ImageWell’s image area. From here you can can resize, change the quality, rename and upload your file. Double-clicking the image will open ImageWell’s streamlined image editor where you can crop, rotate, control brightness, etc. Set the program’s FTP preferences so you can upload an image straight to your blog’s image folder with one click. ImageWell is one of my all time favorite OSX blogging tools because it saves me from opening Photoshop and an ftp client for every little photo edit and upload.

Cyberduck

When I first started as a web designer I used notepad and Photoshop to create my websites. I soon moved on to Dreamweaver version 1. I liked the coding/wysiwyg dual view pages and the built in FTP functionality of Dreamweaver. For the last 10 years I got in the habit of always using Dreamweaver to access all of my FTP accounts. Sometime last year I decided to streamline my work flow and find the simplest OSX FTP software I could find.

Cyberduck is the best FTP program I have ever used. It’s lightening fast, stable, reliable, and FREE. It also has support for many Mac OS X system technologies such as Spotlight, Bonjour, the Keychain and AppleScript.

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