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Resources

I always love learning what resources people use to run their blog business and personally get asked often “what do you use for xyz?” or “what are your favorite apps” So I thought I’d share a list of resources I use to run my blog business, a peak behind the business if you will. I will be updating this list as I come across new resources. Please feel free to message me if you have a question (phi@sweepthi.com)

Photography Resources

Canon 7DIn terms of a camera I use a Canon 7D, but that was not always the case. I started with a little digital camera and my phone (true story, lol) and then my first dslr which I got as part of a whole Canon Rebel kit.

I use a 24-70mm lens, it’s super versatile and I love the zoom on it. It is heavy but it’s honestly my favorite lens I’ve ever shot with. I also LOVE the 50mm lens and used that for a long while because of its affordable price in comparison to other lenses.

Samsung mirrorless camera_When I travel I use this Samsung mirrorless camera and it’s absolutely amazing – it takes amazing pictures and is not as heavy as my dslr so it’s great to just throw in my purse and go. I know some bloggers who use this small camera exclusively.

Lightroom is the best for photo editing. There’s no other photo editing program with the robust capabilities like Adobe Lightroom. It’s a month-to-month subscription and there are so many tutorials. I am still learning years later (see below for places to look for classes – I took one through Creative Live.)

Tasty Food Photography – This one e-book totally helped me change and improve my photography insurmountably!!

 

Website Resources 

bluehost logoBluehost was the website host for the first 5 years of Sweetphi. They’re great and have good support. They’re who I would call when I’d crash my website lol.

Liquid Web is the host I’d recommend when you start getting over 75,000-100,000 monthly pageviews (traffic). Their customer service is amazing and oh my goodness is their hosting fast and amazing. I tried a couple of different hosts between Bluehost and Liquid Web was by far my favorite. I it use currently.

Genesis frameworkThe Genesis Framework -The Genesis Framework is what is currently running on SweetPhi and is what I use on several other websites I’ve set up for work throughout the years. Genesis is the framework used by many of the most popular bloggers! With Genesis you’re purchasing the framework ($59.95) and then you’ll purchase a child theme (prices vary).

The child theme is essentially the ‘look’ of your website. I purchased a child theme and made tweaks to it myself. The instructions that come with the child themes are really good if you’re willing to put in the time. Or you could hire a designer to design a custom child theme for you. Here is a link that explains how you can create an amazing website using genesis framework + themes.

99 designs99 Designs – if you’re looking to create a beautiful brand (logo/look) I’d recommend 99 designs, there are all sorts of branding services and packages they offer.

 

Blogging Business Resources

ConvertKit logo– I use ConvertKit for my email marketing. I’ve used/switched over from MailChimp and then SendFox and have experience with several other email marketing platforms (Constant Contact). ConvertKit is by far my favorite and the best email marketing system I have used, and is the platform I use to send my weekly newsletters. It’s designed for content creators.

Planoly – I use Planoly for Instagram scheduling and analytics. If I didn’t have Planoly, my Instagram posting would be practically non-existent. I use their paid plan and it’s more than worth it.

Planoly lets you upload photos and arrange them – it’s like seeing your Insta grid and being able to plan out what it will look like. It also lets you enter captions and hashtags and plan for Instagram stories too. It’s pretty amazing and I love it!

Tailwind – I use Tailwind for Pinterest scheduling, it’s amazing and a total lifesaver! I can schedule a whole month of content in a few hours.

CoSchedule – The best editorial calendar schedule with social media scheduling tool ever! I use CoSchedule to schedule out my facebook and twitter and wordpress drafts. Such a time saver!

FreedCamp logo I use FreedCamp for project management. It’s amazing to have projects/tasks/schedules all in one place, it sends awesome overview to-do lists and links with Google drive and other programs

Google drive -I rely on Google Drive (free) to manage my spreadsheets, idea documents, presentations, etc. It’s amazing I legit use it every day.

You can use it to work with your team, so multiple people can edit at once!

App Sumo – basically the groupon for online business owners – they sell deals on some of the coolest apps/programs/software/courses that you never new even existed!

Courses & Learning

If you’re looking for an all-encompassing course which walks you through from begging set up and talks about all sorts of things, I have two recommendations The Blog Village (I love this course, their dashboard is really great and the videos are so informative) and Food Blogger Pro  (there is a wait list sometimes before they open enrollment, but it’s got great content as well).

 

Creative Live – I absolutely LOVE Creative Live. You can watch their courses live, for free, or purchase them to view whenever. The courses are so affordable, and I always find a bunch of things that are super helpful. Lately I’m loving all the business from your mobile phone courses, because I’ve been doing so much on my phone (like after work Ben goes to bed and I have an hour to work, I can just do things from my phone vs. going into my office.) I love this shooting and editing for mobile photography.

Pitch it perfect coursePitch It Perfect – If you’re interested in working with brands, this is the course for you! I have paid for and watched a ton of courses that were not really a great fit and never thought I got my money’s worth, but this one, definitely is worth it! It teaches you how to be more comfortable working with brands and gives you scripts…it’s a really great course!

 

Disclaimer: Some of the above links are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission (or account credit in some cases) if you purchase through the links and no additional expense to you. I have used/or currently use each and every item or service recommended, all opinions are mine alone, I was not paid to include any links. I am honored to be an affiliate and make recommendations for the products and services I use to run my blogging business. If you have any questions about the listed resources please let me know in the comments section below.

 

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  • 1 One Pot Thai Shrimp and Quinoa
  • 2 5 Ingredient Loaded Tater Tots
  • 3 Baked Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots and Herbs
  • 4 5 Ingredient Crock Pot Pork Roast and Potatoes Recipe
  • 5 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Cheesy Potatoes Recipe

Philia Kelnhofer, Danish, Chicken tacos, Kelnhofer familySweetphi.com is a destination for easy recipes, showcasing beautiful content and inspiration, everyday family life, motherhood, and fun finds from around the web. 

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Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? There’s o Do you have a Trader Joe’s near you? There’s one about 20 minutes away from me, and while not the most convenient, there’s nothing quite like Trader Joes, it’s somewhere I will travel to, somewhere that has a cult following, justifiably so 😍 
I’ve put together my Trader Joe's haul on the blog with what I get when I shop there PLUS 7 meal ideas!
What do you fill your cart with at Trader Joes? 🛒
https://sweetphi.com/trader-joes-haul-plus-7-meal-ideas/
#traderjoes #traderjoesfinds #traderjoesrecipes #groceryhaul #groceries #groceryshopping #momlife #momoffour #twinmom #midwestmom #midwestblogger #food #recipes
We all love a good salad, but hate when they end u We all love a good salad, but hate when they end up taking like 20 different ingredients to prepare 🤦‍♀️
That’s why this salad is the best 🤩 It tastes so good and comes together with 6 simple ingredients!
2 chicken breasts
1/4 cup bbq sauce
1 bag romaine/coleslaw
1 avocado
4 tablespoons Ranch dressing
1/4 cup tortilla strips (Santa Fe flavored are amazing!)
**you can also make this into a wrap or a sandwich!
https://sweetphi.com/baked-bbq-chicken-and-avocado-salad/
#recipe #salad #bbqchicken #chickensalad #saladrecipe #healthyrecipes #saladideas #mealprep #sundaymealprep #avocado #easyrecipesathome #easyrecipes #6ingredients
As soon as I made these no-bake oatmeal cookie ene As soon as I made these no-bake oatmeal cookie energy bites (which just so happen to be sugar free, gluten free, and vegan) I knew I had found my go-to snack! 😍
PLUS you only need a few ingredients to make them: dates, water, almond butter, raisins, oats and cinnamon!
Get this recipe by tapping the link in my profile! ❤️
https://sweetphi.com/no-bake-oatmeal-cookie-energy-bites/
#nobakedessert #nationaloatmealcookieday #oatmeal #energybites #oatmealbites #snacks #healthysnacks #easyrecipe #easysnacks #kidapprovedfood #kidapproved #vegan #glutenfree #glutenfreerecipes #vegansnack #food
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️ Add 5 ingredien Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️
Add 5 ingredients to your slow cooker and a few hours later you’ll have delicious corned beef and cabbage with carrots and potatoes, the perfect meal for St. Patrick’s Day! 🤩
You’ll need:
4-5 pounds corned beef brisket
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon salt
8 red potatoes
1 pound rainbow carrots
1 head of cabbage
Find this recipe by tapping the link in my profile! ❤️
https://sweetphi.com/how-to-make-slow-cooker-corned-beef-and-cabbage/
#stpatricksday #cornedbeef #cornedbeefandcabbage #recipe #slowcooker #slowcookermeals #slowcookerrecipes #crockpotrecipes #crockpotmeals #spring #springrecipes #familydinner #stpattysday #cabbage
Sheet pan pork chops make for the perfect easy one Sheet pan pork chops make for the perfect easy one-pan dinner! 
You’re going to love how delicious the marinated pork chops are, and love how everything is cooked in one pan and how easy clean up is!
Get this recipe by tapping the link in my profile! ❤️
https://sweetphi.com/sheet-pan-pork-chops-sweet-potato-and-fennel-dinner/
#sheetpandinner #sheetpanmeals #sheetpan #porkchops #porkchop #dinner #easydinner #easydinnerideas #familydinner #recipe #dinnerrecipes #food #cooking
There’s a new Love List today! The SweetPhi team There’s a new Love List today! The SweetPhi team found the secrets to hotel room cleaning, a Lego set perfect for an Easter basket and much more in this week’s love list!
A few of our favorites are:
Easter decor from @ target 🐰
The cutest swimsuits from @limericki 👙
A new series on @netflix 
Read the full Love List on the blog ❤️
https://sweetphi.com/love-list-grapefruit-cutting-and-hotel-secrets/
#lovelist #easter #easterdecor #targetfinds #amazon #amazonfinds #lifestyle #lifestyleblog #blog #midwestblogger #swimsuits #clothingfinds
This meatball Caesar pizza is a fun pizza topping This meatball Caesar pizza is a fun pizza topping combo that combines best of both worlds: meatballs and tangy Caesar dressing 🤩
TIP: I used Costco frozen meatballs which have a little heat to them. If your meatballs are on the plainer side, I’d recommend adding a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes!
Find this recipe on the blog: https://sweetphi.com/meatball-pizza-with-ricotta-and-caesar/ 
#recipe #pizza #familydinner #pizzarecipe #caesardressing #easydinner #meatballs #meatballpizza #recipeideas #easydinners #easydinnerideas
I love an easy meal that is a fun take on a classi I love an easy meal that is a fun take on a classic and is made even better by the fact that it is a 4-ingredient recipe! 👏🏼
All you need is crescent rolls, corned beef, Swiss cheese and thousand island dressing. This recipe also makes a fun St. Patrick’s day appetizer! ☘️ 
SAVE this recipe to make for St. Patrick’s Day! 
https://sweetphi.com/corned-beef-pocket-recipe/
#cornedbeef #cornedbeefsandwich #stpatricksday #stpatricksdayrecipes #recipe #5ingredients #easyrecipe #appetizers #snacks #springrecipes #easydinner #easydinners #kidfriendlyfood #kidfriendlymeals #kidfriendlyrecipes
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