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10 Best Desktop Blog Editing Applications

blogging, desktop blogging apps, ecto, marsedit, windows live writer, wordpress, writing, zoundry raven

Posting to your Blog Using Desktop Software

Overview: Find out what 10 Desktop Blogging Applications can do to help you post articles to your blog.

The WordPress web interface gives you everything you “need” to write and publish blog posts. Just because the web interface can do a lot, does not mean that it is the “best” tool for everyone. Many people prefer to write and publish their posts from a desktop blogging editor. There are numerous applications that provide you a powerful set of tools for writing and publishing posts directly from your desktop. There are a few significant advantages to writing your posts using a desktop blog editor:

• You can still write when you are not connected to the internet
• Feature-rich desktop publishing experience
• The performance is MUCH faster than the web interface
• Excellent media insertion, editing, and management
• Support for plugins that provide tailored functionality

Here are some of the more popular desktop blogging editors.

Top of the Heap – Desktop Blogging Apps

There are only about three apps that I think are sure things.

• Windows Live Writer
• MarsEdit
• Zoundry Raven

Windows Live Writer – This is my favorite desktop blogging tool on any operating system at any price. Best of all, it’s free! Every possible feature that you could want is included in Live Writer. I use a Mac to write my blog posts, but I run Parallels (virtual machine) to run this Windows only app. Yes, it’s that good. I just hope that they make a Mac version some day. What I Love:

• Publish posts as DRAFT status and opens the web-based post editor in one click
• Plugins – an increasing amount of useful tools that make the rich get richer
• Compose posts with your blog theme’s formatting applied in real-time
• Edit existing posts
• Very polished interface and user experience

Could be Better:

• It occasionally adds some funky code
• No version for Mac

Windows Live Writer Interface

MarsEdit – MarsEdit is a half-step behind Windows Live Writer, but it’s still the best blogging tool available for Mac. It costs $30, but it’s definitely worth it if you want to avoid the hassle of running a Windows Virtual Machine. I think it’s about one version away from being truly awesome. What I Love:

• You can edit code in the app or your favorite code editing app
• Nice smooth working experience
• You can add a lot of Post metadata directly in the interface

Could be Better:

• The ability to Post as Draft instead of Published
• It seems like there are always about 12 windows open
• No Windows version

MarsEdit Interface

Zoundry Raven – This is a pretty good (Windows only) tool if you’re on a PC and you don’t want to use Windows Live Writer. (Not quite sure who would do that; but I digress.) It has almost all of the “must-have” features that I typically look for in a slightly less polished package. The one nice thing I like is that there is a portable version that can be run on any Windows machine, right from a USB Flash drive. (See how to set up Portable Apps on a USB drive here .) What I Love:

• Very clean, sensible writing interface
• Contains a ton of features, even compared to the paid apps
• You can get a portable version that loads on a USB drive and runs on any Windows machine

Could be Better:

• No Mac Version
• No plugins or extensions

Zoundry Raven Interface

They Could Have Been Contenders

These apps could be good if they just add some of the features and stability of the big dogs. Close, but no cigar.

• Ecto
• Qumana
• Blog Desk
• Blog Jet

Ecto –  $20 – I used Ecto for a little while (right after Qumana) to write posts. It has a few more features than Qumana, but it’s not nearly as good as MarsEdit. Believe me, the extra $10 is well worth it. What I Love:

• It has a decent WYSYWIG interface
• It integrates with Flickr and Amazon

Could be Better:

• Not great options for working with Code and Design views
• No upload as draft
• It’s just not-quite-right

Ecto Interface

Qumana – I actually used this app for a brief time when I switched from Windows to a Mac. This was the first Mac based blogging tool that I found fairly useable. I’ve moved on to some better options, but it’s not the worst tool I’ve seen. What I Love:

• Decent Media Insertion and Formating
• The have good integration with their own advertising platform
  • Con – it’s their own platform. Adsense please.
• Runs on Windows and Mac

Could be Better:

• No easy way to add CSS Styles to content. (Headings, etc.)
• No plugins

Qumana Interface

Blog Desk– Blog desk is a pretty good Windows blogging app. The interface is laid out in a sensible way that will be easy to figure out. It’s not as good as my favorite blogging apps, but it’s usable. What I Love:

• Simple and easy to use
• Integrates well with WordPress features

Could be Better:

• Not as full featured as some of the other options

Blog Desk Interface

Blog Jet – The name sounds like BlogDesk and the interface and features look alike too.  It’s pretty good and free, but there are a few better choices for the same great price. Good, not great. What I Love Like:

• Clean, simple interface.
• Media insertion and management

Could be Better:

• Added CSS styles
• Source Code editing

Blog Jet Interface

Not Quite Ready for Prime Time

These apps are just not worth a look.

• Thingamablog
• Bleezer

Thingamablog– I didn’t like Thingamablog at all. It was buggy and clunky. It also was flaky when I was trying to set up my sites. ThingamaBLOB is more like it. What I Love Like:

• It does support Windows, Mac, and Linux

Could be Better:

• Multi-platform support means that you get a bad app on any computer that you use
• No features – no fun!

Thingamablog Interface

Bleezer – This was another disappointment. It runs as a self-contained Java app from anywhere on any Operating System. Java apps kinda suck for a variety of reasons. They are slow and ugly, to name a few. Bleezer is no exception. What I Love Like:

• Multi-platform support
• Not much else

Could be Better:

• Java is slow and flaky
• It doesn’t have a compelling feature set
• No fun to use

Bleezer Interface

Desktop Blogging Application Feature Comparison

The table below compares the desktop blogging applications covered here on some critical features.

Additional Resources

Here are a few articles that go into more detail on desktop blogging editors:

WordPress Desktop Blogging: 5 Tools Reviewed – Centernetworks.com

15 Desktop Blogging Tools Reviewed- SmashingMagazine.com

Desktop Blogging: 20 Best Blogging Software To Help You Blog From Your Desktop– WebDesignBooth.com

Desktop blog editor comparison– Lifehacker.com

Desktop Blogging Clients for Linux Labanol.org

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Generating Blogging Ideas and Staying Motivated

Letting your Creative Juices Flow

I was recently asked by a reader, “How I stay motivated and come up with article ideas?”. Actually, that is my biggest challenge. I have to push myself pretty hard. I have a career and a family, so I don’t have a lot of time. Then, when I do get time, I don’t always feel like making the magic happen. If I do get on a roll with something, I try to push myself for as long as possible. I work a lot when everyone is sleeping. You kinda have to make your own time.

Here are couple of tips for staying motivated and generating content that work for me:

Generate More Ideas than you Need

More ideas = more articles. You need to generate as many ideas as possible, then pick the best stuff from that collection. I am constantly looking for ideas, inspiration, questions, challenges, arguments, and anything else that makes me want to write.

Capture Your Ideas (All of them)

I capture all of my ideas using a combination of a Moleskine notebook and Evernote software. Evernote is on my iPhone, Mac, PC, and a Plugin in my browsers. As soon as I get an idea I capture it somewhere. There are not too many situations where I don’t have my phone and/or notebook. If you want some tips on using Evernote check out this Evernote video tutorial.

I take action on some of my captured ideas right away and others I just save for a rainy day. Whenever I have writer’s block or I’m just tapped out, I comb through my notes and look for ideas. This has gotten me “unstuck” plenty of times.

Consume as much Information as Possible

I also read A LOT. My Google Reader has over 200 RSS feeds. I group them together by topic (Productivity, Gadgets, Sports, Finance, etc.). This way I can quickly bang through 30 or so fresh articles on a given topic. For most articles I just scan the headlines and images, for others I read, star, and share them. The real good ones, I send to Evernote to use later. This is the quickest way to digest a ton of information, plus get a quick temperature check on your field. See how to use Google Reader like an information ninja.

Be a Man of the People – Get out there and mingle!

The other thing that I have done lately is GET OFF THE COMPUTER. Seriously, I look for events in my area on MeetUp.com. I get out and meet real people who might read my blog and also some people who work at the companies that interest me. You get a surprising number of ideas that way. One of the places that I go to find interesting Meetups in my area is Meetup.com. If two or more people want to gather and discuss a topic, it’s there, no matter how weird.

Look for Ideas in the Situations and Challenges Around You

Wanna hear something funny? As I was emailing Herbert back, I was thinking that “this” general idea would make a good, quick how-to article. Throw in a few good pics or a youtube video, some ads, and I have an article. So I guess, people who ask me questions are also a great source of motivation.

By the way, if you’re interested in doing a guest post here or having me do one for your site, I’m always looking for new people to work with. Let me know if you have any ideas for me or you. CM@VitaminCM.com

The reader that contacted me was Herbert Lui. Stop by his blog, Cutedge.org and check out some of his interesting articles. Leave him a comment too, he’ll really appreciate it.

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Writing a Blog Aritcle Using the WordPress Web Interface

Publishing Articles in Your WordPress Installation

Now that you have your WordPress Blog installed and configured, you are ready to start writing and publishing articles. WordPress has a web-based interface that allows you to write, edit, and publish articles to your blog.

I’m going to cover the steps involved in publishing your first article from your WordPress Web Interface. You will perform the following steps:

• Log In to your WordPress site
• Navigate to the Add New Post page
• Enter the information for your article
• Publish your article
• Edit and update your article (if necessary)

Accessing the WordPress Post Interface

You need to log in to your WordPress Site Administration panel to begin writing and publishing a blog post.

Click the Log In link under the Meta heading in your site’s sidebar.

Then, enter your Login and Password information on the Login page.

This will bring you to the WordPress Dashboard. You can access the Posts pages from there.

Click the Posts dropdown and select Add New Post from the sidebar.

This will open the Add New Posts page.

Enter Your Article Information

You will enter all of the information and metadata for your article on the Add New Post page. Populate all of the fields with the information for your article.

You can click the Preview button to see what your post currently looks like, before you actually post it. I highly recommend doing this to make sure you get what you expect.

The video below will show you how to use the editing options and add images to your posts.

Publish Your Article

Once you are satisfied with your article, you are ready to publish it. Click the Publish button to make your new article go live. There is also a calendar button that allows you to schedule the date and time that a post will be published.

Edit Your Article

Sometimes after you publish an article, you need to make changes or modifications. You can open the published article and edit any information. Then, you can click the Update Post  button to make your changes go live instantly.

The following video tutorial will walk you through the entire process of publishing your first article on a WordPress blog.

100th Article on VitaminCM.com

A Look at the Past, Present, and Future

I was looking at some information in my site’s dashboard the other day and noticed that I was at my 99th post. Well, that would make this my lucky 100th article. I started VitaminCM.com on May 16th, 2007 while I was away at a Training & Development convention. That makes 21 months, which equals 4.7 articles per month or 1.1 per week.

My Favorite Articles

Every now and then I crank out a decent article. Here are a few that I really liked.

Easy Way to Download TV Shows from the Internet

How to Download TV Shows from the Internet (Part 2)

10 Worst TV Spin-Offs of All Time

10 Best TV Spin-Offs of All Time

Reusing an Old PC as a Server Part 1

Reusing an Old PC as a Server (Part 2)

Awesome Adobe Acrobat Alternatives that Will Make Love to your Computer

See How to Upgrade Your Career in a Recession Using Technology

How to Set Up A Testing Server on Your PC

What was I thinking?

Sometimes I think I’m onto something and well, I’m really not. Here are some of my more questionable calls.

What’s the Point to Unlocking the iPhone?

How to Survive a Zombie Attack this Halloween

Driving in a Winter Wonderland – Christmas Lights Overload

The Best Horror Punk Lyrics Ever!!!

What have I learned?

I’ve learned a lot over the last two years. First and foremost, I’m a lousy proofreader. If I ever have a budget to hire anyone, it will surely be a proofreader. I need to take my time to right a thorough article, even if it means getting it out a little slower. Probably the most important thing I learned is that I need to write something useful. People don’t have time to waste, so I need to provide useful tips, reviews, or opinions.

A couple of other things that I learned is that I have to hustle, hustle, hustle. That involves two things: reading a lot and meeting a lot of people. I’m pretty good at the reading part, but I don’t get out to events enough. Gotta work on that.

Where am I going?

I plan to do more tutorials and productivity articles. I’m also going to do product reviews of whatever gadgets come into my life (given this ginormous budget). If you have anything that you would like to read about or see how to do, please write it in the comments or email me. You can find my information on the Contact page.

So, thanks for reading and if you really like it, tell a friend.

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Boost Your Creativity and Productivity by Using a Simple Notebook

Trying to find ways to capture your creative bursts and brainstorms and use them effectively? One of the greatest tools ever invented is a humble notebook. Now I love computers, word processors, and databases, but so many of my best ideas and projects start out as scribbles on paper. In fact, most of the creative, successful people that I see use notes as part of their orgnizational and creative process.