As a blogger with over 15 years of experience creating content for the web, I‘ve tried countless apps aimed at making writing and publishing on the go easier. Through much experimentation, I‘ve narrowed down the top 10 essential iPhone apps that I believe every blogger needs to have a successful mobile blogging workflow.
Recent surveys show 60% of bloggers work from their smartphones at least occasionally (source). Yet many bloggers don‘t realize the full potential of their iPhones when it comes to crafting and optimizing content.
The right apps can cut your editing time in half, simplify collaborating with team members, and make promoting your posts a breeze. With the help of these 10 iPhone apps, you‘ll be able to blog anytime, anywhere without compromising on quality or efficiency.
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1. Ulysses
For serious mobile writing, Ulysses is my go-to app. I‘ve tried dozens of options over the years, and none match Ulysses for the clean, minimalist writing experience it provides. With an intuitive Markdown interface and optional dark mode for easy reading, I can stay focused on my words without distraction.
Ulysses makes it easy to organize all my drafts and projects into groups and filter by tag, so I never lose track of an idea. The ability to export finished pieces directly to WordPress and Medium with a couple taps saves me time. I‘d say Ulysses helps me write twice as fast on my iPhone compared to juggling multiple apps.
The only drawback is the $5/month cost, but for a writing-centric blogger, it‘s worth every penny.
2. Adobe Lightroom
When it comes to editing iPhone photos for blog posts, Adobe Lightroom is a lifesaver. The auto adjustments provide a great quick fix for lackluster images with just a tap. I also appreciate all the granular editing tools like hue/saturation, white balance, and tone curves to truly make your shots pop.
Another nice benefit is being able to easily access all the photos in your Adobe Creative Cloud. That means all your best images are always at your fingertips for your next blog post image – no more sorting through your camera roll.
The magic eraser and healing tools ensure any distracting objects in a background get wiped away cleanly. And applying your favorite photography presets takes your iPhone snaps to a pro level.
While the subscription model isn‘t cheap, you really can achieve magazine-worthy blog photography using Lightroom on an iPhone.
3. Feedly
In my experience, Feedly remains the best RSS reader available on iOS for following blogs and news sites. I have custom feeds set up for a dozen of my favorite photography blogs, several tech blogs, major news outlets, and key sites related to my blog niche.
Feedly‘s Today tab shows me all the latest posts from all those sites each day, so I never miss an important update or article that could inspire a post. I probably save 5-10 hours a week just by catching up on industry news through Feedly instead of visiting sites individually.
The recommendations feature also helps me discover new blogs that end up as sources for my posts on a regular basis. Feedly has become the central hub for gathering ideas and staying on top of what competitors are covering.
4. Dropbox
I switched to using Dropbox for my main cloud storage several years ago and have never looked back. It‘s invaluable for easily accessing files across devices and sharing them with remote team members and contributors.
Whether it‘s photos, videos, or longform articles, I can save files to Dropbox on my iPhone and seamlessly pull them into blog posts later from my laptop. Everything stays in sync across my computer, phone and tablet.
The Dropbox smartphone app also makes capturing and sharing ideas on the go frictionless. If I snap a picture or brainstorm an outline for a future post, I can save it to the appropriate Dropbox folder immediately to revisit later.
The one annoyance is the confusing pricing tiers. But with the free basic level, Dropbox meets my core blogging needs.
5. Hemingway Editor
This nifty app can improve any blog post draft by analyzing your sentences for complexity, passive voice, unnecessary adverbs and more.
I simply paste my draft into Hemingway and let it highlight any problematic phrases that I could simplify or strengthen. Seeing a visual alert makes these areas way easier to spot and fix than reading through the post multiple times.
I also look at the graded reading level Hemingway provides once I‘ve revised a draft – it‘s a great indicator that your writing is clear for the average reader. My posts have gotten much tighter and lucid thanks to this tool.
The only critique is that the analysis seems to favor very short, basic sentences. But used judiciously, Hemingway Editor can take your iPhone blogging to the next level.
6. WordPress
While I spend most of my time actually writing posts in Ulysses, WordPress‘ own iOS app remains invaluable for publishing, site management and engaging with my audience.
With the app, I can create drafts, schedule posts, moderate comments, view analytics, and reply to followers directly from my phone screen. It provides almost all the functionality of the web dashboard in an easy mobile interface.
My only wish is that it was easier to get Ulysses drafts into the WordPress app for final publishing. A better integration between the two would improve my mobile workflow.
But for site monitoring and publishing capabilities, the free WordPress app is a must-have for bloggers using an iPhone.
7. Canva
Visually appealing images are key to making blog posts stand out on social media and catch readers‘ eyes. But I don‘t always have time for extensive photo editing or graphic design.
That‘s where Canva comes in handy. With a huge library of templates and easy drag-and-drop tools, I can quickly create great looking graphics and social images to use on my blog and promote my content.
Whether it‘s an inspirational quote graphic, an eye-catching blog post teaser, or a custom size Twitter header image, Canva has me covered in minutes right from my phone. While the desktop site offers more features, the mobile app has enough to meet my basic graphic needs.
Canva‘s simple interface and massive creative asset library make it my go-to for sprucing up my blog‘s visuals with professional polish.
8. Spotify
One of my favorite ways to spark creative inspiration when drafting posts is to put on some music. I‘ll often create dedicated playlists to listen to while writing certain articles depending on the desired tone and voice.
Thanks to Spotify‘s vast catalog of music and podcasts, I can easily cue up motivating, lyric-less beats to power through writing sessions on my iPhone. Or play interviews with industry thought leaders to get ideas flowing.
Having unlimited access to streaming music right from the Spotify app means I can channel the perfect audio backdrop for writing blog posts anywhere. Those playlists also help me focus and minimize distractions.
The only limitation is needing a paid subscription for full access to song choices, playlists and podcasts. But for unlimited listening, it‘s worth it as part of my mobile blogging kit.
9. Pocket
One of the most valuable skills as a blogger is curating and saving great content from around the web to reference and link to in your own posts.
Pocket quickly and conveniently lets me save articles, stories, profiles, and any web page to revisit later for research or citing as a source. Whenever I stumble on an interesting post, quick Pocket button click adds it to my reading list.
This prevents great link ideas from getting lost in a sea of open browser tabs. And unlike bookmarks, Pocket syncs across all my devices, so my reading list is always at hand. The formatting also strips away ads and clutter to make saved posts more readable.
For bloggers looking to boost research efficiency and keep track of sources, Pocket is a must on your iPhone toolkit.
10. Medium
When I‘ve got a few spare minutes to write, but not enough time for a full blog post, I‘ll often draft quick articles on Medium instead. Its simple publishing tools and ability to share with a targeted audience make it ideal for microblogging.
Medium allows me to test out post ideas or dive deeper on a topic my main blog audience may not be interested in. And the seamless integration with Twitter expands my reach.
With the Medium app, I can easily add images, tag topics, schedule publication time, and more all from my phone. And helpful stats provide insight into what content resonates most with readers.
While it doesn‘t offer quite the depth and customization of my blog platform, Medium fills the quick-hit content gap when a detailed post isn‘t feasible.
Power Up Your iPhone Blogging
Having the right apps makes all the difference in creating content quickly and efficiently from your smartphone. I consider the apps above essentials for any blogger looking to publish from an iPhone with professional quality and continuity across devices.
What are your must-have iPhone apps for mobile blogging? I‘d love to hear which tools you find helpful for writing, photography, graphics, social media management, and organization on the go. Feel free to share your favorites with me on Twitter @[handle].
Here‘s to more flexible, successful blogging and never letting a lack of computer stop you from publishing great content for your readers!
