Three cheers for Crowdfire! It’s been great for better time management, thus saving my sanity and second, for helping me to grow my following.
Full disclosure: I was paid $20 to write a Crowdfire review post – but I never endorse anything unless I really love it. By the way, if you don’t have time to read this now, you can save it for later on Pinterest
So Hello, my dearest readers!
You know, I rarely do this – but I do believe that ap’s can make a person’s life easier. Whoever said “There’s an app for that!” was right. I had never heard of Crowdfire until my friend told me; her husband is a Belgian artist (imagine Van Gogh) and uses it to promote his artwork. As he is a very quiet person – shall we say a non-sociable user of social media, I figured it must be very efficient since I can imagine he hates spending time on social media.
I do happen to like it, but it can be a huge time suck.
So, first things first. Is Crowdfire free? Yes, it is! Crowdfire paid plans are available, from Plus to VIP, but I will get to that later on.
Being online, I knew I would have to share my posts, and until recently, I was quite confused about social media posting, sharing, and hashtags; I admit that I still am, but there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Things are beginning to (finally) click, no pun intended.
HENCE – MY CROWDFIRE REVIEW
Crowdfire, a relatively new application, has finally given me some sanity in regards to sharing my posts. How?
It’s free – and it’s easy. I load up a post, and it posts for me three times over the next few days at a “best time”. It has simplified my approach to online posting and sharing.
Second, it notifies me when I need to post. I open the iphone ap, choose one of my blog posts, someone else’s article (there is a feed for related topics) or create something new with an original photo. Add hashtags.
STEP BY STEP
Set up include authorizing access to my social media accounts. There are many that I don’t use yet, and I get to pick and choose what gets posted where.
Does Crowdfire work? Well, for me it has. In one month, my Instagram followers have doubled and my likes have tripled.The results? Well, my amerikanka_in_croatia following on Instagram doubled in one month. So – I mostly attribute Crowdfire for that.
Being an online presence, it’s really necessary to promote what you are putting out there. Otherwise, who will read it? I feel I have a message to share, so naturally, I needed help in getting the word out.
NEW BLOGGER SYNDROME
There is a word that many new bloggers know all too well, and that word is Overwhelm. That doesn’t mean I don’t think blogging isn’t worth it – au contraire! It is fun, but a little like learning how to drive a tractor with a stick shift in a muddy pond. You need another pair of eyes, ears, etc. because there are things to master that you never even heard of. (SEO? Hashtags? Reach? Engagement? Social networks? ay, yi yi….)
Throwback – if you were around in the 1980s people used to say, “We should have a kid so that he/she can teach us how to program the VCR”. (VCRs were the forerunners of DVD players, and you could record a movie on TV or HBO and watch it the next day and fast forward through commercials.) If it wasn’t for my 13-year-old daughter Jelena, I would never have probably heard about Instagram until 2029.
THANK YOU CROWDFIRE
For those of you who follow me, I don’t go on and on about things unless I really like them. Well, I do like Crowdfire – it has been a timesaver and a lifesaver.
Since I decided that Crowdfire was worth it, I just upgraded to a paid plan, which includes RSS and Pinterest, which is really the biggest game player as a very powerful search engine and second most powerful arena just edging up behind Facebook.
I either use another related post or write my own composition, using a photo for example. For those who want to extend their reach, it’s good to add hashtags in the description. In my case, those are #croatianblogger or #travelbug and #croatiafullofnature as an example.
WHAT I LIKE – EFFICIENCY
I can post to all of these accounts practically simultaneously, adding to my queue for the next few days. I can decide how many times a day it will post to Twitter, for example. I also like that Crowdfire figures out the best time for my social media feed activity. I really like that.
True confessions: Until last month, I hadn’t posted to LinkedIn since 2012, it seems.
NOTE:
Twitter has a smaller window, so you may need to manually adjust the number of hashtags in your comments for it to fit. I use copy/paste to use the same hashtags of choice for whatever post I am adding to my queue.
DIFFERENT POSTS FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
I can pick and choose which venues will receive my post (i.e. more newsy pieces – like air travel deals, for example, would be posted on Twitter and Linked in, and maybe Facebook). Social media friendly photos would definitely go on Instagram and Facebook, or all of the above.
Other forums which Crowdfire will post to include Tumblr, Wix, Vimeo, and I should probably sign up/activate so I can widen my reach. Just sayin’.
A PREVIEW / HISTORY OF POSTS
I like that I can see which posts are coming up (“Scheduled”) and which posts have already been Published.
If for whatever reason I don’t like a scheduled post for that day, I can either adjust it or delete it. It’s almost like having my own personal robot or VA. I did buy a Roomba last year (which I would gladly also review) and it totally changed my life with the two dogs and two teenagers, so Crowdfire is fulfilling a similar function for me in the virtual world.
OTHER SCHEDULING APPS
In all honesty, I still use Tailwind Tribes (though I feel I haven’t quite gotten the hang of it yet). Either my brain cells are slacking off a bit or it’s a little too much for me. I will keep at it though.
Pinterest – same story. I expect I will learn how to make ads in Canva and all that in the next few weeks. I treat the world of blogging and establishing an online presence (or “brand”) a little like a college course, some of this is best learned in layers.
OTHER APPS I USE AND RECOMMEND:
I use My Fitness Pal to count calories and carbohydrate grams (in the Macros section). It’s convenient for those on a Keto diet with a small percentage of carbs (it shows up as a pie chart so you can easily eyeball it whether you are in range or not).
I also like STEPZ which magically counts the number of steps you take in a day and calculates how many calories burned. It’s only for the iPhone so far. Needless to say, wherever I go, my iPhone is in my pocket. It works if you carry it in your purse, as well or backpack. The only thing I noticed, it can’t tell the difference between walking and bike riding.
I also love my XE currency exchange ap for getting a comparable rate for translation projects.
I downloaded Evernote, which everyone is raving about, but haven’t taken the time to learn how to use it yet. Amy Lynn Andrews raves about it, and I follow her Knowtbook and Uselettern full of handy technical tips and reviews.
Thanks to my iPhone, my life as an entrepreneur is becoming more manageable.
I really hope you enjoyed my Crowdfire review! Tell me below if you have ever heard of it or would consider using it.
WORDS OF THE DAY:
There’s no more silicon in Silicon Valley. It’s all iPhone apps.
Mary Lou Jepsen
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/iphone
Be sure to leave a comment and if you like, follow me on social media! I am most active on Instagram.
Here are my links: Facebook + Pinterest and Instagram!
See you online!
Anastasia
amerikanka in croatia
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