Have you heard of Google Docs?
Do you like free?
Do you like easy?
Do you like convenient?
Then you will love Google Docs.
The popularity of Google Docs grows yearly. The best part is if you use it, you will be a more productive blogger.
Google Docs is divided into three sections: Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
Reasons Bloggers Should Use Google Docs
- Immediate access Your documents are always on the Internet even without the hard drive you saved it on. Blogger Hayli deJong is a teacher. If she’s running late, still at school, and wants to post, she can access her notes.
- Auto save Many bloggers like to write their articles on Google Docs. They don’t have to keep saving due to the automatic save. WordPress has a “saved” version of your article. However, the difference between the current version and the backup version can be confusing.
- Fills a need Today, people need a Google Account. According to blogger Claire Bullerwell, “If you plan on making a business out of blogging, you need a Google account.” Even students in schools today are told they need Gmail to be successful in school since assignments are submitted electronically to the teacher.
- A free platform Since free tools are available through Google Docs, you might as well take advantage of them.
- Allows for blogger collaboration My cross-promotional partner Mark Newsome and I recently collaborated on marketing copy for my blog critique service using Google Docs. Your collaborators can edit, view, or comment on your article with varying degrees of privacy.
- Allows for peace of mind You never have to worry about losing your documents even if you lose your laptop or flash drive. Everything is stored at Drive.Google.com.
- Helps you stay organized At Drive.Google.com, where you save your work, you can make folders which will help you keep your writing organized.
- Convenience There are ways you can publish directly to your Blogger or WordPress blog.
- Interface with its other tools You can Email your document to your Gmail account. You can also use Google Docs to research without leaving the screen. Just click Tools, Research.
- Enhances Your Focus You can concentrate on blog writing easier since the dashboard isn’t there. Although WordPress has a distraction-free mode, Co-Schedule’s Julie Neidlinger prefers writing in Google Docs.
- Voice dictation. This is handy if you ever don’t feel like typing. Sometimes, people don’t type quickly, but they want to get their ideas out as fast as they can.
- Translation available Google Docs will translate your article. A translator is under the Tools drop-down menu.
- Social media presence increased When you share your link, you can share it to Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus.
- Bridges the generation gap Because students are growing up with Google Docs in schools, your younger reader may want to use it to communicate with you. For example, they may want to use it to send a guest post with attachments.
- Templates Google Docs can be used for resumes, letters, brochures, and proposals.
- Brainstorm blog post content ideas Hayli deJong uses Google Docs to paste questions from her readers into her blank document template in case she ever needs an idea to write a blog post about.
- Photos You can find and insert images while working on your document.
- Editorial Calendar Google Docs has an editorial calendar, so you can plan out your blog posts. Your collaborators can contribute ideas. Click Sheets, Daily Schedule.
- Pitch an idea, product, or service One of the templates under “Spreadsheets” contains a slide presentation to pitch an idea or a product. You could pitch your idea to another blogger or a potential customer. Perhaps you want to pitch an idea for a sponsored post. All can be done with this template.
- To-Do List I currently keep my to-do list in Evernote, but many users of Google Docs prefer to have all their notes together. One of the Sheets is a to-do list.
- Budget Tracker If you spend money on your blog. Annual and Monthly Calendars are available to keep track of your expenses.
- Spreadsheets Mary Burris, from the JingleJangleJungle blog, kept a spreadsheet using Google Docs. It contained a complete list of the linky parties she attended, the days it occurred, and the sites. It had the niche, the linky name, and the URL. If you click “insights,” Google then analyzes the data on the spreadsheet for you with colorful graphs. For example, it gives “insights” into what percentage of parties occur on which days. Mary’s list contained 117 linky parties! Bloggers are often on the lookout for a way to make an income. Would a list of 117 linky parties be of value to bloggers? She could accept payment, and then easily Email the list using the “Share” button.
- Power Points Many bloggers are embedding power points in their posts using Google Docs.
- Incentives A blogger used a template on a slide to make an incentive, a media kit. It was visually appealing since it was on a predesigned template, and I bet it didn’t take her long at all to fill in the template with the information for the media kit.
- Portfolios If you are an artist who needs to present your work electronically, you should store your work in the portfolio template. If ever anyone is interested, it takes seconds to click “share” to show it to them. The days of lugging large portfolios around to interviews are gone.
Other Testimonials For Google Docs
Quicksprout’s Neil Patel says, “Even basic tools such as Google Docs… go a long way when it comes to keeping track of things.”
Disadvantages of Google Docs
- A Google account is required to use Google’s tools. You might want to share a document with someone who doesn’t have a Google account.
- Microsoft Word Uses Grammarly.
- It is easy to attach files to a Microsoft Word Doc.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although there are advantages to using Microsoft Word instead of Google Docs, overall, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
In addition to the advantages stated, all of Google’s tools can be modified. You can change the colors and font sizes and styles, for example. If you did want to invest money in Google Docs, there are additional add ons you can purchase like a thesaurus and chart maker.
Use Google Docs, and you will be more productive, more in vogue with today’s technology, more connected with other people you come into contact with online, and richer for not having spent any money to pay for any of these tools.
Please share, so that other bloggers are aware of the power of Google Docs.
Readers, which do you prefer, Google Docs or Microsoft Word? Why? Are there any other uses for Google Docs? I look forward to your views.
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