You may recall me writing about Evernote in my post: . However, a blogger friend recently reached out and asked me how I use Evernote because she hadn’t gotten into it herself. So, I felt a more detailed post was in order! So, if you haven’t used it before or you’re stuck wondering how it could help you with your blog/business, I’m sharing exactly how I use Evernote in my creative business.
But before I begin, I should probably explain what Evernote is for those of you who aren’t familiar. I like to think of Evernote as a digital notebook. It allows me to have individual notebooks for specific needs and I can save text notes, audio notes, or even sketch notes. While I love to jot things down in a physical notebook, having everything saved digitally in one place that I can access everywhere I go is a must!
Getting Organized With Notebooks and Stacks
To start off, I feel it’s best to talk about how I organize content within Evernote. The great thing about this tool is the ability to create countless notebooks so you can easily organize all of your content. (You can also tag your notes just like you might with a blog post, but this is something I don’t often take advantage of.) I have notebooks for everything from blogging and business, to inspiration, and more. Everything has a specific home in my Evernote. (Can you tell I love being organized?)
One of my favorite features about Evernote has to be the “stacks.” I actually have two stacks that are related to my blog/business and they have helped me to become even more organized. Stacks allow you to house multiple notebooks in one place. For an inside look into my Evernote, check out a screenshot of one of my stacks below:
Then, I have a “Business Stack,” for lack of a better name. Here, you’ll find four notebooks. I have a notebook where I save anything I’m working on related to my coaching services, ideas and drafts from the eBook I wrote, ideas and drafts for my social media course, and a notebook for housing any helpful tips and articles I’ve come across. (More on this in a bit.) I just like to have specific notebooks for each of my projects so all of my notes are right there together.
Being organized is important to me and I find it easy having everything all in one app and filed away within specific notebooks. I never have trouble finding anything. Plus, Evernote makes it easy to search all of your notes, too.
Storing Ideas for My Blog
One of the most obvious ways to use Evernote as a blogger is to store ideas. Yes, you can always handwrite your ideas in a notebook (which I do), but I also like to have things saved digitally as well. If I’m ever out and away from my laptop, I can quickly open Evernote on my iPhone and type up my idea. Then, whatever I’ve saved will be there when it syncs with the app on my Macbook Pro or on my iPad. I never have to worry about losing a piece of paper or letting an idea get buried in a notebook.
For example, I love to have all of my ideas for future blog posts saved in Evernote. And to keep it extra organized, I have just one note that stores all of my post ideas. There’s a single note within my “Ideas & To-Dos” notebook where I save all of my post ideas so I know exactly where to find them. Not only that, but they are also organized by category: blogging posts, business posts, social media posts, etc.
However, I don’t just save blog post ideas. I also save ideas for social media, my email newsletter, products, services, and any other ideas related to my blog/business.
Audio Notes
It’s not often I record audio notes in Evernote, but it does come in handy! If I’m every busy and an idea strikes or I come up with something great for a future blog post, I’ll either quickly type it or create an audio note to refer to later. Of course, I could use the voice memo app on my iPhone, but by using Evernote I know all of my audio notes and text notes are there in one place.
One of the great ways you can utilize the audio notes feature is to dictate your blog posts. If you find you’re a better speaker than writer, talk out your blog posts and record yourself through Evernote. Then, all you have to do is transcribe it later to be posted on your blog. Easy!
Sketch Notes
If you’re feeling the urge to be creative with your note-taking, try creating a sketch note! Sketch notes are perfect if you want to draw or handwrite something (and helpful if you don’t have paper on hand). I don’t use this quite as much as traditional text notes, but it has come in handy when I’ve needed to sketch ideas for worksheets I’ve designed for the library. However, if you are a designer and you need a place to sketch ideas digitally, sketch notes will definitely do the trick!
Evernote Web Clipper
Another way I like to use Evernote is by having their Web Clipper extension on my Google Chrome browser. If you ever come across an article that you want to save for later, the Web Clipper makes it easy. The great thing about it is that you have the ability to save the full article, a simplified copy of the article, the full page, a bookmark, or a screenshot. Within the Web Clipper, you can also choose which notebook you want to save it to and even add tags to make it easy to find later. Check out a screenshot of it below:
Other Features…
A few other great features about Evernote: checklists and reminders. While I still rely on notepads for making to-do lists, the checklist option in Evernote is great to use as well. It’s still just as satisfying to check off the boxes when you’ve completed a task!
If you’re ever worried you’ll forget about one of your notes, just set a reminder for it! You can set a due date and allow email notifications when setting reminders for your notes.
The Best Thing About Evernote
Evernote just works. As I mentioned before, I’ve been using this amazing tool since 2009 to help me stay organized and keep all of my ideas in one place. I have Evernote installed on my Macbook Pro, my iPhone, my iPad, and even my Kindle Fire. I literally take this app with me wherever I go. And I know that no matter where I upload a new note, it will sync and I’ll have it across all of my devices.
Even though I am a paper goods addict who hoards notebooks and notepads, it’s still great to have things saved digitally as well. Evernote keeps me organized and ensures I always have the information I need handy.