Remington Begg
Being a content writer means a lot of things - researching industries you know nothing about, writing about several different topics each day, jumping between projects, and more. But we all know that one of the biggest defining factors is that we write. A lot.
Being a remarkable content writer is more than being a talented wordsmith - you also need to be organized, efficient, and resourceful. All of that can be incredibly overwhelming at times, especially since writing content all day every day isn’t easy. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t tools out there that can make your life easier.
Below are seven tools that will help you write, edit, design, organize, and manage your content marketing efforts.
1. Grammarly
As a content marketer, this is one tool you can’t live without. Grammarly is an application that checks for spelling mistakes and detects 250+ grammatical errors (even ones you didn’t know existed. Honestly, what is a squinting modifier?). The program isn’t perfect, and there will be times where you’ll think, “no Grammarly, that’s NOT what I meant.” But overall, it’s a solid tool that you can’t afford to be without.
2. Hemingway App
According to their website, Hemingway App makes your writing bold and clear. Simply go to their website, copy and paste your text into the app, and it will give you specific suggestions on how you can improve your writing. Hemingway App picks out overly complicated words and phrases and suggests alternatives, and it shows you instances of passive voice and adverbs. The app also judges the reading level of your writing by analyzing sentence structure and the words you use. This is useful when you’re trying to create concise copy because it helps you cut out unnecessary words and phrases - ultimately making your writing easier to read.
3. Canva
Canva isn’t directly related to writing, but it’s a must-have tool for content marketers who need images and designs for their content. Canva is a tool that makes it easy to create images for blogs, social media, presentations, documents, and more. If you aren’t a wizard with Photoshop or InDesign, Canva is perfect for you. They have templates with pre-made designs that you can customize, or you can create your own from scratch. You can customize your designs with free images, photo filter, free icons and shapes, and hundreds of font. And best of all, it’s free!
4. Trello
Trello is a simple way to organize ideas, blog topics, links, documents, and more. Each board is made up of lists, and each list contains multiple cards. Cards can easily be moved within lists and can also be copied between boards. We use Trello as a way to organize blog topics for all of our clients. Trello makes it easy for us to brainstorm ideas for blog topics, to quickly see where blogs are in the approval process, and to see who is working on what. The best part of Trello is how easy it is to organize all of your information in one place.
5. Evernote
If you work with a team, Evernote is one tool you absolutely need. Evernote makes collaboration a breeze, and it’s great for note-taking during client meetings and for storing blog topics, links, documents, and more. It’s the perfect tool for keeping all of your ideas organized in one place, and Evernote makes it simple to share notebooks and notes with other members of your team.
6. Pocket
As a writer, you know that inspiration strikes at the most random times. Pocket is a simple browser extension and app that allows you to save articles that you want to read later. Maybe you’re browsing on Twitter and see an article you want to read, but you don’t have time at that moment. Or you just want to save an article that you think is really awesome. All you need to do is click the button and voila! Saved to Pocket. Now, you can read it whenever you’re ready.
7. HubSpot
We couldn’t conclude this list without adding in our favorite tool of all: HubSpot! HubSpot brings together everything you need to execute an inbound marketing strategy including blogging, SEO, social media, email, workflows (automation), contact lists, calls-to-action, landing pages, analytics, and CRM integration. HubSpot makes inbound marketing a breeze because you no longer have to jump from platform to platform to get everything done.
The tools above will help you create your content, but remember, it’s up to you to make sure the quality is up to par. The brain and heart behind your content matters more than any piece of technology - and that’s a good thing for all you passionate content marketers out there.
What tools or apps do you use to create content more easily? Tell us in the comments below!