No it’s not cheating, trust me. These handy tools will make your life easier and your content stronger.
Ever heard of mental block? For content marketers it’s that moment when you can’t even think of a topic let alone begin writing the content. Then there’s the frustration of submitting work and noticing a typo or worse still, word repetition. Enter the content marketer’s toolbox – a set of go-to sites and resources that will put the good stuff back into your content.
Say goodbye to troublesome typos and neglected deadlines; these handy tools have got your back.
Content calendar
You need a content calendar. Simple. Planning your content weeks or even months before you write it allows you think carefully about what is most relevant to your audience. Before you know it, you’ll have the sweet satisfaction that your content is getting read and shared by the people who are most likely to get involved with your business. Plus, you know what you’re writing and who else is writing what and when, so you can meet every deadline without endlessly smashing away at the keyboard.
Hub Spot's Blog Topic Generator
Before you start filling out your content calendar with blogs and articles, have a go on HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator – a search engine that creates blog titles based on topics. You can put up to three words into the search and then let the generator do the hard work for you. If you type in ‘Content’ and ‘Blog’ and ‘Marketing’, for example, it comes up with the following results:
The worst advice you’ve ever heard about content
How to solve the biggest problems with blog
7 things about marketing your boss wants to know
Why we love content (and you should too)
15 blogs to follow about blog
They’re by no means perfect, but think of it more as an inspiration tool than one to give you the best converting title. It’s the tool to use when you’re wracking your brains for a title, and with five to go at, you’re bound to find one you can take as your starting point.
Asana
According to Asana, if you can use your email, you can use its app. It’s basically a ticket system where content can be assigned to team members. With your content calendar laid out in an online system everyone in the team can stay on track, and you can move tasks around so deadlines are never missed. People can comment on tasks and start conversations, and with loads of ideas in the mix, your content will flourish. The app can be used on PCs and laptops as well as tablets and phones, so it’s ideal for in the office and for home. Whether your team is in house, freelance or on the move between meetings, you are all on the same page, quite literally.
Trello
Similar to Asana, Trello helps you to organise your workflow so tasks are completed on time. It’s all about efficiency, so you can drag jobs to different lists – the checklist, the to-do list or the in-progress section. Tasks can be moved around the dashboard to show progress and when you’re working on a campaign it’s easy to see what needs to be completed first. You can create different boards for each project you’re working on so nothing gets neglected. Spend less time creating and updating spreadsheets, and more time doing what you do best – being a creative genius.
Google Calendar
You can’t go wrong with a good old Google Calendar. It’s the Filofax of the 21stcentury; the ultimate in organisation that once you’ve got you can’t live without. With all appointments, blog articles and tasks saved in an online calendar, you can access it anywhere and share it with your colleagues. Release your inner Monica from Friends and create a calendar for each campaign. #smugface
Hemingway
Once you’ve written your article, get Hemingway to give it a once over. Copy and paste your test into the app and it will highlight areas for improvement in five categories – complicated sentences, long sentences, complex words, adverbs and use of the passive voice. It then tells you what you need to do in order to streamline your copy and make it bolder. Before you know it, you’ll be the next Hemingway (sorry).
Grammarly
Avoid submitting typos and grammatical errors by putting your copy into Grammarly. It will tell you where you have gone wrong so you can correct it. Even the best writers make mistakes, and this site will help you get rid of them before it’s too late. It also picks up on duplicated content from over eight billion websites so you can make yours unique. Google will love you, and up and up your content will climb on the SEO ladder.
These tools are just a handful of all the apps and websites out there that are made for content marketers and bloggers. They are the ones I like the most and I know there are heaps around. Do you know of a tool that you think I would love? Leave a comment – and thanks, in advance.
