I always cringe when I see grammar errors on a blog post. I imagine my face contorting to resemble a child eating lime for the first time. It detracts from the message and makes the writer seem lazy.
However, grammar tools are not the only copywriting tools you need. Other important tools include keyword research, plagiarism checker, readability, and word tools that communicate your message.
Copywriters who care about their trade work with tools. It keeps your writing neat, ensures it flows nicely, and drives engagement. Here are some of the tools I recommend.
15 Copywriting Tools You Need For Success
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Grammarly – Proofread and Check For Grammar Errors
42.5% of respondents in a UK study of 1,003 web users were influenced by grammar and spelling blunders. First impressions matter.
Research shows that a mistake on a sales copy could cut your profit in half. This article in the BBC poor posits that spelling cost UK businesses millions of pounds in lost revenue.
There are professional copywriters who believe that Grammarly sucks. They argue that Grammarly edits elements that make the content unique and readable.
To an extent, they are right. The trick is to use Grammarly with caution. I read each piece of content three times but I don’t see all the errors. Grammarly highlights the errors I missed.
It’s not a replacement for a human editor but the premium version comes close. If you work with Google Docs, the Chrome browser extension for Grammarly comes in handy.
Read this article to discover grammar mistakes you’re making in your copy and learn how to fix them.
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Copyscape – Check for Plagiarism
Google hates plagiarised content. You lose credibility, your rankings suffer and no one takes you seriously. A death sentence for your business.
You also risk spending a lot of money on a lawsuit if the original publisher sues for copyright.
Copyscape is the best plagiarism checker on the internet that ensures you’ve not duplicated content.
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The Hemingway App – Remove Jargon From Your Copy
Does your content read more like business jargon and less like a website copy?
Neil Patel says that nobody loves reading jargon. It sounds pretentious and obscures the true meaning of your message.
Hemingway App is a free copywriting tool that breaks down jargon into easily consumed words your audience understands.
Copy and paste your content into the editor and it will highlight complicated sentences that are hard to read and passive voice you can improve.
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CoSchedule Headline Analyser – Write Headlines Optimized for Search
According to David Ogilvy, the father of copywriting, five times as many people will read the headline and skip the content.
An article on Upworthy gets 75,000 Facebook likes. They became the king of Facebook clickbait by crafting influential headlines that trigger curiosity. The headlines are conversational and geared towards driving shares on social media.
You’ve read thousands of blog posts, product descriptions, and landing pages. It’s the reason you bought a handbag you didn’t need. Words have the power to convince, but it’s invisible without a great headline.
CoSchedule Headline Analyzer is a useful tool that drives traffic and shares. They recommend a score above 70. Headlines that perform the best in terms of shares, SEO, and traffic include how-to, lists, and question headlines.
For more specific information, scroll down the page to find the full report. The goal is to hit the perfect balance in common, uncommon, emotional, and power words.
Learn more about writing a powerful headline in this article.
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Read-able – Check the Readability of Your Copy
Search engine algorithm is based on human behavior on a web page. Readers spend more time on content when you improve readability. It also increases social signals, reduces exit rate, and bounce rate.
As a rule of thumb, a 10-year-old child should read your copy without using a dictionary or scratching their head to find the meaning.
If you’re looking for a free tool, Read-able gets the job done. Upload your content and Read-able accurately tests the content for readability. It ensures that your copy corresponds with the reading level of your target audience.
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Google Drive – Save Space When You Store Documents Online
When I was writing content for my website, I went back and forth with my web designer almost every hour. Instead of sending him emails, I uploaded the content and images to Google Drive. My editor also has to correct errors.
It’s the best way to deliver content to your clients. The UI is user-friendly. 15 GB of space should suffice for a long time. Upload the content to your drive and share the file with your client.
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Stock images – Increase Engagement
I love visuals. Online content looks bland and stripped down without it. The right image communicates your message faster than words.
It motivates the reader to keep scrolling and increases engagement. According to Copypeer, images increase readership by up to 94%.
Images drive traffic from the image search engine when you’ve optimized the image Alt text.
Shutterstock is a premium stock site with the largest collection of images. You can find images for almost any topic under the sun.
If you want high-quality free images, visit Pixabay, Flickr, Unsplash, and Pexels. Sometimes I get lucky and find incredible images that are similar to Shutterstock’s.
Love customizing images with text and other editing functions, Canva has an awesome free version where you can upload pictures, and edit for your blog posts.
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Thesaurus.com and Dictionary.com – Find Alternative Words to Avoid Repetition
Two years ago, I was part of a team that worked on a large product description project. The client was a discount coupon website.
Some of the products were similar. We struggled to find words that described those products without seeming repetitive. When we hit a brick wall, Thesaurus bailed us out every time.
Both websites are easy to use but Thesaurus.com is more comprehensive. Install the add-on for Microsoft Word if you don’t want to visit their website.
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Google Docs – Collaborate with Clients Without Boundaries
I am not a huge fan of Google Docs. I live in Abuja where the internet fluctuates like a dying battery. When some of the features stop working, my brain feels like it’s going to explode. My body heats up and I get an overwhelming urge to pound my laptop on the floor.
My craziness aside, Google Docs is a sweet tool if your internet connection is reliable. My client can see the changes I make in real-time.
It’s like using Microsoft Word for writing copy but on the cloud. You don’t have to worry about losing your document because the changes are almost instantaneous.
You can also import Microsoft Word documents and edit them in Google Docs. It’s fast, quick, and easy to share. Best of all, it’s free!
Update:
I am now a huge fan of Google Docs and I explain why in this article where I discuss my favorite SEO content writing tools.
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Rhyme Zone – Take Your Copy to The Next Level
Before copywriting, secondary school was the only time I worried about rhyming. We were trying to be the next great songwriter. We assumed rhyming was the only skill required. Oh young Chima, how naive you were.
Rhyme Zone is a valuable tool that elevates your copy. They make your copy more captivating. Rhyme Zone takes your copy from ordinary to magnificent.
Enter a word in the box and pick from the menu. Choose from near rhymes, rhymes, lyrics, synonyms, related words, antonyms, similar words poems, and lyrics.
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Idioms Dictionary – Find Out-of-the-Box Ideas
I know what you’re thinking. Idioms and copywriting do not have a relationship. If you’re brave (most copywriters stay clear.
They don’t want to take a risk.) or looking for fresh ideas for your landing page copy, try an idiom. Its’ better than a clichéd expression your readers have seen before.
Type in the keyword for your copy and choose an idiom that fits. We guarantee that it will grab your audience’s attention.
Keyword Research
Keyword research takes time. It is a crucial part of good copywriting that ranks high on Google. It is also the bedrock of an online marketing campaign.
The goal is to determine what your target audience is looking for and how to rank high for those keywords.
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Ahrefs – Go Deeper than Anyone Else
Ahrefs has the largest content index. You can filter results by topic, word count, shares, time, traffic, and more. Ahrefs is the best keyword research and link building tool but it comes with a hefty price tag.
This article offers more information on how to use Ahrefs for link building.
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SEMrush – All in one SEO and Content Marketing Tool
Most digital marketers, Search marketers, and SEO copywriters have a running subscription to SEMrush for a reason.
For a Guru plan, you have access to multiple toolkits that help you manage social media, SEO, content marketing, PPC, competitive research, and more.
You can do keyword research, find topic ideas around your keyword, get semantic entities, determine word count, and check the readability of your copy.
If you’re looking for something that covers the entire spectrum, this is the tool. If you run a WordPress site or use Google Docs, you can integrate SEMrush from these tools.
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LongTailPro – Find Long Tail Keywords
If you have a seed keyword and you want to generate a ton of keywords, LongTailPro can help.
Start a campaign, add a seed keyword, and filter results by keyword volume, competition, length, profitability, and more.
You can also export your keyword list to Excel, import keyword lists, and manage multiple campaigns in LongTailPro.
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Kill Procrastination with Pomodoro
I work better with a deadline. There is an adrenaline rush that feels like I’ve drunk five cans of Red Bull. I am super alert and I can’t stop writing until I finish.
When the adrenaline wears off and its’ time to work on the next task, I feel lethargic and put it off until tomorrow. Tomorrow is the next deadline.
I know many writers struggle with productivity. Pomodoro will help you get more done. Set a timer for 25 minutes and take a short break when the timer rings.
At the end of the workday, check the time you spent on tasks. The app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple’s app store for $1.99
Conclusion
The best technique for writing is to write the first word. If you write without conducting keyword research, testing your headlines, or running your copy on a plagiarism software, your copywriting will fall short. Use these copywriting tools to streamline your writing process and deliver a superb copy.
Need help with a copywriting project? Schedule a free consultation now.
Thank you for the informative blog post on copywriting tools. I will definitely check Hemmingway and Read able to improve my content.
Let me know how it goes, John!
Thank you! For a freelance writer, it’s not always easy to afford a paid subscription to such tools. And one of the pros of working in an agency is that they can share their paid accounts to make it easier for you to work for them. I work for Contenteam presently, and they help a lot, with Grammarly premium, for instance. And they tipped me off about another tool – Cliche finder. Pretty effective. As for Grammarly – it has its faults, but at least it makes you switch on your brain to re-check the text.
Semrush and Ahrefs – almost a daily routine.
glad you found this useful, Mary
Excellent blog post. The Yoast SEO tool is an excellent SEO and copywriting tool. Thank you for providing the information, please continue to share such useful information with us.
Copywriting is very effective and tools of right type can do things a lot simple for you. Thank you so very much for your article. This is really good information. It’s great to visit your blog. It really gives me some insight into this subject.
so glad you found it useful, Alex
I can relate with the internet fluctuations from my side too. Horrible!
And yes, Grammarly works… everytime!
Chima, thank you for sharing these resources!! This is incredibly helpful for me starting out as a freelance copywriter! I’ve read a lot of blogs and tips from experienced copywriters on this and that but you are the first to share solid, actual tips and advice that I can relate to. I just came across your LinkedIn profile this morning and can’t stop reading your blog articles! They are so relatable, fascinating, and provide so much valuable insight! I hope to one day write as effortlessly as you do.
Thanks for the Pomodoro app… will surely, download it. And that Red Bull one was relatable. Haha.
But, I don’t know, I’ve not a good experience with unsuck it. I tend to avoid this tool.
Anyway, thanks for the article.
I’ll be updating the article soon with more recent tools I’ve tried out, Arpit
Really appreciate your recommendations on grammar and spelling plus how to rank better in Google.
thanks Albert!
I had to bookmark most of the websites.
Very informative. Thank you and keep sharing.
I’m so happy you found this article useful Patrick
I like Grammarly, I find it helpful. I also like using a task managing tools to deal with my tasks more efficiently, keep the deadlines, and save time on figuring out what to do next. I use kanbantool.com for that purpose, it’s a great tool.
I also love Grammarly. And I’m impressed that you have your schedule and tasks so organized
Great post with lots of good information.