Tarzan had a lot of tools at his disposal. He had more than strength and speed. In Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original novels, he had a taut rope, a crafty brain, excellent climbing ability, and the ability to speak many languages, including French, English, Dutch, German and many more. The King of the Apes had a lot of tools in his tool bag.
Content writers have a plethora of tools available as well. These tools turn good prose into masterful prose. Here are 15 tools that will help you become the leader of the pack.
Word2CleanHTML
Your blog posts are published with WordPress. Yet, they’re often not written there. The journey is fraught with peril. Word2CleanHTML helps you remove empty paragraphs, correct bold and italicized tags, and sheds non-breaking spaces, among other things. This tool helps your posts make the transition from Microsoft Word to WordPress.
Hubspot Blog Topic Generator
Thinking of unique blog topics is hard. You don’t want to rehash what everyone is saying. You want a title that stands out. You want to combine ideas and topics that others haven’t thought to combine.
That’s a tall order. Luckily, Hubspot’s Blog Generator assists you by coming up with a week’s worth of ideas in seconds. If anything, it will get the creative juices flowing.
Grammarly
Google Docs, Libreoffice, and Microsoft Word all have built-in spellcheck but they don’t have a grammar check. There are tons of little grammar rules that are easy to forget. Grammarly fixes those errors, so your writing is at its best. As a matter of fact, Grammarly boasts that it corrects 250 types of mistakes, many of which Microsoft Word cannot detect.
Hemingway App
The Hemingway App is a thing of beauty. It makes your writing clear and robust. How does it do this? It alerts you of long sentences, which can confuse the reader. It pushes you to use stronger verbs, by highlighting adverbs. It also highlights needlessly complex words, so you can reach more people with your writing.
The Hemingway App is amazing, and the browser version is free. Maximize it by learning when to disobey its suggestions.
Headline Analyzer
“Call me Ishmael.” That’s the first sentence of Moby Dick, and it’s one of the most famous lines in a famous book. The point? First impressions matter. You want your headlines to drive traffic to your site, to allude to the value in your article. The Headline Analyzer will show you how to improve your headlines.
Word Counter
Are you a freelance writer? Oftentimes, you’re paid by the word. Do you want to guest post on a site? Sometimes you’re given a word count minimum or maximum. Use this website to quickly check your word count. You can also check the keyword density of any article with this tool.
Cliché Finder
Leave no stone unturned in your hunt for clichés. It’s all fun and games until a competitor airs your dirty laundry, showing your penchant for clichés. You have an ace up your sleeve, an ace called Cliche Finder, so you don’t need to be afraid of those wily competitors.
In all seriousness, it’s easy to overuse cliches. Use the Cliche Finder to only sprinkle in the ideal amount.
Zen Writer
Writing is hectic. Facebook is in another tab, and you want to water your plants on Farmville. Or maybe you’re tempted to browse a music video playlist on YouTube. Whatever the case, the axiom out of sight, out of mind holds true. Use Zen Writer to eliminate distractions, as this software gives you a full screen, allowing you to focus on nothing but your writing, putting you one step closer to masterful prose.
Copyscape
Copyscape is a useful program. Sometimes marketers need to outsource writing to other freelancers. Copyscape allows you to check the content they deliver; you can make sure that it’s 100% original. Yet, the value of Copyscape goes beyond checking others. Occasionally, you need to check your own work.
Writers accidentally plagiarize other sources all the time. This is not a far-fetched concept. You have to research topics, and sometimes you subconsciously absorb that information exactly how it was presented. That material you absorbed leaks out on the page without you knowing it. Copyscape helps you avoid any embarrassment.
The software has a free version and a premium version. The free version allows you to compare webpages with other webpages, which is a useful feature. Yet, the real value is in the premium service. You can upload copy directly, meaning it doesn’t have to be on a webpage. Better still, each comparison is only $0.05, so it works for virtually any budget.
Un-Suck-It
Einstein said to make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. What do you think Einstein would think of technical jargon? He wouldn’t like it. Jargon puts up walls, but communication is supposed to tear down walls. That’s where Un-Suck-It comes in.
The service defines technical jargon in a simple way so everyone can understand it. Some jargon is elusive, and occasionally even the writer doesn’t know what it really means. Un-Suck-It allows you to unpack the phrase, and you can share your enlightenment with your readers. This will make you a better writer, and your readers will appreciate your deft understanding of ideas.
Rhymezone
Did you know that rhyming is an indicator of future reading success? If kids know their nursery rhymes, they’re more likely to be better readers. Rhyming lets you experience the beautiful rhythm of prose, the ability to make predictions for upcoming text, and the joy of expanding the imagination.
A natural thought is that rhyming is just for kids. Yet, people of any age can enjoy a good rhyme. Finding every single rhyme for a word is like finding Long John Silver’s treasure; it’s a tall order. Rhymezone assists you by unearthing words that you may miss.
Read-Able
You don’t have a long time to grab someone’s attention. Readable believes it’s only seven seconds. If your writing is confusing, then you’re abandoning a part of your audience. The great thing about Readable is that it does more than share the readability of your writing. It also lets you analyze the sentiment of your writing. Is your copy neutral, negative, or positive? Additionally, you can also analyze keyword density, which is vital for SEO.
Live Keyword Analysis
This is a simple website that helps you measure keyword density. You don’t even need to push submit, as the website updates automatically. A density analysis will help you rank for the keywords you want to rank for.
Test My Marketing
Test My Marketing is a paid tool. Your copy is perused by the best in the business, experts who understand the secrets of copywriting, professionals who can help you increase conversions. These people write copy for a living.
Hiring a professional copywriter is expensive. Test My Marketing begins at $69, so it’s much cheaper than hiring a full-time professional. It’s good to get feedback on your copy before you upload that new landing page. Increased conversions often means good copy pays for itself.
Ilys
This program likes to say it killed writer’s block. That’s an audacious claim. What does it really do?
Well, Ilys believes that your creativity explodes when you keep writing. They believe that the backspace button stifles creativity, and people need to keep a constant outflow of words. Instinctively, it feels wrong. People want to correct their mistakes instantly. Yet, Ilys says that’s what editing is for. Going back and erasing your work in the moment is a waste of time. The testimonials on the website are rock-solid. If you need to boost your output (and most writers do), this is a tool you need to check out.
Brainy Quote
Oscar Wilde said, “be yourself, everyone else is taken.” That’s a fascinating quote, and it applies to writing. Every writer, no matter how neutral they try to be, has their own voice. Great writers have a memorable voice, a voice that people like.
People wonder how they can get their own voice. Ironically, one way to improve your voice is to quote others. You may be known as the writer who quotes classic English literature, American sports figures, or the Greek philosophers. Yet, quoting, even though your borrowing words, boosts your own style.
Use Brainy Quote to find engaging quotes.
The Power of Content Writing Tools
Tarzan had many resilient foes. Yet, his original archenemy was Nikolas Rokoff, a devious count who employed underhanded tricks against him. Rokoff stranded Tarzan on a jungle island and kidnapped his wife.
Tarzan used his ability to quickly learn languages to bond with the natives and escape from the island. He used his strength, speed, and cunning to ultimately rescue Jane, and deliver justice to Rokoff.
As a writer, you don’t have to face a ruthless Russian count. Your Rokoff is bland content. How can beat your enemy? How can you stand out from other writers?
Delivering fascinating prose is one way to do that. Your goal is to be a writer that people love to read. Zoom ahead of the competition with these tools above.
