Market watchers report that by 2021, the content creation industry will be worth around £320 billion. There is a massive demand for content globally, and with an annual growth of 16%, that figure will continue to grow.
So how do you earn your share? By producing quality content. The top earners in the industry earn their billions by following an elite process. They also invest in the best tools that money can buy to evaluate their work before they make it available to the world.
There are plenty of free tools that you as a copywriter can use, to enable you to become a top content writing service provider. Whether you are just starting out or have been a copywriter for a number of years, here are some tools to help.
1. It starts with an idea
You will only attract an audience if you write on current topics. Google is where everyone goes to find specific information, so it’s a great place to start. It offers a lot more than just its search engine, and the majority of their tools are free for you to use. Here are the best two that every aspiring writer can rely on:
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Google Trends
As the name suggests, it provides you with real-time data on how much traffic a particular topic is getting in your area. Type in your niche subject and you will receive statistics of the top related headings, search queries and the location that has the highest traffic.
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Google Alerts
Alerts are an effective way of keeping tabs on your topic of interest. You will receive a notification for every mention of your subject matter. You get similar information as you would from Google Trends.
You may have a topic in mind, but you are not sure if it is catchy enough. You can use Answer The Public to give you alternatives. After deciding on a title, it is time to start writing.
2. Quality is everything
Quality sells. Any copywriting agency worthy of its name will attest to this. A poorly written article can hurt you, but the biggest no-no in content creation is plagiarism. Duplicating another creator’s work without their consent may get you into legal trouble. Always proof your work before submitting it to clients or publishing it online. Some handy tools that can rescue you include:
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Grammarly
Grammarly is the go-to tool for anyone who writes and is the best way to check the quality of your work. It comes with many in-built checks to help you produce great content each time. Apart from helping you spot grammatical errors, you also have the options to check tone, audience, formality, readability, and intent. These are key in making sure you get it just right for your target readers. Grammarly is available as a stand-alone app or browser extension. It also works flawlessly with most writing software such as MS Word.
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ProWritingAid
If you write articles below the 500-word mark, then ProWritingAid is the tool for you. Other than grammar checking, you receive a writing report each time you proof your work. These will offer you insights into the areas that you need to work on, making you a better writer in the long run.
Other tools that you can use are Hemingway App and Cliché Finder Tool. These two offer plagiarism-checking tools, making sure every article that you write is original.
3. Timing is everything
Information gets stale very quickly in the copywriting service industry. To stay relevant in this business, you need to deliver content when demand is high. Your audience is always on the lookout for the next best thing. Research is integral to successful content writing. However, you may lose track and miss your deadlines if it takes too long. Should you ever find yourself in this situation, here are some helpful tools to steer you back.
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Stay Focused
Stay Focused is a Google Chrome extension which you can configure to limit how much time you spend on irrelevant sites. Social media is a major distraction for many writers. Blocking these sites during your working time will help increase your productivity.
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Squibler
Do random things easily distract you? Squibler helps you improve your concentration skills overtime. The tool is popular with authors and scriptwriters. It offers two types of functionality. Prompt mode generates random ideas for you to start writing on. You then have to complete an article within a set time. The dangerous mode is more severe. If you take more than three seconds before your next word, the tool starts deleting your work.
4. Always do quality control
Search engine optimisation, when done correctly, helps you stay ahead of the competition, and using catchy headlines and the right keywords will get you there. Content Row assesses the effectiveness of your heading by comparing it to what is already online. Google Keyword Planner has many filters that help you find, in detail, what works in your niche. Be wary of how you use the keywords. Too many of them will kill your content. WordCounter is a checking tool that gives you a report on the quality of your article. It uses parameters such as word density and readability, to determine whether your content is engaging enough.
5. Get feedback
A rule of thumb for those who do well in the content business is, to always monitor performance. You will be pushing content across different platforms. Identifying where you do best will help you focus your efforts. Scoop.it is a free-to-use tool that gives you daily reports on page views, shares and clicks.
All the tools above will help you greatly with your copywriting. If you need help with copywriting, however, please get in touch with us. We’re copywriting experts and we can transform your site thanks to our team of highly skilled writers.