08 Aug Top 14 Tools That Will Help You Create Better Content via @infobrandz
On top of the exhaustive amount of content research you need to conduct, you also have to spend hours – if not days – into developing and polishing the content itself.
Having the right skill set and tenacity is a good start.
But if you really want to produce content that stands out from the competition, you also need to be well-equipped.
Remember, content development is an art that requires mastery of the tools of the trade.
But with a slew of tools out there, finding the ones that fit your needs can be tricky.
In this post, we’ll discuss the best and proven tools that will up your content game.
These tools will span different areas of content development, such as research, editing, and analytics.
Let’s hop right in.
Content Research
In content writing, the challenge actually starts way before you type in the first word.
If you’ve been in this field for a while, you’re probably familiar with the feeling of having no idea what to write.
This is especially true if you’re expected to produce several pieces per week.
Fortunately, there are dozens of content research tools that can help you get in tune with your niche.
1. BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo simplifies the entire content research process by pulling in popular posts based on keywords.
Results can be sorted according to their reach in social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
This will allow you to scrape ideas that capture your target audience’s interest.
You can also play with the filters found on the left to further refine your search.
For example, you can look specifically for “how-to” posts, narrow your search down to a specific country, exclude a certain domain, and more.
2. Ubersuggest
While intended as a tool for keyword research, Ubersuggest can also help you find content ideas that will get your audience’s attention.
It works by expanding the seed keyword using suggestions from Google Suggest and Google Ads Keyword Planner.
In some cases, Ubersuggest results include keyword ideas that can be used as content titles right off the bat.
These are usually “long-tail” keywords that include three or more terms.
To prioritize them in your search, click the small down arrow next to the “Keyword” column:
3. LeadFWD
Leadfwd is a website where you can turn an unknown visitor into a potential lead.
Sounds so good to your ears, right? It does!
Who doesn’t want a lead?
This is what digital marketing agencies crave all the time. Lead is the most important thing for any digital marketing company.
The name might suggest that it is not a tool that helps your content creation, then you can’t be more wrong.
It tells you how a visitor spent their time on your website and shows the graph of the session. Based on that, you can alter your content and make people spend more time on your website.
Additionally, you can convert them into leads as well.
With the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the tool can scan your website in real-time to deliver dozens of insights.
For example, the company sector, contact info, key personnel, social footprint and many more are very much needed to contact the prospect.
Yes, it can be hard to learn about the new tool, but the user interface of this tool is very easy to work with for any new user.
4. Awario
Awario lets you monitor and listen to people’s conversations on social media. It is a great tool to have at your disposal for your business development.
Using this social listening tool, you can spot and correct the mistakes you’re making with your content – if any.
Yes, there might be odd and irrelevant conversations about your website, but hey, that’s what you get with the internet sometimes. Just ignore it and you will be fine using this tool.
5. Portent’s Content Idea Generator
Portent’s Content Idea Generator is another awesome tool that can give you ideas within seconds.
Some may find it too gimmicky and less functional than the previous ones, but since it’s completely free, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Besides, it’s more than able to produce interesting and unique content ideas that can pique your audience’s interest:
6. Quora
Sometimes, the best source of attention-grabbing content ideas is the online community itself.
Q&A websites like Quora, for example, is a great way to be in touch with what your target audience is asking.
You simply need to use the built-in search feature and a handful of useful suggestions should pop up:
Take note that you can also leverage Quora to promote your content by offering it as an answer. This can help your content reach the right people and turn more of them into prospective leads.
7. Reddit
Apart from Quora, Reddit is also filled to the brim with content ideas supplied by its massive user base.
It’s basically a discussion site that has specific subcommunities or “subreddits” for everything, be it content marketing or plumbing.
You can also use Reddit as intended by asking for feedback and insights that can help you improve.
In some cases, this will also help you find partnership opportunities with other content marketers.
Collaboration
Content marketers function better as a group. Keep in mind that the biggest and most authoritative websites are made by multiple people, not just by one person.
There’s usually someone who does content research, writers who do the heavy lifting, editors who maintain quality, marketers who handle distribution, and so forth.
To make such a setup work, you need a platform that streamlines collaboration, file sharing, and project tracking.
Here are some of your top options:
8. Google Docs
Many content marketing teams today use Google Docs. This cloud-based document editing platform allows multiple users to seamlessly work in a single place.
The first thing you’ll notice is the simple interface that also seemed to be toned-down in terms of features.
However, Google Docs has all the relevant features you’ll ever need from a word processor.
You can customize your fonts, create bulleted lists, insert tables, add images, and so on.
Google Docs also allows you to quickly share a file with other users through the conveniently placed “Share” button on the upper-right corner of the screen.
From which, you can also specify the access privileges of those who get the link to your document:
If users are given the ability to at least leave comments, they would be able to do so by highlighting certain parts of the content:
9. Asana
Asana is another tool that helps your business a lot, especially in organizing things in order.
Asana will let you systematically organize your tasks with no room for confusion.
It is just a simple tool that lets you know the tasks assigned to you and when you should submit them.
At first, you might be facing some issues, but later on, you will get up to speed, you don’t even want to switch to another one. It is that EASY!
10. Slack
Slack! If you are working for a remote team, you most probably know what it is already.
Slack is designed to replace your traditional email communication. Slack lets you communicate with your company staff in private or groups.
It also serves the purpose of sharing files, images, audios, and videos, etc.,
Though it doesn’t add much value to your communication, it separates your professional life mails from your personal life mails.
It also adds value to the company’s management as you can monitor at what time your employees are logging in and logging out.
At this point, you might be thinking, how does it help the content creation?
Here is the trick. In any organization, communication among all departments is crucial, so it lets you know what the SEO department is expecting from the content department.
Communication clears confusion, and hence makes way for proper content creation.
11. Dropbox Paper
If you already use a different communication app and simply need something that helps with file collaboration, then you should check out Dropbox Paper.
It’s a minimalistic, cloud-based app that allows you to write, add files, images, to-do lists, and pretty much everything else you’d expect from a word processor.
You could also invite other users to edit, comment, and share your document.
In other words, it’s the leaner and more straightforward version of Google Docs.
If you have to choose between Dropbox Paper and Google Docs, it all boils down to your team’s preferences.
SEO
Effective content marketers not only know how to produce engaging content, but they also know how to optimize content for search.
The quality of writing is an important factor, but there are also other details – the proper use of subheadings, keyword optimization, and so on.
Here are some of the tools that can help you zero in on content optimization in a jiffy:
12. Yoast SEO
As a content marketer, there’s just no way you’ve never heard of WordPress – the most-used content management system for website creation purposes.
If you currently use it in your projects, then the Yoast plugin is definitely a must-have.
Once installed, Yoast works by rating the readability and SEO-friendliness of your content in real-time. It also highlights the specific issues you need to be mindful of as you work:
You can also use Yoast to set a focus keyword for each individual post. This will provide you with a checklist of objectives that can ensure the optimization of your content.
Analytics
Let’s face it – even the most skilled content marketers in the world have room for improvement.
They only need a clearer view of certain performance metrics to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and how to turn these insights into data-driven decisions.
Here are some of the best tools that can help you accomplish all three goals:
13. Inspectlet
If you are wondering what the visitors have seen and read on your website, and how you can convert them from possible prospects into potential leads, then here is the solution for that.
So, what does it do?
It just records the videos of your user behavior who are visiting your website so that you can know how long they were on your website, and at what aspects they had concentrated more.
This is one of the main advantages of Inspectlet over the other analytic tools in the market.
This way, you can also come to know where your website is lagging if someone leaves your website after facing an issue on your website.
Based on these analytics, you can create your content, and make it more appealing to the readers.
14. Google Analytics
It’s impossible to leave out Google Analytics if we’re talking about the top analytics tools.
Google Analytics is a free platform that can help you improve your content.
With Google Analytics, you can easily measure important engagement metrics such as page views, average session duration, and bounce rate.
This will allow you to identify specific types of content that appeal to your existing audience.
For example, if you notice that your content on email marketing performs significantly better than other posts, you can double down on that topic to maximize your results.
To learn how to integrate Google Analytics into your website, you can follow their step-by-step guide here.
Conclusion
In the modern marketing landscape, content marketers are often required to wear many hats to do their jobs effectively.
After all, content is the lifeblood of any digital marketing strategy – the secret sauce that will help you establish your brand in the online world.
You can argue that content marketing isn’t all about who has the bigger guns. But in a competitive world, tools can definitely make a huge difference.
Hopefully, you can find all the tools you need to get ahead of the competition in the list above.
Image Credits
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita
All screenshots taken by author
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