Top 7 Best Free Tools for Writers
Want to make your life easier? Want to save time on your writing process so you can take your dog to the beach or rock climb? Yeah, me too. That’s why I use several tools to speed things up and inspire me.
There is an abundance of tools for motivation, research, grammar, and everything else you can think of. There’s even one that will show you pictures of kittens as a reward for doing a certain amount of work, (I prefer dogs myself).
As a copywriter, blogger, and marketing consultant I use a range of tools. These are the ones I use regularly and maybe they’ll be some help to you too.
I haven’t included any Google tools because they’re a whole other blog.
Grammarly
Spelling and punctuation tool
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I use this constantly. It’s downloaded on my computer and it automatically checks anything I write from Word documents to emails.
There are different versions. I use the free one because that’s all I need, plus I’m not made of money.
The free version checks your spelling, punctuation, and grammar. The two other versions can check tone, plagiarism, clarity, and other bits and bobs.
Once you download it, it will automatically work on any writing, underlining any issues. Simply click on it to see what the problem is, and it can change it for you.
This can be handy for emails and messages as sometimes when you’re freelancing, you’ve a lot to do, a lot of people to communicate with, and sending a quick email that has spelling mistakes in it doesn’t look good if writing is your job.
Especially as I am also a proofreader.
Just like any other spell check, it’s not always right. You still need to use your own head.
Last week I dashed off an email to my tutor (for my Diploma in Copywriting) and instead of writing, ‘Hi Chris’, I wrote, ‘Hi Christ’.
Hemingway app
Editing tool
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This app will highlight your words and sentences in different colours and inform you what’s wrong with them. It will highlight long or complicated sentences, words that need simplified, weak words and adverbs, or any passive voice in your writing. You can write directly into it or copy and paste your writing. It does have a word count limit, so if you have a long document you might need to copy and paste different sections.
Along the top is a toolbar like Word where you can format your work.
It gives a readability rate at the right-hand side and a word counter.
The free version is used on your desktop or you can download the desktop app for $19.99 which is still good value.
Toggl Track
Time tracking software
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If you find your day is done before you’ve finished half of the items on your to-do list, then a time management app is useful.
It’s particularly useful when you’re beginning to write for a living. You can see how long it takes you to write a blog, an email, social media posts, and whatever else you’ve got going on.
Then you can see roughly how long it takes you to do these tasks. This helps you not only to manage your tasks because you know how long each takes, but you can work out your pricing too, (which is a whole other blog).
Toggl lets you search by clients or the name of the project, to separate each task. If you manage a team then you can see the hours they’ve worked (if you think they’ve been spending their time on Twitter instead of working).
It also emails you a weekly report so you can see how you’re spending your time.
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It’s simple to use. Simply click the play button and stop it when you’re done. Or you can use the automatic mode, so you can put in a certain time period, like twenty minutes, and it will stop after that.
The only downside is if you forget to start or stop it.
Buzzsumo
Keyword tool
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Simply enter a keyword or domain and you can see what content is high performing, so you can create great content.
It’s great for keyword research and to identify influential people in your industry.
You can track comments and trends in your niche.
The free version has a monthly limit which is only a few searches, so you have to use it wisely, like a genie giving you three wishes.
SEMrush
Research tool
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SEMrush helps optimise your content.
Sign up for a free trial, then at end of the trial, you can downgrade for a SEMrush free subscription.
The free version limits the searches and data you see but it still provides a lot of useful information.
It includes keyword research, SEO, competitor analysis, link building, rank tracking, competitor SEO analysis, and social media management.
The paid versions may seem a little pricy but if you use it enough then it is good value and could really improve your content.
Answer The Public
Keyword tool
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I find this one so interesting and helpful. Answer The Public is a search listening tool.
Ignore the moving image of the suave man staring right at you when you enter the homepage. Seriously, why is he staring at me?
Enter a topic, brand or product in the search bar and it will give you every question asked about that topic and related searches.
It’s really helpful when you want to know what your audience’s questions are. Then you can include not only one of them but as many as possible in your blog, making you an authority on the subject and rank higher.
Co Scheduler Headline Analyzer
Checks your headlines
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Headlines are SO important.
Eight out of ten people will read the headline but two out of ten will read the copy. This just shows how vital your headline is in encouraging people to keep reading your work.
This tool gives you a headline score and an SEO score. It gives suggestions on how you could make your headline better, like use more power words and gives you suggestions of power words.
It gives the word count and character count which is very specific if you want people to read the rest of your copy.
It also includes a reading grade level, clarity, and skim ability. The majority of readers online will skim the text.
It tells you how your headline compares to competitors and keyword variations, plus related questions.
The free version is limited, and you need to enter your name and other personal details to use it, which other headline tools don’t require.
There you have it, my favourite and most used tools to make my writing better and save me time, so I can spend it patting dogs instead.
