Writing comes naturally to some people, while others have to work at it. If you find yourself in the latter camp, I’ve come up with 10 free content writing tools to make you a better copywriter.
These helpful content writing tools will help you research blog ideas, improve your grammar, stay focused and entice readers to check out your words.
So, read on, take note and watch your copywriting skills explode!
1. Answer The Public – content ideas
One of the best free content writing tools out there for researching blog ideas is Answer The Public.
Using search data, it invites you to type in one or two keywords, then scours the web to find searches relating to your topics.
For example, if you’re writing content for a bakery, you could enter the word “chocolate” into Answer The Public and hit search. Immediately, you’ll see 80 search terms relating to chocolate that could spark new blogs. Examples on this search included:
- When was chocolate invented?
- Which chocolate is vegan/gluten-free?
- Why chocolate is good for you
- How is chocolate made?
Instantly, you have four strong blog topics which will capture search traffic, inform readers and position the bakery as an expert in all things chocolate, through simple content writing. Excellent food for thought (sorry).
2. Grammarly – spelling and grammar aid
Grammarly is the godfather of free content writing tools.
Add it as an extension to your web browser, then let it loose on your writing.
It will pick up any typos and grammar errors in your content, so you can correct your content before posting it.
As it runs constantly in the background, you can update your content as you go, and avoid missing any glaring errors in your writing.
While the free version corrects most spelling and grammar mistakes, there’s a premium version that helps improve your writing further.
3. ProWritingAid – spelling, grammar and content writing tool
If Grammarly’s free package isn’t enough to polish up your prose and you feel the need to invest more in your writing form, ProWritingAid could be the one.
Sadly, it’s not free, so I’ve technically cheated by including it here. However, this useful content writing tool offers a free trial version, so you can check it out before you invest.
If you’re concerned about the quality of your writing, ProWritingAid can help you improve your content.
Download the Chrome extension and it will not only correct your spelling and grammar but also help you remove unnecessary words, banish the dreaded passive voice and spruce up your writing.
I’ve given it a whirl to check out the benefits, and while confident writers probably wouldn’t deem it worth the money, it could be a smart investment if you’re keen to write your own content but spelling and grammar aren’t your strong suits.
4. BuzzSumo – blog ideas
Another SEO tool to help you plan blog ideas is BuzzSumo.
The basic version is a free content writing tool that enables you to search for a topic or keyword, then view the top blogs on this subject. Each article displays ranking and social shares, so you can easily view how popular and successful a post has been.
You can also use BuzzSumo to find influencers, track competitors, and set up alerts for keywords, brands, or websites.
Using the keyword “chocolate” again (I must be hungry), BuzzSumo comes up with links to two existing articles with the following titles:
- Cheesecake stuffed with chocolate-covered strawberries
- McDonald’s Introduces Ice Blended Chocolate With Oreo
Another two inspired content ideas to set you off writing your next blog.
If you like the tool and want to pay to upgrade, you can unlock more content ideas and organise results by engagement on different platforms to suit your marketing plan and audience. There’s a free trial so you can try before you buy.
5. Ubersuggest – SEO and content ideas
Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest offers similar content suggestions to BuzzSumo by trawling the web for the highest-ranking content on your topic.
A free version existed prior to COVID-19, but right now most of the tools on Ubersuggest are free, so it’s a brilliant time to sign up and take advantage.
You can also use Ubersuggest to find keywords for your blog and get an SEO audit for your website.
Sticking with the chocolate theme, Ubersuggest comes up with the following blog writing ideas, based on high ranking existing articles:
- Research shows that eating chocolate cake for breakfast is good for the brain and the waistline
- This is what “self-care” really means, because it’s not all baths and chocolate cake
- Triple chocolate cheesecake with Oreo crust
- Chocolate peanut butter gooey butter cake
- Chocolate turtle apple slices
- Chocolate chip cookies and cream cookies
- The most amazing chocolate cake recipe
This shows recipes are popular, so you can start writing some chocolate-covered content to give your customers what they crave.
6. Google Trends – content ideas
Google Trends is one of the most fascinating free content writing tools out there.
You can choose whether to view the most searched words and phrases in the world, or enter your chosen keyword and see what’s been trending on this topic.
Choose your date range to update your search to suit your purposes.
For example, searching the word “chocolate” over the past 12 months shows the following results:
- Advent calendar 2019
- White chocolate coco pops
- Chocolate orange twirl
- Hot chocolate bomb
- Pure heavenly chocolate
This reflects chocolate-related trends and interests over the course of a year, which could form part of your general content writing schedule.
If you want to write a topical blog for your industry, you can narrow the time frame to view more recent trends. The same search for the past monthproduces the following results:
- Chocolate cornflake nests
- Nigella white chocolate cheesecake
- The Little Welsh Chocolate Co
- Chocolate quiz questions
- Chocolate bar quiz
As I write this, we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the lockdown mentality is clear in this search overview: we have an enormous appetite for home baking and virtual quizzes right now. Therefore, if you want to write a blog or social content about something topical, this is how to find it.
7. BrainFM – content writing focus tool
For many people, staying focused is the major hurdle to writing content successfully.
If that’s you, BrainFM can help you zone into your writing and switch off the temptation to scroll social media aimlessly.
BrainFM offers your first two hours for free, which should be plenty to see if it works for you. There is a paid version after this, but if it’s given you an appetite for motivational music, you can always track down similar sounds for free on Spotify or SoundCloud.
It promises results in under 10 minutes, so if you’re on a deadline and need to focus on your writing urgently, it could be a shrewd way to find your content creating mojo.
8. Headline Analyzer – free writing tool
The Headline Analyser tool from CoSchedule aims to help you up your title game.
Copy and paste your blog title into the search bar, then await your results. It will rate the structure, grammar, and readability of your headline, suggesting areas for improvement if the score is low. The tool also gives feedback on how emotive your title is and previews how it will appear in search and inboxes.
Headline Analyzer also offers handy tips and links you to useful blogs on writing better headlines.
(And in case you were wondering, the title of this blog scored a respectable 73%).
9. WordCounter – free writing tool
Contrary to the name, WordCounter counts not only words. It’s actually a nifty little content writing tool that checks spelling and grammar, helps you improve your writing style, highlights repetition and plagiarism, and gives you SEO feedback.
Paste your content into the box and WordCounter instantly checks and analyses your writing. You can edit your content in WordCounter, using its handy auto-save feature.
10. Focus Writer – content writing focus tool
Focus Writer is a free writing tool for improving your concentration when writing content.
Simple yet effective, it hides everything on your screen other than the document you’re working on, so you can focus on your writing and shut out all the distractions.
Say goodbye to the websites and apps that regularly stop you in your tracks during a writing session and say hello to productive and successful content writing sessions.
Have you tried any of these free content writing tools? Do you have any others to help fellow content creators produce better writing?
If you need any support with your copywriting, drop me a line and let's see if I can help - hello@wordsbyali.com
