When you are like me and you write a lot of content then you are probably always looking for the next new tools that will make your life easier. Here is my collection of tools that I would like to share with the community.
1. Canva
Canva is a great and free design tool that you can use to design title images, infographics and any social media image you need. It is completely free to use and offers great templates and ideas from other users. This way you never run out of ideas and have the chance to become quite good with designing. If you are using this tool you can also start to create your own branding. Maybe work with some form of design pattern that is coherent throughout all your content. This way people will recognize if the content is coming from you. Certainly helpful if you are creating content for a community like Steemit.
2. Buzzsumo
Have you ever wondered how many people search for certain topics and how many share an article got on social media? The time has come where you can surface all that data with Buzzsumo and research content ideas for all over the world. Buzzsumo lets you find the most shared content and keywords. It’s a great tool for your initial research phase.
3. HubSpot Blog title Generator
Coming up with the perfect title is not always easy. It usually takes me 2-5 iterations to nail down the right title for my posts. The title generator will make your life much easier because it gives you great suggestions if you just add your topic and start searching.
4. Trello
If blogging is something you do on a regular basis then you’re probably thinking about ideas all the time. Trello is a great way to organise yourself and add topics/ideas to a list. Trello is also great if you are working with somebody else because you can share the board and both add ideas to it. I use Trello for a lot of different things and like the way it is a combination of a calendar and an ideas board.
5. Keyword Planner
Keyword planner can be used for your initial research phase and is very important if you want to optimise your posts for visibility and ranking in Google. Depending on your keywords you can see how much the term is trending and what the volume of search is. That will help you to identify your key terms and make sure that you have a high visibility when it comes to search results.
6. Grammarly
Grammarly is a simple but useful tool because it checks your grammar and gives you tips to improve your writing style.
7. Hemingway
Hemingway is a more complex app that gives you direct advice on how to structure your sentences and how many verbs and adjectives you should use. Once your done with your text, Hemingway grades your text with a ”Readability” score.
8. Death to the Stock photo
Images grab out attention immediately but it can be very tricky to find free stock images online. Most sites want you to pay for the rights on the images and the free ones that are out there are not nice. On this site you can sign up for a monthly newsletter where you receive a batch of free stock photos every month. The photos are good quality and can be used in any way.
9. Click to Tweet
Every blogger wants their post to be shared hundreds or thousands of times because that means that readers want to share the good article with their network and that ultimately results into more visits to your post. Click to tweet is a simple but effective tool that can be in a post to make sharing certain parts of your post easier. You generate the link with the tool and then people can click and tweet the text instantly.
"Foolproof Formula for a Successful Post on Steemit: 7 Ingredients for Success" Click to tweet: http://ctt.ec/G2z30
10. Spreeder.com
If you’re like most people, you have a lot of books you want to read but can’t find the time. The internet is full of content and it can be hard to consume the amount presented to us in a given day. Spreeder will train you up, to become a faster reader. It’s worth a try!
11. 750 words
Especially if you are just starting to blog, you can easily get distracted while writing or get a writers block. 750 words is a small tool that asks you to write 750 words every day. Once you get in a routine of writing on a regular basis, it will get easier to sit down and concentrate for longer pieces.
12. Help me write
Help me write is probably one of the best tools for blogger on platforms like medium.com or steemit. The system is simple: You add your ideas and people give you feedback. You then decide whether you write about that particular topic or try a different angle.
13. Tomato Timer
The Pomodoro technique is a great way to deeply focus for 25 minutes and then take a break. There are people that structure their whole day with Pomod roand achieve great results. Why not give it a try?
14. ZenPen
Do you like a clean desk? Are you that person that cleans up the apartment before starting to study? Well, then you should try out Zenpen. Minimal distraction, minimal functions...just writing.
15. BrainyQuote
You want to sound smart and share some great insights from top experts and popular authors? Brainyquote gives you a great platform to search for the right quotes that fit into your post. This tool works well with the click to tweet tool. People love to share smart quotes on social media.
16. Google Trends
If you are trying to write about a lot of news topics or curate content then using Google trends is a great way to get an overview of the monthly search trends in a certain region.
What tools do you use for blogging?