My 10 Must-Have Copywriting Tools for 2020

 

 

When I tell people what I do, I get often get the ol’, “oh man, I could never do that…I suck at writing.”⁠

Hell yeah, words are hard. It takes plenty of time and practice to hone your craft (but what doesn’t??). 

Thankfully, just because it takes some time and effort, doesn’t mean solid writing is totally impossible for all those “non-writers” out there.⁠ Even better, there are tons of tools available to help non-profesh writers glide by in the meantime. 

I’ve been obsessed with writing for as long as I can remember, so I’ve been around the block a few times testing out a variety of copywriting tools.

Over the years, I’ve come to find a few faves (some of which, I absolutely cannot live without). So here we go! Here’s my current list of top copywriting tools to try…

 

 

GRAMMARLY — FOR CHECKING YO’SELF

Grammarly is my copywriting ride or die. This app corrects grammar and spelling and all that good stuff, but it ALSO analyzes your clarity, engagement, and delivery. ⁠

Grammarly’s features help correct and perfect your writing in a ton of different ways. My favorite feature though is the plagiarism checker. 

Even if I’m confident I didn’t “steal” anyone’s words, I always play it safe and run my content (especially things like blog posts) through Grammarly’s plagiarism checker before hitting publish. This way, I can be extra sure I didn’t accidentally get too close to what someone else has already published. 

I also love that Grammarly provides an explanation behind each suggestion or correction. I don’t agree with the app’s suggestions 100% of the time, so it’s good to know the why behind each recommendation. 

Check out Grammarly here!

 

 

SEMRUSH — FOR KEYWORD RESEARCH

SEO (search engine optimization) is something I work with a lot as a web copywriter. As such, my biggest challenge is finding and implementing keywords.

This is where SEMrush comes in. 

There are a lot of options out there on the interwebs for keyword research. And I’ve tried my fair share.

But, I keep coming back to SEMrush.

The paid trial is by no means cheap, but most paid keyword research tool subscriptions aren’t. I’ve found SEMrush is the one that gives me the most bang for my buck.

SEMrush as a whole offers a ton of super helpful tools with your subscription, including a topic research tool, which I LOVE when I’m hitting a wall with what to write about.

There’s also an SEO Writing Assistant tool I’m a big fan of. Overall, three thumbs up for SEMrush.

Check out SEMrush here!

 

 

FLODESK — FOR CREATING & SENDING HOT EMAILS

Flo is the way to go when it comes to sending emails.

Flodesk is my email platform of choice. 

As a professional copywriter and small business owner, email marketing is a big part of what I do not only for my clients but also for my own business.

I love Flodesk because aside from it being super simple, it’s oh so pretty ✨!

With Flodesk comes a ton of ~actually~ super gorgeous email templates. And, if templates aren’t your jam, the platform also makes it wicked easy to make emails from scratch that are just as attractive.

Check out Flodesk and get 50% off for life here!

 

 

RHYMEZONE — NOT JUST FOR POETRY

If Grammarly is my copywriting ride or die, Rhymezone is my long-time copywriting crush. Rhymezone has been bookmarked in my searches since I was old enough to Google.

That might be a little dramatic, but Rhymezone and I go way back.

Now, unless it’s a holiday and I’m drafting up some cheesy greeting cards, I typically don’t use Rhymezone for any rhyming reasons. 

You have a ton of options when you hit up this site. Type in a word and it’ll give you synonyms, antonyms, rhymes, definitions, homophones, examples sentences…the list goes on and on.

Nine out of 10 times, I’m using Rhymezone for synonyms and antonyms. 

“But Mackenzie, why don’t you just use Thesaurus.com?”

Because, dear reader, Rhymezone has a special place in my heart and I SWEAR it has much better info than any other related site. 

Rymezone gives hefty lists of terms for each search and it has never led me astray.

Check out Rhymezone here!

 

 

EVERNOTE — TO KEEP YOUR CONTENT ORGANIZED

Is it just me, or can Google Docs become a realllll freakin’ hassle to keep organized? 

I usually find myself spending way more time than I’d like to searching through my sea of Google Docs just to find the RIGHT one.

EXHAUSTING.

That’s why I’ll be an Evernote supporter till the end of time. 

Evernote is a note-taking/documentation app that makes it sooo easy to keep your thoughts and content organized.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Type up all my drafts in a notebook Evernote.
2. Paste the final into a Google Doc that I can then easily refer to and easily send out to others on my team or any clients who need access.

Evernote lets you do all the same stuff Google Docs does, like insert pics, tables, highlight, etc….basically, it’s just much easier to organize and keep track of. 

Check out Evernote here!

 

 

COSCHEDULE’S HEADLINE ANALYZER — FOR ON POINT HEADLINES

In most cases, your headline is *the* most important part of whatever it is you’re writing. Why? Because it determines if someone is going to read any further. 

To have great content, you need a great headline.

There are numerous headline analyzer tools out there, but CoSchedule takes the win in my book. 

The CoSchedule Headline Analyzer shows you how powerful, emotional, and uncommon/common a headline is so you know exactly what needs tweaking.

If you’re new to writing headlines, I suggest playing around with the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to get an idea of what scores well and what doesn’t.

Check out the headline analyzer here!

 

 

COSCHEDULE EMAIL SUBJECT LINE TESTER — FOR ON POINT SUBJECT LINES

Forty-seven percent of email recipients open emails based on the subject line alone. And, 69% of email recipients report emails as spam based solely on the subject line as well, according to Business 2 Community.

What’s this mean for you as an entrepreneur or small business owner? Basically, that the subject line can make or break each email you send. 

There are numerous email subject line testers and analyzers out there, and I’ve tried a few of these tools. But, my favorite is the CoSchedule Email Subject Line Tester (which also happens to be the #1 email subject line testing tool). 

Here’s how it works: Just plug in the subject line you’re thinking about using and the Coschedule Email Subject Line Tester tells you…

• An overall score and overview of how strong your subject line is
• How many words that are proven to INCREASE opens your SL has
• How many words that are proven to DECREASE opens your SL has
• If you should be using all caps, title case, lower case, etc.
• Your character count, word count, emoji count
• A preview of your SL in email

Check out the subject line tester here!

 

 

SOOLVE — FOR TOPIC INSPIRATION

I use Soolve for inspiration when I’m struggling to come up with specific topics to write about in my blogs or emails for my content marketing efforts. 

Soolve is a super simple tool that shows you top search suggestions and search completions from all the major search engines (including Youtube, Amazon, and Wikipedia).

Typically, I take a keyword, plug it into Soolve, and have a list of relevant topics to choose from to write about. And because the suggestions are top results of what other people are already looking for in search engines, I know it’s the kind of info people care to learn more about. 

Check out Soolve here!

 

 

READ-ABLE — TO TEST YOUR READABILITY

According to the Clear Language Group, the most recent national assessment of adult literacy showed that 43% of adults living in the U.S. have Basic or Below Basic literacy skills.

Readability refers to the complexity of words and sentence structure and how easy or difficult text is to be read and understood. 

Readability plays a huge role in effective web copywriting and can make or break your content. So, it’s a good idea to have a solid readability tool, like Read-able, in your back pocket to check your content with. 

To use the tool, you either enter a URL or directly paste your copy into the tool, which then calculates the readability of your work in a matter of seconds. 

The tool determines the average reading grade level of your content and includes the associated age group.

The Readability Test Tool also provides helpful text statistics including the following:

• Number of sentences
• Number of words
• Number of complex words
• Percent of complex words
• Average words per sentence
• Average syllables per word. 

Check out the Read-Able Readability Test Tool here!

 

 

CREATE BLOG & EDITORIAL PLANNER — FOR STRATEGIC CONTENT PLANNING 

I’m going to be honest here…the CREATE Blog & Editorial Planner wasn’t on my list until yesterday. 

The truth is, I have a planner purchasing addiction (it’s a character flaw). 

I’ve been trying to tame my desire to purchase all planning goods because I end up VERY rarely ever using them. But, if you’re like me and you like to unwind with a glass of pinot grigio on weekends, you also typically end up on Amazon punching in your security code for anything and everything that is “sure to be very useful.”

Well, this one worked out in my favor. Because, YES. It is very useful!

The planner walks you through the steps to schedule your months full of super intentional blog and email content to support your specific goals. 

I had a ton of fun using it and it brought my attention to various aspects of my editorial calendar I had been neglecting.

I highly recommend basically anything Meera Kothand creates, and this planner is no different!

Check out the CREATE Blog & Editorial Planner by Meera Kothand!

 

Which of these tools are you already using?? Let me know what ones are your favorite and what’s missing from the list in the comments!