tools-for-content-creators

5 tools content creators shouldn’t live without

The 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle, states that 80% of effort usually only produces 20% of the results and vice versa. In order to streamline efforts, find the 20% that produces 80% of your results. And one of the ways I do this is by using some of these tools that not only save time but also lessen the possibility of making errors and actually help improve your skills. Here are 5 tools content creator shouldn’t live without.

READ MORE: Why fake followers & vanity metrics are dumb

Grammarly for kids who can’t write good and want to learn how to do grammar good too

Never underestimate the power of typos or grammatical errors. I started using Grammarly last year and it has actually improved my grammar. I thought having something correct my spelling and grammar would make me lazy, but I’ve actually learned how to use hyphens properly.

Grammarly has free versions available for

  • Chrome web app (especially helpful if you write articles in WordPress)
  • MS Office (you’ll definitely want the power of Grammarly in Word)
grammarly settings
Make sure you add any words that you know you spell correctly to avoid that annoying red line and set it to British English so that you get all of your vowels (favourite vs favourite).

I got 99 tabs open but I know what’s in each one

If like me you have at least 10 tabs open at any one time (how else am I going to remember to check out that article or set up a report?) you might realise that your computer takes strain. I’ve been using The Great Suspender and my internet browsing is so much faster.

The Great Suspender stops tabs you aren’t using from running in the background and reactivates them when you go back to the tab. You can also add sites to a whitelist if you want them to stay active (Gmail would be a good one).

READ MORE: How to monetise your blog

Here’s a new party trick: turn any post into a video or podcast

Turn your most popular posts into videos or podcasts with almost the click of a button (it’s NOT that easy, but it is simple). Doing this will help you reach a new audience and may also increase dwell time on your page.

Lumen: enter a URL and easily create a video using your content 

While not perfect, you can easily upload your own images or use theirs, add music and share on social.

lumen turn into blog post into a video

 

Polly Podcast: turn any URL into a podcast 

While the voice options are limited, it does the job quickly (just be careful of adding in read more links as these are read out). Another great use: research purposes. If you don’t have time to read an article or want to multitask, add a link to get the gist of the article.

turn any url into a podcast

It’s like stalking but for your content

Tracking content is very important because it lets you know what works and what doesn’t, and helps you improve. This is also handy if you’d like to put a proposal together to show a future client how many people clicked on a link or took another action. It also helps you see which medium is most effective at driving traffic. Introducing the Google URL Campaign Builder. 

Enter your parameters, like the medium, campaign name, etc. and a URL will automatically be generated. You will be able to track which medium was most effective (banners, newsletter, social, search, mention) as these breakdowns are also displayed in Google Analytics.

google campaign url

The best part is that these URLs are not considered duplicate content, so you can also use them to do AB testing.

url builder

Which tools or apps can’t you live without when creating content? I’d love to know so let me know on social or in the comments below. 

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