The future is content. In fact, it’s been the future for a while now.
If you only read one thing about content marketing, make it this: content marketing is not a new phenomenon. It’s been around for more than one hundred years—ever since brands started using sponsored content in magazines to sell their products. However, the digital revolution has allowed content marketing to grow and flourish like never before.
Content creation is no longer an option for businesses that want to stay relevant in today’s world. It’s mandatory.
Content Creation Tools Are
Using the right tools can make content creation so much easier and more successful.
And while you can’t replace a solid content marketing strategy with tools, using the right ones can help speed up parts of the process, gain insights that you otherwise wouldn’t have, and help you create better-performing content.
But where do you start?
What are the best content creation tools and resources you should use to help you create better content? Or, at least, which should you be checking out that you have not already used?
We have rounded up what we believe to be the most useful and valuable tools and resources to help you choose the right one to take your content to the next level.
Specifically, in this guide, we will share the best tools and resources, including:
Content Research and Planning Tools
Written Content Creation Tools
Visual Content Creation Tools
Podcasting Tools
Video Content and Webinar Tools
Content Creation Resources
Use this list to find a new tool to try or a resource to check out the next time you create content and improve your marketing efforts.
Content Research and Planning Tools
Coming up with ideas and inspiration for your content is one of the most difficult parts of the process, yet one of the most important.
Creating content without a solid plan makes it harder to focus your efforts and drive success, but there are a whole host of tools that are perfectly suited to helping plan and research your content.
SEMrush Topic Research Tool
Content ideas example
Topic research is one of the most effective ways to quickly come up with ideas to explore further and to inspire your content plan. The SEMrush topic research tool makes it a quick and easy process to come up with a whole host of potential ideas around your core topic in just minutes.
Just enter a subtopic and see related articles and questions being asked in real-time.
Cost: From $99.95 per month (but this includes an entire sweet of content, SEO, PPC, and social media tools)
SEMrush Marketing Calendar
Marketing Calendar screenshot
Once you have identified the content that you want to create, you need to map out a solid editorial calendar and stick to it.
Planning a content strategy around a calendar will help you be accountable and take the steps needed to regularly drive growth. It is a great way to motivate you to keep on top of a regular publishing schedule, and the SEMrush Marketing Calendar is the perfect tool to help you to do this.
Cost: From $99.95 per month
SparkToro
Sparktoro
SparkToro positions itself as a way to “Instantly discover what your audience reads, watches, listens to, and follows.” When it comes to planning your content strategy, it is absolutely imperative that you know who you are targeting and what their interests are.
The more you can create your content around your target market’s needs and wants, the better success you will enjoy, and this tool crawls tens of millions of social and web profiles to share the insights you need on your audience.
Cost: From FREE for 10 searches per month to $225 per month for 500 searches
Google Trends
Google Trends example
Google Trends can help you to understand the popularity of a search term or topic amongst Google searchers (which, let’s face it, is the majority of web users).
Enter a query and see how interest has trended over time and use this insight to create content around topics that are quickly gaining traction (gaining a competitive advantage by being the first to jump on a trend) or, similarly, identify those that are likely losing interest.
Cost: FREE
AlsoAsked.com
Also Asked example
Google is regularly referred to as an answer engine, and this means that we need to be considering the questions that are being asked by searchers.
And one of the most effective tools that you can use to help you to find the questions that you need to be optimizing your website for is AlsoAsked.com, a free tool that returns the “People Also Asked” data, giving you an insight into longtail searches and, importantly, defines the relationship between topics and questions.
Cost: FREE
Answer the Public
Answer The Public
As we have already discussed, you should be optimizing for questions as part of your SEO strategy, and the more insight you have access to, the better responses you can give to the different questions that are being asked.
While AlsoAsked.com shows results from PAA, Answer the Public returns results from Suggest data, showing combinations of auto-complete searches.
Use the two tools together to supercharge your insights and research.
Cost: FREE
Written Content Creation Tools
When we think about content creation, we almost always jump straight to thinking and talking about written content. And while other formats are, of course, an impactful way to use content to drive marketing results, written content remains the default format for many businesses.
And, with that in mind, we have compiled a round-up of the tools you need to know.
SEMrush SEO Content Template
SEO Content Template data screenshot
If you are creating content to help you rank on the SERPs, you shouldn’t be writing blind. You need to know what is helping the top results to rank and take this into consideration when creating your own content.
The SEMrush content template can help you analyze the content that is ranking top for your target keywords and help you understand what you need to include in your own pages to compete.
Cost: From $99.95 per month
Grammarly
Screenshot of Grammarly results
It might sound simple but creating mistake-free content is harder than it sounds.
Grammarly can help you check for spelling and grammatical errors in your content while writing, as well as helping you to focus the tone of your content and check for plagiarism. The browser add on also makes sure you avoid typos in social shares.
Think of it as your helping hand to make sure your content reads well and is free from errors.
Cost: Free version and Premium $139.95 a year
Hemingway App
Hemingway app example
In their own words, “Hemingway App makes your writing bold and clear” and helps you make your content more readable and also shorten sentences.
Run your written copy through the web app, and in seconds you will see the opportunities to make it better for your readers.
Cost: FREE
Izitext.io
izitext.io screenshot
Izitext is a transcription service that’s used by transcribers, podcasters, journalists, and more. You can sign up for a demo today and learn more about their services!
Cost: FREE DEMO and further pricing may apply
Visual Content Creation Tools
Including visuals in your content can help to make it easier to read and, ultimately, more engaging for your readers.
But creating visual content is also one of the biggest challenges that many marketers face, especially if they don’t have access to a professional designer.
Canva
Canva
Canva is, without a doubt, one of the most popular design platforms out there and a tool that even the world’s least creative people could use to create stunning visuals across a range of formats.
From social graphics and blog images to infographics and more, if you need to create simple and effective visuals without a designer, you’ll love Canva.
Cost: FREE and Paid Plans
Remove.bg
remove.bg screenshot
Ask a graphic designer to remove a background from an image using Photoshop, and it will likely take hours using the lasso tool.
Use Remove.bg and you will be able to remove backgrounds using AI in a matter of seconds.
It’s as simple as that and can save you hours when cutting out images to use in your visuals.
Cost: FREE and Paid Plans
Piktochart
Piktochart
Infographics remain a popular way to visualize data and to use as part of your link building strategy (assuming, of course, that the data that you are visualizing tells a great story), but without access to a graphic designer, it is not always easy to design a visually appealing graphic.
And that’s where Piktochart comes in.
The tool is perfect for people with no design skills to create beautiful infographics that look professional and help elevate your business’s content.
Cost: FREE and Paid Versions
Giphy
Giphy screenshot
Over the last few years, GIFs have found their way into pretty much every brand’s marketing in one way or another, but the reality is that you don’t always need to be creating your own for them to be effective.
Whether you are looking for one to sit alongside your latest social post or to use in a blog, GIPHY’s collections of thousands and thousands of GIFS is certain to have something suitable.
Cost: FREE and Paid Plans
Nimbus Screenshot and Screen Video Recording Chrome Extension
Youtube video thumbnail
Screenshots and screen recordings are the perfect way to help your audience understand what you are trying to show them in “how-to guides” and the like.
But capturing these, especially if you don’t want to have to edit them before using in your content, isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
We love the Nimbus Chrome extension to capture both screenshots and recordings without hassle, and we are pretty sure you will grow to love it, too!
Cost: FREE
Unsplash
unsplash example
Images and photos can really help to make your blog content more engaging, and the reality is that not every marketer has access to a team who can take custom photos. While some have the luxury of a stock photo library at their disposal, not everyone does.
When you need a license-free image to use in your content, Unsplash’s library contains, as they claim, photos for everyone, something that we can confirm to be true!
Cost: FREE
Podcasting Tools
Podcasting has absolutely surged in popularity over the last few years, especially amongst B2B marketers, and it’s never been easier to create a DIY podcast and generate traction.
But having the right tools can really help you to maximize this channel.
Audacity
audacity screenshot
Ready to record your first podcast but not sure what tools you need to capture and edit your audio?
Audacity is an easy-to-use multitrack audio recording and editing platform that’s far easier than it looks to get to grips with.
In no time at all, you’ll be ready to hit record on your first podcast episode, and with the right software at your disposal, you’ll be able to edit out and little blips and background noises before exporting straight in your required format.
Cost: FREE
Alitu
aitu
You will undoubtedly want to spend your time creating podcast content and promoting it, not on editing.
But there as a clear need for your podcast to be the very best quality and edited in a professional way. At the end of the day, your audience will be used to pristine quality ‘casts and quite rightly so.
You can use Alitu to make better sounding podcasts without needing audio editing skills and experience. Simply load in your raw recordings, and the tool will help you to do the rest.
Cost: $28/month
Buzzsprout
buuzzsprout example
Once you have recorded your podcast, you need to host it somewhere. And Buzzsprout is a solid option to help you to manage and share your show with your listeners.
You will also gain insights into each episode’s performance, as well as the devices that they are using and where about in the world they are located — data that can help you to tailor your show’s content (and promotion strategy) to continue to grow.
Cost: FREE and Paid Versions
Scribie
scribie screenshot
While podcasts are booming in popularity, they are not for everyone, and only creating an audio version of your content could mean that you are missing out on engagement from your audience.
And for that reason alone, it is recommended that you transcribe your podcast episodes and offer a text-alternative. But doing this yourself is time-consuming.
Use Scribie as a cost-effective way to transcribe your podcasts quickly and efficiently, and spend your time creating content, leaving transcription to the pros.
Cost: From $0.10/min
Video Content and Webinar Tools
Webinars are more popular than ever, especially in a time when in-person events are off-limits. They are an effective way to engage your audience, invite participation, and reach new prospects.
And while a decent streaming session can’t go amiss, you are going to need to find simple and cost-effective software that you can use to host your webinar on.
But let’s not ignore other uses for video; understanding that it is still one of the more engaging formats of content that you can share on social platforms. The problem for many, however, is the investment needed to produce professional-quality video assets.
Again, there are tools that can help, and here are our favorites:
Webinar Ninja
Touted as “The Best All-In-One Webinar Software,” the reason why Webinar Ninja has become so popular is due to it’s simplicity.
Want to launch your own webinar? You can literally be ready to go live in minutes, and the platform now powers millions of webinars from companies like Podio, Baremetrics, and AppSumo, so you are in good company.
But one of the main reasons why it comes recommended is the extensive template library that it comes with, helping you to launch professional-looking sign-up pages without needing a designer and developer’s resources.
Cost: From $39 per month
Zoom Webinars
Youtube video thumbnail
Find us someone who isn’t familiar with Zoom by now. And while many of us have spent much of the last few months speaking with friends, family, and colleagues over the platform, there is no denying that it is one of the most popular options for hosting a webinar.
This is partly due to its sudden familiarity amongst pretty much everyone’s audience, but also the fact that it has a solid offering that comes with a cost-effective price tag.
Cost: From $40 per month, per license
Streamyard
streamyard screenshot example
While we have all recently come to love webinars, there has also been a huge surge in interest in live streams, and Streamyard is perhaps the top tool that is out there to help you to go live across Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
Keep your audience engaged across any of the platforms that they follow you on, and benefit from a simple and straightforward solution that doesn’t need a complex tech set up for you to stream.
Cost: FREE and Paid Plans
Biteable
Biteable video templates screenshot
The one problem that most marketers have with video content is the resources that are needed to produce something that looks professional, and that stands out. It is a format that an increasing number of us want to use but aren’t able to due to a lack of available resources.
And this means we are missing out on the engagement that it can bring.
But Biteable is one solid solution to help you to overcome this problem, providing you with a huge amount of templates that you can use to create powerful videos with, just like companies such as Airbus, Panasonic, and Virgin. In fact, it has now been used by more than 7 million people.
Cost: FREE and Paid Plans
Animoto
Animoto example
If you are looking for an easy-to-use drag-and-drop video maker, you could do far worse than check out Animoto.
Start with one of the many available templates or upload your own photos and videos, and you will have an awesome video asset in no time at all, all without the help of a videographer or editor.
Cost: FREE and Paid Plans
best content creation tools
If you’re a content creator, you know that there is a lot of content out there. What makes the most effective and engaging content? Here we listed the top 10 content creation tools you’ll want to start using today. This list doesn’t apply to just marketers. Professionals working in sales, training, and proposal teams also create unique and large amounts of content.
In the end, all content creators share one goal: creating relevant and helpful content for the right audience.
These content creation tools will help you to determine what is relevant to your attentive audience, how to best package it, and the easiest way to provide editorial reviews.
Content Creation Tools for Creating Relevant Content
1. Google Trends
Google Trends helps to keep you in the loop. Google Trends reveals insight into today’s relevant content. Not yesterday’s. Google Trends is ideal for those who frequently create content. This includes those who blog, have a heavy social presence, develop content for specific groups of people, or work in marketing.
The Content Marketing Institute recommends using Google Trends to research keywords, discover content ideas, and monitor your brand.
Simply enter in a topic or explore trending stories and featured insights. Google Trends displays the frequency of search terms in consideration of its total volume across geographic regions. Additionally, Google Trends shows search interest over time. Depending on the flux of query volumes, you may choose one topic over another to discuss in whatever content you create.
2. Moz Keyword Explorer
You wouldn’t want to create awesome content and not get noticed. Easily check what keyword to use for blog posts and site pages with Moz’s Keyword Explorer. You can enter terms or phrases into Moz Keyword Explorer. Moz will provide you with keyword suggestions and a SERP analysis reflective of the keyword’s search volume, difficulty, opportunity, and potential.
Once you start exploring, you can export CSV files and save them for later. This includes the top ranking sites containing your keyword or phrase. Moz Keyword Explorer allows for two free searches a day. If you require more searching, you can upgrade to a paid subscription starting at $50 a month.
3. Sigstr
Sigstr is an email signature banner. Email banners are added and changed from one admin console with changes immediately reflected in employees’ email signatures. Sigstr banners are a great way to intertwine visual content and compelling copy.
You can create unique signatures for departments, teams, executives, and customer service. Swap out Sigstr signatures to engage email recipients with company news, upcoming events, and relevant content.
Content Creation Tools for Designing Visual Content
4. Giphy
If you blog or even just read a lot of blogs, you know how easy it is to get lost in a sea of words. GIFs are a really easy way to grab the audience’s attention. Sometimes animation shows more than just still images. But where is everyone finding GIFs? Giphy is a free visual content creation tool. You can contextually search for GIFs, or you can create your own.
Have one team member who can answer your chats and emails at lightning speed with an animated GIF suited for the context? In addition to sparring in chat messages, use Giphy in blog posts.
5. Canva
Need to develop striking visual content? Don’t have a lot of time? Check out Canva. Canva is an easy-to-use tool to create graphics and documents ready to print or to publish online. Features include photos, photo filters, icons, shapes, and hundreds of fonts. Outbrain listed Canva as an awesome digital content creation tool because of its drag and drop design feature.
New users can sign up for a free Canva account and start designing with ready to use design layouts. Canva comes ready with pre-sized social media templates in addition to templates for flyers, posters, and email headers.
Mimeo uses Canva for our Instagram account (@_mimeo). Canva’s capability to share designs and templates makes it easy for our content creators to collaborate together.
6. Pixlr
Pixlr delivers the capabilities of PhotoShop for free. There’s tons of value in the free version. For those requiring more editing capabilities, Pixlr Pro comes with more design tools and features at a price of $14.99 a year.
Pixlr comes in handy when creating graphics for presentations and social media. Use Pixlr to resize images, apply quick fixes, and remove the image background.
Content Creation Tools for Editorial Use
7. Grammarly
Write, write, write… Sound like an average workday? But as any content creator knows, editing is just as important as the writing process. This content creation tool also made HubSpot’s Ultimate List of Free Content Creation Tools & Resources. Grammarly is an automated proofreading platform. It corrects over 250 types of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
Copy and paste content directly into a Grammarly document to check for grammar and spelling mistakes. It helps to check sections of content as you write. For example, upload answers to an RFP before handing it over to the review team. Or check sections of training courses before handing them over to be designed.
8. Hemingway Editor
Affect the editorial skills of Ernest Hemingway with this content creation tool. The Hemingway Editor is a proofreading tool for readers. It details the revisions you can’t see in Grammarly without upgrading to Grammarly Pro. Copy your content into Hemingway Editor and it will highlight style suggestions.
Sentences highlighted in yellow or red will flag where writing is too dense. One of its strongest features is its capability to highlight uses of passive voice. Avoid using passive voice in all content — including training materials, marketing collateral, and sales literature. Active voice is critical in creating compelling copy and in winning proposals.
9. Microsoft’s Snipping Tool
This content creation tool is one of the most simple but is also maximizes the amount of time spent editing. Microsoft’s Snipping Tool is simple and straightforward: capture screenshots. But, it’s more than that. You can cross out content, highlight sections, insert arrows, and add your own suggestions in type.
Once you’ve created a snip, you can save or copy and paste into emails and chat windows. The Snipping Tool comes in handy when providing feedback for web pages and layout design in addition to longer content like business proposals or training materials.
10. Trello
Content creators have a lot of content. Trello makes it easy to share, collaborate, set reviews and approvals, and create an editorial calendar for whole teams. Devote one project or one team to a virtual Trello board. Use Trello to organize entire projects and filter for specific team members to check the status of project updates.
Trello saves a lot of time and a lot of emails. Instead of sending status updates, simply move a project’s Trello card to the appropriate user or status.
Free Account
Mimeo was created to give people back time. Users can upload content to their digital library and organize files by folders. Want a hardcopy printed? Build, proof, and ship in a few minutes. Content can even be shared with varying levels of permissions to other Mimeo users. No order minimums, no commitments, 24/7 support!
Users can place a print order for delivery to hundreds of locations with a single click. Instead of hundreds of emails, easily view and map the status of each shipment. What would have once been a massive undertaking is now organized in one screen.
Conclusion
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