Content Creation 101: 12 Tools for Starters

The cornerstone of every successful inbound marketing campaign is having great content which you can offer to your readers and/or customers.

“If you build it, they will come”, is the concept that has been used many times to describe how the entire marketing process works.

And it works wonderfully, in theory at least.

In reality, you need to be a jack of all trades to be able to pull it off.

Some content marketers are good writers, some are great at design, while others know all the ins and outs of how the Web works, or excel in multiple disciplines.

However, if you lack the skills or the experience in one area, that doesn’t mean you can’t still make it work.

The solution is out there, and it comes in shape of numerous content creation resources you can use to your advantage, whether to help you boost your knowledge, or make your existing content creation process run more smoothly.

We have selected 12 tools we felt would work best as a starter kit for those looking to create great content for their audience.

Keep on reading for more.

1 – Realtime Board

Whether you work alone, or inside a team, one of the most important stages of creating excellent content is brainstorming, where you and your collaborators exchange ideas and pick those which will work best.

RealtimeBoard takes that process and elevates it to a whole new level, acting as an interactive visual environment where you can write down your sketches, comments, notes, or even videos, in order to come up with new and exciting ideas for your content.

2 – Impact’s Blog Title Generator

It’s perfectly natural and expected to experience writer’s block, but instead of waiting for a moment of inspiration to hit so you can create a topic for your next blog post, use Impact’s Blog Title Generator.

All that is required of you is to enter a term or a keyword into the wizard, and it will create catchy titles which are also search engine friendly.

3 – CoSchedule Headline Analyzer

If you have no trouble coming up with click-worthy titles on a regular basis, that’s great, but you still have no way of knowing if that particular title is going to work.

Instead of relying on trial-and-error strategy, check out CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer, which is capable of calculating the effectiveness of your blog headlines, based on their originality and use of proper keywords.

4 – EduGeeksClub

You can improve on the quality on your written content almost instantaneously by collaborating with EduGeeksClub.

EduGeeksClub gathers professional writers which are experts at creating crisp, useful content which your audience will simply devour.

You also have the chance to come into contact with their experienced editors, which can help you polish your existing articles and blog posts.

5 – ZenPen

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a hugely powerful word processor in order to come up with awesome written content.

What you need is a simple, distraction-free alternative which will enable you to focus on your thoughts and your writing, instead of a complicated suite of tools.

We recommend ZenPen. Since it is browser-based, there are no installation hassles, and you can easily save your work in plain text format or HTML.

6 – Hemingway

While it would be amazing to have Ernest Hemingway edit your work, we are talking about the next best thing, which is the Hemingway app.

This web-based tool is designed to analyze your text and provide useful suggestions on how to make it more concise and readable, by eliminating the use of clichés, passive voice, overuse of adjectives, and splitting overly complex sentences.

7 – Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is arguably the most important tool on this list, because all the others are directed solely at helping you improve the quality of your content, without taking into account the fact that is has to address relevant and trending topics in order to attract the audience.

Because Buzzsumo keeps track of all the social media shares on a given topic, it is always able to provide you with all the hottest trends.

8 – Pixlr

In addition to offering valuable information via blog posts and articles, your blog, website, or social media profile needs to feature some visually appealing content as well, whether it’s infographics, clip art, or photos, and Pixlr can help you out with that.

Unlike Photoshop or similar programs, it is simple to use and has a steep learning curve, which means you will be able to create some eye-popping content in no time.

9 – Loopster

One of the many hats every content creator needs to wear is that of a video editor.

With the emergence of high-speed internet, an increasing number of online startup companies is turning to video content as a means of promoting their services and products.

You can do the same with the help of Loopster, an online video editor which allows you to create professional looking videos, even if you don’t have a background in video editing.

10 – Picfont

A cheap way of enhancing the looks of your blog or website is to populate it with some royalty-free stock images.

Those who shake their heads at the idea don’t know what they are talking about, because there are plenty of free images which are stunning, if you know where to look, but the problem is they are likely to be used by just about everyone.

Picfont can help you make them more unique by adding some custom text on top.

11 – Express Writers

Express Writers is one of the leading companies in the field of content creation.

They can assist you in coming up with some excellent written content for your blog, including articles, reviews, social media profiles, infographics, ebooks, resumes, cover letter, custom emails, as well as content planning and marketing strategies.

12 – ProWriting Aid

To add some finishing touches to your written content, run it through ProWritingAid, which will not only help you spot the most common grammar and spelling mistakes, but also provide suggestions on how you can optimize your text and make it more readable.

Avoid the growing pains every other content creator goes through by using these 12 incredible tools straight away.

There is no reason why should wait months or years before you are able to craft informative, clear, and attractive content.

Start doing it today!