15 Must-Have Tools for Professional Copywriters
They say that a craftsman is only as good as his tools. The same goes for professional copywriters, and practically any other industry, as a matter-of-fact.
No matter what niche you specialize in, it’s important that you have the right tools so that you’re able to craft the best possible copy for your client. Here’s a suite of 15 must-have tools copywriters should equip themselves with.
1. Copyscape (free)
Copyscape is a free web-based tool that allows you to check the content of a single webpage and see if it contains any duplicate content found elsewhere on the web.
Copywriters might also want to check out the pay-as-you-go version, which allows you to check a section of plain text, rather than an already-published webpage, for plagiarism.
2. Flickr (free)
I simply don’t know what I do without Flickr. It’s the only website I use to get images for the copy I submit clients.
Finding and crediting images on Flickr is simple and painless, and the quality is unmatched.
3. Un-Suck It (free)
Un-Suck It is a free web app that allows you to convert words that don’t flow well in your copy (like business jargon) and replace it with fun words that do.
Mostly, it’s a great tool for you to find quirky synonyms or definitions to boring words.
4. Thesaurus.com (free)
No copywriter is complete without a trusty thesaurus by his side (or, in the case of web copywriting, in the next tab). Thesaurus.com is the most comprehensive thesaurus website and is one that I frequent multiple times with every piece of copy that I write.
5. RhymeZone (free)
Poetry isn’t the only thing that requires rhyme. Copywriting needs it too sometimes.
The next time you’re looking for a rhyming word to strengthen your copy, head over to RhymeZone.
6. CopyDoodles (paid)
Sometimes, a hand-drawn graphic is worth 2000 words while a stock image is only worth a 1000. At those times, head over to CopyDoodles.
7. Read-Able (free)
Did you know that you should be aiming for a 7th-8th grade reading level when writing copy? We’ve covered this before in Writtent Academy.
Read-Able is an awesome tool that automatically and accurately tests the reading level of an excerpt of text.
8. SEO Book Keyword Research Tool (free)
Find high performing and competitive keywords. With this tool - you can get great keyword ideas and suggestions for your content for free!
9. Live Keyword Analysis (free)
Live Keyword Analysis is a quick ‘n easy SEO tool that will help you calculate the density of keywords in a sample of text. If you feel as though your keyword is too frequent or too rare within your copy, use LKA to confirm that.
10. Google Drive (free)
We all need some way to deliver copy to our clients. For me, Google Drive is the perfect answer. Not only do most of my clients use it already, but the vast amount of storage and simple UI makes it a far better choice for me than Dropbox.
11. EMV Headline Analyzer (free)
EMV Headline Analyzer is an extremely cool yet very underrated copywriting tool that allows you to check the EMV (emotional marketing value) of your headline.
Basically, it tests your headline to see what percentage of words in it invoke emotion. The higher, the better.
12. Test My Marketing (paid)
Test My Marketing is crowdsourcing with an awesome twist: a team of experienced marketers evaluating your copywriting piece.
Simply pay $69, upload your copy, and get reviews from proven experts!
13. Word Counter (free)
Word Counter is an advanced keyword counter. It analyzes a sample of text and gives you info as to the top 25 most repeated words in the text, excluding small words like it, the, etc.
14. Conversion Ninja Toolbox (free)
Conversions are a big priority in professional copywriting. The Conversion Ninja Toolbox is essentially a website with a vast library of conversion optimization resources.
It’s a great place to frequent whenever you need some CRO advice.
15. Zite (free)
Zite is a nifty iOS and Android app that basically curates the latest web content for you based on your interests. It’s a great way to explore your niche and will help you to think up new topics and targeted slogans for your copy.
Bonus: Canva is a great tool to create graphics. Learn 7 ways you can use Canva to create graphics for your website today.
Know of any more handy copywriting tools? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments (27)
A big Thanks! ☺
A big welcome backatcha!
Great resource list. Thanks much!
Glad to hear you liked it!
This is really a useful article!
Thanks. Glad to hear the content was useful.
Adeeze link isn’t good. They didn’t renew their domain. :(
Thanks, will fix that :)
Very useful list Jonathan!
Thanks. Glad to hear the content was useful for you.
Hey! thanks for the list!
You’re welcome.
Writing seems to be a hard work. But tech tools are making this process easier nowadays. Thank you for the great list of resources. It should be noted the idea of writing down personal intentions really works. I like the strategy of mind mapping as it helps me to arrange my thoughts and gets better understanding of what I am trying to do. I am a freelance journalist and writing several articles per day is a common task for me. So to boost my writing productivity, I have chosen two literacy tools. The first one is online plagiarism checker Unplag which makes it easy to avoid self-plagiarism and find similar resources on the Internet in a minute. For IPad-users, I recommend Editorial which you may also like.
I’m happy you liked the post, Mauritius. Having great tools is a big part of being productive. Thanks a lot for sharing your favourite ones – they sound great. I’ll definitely check them out!
sharing is caring…thank you bro
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for the article. It’s really helpful to a beginner copywriter such as myself. However, do explain what is the use of Flickr?
– Omer
Looks like Zite is gone.
Thank your for sharing. I start doing copy writing recently and your article is very useful for me.
Hi,
Sorry for my intrusion :)
It is possible to have a look over copywrite.io ?
You have more experience than me in copywriting tools ( I’m just a programmer that’s trying to create a nice tool for copywriters (: ), and any feedback would be appreciated :D
Thanks
Hi
AM daniels, just starting out as a copywriter.
Thank you for such an amazing and resourceful list.
“No copywriter is complete without a trusty thesaurus by his side.”
Last time I checked, women can be copywriters too.
Careful not to blind yourself with that virtue signal. Not every sentence in the world needs to be completely cleansed of gender-specific words. You knew that wasn’t the message he was sending and so did everyone else.
This is an excellent list of resources, and just what t I was looking for. Thank you!
Excellent material keep up the good work
Helo john would like to be your student!
It’s a great thing for a copywriter. Contents is very nice and helpful.
Hi Jonathan! Great post you have, especially that I am a beginner in copywriting. Unfortunately, 2 of your links are unresponsive.
Ones on # 13 and 12. Looking forward to more posts from you.