Have you ever had a friend who never runs out of puns or bad jokes? The one who floors the whole room during presentations with their endless wit? Maybe you’ve met them, or maybe you are that friend.
As the designated “witty friend” of the creatives industry, copywriters must deliver a brand’s message to target audiences in the best possible way. Between producing content and curating design, the copywriting process takes a lot of creative juice.
Sometimes, clever wordplay may not be enough. Even the most seasoned copywriter can overlook things when swamped in projects. Good copy is original, precise, and relevant. How can you make sure you’ve hit the mark on all three?
Here are ten essential tools to keep that copywriting wit as sharp as a knife and a guaranteed bullseye (Don’t worry, they’re free).
Word Count Tool
Words are the currency of any writing discipline and copywriting requires the mastery of words.
This word counter not only tracks word count but the overall form of your content. Word Count Tool measures character, sentence, and paragraph count. The tool also generates your work’s Flesch Reading Score and estimated reading the time.
Wit alone cannot capture an audience – the cleverest references will only fly over their heads if they don’t understand what you’re saying. Word Count Tool is essential for determining the readability of your content.
This tool prevents a copy from being too niche or obscure.
EMV Headline Analyzer
Someone’s caught feelings.
If you’re a copywriter, you should make your audience catch some, too. A successful copy creates a significant emotional impact. This tool calculates the EMV (Emotional Marketing Value) of a headline, to determine the percentage of emotionally marketable words used. This makes it handy for making a copy more relatable.
Unsuck-it
Copywriters carry the monumental task of making the most ordinary thing seem interesting.
This unique tool generates catchy alternatives to technical business terms. Simply enter the term or phrase, and the tool will refer to terms in a more copy-friendly language.
This tool improves the copy’s delivery while saving the copywriter wracking their brain from further brain cell loss.
Rhyme-Zone
What better way to drive a point home than making it rhyme?
If nursery rhymes are any indicator, humans respond to rhyme from a very early age. Rhyme is like the music of words – the tonal element makes concepts easy to recall.
Copywriters can invoke their inner Shakespeare with this tool which generates words and phrases rhyming with inputted text. This is especially useful for crafting jingles or simply making a copy more engaging.
Reverse Dictionary
Writers share this universal struggle: the déjà vu-like frustration of knowing the meaning of a word, but forgetting the specific term used.
This frustration can easily lead to writer’s block and is one of the reasons why writing may take a while. Forgetting the right term often stunts the copywriting process.
This tool offers a solution: Reverse Dictionary allows users to input the meanings of the words they are looking for. The tool then generates words that fit the description. This helps speed up the copywriting process and solves your writing woes.
Keyword Tool by SEObook
Aside from impact, reach is also a deciding factor in copywriting.
In nature, copywriting is marketing. This tool keeps track of SEO dynamics, which allows copywriters to adjust their copy according to the trends that increase web traffic. Now that the market has more of a digital thrust, SEO is vital.
More web traffic equals more reach, which is why copywriters should strategize their copy accordingly.
Thesaurus.com
Nothing beats the classics.
If all else goes wrong, the trusty thesaurus has got your back. This timeless word database has assisted people from all walks of life – including copywriters looking for the perfect word that fits.
Grammarly
There is no feeling quite like the secondhand embarrassment for signages that say things like, “Parking for Costumers Only.”
As a copywriter, you don’t want your audience to feel that towards your copy. Although advertising has more liberty outside the rules of grammar, you don’t want to overdo it. This tool is like a virtual proofreader.
Grammarly highlights the iffy parts of your content and prescribes the revisions needed. It is recommended even for skilled copywriters – it is always good to have an outside perspective on your work.
Google Docs
What’s up, Doc?
Although it hasn’t been around as long, Google Docs is similar to the Thesaurus in assisting students and professionals alike. Google Docs is highly efficient for finishing tasks, especially collaborative work. Internet users can share and work on the same documents from anywhere at any time.
This tool keeps content coherent and consistent during projects.
Pixabay
In the creatives industry, everything is intellectual property.
Especially when profit is involved, one cannot just grab resources from wherever and place them in their outputs. You could potentially be walking into a lawsuit, or get your work taken down.
For copywriters curating the design aspect of their copy, Pixabay is a good site to grab royalty-free images from. Pixabay has over a million photos in its database, so copywriters have a wide array of options.
