Anyone who knows me well knows I’m a techy marketer who loves her apps and tools. When I find something that saves me time, automates a task or makes me a better marketer and copywriter, I like to spread the word in hopes the app or tool I adore will make others want to explore its benefits, too.
Here are the things I use and love almost every day to make my job as a copywriter easier. I bet you will find these nifty helpmates useful, too, whether you write website copy, blog articles, sales pages or marketing emails.
1. Feedly
We all love subscribing to blogs we care about, right? But what we don’t like is when they get lost in our email inbox or start to clutter it up, demanding we read them right away. We need a workaround that keeps us connected to our favorite bloggers and removes that content from our inboxes, saving it for just the right moment.
Feedly to the rescue! This clever app sorts my blog subscriptions into folders I customized, labeled for copywriting, marketing and social media. I also have other folders for the health and wellness blogs I subscribe to.
Organizing incoming content this way helps me quickly find my favorite subscriptions later when I’m ready to spend an hour or so catching up on my reading. When I need inspiration about the art of copywriting, whether I’m on my PC, iPhone or iPad, I go to Feedly to find it.
♥ The free version of Feedly’s served me well forever. Here’s what you get with an upgraded account.
Feedly is a great tool for copywriters who love to be inspired and informed by others’ thoughts on a topic like copywriting. I’ve used it for years, ever since an old favorite tool, Google Reader, was shuttered.
2. Google Alerts
Are there industries and keywords that you need to keep tabs on for the copywriting work you do? Google Alerts will send you periodic emails when it finds articles, blogs or research related to those topics. I also use it in my personal life to stay informed about what’s happening in my town of Queen Creek, AZ.
Google Alerts is easy to set up. Just add your keyword(s) and Google sends you emails when its search engine finds a match. There aren’t as many notifications as you might expect (Google curates the info, I’m sure), and it’s a nice alternative to having to do my own searches each week.
♥ Google Alerts is free to use.
3. Uberconference
I use this conference line service instead of Zoom when I want to interview someone. UberConference provides me with a phone line my contacts can dial into. I still take notes during the interview, but I also record the call as a backup for any soundbites I miss.
Using UberConference instead of Zoom, my contacts don’t have to see me typing away, staring at the screen while they’re speaking. (And sometimes a gal needs a makeup-free day at work!)
♥ I use the free Uberconference. Here’s what an upgrade to $15/month gives you.
Uberconference is great for copywriters who need a break from Zoom and want a professional — and free! — conference line.
4. Otter.ai
This is a great companion to UberConference or any recording app. Otter’s text transcription uses artificial intelligence to transcribe your audio to text. And it’s pretty smart — in my experience, about 98% accurate. It knows when there’s a new paragraph and does a pretty good job recognizing different speakers. Otter is easy to use and allows you to listen to the recording by merely highlighting the section you want to hear.
Otter.ai is a subscription service, but I use their free Basic plan, which gives me 600 minutes of transcription per month and 40 minutes per recording. That can be tricky with an hour-long interview I’m transcribing, so I use a workaround.
♥ Check out Otter’s paid plans if you need more functionality.
5. Grammarly
Every writer knows how spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes can slip by us. Never fear, Grammarly will find them for us, and it’s almost like having a full-time editor on staff. I used the free plan for months but stepped up to Premium, which sniffs out for overused words, inappropriate tone, unclear structure and more.
♥ Premium‘s worth every penny of the $139.95 per year (if paid in one payment). Checking my Grammarly account, I see I will be paying that annual fee again next month!
Grammarly, one of the few tools I use where I pay an upcharge for more functionality, supplements the other proofing tools I use.
6. Mobile note-taking app (iPhone and Android)
There are tons of note-taking apps for both IOS and Android devices, and I find that my iPhone’s Notes, which I’m sure came pre-installed on my phone, is perfect for my needs. I use Notes to jot down article ideas or other thoughts when I’m on the go and want to access them later.
♥ Cost to use: Free at least on iPhone. (Go, team iPhone!)
7. Pocket
This is another great organizing tool. Pocket is handy when I’m researching a topic I’m writing about. Rather than keep a lot of tabs open or bookmark pages I might never need again, Pocket allows me to save the best ones so can return to them later.
♥ The free Pocket version is perfect for me. Its Premium plan offers an ad-free environment and more.
Pocket is a bookmark-type tool that comes in handy when I want to save resource material for articles I’m writing.
8. Microsoft Word’s “Read Aloud”
This text-to-speech function in Word lets you listen to the words you typed on a page. After proofing my document and running it through Grammarly, I let Word’s robot (you can choose a male or female voice) read my copy back to me, allowing me to focus on it in a way that proofing can’t do. Sometimes I close my eyes and listen, but I often focus on the screen because I hear something that sounds off and needs to be fixed.
♥ You can find Read Aloud in Word’s ribbon toolbar under Review, and it’s free in all recent Windows versions.
9. LinkedIn
I’ve listed LinkedIn as a tool for copywriters because it’s a great way to share what you write! I began using LinkedIn more regularly over the last few years when it became a lifeline to my old life and connections in Kansas City, where I used to live, and helped me meet new people in the Phoenix metro area. (Read my Why I Call LinkedIn My Lifeline article.) Now, I’m more willing to share what I write on LinkedIn since I’m on it so much.
With my ramped-up LinkedIn activity, I discovered new ways to use it more effectively and am a vocal champion for the platform. In fact, I created a LinkedIn Challenge that’s running all year long to help my connections get more from the time they spend on LinkedIn. More than 200 people are doing my challenge, and I’d love to have you join us!
♥ LinkedIn is free, but you gotta know they would love you to try out one of the upgraded options, such as Sales Navigator.
Writing articles and posting consistently on LinkedIn not only increases your reach, it gives you the practice you need to become a better, more confident writer.
10. A Clock
I’ve included this as a tool to remind you that, when it comes to writing, time is your friend. I like to step away from a first draft for several hours, if not overnight. This gives me breathing room so I can return to my copy draft with a fresh perspective and make edits (or write a better closing) that I wouldn’t have thought of before. Tools and apps can help you save time, but when it comes to letting your copy breathe, use all the time you need — client deadlines willing, of course!
♥ I don’t need to tell you how much clocks cost, right? 😉
Copywriters, there’s an app for that!
Some of these apps I’ve used a long time, some are more recent go-tos. With technologies continually evolving, I know there’ll be new tools that will inspire me to revise my top-10 list.
When you think about it, being receptive to new things is the best tool for writers. It makes us more creative and agile — and when it comes to generating ideas and crafting language, nothing replaces the willingness to learn, grow and improve.
