What are the best tools and apps for freelance copywriters?

I am both a copywriter and a fiction author. I started using Grammarly because I was unsatisfied with the quality of proofreaders I hired for my novels. That being said, Grammarly has many advantages for authors AND copywriters, but it often misunderstands the meaning of your sentence and may offer suggestions that are not appropriate. Please, folks, use it for sure. It corrects your spelling and it tells you if you (or Word's autocorrect) has used the wrong form (discreet vs discrete) but you MUST evaluate each suggestion it makes. I find that at least a third of the time Grammarly makes a suggestion, it is because it does not understand the context of the sentence. This includes inserting commas as well as omitting or correcting words.

This is an amazing extension for your chrome browser or to use as a tool on the side. It is helpful with simple emails to checking for mistakes in long research documents. *Also great for English language learners. **Best part, it's free!

Ok, I'm going to get pretty basic on this one: Walking. Are you stuck? For me, there's no better way to move forward than to physically move... forward. Did you know that even 5 minutes of walking can provide an opportunity to change your surroundings and stimulate your senses, which can help to generate new ideas and break through creative blocks? Try it, your sub-conscious brain comes alive while you're moving, and it's way more powerful than its counterpart. Walk and connect with different surroundings, give your sub-conscious brain a chance to work and you'll see.

Note that the plagiarism checker on Grammarly is a premium feature you need to pay to use. There is a free Grammarly extension you can get on Google Chrome which is helpful for writing social media posts too.

I write columns, and I'm writing a creative non-fiction book. My downfall is punctuation. Grammarly helps remind me of when I need to change my punctuation. Also, Grammarly gives suggestions to keep my writing in an active voice. The app also asks what my goal is. Is it to tell a story, convince or sound upbeat? Grammarly helps with that. You can also set it to gender-neutral pronouns - or not. It also asks what your goal is. Do you want to adhere to APA, MLA, or Chicago citation styles? You may want to convince someone, tell a story, or sound more confident. Grammaryly will help with that.

I used Hemingway religiously as an early copywriter. You should, too. You're probably using WAY too many words. People didn't buy your novel. They don't want to take the scenic route to get where you're taking them. Hemingway helps you get from point A to point B on the most direct and pain-free route.

Hemingway definitely helps to cut down on the fluff if you tend to waffle. If you're in the business of writing long copy, it can help to hone your words and get the most out of what you write for both your clients and your readers!

Hemingwayapp.com is a FREE website you can copy and paste your writing into. In my early days as a writer, I used it to identify the reading age of my writing - normally, the lower the grade, the easier it is to read. For medical copywriting, I aim for a grade 5 to 7 to make my writing accessible for the general public. Note that downloading the desktop app comes with a fee you have to pay. I like that Hemingwayapp.com uses different colours to highlight changes: - red for sentences that are VERY hard read, and you need to simplify - blue for adverbs you should remove - green for passive voice (you should edit to active voice) - yellow for sentences that are hard to read - purple for phrases that could use a simpler alternative

In my experience, Evernote still packs the most value out of a digital notetaking tool. Other tools are easier, cheaper, etc.. but for versatility, comprehensiveness, and ease of use. Evernote works well as a digital notebook and a single source of truth for current and archived project notes.

I have recently started using myReach to save links for websites, add pdfs, make notes and to group projects. It is useful for research as you can organise information from multiple types of media under categories or topics.

One thing I find helpful is to use Trello as a simple KanBan. When managing many projects at once with varying critical paths, it helps to collaborate with a simple KanBan. Starting with ToDo, Doing, and Done you can customize the KanBan to each project and add in links and notes to deep dive from the digital post-its.

I use this as a Kanban to manage cards for projects. As a visual person it appeals especially being able to add links and notes.

Copy needs graphics, and Canva makes it easy for non-designers to create visuals. I've found it especially helpful for creating feature images for blog posts and social media templates.

In my experience, this is a helpful and free way to add visuals to any copy, help define a visual look and feel and produce professional quality graphics. This is great for anyone who is writing, creating and contributing to social media while looking good. A fantastic resource!

Canva is a fantastic, easy-to-use tool for non-designers...and for freelance writers, it can help you create a good looking CV and back up your copy with visuals that are not an eye-sore. Blog posts and social media templates are especially useful form Canva, as well as their presentation or pitch decks - which are sometimes vital for landing bigger clients.

For organizing and note-taking, apps like Evernote and Trello are quite handy. Grammarly and Hemingway Editor, these are must-haves for grammar checks and readability. For saving useful articles, you can't go wrong with Pocket. Google Docs, it's a lifesaver for collaboration and real-time editing. Plus, tools like Canva for design and visuals, and of course, a good ol' thesaurus for when you're in need of some different words. Phew, quite a list na?

Another tool that I've found helpful is Otter.ai, which records audio and transcribes it for you. When holding client interviews, research meetings, or fact finding missions, Otter will record your meetings, assign the name of who is speaking, and then transcribe it for you. Afterwords, you can export a text file or an audio recording. I've found this to be helpful when gathering product-specific info before writing.

I personally use Asana to organise my work - the free version is amazing, and I love the "board" view where every task has its own card. I use the Asana app on my phone to jot down ideas for writing too, so when I get on my desktop everything is there. I highly recommend using a calendar tool like Google Calendar to block out time when you will do work. This helps you keep track of time and meet your deadlines for projects!

Another great tool for freelance copywriters and teams is WordTune. Sometimes, when you spend all day doing your best writing you just need a little help with the minutia. We mostly use it for client emails, press releases, and last minute edits. It's a pretty simple browser extension and app, really. There is also a separate WordTune Editor site with additional features. Type out a sentence in Google Docs or your preferred browser-based platform (I hear there's a Word beta for PC and Mac now too!), and WordTune can rewrite selected sentences to be more formal, casual, shorter, or longer. You can also select the sparkle icon to have it rewrite the entire sentence for you. There is a 30% discount for students, educators and nonprofits.

Learn how to utilize ChatGPT now. Learn the prompts and get in tune with it. The tool is inevitable and it's going to disrupt entire business models entirely, including every department that makes uoba company. Embrace the technology and become one with it to enhance your processes and create better content. Dont be afraid of the future. You still have a few years to learn it before every company demands a prompt egineer.