Brianna Crawford – Brianna Crawford

5 Free Tools to Help You Write Better Marketing Copy

May 19, 2020

Whether you want to pick up more blogging internally, have a limited budget for content creation, or are simply interested in strengthening your writing, there are plenty of online resources you can start using today to create more polished, compelling content.

From developing subject lines for sales prospecting emails to writing digestible, engaging web copy, here are five online writing tools even the pros use that can help you sharpen and spiff up your copy.

Even better? Every tool here is completely, entirely, not-even-a-credit-card-required free.

Headline Analyzer by CoSchedule
Headlines matter. A lot. As famous ad-man David Ogilvy said, “On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” And when it comes to writing headlines that get results, Headline Analyzer from CoSchedule is a favorite amongst copywriters and content marketers.

Just plug in your blog post title or article headline and this site will give it an overall score based on its structure, grammar and readability. The site also provides specific tips on how you can improve your headline, such as by incorporating more uncommon or emotional words. If you use just one tool from this post, this is the one. (And for subject lines, CoSchedule also offers a free subject line tester.)
SubjectLine.com
Subject lines can make or break the success of an email campaign: 35 percent of email recipients open email based on the subject line alone. While this subject line tester doesn’t have as clean an interface as Headline Analyzer, it is a workhorse when it comes to testing and optimizing potential subject lines.

This site evaluates your subject lines against over 800 unique rules that may affect performance and deliverability, based on over 3 billion email messages that have been sent and tracked via SubjectLine.com’s partners and clients. The tool gives your subject line an overall score, as well as identifies where your subject line loses points so you know how to improve it.
Grammarly
Grammarly is an AI-powered digital writing assistant that uses machine learning to proofread for readability, clarity and tone. The free version offers basic writing corrections, while there are also premium and business plans that offer more advanced writing feedback and highlight specific areas for improvement.

One feature I really like about Grammarly is that you can check the tone of your copy to make sure it’s in line with your brand voice and content strategy. Want to make sure you sound friendly, but not informal? Concerned, but not angry? By providing additional information on your content objectives—such as the intended audience, formality and tone—Grammarly can analyze your copy to make sure it is on point with your goals.
Hemingway Editor
Offering both an online version and desktop app, enter your text and Hemingway reviews it for errors, clarity, and overall readability. The tool gives your copy a readability grade level (you should be aiming for 8^th grade or lower), while also flagging areas for improvement. It highlights sentences that are hard to read, contain too many adverbs or passive voice constructions, or may have simpler alternatives.
OneLook
Every writer has experienced the infamous writer’s block at some point, and OneLook’s expansive reverse online dictionary is invaluable for those tip-of-the-tongue moments. This site, along with thesaurus.com, are great resources to help find the best word for any situation. Seems simple, but when words now matter more than ever, choosing *just* the right word is important.

Type in “powerful” for example, and you’ll get a long list of related words—such as “influential,” “mighty,” and “compelling”—all ranked by relevance. With OneLook you can also find words that begin a certain way, are a particular length, or rhyme with a specific word—all of which can be helpful when writing short, snappy copy.

Bonus Hack: Google

I know what you’re thinking—Google, really?—but stay with me. Particularly when it comes to relatively new industry-specific terminology, words don’t always have an agreed-upon, standardized writing convention. Is it microlearning, micro-learning, or micro learning? What about eLearning (or e-learning)? Do you hyphenate, is it one word or two?

In the Google search bar, type the potential variations of the word—one at a time—inside quotation marks. Take a quick mental note of the number of search results for each. The variation that returns the most results is usually the preferred variation. Back to the example above, “microlearning” returns 752K results, “micro-learning” returns 334K results, and the two-word “micro learning” returns 374K. In this case, I’d go with “microlearning.” It has nearly double the number of results as the other variations, so it seems to be the more generally agreed-upon convention. This isn’t foolproof and it’s certainly not black and white, but it’s a quick and dirty way to help you button up your copy in a hurry.

Creating Polished, Persuasive Marketing Copy

While hiring a professional marketing copywriter is always a good investment—and usually pays for itself within a short period of time—there will be times when you’ll want or need to DIY it. There are hundreds of online writing tools out there—all with varying levels of sophistication and ease of use—but these five tools are a great place to start. From Headline Analyzer to Hemingway to OneLook, these online resources can help anybody—regardless of role, background or experience—write better, faster, and more efficiently.

Why Good Copy Matters Now More Than Ever

By: Brianna Crawford

May 11, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has upended our daily lives and altered nearly every aspect of the business landscape. Employees have had to juggle full-time work while also stepping into the roles of teacher and round-the-clock caregiver at home. Organizations have had to quickly adapt to changing market conditions and a new global reality. And marketers have had to quickly pivot, rethinking and redesigning planned campaigns and communication strategies.

As social distancing has become the new norm, marketing teams can no longer rely on face-to-face meetings and events to bring in new leads and stay connected with customers. At the same time, organizations in a wide variety of industries are feeling the economic impact of COVID-19. Mindsets have shifted and many B2B technology buyers are taking a harder look at their budgets and increasingly scrutinizing spend. Coupled with the amount of noise in the digital marketing landscape—after all, most of our inboxes have been flooded with COVID-related emails by now—it’s become increasingly difficult for marketers to break through to drive engagement, conversions and, ultimately, sales.

So, where does this leave marketers? People are craving authenticity and personal connection more than ever before, but how do you create that connection given all of the barriers we now face?

The answer is through better copywriting.

How to Write Copy That Connects and Converts

Right now, the written word is really all we have in our marketing toolbox to communicate and connect with our prospects and customers. Your buyers, just like you, are also working from home, homeschooling, and balancing family life. One thing they aren’t doing is spending a single minute on content that doesn’t engage them personally or serve them professionally. Unless your copy really speaks to and hits the mark with your audience, they won’t think twice about deleting it or just ignoring it altogether.

And while most marketers today can agree on the value of high-quality content—after all, 64 percent of B2B marketers outsource their writing to an outside expert—what exactly makes copy “sticky?” Here are a few copywriting tips you can start implementing right now to create content that engages and resonates with your audience:

Think like Mr. Rogers.
Be a helper. As best-selling author and marketing strategist Jay Baer notes, “Smart marketing is about help, not hype.” Let this spirit shine through in your writing. Don’t be the proverbial used car salesperson who aggressively pitches their product to anybody that steps on the lot. This is a great, all-the-time rule to live by, but it’s even more important now. There is a post-COVID future, and people will remember which brands were there for them during these trying times.
Tone is everything.
Be sensitive, but don’t be timid. It’s okay to acknowledge coronavirus or even create coronavirus-centered content—if it’s relevant and helpful—but don’t use the pandemic as a marketing opportunity and don’t fear monger. It turns people off and your audience may well attach those negative associations to your brand. People are anxious enough right now and they’re consuming plenty of not-so-awesome news coverage. Let your brand be a light. Remember, there is power in positivity.
Write like you talk.
Marketing should be a conversation, not a monologue. And your writing should reflect that. In today’s environment, building and maintaining trust is paramount for every organization—and the key to creating a real connection with your audience. But you can’t build trust when you sound like a stuffy corporate drone. No matter your industry, audience, or product, authenticity always wins.
Break the rules.
Prioritize readability over the hard-and-fast grammar rules you learned in school. Yes, write like you talk—but then be relentless in your editing. More is less. Short choppy sentences are great. Starting sentences with “but” and “because” works too. Good copy isn’t showy or flashy, but simple and to the point. People are busier than ever right now. Write in a way that is consumable and gets your message across without overwhelming the reader.
Move from “we” to “you.”
Avoid language with an inward orientation and instead put the focus on your reader. “You” is one of the most powerful, persuasive words marketers can use. It allows readers to envision themselves using your products or services. Emphasize the benefits of your product—both functional and emotional—over its features. Of course, technical capabilities are important and need to be communicated in certain types of assets—particularly when it comes to more technical industries and audiences—but they shouldn’t be your opener.

Content Marketing in the Age of Coronavirus

While these copywriting techniques have always been valuable in creating engaging, high-impact marketing copy, they’ve become even more important in the age of COVID-19. Great copy engages and builds a personal connection with your audience, and that connection is the key to boosting conversions and revenue. In fact, one study found that when customers feel connected to brands, 57 percent will increase their spending with that brand and 76 percent will buy from them over a competitor. Any marketing campaign or program is only as good as the copy behind it, and with a thoughtful, carefully crafted approach to copywriting, you can create content that commands attention and inspires action.