This is a guest post by Amir Noghani.
Freelance writers are a special breed, managing their own careers and setting up their own writing projects. According to statistics, there are currently 53 million freelancers in U.S. alone, and around 70% of them claim technology has made it easier to find work.
In addition, these technological advancements have also proved to be highly beneficial when it comes to conducting their work with highest quality in mind.
Writers make up almost 20% of all freelancers, and they require proper tools that will assist them in creating, writing and editing.
For the following article we have listed top 10 tools every writer needs in his creative arsenal.
Let's check them out.
10 Freelance Writing Tools You Need
1. Copyscape
Copyscape is one of the best-known programs to detect plagiarism and duplicate content. Using a program like this ensures that all of your created content is original, which bolsters your reputation as a writer.
In addition, you can use Copyscape to look for plagiarism of your own content by others. This tool uses a set of algorithms that can identify copied content that has been modified and published.
The free version of Copyscape can find copies of your web pages online, while the premium version can detect whether someone has copied your own content.
With the premium version, you can also find plagiarism warnings to put on your website, and it has a tool that can compare two articles or web pages, side by side.
2. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid offers manuscript editing, and is available in both free and paid versions.
This editing software can be integrated with MS Word, Open Office, and Google Docs, so that you can edit right where you’re writing, rather than having to copy and paste your content into the editor.
It offers reports on all aspects of your writing, including style, grammar, clichés, consistency, and words that are repeated. It also offers a thesaurus that works with the context of your writing, if you’re having trouble coming up with the perfect word.
3. A Good Word Processing Program
The most common word processing program for writers is MS Office Word, but there are also a number of free alternatives to this program. For example, WPS Office Writer, Google Docs, LibreOffice Writer, and Apache OpenOffice Writer are all great options for creating your written content for free.
Many writers have different preferences for word processing programs, but you must make sure that whichever program you choose, it’s compatible with other programs, so that your work can be viewed in multiple programs.
4. Keyword Research Tools
Again, there is a variety of keyword research tools, and it really comes down to a matter of preference. Keyword research is important, so that your content will rank for the right keywords, in order to get more exposure on the internet and to attract the right visitors to your content.
It’s important to select keywords that are relative to your content, and our preferred keyword research tools are Moz Keyword Explorer and Google Keyword Planner.
Quick Tip: Here at Blogging Aid, we highly recommend SEMRush.
5. Content Explorer Tools
Sometimes writers run out of content ideas. It happens to all of us.
This is where content explorer tools can be helpful.
These tools are great ways to discover what content is most popular in your particular niche, and the tools allow you to examine backlinks, organic searches, and social shares.
So even if you have plenty of ideas, a content explorer tool can show you what's trending in your field.
You can also find influencers who can promote your content for you.
Some of the best content explorer tools include Epic Beat, Google Trends, and Buzzsumo, some of which also allow you to research the content your competitors are using.
Quick Tip: Here at Blogging Aid, we highly recommend Ahrefs.
6. A Good HTML Editor
HTML editors are computer programs that do exactly what the name suggests, but in a way that allows for convenience and functionality.
Some HTML editors may also allow you to manage CSS, XML, and JavaScript.
The preferred editors are Notepad ++, Sublime Text, and brackets.io.
You might think that as a writer, you don’t need to know anything about HTML, but many webmasters prefer that files be delivered to them in HTML format.
7. Project Management Tools for Collaborating
Image Source: Freepik
If you collaborate with a team, you will definitely need some software for project management.
This is software that allows for project planning and scheduling, allows you to work together with a team, allows you to receive notifications when changes are made, and makes it easy to track projects.
The most popular project management programs are Basecamp, Asana, and Trello, all of which make it easy to communicate with your other team members.
8. Cloud Storage
Image Source: Freepik
File storage and sharing programs are the easiest way to store and share your files online, rather than only on your computer. Not only will you be able to access your files from virtually anywhere, but you’ll also have a backup of all your files, in the event that something happens.
Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive are the most common file storage and sharing programs.
9. A Program That Makes It Easy to Find and Share Images
Most quality content includes images of some kind, and writers have to be careful with the images they use in their content, so that they don’t violate any copyright laws.
We like Flickr, which offers license-free images that can be used by virtually anyone, and can also be used by bloggers to host the images embedded in content.
Flickr also offers an easy method to give due credit for photos.
Freepik is another really cool program, which offers free vectors, photos, and PSD files for use, and it also has a premium plan.
Quick Tip: We recommend you add some graphic editing software to your toolbox. We use Canva here, and it is awesome.
10. Evernote
Many freelance writers have trouble keeping themselves on track, and this is a great program to help you with organizing your research and notes.
Evernote is a type of note-taking software that is sort of like a digital notepad, to allow you to collect and organize your research. It allows you to make notes, share ideas with others (if you allow others access), and even capture screenshots of web pages.
You can keep yourself organized by leaving reminders for yourself, and categorizing different parts of your projects. Evernote is available in both free and paid versions.
Conclusion
Freelance writing can be very lucrative. Especially if you possess the right skills.
But even the best freelance writers need help. And that's where the handy tools come in.
Guest Author: Amir Noghani is a manager of an SEO agency in Australia. He has a Master’s degree in engineering and more than seven years of experience in online marketing and communications.
