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The Best Tools and Software for Copywriting in 2024

I started my business in 2018 after years of writing a lifestyle blog. Since then, I’ve been immersed in the digital marketing world and have written various content, from blog posts, press releases, social media captions, ad copy, newsletters, and much more. And while I’ve thoroughly enjoyed honing my writing skills, there have been plenty of times I’ve experienced writer’s block. You’re not alone if you find it challenging to produce high-quality blog posts or marketing content consistently. 

The good news is that writers like myself use copywriting tools to streamline their workflow and boost content creation. Whether you’re a seasoned copywriter leading a marketing team or a small business owner juggling multiple hats, I’ve rounded up some powerful tools that will be a game-changer in your workflow. This guide explores a variety of software tools, both free and paid, catering to different specific needs.

The Best AI Copywriting Tools:

  • Google Gemini: Gemini utilizes machine learning to understand your needs and generate creative text formats, from short-form content like social media posts to long-form pieces, even assisting with ad copy and product descriptions. Think of it as an intelligent assistant that can help you brainstorm ideas, overcome writer’s block, and easily craft compelling content.
  • Jasper: A popular choice known for its diverse range of templates and “Boss Mode” for continuous content generation. It also integrates with other platforms and features an image generator, making it an all-around solution.
  • ChatGPT: This tool can help generate ideas, brainstorm content, and craft initial drafts for various formats, like social media posts, product descriptions, and even ad copy.
  • Copy.ai: Known for its user-friendly interface and focus on short-form content creation, Copy.ai can help you generate social media posts, email marketing copy, and more.
  • Wordtune: This AI tool takes a different approach, focusing on rephrasing and rewriting existing content. It can help you improve clarity, conciseness, and overall flow, making it a valuable tool for editing and polishing your work.

Grammar and Spell Checkers: Ensure flawless grammar and plagiarism checks with tools like Grammarly and the Hemingway App.

  • Grammarly: A staple for writers of all levels, Grammarly offers comprehensive grammar and spell checking, along with suggestions for clarity and style. It also integrates with various platforms, making it convenient wherever you write.
  • Hemingway App: This free tool will help improve the readability of your writing by highlighting passive voice and complex sentences and suggesting simpler alternatives. It’s a great way to ensure your copy is clear and easy for your target audience to understand.

Headline Analyzers:

  • CoSchedule Headline Analyzer: This free tool scores headlines based on length, clarity, and emotional impact. It can help you craft headlines that grab attention and encourage clicks.
  • Sharethrough Headline Analyzer: Another free option, Sharethrough offers similar functionality to CoSchedule, providing insights and suggestions to improve your headline’s effectiveness.

A/B Testing Tools: 

  • Crazy Egg: This tool uses heatmaps and other visual data to help you understand how users interact with your web copy. You can identify which copy performs best by testing different versions and optimizing your conversion rates. All in all, this will help you achieve better results.
  • AdEspresso: Primarily focused on ad campaigns, AdEspresso allows you to A/B test different ad copy variations across various platforms. This can be valuable for testing headlines, calls to action, and other elements of your marketing copy.

Keyword Research: Optimize your content for search engines with tools like Surfer SEO or MarketMuse.

  • Surfer SEO: This tool helps you optimize your copy for search engines by analyzing your target keywords and providing suggestions for content structure and optimization.
  • MarketMuse: Similar to Surfer SEO, MarketMuse offers content optimization suggestions based on competitor analysis and industry best practices.

Finding the Best Fit: Consider These Key Features

When choosing copywriting software, consider factors like:

  • User-friendly interface: Easy to learn and navigate, even for beginners.
  • Specific needs: Look for features that align with your content creation goals, whether short-form or long-form content, social media content, or landing pages.
  • Advanced features: Explore options like unlimited words, custom use cases, and team member access, depending on your needs.
  • Pricing: Compare free tools, free trials, starter plans, and unlimited plans to find the best value for your budget.

Free Trial or Free Plan? Find Your Perfect Fit

Many platforms offer a free trial or free plan with limited features, allowing you to test the waters before committing. This is a great way to see if an ai writing assistant like Jasper AI or Copy AI aligns with your writing style and content needs.

AI Goes Beyond Blog Posts

While blog posts are a widespread use case, AI writing tools offer much more. These tools will help you generate compelling social media posts, captivating product descriptions, persuasive ad copy, and even full-fledged long-form content for your business plan.

Beyond AI: Essential Tools for Every Content Creator

It’s important to remember that AI writing tools are not a magic bullet. They can provide a valuable starting point and spark new ideas, but the human touch remains crucial for creating truly original content with a unique voice.

Empowering Content Creation with AI

You can significantly improve your content creation process by leveraging the right combination of AI writing tools and other software tools. From overcoming writer’s block to generating new ideas and boosting search engine rankings, these robust solutions can help you create high-quality content that resonates with your target audience and drives actual results.

Remember, the best tools for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. Experiment with different options and find what works best for your workflow and writing style. Most tools offer free trials, so you can test them before committing. By leveraging the right tools and software, you can streamline your copywriting process, improve the quality of your content, and achieve better results in 2024 and beyond.

Digital Marketing Entrepreneurship FAQ – Your Questions Answered Part I

Since starting my company, I get a lot of questions on what running a business is like. I’m often asked how I got started, what it’s like working for myself, and how to balance it all. One of my Instagram followers, Lexi, reached out with a few great questions so I thought I’d put them into a blog post. I have a few more from another reader that will come in Part I, but here are Lexi’s to start. Her questions are in bold and my answers are below.

Q: What is the best way to get started as a freelancer? Would you say that doing social media as an employee for a company, maybe even a startup, would be the first step?
A: Working for an agency or a startup can be your first step, but it doesn’t have to be. The beginning of my experience began when I started my food blog and was working with brands on an influencer level. (Read more here). But I know that not everyone starts that way. After having my blog for years and realizing I enjoyed digital marketing, I started learning everything I could through the internet, books, and podcasts. Eventually I started looking for a short-term contract position (side hustle) to make some extra money. My first side hustle was with OCHO Candy, a project I found through an agency here in Boston. After working with them for a year, I started taking on similar side hustles while working full-time. In short, you can either begin at a startup or marketing agency, or start looking for part-time/contract positions. And don’t forget, projects don’t have to be local! My first two social media projects were both food brands based out of California, and currently more than 50% of my work is outside of Massachusetts.Q: I like the benefits that come from working for someone else and the security that comes with it. But as someone who is also a bit free-spirited, I like the flexibility and the greater earning potential that can come from owning your own business. Would you say the benefits/cons of one definitely outweigh the other?
A: One huge thing you have to keep in mind is that there is no cap on income when you work for yourself. Sure, getting a paycheck twice a month from a company is secure, but it is always set. And for someone who’s been laid off twice (that recession was crazy), you can’t guarantee anything just because you have a full-time job. In addition, there can be limits on how much you grow within a company and the salary that you’ll earn. Working for yourself, you can make as little or as much as you want, depending on the effort you put into it. I 100% think working for myself has been worth it. Keep in mind, that with the flexibility and freedom of self-employment comes the need to be super focused, diligent, and extremely motivated.Q: Work/life balance? I’m not one of those people willing to consistently spend 80 hours a week, with no sleep, no real off time or vacations, just to make a little more money. I’m fine doing it for a time while getting the business going, but I know people who seem to be absolutely married to their work and I don’t want that. Would you say that not always being glued to a laptop, and actually being able to step completely away from time to time is achievable with owning your own social media marketing business? 
A: Plain and simple, you will need to work hard, no matter what stage you’re in. Growing requires effort, grit, and tenacity. You will be married to your work if you want your business to succeed. In fact, I’m a firm believer that if you’re not obsessed with your business, you’re not in the right one. But that doesn’t mean you’ll work 80 hours and get no sleep. It can take time to figure out the balance of how many projects you need to take on to make enough money, but also not too many to be overwhelmed and sacrifice what’s important to you. Work/life balance is 100% achievable and will take time to figure out. It’s a wild ride in the beginning, but so so worth it.

Q: Digital marketing certificates: Are they worth it? 
A: Possibly. It’s hard for me to say because the only courses I took were a couple Hubspot certifications. And those will not teach you what you need to know, they are merely supplements. While I have learned almost everything on my own (the internet is a gold mine!), certificates certainly can help. As far as college courses, they may be a good bet! I didn’t take a single marketing class in college, so don’t let not having a marketing background discourage you.

Q: I saw on your website where you said that you were earning six figures in six months, but for someone starting from the ground up, about how long do you think it would take to start earning a reasonable income? 

A: This totally depends on your experience, your skills, and what you charge. I’m also in my 30s and had I started right out of college, I’m sure the money would look a bit different. Just like any job, more experience not only helps you get your foot in the door, but it gives you the background to excel and be able to charge more. Your skills and the services you offer are a huge factor in earning the income you want. For example, the rates as a photographer, a videographer, a copywriter, etc are very different. It also depends on the industries you’re in and the clients you take on. Examples: A single-unit restaurant will not have the same budget as a multi-unit business with a dedicated marketing budget. And work as a photographer or social media marketer will have very different rates than an SEO specialist, a web designer, and so on. My advice here: learn as much as you can so you can have a variety of services to offer.

As always, if you have questions of your own, feel free to drop them in the comments below or shoot me an email. Perhaps we’ll have a Part III!

My First Year in Business: 10 Things I’ve Learned

christina orso what i've learned first year starting businessI just celebrated my first anniversary of starting my company. It’s been such a whirlwind, but I can honestly say it was the smartest decision I’ve ever made. I wanted to share some things I’ve learned my first year in business, and offer insight to many of you who are currently contemplating doing the same. Reach out if you have any questions! I’d love to put together a FAQ post as well so be sure to drop a comment below and I’ll respond in a future post. xo.

1. Narrow down your niche, at least in the beginning. When I was doing influencer partnerships, side hustles and contract work, my projects varied a lot. I worked with restaurants, packaged goods, fitness studios, beauty products, wellness, finance…the list goes on. Choosing a niche was really important to me. Coming out of the restaurant industry and being passionate about food, I decided to focus primarily on restaurants and consumer packaged goods. While that’s still my main focus and the bulk of who I work with, I do a lot of copywriting for other industries like beauty, fitness, and wine. I think it’s important to have a niche to truly be an expert at what you do and then expand from there.

2. Prepare to leave your full-time job in a sensible way. Thankfully my former boss at Boston Burger Company was so generous in allowing me to slowly condense my role in order to find new projects. March is when I began the hunt and my goal was to find enough work to leave by the end of the summer. It came way quicker than anticipated! By April, I told them that May would be the last month in my full-time role. In June, I turned BBC into one of my clients, along with the others I had picked up along the way.

3. Learn to roll with the ebbs and flows and your workload and finances. Some of of my earlier projects were about 3-months in length. Knowing that, I was always preparing to find something to replace them. I also filled gaps with smaller projects — usually copywriting and blogging for brands. In July & August, work was slooowwww. I got a little nervous, but my former boss convinced me to hang tight, because work always picks back up in September. Like clockwork, it did…and then some. The majority of my clients now are long-term, but knowing anything can change in an instant, I’m always keeping new projects in rotation. One thing I would strongly recommend is building up your savings beforehand. I prepared for slower months by saving 12+ months of salary. Thankfully I never had to touch it, but in those slow summer months, I found comfort in knowing the money was there if I needed it.

4. Separate business and personal expenses. I will be totally transparent in that I did not separate my finances in the beginning. Because I always had a side hustle before starting an actual business, everything was just going into my personal checking and savings. It gets way too messy and I strongly urge anyone starting a business to immediately open three things: a business checking, a business savings (put your tax money there) and a credit card with a good rewards program. I am partial to American Express and have two cards with them.

5. Do what you love and automate or outsource the rest. Know when to do the work yourself and when to contract out little tasks. In the beginning, I thought I was supposed to do everything. But there were a few days of “Oh my God I can’t handle this all alone” sprinkled in. I am very strong-minded and wanted to do everything myself. But it doesn’t always work out that way and it’s no way to do business. I eventually learned to let go of control and outsource things that I knew somebody else could do quicker than me. Examples of what I contracted out were media lists, super technical website stuff, and video editing. There are just some things that you need to be okay with someone else being the master at.

6. Set up a routine for success. I thrive off of routine so I know how important it is to have one to be successful. I could do an entire blog post on this but I’ll keep it simple today. Things I keep routine are the time I wake up, what I do before starting my day, how I organize my week, and how I time block throughout each day. I also keep certain things the same as much as possible so as not to create unnecessary decision-making for myself. Like what you ask? I eat the same thing for breakfast every day. Why? As a business owner, you’re forced to make so many decisions all day long and if I can eliminate one right away at breakfast, COOL.

7. Have an online portfolio. I was so overwhelmed by this in the beginning because I had so many side hustles over the years that I wanted to showcase. But thankfully from having my previous blog and a social media following, it was more a matter of getting info in the same place, which is why it is essential to have a website!!! It blows my mind when I meet someone who has a business without a website. I built mine on WordPress because for one, I’ve been using the platform since starting my blog in 2009, but also because it is highly customizable.

8. Always be learning. I have an almost embarrassing list of podcasts I listen to. I am constantly checking books out from the library. The Amazon bookstore is a second home. I actually enjoy taking online courses. And I love, love, love Google. If you don’t know the answer to something, Google it. Something more in-depth? Find a book or an online certification and teach yourself.

9. Reward yourself for your successes along the way. In this crazy world of entrepreneurship, you have to remember to take care of yourself. Whether it be completing a huge project or landing an awesome new gig, pat yourself on the back every now and then. It can be little things like taking a full day off (this is a huge lol in my book though), getting a massage (I get those more now than ever), or gifting yourself a big purchase (I have a one luxury purse a year rule 😉). Trust me when I say that when I finish the catering website I am building right now I will be treating myself to a carrot cake and quite possibly a new wardrobe.

10. Be gracious, kind, and respectful. Anyone you know can be a referral, potential client, or even a potential assistant. Treat everyone as someone you may one day do business with. I am also a firm believer in helping others as much as you can. Our knowledge and expertise is meant to be shared, not selfishly kept to ourselves in order to get ahead of others. Giving to others will always come back to you!

Thank you to everyone I have worked with this past year and a friendly hello to everyone else who is reading! If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to me on Instagram.

Social Media Speak: 5 Tips on What to Say and How to Say It

 

Social Media Speak

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the importance of defining your brand’s voice and tone. Aside from that, knowing what to say and how to say it is crucial to your success. The following tips will help you gain customer interest, increase engagement, and boost loyalty to your brand.

  1. Use emotion. Social media platforms are primarily used to connect with other people. Show your audience the people behind your brand by being open, transparent, and authentic in all of your communication. Tell a story by sharing behind-the-scenes content and using everyday language.
  2. Put emphasis on the customer. Instead of talking about yourself and what you have to offer, make your copy engage the customer first. For example, instead of a restaurant saying “We just launched our Burger of the Month and we’ve really outdone ourselves. Come try it!”, you are better off saying “Get your burger fix this weekend by trying our April Burger of the Month. Can you handle it?” Do you see the difference? The second option makes the copy more about the consumer instead of you just selling the product to them. Remember, nobody wants to be sold. They want to be interested in your offer and feel that they made the choice to buy in.
  3. Keep it simple. Avoid too many numbers, statistics, or technical jargon. Be clear, concise, and entertaining. Depending on your brand, Emojis are a useful way to add a new layer of expression to your content. Copy that includes 1-2 Emojis (avoid overdoing them!) will receive more likes, comments, and shares.
  4. Provide great customer service. Often times brands think that providing good customer service means they handle complaints well. While that is true, there’s much more to it. I cannot stress the importance of engaging with your audience. You can post high-quality all day long, but if you’re posting and forgetting, you’re missing out. Respond to comments, ask questions, and join in on the conversation.
  5. Create meaningful relationships. To build on #4, I recommend getting acquainted with your audience. The more you engage in their conversation, the more they’ll remember you in a positive way. You will become more than just a brand to them. As mentioned in this post, it’s great to have a “person” behind the brand. Be consistent, genuine, and present with all of your communication.

Follow these guidelines to foster a meaningful, genuine interaction with all of your customers. In no time you will be on your way to creating loyalty and brand advocates that will significantly help increase sales.