Ready to amp up your content game? In this article, I’m going to show you the best content marketing tools out there, both paid and free. These tools are the real deal for stepping up your content marketing strategy, making sure you get the most bang for your buck and time. Let’s dive into it!

1. QuestionDB

QuestionDB is an essential tool for writers and marketers looking to discover relevant topics. It operates as a comprehensive database of user-generated questions. This allows you to tap into the actual queries and concerns of your audience, helping you pinpoint their pain points and interests. By addressing these areas, you can create content that truly resonates with them.

How does it work?

Getting started is straightforward. Suppose you want to explore content related to enhancing your website’s backlinks. You would enter “backlinks’ ‘ into QuestionDB’s search bar and hit the Generate button. The tool then presents you with a list of related questions and keywords, which serve as a springboard for crafting new, targeted content.

Features and Pricing:

• Sorting Options: By default, QuestionDB organizes questions by popularity. However, for a broader view of what people are curious about regarding a topic, you can sort by topic in the paid version.

• Cost: The basic version is free and allows up to 10 results per search. For more extensive needs, the Pro plan is available at $10/month, offering complete access to up to 800 results per search.

This tool is a game-changer for anyone looking to deeply engage their target audience by creating highly relevant and engaging content.

2. Pexels

If you need top-notch, professional stock photos and you don’t want to spend a dime, you’ve got to check out Pexels. It’s a treasure trove of stunning images and videos, all available for free.

How It Works

Photographers from all over contribute to Pexels, adding about 100 new images daily. This constant influx means you’ll always find fresh visuals to enhance your content. For instance, if you’re penning an article on social media, just pop “social media” into the Pexels search bar and you’ll see a plethora of relevant images to choose from.

Licensing Made Simple

Pexels simplifies licensing with two main types: the Pexels License and the Creative Commons License. Both allow you to use and tweak the images for personal or commercial projects and you don’t necessarily have to credit the photographer—though it’s always appreciated when you can.

Why Consider Creating an Account?

You don’t need an account to start downloading but signing up offers perks. You can like photos, save your favorites for easy access and even follow photographers whose work you admire, keeping you connected to styles you love.

Cost:

Absolutely free. You can enjoy Pexels without spending anything, making it a fantastic tool for budget-conscious content creators who need quality visuals.

3. CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer

Think about how you browse the web—what makes you click on an article? A lot of the time, it’s the headline. A catchy headline grabs your attention and pulls you in, while a dull one might just make you scroll right past. That’s where the power of a great headline comes into play.

Getting Started with CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer

So, how can you be sure your headlines will catch the eye? Try using CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer. Just pop your headline into their tool and hit ‘Analyze’. You’ll get a score out of 100, plus a clear breakdown of what’s working and what’s not.

Deep Dive into Your Results

After your initial analysis, the tool doesn’t just leave you hanging. As you scroll through your results, you’ll find actionable tips on how to refine your headline, insights into its length, how it might look in Google search results and more.

Iterate for Perfection

What’s really cool is you can tweak your headline and analyze it again right there. Keep adjusting until you hit the sweet spot. Didn’t get it right the first time? No worries—you can even revisit previous headlines you’ve tested and pick the best performer.

Cost:

Totally free. This tool is a must-have for anyone serious about pulling readers in with standout headlines.

4. SimilarWeb

Ever wondered how your online marketing stacks up against your competitors? That’s where SimilarWeb steps in. It’s not just a tool; it’s like having a spyglass into your competitors’ strategies. It gives marketing, business and product teams crucial insights into how well their efforts are doing compared to others in the industry.

Diving Deep with SimilarWeb

Want to get a clearer picture of how your competitors are pulling in users? SimilarWeb breaks down their channel mix, user acquisition strategies, retention tactics and initial user behaviors. It’s very useful if you’re aiming to understand and outpace the competition.

Why the Referrals Tool Rocks

One of my favorite features in SimilarWeb is the Referrals tool. It shows you precisely where your competitors are getting their traffic from. Seeing this can spark some smart moves for your own link-building efforts. For example, you can approach these same referrers and suggest your website as a new resource, potentially capturing some of that traffic for yourself.

Cost:

You can start with a free plan, which is pretty generous. If you need more advanced features, they offer enterprise pricing tailored to your needs. This makes SimilarWeb an excellent choice for anyone serious about getting a leg up on the competition.

5. Canva

Need to whip up a killer presentation, eye-catching blog header or some great social media graphics? Canva is your go-to tool. It’s incredibly user-friendly with its drag-and-drop design features, making graphic design feel like a breeze—even if you’re not a pro designer.

Getting Started Is a Snap

Canva offers a heap of templates that help you jumpstart your design projects. Whether you’re creating digital content or print materials, you can get going in just a few clicks. It’s perfect for everything from school projects to personal blogs and professional marketing materials.

Always Something New

One of the things I really dig about Canva is that they’re always rolling out new features so there’s constantly something new to explore. Plus, if you ever get stuck, their customer support team is stellar and very responsive.

What You Get for Free

The free version of Canva is pretty loaded. You get access to over 8,000 templates, more than 100 types of design formats and hundreds of thousands of free photos and graphics. Honestly, it’s a lot of bang for no bucks.

Cost:

You can stick with the free version and do just fine but if you need more advanced features, their paid plans start at $9.95 per user per month (when billed annually). This is a great deal if you’re looking to take your content creation up a notch or two.

6. Alltop

Ever feel overwhelmed trying to find quality blogs or news sources? Alltop has got you covered. It’s basically a massive collection of popular blogs sorted into about 50 different categories. The idea behind Alltop is to make it very easy for you to find top-tier news and blog content for any topic you’re interested in.

Why It’s Great for Content Marketers

As a content marketer, Alltop can be a goldmine for you. It lets you peek at what’s trending in your field, giving you a ton of new content ideas. Plus, it’s a great place to scout for guest blogging opportunities, which can be a solid strategy for building backlinks to your site.

Check Out the Viral Tab

One of the slickest features on Alltop is the Viral tab. This section highlights the hottest, most engaging content across the platform. It’s a fantastic way to see what’s buzzing right now so you can either jump on similar topics or get inspired for your own unique take. You can filter the viral content by day, week, month or year to see what’s been making waves.

Cost:

Totally free. Alltop is an excellent tool for staying on top of industry trends and finding inspiration for your next content piece, all without spending a penny.

7. Hemingway Editor

If you’re looking to sharpen your writing, the Hemingway Editor is a tool you’ll want to check out. It’s pretty straightforward: you drop your text into the website or app and it instantly analyzes your writing. It’ll show you the readability score, word count and where you can make your content clearer and more engaging.

How It Helps Improve Your Writing

The coolest part? The feedback is color-coded directly in your text, making it very easy to spot where you need improvements. Here’s a quick breakdown of what each color means:

• Yellow: These are sentences that might be a bit tough to read because they’re long or complicated.
• Red: These sentences are really challenging to read and could confuse your readers.
• Purple: This highlights words or phrases where there might be a simpler, more straightforward option.
• Blue: These are spots where you’ve used adverbs or weak phrases that could be tightened up.
• Green: This points out where you’ve used passive voice, which can make your writing less direct.

Real-Time Editing Feedback

As you tweak your text, the editor updates its analysis in real-time so you can see how your changes affect the readability score right away. It’s a great way to learn as you edit!

Cost:

You can use the web version for free, which is great for most needs. If you prefer to work offline or just want to support the developers, the desktop app is available for $19.99.

8. Airstory

Airstory is a very flexible writing tool that’s all about making your life easier when you’re juggling notes and research. Unlike traditional word processors, Airstory lets you drag and drop your research right into the document you’re working on. This means you can see all your notes and sources without flipping through tabs or windows.

Cool Features of Airstory

Here’s how it works: you can drag any note into your document and shuffle them around until they fit just right. And if you’re writing and come up with something you might want to use later? Just highlight that text, click and boom—it’s saved as a new note for future use.

Also, Airstory’s got tabs. So if you’re someone who likes to keep your writing organized or need to handle multiple parts of a project at once, this feature will be a game-changer.

Bonus: Airstory Researcher Chrome Extension

Now, let’s talk about the Airstory Researcher Chrome extension. This add-on is a powerhouse for collecting info as you browse. You can clip text and images, snag URLs, tag your clips for easy sorting and then send them straight to your Airstory docs. When it’s time to write, just drag those clips into your post. And yes, it helps you cite all that research too so you’re not left scrambling to remember where everything came from.

Cost:

Airstory is pretty robust even in its free version, which is awesome for personal projects or small teams. If you’re running a bigger operation or need more advanced features, the business plan is $6.47 per user per month. This tool can really streamline how you handle writing and research, making the whole process a lot smoother.

9. Google Analytics

Ever wondered where your website’s traffic comes from or which of your marketing campaigns are knocking it out of the park? Google Analytics has got all the answers. It’s like having a high-powered microscope that zooms in on your site’s traffic sources, user engagement, top-performing pages and a whole lot more.

Why It’s a Game Changer for Content Marketers

Here’s the deal: Google Analytics is possibly the best free tool you could use to fine-tune your content marketing. It shows you which pieces of your content are actually leading to sales. Armed with that info, you can tailor your strategy to produce more of the content that converts visitors into customers.

A Report You’ll Love

One of my favorite features in Google Analytics is the traffic report. You can find it by navigating to Behavior >> Site Content >> All Pages. This report isn’t just about seeing which pages get the most traffic. It dives deep, giving you insights into how long visitors are sticking around (time on site) and whether they bounce off quickly (bounce rate). It’s a fantastic starting point for figuring out how to make your content even more engaging.

Cost:

Completely free.

10. Buffer

If you’re diving deep into social media marketing, you know it’s crucial to keep your feeds lively. But constantly posting can eat up a ton of your time. Enter Buffer, a sleek social media management tool that helps you schedule posts, track engagement and analyze your social media performance.

Why Buffer Makes Life Easier

Buffer is all about efficiency. With it, you can line up batches of posts to go out throughout the day or week, which means you’re free to focus on other tasks. No more interrupting what you’re doing to post on social; Buffer handles it for you.

Cost and Plans

Buffer offers different plans based on your needs. If you’re just starting, their free plan lets you manage 3 social accounts and schedule up to 10 posts. Need more? Their Publish plan starts at $15/month and for more in-depth analytics, the Analyze plan begins at $35/month. Buffer is an invaluable tool for anyone serious about making their social media channels pop without spending all day online.

11. Grammarly

Think of Grammarly as your digital writing assistant. Sure, it checks spelling and grammar but it goes way beyond just fixing typos. Grammarly analyzes your tone, style and even checks for plagiarism to ensure your content is not only correct but also original and engaging.

Set Your Writing Goals

One feature I find very helpful is the ability to set writing goals. With Grammarly, you can tailor your writing to fit specific needs by setting goals for:

• Audience: Who are you writing for?
• Formality: How formal do you need to be?
• Domain: What’s the context—academic, business, casual?
• Tone: What feeling do you want to convey?
• Intent: What’s the purpose of your writing?

Cost:

Grammarly offers a robust free version, which is great for everyday writing. However, if you’re a professional looking to step up your game, the paid plan starts at $11.66 per month (billed annually) and provides even deeper insights and corrections.

12. Yoast SEO

If you’re serious about content marketing, you need to make sure your content is discoverable and engaging. Yoast SEO is a top-notch tool that helps ensure your content ranks well in search engines and reaches the right audience. It’s packed with features like keyword optimization, readability checks and tools to avoid duplicate content.

What the Premium Version Offers

The free version of Yoast is pretty comprehensive but if you’re looking to boost your SEO game further, the Premium version offers additional tools. You get suggestions for internal links to keep readers on your site longer, a redirect manager to avoid the dreaded 404 error pages and more.

Cost:

There’s a free version available, which is quite effective for basic needs. For more advanced features, Yoast SEO Premium is available for $89 per year. This is a solid investment if you’re aiming to increase your site’s visibility and engagement significantly.

13. Trello

If you’re looking to keep your content marketing process organized and on track, Trello is a fantastic tool to consider. It’s a straightforward kanban-style project management platform that uses boards, lists and cards to help you manage tasks efficiently.

Who Uses Trello?

Big names like Mashable, ReadWrite and Changelog rely on Trello to manage their workflows, which just shows how versatile and powerful it can be. Whether you’re managing small tasks or large projects, Trello can handle it all.

Perfect for Team Collaboration

Are you working as part of a content marketing team? Trello makes collaboration easy. You can set up boards like an editorial calendar, where everyone can see what’s due, who’s working on what and the status of different pieces of content. This transparency helps everyone stay on the same page and pushes projects forward more smoothly.

Automate with Butler

One of the coolest features in Trello is Butler, a built-in automation bot. Butler can do things like:

• Rule-based triggers: Automate actions based on specific criteria.
• Custom card and board buttons: Create buttons for frequent actions to save time.
• Calendar commands: Manage deadlines and schedules with ease.
• Due date commands: Keep track of deadlines automatically.

Templates for Everything

Trello offers a wide array of templates for various needs, from business and marketing to design and project management. These templates can jumpstart your projects and help you set up your boards quickly.

Cost:

There’s a free version of Trello that’s quite robust for most users. If you need more advanced features, premium plans start at $9.99 per user per month. Trello is a simple but powerful tool for anyone looking to streamline their content marketing efforts and enhance team productivity.

Conclusion

Stepping up your content marketing game doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Remember, using the right tools not only boosts your productivity but also helps you deliver content that truly resonates with your audience. So, take advantage of these resources and watch your content strategy thrive!