Do you research, design, edit and promote content? Then you might have seen all the available online tools to make this process easier, but which ones are really useful? I previously wrote a blog about useful blog tools you can use to create more valuable blogs. Now, I don’t only use blog tools but also tools for creating audience specific content such as images/infographics and social media (research) tools. I’d love to share them with you.

Smartphone tools:

1. STENCIL

A tool with which you can create the most beautiful images. You don’t have to be a designer to add beautiful creations to you social media posts. Choose royalty free photo’s, images, backgrounds or icons. Can’t find pictures that suit you? Then you can easily upload your own photo as well.

2. INFOGRAM

Besides designing infographics, you can also visualize your data with graphics or interactive maps. It’s useful when you want to process data in one go and it’s also a fun way to share information with your online audience.

3. FEEDLY

Are you looking for inspiration for your blog or other content? Select categories you find interesting. You daily receive an update of the most recent published articles. In that way you stay up to date of the latest trends and developments in your niche. You also have reliable sources you can use with your content.

4. ANDERS PINK

A brand new tool of the creators of Buzzsumo and Bloomberry. You can find all the important news from your network and niche in one place. You no longer have to check multiple online channels. Filter on topic or time or work at your content as a team.

5. QUORA

You can use Quora if you want to know what your audience is concerned about. Based on specific categories you can ask your question or look for questions of your audience. Quora helps you define the needs and problems of your audience so you can adjust your content to it.

Desktop tools:

6. AFTER THE DEADLINE

A really cool tool when you want to write a flawless text. Copy paste your text to see where you can improve your writing, spelling and grammar. When you use Wordpress, you can download the plugin.

7. EASY WORD COUNT

Do you work in the cloud a lot and specifically Google Docs? Then you will love this tool. When you write a (guest) blog you’re often limited by the amount of words. The problem is that Google Docs won’t show you this. Copy paste your text into Easy Word Count and find out how many words you’ve written.

8. BLOOMBERRY

The creators of Buzzsumo developed this new tool recently. Enter keywords and choose filters to find out what kind of content your audience loves. The topics are divided based on popularity so you can see what your audience talks about in one glance. Then, click the link to see detailed results.

9. SOCIAL MESSAGE OPTIMIZER

CoSchedule introduces a brand new tool. After the success of the Headline Analyzer they developed the Social Message Optimizer. It makes it possible to create successful social media posts by looking at which factor(s) you can strengthen your message(s).

As a result you can increase your reach and engagement.

What tools do you use for content creation? I’m curious for your thoughts. Do you want to know more? Download the ‘toolbox Content Marketing’ for more useful tools.

What is the difference between blogging and copywriting? I can imagine that this question surprises you a bit. Well, you’re not the only one. For a long time, I was also unaware that there was a difference. This changed when I got a temporary job as a content specialist. At that time, I had already written a couple of blogs myself. That made me aware that you don’t just write a blog post. It took me more than six months (!) before I published my first blog because it was a constant process of writing…deleting…putting it aside…..and rewriting.

What I mostly learned was that writing an instructive blog post is an educational process for the writer. Despite the topic you write about.

With that in mind, I went to work. I soon found out that in this company, blogging meant something completely different. I had to finish each blog post in one hour. When also a visual had to be created, it decreased the writing time. It felt like a competition, with the goal to write as many copy as possible. This obviously affects the quality of the blog. Blogging and copywriting are two entirely different things.

Since then I have noticed that the word ‘blog’ is also used when people actually mean ‘copywriting’. Copywriting is completely different from writing a great blog post.

Blogging versus copywriting

Copywriting is something that usually has to be done quickly, because people don’t want to fall behind in the ‘content race’ and they want to see quick results. Many of these texts have to be actively written with the aim of putting the reader directly into action. While blogging is much more about providing valuable information to educate the reader.

Blogging is part of content marketing. It means that you write online articles in which you share valuable information to engage an audience. So that eventually the audience knows where to find you for a particular product or service instead of cold calling yourself. So blogging is a way to reach and attract potential customers.

The differences between blogging and copywriting are summarized in the table below.

Depending on what you want to achieve, you can choose copywriting or blogging. Keep in mind that, when you choose blogging, you can only aspect long term results because of the status you have to acquire and the audience you have to build. When you write copy it often involves short- term results.

Michael Brenner, of ‘The Marketing Insider Group’ says we focus to much on content that needs to help sell our products. The result is that we choose copywriting but sell it as ’blogs’ and that’s incorrect. Blog posts are created to educate or inform people instead of selling something because a long-term customer relationship is acquired.

The aim of copywriting is to sell products in a short period of time, often without focusing on the needs of the (potential) customers. Chances are that your audience won’t see the copy you’ve created, because their needs differ enormously. That’s a pity, because in these modern times you can learn a lot about your (potential) customers online and use it in your advantage. Like the needs they have. It’s a pity when you won’t benefit from it.

Whatever you write, thoroughly think about what you’re going to write by asking yourself the following questions:

What’s the purpose of your blog?
Who do you write it for?
Where are you going to publish it?
What’s the result your aiming for and how are you going to measure it?

DIY: Creating a great blog post

It takes time when you really want to create great content. Regardless of whether it’s video, audio or a blog. It’s the same process for all your content, but in this blog post I only explain the process for writing a blog post.

The first thing you start with when writing a blog post is the structure. You roughly set out what you are going to say. This is your framework. To determine the structure, it’s important to think about the purpose of your blog post.

Next, you start your research. This means you are searching on the internet for similar blogs about the topic you choose for your blog. When you do this you’ll ask yourself the next questions:

What’s already written about this topic?
What resources can support your own blog?
How do you decide the trustworthiness and usability of these resources?
How can you create value with your blog in addition to what’s already out there? (this depends on what you’ve found)
What will be your header?
What’s the tone of voice of your blog? (funny, informal, formal etc.)

When you write a blog it’s also essential to think about the way you want to ‘speak’ to your audience.

Measuring = knowing

Besides the writing it’s also important to check the data of your blog after publication. Look at the statistics. How many people have read your blog post, how many shared, liked or commented on it. You can use this data to attract your audience even better. Because the numbers are visible you can align your blog post with your audience.

The above process takes time. When you want to write a good blog, it’s important to take the time for it. When you’re an online marketer in an organization, or when you create content as a freelancer, the adjacent picture can be interesting. Maybe you know it as the ‘project management triangle’. It’s used in project management, but is also useful for when you create content. This triangle shows that the three factors (fast, cheap and good) together aren’t a great match. Each combination of these factors creates a different tension.

Fast and good = expensive (not cheap)

Good and cheap= slow (not fast)

Fast and cheap = inferior (not good).

The next time someone asks you to combine the aspects from the ‘project management triangle’ in a blog you can identify these factors, intervene and act on it.

In short, it depends on the strategy and planning you choose, if blogging can add value for your audience. As long as you have a clear vision on what you want to achieve with the blog post you create. But do it consistently and analyze the results afterwards.

What about you? I’m curious for your thoughts about the difference between blogging and copywriting. What experiences do you have?

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Blogging versus Copywriting: the Difference Explained