Clarity in communication is a key to marketing success. But we aren’t all natural-born writers or editors. Here are tools to help beat distraction while writing and cleaning up our work afterward.
Write!: This text processor can help you avoid distractions while writing and has features beyond the text editor. The Write! Now paid version lets users save and sync across devices. (https://wri.tt)
BlankPage: A distraction-free writing app that also motivates you to write regularly with inspirational fodder. Work on any device, save to the cloud, work offline, set writing goals, and get stats. $10/month. (www.blankpage.io)
Scrivener: A content-generation and organization tool for working on more complex writing, research reports, or ebooks. It helps with composing, structuring, formatting, and staying focused, so it’s like word-processing and project management software in one. $40 license, free trial. (www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php)
CoSchedule’s Blog Post Headline Analyzer: Blog posts need good, concise, attention-grabbing headlines. This free tool checks and grades yours. (http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer)
Grammarly: Find and fix errors Word misses, improve clarity, discover synonyms, and get feedback on the errors you make. This free tool has a browser extension so you can check your work inside Facebook or anywhere you write online. (www.grammarly.com)
Ginger Grammar Checker: This helps because we can’t edit our own work and because word processors still miss a lot of grammar mistakes. Ginger finds and corrects more mistakes than a word processor. It’s a free downloadable tool that also has mobile apps. (www.gingersoftware.com/grammarcheck)
StoryBoard That: Here’s an online storyboard-creating app; a graphic organizer for telling linear, concise stories. The free version includes thousands of images, up to two storyboards per week, and three- and six-cell storyboards. (www.storyboardthat.com) |
