16 Freelance Content Writing Tools You Need To Use in 2024

Are you a freelance content writer who often experiences writer’s block? Or do you struggle with researching golden nuggets for your content and balancing SEO with readability? The good news is, we’ll uncover 16 content writing tools to help you with these challenges and unlock your true potential as a freelance writer.

Businesses with blogs generate 55% more website traffic, so you have the power to drive more leads and sales for your clients. However, staying creative, adapting to new writing trends, and sticking to schedules will set you back from becoming a top-notch freelancer.

In this article, we’ll walk you through essential online tools for writing, researching, editing, and SEO optimization. They will not only spark your imagination but also help you deliver quality content. Imagine creating articles and blog posts that leave your audience spellbound and hungry for more.

By the end of this read, you’ll walk away with a toolkit of content writing tools to boost your efficiency, productivity, and overall writing quality. Get ready to take your freelance content writing career to new heights as you empower your clients to reach their goals.

Let’s dive in.

16 Content Writing Tools To Improve Content Quality

Freelance writing tools can help you enhance productivity, streamline your writing process, and produce captivating content. Here are the 16 most trusted tools specifically designed for freelancers like you. Let’s discover what each tool is all about, how it can boost your writing efforts, and most importantly, how you can start using it right away.

1. Grammarly

Grammarly is an online editor that ensures your writing is free from grammatical mistakes and spelling errors. With its real-time error detection and correction capabilities, Grammarly helps you produce polished and error-free content. Writers can also download the Grammarly browser extension to speed up the editing process.

Here are some ways Grammarly helps writers: 

• Checks for clarity and readability 
• Checks for plagiarism
• Enhances vocabulary
• Checks for tone formality, your domain alignment, and search intent

Let’s say you’re writing a blog post about medical alert systems targeted toward the elderly and their families. Grammarly can ensure the tone of your content aligns perfectly with your target audience. Just set the writing goals to match your tone as friendly, empathetic, educational, and informative to address their concerns.

While Grammarly is a life-savor for writers like you, don’t completely rely on it so you can still work on improving your vocabulary or sentence structure. Make use of writing self assessment tools to evaluate your written communication skills from time to time and boost your professional growth.

Pricing

To use Grammarly, you can sign up for a free account on their website for basic features like spelling and grammar checks. You can also subscribe to the premium version starting at $10.83/month. This version can check wordy sentences, passive voice misuse, and plagiarism.

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2. Copyscape

Copyscape is a plagiarism detection tool that ensures your content is original and not copied from other sources.

Here’s how it works: 

• Copyscape scans your content and compares it to a vast database of web pages.
• It identifies any instances of duplicate or plagiarized content.
• It provides a report highlighting any content that may be similar to existing online content.
• It monitors the web for copies of your content and sends you alerts if it finds any unauthorized copies.

Suppose you are a freelance writer working on an eBook about healthy eating. Before publishing your work, you can use Copyscape to check if any parts of your content match existing original content online. This way, you can ensure your content is unique and authentic. You’ll protect yourself from potential plagiarism issues.

Pricing

It offers a free version and a premium version with additional features and checks, starting at $4.95/month for up to 10 pages. You can visit their website and enter your content to check for plagiarism.

3. Hemingway Editor

The Hemingway Editor is an editing tool that improves the clarity and readability of your content. It identifies complex sentences, excessive use of adverbs, passive voice, and other writing errors so you can craft more concise and engaging articles.

Here are some of Hemingway Editor’s best features: 

• Readability scoring
• Readability analysis
• Sentence structure suggestions

Imagine writing an email newsletter promoting a new product. Hemingway Editor would highlight any convoluted sentences or instances where passive voice is used excessively. Armed with this information, you can rewrite those sentences and make them more straightforward and compelling for your readers.

Pricing

It’s a free online tool without any sign-up or installation required. You can also get a desktop application for a one-time purchase fee of $19.99 with the feature to save and export files.

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4. ChatGPT

ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI, is an AI-powered writing assistant that can enhance your productivity, creativity, and writing quality. Freelance writers can engage in a conversation with ChatGPT, requesting prompts or brainstorming suggestions for their writing projects.

Here’s how ChatGPT can help you create improved writing pieces: 

• Checks for grammatical errors and style improvements
• Assists with researching relevant information and insights
• Assists with idea generation to overcome writer’s block
• Offers feedback and suggestions for improving sentence structure and clarity.

ChatGPT can help you generate expert content on technical topics or highly customer-centric topics like solar panels in North Carolina, smart appliances, cloud computing, etc. Let’s say you’re writing a blog post on data integration tools. You can input the following relevant prompts to get desired help: 

• “What are the key features and advantages of Airbyte, Fivetran, and Estuary?”
• “How do Airbyte, Fivetran, and Estuary compare in terms of data integration capabilities?”
• “Please add pros and cons of each tool in table form.”
• “Please give real-life companies’ examples using Airbyte, Fivetran, or Estuary for data integration?”
• “What factors should you consider when choosing between Airbyte, Fivetran, and Estuary?”

The ChatGPT responses ensure your content is well-structured, comprehensive, and tailored to your target audience. The outcome will look like this optimized content: Airbyte, Fivetran, and Estuary. However, AI tools come with limitations like the lack of creativity and human emotions. Here are some of the pros and cons of AI writing tools you should know about before you get started.

Pricing

It’s a free online AI tool that only requires a sign-up to access. However, there’s a premium version that costs $20/month. The paid version offers a faster response time and priority access to new features even during times of high demand. Learn more about how to make money with ChatGPT.

5. Frase

Frase is an advanced content marketing tool that combines artificial intelligence and natural language processing to help research, optimize, and create content. This content creation tool offers a suite of powerful tools that help content creators generate high-quality, SEO-friendly content efficiently.

Let’s consider a few of the services it offers: 

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• Key topic extraction
• Document analysis and summarization
• Source identification and recommendation
• Alignment with user intent and audience expectations
• Content brief generation with recommended headings and subheadings

Pricing

To get started, sign up on their website and choose a plan that suits your needs. You can leverage the 5-day trial for $1 before subscribing to a paid plan starting at $44.95/month.

6. Google Docs

Google Docs is a versatile cloud-based writing platform that offers seamless collaboration and a distraction-free writing environment. Its real-time editing and commenting features make it ideal for collaborating with clients and colleagues. All work is automatically saved into your Google Drive, saving you the hassle of manual saving and device storage issues.

The formatting features in Google Docs make the content “publish-ready” for editors, saving them valuable time. Make use of the features like styling options, headers, image meta-tagging, and paragraph formatting to keep your content well-organized and consistent.

Let’s say you are co-writing a whitepaper with a colleague. With Google Docs, you can both work on the document simultaneously, making edits and leaving comments that are instantly visible to each other. This collaborative environment streamlines the writing process and ensures effective communication throughout the project.

Pricing

It’s a free web-based application where you can save your work offline or in the cloud via Google Drive. 

7. Word Counter

The WordCounter is a writing tool to help you calculate various aspects of your text like: word count, character count, sentence count, paragraph count, and average sentence length. Professional freelancers use it to meet specific word count requirements for an eBook, article, blog post or email form, etc.

Using Word Counter, writers can assess if their sentences are too long or their word choice is too complex. They can make necessary adjustments for better comprehension. It’s especially useful for: 

• Word count analysis
• Reading time analysis
• Speaking time analysis
• Sentence count analysis
• Character count analysis
• Keyword density analysis
• Paragraph count analysis
• readability score & comprehension levels’ analysis

Pricing

Word Counter is a free online tool. To access, just paste your content on their website and get relevant insights.

8. Evernote

Evernote is an organizational tool that helps freelance writers capture and manage their ideas, research, and notes in a central location. With Evernote, you can create notebooks dedicated to specific topics and save relevant articles, images, and notes during your research process.

Here are some of the best features of Evernote: 

• Web clipping
• Note organization
• Multi-device sync
• Collaboration and sharing

Imagine you’re a freelance writer working on a blog post about “best restaurants in California”. You use Evernote’s web clipping feature to save the relevant articles. Further, you highlight key data points and jot down your thoughts on potential subheadings. You also upload photos of eye-catching food menus and interior settings to Evernote for visual inspiration.

With Evernote’s multi-device sync, you access your restaurants’ research from your computer or smartphone. This helps streamline your writing process for a quality food and travel blog post.

Pricing

It offers a free version with basic features, as well as a premium subscription starting at $10.83/month. Bigger content teams can switch to premium features for higher storage options and other writing benefits. Writers can sign up for an account on the Evernote website or download the Evernote app to start capturing and organizing their writing-related content.

9. AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is a visual keyword research tool that provides insights into user search queries and content ideas. It helps you understand the questions people are asking about your target keywords.

It helps freelance writers with: 

• Content ideation
• Visual data presentation
• Long-tail keyword suggestions

Suppose you are writing a blog post about self assessment tools. AnswerThePublic can reveal popular questions like “Why are self assessment tools important?” or “Are self assessment tools reliable?” Answer these questions within your content. This way you can cater to the needs of your target audience and improve your content’s relevance and visibility.

Pricing

AnswerThePublic offers a limited number of free searches per day on their website. However, you can access the premium plans with unlimited searches starting from $49/month.

10. Google Trends

Google Trends is a keyword research tool for understanding the popularity and search volume of specific keywords over time. It helps writers and marketing teams identify current topics and plan their content accordingly.

Top features of Google Trends are: 

• Trend analysis
• Geographic insights
• Related-queries insights

Let’s say you are a technology writer and want to write an article about the latest smartphone releases. Google Trends would show you the search volume and interest over time for different smartphone models, allowing you to focus on the most current and popular ones. 

Leveraging this information lets you create timely and engaging content that resonates with your readers.

Pricing

It’s completely free to use and does not require any sign-up. Simply visit the Google Trends website and enter keywords to start analyzing search trends and related insights.

11. CoShedule’s Headline Analyzer

CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer is an SEO tool that evaluates your headline quality and provides suggestions to make it more attention-grabbing and engaging.

It analyzes factors such as: 

• Headline scoring
• Keyword analysis
• Emotional analysis
• Word balance analysis
• Headline length analysis
• Headline structure evaluation

Suppose you’re writing a blog post on the benefits of overseas hiring. Leveraging the tool may recommend you add power words, adjust word balance, or enhance emotional appeal.

It can turn a boring headline like “advantages of overseas hiring” into persuasive headlines like “10 Ways Overseas Hiring Drives Business Success” or “Unleashing Global Talent: How Overseas Hiring Boosts Your Business Success”. You get to create headlines that resonate with your readers and increase click-through rates.

Pricing

It’s a free online tool for headline analysis. Simply visit the website, enter your headline, and receive instant feedback.

12. Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is an SEO tool that identifies relevant keywords and analyzes search volume and competition. It optimizes your content to align with popular search queries.

Using Google Keyword Planner can help: 

• Assess competition levels for keywords
• Integrate relevant keywords into content
• Identify relevant keywords and search terms
• Understand keyword performance for advertisers
• Generate new ideas through suggested keywords
• Obtain insights on average monthly search volume

Suppose you are writing an article on “games for improving vocabulary”. Google Keyword Planner would provide you with keyword suggestions such as “board games to improve vocabulary” and “online word games for improving vocabulary,” allowing you to incorporate these keywords strategically throughout your review.

Pricing

It’s free to use but requires a Google Ads account to access all features. To access it, sign up for a Google Ads account and navigate to the Keyword Planner tool, then start exploring keyword ideas and data for your content.

13. SEMrush

SEMrush is a comprehensive SEO tool that offers valuable insights into keyword trends, search volume, and the strategies your competitors use. 

It analyzes your competitors’ top-performing articles on the topic, understands the keywords they are targeting, and gathers ideas to create more comprehensive and competitive content.

Key features of SEMrush include: 

• Backlink analysis
• Keyword analysis
• Keyword research
• Competitor analysis
• Content optimization
• Content gap analysis

For example, when writing for a pet insurance blog, using SEMrush can provide invaluable insights to optimize your content. Let’s say you’re focusing on the keyword “pet insurance benefits.” Entering this keyword into SEMrush gives you all related LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords, along with their search volume, traffic potential, and difficulty ratings.

The online writing tool suggests keywords like “best pet insurance coverage,” “affordable pet insurance plans,” and “importance of pet insurance,” to give you insights into what users are searching for so you can tailor your content accordingly.

Armed with this information, you can create comprehensive and targeted articles that address the specific needs of your readers. This maximizes your blog’s visibility and provides valuable information about pet insurance benefits.

Pricing

It’s a paid tool with subscription plans starting at $129.95/month. However, it offers a 14-day free trial as well. Sign up on their website to access the platform.

14. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO tool to conduct in-depth keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor research. Highly-paid freelancers use SEO tools like Ahrefs to rank their clients’ websites for higher online traffic and sales.

Let’s have a look at the Ahrefs’ features to better understand how it works: 

• Ahrefs’ Content Explorer helps you find popular and highly shared content in your niche.
• Allows for extensive keyword research including search volume, keyword difficulty, keyword ideas, and SERP analysis.
• Provides detailed backlink data so you can analyze your website’s backlink profile and track your competitors’ backlinks.
• The site auditing feature checks your website for SEO issues, such as broken links, duplicate content, and crawlability problems.

Suppose you are writing an article on the latest fashion trends. You can use Ahrefs to discover relevant keywords such as “spring fashion trends 2023” or “summer wardrobe essentials,” so you can optimize your content and attract targeted traffic to your fashion blog.

Pricing

It offers free access only to Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for site auditing. However, subscription plans start at $99/month for more advanced tools. You can sign up for an account on their website and choose a plan that suits your needs.

15. Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is a widely-used WordPress plugin that optimizes your content for search engines. It offers valuable insights on keyword analysis, readability level, and metadata, helping you enhance your content’s SEO (search engine optimization) performance. It assists with: 

• Content analysis
• SEO recommendations
• XML sitemap generation
• Social media optimization

Pricing

It offers a free version with basic SEO features as well as a premium plugin with advanced functionality starting at $99/year. To get started, install the plugin from the WordPress Plugin Directory and configure the settings. Use it to optimize your website’s content.

16. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a widely-used web analytics tool to track website performance and gain insights into your audience. It helps you understand user behavior, measure your content for effectiveness, and make data-driven decisions.

Google Analytics tracks and measures various aspects of website performance: 

• Shows where visitors are coming from, such as organic search, paid ads, or referrals.
• Reveal the age, gender, and location of website visitors, helping understand the target audience.
• Highlight factors like page load times and site speed, crucial for ensuring a smooth user experience.
• Offers real-time monitoring, alerts, and integration with other tools, enhancing the overall website tracking capabilities.
• Shows how visitors navigate through the website, which pages they visit, and how long they stay, providing insights into content performance.

Pricing

It’s a free tool with basic features for small businesses. To set it up, create a Google Analytics account, add the tracking code to your website, and configure the desired settings. Access the data and insights through the Google Analytics dashboard.

What Tools Are Right for You

Are you skeptical about finding the right content writing tools for your freelancing business needs? We recommend you go for the ones that align with your requirements and workflow. Consider factors such as functionality, ease of use, and integration abilities.

Think about value for money and ask yourself: Are the tools worth the investment? Assess their benefits and weigh them against the cost. Explore the possibilities, and experiment with different options. You’ll find the tools that resonate with your style and amplify your skills.

Utilize these tools to bring greater website traffic, generate more leads, and boost sales for your clients. You can optimize your content for search engines, craft engaging and error-free writing, and unlock fresh ideas. With the right tools by your side, your freelance content will get more creative and useful for your audience.

Want to keep updated about emerging freelancing trends and strategies? Head over to Millo.co now. We provide you with free access to a treasure trove of articles, podcast episodes, guides, courses, and much more. All are aimed at taking your freelancing to the next level.

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