37 tools that will make you a better writer
DESCRIPTION
Looking for resources to help you write better? Check out this solid list of 37 places to go for help, inspiration and more!TRANSCRIPT
Intr
o Wri$ng skills lie at the heart of web marke$ng. Being a good writer is essen$al for crea$ng your own website content, and excellent wri$ng abili$es will help you think more cri$cally and come up with new content more consistently in the long-‐term. Here is a list of 37 tools that will improve your content wri$ng abili$es.
e Basics: Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation
#1 Quick and Dirty Tips brings you Grammar Girl, a place where all kinds of gramma$cal ques$ons are answered for anyone and everyone’s benefit.
Grammar Girl
#2 “This course covers approximately the same ground as our English department’s ENG 1320 Grammar course.” College-‐level grammar educa$on for the low cost of free.
University of Ottawa’s Hyper Grammar
#3 I know that wiki pages are not considered “official authori$es” on many subjects, but this ar$cle has been edited by almost 110 different experienced website contributors. If you need a good place to start, this is it.
WikiHow’s English Punctuation How-To
#4 Excellent ar$cles on sentence structure and common errors.
Online Writing Assistant by Paradigm
#5 26 free wri$ng $ps from an interna$onally-‐acclaimed professional writer with decades of experience.
Writing Tips from Writer’s Block
#6 Notes and examples of modern gramma$cal forms and features, compiled over many years by Jack Lynch, Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University.
e Guide to Grammar and Style
#7 A complete style guide for technical wri$ng.
Technical Writing
#8 Journalist’s Style Guides are excellent resources for finer points and odd ques$ons when it comes to wri$ng. Style guides are the newsman’s bible.
e Economist Style Guide
#9 Don’t let the name fool you, this massive list of other resources has been republished all over the place because it’s just plain useful.
Dumb Little Man’s 40+ Grammar and
Punctuation Tips
Practical Guides to Better Writing Skills
#10 Compiled from a number of famous wri$ng guides, this primer gives writers an excellent resource for improving their skills.
A Guide to Writing Well
#11 Engaging tutorials that teach you the basics of how to write excellent copy. I’ve referred to this one o]en.
Copyblogger’s Copywriting 101
#12 A two-‐part list of 101 excellent resources for improving your copywri$ng skills.
FutureNow’s Ultimate Copywriting Cheat Sheets
#13 Passive voice is usually frowned upon, but for writers needing a place to inject keywords, passive voice can be an excellent tool.
Passive Voice for Web Headings
#14 Tips on how to write headlines that will demand a^en$on.
How to Write Magnetic Headlines
#15 Another excellent Copyblogger resource on landing pages and how to make them work for you.
How to Write Landing Pages
#16 Michel For$n is an expert when it comes to wri$ng copy, and here is his list of what not to do when wri$ng your own.
e Seven Deadly Sins of Website Copy
#17 A concise list of $ps from great writers throughout history.
10 Writing Tips from the Masters
#18 Tips on wri$ng persuasive anchor texts to drive conversions from content.
How to Write Persuasive Links
Cool Tools
#19 Tips on wri$ng persuasive anchor texts to drive conversions from content.
De"nr
#20 A word map that connects words with other related words and subjects.
Visuwords Graphical Dictionary
#21 Diagrams and images that visually define curious words for writers asking themselves “what the heck is this thing?”
Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary
#22 Feature-‐rich dic$onary boas$ng one of the largest English word databases on the web.
OneLook Dictionary
#23 The same dic$onary, but backwards. Ever had an idea that you needed condensed in one word? Can you think of everything about a word but the word itself? This dic$onary lets you describe a concept or ask a ques$on and see a list of associated words in response.
OneLook Reverse Dictionary
#24 Convenient dic$onary program with the ability to work completely offline. Great for digital writers that o]en find themselves on the go without an internet connec$on to rely on.
WordWeb Pro
#25 Online verb reference that gives you proper conjuga$on for English verbs. Features downloadable program as well.
Verbix Conjugation Reference
#26 Free, instant grammar checking for any documents.
Grammarly
#27 Take all your notes in different places, keep them in one place for later. Sync across computers, across devices, and across mediums.
EverNote
#28 Online freelancing resource specifically for writers and marketers. Whether you write copy, fic$on, code, or finance reports, if you can write it, you can get paid to do it here.
Elance
#29 I’ve featured this before, and I’ll feature it again. This excellent li^le word processing program helps you focus on your wri$ng by blocking out all other distrac$ons.
OmmWriter
Writer’s Blogs Worth Following
#30 I’ve already referenced this site a few $mes because they produce amazing $ps for writers. Stay up to date by subscribing to their blog.
Copyblogger
#31 Helpful $ps for bloggers looking to increase their revenue streams and $ps for copywriters.
ProBlogger
#32 Helpful $ps for bloggers looking to increase their revenue streams and $ps for copywriters.
Write to Done
#33 Exactly what it says on the $n. Great $ps posted daily on a wide variety of wri$ng topics.
Daily Writing Tips
#34 Exactly what it says on the $n. Great $ps posted daily on a wide variety of wri$ng topics.
Daily Writing Tips
#35 Wri$ng $ps delivered from 25 years of copywri$ng experience.
Writer Underground
#36 For when you want to take a break from content wri$ng and ad copy, Six Sentences offers budding fic$on writers a challenge: produce a short story in six sentences or less. Submissions are posted daily.
Six Sentences
#37 Jurgen Wolff is a professional writer credited for classic TV shows including “The Love Boat” and “Family Ties.” He gives wri$ng workshops and has published a handful of books on wri$ng scripts and copywri$ng, and posts $ps on how to succeed with your wri$ng.
Time to Write
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Of course, we are writers ourselves. We use all of this stuff and even more for our products. There are plenty of helpful $ps here, but if a]er all this you’re s$ll in need of some help, check out our blog and let us know what we can do for you.
Or Just Ask Us!