Given that 73% of internet users skim rather than read blog articles/web content (Source: Hubspot), how you write your message is nearly as important as what your message is.
When you consider all of the written touchpoints that your prospective customers may have with you – from a blog article to a website landing page to a cold email – you need all the help you can get to ensure that your message is on point, concise, and easy to understand. This instalment looks at three free tools to help you improve your copywriting.
Free Copywriting Tool 1 – Quillbot
What is it:
Quillbot is an AI-powered paraphrasing tool that improves text fluency while ensuring appropriate vocabulary, tone, and style for the situation. Simply enter the text into the input box, and the AI will recommend the best way to rewrite it.
What’s great about it:
Its user interface is extremely simple; write or paste your original text and then hit ‘paraphrase’; the text appears in the window opposite, ready for use. Under the free plan, you can select one of two ‘modes’ depending on what you want to focus on (ie readability, maintaining meaning etc). The paraphrasing is usually quite quick, taking only a few seconds for the text you enter.
What are the limitations:
This will be a common thread throughout all of the tools on this list; the AI is decent, but I wouldn’t rely on it completely; double-check that the rewritten text makes sense to you before publishing it anywhere. Furthermore, on the free plan, you can only paraphrase 125 words at a time, so for a blog post like this, you must do it paragraph by paragraph, which is annoying but not time intensive.
Pricing model:
Decent Free Plan. Their free plan has some limitations, such as the word count mentioned above and only two paraphrasing options (Standard and Fluency).
Free Copywriting Tool 2 – Hemingway Editor
What is it:
Hemingway Editor is an excellent tool for ensuring that your writing is bold and clear, highlighting areas where your writing is too dense and making suggestions on where to improve your writing to make it easier to read.
What’s great about it:
It is very simple to use, but it also has a really cool added feature that assesses your text’s readability rating or “grade level” using the Automated Readability Index – a reliable algorithm used since the days of electronic typewriters. This is a very useful feature to ensure that your writing is easily understood by your audience – you should aim for Grade 9 or lower – so that your message is not overly complex.
What are the limitations:
The most significant limitation is that, unlike other AI tools, Hemingway Editor will not auto-correct or suggest ways to improve your text; instead, it will simply highlight areas where your writing can be improved.
Pricing model:
Genuinely free to use. There is a desktop version available for purchase, but the online version is completely free to use.
Free Copywriting Tool 3 – Copy AI
What is it:
Copy AI is a true artificial intelligence-powered copywriting tool. This means you enter some basic information about what you’re trying to write about, such as the purpose and audience, and it generates the text for you. A versatile tool that has proven to be extremely useful in overcoming writer’s block.
What’s great about it:
There are numerous text purposes that can be used in the platform, including blog content, ad content, eCommerce copy, social media content, and website content. This is a tool that can handle almost all of your copywriting needs while also providing useful guidance on what your blog posts, should cover.
What are the limitations:
Similar to Quillbot, but to a greater extent, AI is writing your copy for you, which sounds fantastic in theory. In reality, if you read the content as is, you will most likely encounter some readability issues and errors. Unfortunately, this is not a substitute for subject matter expertise. I find that I use this as a tool to help me put together a first draft and then do manual edits based on the results.
Pricing model:
Decent Free Plan. With a strict word limit (2000 generated words) in place for the free plan, you may find yourself going over this if you produce more than 3 or 4 articles per month, which is still quite reasonable. Their paid plans begin at $49 per month for 40,000 words, so there is a significant price difference between the free and paid plans.
Source: SBAA
