Content Hackers Alert: The New List Of Must-Haves
Apart from a work desk, a comfortable chair, a great view to inspire and of course, a brilliant machine to work on, there are a few things that a content hacker needs to be equipped with for maximum productivity.
The bad news? Most of you out there might not be aware of these needs.
The good news? They are mostly FREE or come at a cost that no boss can say no to!
Whether you’re an experienced content hacker or one in the making, here’s your new list of must-haves:
Keyword researchers
It is impossible to create a piece of content with the purpose of SEO and marketing without having a list of at least 10 keywords that you would like to be known for. Even though most of us are aware of what keywords are, how they affect a piece of content and what frequency needs to be maintained, the knowledge is pretty superficial.
Before you jump on to using the tools I list down for your keyword research, here’s the Beginner’s Guide To Do Keyword Research that you ‘must’ go through. Once you’re through, here are 5 tools that I make use of on a daily basis:
Google — do you need an introduction?
Wordpot — Keyword suggestion tool
SEO Book — Guide for web visibility and Keyword search tool
Keyword Eye — Keyword and competitor research tool
Wordstream — Keyword search
Social inspiration
And by that, I don’t mean those motivation quotes being shared on different social platforms. Every writer needs to be inspired and for inspiration, he needs to know what’s happening around the world. The case in point being, digital marketing.
Here are a few (my favorites) must follow blogs if you want to stay (and write on) up-to-date trends:
Mashable Social Media — Topics trending on social media and social media marketing trends
Buffer Social — Thoughts on sharing, creating, analyzing and converting with social media
Jeff Bullas — Social media marketing, social strategising and trends
Jon Loomer — Facebook marketing
Social Media Today — Digital and social media marketing
Social Media Examiner — Social media marketing
Pulse | LinkedIn — News and insights you need to know
Title Deity
The success of a piece of content depends majorly on the title!
But admit it, there are times when you have a good grip over the subject of the article and have jotted down about 1000 words under it — without a title. It’s not because you don’t know how to frame one, but because you are a writer and there are times you need a break from ‘interesting titles’.
Even though I’m all about the breaks (bass), your post is going to need a title. Here are my favorite topic/ title generators that you can use in times of dire need:
HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator — Topic generation based on the keywords you’re focusing on
Portent’s Content Idea Generator — Content idea generation based on the subject you’re covering
If nothing else, they’ll just surprise you with the sometimes ‘oh-so-funny’ suggestions!
If nothing works, get back to reading your copy of 52 Headline Hacks: A “cheat sheet” for writing Blog posts that go viral by Jon Morrow of Copyblogger. If you don’t have it, what are you waiting for?
Plagiarism Checker
Yes, most of you may be very confident about your content being ‘unique’, but it is always better to be absolutely sure if you’re focusing on SEO.
Copied lines are not really copied! It’s okay if a line or two already exist somewhere on the internet. It is impossible to not use certain lines or phrases that we have read about a million times while doing our research. So, instead of looking for alternatives, give due credits!
Just to be sure not all lines are plagiarized, here’s a simple free tool:
Plagiarism checker — Small SEO tool that requires only copy pasting of the piece of content in the box provided
No designer images
One thing that I have realized in about 2 years of my career as a content marketer is that, you don’t get a designer when you need one! There are dozens of them out there waiting to show their creativity, just not when you desperately need one.
It goes without saying, a content piece needs images. They don’t just give your content a ‘prettier’ look, they make it 10 times shareable on social media. And I think at the end of the day, that’s the whole idea behind content marketing!
If you’re someone who’d like to make an exclusive image for your post, you should definitely try one of these:
Canva — Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations, etc.
Pablo (by Buffer) — Design engaging images for your social media posts in under 30 seconds. (PS. It really does take only 30 seconds!)
But if you’re someone who’d rather source the image, here are 53+ Free Image Sources For Your Blog And Social Media Posts.
Re-targeting
If you’re keeping up with the times, you probably already know that retargeting is the most effective way to increase your sales and conversions on site.
While Facebook allows you to retarget while setting the audience for a campaign, there are those visitors on your website that need to be focussed on as well. So how do you bring those people back?
Exit Bee — Exit Bee uses behavioural analysis to convert your visitors with highly targeted messages and offers the moment they are about to leave your website.
Want to complete your toolkit? Read on.
