Freelance writers are technically self-employed. This fact can be intimidating for those who are used to working for a company rather than for themselves. Fortunately, there are numerous tools that make breaking out on your own easier. Here are ten free tools that have helped me grow my freelance writing and editing business.
1. Capitalize My Title
While it is extremely important to manually check your work to meet each client’s style needs, having an online tool on hand can provide greater peace of mind. One of my pet peeves is remembering to use the proper AP title case for assignments when requested. I have tried many title capitalization websites, and I have found Capitalize My Title to be the easiest, fastest and most reliable of the bunch. Simply type or copy-paste your working titles into the box, select your desired title case and, in what seems to be less than a second, you have your capitalized title!
2. Google Apps
If you have a G-Mail Account – which you should if you want a better chance at professional success – you have access to a host of Google Apps, including Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Drive. Besides using Google Docs to write content for clients, I have used Google Drive to annotate and highlight a PDF book that I wrote a review for and house my resume within the drive. An added bonus is that Google has effectively designed these applications for mobile use so you can check spreadsheets and lightly edit documents on-the-go.
3. Clockify.me
One of the most important things that you can do as a freelancer is keep track of your time. It’s easier to manage your work-life balance when you can see where your time is going. If you are working with clients who pay you by the hour, having a record of your time spent on projects becomes even more important. This free tool allows you to create projects, label tasks and input your hourly rates so you can easily track your time spent working. Simple reports that can be exported to your computer in various formats make this user-friendly tool all the more valuable.
4. FreshBooks Free Invoice Templates
Since writers tend to be more creative than analytical, the thought of creating and managing invoices for clients can be intimidating, to say the least. FreshBooks’ free invoices are downloadable and can be edited to meet individual needs, making them a quick and easy solution for freelancers who would like to spend less time on accounting tasks and more time writing. What’s more, each template is attractive with professional designs so your clients can be wowed by your impressive business acumen.
5. CharacterCountOnline.com
This fast and free tool is priceless if you find yourself working with clients who ask for a specific word count. It is also helpful if you are working on Twitter or other social media content that requires strict limits on characters. Simply copy and paste your content into the home page text box or type directly within it and wait for the character count to load. If you want to really dive into analyzing your content, you can view your sentence count, paragraph count and even word/keyword density, all at no cost to you.
6. Neil Patel’s Website
There comes a time in every freelance writer’s life where a client will ask them to do some SEO keyword research. The SEO website app from Neil Patel offers a host of tools, with my favorite one being the Ubersuggest keyword suggestion feature that allows you to choose suggested keyword from a main word or topic. The search volume, cost per click and other important SEO elements of any keyword are all provided for you in one easy-to-comprehend place. You can create a free account to access even more life-saving tools and suggestions.
7. Trello
I was surprised to find that free, user-friendly project management tools are hard to come by online. Trello has been the best option that I have found thus far. You can create to-do lists with “cards” (or to-do items) that can be expanded to include textual information, photos, due-dates and more. If you have multiple clients or projects to juggle, and find that traditional planners and phone calendars just aren’t doing it for you anymore, I highly suggest giving Trello a try.
8. UnionMetrics Twitter Assistant
Some writers dive into freelancing without planning out their self-promotion strategy. One great way to find clients can be to have a rich and active social media presence. Twitter in particular offers unique hashtag and retweeting opportunities to help you find a host of new eyes for your content. The free Twitter management tool from UnionMetrics helps you to analyze your audience and performance, even giving you suggestions on the best times to post to Twitter. If you really want to get creative with your social media, there is a simple-to-use Instagram manager on the same website that is also free. Do you find yourself fielding social media management requests from clients? It’s happened to me, too – UnionMetrics can help you take on this extra challenge with greater ease.
9. AnswerThePublic
Do you need to generate topic ideas for content based on a general theme or keyword? AnswerThePublic is a powerful and insightful website that allows users to complete up to five searches per day for free and without registering. Type in your target word and prepare to be surprised by an impressive list and visualization of commonly searched topics and questions under that umbrella. You can even export your lists to a CSV file that you can sort and save with your own spreadsheet software.
10. Bonsai PayPal Fee Calculator
If you have clients who pay through PayPal, you need this tool. Whether you want to factor fees into your invoices or just want to know what you will be paying to the service in fees, this calculator will allow you to see your fee total and suggested amounts to charge as coverage if you choose to go that route – all in a matter of seconds.
As it is with every other facet of life, every tool on this list will not work for every writer. You may find that some of these options just do not mesh with your freelance business like they have with mine. It doesn’t hurt to experiment with the many reputable websites and tools out there to figure out the perfect mix that will help you accomplish your writing goals. You may just find that the unique experience you gain as you research new technologies gives you the extra leg up you need to boost your business and your income.
This list includes some content that was originally published in my posts 4 Tools Every New Freelance Writer Needs and More Free Tools for Freelance Writers on LinkedIn Pulse. I am in no way affiliated with any of the tools or companies mentioned in this article.