Whether writing copy comes to you naturally or not, there’s always room for a little improvement.

We’ve compiled eight useful online tools to help make your marketing more eye-catching, more relevant, and easier to digest. There are also tools to ensure your copy is optimised for search and sparking conversation on social media.

Let’s take a look at some ways you can help improve your copy and in turn your events success.

1) For simpler copy: Hemingway

Hemingway is a desktop app (priced at $19.99) which seeks to simplify your copy and make it more readable. It does this by making suggestions as to where sentences are too long or overly complicated and need editing.

It points out words or phrases that could be simpler to help writers avoid jargon and prevent them from being unnecessarily verbose. It also tracks ‘weak’ adverb usage and the use of passive voice, giving you the opportunity to craft a more powerful message. Hemingway will also put a reading level on your copy – you want to aim for Grade 10 or below. The end result is lean, unfussy copy that can be understood by all.

2) For error-free copy: Grammarly

Grammarly is a free toolbar that helps you write mistake-free anywhere on the web. It’s a cut above Microsoft Word’s in-built spelling and grammar checker because it can identify correctly spelled words that are used in the wrong context.

It also checks your grammar within the context of your sentences and even suggests words to improve the readability of your writing. Use it on Facebook, Gmail, LinkedIn, WordPress or upgrade for integration with Word, as well as a plagiarism detection feature.

3) For better headlines: CoSchedule

Check the strength of your headline by entering it into CoSchedule’s free checker. It will give you a comprehensive analysis, which includes the amount of common and uncommon words used, emotional impact, length and sentiment.

The headline of this article for example, ‘Tools to Improve Your Event’s Marketing Copy’ is rated as ‘generic’ with a score of 63, however it does have positive sentiment and a good length. CoSchedule recommends I add some uncommon, emotional and ‘power’ words to increase my article’s shareability.

4) For more relevant copy: AnswerThePublic

Providing the information your customers are looking for will help you sell more tickets, AnswerThePublic can help you work out what that key information is. The free tool uses search data from Google and Bing to tell you what people want to know.

Simply type in a keyword or phrase (in the example below I used ‘yoga class’) and it will return all of the most popular questions people ask in an easy to digest infographic. It also displays preposition searches such as ‘yoga class with DJ’ and ‘yoga class for toddlers’, which might give you ideas for developing your event as well as your copy.

5) For capitalising copy: TitleCapitalization

If you’re unsure what words should be capitalised in your headlines, run them through this free tool. TitleCapitalization will automatically cap-up the words that should be and leave the others in lowercase.

There are three styles to choose from including Associated Press (cap words with four or more letters) and Chicago Manual of Style (don’t cap based on word length). Pick a style and run all your headlines and subheadings through the tool to ensure consistency throughout your copy.

6)  For SEO optimised copy: Yoast

Set a keyword or phrase and Yoast, a free plugin for WordPress, will analyse your copy for its SEO effectiveness. It gives you traffic light indicators for factors such as number of times the keyword appears, the locations of the keyword, the length of the text and optimisation of images.

Yoast also makes it straightforward to write a meta description for your page/post (the description that is visible in Google). Other features include readability analysis, which looks at sentence/paragraph length, subheading usage, and scores the copy according to the Flesch Reading Ease Test.

7) For shareable copy: BuzzSumo

For a ‘health check’ on the shareability of your copy, try entering your event website’s URL at BuzzSumo. The free preview will show you your most popular posts in terms of social shares over a given time frame (i.e. the past six months), although you’ll need to sign up for greater insight.

You can see Facebook engagements and shares on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest. Take inspiration from the popular posts for your future content or, if you’ve experienced little social success, spy on a rival and see what’s been working for them.

8) For copy inspiration: Portent’s Content Idea Generator

Can’t think of anything to write about but need to update your blog? Simply enter a topic or theme into Portent’s Content Idea Generator and it will return with an inspiring headline suggestion.

Don’t like the first idea? You can press enter again for a new title. Once you have the title, the rest is easy (well, easier at least). When your content well runs dry, this is a great place to come for refreshment.

Conclusion

Whether you’re writing copy for your event website, blog, social channels or other marketing materials, make sure you do it well. Poor writing will reflect badly on your brand and could deter people from attending. And with these easy-to-use tools there’s really no excuse!