Fuel Your Writing Success: Strategic Tools for Writers to Excel That I Love

After 12 years in publishing, I can tell you, these tools work!

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

I love to help writers help themselves, whether that’s through this weekly newsletter, my monthly #BookMarketingChat (first Wednesday of each month at 2 pm pst/5 pm est on X/Twitter), my three books just for writers (on marketing, branding, and SEO), as well as a consultant and book marketer.

I’ve collected my favorite here (no affiliate links unless otherwise stated). In no particular order, here's a breakdown of some of the best tools available, along with their pros, cons, costs, and where to find them…

1. Hootsuite

• Pros: Great for scheduling posts across multiple social media platforms. Offers analytics to track engagement.

• Cons: Can be overwhelming due to its extensive features. The free plan is sadly, no longer an option.

• Costs: Plans start at $99 per month after a 14-day free trial.

• Link: Hootsuite

I started using Hoot around 2010 when it was maybe $299 for the year. Now, I pay $600/year and can manage my over 50 accounts, so basically, I’ve been grandfathered in.

If you’re starting anew, $99/month (for 10 accounts) is pretty spendy, but I want to include it for anyone managing multiple accounts or brands (e.g., I have an author brand and a business brand, so many accounts.)

I like Hootsuite because it’s one of the very few social media management scheduling tools that also allows you to interact (reply, like, reshare) right in the app. I prefer the web version, but their mobile version is decent if you schedule more on the go.

I’m a little irritated with them right now because they took away the daily calendar view, which is one of the reasons I picked them initially. But I’ll deal.

2. Canva

• Pros: Intuitive design tool for creating social media graphics, book covers, and promotional materials. It has a large library of templates. They even have a social media scheduler now.

• Cons: While versatile, it might not suffice for more detailed graphic design needs that professional software like Adobe provides.

• Costs: Free basic version. Pro version costs $10 per month.

• Link: Canva

So, listen. I hate hate hate anything to do with graphic design. I’ve tried. I just suck at it. Creativity comes to me in words, not visuals. Canva takes a minute to figure out, but it’s super easy once you get the hang of it.

If you can afford it, hiring someone to create your visuals is extremely helpful if you suck at it like I do. Fiverr is always an option, but I prefer to hire an author assistant who is more experienced. (Need recommendations? Email me at badredheadmedia@gmail.com.)

3. The CoSchedule Headline Analyzer

I used to joke that I would marry this tool instead of my ex…okay, never mind. Anyway, it’s so great! Do you need to SEO-optimize your blog title without having to take an SEO course? You need this tool.

They also now offer these analyzer tools as well:

The paid version has more goodies, so if you can afford this tool, do it. It’s pretty amazing.