Would you ever try to build a house without using tools? Even if you have the right skills, you’d end up with a questionable foundation that took way too long to build. Not to mention, how do you plan on getting the nails in with your bare hands? Ouch.
Now, apply this logic to your business. If you want a rock-solid foundation for your business’s marketing system, tools aren’t a luxury. They’re a necessity.
With that being said, when you’re getting started, your budget can easily get in the way. After all, it doesn’t matter how awesome the tools are if you can’t afford them.
Here are 7 free PR and marketing tools for any business.
Ubersuggest - A Free Keyword Tool (That Actually Does a Lot More)
Ubersuggest isn’t a bad option if you need a free keyword utility. While it’s branded as a keyword tool in most places, it’s actually a pretty well-rounded free option for general SEO use.
Input your competitor’s domain name and Ubersuggest will show you some behind the scenes footage of what’s working (or hurting them), including:
- How much traffic the site is getting
- Their top ranking keywords
- Their top pages to beat
- Backlinks
- You can even pull up a full site audit (yep, still for free).
It’ll also give you content and keyword ideas of your own to use. This includes volume, competition and CPC to weigh your options wisely.
Ubersuggest has a free version that’s good for one project at a time. Prices start at an affordable $29/month if you want to upgrade.
SEMrush’s Free Title Generator
If you’re ever stumped on a topic or headline for your keyword, SEMrush’s Free Title Generator can get you out of your rut. Just plug in the keyword you’re writing about and it’ll generate a short list of titles for you to pull from.
Of course, they might not always be spot on, but at minimum it can help you brainstorm your perfect headline for that next high-ranking post.
Plus the user interface is pretty entertaining!
Twitter & Google Trends - A Newsjacker’s First Loves
PR Pros and content marketers need to discern when to be the story and when to get involved with one that’s already trending. That’s where these two tools come in.
Google trends shows you what people are searching for, while Twitter tells you what people are talking about.
When used together, both Twitter and Trends can give you a solid handle on what stories are worth tapping into.
Hemingwayapp.com - Readability With Style
Content that’s easy to consume is consumed often. Hemingway makes sure your content is ready to read, and it does so with a UI that’s fresh, focused, and easy on the eyes.
Whether you’re writing SEO articles, email copy, or a press release, the Hemingway App will help you with your piece’s readability. It’ll correct your passive voice, alert you to when you can use a simpler word, and iron out a few other kinks Grammarly and Spell Check are likely to miss.
The only issue is you have to reset formatting when you’re done, which can be a pain. But a $20 one-time payment for the desktop version fixes that, if you decide you absolutely need it.
HARO - The PR Pro’s Magic Bullet for Quick Results
An old favorite of ours here at TCF, we’ve been using HARO for years to get media coverage for our clients.
The concept is simple. You sign up, and HARO sends you dozens of pitches from journalists asking for quotes and interviews. You find some queries you like, and answer them with your quote so you can get featured in their article.
With that being said, writing a pitch that actually stands out and gets chosen isn’t as easy as it sounds. Luckily we have a tried & true HARO pitch template that helps with this.
Hunter.io - Find (Almost) Anyone’s Email
If you’re in the business of prospecting or networking, Hunter is a no-brainer to add to your toolkit. It crawls any domain you want for emails that are housed within it, with a pretty solid accuracy rate. You can search for the name of the person you want to email, or do a domain-wide search if you’d rather check out your options.
Whether you’re trying to get in touch with a reporter, or building a prospect list, this is a really great addition to the toolkit.
You get up to 50 searches per month before you have to upgrade. Oh, and did I mention there’s a plugin that makes it even easier to check a domain for email contacts?
MailTrack - Are They Just Not That Into You?
If you use the other tools on this list to find contacts and reach out to them, then MailTrack is your natural next step if you’re using a Gmail or GSuite account.
It shows you who’s opening your emails so you can know how to respond. So you’ll really know if your pitch just got lost, or if you really need to try a different angle to pique their interest.
The best part is you never have to leave your inbox to use this one.
Feeling overwhelmed with the toolkit you need to build to market your company? Let us help out. Contact us here.
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