TGL Tested: Our Takes on Copywriting and Editing Tools
ICYMI: TGL Tested is our new series exploring the latest and trendiest digital marketing tools for tasks, including skills such as video editing, email marketing, and website design. We’ve tested them so you don’t have to, so you’ll know what’s worth trying.
This week, we’re diving into copywriting and editing tools and why/how we use them. Here at TGL, each team member has a unique work style tailored to our roles and our client’s goals, but there's some interesting overlap in how some of us use the same tool for different purposes.
Copy.ai
Copy.ai is a cool site that offers a variety of free copy-specific AI tools. You can automate blog headlines, emails, social media posts, and web copy with 90+ copywriting templates.
The main pro of Copy.ai is its versatility. It supports over 25 languages, allowing you to create content that can resonate with a broader audience.
One downside to note with this tool is that it sometimes spits out incorrect or random words, making the copy sound robotic and potentially increasing the time spent manually reviewing. Another con is that the tool can be laggy with longer projects/text.
Tested by: Senior Project Manager, Renee Tate
“I don’t use this tool much, but I find it helpful for blog outlines and content ideas. You can put in what you’d like to write about, and it will get the foundations started for you. Since it is AI, you still need to edit the copy quite a bit so that it’s not word salad, but a great idea generator if you’re hitting writer's block.”
Hemingway Editor
Hemingway Editor is a writing and editing tool designed to help you improve the clarity and readability of your writing. Plug in your work, and you’ll see highlighted parts of your text that require tweaking or need clarity.
The strengths of this tool include its readability features; immediately after inputting your text, you see what reading level your copy is (pretty cool if you ask us!), and… it’s free!
A disadvantage is that it doesn’t focus on grammar or offer revisions to your writing, so you’d most likely have to pair this tool with another one to fit all your needs, or use your own editing skills. If you’re a confident writer you may not need this, but since it’s free it might be worth a try.
Tested by: Senior Project Manager, Renee Tate
“I’ve been using this tool for a while now. It is one of the OG editing tools before Grammarly took off. I find it helpful when I need to edit or write complex subjects. I find their readability functionality to be the best out there, as it will tell you what grade level your writing is at. It also lets you know which sentences are overly complex or hard to read. The only thing that I wish this tool could do is offer alternatives to the writing like most of their competitors. It looks like this feature may be in beta and will be part of their paid offering, so it’s hard to tell at this point if their suggestions are better than another tool.”
Grammarly
Grammarly is a powerful AI writing assistant tool that provides real-time suggestions for content creation. Whether you're working on emails or blogs, Grammarly helps with punctuation, grammar, and overall writing finesse.
The pros of this tool include being extremely user-friendly. Add their extension to your browser, and Grammarly immediately gives suggestions and corrects mistakes as you write. It is a multi-platform tool; you can use it on the web, desktop, mobile, or as an extension with apps. And there's a free version!
However, there are some cons to Grammarly. First, it's not always 100% accurate, but that's expected with any AI tool. Also, Grammarly only supports English in its current form. The free version is quite limited, and the paid version can get pricey, coming in at $12/month annually or $30/month monthly. However, if it fits your budget and you plan on using it daily, it can be an excellent investment!
Grammarly is quite the popular companion here at TGL; we’ve all at least tried it once or currently use it!
Tested by: Senior Project Manager, Renee Tate
“Nothing beats a human copy editor or writer, but Grammarly usually offers good alternatives and solutions. They have also improved their tone settings, which helps with more casual or conversational writing. Grammarly helps cut down my review time in half. I appreciate that when you download the extension it reviews your writing in emails, on the web, and everywhere. So it helps me catch typos and minor grammatical errors seamlessly.”
Tested by: Slice Author and Social Media Coordinator, Jade Martin
“I’ve been using the free version of Grammarly for years now. I see it more as a slight addition to my writing rather than a tool I rely on. The free version gives me a grammar, punctuation, and spell checker. It is exactly what I need for silly little mistakes here and there. I have the Grammarly extension on my browser, and I use it throughout the process of creating blog content. Super helpful, in my opinion!”
Tested by: Freelance Writer and Editor, Rebecca Coates
“I have the free version of Grammarly installed and use suggestions from that occasionally.”
Tested by: Content Marketing and Strategy Leader, Betsy Morrow
“I use Grammarly for copy editing and am a big fan.”
Otter
We covered Otter in the first TGL Tested; for a quick refresher, Otter is a transcription tool and note-taking app that uses AI to transcribe spoken words into written text in real time.
The pro of using Otter.ai is its accuracy, bringing you peace of mind. You could easily miss something when you manually take notes during a meeting. The transcription serves as a reference that pulls key insights or client preferences to help benefit your copy.
A con of Otter is that it will have trouble transcribing complex audio, so, if your audio quality isn’t the best or you’re in a loud room, Otter won’t be able to fix that and pick up on certain things. Otter ranges from $10-$20 a month, so it can be a bit pricey!
Otter can be an excellent tool for copywriting. At TGL, we are highly collaborative; during meetings, we’re constantly sharing ideas, suggestions, tangents, tips, asides… using Otter to keep track of our brainstorming is powerful!
Tested by: Consultant, Erin Mishkin
“For transcribing, Otter is amazing. The free version includes audio transcription, saving both the audio file and text. I like that you can skip ahead in the audio by going to that section of the text file and that editing the text version is straightforward. Plus, it recognizes the different voices and notes who is speaking. Very handy when conducting interviews that you want to turn into a blog post or an article, etc.”
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is another AI we touched upon in our last TGL Tested. ChatGPT is a chatbot by OpenAI that can be used for almost anything.
A pro of ChatGPT is the variety and accessibility it holds as a tool; it can support multiple languages, opening up the door for users who cannot try out other tools due to the language barrier.
Cons of ChatGPT include a lack of emotional intelligence, which is a given when using any AI tool. As humans, we must ensure we keep the tool from doing all the work. A major con is the knowledge cut. Currently, the cut-off is updated to January 2022. Missing data can be majorly inconvenient if current events are relevant to your work!
Tested by: Content Marketing and Strategy Leader, Betsy Morrow
“I’ve been using ChatGPT occasionally for something I normally google for and don’t need to cite. Like the other day, I needed to include LinkedIn KPI definitions in a client report, and I asked ChatGPT to make me a list.”
Tested by: Slice Author and Social Media Coordinator, Jade Martin
“This is the all-encompassing tool for me! I use Grammarly for real-time edits to blog content I draft, but once I feel my blog draft is ready for a closer look, I'll run the whole piece through ChatGPT, giving it a prompt such as “revise this.” By doing this, I can re-read my work with some suggestions I can either use or keep on the back burner for next time!”
Tested by: Consultant, Erin Mishkin
“For a quick grammar check, I like ChatGPT.”
Our Brains
As writers of blogs, social posts, etc, we’re not ashamed to include “Our Brain” as a category/tool.
The pro of just using our mind is the level of authenticity, of course! Our writing is reflective of our unique perspectives, experiences, and emotions. Another pro is emotional depth. Our content is genuine and expressive; there is no robot here! If content you’ve generated from an AI tool sounds off, weird, or you just don’t like it, there’s probably a good reason, so trust your gut.
Some cons that can follow with this approach to copywriting include overlooking mistakes and typos even after double-checking. It is also more time-consuming. But don’t downplay your own intelligence or instincts in comparison to these other tools; continually having awareness of what you’re writing and editing is incredibly important, especially if you are responsible for representing a brand and might need to write on the fly sometime.
Tested by: Boss Lady, Katie Stanton
“I like using sites like Grammarly to double-check my writing from time to time, but I’d say my go-to copywriting tool would be my brain!”
Tested by: Contractor/Content Creator, Timberley Wyble
“I honestly haven't dabbled in any copywriting or editing tools yet. When I’m assigned a project, the only tools I’ve been using as far as generating content has been my own knowledge, peer revisions, and any material given for background by the client. If people on the team have used any editing or writing tools, I would love to hear their recommendations and feedback on what tools are worth trying, but my own brain hasn’t failed me yet!”
If you're curious about the TGL team and what we do or want to get more familiar with the voices behind these suggestions, check out our team page. And let us know in the comments below what other tools we should try!