Content is easy to find. Good content? Well, that is not so easy to find.

We don’t need more content in the world of marketing. We need better content. Content marketing has been a buzzword for years—and people are trying everything in order to attract readers.

There are no cheat codes for content marketing. You have to create engaging, useful, and valuable content if you want to build a loyal audience.

Looking to up your content marketing game? The following tools will help you create and distribute high-level material that helps you stand out in the ever-crowded sea of content.

Lumen5

Ask yourself: do you really have the time, or the skills to create a shareable, link-worthy video? With video being the most consumed content these days, you need to incorporate this type of content into your marketing strategy ASAP.

One of the best video maker platforms out there is Lumen5. The software is powered by A.I. that allows anyone, with or without training or experience, to produce engaging video with clips, photos, music and subtitles. This technology allows marketing teams to focus on the content’s story and narrative while relying on the system to do the heavy work.

Even more, articles and blog posts can easily be converted into videos. It also has a searchable media library with millions of free media files, and it allows you to customize your videos to match your brand.

Current prices vary from free to enterprise-level plans. The free version gives you access to popular themes, standard media library, and more than 3,000 music tracks. However, the video resolution is lower than the paid versions and it also includes a Lumen5 logo in the credits. You can always go for the paid versions, which have reasonable pricing.

Buzzsumo

You may spend hours finely crafting the perfect piece of content. Actually getting your audience to read it? That’s a whole different ball game.

Content marketers are often left wondering why great pieces of content fail to capture an audience. Quit playing the guessing game and start using Buzzsumo instead. This online resource has revolutionized content marketing thanks to its ability to provide quick insights about high-performing content.

By doing a simple search, you can discover which pieces of content are trending and getting high traffic. Whether you research topics or your competitors, you can glean insights into what kind of content is working well within your niche. From there, you can develop genius content strategies that match your audience’s interests.

Grammarly/Hemingway App

Content marketers don’t always have the luxury of using an editor. But editing is still important, as small typos and grammar mistakes can have a big impact on your content.

You don’t have to labor through three rounds of editing to make error-free content. Instead, try using a free online editor like Grammarly or Hemingway App. These tools let you copy and paste a piece of content to get immediate feedback on things like spelling and grammar. They’ll also give you insights into things like passive voice and readability that will help you better understand your content’s overall quality.

AnswerThePublic

Developing content ideas can be both time consuming and frustrating. You can spend hours banging your head against the wall trying to find that one perfect idea.

How can you develop highly optimized content ideas? Start with AnswerThePublic. This keyword research tool eliminates painful brainstorming sessions. You can discover what questions and queries your consumers have by simply entering a keyword into their search bar.

AnswerThePublic then spits out a huge list of downloadable data sourced directly from Google, including popular search terms and content ideas related to the keyword. Similar great tools include Ubersuggest, SEMrush and Ahrefs.

SurveyMonkey

There’s no denying the value of keyword research to develop content ideas. Of course, there’s no better way to gauge your audience’s interests than by going directly to the source. So why not ask your audience what they want?

Tools like SurveyMonkey will help you send out surveys to understand what your audience wants from a piece of content. You can send these simple surveys to your email list to discover their preferences.

The key? Keep it simple. Ask your audience two to three questions to increase engagement and make it easy for them to participate. You can also use Google forms and SurveyGizmo to start utilizing surveys in your research.

Everybody Writes

Everybody Writes isn’t just a tool for content marketers—it’s a valuable resource for anyone looking to uplevel their writing game.

This book was written by best-selling writer, marketer, and content creator extraordinaire Ann Handley. It details the intersection between the worlds of writing and marketing. It’s an invaluable resource that highlights how to become a better writer while staying true to your marketing methods.

Ann details how to get back to the writing basics in an era of immediate gratification and constant distraction. Everybody Writes will teach you how to clearly communicate with your audience (and brevity) in mind. The subtitle “Your go-to guide to creating ridiculously good content” couldn’t be more accurate.

Looking for more content marketing tools, tips and tricks? Check out my Marketing Speak interviews with content experts Clare McDermott and Ann Handley.