With a current market value of $155 billion and expected growth of over $525 billion by 2030, the global creator economy market shows no signs of slowing down. Creators play a central role in shaping brand identity. Whether you’re creating blog posts, videos, product descriptions, or an informative newsletter, having the right creator tools can launch you ahead of the competition. But with the market for creative tools growing rapidly, selecting the best ones for your brand can be a challenge.
Here at Slam Media Lab, we’re no stranger to utilizing creator tools to efficiently build beautiful digital experiences for our clients. As a web design agency in San Francisco, we’re a remote, agile team that has earned over $2M within three years, working with 35+ clients in industries ranging from venture capital to nonprofits. Whether it's boosting your SEO, building sites through Webflow design & development, developing effective content writing, and creating unique brand strategies, our goal is to help mission-driven companies slam dunk online. You can contact us today for more info.
Because we are remote and fast-paced, we’ve spent hundreds of hours determining which tools are best for each need. This means we can save you weeks or even months of time and frustration.
In this blog post, we share our 18 favorite creator tools, each carefully selected to elevate brand experiences. These tools cover a wide range of needs, including research, writing, design, video, audio, and collaboration. But first, let’s talk about a few factors to consider when choosing tools.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Creator Tools
Which creator tools are the best depends on the types of content you’re creating, and what you want to achieve. A well-informed decision takes the bigger picture into account by assessing the long-term value of a tool and its ROI. Factors such as the cost, usability, and available integrations can further complicate your choice. Here’s how you can narrow down your options.
- Cost vs. Long-Term Value - One of the main considerations can be the cost of the tool. Budget constraints often impact the decision, especially for startups and small businesses. Some tools offer free versions or trials, but others require a substantial investment. You’ll need to evaluate whether the tool's features justify its price and consider the long-term value it brings. Remember, the most expensive tool isn't always the best. Sometimes, more affordable (or free) software offers everything you need.
- Ease of Use - The usability of creator tools is one of the most important factors to consider. A tool that is difficult to use can deter team members from using it effectively. Ideally, look for user-friendly interfaces and tools with customer support. Not only will you save time, but you’ll also reduce the learning curve for your team.
- Collaboration - Agency Tools that facilitate collaboration will keep everyone on the same page. Look for features such as real-time editing, commenting capabilities, and easy sharing options. These features are particularly important when you have multiple team members working on a project simultaneously.
- Integrations - Integrations can save a lot of time and reduce the complexity of managing tasks on multiple platforms. For example, a writing tool that integrates with your CMS (Content Management System) or a design tool that connects with your social media scheduler can significantly enhance your workflows. Check if the tools you are considering can integrate with your existing tools and platforms.
If you’re starting a digital marketing business, Slam Media Lab has all the resources you need. Our How to Start an Agency course condenses 100+ hours of research into 10+ hours of video content and 20+ templates. Learn how to Start a Digital Marketing Business on the right foot with the same strategy that we live and breathe by.
The Hands Down 18 Best Tools for Creators
Standing out from over 200 million content creators in the world can be a daunting task. Whether you're crafting an SEO company blog post, designing graphics for a product markup, or editing a podcast, we’ve compiled the top tools across different categories to enhance your creative workflow. Here’s a preview of the creator tools and the categories we’re about to cover:
- AnswerThePublic
- Google Trends
- CopyAI
- Grammarly
- Hemingway App
- QuillBot
- Adobe Express
- Canva
- DaVinci Resolve
- Adobe Podcast Enhance
- Audacity
- Iconosquare
- HubSpot
- MailChimp
- ConvertKit
- Sprout Social
- Notion
- Slack
These tools can reduce the time and effort to publish content, improve your content quality, and give your brand the competitive edge it needs.
Next, let’s look at each creator tool in more detail and explain exactly why creators love them.
Research
AnswerThePublic
What do a YouTube creator, blogger, podcaster, and social media manager have in common? They all need to do research before creating content. AnswerThePublic aggregates queries from popular search engines and presents them to you in a visual format. It shows you what questions people are asking about a particular topic and displays the search volume.
Google Trends
Google Trends will be one of your closest companions as a creator. It shows you how popular search terms have been over time. You can also see how interest in a topic has evolved, identify seasonal trends, and compare search terms. Another key feature of Google Trends is that it shows related topics that can help you expand your content. This feature helps you understand what other related terms people are searching for.
Writing Tools
CopyAI
CopyAI is an AI-powered writing tool with a user-friendly interface specifically designed to create marketing copy. The wide assortment of templates helps users create a targeted copy without having to start from scratch. These templates are optimized for creating copy for social media posts, product descriptions, ads, and more. CopyAI allows real-time collaboration, which makes it easier for multiple users to contribute to the content creation process.
Grammarly
Grammarly is an indispensable tool for anyone who writes. It identifies grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and punctuation issues in your written content. Whether you’re drafting an email, blog post, or social media update, Grammarly helps maintain content quality. Beyond basic grammar and spelling, Grammarly offers advanced suggestions to improve your writing style and tone. You can also check your work for originality using its plagiarism checker.
Hemingway App
The Hemingway App gives your writing a readability score that indicates how easy your text is to read. It highlights issues and gives you suggestions for improvements. For example, Hemingway can identify the passive voice, weak words, and overly verbose sentences that impact readability. As a free tool, Hemingway is a must-have in your content writing toolkit.
QuillBot
QuillBot is an AI writing assistant that paraphrases and summarizes text. Its core feature is its paraphrasing tool, which rephrases sentences while retaining their original meaning. The tool has different modes to tailor the output. Standard and fluency modes are available with the free version while formal, simple, creative, and academic come with the premium version. The tool is available in multiple languages and has a sliding synonyms bar to customize how much of the text should be paraphrased.
Design and Video Tools
Adobe Express
Adobe Express and other Creative Cloud tools have user-friendly features, template libraries, editing tools, and collaboration capabilities that make them invaluable. The drag-and-drop and one-click features make it easy to create professional graphic designs, social media videos, and AI-generated art. Another useful feature is the built-in ability to collaborate with team members on designs within the Adobe Express App. You can test the app's free version before signing up for premium features.
Canva
Canva has thousands of customizable templates for various content types. You can create documents, infographics, presentations, videos, and more. You can also download designs in various formats, including PNG, JPEG, and PDF. Canva has a lot of useful free features and additional benefits with a premium account.
For example, business owners can take advantage of brand identity tools to create a cohesive brand personality. Users can design brand kits with logos, and fonts. colors, and marketing materials, ensuring consistency across all design projects.
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is professional video editing software with advanced editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics, and audio post-production. Its free version offers everything you need to create professional videos. The software is known for its high-end color grading capabilities and the film industry uses it for major productions.
Audio Tools
Adobe Podcast Enhance
Adobe Podcast Enhance is designed to improve the quality of audio recordings. It uses AI to automatically remove background noise, balance levels, and enhance clarity. This tool is perfect for anyone who wants to elevate an audio recording to the highest quality without spending hours in post-production.
Audacity
Audacity is free, open-source audio editing software popular among podcasters and musicians. It offers tons of features such as audio recording, multi-track editing, noise reduction, and effects. Audacity's plugin support allows you to personalize its functionality.
Social Media and Marketing Tools
Iconosquare
Iconosquare is a social media analytics and management platform that helps you measure your social media performance. You get in-depth analytics for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These insights help you track engagement, monitor your competitors, and optimize your content strategy. The scheduling feature plans and automates your posts for consistent activity across all your social media channels.
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and service platform with CRM, social media management, and email marketing tools. The platform is designed to integrate all aspects of a business’s online presence. One useful feature is its ability to segment your followers, subscribers, and customers into different lists according to behaviors. You can then create personalized marketing campaigns. You can also integrate HubSpot with your online store to track sales and customer interactions.
Email and Newsletter Tools
MailChimp
Use MailChimp’s customizable forms to start an email list, perform A/B testing on email campaigns, and set up drip campaigns to nurture leads on your website. You can also create landing pages and pop-ups to promote special offers. Send newsletters with updates on your latest content using the platform’s simple visual workflow interface. It’s easy to integrate MailChimp into your Shopify or Webflow or WordPress website.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing tool specifically for creators, bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers. It focuses on being easy to use while providing powerful features. You can add forms to your website, perform A/B campaign testing, and automate workflows. Track your subscriber growth to maintain an overview of your performance on various email campaigns.
Project Management Tools
Sprout Social
Sprout Social is a social media management and analytics platform that enables team collaboration on social media strategies. It includes scheduling, monitoring, reporting, and engagement tools. With Sprout, you can work with your team on content creation, respond to messages, and analyze the performance of your posts.
Notion
Notion is a project management tool that combines notes, databases, tasks, and wikis in one platform. It is highly customizable and you can tailor it to fit the needs of any project. The collaboration features make it easy for team members to work together on documents, track progress, and share information.
In addition, Notion templates save you hours by setting up an organization system for you. For example, our Notion Social Media Planner, Notion Content Creation template, and TikTok Script Template can help you streamline your content creation processes. Check out these articles if you’re looking for a comparison of Notion vs. OneNote or Notion vs. Monday.
Slack
Slack is a communication tool that facilitates collaboration within teams. The platform has real-time messaging, file sharing, and integration capabilities. Channels help keep team communication organized and efficient when you need to manage teams working on different projects. Threads keep conversations organized within channels. Slack is popular among organizations and teams of all sizes that need to streamline communication and organize workflows. At Slam, we use Slack for internal communications as well as talking with our clients for more urgent and quick requests.
How Do You Know Which Creator Tools You Need?
Integrating digital tools into your business strategy comes with challenges, whether you’re selling digital services online or physical products in an omnichannel environment. Getting the best return on your investment requires research and a solid understanding of your business needs. Here are some tips to help you make the right choices:
- Identify your needs - Determine which specific tasks and goals you need the tools to accomplish, such as improving the SEO for your travel blog,
- Evaluate the features - Compare the features of different tools to see which ones best meet your needs.
- Consider the cost - Assess whether the cost of the tool is justified by its value.
- Test before committing - Take advantage of free trials to test the tools before making a final decision.
In addition to the creator tools already mentioned, Technical SEO Audit Tools can help you diagnose issues affecting your website. Technical SEO Tools analyze your site’s loading speed, structure, and other factors that affect your visibility in search results.
Depending on your business type, some tools may be better suited than others. For example, Agency Tools could require software to Scale a Marketing Agency. If the software you’re considering can’t fulfill your long-term needs, it may not be the ideal fit.
Investing in Individual Tools vs. Working with an Expert
Sometimes, investing in individual tools might not be the most effective option. Working with an expert agency like Slam Media Lab can help you avoid the pitfalls that arise when searching for creator tools that deliver. Our experience and expertise can save you time, reduce costs, and ensure you are set up with the right tools to succeed.
We can point out tools you may have overlooked or not realized could make a profound difference in your marketing strategy. For example, we know which Agency SEO Report tools and Small Business SEO Tools help you keep up with changes in search engine ranking factors.
Free vs. Premium Creator Tools
Some of the tools we’ve mentioned are free, like Audacity and Google Trends. Others have free and premium versions. This table compares the free and paid features available in the creator tools from this article.
- AdobeExpresssome text
- Free Version Features: Access stock imagery, fonts, design assets, basic video editing tools
- Paid Version Features: Advanced editing, auto-apply your brand’s logo, colors, and fonts
- Adobe Podcast some text
- Free Version Features: Check microphones, enhance audio files up to 1 hour per day
- Paid Version Features: Bulk uploads, video file support, upload up to 4 hours per day
- AnswerThePublic some text
- Free Version Features: 3 searches per day, save search history
- Paid Version Features: Unlimited searches
- Canvasome text
- Free Version Features: Limited templates and storage
- Paid Version Features: Premium templates, brand kits, unlimited storage
- ConvertKit some text
- Free Version Features: Newsletter for up to 10,000 subscribers, 1 visual automation, 1 email sequence
- Paid Version Features: Unlimited automations and email sequences, integrations
- CopyAI some text
- Free Version Features: 2,000 words per month, one user, 90+ copywriting tools, unlimited projects
- Paid Version Features: Unlimited automations and email sequences, integrations
- DaVinci Resolve some text
- Free Version Features: Video editing, color correction, multi-user projects
- Paid Version Features: Faster workflow and encoding, GPU acceleration
- Grammarly some text
- Free Version Features: Basic grammar and spelling checks, plagiarism detection
- Paid Version: Advanced style, vocabulary, and grammar suggestions
- Hemingway some text
- Free Version Features: Readability score, identify writing issues
- Paid Version Features: AI-writing assistant, advanced grammar checks
- HubSpot some text
- Free Version Features: Limited marketing, sales, and service tools
- Paid Version Features: Professional customer platform with greater capacity
- Iconosquaresome text
- Free Version Features: 14-day free trial
- Paid Version Features: Post scheduling, AI writing assistant, competition tracking, analytics
- Mailchimpsome text
- Free Version Features: 7 free email templates, free for 500 contacts and 500 emails per day
- Paid Version Features: Advanced analytics, A/B testing, automation workflows
- Notion some text
- Free Version Features: Workspace with Slack integration, basic analytics, 10 guests
- Paid Version Features: Custom automations, sync databases with other apps, advanced analytics
- QuillBot some text
- Free Version Features: Paraphrase in standard or fluency mode, generate citations, summarize
- Paid Version Features: Additional paraphrasing modes
- Sprout Social some text
- Free Version Features: 30-day free trial
- Paid Version Features: Publish, schedule, and draft posts, access reporting and promotion tools
Before you buy the premium version of one of these tools, it’s best to test them first, either by testing the free features or signing up for free trials.
Conclusion
Choosing the right creator tools can distinguish your brand in a saturated market. Instead of discovering the best resources through trial and error, let Slam Media Lab take the guesswork out of choosing. We find the best tools to streamline workflows, unite your team, and set you up for success.
Ready to Slam your online presence? You can contact us today for a tailored solution to achieve your goals.
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