My Favorite Free Web Tools for Content Marketers

In my 10 years of content marketing experience, I've used a variety of tools. Here's a sampling of some of my favorites. Obviously, regardless of what I recommend or have found useful, seek out the proper tools to satisfy your particular content marketing needs. With that in mind, let's start listings these out.

Blogging platform: Tumblr

You might be surprised to not see WordPress here, but I've found Tumblr to be my favorite blogging platform of choice. Never before have I used a platform that's so easy to use but also unbelievably customizable. With the right HTML, CSS, Javascript, and a little of Tumblr's markup knowledge, you can create an entirely custom Tumblr site.

Another remarkable feature of Tumblr is the ability to use custom domain names for free - something I've found few other services allow.

What's disappointing about it is within the last year Tumblr has disabled custom redirects. You used to be able to do yourdomain.com/name and have it point to anywhere on the internet - it was incredible. I used it for things like beyondtweeting.com/book to get to a landing page on my personal website. Even though these grandfathered-in links still work, you can no longer create new ones. :( I've reached out to Tumblr about this and haven't heard a peep. This used to be one of my favorite features of the platform so I'm upset to see them remove it.

Social media platform: Twitter

Twitter continues to be the most open, discover-friendly network on the web for me. Connecting with anyone over shared interests and finding like-minded individuals is one of my favorite things to do on the web, and Twitter paves the way for that. The reach potential is massive, its algorithm hasn't murdered itself yet, and it's relatively ubiquitous in the social media marketing world. While Instagram is a popular go-to network right now, it's has caught the Facebook algorithm decease, and it's very difficult to link outside of the platform. So it may be a better choice for some users, Twitter remains my favorite.

Content creators can benefit from seeking out similar content creators. Build a network in your industry on Twitter and start building influence!

(Psssst... I also wrote a book a bit more about this topic and it's only 99 cents on Amazon.)

Best chat + community building platform: Discord

While relatively niche right now to gaming, Discord is growing massively. There simply aren't enough good things I can say about this platform. Imagine the most intuitive chat app ever made with both text and voice, video chat, screen share, media share, category sorting, and user permission management. And it's free.

Content creators can join existing communities and start engaging with their target audience directly, or create their own Discord server and curate work there, utilizing chat and pings to get folks' attention (just don't abuse it or users will start server muting your server).

New tool discovery service: ProductHunt

Not only is this website great for finding and discovering new products, but content marketers can observe how the newest product creators create buzz for their products. This website is a goldmine of inspiration!

Link shorteners: Bitly

If you have your own short domain name - this is a great opportunity to brand any link you share, and track clicks too. While I haven't figured out a great way to force myself to shorten every link I share, there is payoff. You can track clicks across multiple networks/platforms, and every link is a cool branding opportunity. For example I own dvdv.kim. The root domain redirects to my main website, but you can use bit.ly to generate a custom URL with that branded short domain name. It's really cool, and it's free!

Social media scheduling: Buffer

Buffer has been my go-to for scheduling. Honestly I don't do much of this anymore - but this is a go-to whenever I need to schedule simultaneous postings across Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The free version lets you schedule up to 10 posts in advance and lets you connect one account per service (minus Instagram or Pinterest). You can connect your bitly account to automatically shorten links with your custom domain name ... all for free! Pretty cool.

Podcasting platform: SoundCloud

While podcasting veterans will thumb their nose at me for this recommendation, I've found SoundCloud to be a fast, convenient, straightforward solution to podcasting. You only get up to three hours for free, after that you have to pay. So this barely makes it on the "free tools" list.

Website analytics platform: Google Analytics

Still the king of web analytics platforms, Google Analytics takes it again. There's simply no good excuse not to use this if you have a website. If you use Tumblr, installation is very easy, just head over to the customize section for your blog and insert the code either in a predetermined text field (if the theme includes it) or at the end of the <head> tag.

Live streaming platform: Twitch

By and large, Twitch is the best live streaming experience on the web. It's come a long way from its Justin.tv roots and is now home to thousands of content creators. While gaming is at its core, lately it's broadened to include other activities like art, crafting, social eating, podcasting, and just chatting. This platform, in my opinion, is a missed opportunity for most digital marketers looking to utilize a medium that hooks users in as effectively as traditional podcasting. Average view duration of a Twitch stream rivals podcast listening. Give it a shot (and while you're at it, follow me on Twitch also)!

What am I missing?

If there's an amazing free tool that I've missed... please let me know!