Want to be a Content Marketing Paladin? Then Automate Your Content Production Workflows with These (Free) Tools
This blog was updated in December 2021.
Flat-lining content experiences and withering conversion rates can be the kiss of death to almost any website. When content experiences deteriorate one issue seems to make an appearance time and time again: the amount of time and resources required to produce and manage content marketing initiatives. Among the many best practices and strategies that will accelerate growth includes the all-powerful move towards productivity automation.
Content Marketing: Productivity Automation
Automation is a powerful weapon when you're combating content production and management issues. The best ones reduce the day-to-day administrative minutia, and allow us to cache our time; sparing some and reallocating it towards say, exploring better lead generation and nurturing efforts. Luckily, there's a lot of tools (paid and free) available that will help you deliver better content experiences and achieve more efficient content marketing workflows. If you want to maximize your production workflows, consider intermixing content marketing tools into your content strategy plan. To help you along, I'll share and review some of my favorite content marketing tools:
- Affinio
- Swipe
- OptinMonster
- Publet
Tool 1: Affinio
Affinio will help you discover segmented groupings within your followers or subscribers. What does it mean for you? It empowers content marketing efforts by helping you learn your site's unique content engagement patterns using segments from your existing social communities. Affinio lovingly refers to these audience segments as 'tribes', and the platform will find them for you. Tribes are based on user interests, rather than focusing solely on some associated company. Affinio will help you discover how these tribes interact with your content and uncover the best distribution channels for your tribes. When you need insights based on audience segmentation or reliable data and unique analytics to help inform your content marketing plans, Affinio is worth a deep dive. 
Affinio.com | Image Source: Affinio Sample Report
Core Features:
- Audience Segmentation & Affinities
- Content Insights
- Twitter Advertising
- Digital Media Planning
- Monitoring & Reporting (Data)
Tool Pricing:
Affinio offers different plans and pricing levels based on platform edition.
Tool 2: Swipe
Swipe (not to be confused with the keyboard app Swype) is a presentation app, but don't be fooled, it's not just any prezzo app. Swipe lets you instantly screen-share presentations in real-time without any downloads. Instead, you share a simple URL link. This prezzo platform allows you to create responsive presentations and import different files from PDFs and images to Vimeo and Youtube videos. Swipe files are transferred and housed using an SSL (secure) connection, and they accessible to multiple team members in real-time. For example, Swipe gives presentation owners the ability to see who's opening files and how times it's been viewed. 
Swipe.to | Image Source
Core Features:
- Responsive presentations
- Secure SSL accounts & uploads
- No downloads or installs
- No limits on file sizes
- Integrates with Google Analytics
- Includes real-time features like interactive polls
Tool Pricing:
Swipe accounts are free, and they offer different packages and pricing based on your needs. Their base package is free, and they offer a Pro package at $20/month, and a Business package slated for launch this year at $50/month.
Tool 3: OptinMonster
If you're interested in growing and nurturing sales leads and testing possible solutions, say hello to OptinMonster. This dynamic tool offers multiple resources including customizable lead generation forms, exit banners, customer segmenting tools, and A/B testing tools. OptinMonster works with considerable third-party services like Marketo, HubSpot, MailChimp, and Salesforce, to CMS frameworks like Drupal, and e-commerce platforms like Shopify. 
OptinMonster.com | Image Source
Core Features:
- Create best-practice based conversion forms fast
- Launch engagement lightbox modals and timed pop-ups
- Create Audience segments and get new insights
- A/B Split Testing with Data-Driven Reports
Tool Pricing:
OptinMonster offers packages starting at $49/year (you get unlimited OptIn forms and a ton of features for the price). If you need a professional-grade solution all the bell and whistles (including support) you're looking at $199/year; the ROI is worth it.
Wrap Up
You can offer premium products or services, but if you're not completely focused on ongoing growth, your conversions are going to plateau. By using a few smart content marketing and productivity automation tools, you can increase the strategic and creative time it takes to launch profitable marketing initiatives. Whether you want to double-down on lead generation or ramp up your SEO strategies, intelligent resources like those shared above can have a significant impact on your company's bottom line.
