That depends on what content marketing tools you’re using. The great thing about this content marketing boom is that it paved the way for so many tools and platforms to launch to help make our jobs easier. The tricky thing is sifting through all your available options, given the different areas of content marketing.

So, to answer your question, I thought I’d narrow down your choices to key areas of content marketing relevant to the writing process.

1. BuzzSumo

It doesn’t matter how well you know the subject matter, there will always be new material and new developments that will help you craft a better, more interesting piece. To that end, I strongly recommend starting your writing process with comprehensive research. You can generate more ideas, identify better keywords, and learn more about your topic. I’m a big fan of BuzzSumo, which simplifies the whole research process by pulling in top posts based on keywords.

2. Quora

There’s a reason I spend a lot of time here on Quora. It’s a great platform to stay informed about what topics and questions people in this niche are interested in. It’s also a great source of content ideas that come straight from the community itself. Quora’s search function allows me to stay in touch with what my target audience wants to know—and that helps me craft more interesting topics for my blog or my social media calendar.

3. Trello

Content writing doesn’t happen in a silo. More often than not, I’m working with a team, each individual with their own areas of expertise. For example, it’s not uncommon to have a separate keyword research team that can provide a list of words and phrases I can use for my articles. After I draft something, I have to pass this on to editors. Often, a finished piece gets sent to marketers who are in charge of content distribution.

If this workflow is similar to yours, then a collaboration tool would be very useful. There’s a lot of options available today, but I like platforms that are straightforward, visual, and simple. Trello, by far, is the one that meets all my needs.

4. Google Docs

Obviously, a word processing tool is essential to content production, but I find that using a version accessible via the cloud is critical to productivity and organization. Google Docs follows an already familiar interface and is accessible by anyone in your team who has access to the internet. You can also apply edits and comments in real time, which minimizes version control problems.

These are my top four content marketing tools that I think are essential to my writing routine. If you have any questions, simply leave a comment below. I’d also love to hear your suggestions if you have any to add to this list. Feel free to leave a comment below or jump on the conversation via our Twitter or LinkedIn.