30 Free Resources To Improve Your Writing Abilities

Table of Contents:

• Basic Writing: Grammar and Punctuation
• Technical Writing
• Business Writing
• Copywriting
• Content Writing Tools
• Key Takeaways
• Conclusion
• FAQs

Are you looking to fast-track your freelance content writing career? We’ve put together a catalog of free content writing resources to help you upskill.

With content marketing becoming one of the most important skills for marketers, having a good command of writing could really benefit your career. In addition to the boost to your website traffic, it also amplifies your professional growth. However, writing is intimidating for many people, and they keep wondering how to find resources to improve writing skills. If you are indeed wondering how to improve your content writing skills, you are in the right place.

The good news is that writing is not tortuous, and with a little bit of guidance and free resources available on the internet, you can easily learn how to improve creative writing skills. In today’s world learning different tricks to improve your SEO or creative writing skills isn’t as difficult as you think. To improve content writing skills, you just need practice, the right guidance, and the latest resources.

Are you ready to become a better writer?

Basic Content Writing Resources: Grammar and Punctuation

1. Purdue Online Writing Lab

Purdue OWL puts together free content writing resources and instructional material useful for building a solid foundation for freelance writing. The course also has an extensive guide on avoiding plagiarism, which may be extremely useful for freelance web writers. It has tons of tips to improve content writing skills. You can also practice basic grammar rules using the exercises section. With lots of practice and the right resources, you will excel at your craft in no time. 

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2. HyperGrammar

A free electronic grammar course from the University of Ottawa’s Writing Centre, is great to look up common grammar mistakes that your editor may have pointed out to you. This is an effective content writing resource to improve your content. For example, if you’re unsure what a dangling modifier or dependent clause is, simply look up modifiers or clauses in this eGuide and make sure you know how to avoid the mistakes the next time.

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3. Paradigm Online Writing Assistant

This hub of content writing resources contain articles that can help you write effective web content. It helps to improve sentence structures to create maximum impact and teaches you how to improve the content hierarchy. These resources to improve writing skills would polish your content game and help you structure your writing better. A writing framework is very crucial to improving your content. It is like a mindmap, or a basic crux of your article. If the very backbone of your writing is detailed, it will make for a very detailed article. 

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4. How to Use English Punctuation Correctly

This course on WikiHow breaks down the rules of punctuation in a listicle format with fun examples. Don’t forget to download the punctuation cheat sheet as a handy writing tool. This is one of the best resources to improve writing skills, as you get a detailed overview of the kind of punctuation you have to use with relatable examples. This article is also an excellent example of how an interesting and relatable article looks like. The serious content is interspersed with fun examples to hook the reader. The punctuation cheat sheet is very useful in improving content writing skills, so the reader is likely to come back for more. 

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5. Grammar Girl – Mignon Firty

For short, friendly tips on improving grammar, you can check out Grammar Girl’s podcast and blog. It’s ideal as an intermediary upskill workshop for busy professionals who can listen to the small tips on the go. If you can barely make time to take up an extensive course, but still wants to improve your content writing skills, choose Grammar Girl. Every aspect is chopped up into detailed, explanatory pieces. The content is available in two formats so, the user can choose as per their convenience. 

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Creative Writing Courses to Improve your Storytelling

6. Alison – English Writing skills

Every content piece has in its center, story telling. Delivering valuable content to your audience through storytelling is an art that you have to master to improve your content writing skills. If you’re still finding your voice as a creative writer or want to explore new avenues and mediums to showcase your writing talent, this course is ideal for you. It covers the basics of comedy writing, mystery & fiction writing, writing for an audience, and more. 

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7. Hubspot Academy – Content Marketing Course: Get Certified in Content Marketing

Although this isn’t strictly a creative writing course, this resource tells you the importance of writing effective content powered by storytelling principles. It is specially designed for web content writers who wish to write compelling articles consistently. Hubspot has been synonymous with content marketing for quite some time now. This course is an excellent choice for those looking for resources to improve content writing skills. 

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8. Stand Up!; Comedy Writing and Performance Poetry

You could not have a better combination than storytelling interspersed with humor, that delivers valuable content. If done correctly, humor brings relatability and fosters a lot of engagement from the audience. This EdX course is a great headstart for those who wish to bring their creative skills to life on stage. It’s also a good tool for writers who want to incorporate a hint of humor into their stories/blogs and improve content writing skills. 

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9. Creative Writing Specialization – Wesleyan University

One of the best resources to improve writing skills, this beginner-friendly Coursera series provides an in-depth exploration of three main forms of creative writing – short stories, narratives, and memoirs. Since it deals with a variety of forms, it will diversify your writing and teach you to convey the same thoughts in different forms. It is an excellent practice to inculcate, as content is repurposed for different platforms in the content world as well, and the writer needs to have an understanding of the kind of users frequenting that platform. 

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10. Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences

Most websites nowadays, offer a variety of content, ranging from videos to static carousel posts on Instagram. The University of New South Wales put together a comprehensive guide for cohesive story experience across multiple delivery platforms. Whether you’re looking into multimedia content for entertainment, advertising, and marketing, or social change, this course covers it all. 

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Technical Writing Courses to Improve Writing Skills

11. Technical Writing Course – Google

Specifically designed for developers, this Google course helps you learn how to plan and author technical documentation. The pre-class material covers everything from grammar and tense to structural guidelines and editing. 

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12. ClickHelp technical writing blog

If you are looking to improve your writing skills in the domain of technical writing, look no further than Click Help’s technical writing blog. It has tips and tricks to master tech, chemistry, consumer electronics, and a variety of other topics. Follow this blog for comprehensive information on web-writing for tech-heavy topics. Some interesting topics covered include how to write SOPs as well as managing backlogs.

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13. Writing READMEs – Udacity

READMEs are unmissable documents that you need to upload with every Git post. Learning how to be clever with READMEs can help you bring clarity to the reader and upsell other works by you. This is also a good resource for designers who give away free design tools and scripts.

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14. Technical Writing Strategies – Lumen Learning

From a comprehensive introduction to technical writing to the resources and exercises on white paper content and case studies, this technical writing resource hub is sure to become the bible for your journey to improve technical writing skills. It covers every aspect of technical writing in a detailed manner. 

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15. How to Become a Technical Writer – A beginner’s guide

If you are new to the freelance opportunities available with technical writing, this course will help you realize its potential as a secondary income. If you are a product manager, developer, or software writer, take this course and expand your career opportunities outside of the 9-5 schedule.

Business Writing Courses to Improve Content

16. Business Writing Course – HubSpot

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Business writing is an essential skill set for any professional, especially for those in the sales and marketing eco-sphere. From long-form content to copies, business writing is different in the sense that it has to appeal to a mass of your target audience, while personalizing it for everyone. Understand the process of business writing with this HubSpot course. 

17. Business Writing Techniques

This EdX course discusses the best practices of business writing with real-world examples and applications. It helps you understand the 6C technique to create better copy for business. The real-world examples would improve your writing skills significantly, as dry topics like finance could be made interesting with stories. People would be more inclined to listen to you. 

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18. High-Impact Business Writing – Coursera

From emails and presentations to comprehensive business reports and press releases, this course is the go-to guide for content marketers who work very closely with the C-Suites. It’s also an excellent guide for freelancers, solopreneurs, and influencers who wish to improve the outlook of their product/service offerings.

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19. Business Writing – Coursera

For non-native English speakers, business writing becomes all the more crucial in this global marketplace. Whether you are a web designer who wants to pursue a freelance career or simply understand how to write email templates for a global audience, this course has the answers.

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20. Email writing – how to write effective email

As email marketing becomes more prevalent in every industry, many companies seek to outsource email campaigns to freelancers. This course is right for you if you specifically want to understand the dos and don’ts of email copy. An email copy is quite challenging as the author has only a few words to draw the reader in. This course would improve your writing skills, for it delves deep into the art of writing compelling emails. 

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Copywriting Resources 

21. Copywriting 101 – Copyblogger

This free ebook from Copyblogger covers everything you need to know about copywriting for the web. It is an excellent resource to improve writing skills. Whether you’re a novice or specialist, skim through this guide to solidify your fundamentals. Copywriting demands ingenuity and the willingness to experiment. You would not know that your copy is bad, unless you put it out. Do not be afraid to experiment and use criticism to modify your work. 

22. 155 Years of Copywriting Insights Taught In 1.5 Hour Course!

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If you’re looking for a point-blank and concise course that condenses all the copywriting basics into a quick summary, this course is a great start. It is a fantastic resource for beginners to improve writing skills. In order to connect with the audience through your copy, you must have an understanding of the kind of content that hooks them. In order to do this, you must identify your target audience. It will help you to create better copies. 

23. Copywriting Foundations: Sell Using Your Words In 2020

To write copies that resonate with your audience, you need to understand their favorite kind of content. This course covers the foundations and some intermediate to advanced topics to help you understand how user-generated content works today. If you have been experimenting for a while and would like to level up your writing skills, consider choosing this course. 

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24. Copywriting: Improve User Experience One Word at a Time (Repeat)

Your website is the face of your business. It must draw in readers as well as give them an idea of who you are and what you sell. Therefore, you have to master the skill of talking to your users. Consider learning UX writing. Especially useful for SaaS content creators, this course from OpenSAP is extremely useful, as it straddles the line between copywriting and UX writing. 

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25. Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content

Marketing goes in line with sociology and psychology. You have to churn out copies that appeal to a mass chunk of your target audience, while making them feel special and relevant to receive that copy. Most companies send email blasts that do not convert customers as it does not hook them. Emailers require excellent copy skills, as you have a few seconds to create an impact on your audience. Although not technically a copywriting course, Jonah Berger from Wharton School unravels the sociology of the internet – an insightful course for those looking to advance copywriting skills.

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Content Writing Tools to Improve Content Writing Skills

26. CoSchedule

Headlines are a make or break element of your content. It has to be relevant enough for SEO and must also draw in your readers. If you are looking to improve your content writing skills, try to use CoSchedule. It has many in-built features that improve your writing. This headline analyzer can tell you how effective your title is for driving traffic, shares, and search results.

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27. HemingwayApp

Imagine that you have written an excellent article but your first sentence has a grammar error. Won’t it be a bummer? Use tools like HemingwayApp and Grammarly to improve your content writing skills. Simplicity and Relevance goes a long way. Check the correctness and readability of your blogs or articles with the HemingwayApp.

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28. Wordcounter.net

When we are writing, it is common to use repetitive phrases, or the enemy of every writer, that is the word ‘very.’ This is why you should read your articles and proofread them before posting. You can skip that hard work and improve your writing skills with Wordcounter.net. Use wordcounter.net to determine how often you repeat words or phrases. This vastly helps you improve the standard of writing as you can quickly replace frequently repeated words. It’s beneficial when you’re writing product and category descriptions.

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29. Grammarly

Grammarly is every writer’s best friend. The free version also helps the users to identify punctuation errors and suggests relevant words. The premium version offers better suggestions to improve writing skills. Grammarly automatically corrects misspelled words as well as common errors like the affect vs. effect.

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30. Portent Idea Generator

Ran out of ideas for your blog? Simply type a topic into Portent’s Idea generator and get started with your next article or blog. It is an excellent tool to refurbish your ideas and generate compelling content. 

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Key Takeaways

• You need the right guidance, latest resources, and lots of practice to improve content writing skills. 
• Purdue Online Writing Lab, HyperGrammar, Paradigm Online Writing Assistant, and Grammar Girl are some resources to improve writing skills. 
• HubSpot, Wesleyan University, and the University of South Wales offer detailed courses on storytelling that are crucial to improve content writing skills. The University of South Wales also includes other multimedia and advertising modules. 
• Google’s Technical Writing Course, Clickhelp’s technical writing resource, Lumen Learning, and Udacity’s Course are some of the best resources to improve writing skills and learn technical writing. 
• HubSpot and Coursera have some of the best business content writing resources to improve writing skills. 
• Coursera, CopyBlogger, Open Sap, Udemy, and many more have some of the best copywriting tips to improve your writing. 
• Use HemingwayApp, Wordcounter.net, Grammarly, Portent Idea Generator, and CoSchedule to boost your writing. These are excellent content writing tools to improve content writing skills. 
• Your understanding of the subject matter and desire to learn is more important than any content writing resources. 

Conclusion

Become a writer today!

There is no denying the fact that anyone can start as a freelance writer with no prior experience. However, to grow as a professional writer, you should focus on choosing the right approach instead of just thinking about how to improve your writing. You can start working on your writing skills by using free online content writing tools.

Don’t forget to share your best writing tip and the most useful resource to help other writers learn how to improve writing skills.

FAQs