Content Research Toolkit: Essential Strategies and Tools

Being a freelance content writer isn’t just about writing. Content research is a key part of the process and can make all the difference when it comes to the quality of your finished work.

That’s why we’ve put together this content research toolkit, for new and established writers alike, to provide you with the essential research skills and tools you need to plan and produce great content.

Why Is Research Important?

As fast-paced as the internet and its trending topics can be, it can sometimes feel like writers need to publish content as quickly as possible in order to keep up.

But taking the time to conduct thorough research will ultimately improve your content – and your reputation.

Properly researching your content can:

• Speed up the writing process
• Enhance your writing’s quality, accuracy, and credibility
• Improve your content’s SEO ranking
• Provide you with ideas, inspiration, and knowledge for future content
• Provide more benefit to your clients and readers, which in turn helps establish your reputation as a writer

Types of Research

Before we begin, it’s important to keep in mind that research isn’t one-size-fits-all.

While there are many different types of research, they typically fall under two categories:

• Primary Research: the process of collecting data that has not already been collected, for example, by conducting an interview or survey
• Secondary Research: the process of reviewing data that has been collected by someone else, such as in a book or blog post

As a content writer, you’ll primarily be conducting secondary, desktop-based research (or in other words, searching the internet).

However, it’s not uncommon for some clients to provide primary sources that they would like to be included in the finished article.

If your client does require you to conduct more in-depth primary research, such as conducting interviews, make sure to account for the extra time and effort this may take when agreeing on your rate.

How to Do Research for Content Writing

The following section covers tips for approaching content research, from planning your articles to making sure you’ve sourced your references properly.

1. Planning Your Content

Before getting stuck with the finer details, take some time to determine key information about the content you’ll be writing. You’ll need to know:

• What subject(s) your content will cover
• What form your content will take (e.g., a listicle or how-to article)
• Who your content is for

If you’re working with a client, they should have already provided you with some of these details as part of a content brief.

However, you can conduct your own research to refine these details further.

Subject and Keywords

The main subject of your content will likely be informed by the client or publication you are writing for, or the niche you specialize in as a writer.

If you’ve been given a title for your post, this is a great starting point to kick off your research by:

• Googling the title to see what is already out there – and what ranks highest on search engines – on the subject
• Conducting keyword research to find out what related subjects and terms your audience is likely to search for

Keyword research can also identify related searches and subtopics, which can inform the structure of your content and provide ideas for subheadings.

Format

If your client hasn’t specified a format for your content, researching the subject matter can give you an idea of some of the more popular article styles.

See what style of posts are ranked highest for your content’s keywords. Are there lots of “Top 10” articles? How about reviews, tutorials, or case studies? The more popular formats are most likely to perform well with your target audience.

One thing to watch out for when researching format, though, is structural plagiarism – copying another piece of content’s structure too closely.

While some subjects will have a limited number of logical structures (how-to articles, for example, will likely follow a very similar series of steps), you should try and avoid following someone else’s use of format, headings, and subheadings too closely.

Audience

Audience research is a whole realm of study in itself, and you shouldn’t need to conduct in-depth audience research for a client (unless, of course, they’re paying for the extra service).

But identifying some key details about your content’s audience will help you determine the direction your writing will take.

By researching popular blog posts and social media trends on a topic you’re writing about, you can get an idea of:

• Demographics about your target audience, such as occupation, age, gender, or social status
• What tone and style of writing is most likely to appeal to them
• What benefits your audience is looking for or what challenges they are trying to overcome

2. Finding Credible Sources

Some clients may provide you with a list of sources to use when writing content, but this isn’t always the case.

Most of the time, it will be up to you to find credible, trustworthy sources for your research. This is an important step to take, as taking the time to verify sources ensures that the content you produce is accurate and reflects well on yourself and your client.

To identify credible sources, check that:

• The author possesses the required qualifications, reputation, or expertise to be writing on the subject
• The information shared is recent and up to date
• Any claims made are supported by evidence or corroborated in other sources
• The author, publication, or platform is unbiased on the subject

For more tips on finding sources you can trust, check out our blog post, How to Spot a Credible Source.

3. Taking Notes

As you conduct your research, make sure to take notes and organize your findings in a way that makes sense to you. Common note-taking strategies include:

• Separating your research into relevant subheadings
• Color-coding your notes
• Using a note-taking system such as the Cornell method

Remember not to copy content from other sources word for word, though, unless you’re quoting that source and properly referencing it. Copying content is plagiarism, and it can have a severe impact on you and your client’s reputation.

As you take notes, spend some time reviewing your competitors’ posts on the subject matter. Ask yourself if anything seems to be missing or isn’t covered in depth.

This can help you identify what you can improve on with your own writing and where you can provide additional value to your client and audience that isn’t present in existing content.

4. Managing Your References

As you conduct your research, it’s important that you make a note of the sources you’ve used and any references you will need to make.

It’s also a good idea to keep a list of sources you’ve read as you go, even if you don’t intend on referencing them directly. This will help you keep track of what information you’ve found and where.

Managing your references properly is especially important if you’re producing a piece of academic or scientific writing, as these industries tend to have strict standards when it comes to crediting (and formatting) references.

Content Research Tools

There are a lot of different aspects to consider when it comes to content research. Luckily, there are also plenty of tools to help get the job done.

We’ve listed our favorites for you to try.

Keyword Research Tools

Keyword Generator

A free, basic tool that generates and ranks up to 150 keywords for a given subject.

Answer the Public

A free research tool that lets you identify what questions people are searching for in relation to a given keyword.

Ahrefs

A simple-to-use, free SEO tool that allows you to generate keywords and research keyword ranking.

Semrush

An advanced tool that provides more in-depth keyword and SEO insights.

Note-Taking Apps

Microsoft OneNote

A free note-taking program included with Office365, which allows for easy integration with other Microsoft software.

Notion

An all-in-one note-taking, collaboration, and project management tool.

Ulysses

A note-taking and writing app with plenty of features that can help convert your research notes into finished articles.

Reference Management Tools

Mendeley

A free-to-download reference manager designed for academics and researchers. It can be used in-browser or as standalone software.

Zotero

Another free-to-download manager that works as a browser extension.

EndNote

A premium reference management service with a free trial option.

PaperPile

A web-based reference manager that offers a 30-day free trial.

Becoming A Freelance Writer

Want to learn all there is to know about being a freelance writer? Our Becoming A Freelance Writer course will equip you with the skills you need to write (and research) with confidence.

Like to do your research first? No problem – you can try us out for free.

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