Writing does not always come easy. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, ideas do not come our way. Other times, we have an idea, but also have a hard time developing it. This is where some tools would come in handy, right? Well, for this reason we have today’s post. I decided to take a look at brainstorming tools for content writing and mind mapping.
*This post was updated 12th October 2018.
We all know that brainstorming is a process in which we gather ideas, but what exactly is mind mapping? You see, in a map, everything seems connected in a way or another. In a similar manner, mind mapping is a process that uses diagrams in order to connect your ideas. Basically, you first brainstorm, and then you start mapping the ideas.
Now that you know what these two processes mean, let’s take a look at some of the programs that help us with them.
This program is used for ease collaboration for the processes of both mind mapping and brainstorming. In addition, its interface is both intuitive, and easy to use. The main advantage of this application is that you can collaborate live, talk about what you want to modify over the live chat, share your ideas, and many more.
You have access to your projects both online and offline, through your mobile phone. In addition, your data is safely stored with data encryption along with daily monitoring. Also, this program is cloud based, which means that you do not have to install any additional software or have to worry about any upgrades.
Price: Personal accounts from $ 4.99/ month, business accounts $ 14.99
This online program is used both for mind mapping and brainstorming that makes your job easier by letting you organize your idea with the help of notes that you can connect, files, and also calendar events in the form of freeform maps. In addition, you can create both private and public maps, along with collaborating with others, given the fact that your maps are stored in the cloud, which means that they can be accessed from any place.
You have the possibility to mix many types of media in order to make a stencil, and each of these stencils can be customized by altering the colors, the fonts, size, and even formats. In addition, you can use these mind maps on your website, which is a plus.
Price: Free for personal accounts, Pro accounts at $ 5/ month, business accounts $ 25/ month
This program is an excellent open source tool that is used for mind mapping. Among the things that you can do on this app are: to clarify your thinking, manage complex information, but also organize and brainstorm. In addition, it lets you both gather ideas and craft them in a logical form, which enables you to identify critical information, relationships, and even priorities and trends.
A great aspect of XMind is that it gives you the opportunity to have a seamless collaboration, by letting you export your mind map in a multitude of formats, such as PDF, TXT, HTML, PNG, JPEG and not only. In addition to enabling you to make a mind maps, XMiind offers you tree, logic, and also fishbone charts. It also has, a built in spell checker, and even lets you take audio notes.
Price: The account prices from free to $79/ year.
This program gives you the chance to collaborate with other people. In addition to dragging and dropping images onto your diagrams, you can also view what changes you have made and keep track of them. In addition, you can change the colors of each project that you make.
A positive aspect of this program is that it gives you the opportunity to export your projects both in PDF and PNG format, and even create private links. In addition, you can share your mind maps on social media, and also add clickable links. The program also works on mobile devices.
Price: Free
This program is a useful tool for organizing your thoughts. In addition, it is easy to use. All you have to do is to type some text in the indicated area, and then you can use the tab key if you want to indent text lines. Then, you click the Draw Mind Map button, and it evolves.
Each line of text represents a separate node in your mind map. In addition, you have many options to style the mind map for your requirements and taste. You can also use various keyboard shortcuts, and every map can be exported in either PDF and image format, and you can even email it.
Price: Free
This program is a great online brainstorming and mind mapping tool. In order to start a tree, all you have to do is to type a central topic. After that, you can write another idea either at the same level or as a sub-level. You can either move the bubbles around manually or the program will reposition itself automatically.
The tree can be customized in order to suit your style, and you can do this by changing the color and size. In addition, the program has an auto save feature, which is extremely useful, and you can also share your project either as a read only file or allow other people to edit it. In order to work on the same tree, other people need to have a Bubbl.us account.
Price: Free
This program makes team activities easier, by providing a unique platform in which you can build a mind map, using any parameters that you want. In addition, you can either select a map or create your own.
Each person can add their contribution to the brainstorm, and then they can vote and comment, making this process both open and efficient.
Price: The accounts on this website range from free to up to $ 100/ month if you want a professional account.
8. Ideaboardz
This is an excellent tool that is web-based. It lets you create a virtual board in which you can invite other people to work on it. You can make sections for the various things that you want to brainstorm for. Let´s think for example that you want to plan a party: you can make a section for ideas of places, for food and drinks, and let´s say music. After that, anybody can add their sticky notes with their ideas.
In addition, this brainstorming tool comes with a vote function. This means that participants can give a thumbs up when they support an idea. You can then use a keyword to filter ideas, and even sort them from the ones with the highest number of votes to the ones that do not have any votes. You can get creative. Oh. I think that I forgot to mention the fact that it is completely free.
This brainstorming tool is like a whiteboard space that uses sticky notes. You can either use a blank sheet to start from or choose to go for a premade template in order for you to make an outline of what you want to do. In addition, you can import files, pictures, and even documents from your Google Drive, or choose to upload them from your PC. After that, you can export the file as a presentation.
This brainstorming tool is basically free. However, there is also a premium version for $40 per month, that has many more features than the basic one. The free version allows three people to work on the presentation, and it gives you the possibility to create up to 3 boards. However, the presentation can be seen by an unlimited number of guests.
10. Freeplane
This program is great for both managing knowledge and mind mapping. The software includes many different structuring tools that are great for brainstorming your ideas. You do not have to connect your ideas, just type them in. After that, you have the possibility to use different lines and pictograms in order to organize them. In addition, you can use filters if you want to see something specific, or simply to sort out the ideas.
There are many tutorials for using this awesome brainstorming tool, and it has many other features that can help you, such as dealing with scripts, and the best part about it is that it will not cost you a thing, because it is free.
An excellent way of brainstorming is by writing down everything that comes through your mind. It does not matter whether the ideas are complete or whether what you are writing makes any sense at all. It is like a place where you write whatever comes to mind. You do not need to add tags, or update your status, and the best part is that everything that you write is private.
I guess that you are probably wondering about why the name of this tool is 750 words (approximately three pages). In addition, this tool is kind of like a game, which makes it even more fun. You get points for writing, for reaching 750 words, and even for writing consistently. Also, you get to see statistics for the time you spent writing, and even what themes you mostly write about.
It sometimes just happens that you already know what you want to write about, however, you are simply stuck when it comes to generating a title, or knowing where to start. This blog topic generator might just be the tool that you need to get you out of your writer´s block.
All that you need to do is to type three keywords, and this tool will simply give you five possible themes or topics for your post. And if it so happens that you are not happy with the options that you are given, you can always try again, and you will be given five more options.
You know when you are writing and writing and suddenly you get stuck. You think about that word, but it simply does not come to mind. You try searching on Google for a synonym, but you just end up getting frustrated.
The best part about this tool is that if you ever get stuck on a word, it will send it. Twinword Writer analyzes the context of what you are writing, and then a box simply pops up and it gives you some alternatives that you can use.
It is quite annoying when you simply run out of ideas. Maybe you do not know where to start from, like what title your post should have. Other times, you might just think of a word and forget what it was. There are solutions for every type of writer’s block. Luckily, you can find most of them in this blog post.
Now you know, whenever you are stuck trying to see what word comes next or where to start, you can always come back to this article. It can be your little helper that can save you in moments of need. Just save the link and always come back whenever you need it.
Oh, and if you ever just want some help with you Spanish content writing needs, I am here to help you.
