Do you want to be a content writer?
Do you want to build your career in content writing?
If your answer to the above questions is ‘Yes,’ keep reading.
Content writing has always been an in-demand service, and as a profession, it is going to remain inevitable in the world. With the COVID pandemic causing businesses and people to shift their focus to the digital world, its importance in the world of digital marketing has increased even more.
Writing could be your passion or talent, but to make a career out of it requires effort and guidance. I can help you get started and put you at least 10 paces ahead of the competition. But before you begin content writing, there are some things that you need to understand.
Firstly, your AUDIENCE!
By understanding the audience, you can convey the right message and influence them through your writing. Everybody writes something for themselves, but to write for the public, is a whole other ballgame.
How to kick-start your career as a content writer?
The art of creative content writing can be innate in some, but you can cultivate this skill and be a good content writer. This blog will help you understand the basics of content writing. Here are some tips to help you get started!
1. Make Reading a Regular Habit
Writing cannot flourish in a vacuum. Every successful writer got inspiration and acquired knowledge by absorbing diverse content.
Start reading and get your creative juices flowing!
Reading gives you meaningful insights into the intricacies of content writing. The tone, simplicity of a writer’s expression to use a language, and the clever use of wordplay, are some of the skills that you can hone with a reading habit. Additionally, it teaches you proper sentence formation, paragraph length, ideas on content structure formatting, common terminologies to influence readers, and smart ways of using facts/citations.
2. Figure Out What Type of Content You Want to Write
The scope of content writing is extensive. You can do blog writing, SEO content writing, website copywriting, podcast scriptwriting, video scriptwriting, academic writing, and so much more.
As a beginner, you can pick any domain as per your interest or knowledge. You can choose a content domain like — technical content writing, fashion blogging, sports writing, current affairs/journalism content, marketing content, educational content, or anything else you are passionate about writing.
You can also opt for writing for multiple types of content. But each content industry vertical has varied complexities that you must understand, and with practice, you can master a domain. Pick one category in the beginning and then explore other content types as your expertise grow.
3. Come Up with Interesting and Relevant Topics to Write
Irrespective of whether you write for a client or yourself, you must make your content stand out and engaging for the readers. See what’s trending in your chosen domain with a content curator tool.
Scan for topics, scope out the existing content and finalize one based on your expertise. Figure out how you can create something unique. You can utilize some free headline generators like – HubSpot, Sumo, TheHoth to get interesting topic ideas.
4. Research on Key Points
Research on the existing content and note down the key points that come to your mind. The more you research, the more authoritative, unique, and insightful content you can create.
While researching, look for the credibility of the information provided in the content. Check out the Domain Authority of the page, read the reviews and comments about the content. Keep your research organized and break it into small pieces if the topic is too broad or complex.
To research faster, learn about Google Search Hacks here!
5. Think Creatively and Draft an Outline for your Content
Every content revolves around the topic, idea, and viewpoint. Even if some other writer shares the same ‘topic’ and the factual ‘idea’ – the views and opinions can be different. So, think creatively to showcase your viewpoints to make your content unique.
Draft an outline of your content piece to remain objective in your post and have clarity on what you are trying to explain. You can use tools like Workflowy to draft one.
While creating the content outline, always keep your target audience in mind. Identify the objective of the post that will keep your target audience hooked until the end. Based on it, write your points, arguments, and solutions. Structure them roughly to ensure you do not miss out on anything. It will also help you in framing your research and organize your thoughts.
6. Stick to the Topic and Do Distraction-Free Writing
Drifting apart from the main topic and exploring different ones can divert readers’ attention and take away the essence of the content. Stick to what you have finalized and do not mix different ideas or concepts into one blog. Include whatever is related to the topic and leave whatever is not.
It is vital to put down all your thoughts together while writing and avoid getting distracted with editing/formatting. Keep a notepad to jot things down and use a cross-platform compatible text editor for distraction-free writing.
To avoid distractions further, keep your workstation area de-cluttered. Pause notifications on your mobiles/laptops with notification blockers like OFFTime, StayFocusd, AppBlock, and use a headphone with noise-cancellation to listen to some soothing music while working (not for everyone).
7. Keep the Tone, Voice, & Perspective Consistent
Often when you are just starting as a content writer, you may struggle with setting up a perspective, tense, tone, voice, and all the subtle technical elements of grammar.
- Representing errors: Shifting from “I”/”We”/”The Company” highlights the confusion of representation in writing – self or client.
- Active/Passive voice errors: Shifting from direct personal to impersonal writing like ‘we recommend’ to ‘it is recommended.’
- Terminology errors: It happens mostly with freelancers. As they shift writing from one industry to the other, incorrect industry terminologies, affect the quality of their writing. It gives the reader doubts about the expertise of the writer.
The tone, voice, or perspective do not impact much when you keep it consistent throughout the content.
8. Be Factual & keep things simple to Pique Readers’ Interest
Get factual information around the core idea of your content. Write in a simple, easy-to-understand language unless you are writing technical content for a specific target group of readers.
The more your content has practical and factual information, the higher the SEO rate will be as the E-A-T factors. Readers are interested in such content; they bookmark and share it more.
9. Refine Title and Do Content Structure Formatting
Most readers have the habit of reading the title and first paragraph to decide whether they want to read further or not. Therefore, you must pick the title for your topic wisely. Make sure it matches your content and is engaging enough to catch the reader’s attention.
Readers also have the habit of skimming through the content. If the format of your content is boring, and they find it difficult to understand the essence of writing, they will skip reading.
So, break the flatness of the content by adding subheadings. Use bold/italics wherever needed, and break content into digestible chunks. Add gaps between the paragraphs and include numbered lists or bullets to engage/ease the readers to read till the end.
10. Include Keywords Appropriately
The ultimate goal of content writing is to make them rank on the search engine result pages. If you want to make a career in content writing, you must understand the role of keywords and how to highlight them in your content for your target audience.
Use keyword selecting tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest to do keyword research, and include them in your writing judiciously.
However, if you overstuff your content with keywords, the reader will lose the thread of your idea. If you are using long-tail keywords, make sure it adds value to the content, and fits appropriately.
11. Be a Ruthless Editor When You Proofread
Content with spelling and grammar mistakes gives a substandard impression of a content writer. A successful writer, specifically a freelancer, must spend the majority of their time on editing, proofreading, and processing the content after writing it.
The best way is to read the document loudly and spot errors, inappropriate word choices, loose-ends, and awkward sentences. You can use editing tools like Grammarly, HemingwayApp, and ClicheFinder to check for spelling and grammar mistakes, tonal inaccuracies, and long drawn sentences. Proofread your document to check fluency as well as for the clarity of the message. If you are unsure about something, ask an experienced writer or editor to help you out.
12. Publish your content
Apart from writing for clients, it would help if you wrote for yourself as well and published your content on self-publishing platforms like Medium, Tumblr, Wattpad. It will boost your confidence and improve your writing skills further.
Additionally, distribute it across all your social media channels -LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., to gain visibility, and build your portfolio. Furthermore, optimize the post title, the URL slug, and the meta description of your post to increase your click-through-rate (CTR). Check out some more SEO tricks here!
As you are a beginner, do not make the mistake of comparing your writing with other pros. It would be best if you keep your last writeup as the benchmark for improving your writing skills.
Key Pointers:
- If you see that dozens of people have written an article on a similar concept topic, research more to make your content in-depth and up to date with information for the readers.
- Create your online content writing portfolio to build trust and establish your credibility. Give a professional touch to your LinkedIn profile and do guest postings.
- Use social networks like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Reddit to connect with experienced content writers. Build your rapport with them before you ask for help. You can also seek assistance from the freelance writer’s support groups.
- Only an editor can highlight all the mistakes and areas of improvement when you are learning on the job. Ask a pro to be the one for you.
- Somewhere down the line, you may feel stressed or get a writer’s block. Remember that it is natural, and every writer goes through it. So, do not be hard on yourself. Content writing is a creative process. Instead of taking pressure, take a step back. Analyze the situation and figure out what caused it. Take a break, refresh your mind, and move ahead.
- Pickup added skills that take content writing to the next level. Knowledge about image editing, SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing can help you develop as an all-round content writer.
- With experience, your style will develop naturally. Find the way you like to express your ideas and shape your unique writing style.
Conclusion
Many content writers acquire professional education, training, and clear certifications to be one. However, not every writer needs a writing-specific degree. It is possible to be a flourishing content writer without any degree but only with a passion for writing.
Don’t stop reading!
I cannot stress this enough. Let your reading habit enrich your writing and help you to be a successful content writer. Even after you become an established writer, you must maintain this habit.
So, what are you waiting for? Start writing!
Use the tips I mentioned above to become a skilled content writer. Remember that content writing is a skill that never stops evolving. If you have any questions on content writing, feel free to get in touch with me. You can write to me at Contact@SanjayB.com.