If you have a creative brain and want to employ it in your career, consider taking up a writing job. Perhaps you want to write blogs, articles, short stories, or more. Whether you’re a fresh graduate or a seasoned professional, jumping into the content writing industry can be both enticing and daunting for creative minds.
One issue that many aspiring writers have is whether a job in the field is promising in the future. Don’t worry. High-quality freelance writers and brand journalists are in high demand and stand to be for years to come. However, the content marketing and freelance writing markets already grew before COVID-19. But the pandemic accelerated their growth, opening a sea of opportunities for newbies. In reality, knowledgeable creators have a history of success in the existing market and can understand the demands of both B2B and B2C marketers.
Now that you have learned there is a vast opportunity in the market let’s dive into what a content writer does.
What Does a Content Writer Do?
At the most basic level, a content writer produces engaging content like blogs, video scripts, and eBooks to target the desired audience and encourage them to take action. Such actions are listed below:
- Reading other published blogs
- Planning a demo
- Scanning through catalogues
- Signing up for emails
- Listening to a podcast
Essentially, a content writer draws potential customers to a business, explains the company’s value, and convinces the reader to purchase if the writing is compelling enough.
So how does a content writer do what they do? First, they find the target audience’s preference. Then searching for related questions or topics on Google search can give them a good sense of what their audience wants answered.
From there, the writers research, learning what they need to know about various topics from reliable, trustworthy sources. They gather information and statistics to support their arguments in their content so the reader trusts them. In addition, providing readers with all this information in your business’s content will keep them from researching competitors’ websites.
Businesses hire content writers to create relevant, quality content that attracts their target audience and draws them to their site. They also recruit writers who specialize in scripting email campaigns and social media posts for subscribers and followers.
Most internet users are aware of blog articles or social media posts, but content writing includes diverse content.
Likewise, if you are willing to step into this field, I suggest taking an online course certification from Unschool. In this course, you will get in-depth knowledge to start writing content. So are you ready? Enroll now.
Web Content Types
Let’s look at some of these different types of content in action.
1. Blog Post or Article
The written articles include SEO (search engine optimization), and website blogs to attract their websites from search engines. Here the content writer creates good content by using keywords in their blogs.
2. Web Page Copy
“Copy” and “copywriting” are terms used to represent written words that sell something. Web page copy is written for home pages, about pages, and web pages that sell products or services.
Moreover, Unschool offers a level-up internship program in Copywriting if you want to be a copywriter. You will be entitled to an online course with certification and internship in this program. Enroll now to become a COPYWRITER!
3. Landing Pages
A website landing page catches sales leads through visitor contact information. Therefore, the landing page content should be quirky enough to get organic leads.
4. Social Media Posts and Ads
Have you come across some unique social media posts on your news feed? Yes, that comes from the content writer as well. Let’s see the conversational structure of social media to:
- establish loyalty with their audience,
- grow the brand
- advertise their products, and
- drive visitors to their website.
Unlike press releases that follow a standard format, social media content experts structure their posts according to the marketing strategies for each platform. Not only social media, but the content writer is also accountable for the email newsletter and marketing campaigns.
5. Infographics
Infographics are visual informational overviews displayed with graphic illustrations and minimal text. They’re perfect for expressing key points in an easy-to-digest presentation.
Qualities of Great Content Writers?
Great content writers share specific qualities that allow them to refine their skills and produce effective online marketing content.
Qualities are listed below:
- A Relatable Personality: While reflecting their style and personality in their work, experts often practise empathy and treat their readers with respect.
- Adaptable: Content writers specialise in writing specific types of content, but they modify their writing style to suit a certain topic or meet a client’s request.
- Integrity: Great content writers employ their own words and credit the work of others. Readers trust their words, and clients trust their work ethic.
- Perseverance: Experts show up, rain or shine. They power through writer’s block and discover new concepts and skills.
Skills Required To Become Content Writer
Successful content writers earn and develop professional skills and expertise throughout their careers.
Let’s check off their in-demand skills, starting with the obvious.
1. A Way With Words
Content writers integrate writing basics like proper sentence structure, grammar, and spelling with fewer filler words, maintaining flowing transitions and sophisticated words that keep their readers… reading!
Not surprising, right?
They have an extra responsibility to hold readers’ attention with concrete writing that flows from one topic to the next.
2. Research Skills
Even though some writers focus on one niche, content writers increase their topical knowledge by exploring key material before writing a first paragraph.
Their potential to assemble, organise, and present findings from research counts value to their original content and boosts the credibility of the publishing website.
3. Self-Editing
Content writers’ submissions should be error-free to deter burdening clients with rectifications.
An essential step in the writing cycle, content writers should check their work for spelling or grammar goofs and ensure that their text aligns with the client’s guidelines. As part of the proofreading process, writers often use free or paid subscription apps like Grammarly.
4. Computer Skills
This skill may scare some writers, but it shouldn’t.
After all, it’s only logical that digital content writers need to be acquainted with digital technology.
Content writers should know computer basics such as retrieving and sending an email, navigating online, adding a hyperlink in text, and more.
So don’t sweat it; more advanced skills like editing in WordPress or HTML coding can be learned along the way.
5. Empathy
Successful content writers understand their audience. They know their thoughts, their pain, and their problems.
Telepathic?
No.
Even better: Empathetic.
They concentrate on and connect with their reader’s points of view and direct their audience to helpful solutions. Content writers utilise this empathetic mindset to draw and keep readers in their targeted audience.
6. SEO Savvy
SEO strategists research how Google locates and ranks articles based on factors like keyword search, track intent, and backlinks. Well, blog content writers optimise their articles or blogs to encourage Google to display them on the first page of search results, leading to organic traffic to the publishing website.
Likewise, social media content writers utilise matching skills to improve social media reach and supply opportunities to capture sales leads.
7. Time Management & Communication
Good time management skills help meet deadlines. Moreover, attentive communication skills assist in maintaining good client relationships.
Sounds like fun?
Enroll in Unschool’s Skill Courses to kick-start your professional content writer career into gear.
Start Your Journey To Become A Content Writer
Millions of writers have become full-time and part-time content writers. You can do it too!
Here’s how:
- Write daily and or select a creative writing exercise and go for it!
- Read and read some more to enhance your writing.
- Invest some time into learning some fundamental SEO strategies.
- Take an online course certification from Unschool.
- Explore and experiment with writing diverse content.
- Rinse and repeat.
Become an Awesome Content Writer
Quality content is in demand.
Whether you’re writing content for your own business or someone else’s, you’ll require the skills of a good content writer. Someone who can effectively guide and engage readers anxiously seeking solutions to their problems.
Are you ready to create awesome content that will help those readers?
Enroll now for skill courses from Unschool to better understand the domain.
All the best!