What skills does a content writer need? Majority of people have a strong grip over the English language, not everyone is a content writer. What skills makea content writer who he is, and better than the vast, well-versed populace?
Content Writer Vs. Everyone Else
To start off with, a content writer is someone who creates content for the web. Simple as it sounds, it isnt.
The content can be of any form, e-books, or blogs, or podcasts. And writing for each such variant requires specialized skills. This is the fine line between specialization and normality.
Good content writing is like fine wine, gets better with age (experience). However, everyone needs to learn, and you can learn here.
6 skills you need to become a content writer
1. Being the MASTER, not jack, of all writing styles
Content,as mentioned above comes in all shapes and sizes.
– Ads are small and to the point.
– Blogs can be detailed and often sided with one opinion.
– News write-ups are all about captivating headlines.
– Articles should be engaging and topic-specific.
Mastering the variety makes you a professional content writer. Being able to write around these lines defines how good a content writer is.
2. Pickiness in subject selection
Take any genre, the word trending always rings a bell. Because people like to be informed about whats most popular and talked about.
Trend, check. Following which comes understanding your readers. How high are the chances of a pie-loving audience engaging in a lasagna blog? Thats how high the chances are your audience will entertain your content should they be even slightly irrelevant. Knowing what the target audience likes reading is what in all obviousness leads a writer to write content.
Top 3 most effective content researching tools suggested by experienced content writers are
BuzzSumo the most important tool that I use for my content marketing and SEO campaigns.
Google Trends that shows how often a particular search term is entered relative to the total search volume across various regions of the world and in various languages.
Ahrefs Content Explorer to explore the best ideas for your new content.
3. Originality and relevance
Content originality is like the branding of a writer.
Want more readers?
The answer is: Write original content.
Imagine if 100 websites housed the same content, would that monotone not kill someone?! As interesting as it should be, it is also necessary for content to be your own, thats how a writer earns his/her name. Once originality has peaked, the content should be relevant to the topic. Writing about Harry Potter and concluding it in Xaviers mansion will be a disaster. Originality and relevance brew the perfect content.
4. Extensive content and keyword research
Well thought out and neatly constructed content draws more visitors than shabby unorganized content does.The key to writing well is to make sure your content has more than enough research in it. Your content should contain and cover all the relevant topics as needed.
Readers choose to read content, often because theyre not versed enough in it. So as a writer it is a must to educate the reader. Portraying your work in a short and sweet manner is guaranteed to draw visitors. Not everyone has the time to read a 1000 word article which could otherwise be wrapped up in 600.
5. Engaging content
Treat your site viewers like youd treat your guests. The chances of one of those viewers being a big shot in some field, and vouching for you are convincingly high. The content you provide should be engaging, just as much as it should be educative. Providing content that can be found on 10 other sites is in no way beneficial to you, let alone the reader. Doing this is really easy, writing unique content periodically and keep up with the trends.
Valentines tomorrow? Write about love, relationships, and chocolate. Engage your reader to the fullest!
6. Complete control over the internet
Knowledge of WordPress and SEO friendly content writing is the icing to the cake. Having a good hold over keyword density, and search engine result surety is compulsory for a good content writer!The complexity about this post is the fact that the requirements dont stop with just writing, SEO tools, basics of HTML and WordPress are a part of the package.
These 6 skills will make clear where a writer and a good writer stand. The day you gain control over social media, learn the basics of marketing and know how to attract visitors, you grow from being a writer to being a content writer.
The internet is your playground, and as a good content writer, you have to make sure the ball is always on your side of the court. Cheers!
