How to Become a Content Writer?

Are you passionate about expressing your perspectives through writing but don’t know how? Do you want to become a content writer but wonder how? Are you still unfamiliar with the skills prerequisite to become a content writer? Do you often find it challenging to know the opportunities available to a writer? So this piece is definitely for you!

To begin with, one should know what content writing is all about?

Content writing is simply a game of words put into a structure to get a meaningful sentence. It is imperative to recognize the abilities required to become a writer. A writer by putting perspectives into readable content can induce everyone to read the content. To string your words beautifully you should have passion and zeal to write. One cannot write forcefully.

How to develop Skills?

This is a skill-based career that requires continuous polishing of skills. One does not compulsorily need to pursue any professional degree to start writing though knowing Literature would be an advantage.

1. But firstly, the choice of language becomes significant. Start writing in the language you are familiar with and hence language proficiency becomes vital here. The grammar, vocabulary, structure, etc. play a starring role in the formation of a sentence.
2. Cultivate your unique writing style by regular practice. Try to maintain consistency in your writing, that means never stop writing. There are multiple types of writing involving, blog writing (fashion blogging, entertainment blogging, travel blogging), writing journalism content (news stories, reports, features, articles), scriptwriting (video, podcast, movies), writing for corporates and many more. Each type discovers its style and hence you need to know about the content you are choosing and presenting.

3. Some professional skills like Search Engine Optimization, WordPress, Text/HTML, etc. would be obligatory for professional writing. You can hone these skills through offline and online modes of learning. Some academies such as Shaw Academy, Coursera are providing online writing classes. You may prefer diplomas or other certificate courses for better writing skills.
4. The title is the first impression that allows readers to decide whether to read the content further or not. So try and keep your title as attractive as possible. Some several online software and tools can assist you to improve your title writing. Furthermore, you need to take care that you write plagiarism free content.

Apart from this, to make your content exceptional and readable, try and select the current topics. Firstly, you should decide who are your target readers and then select the subject accordingly. For example, talking about raincoats in the summer season would not be that effective.

Before start writing, research the topic deeply and analyze it differently to add your unique style and maintain readability.

We very well know practice makes a man perfect, but I would rather say, ‘right practice makes a human perfect.’ Practicing it in the right manner is of paramount importance to gain proficiency and perfection. Just start practicing writing regularly for developing your writing skills as Louis L’Amour said, “Start Writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

Tips to write an effective content: 

When you start writing, you can take care of the following tips given by Robert Gunning. He is the creator of the Gunning Fog Index and has introduced 10 principles for clear and effective writing from the Gunning Formula of Readability.

• Keep sentences short.
• Prefer the simple to the complex.
• Prefer the familiar word.
• Avoid unnecessary words.
• Put action in your verbs.
• Write the way you talk.
• Use terms your readers can picture.
• Tie in with your reader’s experience.
• Make full use of variety.
• Write to express, not to impress.

How to build experience?

To start with a career in content writing the experience is the first requirement. If you want to pursue a career or learn professional content writing, you can follow but not restricted to the following options:

1. Follow daily prompts: As we talked about practice, then writing daily prompts can be very effective. There are number of topics or issues you can talk about but upholding endurance is necessary.
2. Join Writing communities: There are several online writing communities such as Absolute Writer Water Cooler, Critique circle, etc., where you may find various threads and genres to write about. It would help you to gain better experience as a freelancer as well because these communities are much large and active.

3. Keep participating in writing contests: Some institutions and organizations keep on conducting writing contests beginning from the basic level to the national or global level. They have attractive prizes that can encourage you to write patiently and commendably.

4. Create your blog: There are several options available on social media in today’s era. To create your blog, you can look at Instagram. Apart from this, one can have their websites or blogs on other sites.

5. Internships: Multiple organizations provide opportunities of Internships to gain short term experience as amateurs. So this is a great option to start as a beginner.

6. Jobs: After honing the skills and gaining experience, you can apply for your dream job. To become a professional content writer jobs assist in expanding understanding, productivity and expertise, or you can have your starts-ups.