Journals
6 Content-Writing Tips For Beginners
"Think less about yourself and more about your readers". These content writing tips are aimed at beginner content writers, or people who’re looking to shift into content writing as a profession. Content writing is a tricky skill to learn and it’s definitely not for everyone. But once you figure out how to do it well, you have a valuable skill-set for life.
Initially if you want to be a quality content writer, first step is to read, read, and read. After that you write, write and write some more. Do this everyday at least for an hour everyday or more. Let’s dive deep into some tactical ways to improve your writing:
- Get into your reader’s head
Content writing primarily revolved around engaging, entertaining, or solving a problem. You can’t do that if you can’t understand your reader.
Ask yourself questions about your readers. What is the readers problem? What is their lifestyle like? What are they googling? I try and create content that will speak directly to the person.
- 2) Think about your takeaway: What do you want your reader to do after they finish reading?
Content writing guides are geared around the logistics of writing and not enough about the emotions. Writing is extremely powerful when channeled with the right energy.
Write in a way that your readers want to associate with your content and the action you want them to take. There’s no better place where you get to control that than the conclusion.
- Most writing best practices apply to content writing too.
Good content writing = Good writing. A lot of what helps good writing stand out, also helps in improving the quality of content writing.
For all my writing, whether it’s content writing, blogging, or scripts, I focus on two things:
Pacing: A good story is balanced when it comes to pacing. Not too fast. Not too slow. To ensure that my stories are well-paced I have a practice, I read them out a loud. It kind of helps me tell whether it’s too slow or too fast. If my brain gets too clogged I do the same things, but to a friend or a family member.
Clarity and Structure: Are there any plot holes? Does everything flow together. Is everything sounding crispy? Reading aloud here helps again, but this time I’m observing how the writing flows. Does it all make sense?
- Write compellingly
Too many content writing tips focus on the mechanics of the content. At the end of the day, does your writing answer a reader’s problem or question?
To produce quality output you can’t just tick the boxes for “good content writing”, you’ve got to tick the boxes for “good writing” as well. Take your time with producing this content, make sure it’s interesting and engaging.
- Use of tools.
It can be challenging to constantly search for fresh ideas, research, optimize, proofread, and deliver great content in time. This is where tools come in.
750 Words: This is an online that encourages you to write more frequently. It asks you to write 750 words a day. You can write about literally anything since it’s a private place. It helps you develop a habit to write, type faster and avoid distractions.
A Soft Murmur: Many writers like listening to soft music when they write (like myself). This helps in concentration and writing more efficiently. This tool provides soft ambient sounds, helping in keeping distractions away and improve productivity.
These are the ones I personally use but there’s plenty more all across the internet, use a couple of them and see what fits your gear.
- Sound like an expert on everything.
As a writer, you inherently know a lot of options for creating introductory paragraphs, transitions, a body of content, and a satisfying conclusion.
All that you have to do to sound like an expert is do some minimal research and grab a few pieces of information that are relevant to the subject matter. Vague language can also hide your lack of expertise provided that it sounds knowledgeable.
As long as you don’t get caught in a blatantly false comment, you can get away with writing detailed articles on subjects you know nothing about.
Remember these 6 tips so that you can be 6 steps ahead of the other content writers. Bookmark it. Highlight it. Once you have some clients, these lessons will helps will help you make the most of your career option.