As we make the transition to the digital sphere more and more people are creating online pages and websites for their services or businesses. But while they may create those pages they may not necessarily have the skills needed to create high-level content for their online platform. This is where content writers come in.
Content writers are those people who have an excellent grasp over language, a strong vocabulary, and sharp research skills with a knack for understanding how to change the tone of their writing according to the needs of a website or online page.
Good content writers are in demand and so if you have got the skills to be one you might be in for a real treat. However, getting started as a content writer is not all that easy as more and more people are taking up the job which makes the competition for the best gigs tougher. But have no fear because we want to give you an edge which is why we are listing down some tips you should keep in mind as you decide to go down the path of content writing.
Top 6 Content Writing Tips For Beginners 2021
1. Up Your Grammar and Vocabulary Game
Being a content writer means your employer will expect you to have command over the language you need to be writing in. This means you need to make sure to keep up the reading because people do not want to spend their money on someone who is going to deliver work with a lot of grammatical errors or poor vocabulary. Also do not try to throw in “fancy” words just because you think it will make you seem better. The truth is simple words that you know how to appropriately use are much better than large, complicated words that you do not know how to use.
2. The Right Title
Using the right heading or title is critical to the job. You need to come up with catchy titles or perhaps titles with puns that grab the attention of your audience. But remember do not overcomplicate things either because if you are too busy trying to come up with a “pun-ny” title you might lose focus on making sure that the title is well-connected to the subject matter. You might have gone to lengths to come up with a good title but if it does not match what a reader is probably looking for then all that hard work is rendered useless. This is a skill you will quickly learn once you start writing as you delve into different types of subjects.
3. Be an Avid Reader
As a content writer, especially a freelance one, you might need to write for a range of topics such as history blogs to tech articles etc. However, each category of content requires a different tone and writing style. For this reason, you should read a range of things. With CenturyLink internet you can explore tons of websites and blogs. This will familiarize you with different writing styles as well as the appropriate jargon for each topic. For example, if you are writing about history, you might find the word “narrative” is used in a specific way rather than saying the story put forward by certain/selective historical sources.
Also the more you read the more your mind will get stimulated which will help you come up with ideas quickly for pieces you need to write. Not to mention reading other people’s high quality work can also help improve your very own English.
4. Appropriate Subheadings
Subheadings can be great for breaking up one long chunk of text into small bite-sized pieces. Readers can often get overwhelmed and worn down when they see big blocks of text. However, subheadings can not only help organize the text, but also allow readers to quickly find what they are looking for in the text. As they say “time is money” so you can be sure to count on the appreciation of your readers for well-positioned and accurate subheadings.
Read More: What Are The Effects Of Plagiarism? 3 Fine Tools To Avoid Plagiarism
5. Do Not Just Fill Words
When writing a piece, you need to try to not just use words for the sake of filling a page. As discussed above readers do not have all the time in the world on their hands so when they spend their time reading something you have written, they want to make sure they are getting the information they need. This means you should write concise articles that get to the point rather than beating around the bush too much. If you include too much irrelevant information or “fluff” as some might put it you risk losing out on your audience and getting labelled as someone who does not produce high-quality content writers material.
6. Proofread and Edit
Whenever you finish an article it is a good idea to proofread it. When you are typing you can often be in a hurry as you are trying to get down the words as quickly as they come to you when you are in a deep state of focus. Unfortunately, speedy writing might mean you skip a few critical words like “to” or “and” as well as miss out on a few important places that require punctuation. Quick proofreading can help solve such simple errors.
As for editing, you might have written down a sentence, but upon proofreading might find that that sentence can be improved upon in terms of grammatical structure. Writing that “sounds good” is writing that flows well so be sure to rework your sentences if you think they can be improved upon.
7. Important Stuff Goes at the Top
When someone opens an article there is a good chance they are simply going to skim it to look for important information. So you might as well put the important information near the top which will please the reader and probably make them come back to the site or page you are writing for. This will, of course, in turn make your employer happy as they will get more traffic and hopefully higher conversions.
All in All
Content writing is not as easy as people make it out to be. It requires focus, hard work and a knack for writing which is why we wanted to help you out with a few tips to keep in mind when following this career path.
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