Content Writing Tips For Beginners

Beginning content writers usually get down to working with tons of energy and excitement.  However, as their bursts of creativity take over, they often forget how to strategize the content and attract new website visitors.

Obviously, a website or blog content is something more than a well-written piece of text; it rather has a marketing and promotional purpose. There are several peculiarities of content writing beginners might not be aware of. If you are new to web writing, take the advantage of tips below. They will help you to increase both the quality of your writing and its effectiveness in terms of promotion of your product or service.

Step 1. Create a content strategy

If you don’t have a defined content strategy, you are probably walking blindly in the attempts to making your content work. Start with developing a content strategy – it will direct your writing process. Here are a few questions to help you with defining the strategy:

• How often do you plan to create content? The frequency of posting can vary from several times (best for short informational /entertainment posts) a day to 1-2 times a week (works better for analytics and meaningful pieces).
• What is your content aimed for? Do you want to persuade the visitor to sign up for updates, or to purchase a product/service, or to spread a word about your brand over the social media? Needless to say that approaches to writing will be totally different.
• Define the subjects you’ll be covering. Think of your target audience and what might be of interest to them. The topics which evoke interest will generate more leads to your website. Speak the language of your target customers with its slang, abbreviations and tone – this will help you boost credibility.
• Think of types of content you’ll be using – this includes not only text, but also pictures, infographics, videos, charts – everything that makes your articles easier to comprehend and more visually attractive.

Step 2. Write!

As you have done with formulating the strategy, it’s time to start the writing process. Here are a few hints to make it run smoothly and make your pieces reader-friendly:

• Good things in – good things out. The quality of the content you produce depends heavily on the content you consume. By reading (or listening as podcasts) modern literature, experts of subject matters you’ll expand your vocabulary and range of vision. Thus, you’ll generate quality content yourself.
• Pick the right length for your posts. The length of your article should match up to the depth of subject coverage. Short articles are to entertain or raise a discussion, while long ones work better for step-by-step guides, lists of something or in-depth coverage of a subject matter.
• Set the deadline. During the writing and research process it’s easy to get distracted. As Parkinson’s law states, work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. If you don’t set deadlines, your mind is likely to wander aimlessly and the whole writing process will get stuck. Setting a time frame will help you keep more focused and meet deadlines.
• Make it simple. Remember that web writing doesn’t have to be complicated. Just the opposite – it should be as simple as possible. Use short sentences, short paragraphs and bulleted lists to convey your idea in an easy-to-read format. Your website visitors didn’t come to evaluate your extraordinary writing abilities – they came to get the advice or goods they googled. So, simplify your writing to help them find what they’ve came for.
• Be helpful. This is probably the key advice about writing. First and foremost, your content should add value to the readers. If, for instance, you’re running a blog for online clothing store, give the readers a bunch of advice on recent fashion trends, finding their unique style and picking the accessories. As soon as potential buyers find your advice helpful, they’ll be willing to buy the main products or services you offer.
• Structure your text. Any piece will be more pleasant to scan if it’s properly visually shaped. Break the text into small pieces and add white space rather than using heavy paragraphs.  Subheadings, bulleted/numbered lists, and charts are your best friends here.
• Ask for feedback. Since you’re new to content writing, it will do you any harm if you ask for feedback from experienced professionals. Be ready to hear things that are totally unpleasant. However, constructive criticism is the only thing that’s going to take you somewhere. Moreover, your mentors will likely recommend you what to work on to advance your writing.

Step 3. SEO-optimize your writing

What’s the point of creating a top-notch content if Google can’t find it? The more effort you put into SEO optimization, the higher your website will rank in search results. And this means more visitors and more potential clients!

• Optimize your site for mobile devices. It’s no surprise that more and more people browse the web using smartphones or tablets rather than desktops. Make sure your text looks as good on mobiles as it does on computer screen and that the content is readable.
• Include relevant links. https://mytasker.com/blog/seo-tips/ also highlights the importance of backlinks as key to higher rankings. So, if you use relevant information from credible sources when writing, support it with providing links accordingly.
• Enrich the text with keywords. Just like the keywords in resume are crucial for passing the ATS selection, keywords in content are what bring visitors to the site. Do a research to find out which search terms your potential audience uses to look up for similar product or service – and add them to your next piece of content or blog post. However, remember that keywords in content should sound naturally – search engines hate pages overloaded with keywords.
• Proofread thoroughly. Although one occasionally missed comma won’t break the day, the continuous typos and grammar errors in your content are likely to turn the educated audience away. Always proofread your writing. Use a mixture of proofreading techniques for better results.
• Take the advantage of social media. Many users search for relevant information using various social media platforms. Make sure your content is shared or available in Facebook or Twitter search results (or in any other platform your target audience prefers). The share of social search is likely to grow, so don’t neglect this way to attract new leads.

Ready to write your next post?

Web writing is a complex skills which requires creativity (to make your writing truly original and meaningful) and thorough attention to detail (which is needed to structure, SEO-optimize and visually edit your copy). However, these skills are easy to gain. Practice writing as much as possible, learn to feel the needs of your target audience and master basics of content optimization – and your writing will evolve from average to great!

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