5 Signs You Might Be a Content Writer

We Web content writers are a pretty fun bunch, if I do say so myself. When you consider the amount of time we spend researching new topics, fretting over the latest SEO techniques, and obsessing over our content writing projects, it goes without saying that a content writer eats, breathes, and sleeps Web content. 

We know that many of our readers are business owners or marketing professionals looking to do some of their own content writing, and as you can see, we always try to provide you only the best tricks and tips to help you be the best content writer you can be. 

Let’s take a moment to have a little fun, though, and see just how good a job you’re doing. We’ve put together a little checklist that you can use as a reference guide as your content writing skills consume you – er, I mean develop. Yeah, develop.

Let’s get on with the list, shall we? Here are some of the most common signs you may be a content writer:

1. FACEBOOK AND BLOG ARE VERBS, NOT NOUNS

If you find yourself frequently saying, “Oh I can’t wait to Facebook this,” or “I’m totally blogging this party,” you have officially reached the point where engaging in social media has become as common to you as tying your shoes. 

When “Facebooking” and “blogging” are no longer things you have to do, but things you get to do, you may be a content writer.

2. YOU KNOW YOUR KLOUT SCORE, BUT NOT YOUR CREDIT SCORE

You have your priorities, right? If this one mystifies you a little, Klout is a social media analytics website that examines your social media connections, interactions, and overall reach and assigns you a “score” based on how well you’re doing. 

The social media savvy content writer lives and dies by his or her Klout score… but unfortunately, it doesn’t do us much good at the loan office. If your eyes lit up and you proudly announced “62!” when you read this, then congratulations: You may be a content writer.

3. YOU USE YOUR PAYPAL DEBIT CARD MORE THAN YOUR BANK’S

We content writers are typically freelancers, writing Web content for anyone who needs it, and as a roaming writer, a PayPal account is a necessity. We’ve all got one, they’re all verified, and I can assure you that we have the branded debit card. 

If you know exactly how much cash back you’ve earned from your PayPal debit card, and it’s more than you’ve earned on any of your others, then you’re definitely a freelancer – and you may be a content writer.

4. YOU KNOW ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS’ E-MAIL ADDRESSES, BUT NOT THEIR PHONE NUMBERS

We content writers live by writing, and let’s be honest, there’s only so much you can say in a text message. Writers send e-mails the way Victorians used to write letters, and those of you who are friends with a content writer know all too well that we will respond to an e-mail much faster than we’ll listen to a voicemail or return a phone call. 

If you can populate a significant portion of your e-mail address book without importing or looking, then you may be a content writer.

5. YOU HAVE NIGHTMARES ABOUT PENGUIN 3.0

SEO is a constantly changing landscape, and if you ask any SEO content writer what the word “Penguin” means to them, their reactions will range from amusement to shudders – but believe me, they’ll know what you’re talking about. 

Google’s most recent updates to its SEO algorithm (another word you can use to elicit a variety of reactions, by the way) has been dubbed “Penguin,” and while it largely targets black-hat SEO practices, inadvertently even some of the most careful SEO content writers get caught in the crossfire. Penguin 2.0 landed this past May and sent many webmasters and content writers reeling, attempting to rid their link profiles of errant inbound links from questionable sites. 

We’re only just beginning to recover from some of the unintended consequences of Penguin 2.0, so those of us affected collectively dread the day that Penguin 3.0 will once again change the way we approach the business of content writing. If you live in fear of algorithm updates, you may just be a content writer.


Do you know at least 200 different ways to explain what your business does? Do you have a notepad where you jot down ideas for new articles? Do you follow hashtags more closely than you follow national news? These are just a few of the many telltale signs that you made the leap from amateur blogger to Web content writer. If you grinned, giggled, and nodded along with us during this post, then welcome to the fold, fellow content writer!

Source: http://goo.gl/fycS48

Six Tips To Develop Your SEO Content Writing

Someone e-mailed me recently and said there was great content on Writing For SEO, but what did she really need to know to be great at SEO Content Writing?

That’s a good question

No. It’s a great question.

And it shows up one of the greatest weaknesses of publishing online, particularly in a blog’s timeline format. The information you want is not all assembled into a coherent document or book. But that’s a discussion for another day and probably another place.

I could just go away and write a book. But there’s a lot here already, so here are some of the essential nuggets.

Setting some boundaries

Before I go any further, can I set some boundaries?

For the purposes of this piece, SEO Writing is commercial, not personal – although I write personally on Writing For SEO, it has a commercial purpose.

I’m also covering the research you’ll need to do before you start writing, because I’m assuming you’re writing for yourself or your company. Some clients give me the key phrases to write copy around.

1. The SEO or the Writing?

So much has been written around this question. And 90% of it is just uninformed or geared to making a craft seem simple.

That’s not to say SEO Content Writing is for an elite. Nope. If you can write, you can write content that punches its weight online.

You just need to know what you’re doing and then hone your skills by getting down to some writing – with some SEO.

2. Write for a friend’s website to begin with

Sounds a bit strange?

It’ll help remove one of the biggest elephants in the writing – you.

That is, you’ll find it easier to avoid the number one problem for writers who are just beginning. Talking about the product, service, website or company from the inside, when readers are looking from the outside.

3. Understand your audience

Know who they are and write for them.

But write for one person, not hundreds, thousands or millions. Make it personal. Eye to eye.

4. Key Phrase Research – really understand your audience

This is where we transition from good old copywriting and content writing into SEO Writing.

Use tools to explore what people are really looking for.

• What are their needs?
• Can you see searches by people who are ready to buy?
• Are they using different terminology? They may not be experts, so they probably don’t use jargon

5. Write based on the right key phrases

Choose key phrases that are:

• Relevant to what you’re selling
• Have realistic levels of competition
• Have higher levels of search

6. Extend your writing on to the web

Now mix in some webby stuff for real success.

Know how to use h tags, what to put in title tags to help search engines and your readers.

Source: http://goo.gl/1yVrrL

Content Writing Strategies – Writing With An Objective

When you write content for the web, you want to be informative, consultative or authoritative on the subject that you write about. Irrespective of how you want to approach your writing, you have to have an objective in mind to influence your reader. It is worth pausing here to note that readers have objectives too; in particular, the desire to gain something of value in return for their investment of time spent (in reading). 

What is the objective of the content? What is the goal intended to be attained?  What is the purpose, the benefit or the reason you wrote a piece of content?

For some, it could be to give easy access to information on the product or service you offer to your customers and for some others it could be about convincing your reader about something that you believe in. 

Every piece of content you write has to have an objective. 

Here are a couple of strategies that great content writers use to write content that sticks and works!

ESP

ESP also means Extra Sensory Perception, but in the context of content strategy it means- Engage, Stimulate and Persuade.

When you write content, it is recommended that you write for an audience of one. Even though you know that the content is going to be read by a global audience of varying age groups, cultures and dispositions, it is important to address each reader as an individual and not as a member of a specific community.

In the book, ‘Can I change your mind ‘ the author Lindsay Camp, succinctly elaborates and I quote:

“Reading is a solitary activity. It happens in your head and when you read something I have written, you are in effect, allowing me to join you in there. 

I’m a guest and as such, though I may know next to nothing about you, it is up to me to strike a relationship with you, to find a way of making whatever I have to say engaging, stimulating and persuasive to you.”

That being said, even though you may not know every person that reads your content, you do know that it addresses a target audience. 

For example, the people who will evaluate and compare your product or service against others in the market before  hiring you or making a buying decision. 

When you write content that engages, stimulates and persuades that group of people, you have a winner!

The aim, put simply, is to write for a reader you have never met which should be similar to writing for one you know well.

Tune in

Much has been said about being emotive when you converse with your clients on phone. 

Empathy, your ability to reflect the emotions of the person you communicate with, is crucial to any conversation and I don’t mean spoken alone.

Is it possible to write with empathy too? Understand how the reader of content you write, is likely to feel?  

Good persuasive writers do this instinctively, says Lindsay Camp:

“They find out what they can about the reader, make reasonable assumptions and intelligent deductions about Why, When and Where the reader will read. 

They think logically about how she (the reader) is likely to feel towards what they have to say. 

Then they make an imaginative leap that enables them to tune in to the emotion or set of emotions that will have a bearing on the success or failure of a particular piece of communication.”

Can I learn how to tune in?

Good communicators don’t make a conscious effort to tune in. It comes naturally to them. For the rest of us, the good news is, empathy can be learned! So long as you are involved and intuitive and not objective and detached, you can easily ‘tune in’ to the emotional state of your reader. 

The process requires not just logical and analytical thinking but also a degree of intuition and empathy.

I know many of you are on your way to becoming superlative writers already. Share what your objectives are when you write content. The next time you write content on your blog use these strategies and tell us how it has changed the way you write. 

Source: http://goo.gl/DnYACI

What Ails Content Writing In India?

A dreamy-eyed 16-year-old Megha had no doubt in her mind; she always wanted to be an engineer and engineering is what she pursued. “I really just wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps”, is what she says. Later, however, her 21-year-old self could barely relate to that thought. What was the problem? “I couldn’t do it. 

I just couldn’t”, says Megha who left her core domain to follow what she now knows was her true calling. Yes, content writing! Stifled in her engineering avatar, Megha first joined as a content writer in a start-up firm before finishing her Mass Communication degree. 

She is placed in a government communications job. “It was like a fairytale”, chimes a visibly happy and content Megha. All stories are obviously not that peachy.

Keerat, another engineer-turned-writer, followed his writing dream but not to the same effect as that of Megha. He opted out of his campus placements and joined a content management firm right after college. While initially, Keerat felt great at having made the choice, soon monotony set in and the task became way too unchallenging for him. 

Boredom killed motivation, led to low performance, affected compensation and ultimately steered Keerat out of the industry. This is a circle so vicious that it threatens the very existence of content writing in India. “We don’t have too many different things to write about and work soon becomes drab and leads to alarming attrition rates”, claim industry experts. 

This is one of the major reasons why employers shy away from investing big bucks in professionally untrained writers. With attrition rates higher than any professional industry in the country, can you blame them?

Another stereotypical employee that defines content writing industry in India is that zealous, talented, yet money-driven, employee who is dissatisfied that this passion-driven job doesn’t pay as many bills as it should. “Sometimes I wonder if it was worth it. 

I mean I am happy with my job but I took a considerable salary cut then and I still haven’t quite made up for that”, says Latika, a post graduate in HR. She explains how after finishing studies in a recession ridden time, she bided time working as a personality trainer before she took to writing at a friend’s behest. 

Content writing pays really less in India and Latika blames societal norms for it. “The society still doesn’t see writing as an acceptable profession.” No wonder then that she had to face a lot of flak from her parents for making this decision.

And as if managing writers amidst all that attrition and low salaries was not enough, content writing firms have to constantly deal with an unfair share of fickle minded and inept people looking not for writing, but for an easy way out of hard work. 

Such people don’t care about writing; it is all just about biding time for them. 

They bring the standards further down and, being dispassionate or overtly and unreasonably confident, they never really improve. “Nobody really plans to be a content writer; content writing mostly just happens to people”, claim experts. 

And, with absolutely no formal courses and degrees in this field, one man’s understanding is as good as another’s when it comes to what works in this industry. Even the Mass Com colleges aren’t setting things straight for writing enthusiasts.

23-year-old Prakash always wanted to write and, with the support of his academician parents, he enrolled even for a Mass Communication course. 

Soon, fresh out of college, riding high on a degree of his dreams and brimming with ideas, he started work only to realise that his education hadn’t quite prepared him for the real world. Theoretically, he knew what it took to be a journalist but the presentation aspect, the glamour aspect of reporting which forms the basic USP of the industry today, completely eluded him. 

“I didn’t know I had to be glamorous in my reporting. They always taught us to be factually correct and objective; forming opinions was supposed to be the reader’s job.” 

But, in a world of cutthroat rivalry, glamour is necessary and if only there wasn’t such a huge gap between academia and the industry, Prakash would have been saved the disillusionment. This also leads to the gap between the demand and supply of good writers which then sets a different cycle of things into motion.

Other issues of the industry revolve around resources and prospects. Organisations lack relevant resources like libraries and online databases that can provide undisputed and accurate info to their writers. 

This means writers do all their research on the internet and have no way of knowing which bit of info is correct and which isn’t. Also, a lack of defined hierarchy in the job is quite a bone of contention for the driven employees. 

“I was made editor 3 years back and I am still editing” says Ashwini, a trained writer who loves his job and doesn’t mind the relatively low pay either.

Major Challenges:

The major challenges of content writing in India can be summed up as:

• Mismatch in the demand and supply of candidates with the right qualification. 
• Even dedicated educational institutes fail to deliver what the industry is looking for. 
• This only leads to more crude talent which doesn’t do much to bolster the image of the industry in society.
• Monotony soon creeps in, feeds on motivation and causes a dominos effect that ultimately leads to lower salaries and high attrition.
• A passion-driven industry, content writing isn’t really quite the destination for the money-driven people no matter how talented they are. 
• The fact that there really isn’t much vertical growth also deters ambitious people from turning to writing.
• Even when people do grow, the only logical next step to writing is editing which requires patience, expertise and insights that come with experience. With attrition soaring, quality editors are also becoming a rare commodity.
• Lack of central resources for writers to research from negatively impacts the authenticity and/or accuracy of the data.

Chief Suggestions:

Despite all the issues, content industry in India is not beyond repair. The following suggestions could make a difference where it really matters.

• A closer interaction between industry and academia can set things straight on the demand and supply front. More the interaction, higher will be the quality of the workforce with better compensation and a more respectful social standing. This could be the answer to the vicious cycle that haunts the industry.
• A clear hierarchy and growth pattern is the next thing that can make all the difference. Organisations need to chart out the growth chart of writers and have a clear definition of what is required. Once this ambiguity is tackled, writing would become a lot more desirable as a career option.
• There is no dearth of range really. Automobiles to e-com, all companies are looking for people who can write; all we need is an aware effort of tapping into resources like college kids and educated housewives for writing. If work pays well, is flexible and streamlined, it will attract talent.

Content writing is really all about passion and will. It is the same all over the world. Just a little appreciation and encouragement on the social front and a little nudge on the professional front is all it takes to improve the condition of content writing in India.

Source; http://goo.gl/1lXqOK

The Procedure for Content Writing Jobs

The first step in all content writing jobs is to determine the audience of the articles one is writing. Each article should be targeting a niche market otherwise it will end up being irrelevant to everyone on the internet. 

As a result, the article would not serve its purpose on the internet. Identifying the target audience allows the writer to make the article relevant to them. This will attract them to it.

After identification of the audience, content writing jobs require the writer to finding out the needs of the target market. 

The writer needs to understand their habits, difficulties and their requirements. This helps them to determine the content that should be on their article and the place to drop the article on the internet. 

The writer should then seek more information on the services the niche market requires and the difficulties that should be addressed.

The information gathered should then be compiled in a creative manner. This is a crucial step because it determines whether the readers will ignore or read it. In content writing one should make sure they have an appealing headline to attract the readers and an excellent introduction to keep the readers reading.

It is necessary to remember that content writers face their fair share of challenges. 

Key among them is credibility. Content writing jobs require that the information conveyed is as credible as possible to keep the readers reading. However, the readers are likely to stop reading whenever they detect unreliable information.

People disagree on many topics, and it is the responsibility of the writer to ensure that his argumentative style attracts those opposed to his views. It is essential in content writing that compelling facts are used and clearly illustrated. The line of thought of thought of the writer should be easy for the reader to follow. 

At the end of the article, it is vital for the writer to create an afterthought to provoke the reader to seek more information on the topic covered. A writer with the skills to accomplish the above requirements will be successful in all content writing jobs.

Source: http://goo.gl/KLAcrt

14 Signs That You Have Hired the Wrong Content Writer

Quality content has become the best way for brands to stand out and that content has to come from somewhere. As an SEO professional your job is to establish the strategy – and then hire writers to create the right content for your clients.

Recent changes in SEO have made it clear that great writing trumps keyword fodder every time so why settle for mediocrity when you could choose excellence?

Before you hire any writers, check out their work. Look at their portfolio site, visit their blog, or have them do a copywriting test.

While it’s true that every writer can have an off day, if a writer you’re thinking of hiring makes the errors listed below, then it’s time to find a replacement.

6 Mistakes Poor Writers Make

1. Confusing common homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings. There are some common ones that you’ll want your writers to avoid. For example, if writers can’t tell the difference between its (meaning ‘belonging to it’) and it’s (meaning ‘it is’) they haven’t conquered the basics. And if you’re paying an alleged professional (see the next example), they need to know the fundamentals.

Another common mistake is confusing your (belonging to you) with you’re (you are). And then there are the writers who can’t distinguish among their (belonging to them), there (indicating a place) and they’re (they are) or to (a preposition identifying a direction, person or thing), too (also) and two (the number).

2. Poor tense control. Some writers move freely between the past and present in their writing. If you see a sentence like “I was attending SXSW when I meet John Smith”, run! (It should be met, of course.) Even people who aren’t word nerds will notice that something is wrong and then your copy won’t have the intended effect.

3. Being too general. Sweeping generalizations are a sign of lazy writing. When you hire a writer, go for one with research skills, because that writer will fact-check and deliver accurate copy. For example, instead of “A lot of Americans smoke.” your writer should provide facts and statistics, such as: “Over 42 million American adults (18%) smoke cigarettes.” Of course, the source of any supporting information should always be cited. (That stat is from the CDC, if you’re interested.)

4. Overusing jargon. Every profession has its jargon – SEO professionals certainly do. The trouble is that people outside the profession often don’t understand it, so writers should leave it out of copy for public consumption. Brief your writer to write simply and clearly instead. Brad Shorr has an excellent three-part series on avoiding business jargon to help writers with this. Net-net, the takeaway is: writers shouldn’t use phrases like “net-net” and “the takeaway.” 

5. Too many keywords. Want to spot a poor SEO writer? Look for copy that’s riddled with keyword phrases. Any writer who’s still focusing on keywords over quality isn’t right for you. It’s easy to spot, as keyword-stuffed content is virtually unreadable. Check out Google’s own example to see what writers should avoid.

6. Redundant phrases. In order to is exactly the same as to, for the purpose of is exactly the same as for and utilize is the same asuse. If your writer is using longer words and phrases to meet a word or character count, that writer is doing you a disservice.

8 Words and Phrases Good Writers Won’t Use (unless they’re appropriate)

Getting your writers to avoid the errors above isn’t enough. As an SEO professional, you want to deliver copy that thrills your client. To do this, make sure your writers omit the following words and phrases from their vocabulary. (There are exceptions. If you’re writing about someone who naturally uses these expressions, it may be appropriate to include them. That also applies if a particular phrase is widely used in a local market.) Here in the US, though, cut them out.

1. Nice. My high school English teacher told us that nice originates from the Latin for I don’t know. Writers who use it show that they don’t know what to say. Advise your writer to replace the word with a creative, interesting adjective that adds value for readers.

2. Amazing/awesome/fabulous/fantastic. Hyperbole and puffery are usually not appropriate. Again, the use of such words typically signals a lazy approach to writing, which clearly does not bode well for your project. There are thousands of adjectives writers can use instead. Here are a few of them.

3. Quite. This is an interjection that often means nothing. If that’s the case, there’s no point in using it. If it means almost, completely or a bit then use one of those phrases to avoid confusion. The same applies to other interjections such as literally.

4. Really, very and other weak words. These verbal interjections have little place in good writing unless you are quoting someone. Leave them out to make writing stronger. If your writers are stuck, here are 45 alternatives to get them started.

5. Maybe/perhaps. These make writers sound like they don’t know what they are talking about. Vague content will diminish your clients’ view of you as an authority, so have your writers leave these words out.

6. Thing. I’m going to let you into a little secret. My parents are both language buffs. When my sister and I were kids, they insisted that we avoid slang and use English properly at all times. One of the words that was beyond the pale was thing. My parents’ point was that every item had a name and therefore we should use it. It’s good advice for writers who are creating SEO content for you.

7. Kind of, sort of and like. These are more meaningless interjections that writers should avoid. If something is kind of annoying then it’s probably annoying and if it’s sort of beautiful then it’s probably beautiful and, for goodness’ sake, avoid usinglike unless you are actually comparing two items.

8. Used to. If you used to do something, then you probably did it. While there’s a place for this expression, many people use it incorrectly where a simple past tense would do.

Source: http://goo.gl/Tsg0FG

10 Key Points Freelance Content Writers Must Embrace Now to Compete in the Future

If you’re a freelance content writer who is used to taking shortcuts, your future writing career may be in jeopardy.

Here’s why–freelance writing is undergoing a dramatic change. The changes are partly due to the more sophisticated search engine algorithms, which are increasingly able to identify poor quality content and spam.

The changes are also due to the growing respect for and recognition of quality writing from reputable online publications and webmasters. Online publishers are finally starting realize that quality really does count and many are finally willing to pay for it.

These trends are going to continue.

10 Points About Web Content You Must Understand

Not everyone who has been published online will have a successful career as a web content writer.

If you’ve been focused on creating high quality content, you probably have nothing to worry about. However, if you became a freelance writer because you were looking for a fast, easy way to make a buck, you may need to rethink what you’re doing.

In the past, a few freelance writers took shortcuts with their writing and got away with it. That’s becoming a thing of the past. Serious website owners and publications are no longer satisfied with cheap. They are looking for the best writers. If you want to succeed, you need to become the best.

So if you write for pay, make sure that:

1. Your writing has real value. When web content was relatively new, many website owners were happy just to publish articles or posts as often as possible. Many of those pieces had little real value for anyone. Today’s web publisher is looking for something more.
2. What you write is original. Scraping content and spinning content has never been a good idea. Most reputable online publications check submissions for originality, so don’t even think about submitting someone else’s work as your own.
3. You do your research. Research is one area where poor freelance writers often try to cut corners. However, today’s reputable publications are looking for well-thought out, well-researched pieces. Writers are going to have to take the time to check and double-check their information for accuracy.
4. You have claimed authorship. Google Authorship links your content with your Google+ profile. Authorship is going to become even more important in the future. Be sure that yours is set up properly. Other networks may develop their own ranking systems for authors–watch for it.
5. Social sharing is part of your routine. Have you been ignoring social media? If you’re not on social media and you’re a freelance writer, you’re already at a competitive disadvantage. Social media is how most new content is discovered.
6. Proofreading is a part of every project. This has always been true, of course, but it’s an area where writers sometimes try to take a shortcut. Many writing tools have a spell checker, but go beyond that and look at each sentence. Tools like Grammarly can help.
7. You spend some real time writing. A good writer doesn’t usually create good content ready to be published in fifteen minutes, or less. (Yes, I’ve actually seen writers who claim to be able to write quality articles in that amount of time.) If you rush your writing, usually the reader can tell.
8. Your prices reflect your status as a professional. One reason writers rush through their writing is because they seriously undercharge for their work. If you undercharge for your work, it puts you in the position of having to write very quickly if you are to have even a slim hope of earning a living.
9. You say goodbye to your comfort zone. Are you too shy to talk on the phone? Maybe you’re afraid to approach editors or afraid of rejection. While those are valid fears, if you can’t get over those fears, maybe freelance writing isn’t the right choice for you.
10. Yes, the competition will be stiff. Many people want to become freelance writers. But if you’re following the advice in this post, you’re ready for the competition. Best wishes to you.

Your Turn

Freelance writing is coming of age. Publishers are starting to realize the very real value of good content and are seeking it out.

Are you ready for the change?

Source: http://goo.gl/NOlUIM