6 Steps to Start Your Content Writing Career

Building a career in content writing is possible if you just decide that you want it and you’re willing to work hard to get there. While having great writing skills is a very good way to become a good content writer, it is not enough.                                                                                                                                                            You can become a good content writer and master it without knowing how to write well if you’re ready to stay dedicated and work hard for it.                                                                                                                     

Content writing is the use of writing to pass information to inform, educate, and entertain your readers. It is done in varying formats from E-books, blogs, White paper, Product description, and also used as an important tool for social media marketing.

Starting your content writing career may be confusing for you because you think you can write, and are curious as to what more there is to it. With content writing, whatever you write needs to have a purpose, and meaning to it. 

The following steps will guide you on how to start your content writing career with ease: 

1. Choose a Niche: Decide the specific space you want to write for and the things you want to write about. You can pick your niche based on: your interests, industry trend, and lucrative niche into consideration before deciding. The types of niches you can work on as a content writer include: Technical writing, Lifestyle content, Web content writer, Ghost writer, amongst many others.                       
2. Hone your writing skills: To build your content writing career you have to learn how to write, and how to write with purpose. Most of your writings will be used to build authority for brands by informing, and educating their audience. This is why you cannot just write for writing’s sake; you have to learn the ropes and know how to structure your writing and the purpose the writing is for. You can polish your writing skills by writing continuously for a certain business, and testing how their audience reacts to it— then keep doing it over again.                                                                                                                               
3. Know your Audience: Who are you writing for?  What do they want to hear? What type of tone do you have to use when writing for them? These are important questions that you need to answer. Your target audience are the people your writing will speak to, and those that will make use of your writings.        For example: If you’re writing for a women’s fashion blog, you know that most of its readers will be women, and your content should surround things that will appeal to them such as: the newest fashion trends, how to care for their nails, hair and female hacks that will help them in general. This will attract the specific people that you want, build your brand’s authority and reputation on that industry knowledge over time.                                                                                                                                                             
4. Publish your Work: You need to let other people read what you have written, if you don’t do this, you won’t feel like you’ve started at all. It is easy to feel like you’re not good enough, publishing is what will boost your confidence in your work and make you want to do better as you go. When you publish your work, it positions you as an authority in that niche, and opens you to constructive criticisms; it also makes you better in the long haul.                                                                                                                 
5. Build your Portfolio: Keep a record of every article, blog post, white paper you’ve done in your niche, and put them on platforms like; clippings, where you can share the link to your work with prospective clients. You can also do this by joining writing platforms that help you build a portfolio like The Ready Writers.                                                                                                                                                                  
6. Develop an Online Presence: Let people know what you do, and speak about it often. This will boost your confidence and position you as an expert in your field. 

Conclusion

Writing is something that a lot of people do but content writing is a notch different from writing because it involves specific steps and ways to get it done. When venturing into building a content writing career, it’s easy to get carried away due to lack of knowledge on what to do but the important thing is to just start writing. Choosing a niche, building the writing skills, understanding your audience, publishing your writings, building your portfolio, and having an online presence will help to push your content writing career, and repetition on these steps will sustain you, and help you build authority in the content writing field. So, start writing. 

About Author

Rodiat Ajuwon

Rodiat Ajuwon is a content writer who focuses mainly on content relating to self-development, branding, and lifestyle. She creates compelling and engaging content for brands to establish authority with readers.
Updated Areas of Interests: Creative writing, Ghostwriting, E-Books.
Topics: Family, Lifestyle, and personal development.

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