HOW TO BE A PRO AT IT | CONTENT WRITING

How to be a pro at it content writing

28 October 2019

By rewriteradmin

Content Writing

You want to be a pro at content writing but struggling to get the hold of it? Don’t worry. We all feel insecure; we’re merely humans, after all.

But quality is the king.

Here are some amazing and quirky tips for you to polish your content writing:

Table of Contents

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Research Thoroughly

Before you start writing your content, you must know and understand the topic from top to bottom.

Got an idea for your content writing? Start researching on it.

The deeper you go the better. Not only does it provide you with a whole new set of information, but it also gives you a new perspective on the matter.

Headline – first thing the reader will see

If your content writing doesn’t have an arousing headline, it doesn’t matter how good of content it is − no one will give it a second glance.

A catchy headline will compel the readers to read the rest of the article. And a poor headline will make them scrunch their nose before scrolling away.

Example: 10 beauty tips to make you look good.

Example: 10 Amazing tips to enhance your beauty!

Which one sounds more appealing to you? I’ll take a wild guess and say the latter one.

It’s wise to understand the need of your audience. If you aim right, you get the brownie point.

Get to the Point

You must be precise in your content writing. You don’t want to chase your readers away with constantly beating around the bush.

While it’s good to add a fair amount of humor to take away the boredom, be succinct.

Also, it’s smart to draw inside the line with the humor, or you might fall into the hot water.

Gather info about your audience

Social media is a perfect platform to get familiar with your audience.

Find out their likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc. to have a better understanding of them.

When you know about the people you’re writing for, the flow of your article writing is smoother and it gets easier to reach out to the readers.

Don’t bite more than you can chew

Don’t write in long paragraphs; they are difficult for the readers to understand and tend to get boring also.

Instead, write in short paragraphs and keep variation in sentence length.

Small chunk-size paragraphs are easy to grasp and the white space between two paragraphs gives the reader time to reflect.

Also, it gives an aesthetic value to your content writing.

Key-phrases are keys to success

Keywords and key-phrases are the words and phrases that help find your content painlessly on search engines.

Article writing must have a fair amount of keywords in it for users to find it easily.

If you insert the right keywords in the right places, then bingo! A lot of your work is done only by using the right keywords.

But don’t be sloppy! Forcefully shoved keywords will look unnatural to the readers’ eyes. And we don’t want that to happen.

Don’t start word-vomiting

Content writing is not about using difficult words, on the contrary, it has all to do with simplicity and ease.

If you think you’re being clever using big, jaw-breaking words like ‘gargantuan’ and ‘execrable’, then think again.

Why use such hard-to-pronounce words when you can replace them with more comfortable words?

You don’t want your readers to hurt their jaws or something, now do you?

Grammar and Punctuations

Ah, grammar! Spooky, isn’t it? Even your one, tiny mistake is enough to set the danger alert to your readers. If they encounter a grammatical fault in your article, they’ll frown upon and probably won’t take you seriously.

Punctuations−if not used correctly, they can wreak havoc to your content. Since they have a bad habit of changing the significance of a sentence by getting lost by mistake or appearing from nowhere!

Fret not! There are plenty of grammar-improving tools such: Seo wagon , Rewrite Tools etc.

You can check out these tools above; they are amazing for checking grammar errors, plagiarism etc. they have more useful tools to make content writing hassle free.

I would recommend these tools for those who want to be unique and proper in their writing.

Cut off the redundancy

Redundancy is the unnecessary use of words, phrases, etc. which downgrades your content’s quality, thus making it monotonous and frustrating to read.

Chop away the useless and same-meaning words out the window.

The more concise you are with your words, the more value it garners from the audience.

Example: They are very amusing and funny.

Example: They are funny.

In the first example, saying they are ‘funny’ or ‘amusing’ would be enough. But putting both words in the same sense seems just awkward and dull.

Make them act on it

Don’t just talk, get them up and running for it.

Use active voice rather than passive voice in your article writing. People tend to respond to actions more than they do to speeches.

The actions that are taken right after reading the material are more effective than just reading it and then dismissing it instantly because it didn’t inspire them to act on them.

First comes first

Let’s accept it, many readers won’t read your content line by line. After reading a paragraph or two, they’re going to skip the most of it.

So, how are we going to help them?

Put the most important point on the top of your content. Then, descend to the less important ones.

This way, your reader will find the basic solution easily.

Be A Conversationalist

A good content writer never writes like a boring professor.

She tries to engage you in as your best friend would. The result? It goes into your head instead of going over your head.

Try to write as if you’re talking to them face-to-face. It makes your readers connect with your writing more easily.

Be a reader first

Before you send out your content to your client, be sure to read it aloud a few times.

Does it feel choppy? Too business-like? Or, maybe it’s a little preachy?

If it does, then start editing and chopping until it looks sleek and shiny like a brand new Bugatti.

Fonts matter

Fonts−a big issue in content writing; they need to be put carefully to build powerful content.

Your typography skill is a major aspect to attract the reader’s eyes. The color, text-size everything will play a vital role in your reader’s mind.

The headline is the first thing the reader sees while reading an article. Thus, making it in a bold, larger font will quickly grab the reader’s attention.

For subtitles, you can write in italics and slightly smaller fonts than the headline.

And for the rest of your content, choose a font that your readers will find comfort reading it. If you want to emphasis on a word or sentence, you can use italics for it.

Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is changing the words and sentence structures in a paragraph to make it easier to understand and more readable for anyone.

It is a major aspect of content writing because the content is read by people of almost every age. And our objective is to make it simple for everyone.

Summarizing

In article writing, to give a briefing of the main points of the content is called summarizing.

You will need a summary at the end of your content to round up everything for your reader in a few words.

Quoting

“Content isn’t King, it’s the Kingdom.” – @leeodden

Quoting related quotes in your content will take you a mile further.

But you need to be careful to mention or cite the person who wrote the quote. Otherwise, you’ll get in trouble for plagiarizing.

Also, quoting shouldn’t look forced or irrelevant; use them on the right accounts and it should be fine.

You might want to look up to Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting, the differences and the relations for more information.

Copycatting isn’t cool; at all.

Don’t even think about it. Copying someone else’s work not only earns you minus points but it’s also illegal.

You can be inspired by other people’s works, but you must have your own imagination and perspective about the things you write.

Change the mood

Since you will be writing for your SEO, you’ll need to frequently keep changing your writing style.

There may be some content that will require a certain mood. And you must be able to go with that mood to make your content writing more natural.

The limits of length

You’re not writing a novel. Don’t stretch your content length than strictly required.

It is studied that average contents are about 1900 words. Although there are many factors that help decide how long your content should be, you should write as much as it’s required; just to be on the safe side.

Ask for feedback

At the end of your article ask your readers for their thoughts and ask them to make suggestions.

People love to express their opinions; it makes them feel involved.

Don’t be afraid of constructive criticism; they are good for improving your writing. And don’t feel disheartened if the feedback isn’t too hot. Remember, you’ve just started and still growing.

Provide links and references

Make links and references available for your readers so they can check the truth of your statements.

To make it safe, make sure you’re citing to reputable sources and that the statements are all true.

Too many ideas are useless

Don’t confuse your audience with too many ideas. Give them a few specific and effective solutions so they can work on them without feeling lost.

Summary

Never quit.

You can’t be a pro at content writing overnight, you must accept the fact.

There is no such thing as a perfect writer, but you can always get better. And with every try, you’ll find yourself more tuned to it.

Practice on your weak areas now to get yourself on the right track.

In no time, you’ll be a pro at content writing, too.

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