From advertisements and social media to blogs and press releases – content is everywhere and is bound to only evolve with time. Content writing plays a vital role in boosting businesses as quality content has the power to entice visitors and keep them coming back for more.
In an age where people are bombarded with content across various digital media touchpoints, it becomes imperative to write compelling content that breaks through the clutter and captures the reader’s attention. Anything short of that is just not good enough.
Here are 5 simple ways to boost your content writing skills.
Read Regularly
Ask expert writers what their secret is, and most of them are likely to attribute their writing skills to their reading habits. Reading helps you get exposure to different writing styles, forms and genres. It widens your thinking horizons and lets you tackle different subjects with ease. A good reader naturally develops a better vocabulary and gets inspiration for their own writing.
So, why not set aside some time everyday to religiously read things that interest you – it can be a work of fiction, a website column or even your favorite magazine. It is also a good idea to read topics and give attention to writing styles that you would like to produce yourself.
Write Original Content
Nothing is more disappointing than boring, outdated and unoriginal content. Do not make the mistake of assuming that your readers are oblivious and that a little ‘copy paste’ here and there won’t hurt anybody.
You need to completely own the content you produce. With multiple people churning out content on the same topic, you might wonder if there is any room for originality. Well, there always is. You need to give your content your unique tone and adopt an angle that specifically caters to your readers.
Not only does unoriginal content put readers off but it also impacts your SEO rankings because Google is strictly against duplicate content.
Next time you submit an article online, remember to use free plagiarism checkers to ensure your content is original and plagiarism-free.
Be Versatile
From journalistic style to SEO and social media writing – content writing comprises of various kinds of writing styles. With the emergence of so many content touchpoints, it is important to understand and adopt the different writing styles to ace versatility in writing.
By doing so, you can deliver quality and relevant content that specifically speaks to your target audience. A good content writer is one who masters different writing styles yet gives their piece of content their unique touch that makes it stand out.
Understand SEO
In today’s world, if you are a content writer, you ought to know everything about SEO. Creating SEO-friendly content has become the norm and it is important to include SEO tactics is any content you produce for the web.
While storytelling techniques and narrative frameworks are important, incorporating SEO factors such as using the right keywords, using backlinks, creating compelling headlines are equally essential to get Google to recognize your page and improve your SEO rankings, thereby increasing page visibility.
SEO algorithms keep changing so keep yourself updated on the latest and you are sure to create quality, SEO-friendly content.
Know your Readers
Your writing will only be effective if it resonates with your readers. So, ensure you have a thorough idea of who your readers are, what are the topics relevant to them and what kind of writing style best speaks to them. Only when you have defined your target audience can you go ahead and create relevant and effective content.
If you run a blog, you can also crowdsource content topics from your readers through social media contests, posts and polls. This will give you a fair understanding of what your readers are interested in. Always keep an eye on customer/reader comments to get an insight on what kind of content is working and what’s not.
Remember that your content needs to impart value to readers. A good content piece is one that educates, answer questions, give insights or solve problems. So, follow these simple tips and level up your content writing skills with ease.
