I had a protégé who was outstanding in waxing lyrics with his grammar. He writes like a philosopher who has seen the world and has appropriate solutions to societal problems. Soon enough, he ventured into poetry – I believe diction and playing with words work well with his philosophical thoughts. Later on, he wanted to become a freelance content marketing writer. After taking some classes, he continued writing like a philosopher. I complained about it and promised to stay with him to the end in understanding customers’ pains and desires and how to solve them with the content.
Digital marketing is evolving, and content marketing is critical to any successful digital marketing strategy. To create compelling content, you must have the skills and knowledge to produce high-quality, engaging content that resonates with the target audience – not some philosophical thoughts. This blog post will discuss becoming a content marketing writer, including the skills you need, the steps to take, and the resources available. Before that, let’s understand what content marketing writing is.
What is Content Marketing Writing?
Before diving into the specifics of becoming a content marketer, it’s crucial to understand what content marketing writing is. Writing for marketing involves creating written content, such as blog posts, articles, social media posts, and other types of content designed to attract and engage a target audience. This type of writing typically focuses on creating informative and valuable content that provides insights, solves problems, and engages readers.
Skills Required for Content Marketing Writing
To become a successful content marketer, you need to have various skills. Here are a few of the essential skills to have:
- Writing Skills: The most apparent skill for content marketing is writing skills. You must learn to write well, with strong grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills. Additionally, you must write engagingly and excitingly for your target audience. Check here to see how the elements of good writing.
- Research Skills: To create high-quality content, you must learn to research topics thoroughly. This involves finding reputable sources of information, conducting interviews, and digging deep into your topic to find new and interesting angles.
- Communication Skills: In addition to writing skills, you must learn to communicate effectively with clients, editors, and other stakeholders. This involves taking feedback and working collaboratively with others to create content that meets the needs of your target audience.
- Knowledge of SEO: Search engine optimization (SEO) an essential to content marketing writing. You need to be able to write in a way optimized for search engines, including using relevant keywords and Meta descriptions.
Steps to Becoming a Content Marketing Writer
Now that you know the skills required for content marketing writing, let’s look at the steps you can take to become a content marketing writer
Build a Portfolio
One of the most important things you can do to get started as a content marketing writer is to build a portfolio of writing samples. This will help you showcase your writing skills and demonstrate your ability to create engaging content. You can start by creating your blog or writing for a platform like Medium. Additionally, you can look for opportunities to write for other websites or publications. Reach out to websites that publish content in your niche and offer to write for them in exchange for a byline.
Learn About Content Marketing
To be a successful content marketing writer, you need to have a holistic understanding of content marketing. This includes understanding the target audience, the goals of content marketing, and the different types of content that are commonly used. There are many resources available online that can help you learn about content marketing. You can start by reading blogs and articles, watching videos, and attending webinars.
Build Your Network
Networking is integral to any career, and content marketing writing is no exception. Building a network of contacts in the industry can help you find work opportunities, get feedback on your writing, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices. You can start by attending events and conferences, joining online communities, and connecting with other content marketing writers and professionals on social media.
Look for Job Opportunities
Once you have built your portfolio and developed your skills, it’s time to look for job opportunities. There are many different ways to find work as a content marketing writer. You can look for job postings on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor websites. You can also directly reach out to companies and agencies to offer your services. Freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr can also be good places to find work.
Stay Up-to-Date on Trends and Best Practices
The world of content marketing is constantly evolving, and it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices. This includes understanding new technologies and platforms, staying informed about changes to search engine algorithms, and keeping up with new content formats and style trends. Make sure to continue learning and developing your skills, whether it’s through online courses, workshops, or reading industry publications.
Seven forms of content a content marketing writer should know
Knowing these seven types of content and copy is pertinent as a content marketing writer. Knowing them will make you a formidable writer that will never be shoved away. Additionally, as a beginner, knowing what to learn will help you structure your learning curve and understand what to learn.
Blogs and articles
Blogs and articles are the most common forms of content you will write as a content marketer because most people head to Google to get information on almost everything. For example, you are reading one right now.
Ebooks and lead magnets
Brands want more customers and attract them through ebooks and other lead magnets. Lead magnets can be ebooks, and ebooks can be lead magnets. Also, these two are great for brands to showcase their knowledge. Other types of lead magnets are checklists, guides, and tutorials. These are pieces of high-value, gated content that have information that people want to know. The goal is to make lead magnets so good that people will give you their email addresses in exchange for them.
Creative Copy
Creative copies are texts attached to infographics, product descriptions on product pages, snippets of text that describe different parts of a page, or even blogs that take a more creative, story-based approach than usual.
Ad Copy
Do you know how Facebook and Instagram sometimes show you paid-for posts – sponsored posts? Have you ever read the caption and wanted to click to learn more? Congratulations, you just saw what good ad copy could do.
Landing Page Copy
Landing page copy talks directly to prospects who came from somewhere else and landed on that page. People usually think of home pages as landing pages, but you can make a landing page just for people who came from a particular place, like people who clicked on your Facebook ad or the link in your Instagram profile.
Call To Actions
Calls to action (CTAs) are essential parts of any page, even though they are often short and to the point. These short sentences encourage the reader to do what they want, like sign up for a service, or an email newsletter, download a free PDF or add a product to their cart.
Headline copy
In the world of writing for content marketing, headlines can make or break a piece of writing. A bad headline can ruin an otherwise excellent blog post. Your landing pages can be hard to understand if you use a terrible headline. A lousy headline won’t get people to read; it will turn them away.
Resources for Content Marketing Writers
There are many resources available to help you become a content marketing writer. Here are a few of the most helpful resources to check out:
- HubSpot Academy: HubSpot Academy offers a range of free courses on content marketing, including courses on blogging, social media, and SEO.
- Content Marketing Institute: The Content Marketing Institute is a leading resource for content marketers, offering articles, webinars, and other resources on various topics.
- Moz: Moz is a leading provider of SEO software and tools, and their blog is an excellent resource for learning about search engine optimization.
- Copyblogger: Copyblogger is a popular blog that covers various topics related to content marketing, including writing, copywriting, and SEO.
Getting clients as a content marketing writer – 3 sources for content writer work
Individual clients – businesses, brands, and enterprises
As a freelance content marketer, most job offers will come from individual clients trying to scale up their online presence or are too busy to do the job themselves. As such, brands, small business owners and enterprises are your first target. For instance, mini importers or small fashion business owners may need someone to handle their product listing, write descriptions, and review the products.
Marketing Departments for Companies and Organizations
Big companies and organizations have in-house marketing departments that do all marketing activities. You can target this department to get a placement. Usually, their marketers are hired on a salary arrangement where each represents a staff in the company. However, in-house marketers may be inundated with tasks and might outsource their job to freelancers – another place you come in. Therefore, you can either be part of an in-house team or get gigs from an in-house marketer.
Writing and marketing agencies
Brands and businesses outsource their marketing activities to agencies. These agencies are tasked with all marketing activities, including content marketing, and most times, the source for content marketing writers to work on those client accounts.
Often, a team of writers will be assigned to one client, and those writers will consistently produce the content for that brand or business’s content marketing. That said, a single writer can be a member of many writing teams and take on many client assignments.
Will content marketers be the most sought-after writers?
Undeniably, the sector is growing with the growth of digital marketing. Writers that have flair, knowledge, and professionalism in their field are in high demand. Excellent content marketers will be in high demand shortly, so now is a good time to enter the field. Thus, if you want to pitch your tent as a content marketer, the time is now.
Conclusion
Becoming a content marketing writer takes time and effort, but it is an achievable goal with the right skills, experience, and resources. By building your portfolio, developing your skills, and staying up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices, you can become a successful content marketing writer and build a rewarding career in this exciting field. Do you want to learn freelance writing from the scratch? Click the Whatsapp icon
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