I have been a writer for longer than I can remember. I have been a commercial writer since 16 years of age. After spending a few years being exploited by low-paying Internshala internships, content-first-pay-later clients and you'll-get-so-much-exposure stints, I was finally able to navigate the world of content writing and establish myself as a credible freelancer.
And what I do know is this: it's not easy.
Everyone can write. But not everyone can write commercially. Writing that sells is different and something that can be learnt just as one learns coding, calculus or an instrument. You don't need to have a poetic bent of mind (though it helps) or read a book a week. In fact, it's a great way to generate some side income or even work full-time. And if you're someone looking to start working towards this, this article is a how-to for that!
Currently, I work freelance, mainly in the realm of digital marketing, SaaS and design. However, I have worked across multiple fields as a ghostwriter like healthcare, education, social media copies, architecture, eCommerce, affiliate marketing, and more.
You can find my articles and blogs on Statiq, upGrad, Kidadl, Archue, BforBloggers, SEOHorizon, AirSwachh and more. I have also written website copies for brands like InstaCiti and Askmeoffers. Starting out on my own, I built up both credibility and my own knowledge base working freelance with minor stints under agencies.
If you're looking to write great content, the first rule remains: good writing isn't always good content!
A workman is nothing without his tools. And in the age of digital marketing, you need a little bit more than just a pen and paper to get started.
A good content writer will also know the rules of SEO, eCommerce, branding, digital marketing and a horde of other things. While some are things you learn along the way, it's greatly helpful to know what to look out for as a beginner.
Here is a compilation of various articles written by me, discussing both strategies and tools, that helped me throughout. And I hope you find them useful as well!
On Writing Good Content
Part of being a content writer is really creating a productive timetable and sticking to it. If you'd like to know how I worked content writing as a freelance job around my schedule (or just want to chat), drop an email at nayanika2011@gmail.com and I'll get back with a set of personalised tips and tricks.
Writer's block and not knowing where to look can be a problem for new writers. This article delves into all the common roadblocks content writers usually face. Starting from how to find your target audience, and how to perform keyword research to how to optimise your written work.
If you're writing website copies or sales copies, knowing how to attract user attention is paramount. This article deals with all the tips and tricks for writing captivating content. It's full of examples from across the web and introduces some cool tricks and formulas!
Writing Tools and Resources
Writing can be frustrating at times, as can finding info with 50 tabs open. That's where AI writers can help. But wait, does Google not penalise AI content? Not if you know how to use it effectively! AI-generated content can be a great place to get consolidated information which you can then improve upon. Get your AI-generated content FAQs answered and speed up your process with this article.
Some people work better with a blank Word doc and a series of bookmarks. Some prefer a dedicated workspace that incorporates everything within a single window. Blogely is an all-in-one platform that combines everything from SEO checking to article writing spaces to WordPress publishing. It's a great tool for writers with their own blogs.
If you're looking for free and useful content writing resources, I've got you covered. This article deals with the best tools for various tasks, like:
Project Management Platform
Keyword Research Tools
Content Research Tools
Writing and Proofreading Tools
Image Editing Tools
SEO Tools
Social Media Management Tools
Data Collection and Analytics Tools
Email Marketing Tools
Being free, these tools are great for new content writers who want to test tools before investing. You can also find other paid alternatives as suggestions, in case that's what you're looking for.
On the other hand, if you're managing multiple writers and running a business blog, check out these tools that allow group management.
Basics of SEO and Understanding Google
Understanding how Google sifts through and indexes pages is key to writing better-performing blogs. And thus, keyword research and basic writing SEO are one of the first things content writers should know. This article goes into depth on how to find the right niche, keywords, conduct audits, competitor analysis, and finally, the best tools for the same.
If using paid tools is not your forte, Google has 2 minefields that can still help you better understand trending ideas. That's their People Also Ask and People Also Search For box. In fact, one can even use these boxes to feature twice on the first SERP page! How? Read below:
What are backlinks? Essentially, they're a hyperlink on another blog that references your blog. How can they help? Well, Google uses backlinks to check a site's authority. However, just a high number of backlinks isn't enough. There are also positive and negative scores assigned to them!
Know more by following this article on SEMRush and its backlink checker tool.
Competitive Marketing
Competitive Marketing refers to the art of knowing what your competitors are doing right and adopting it yourself. Broadly. It also involves figuring out what the consumer wants and what are the market gaps that you can bridge.
For bloggers, Similarweb is a pretty cool and free tool that one can use to analyse your own and competitors' websites.
Graphic Tools
90% of the information processed by our brains is visual. In fact, over the years, the average speed of reading and comprehension has also decreased! To make your blog more enticing, infographics and visuals are a must.
Even if you're an amateur, here are some tools that you can use that come with templates and easy-to-make guides,
Managing Your Social Media
Finally, make sure you share your work on all the right portals and channels. These great tools can help you plan, pre-schedule and directly share your work across multiple channels.
Reach Out and Build an Audience
If your blog has a mailing list, well and good. If you're looking to reach out to people, on the other hand, email finders can be a good way to find leads.
Here are some top-rated email finders that come as both online tools and Chrome extensions to help you reach the right people/
That's all for now!
To get a consolidated package of all the above articles, drop an email at nayanika2011@gmail.com and I'll get back to you!
Need something written? Get in touch for all types of written content at nayanika2011@gmail.com.