What skills do I need to become a content writer
As a content writer there are skills you need to understand and implement when creating content for your blog, articles and ads creations. This skills is divided into Seven (7).
Adaptability
As a content writer adaptability means being able to adapt to the different styles of writing, the styles of writing are used based on what you focus on and the type of content you intend to create.
A copywriter will need to adopt the persuasive style of writing to persuade prospective clients to customers whereas a technical writer will adopt the descriptive style of writing to explain the usability and processes of utilizing a product. Now let me give a brief discussion on the different styles of writing. back then in basic schools we were taught the different types of writing which are vital elements of a writer.
Four main styles of writing:
The 5 Types of Writing Styles and Why You Should Master Each
Narrative Writing
Narrative writing is storytelling at its most basic: it’s all about sharing something that happens to a character.
Narrative writing uses many of the common elements of storytelling, narrative writing can be seen as explanatory.
When to use narrative writing: narrative writing should be used when constructing the followings
Novels and short stories
Memoirs
Creative essays
Feature stories
Presentations or speeches
Creative Writing
creative writing is any writing that exists outside the styles above, or even combines the styles in surprising new ways. The goal of creative writing is finding new ways to tell stories that can surprise and delight readers. Creative writing paves the way for talented individuals to express their creativity into writing, it is a broad concept on its own, enabling the exposure of creativity.
Creative writers create content based on their level of experience, exposure and maturity etc for this segment I won't be going into full details on what creative writing is but you should understand it is a crash course and type of CONTENT WRITING.
Descriptive Writing
Descriptive writing involves capturing every detail of the place, person, or scene you’re writing about. The goal is to really immerse the reader in the experience, making them feel like they are there.
When using descriptive type of writing you should consider and see yourself as both the reader and writer for easy clarification and understanding of the concept of discussion.
When trying to achieve a descriptive writing style, think of it as painting a picture with your words. Your five sense organs should be active and initiated when making a description.
When to Use Descriptive Writing
Descriptive writing could be in creative writing and used along with narrative writing to build scene and setting. When used with creative and narrative writing styles it entice the readers or audience emotionally. Descriptive writing should be used when describing a scenario, events, essays writing etc.
Persuasive Writing
Persuasive writing is all about getting your point across. The goal is to share your opinion in a thoughtful and convincing way to actually convince the reader of a viewpoint or idea. Persuasive writing is meant to compel an audience into accepting your viewpoint.
It could also be used in:
Advertising
Essays
Speeches or presentations
Copywriting for conversion
Sales writing
Cover letters
Letters of recommendation
Expository Writing
Expository writing exists to expose individuals to new ideas or contents, trends etc, it's a means of learning something for educative purpose.
Expository writing aims to answer frequently asked questions (FAQ) a reader might have about a subject: think about the classic who, what, why, when, how questions.
Research
A content writer should be able to carry out research on his Niche, as a content writer you employ different strategies of carrying out research on the topic of discussion before writing. A good research will produce a good and genuine content for readers to assimilate and comprehend with ease. Research should be done on any Topic you're working on to see updates and Trends.
Have a time for carrying out research on your niche surfing the web and storing in a journal to prevent future time waste. Researches done should be saved in a storage.
Originality.
Your content should be original and free of plagiarism or copied. An original content means writing your ideas, experience, certified understanding and skills. Producing content takes more indepth understanding of a context and building your choice of words to educate your audience to meet their immediate satisfaction emotionally or psychologically.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
With a Solid Understanding of SEO Great content writers stay on top of SEO trends even the best content won’t be effective if readers can’t find it. It’s important to know how to craft SEO-friendly titles and descriptions, use keywords effectively and keep up with Google’s latest algorithm changes.
SEO is a broad concept and I will be creating content on it later but for this skills purpose I wouldn't go deeper.
Time management.
As a content writer you should have a Time management strategy or otherwise Schedule of your daily or weekly Routine, plan ahead having stores of keywords In a journal to help you write or create Content conveniently without having to brainstorm every time you are to create. Have a scheduled weekly hours for writing this will reduce time wasted in researching.
Communication.
Communication Involves the transfer of information from one person to the other. Communication is incomplete without the receiver understanding. Communication is made when both transferer and receiver can decipher each other but where one party doesn't understand its an incomplete communication. You don't have to use concrete vocabulary to express your ideas or opinion, a situation whereby your audience frequently goes to the dictionary every now and then poses a threat to reading.
Some of the communication skills to master as a content writer:
Listening
Nonverbal Communication
Clarity and Concision
Friendliness
Confidence
Empathy
Open-Mindedness
Respect.
Editing
Editing involves a writer editing his written words for clarity, friendliness and free of tautology. Editing could be done In terms of spellings, paragraphs, punctuation marks, content validity etc
Knowledge of social media
A content writer should have basic understanding and competency in social media for example, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Quora, Pinterest etc which are mediums of marketing and building audience for your brand.
Technical
This involves knowledge of computer literacy and ability to use word processing when creating content to control time management systems.
