9 Skills You Need to Become a Successful Content Writer

By Becky Holton
on Oct 10, 2019
in Writing Tips

Last update: October 10th, 2019
at 9:13 am

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Content writing might be the perfect career option for creative individuals who are good with words. The position gives you a lot of creative freedom, and it often comes with the opportunity to work remotely. Besides that, content creators can earn a decent salary as reports show that the average annual income is well above forty thousand dollars.

Content writer

But not everyone can become a successful content writer. It takes a fair share of talent, learning, and practice to achieve the desired level of proficiency and only the most diligent individuals are able to reach this goal. If you feel like becoming a content writer, then you should master a whole set of skills. We want to help you with that, so keep reading to learn nine skills you need to become a successful content creator.

1. Research Skills

A good content writer must be a great researcher. First of all, you need to understand your clients and figure out their business needs and style of work. More importantly, you have to research the target audience and learn about their interests and preferences.

Of course, conducting topic-related searches and learning as much as possible about your theme is a vital thing. The Internet is filled with all sorts of learning sources and materials, but you must be able to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant content.

2. Interesting Topics

If you want to write a popular article, then you have to choose an interesting topic. No one wants to read boring or generic topics, so make sure to select something trendy. For instance, you can use Google Trends to discover the hottest themes in any given location or period.

At the same time, you should create a headline that really grabs the attention of your audience. Numbers, humor, surprises, and similar tricks usually perform well in titles, but you can always check the quality with CoSchedule Headline Analyzer.

3. Search Engine Optimization

Do you know that 93% of all traffic comes from a search engine? This staggering fact proves that content writers have to be search engine optimization (SEO) professionals as well. What does it mean?

It means that you need to use the right keywords in your articles. Don’t forget to use keyword research tools before you begin writing because it’s the only way to identify the best search terms and phrases for your topics.

4. Versatility

Versatility is one of the main characteristics of successful content creators. You have to be flexible enough to embrace different styles of writing and use them as requested. After all, writing a landing page copy is not the same as writing product tutorials or blog posts.

Jake Gardner, a content designer at the Edugeeksclub, says there are many possible styles of writing to consider here: “It’s good to develop a unique style, but sometimes you need to respect clients’ requirements. Sometimes you’ll have to be straightforward, while other times you’ll have to be pompous, pushy, salesy, etc.”

5. Organizational Skills

The worst thing that can happen to content writers is for them to take on too much work and break deadlines. It could jeopardize your professional authority and ruin relationships with your clients. Therefore, you need to develop strong organizational skills and respect deadlines at all costs. If you are having trouble completing the work on time, we suggest using scheduling platforms like Google Calendar.

6. Originality

This one goes without saying, but still, we must not fail to mention the value of originality in contemporary content writing. Individuals and organizations publish millions of posts every single day, which is why users frequently feel like reading the same texts all over again.

You cannot allow this to happen to you, so do your best to keep the content unique and original. Of course, you are going to use other sources for inspiration, but always add references or quotes to make it fully legitimate. Doing so will save your professional integrity, and also help you build relationships with other content writing experts.

7. Professional Curiosity

Content creators write about a wide range of topics. In such circumstances, it is important to be a well-educated and curious person. If you aren’t interested in a given topic, how can you write about it with passion and enthusiasm? Therefore, it is necessary to find the bright side in every situation. You need to stick to the points of view that really make you eager to discover more and write a better article.

8. Concentration

Another important element of content writing is concentration. It is the ability to focus on your work 100% without letting anything interfere with it. We added this skill to the list because we’ve seen way too many authors struggling to stay focused and dedicated to the job to the fullest extent.

If you are having trouble concentrating on your writing tasks, we suggest removing anything that can distract you from your working area. This includes electronic devices, background noise or music, etc.

9. Editing Skills

Last but not least, good content writers need to be patient enough to go back to their articles and do some editing. Your content must be error-free, so you’ll have to eliminate spelling and grammar-related mistakes. For more on how to be a great self-editor, click here.

Conclusion

Content writing is not the most difficult job in the world, but it takes a lot of time, patience and knowledge to become a top-level author. In this article, we discussed nine skills you need to become a successful content creator. Now, do you feel like you have what it takes to master the art of content writing?