Category Archives: Content Writing

How to write content based on E-A-T?

The E-A-T content writing framework

E-A-T is a content writing framework introduced by Google. It is a set of guidelines for content creators to ensure high quality content that meets user needs and expectations.

The acronym stands for:

Expertise
Authoritativeness
Trustworthiness

This content writing framework is especially recommended for YMYL type of content that stands for “Your Money or Your Life”. What does that mean?

It means that using this information, in case this information is wrong or unverified, can cause you significant harm. In this category, Google gives an example such as, “Information on evacuation routes in case of a tsunami”.

Another example could be, “When to go to an emergency room,” or “News about ongoing violence”.

It is recommended that such content is written by people who are experienced/who have the requisite expertise, who are an authority figure in the concerned field, and who can be trusted with the information and knowledge they have, preferably through first-hand experience.

Google has referred to this concept extensively in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. You can use the E-A-T content writing framework to create user-friendly content that is trustworthy and deserving of higher rankings.

The framework was initially developed for internal purpose, for actual human content evaluators. Later these results were to be used to improve the algorithm and consequently, the overall quality and relevance of the content that shows up in search results.

In the above link, Google says that the guidelines for authoritative content are constantly evolving because ultimately, they would like to build a strong enough algorithm that can gauge the trustworthiness of the content without much human interference. Evaluating millions of web pages and blog posts everyday wouldn’t be humanly possible.

The E-A-T framework can be used to build topical authority of your website.

How does the E-A-T content writing framework affect your search engine rankings?

Does the E-A-T framework affect your search engine rankings

First thing first: the E-A-T content writing framework should be used when you are writing content for YMYL category of content. If you’re writing content for your business website to present your information, you don’t need to worry about the E-A-T framework as long as you are accurately and convincingly presenting your information.

E-A-T is not a direct Google ranking factor. It goes parallel to your SEO evaluation.

Again, for writing E-A-T content, it is better if you are the subject matter expert, or you write content with direct access to a subject matter expert. For example, if you are writing a web page or a blog post on what to do in case someone has a heart attack, you should better be a cardiologist or you should be closely working with one.

Also remember that E-A-T is not the sole ranking factor. I have written multiple times on my blog that there are 200+ factors that affect your search engine rankings. It’s just that, when you are writing critical content based on which people are supposed to take decisions that can affect their life, it must be written by someone authoritative and having an expertise in the field.

How to approach writing E-A-T content if you are not an expert yourself?

Writing E-A-T content as a non-expert

An expert may not be a good content writer and a good content writer may not be an expert. Although, businesses these days prefer to work with experts who also write well, this might not always be the case. What do you do then?

A few months ago, I wrote content for a pathology lab website. People need to access information of different types of medical tests that they can avail on the website. They also need some medical-related content to improve their overall search engine rankings.

I’m not a medical expert. The medical team working at the pathology lab didn’t have good content writers. What did I do? I worked with their medical experts.

For every web page, they would give me all the critical information that I must include. After writing, I ran every piece through them so that they could check if I had included all the vital information and data. They would also check if I had added random information from the web which was not supposed to be there.

The content was authoritative. It came from experts. It could be trusted because it had been thoroughly vetted by the experts in the field.

This approach can be applied (I have applied) in every field that requires authority and expertise. These days I’m working with a SaaS company. Although I’m comfortable writing on technology, on this particular aspect of software as a service, I know little. But they like my writing style, and they wanted me to write for their website and blog. They give me the vital information and based on that, I write content for them.

Why do you need the E-A-T framework to write content?

Ranking on Google has become increasingly difficult. The search engine must find the best possible content for its users. Instead of users having to learn the nitty-gritty of search terms and the complexities involved in finding the exact information, the Google algorithm aims to know the intent of the user and find the information accordingly.

This means, even when people are not accurate while creating a query, they should be able to find the information they are looking for. Otherwise, even if their query is inaccurate, they’re going to blame Google for not being able to get the right information for them.

Content you can trust

Along with intent, the quality and relevance also matter. Even if the search engine knows the intent, it must find the information that has immense value. People must feel enriched after finding information through Google. Otherwise, they will be dissatisfied and may switch to another search engine.

For example, you want to invest in stock market. You find information on Google and make investments based on that information. You lose money and you blame Google for finding inaccurate information.

On the other hand, if you gain money, you are going to feel good about finding the right information on Google.

Hence, when it comes to information related to health or finances, Google gives preference to content that comes from experts.

Coming back to the example I used above (about writing medical-related content), even if I get the entire input from the experts, if I publish that content by my name, it won’t be valued by Google because Google knows that I’m not a medical expert. But if I write that content for a medical expert and then that medical expert publishes the content under their name, Google is going to take it seriously and may also rank it higher.

What type of content requires the E-A-T framework?

When you write and publish content that can cause someone to lose or gain money, or content that can endanger someone’s life, or affect someone’s life in terms of health and money, you need to follow the E-A-T framework.

As explained above, this type of content falls in the category of YMYL – “your money or your life”.

Google references to both the terms – E-A-T & YMYL – extensively in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. These guidelines are used by real people to evaluate the effectiveness of search results. Google hasn’t confirmed that such human evaluators have some bearing on the algorithms. Google uses these human evaluators to gauge the effectiveness of their algorithm.

There may be two types of content that requires E-A-T framework:

Content that requires expertise
Content that requires first-hand experience

Suppose you are searching for heart attack symptoms. Two types of information sources can be authoritative:

A doctor or a physician who is an expert in the matters of heart.
Someone who has gone through the similar experience (themselves or their family members) and then give you a first-hand insight.

Similarly, if you want to know where you can invest your money, the content needs to either come from someone who is a financial expert, or someone who has been investing money for some years.

Does the Google algorithm have a way of finding if you are an expert or you are someone who is giving first-hand experience?

This is where human evaluators come. Human evaluators can make a judgement call.

The algorithm can scour through social media profiles and references from other web sources to know if a person is an expert. For example, if I am a financial expert, they can exist some reference to my expertise on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or other blogs. Or I may have another expert opinion piece in a reputed publication like Washington Post.

How do I write content requiring the E-A-T framework?

How to write content requiring the E-A-T framework

As I have explained above, recently I wrote content for a laboratory website that provides information on various ailments for which a blood test (serum test) may be required.

I wrote the content after getting ample input from the doctors associated with the laboratory. In fact, I ghost wrote the content: the content that I wrote was published with a doctor’s by-line.

Hence, when you are writing content that requires you to follow the E-A-T framework but you are not an expert or you are not presenting a first-hand experience, it is better to seek out someone who does, and publish the content after getting their input, and if possible, use their name as author.

7 Tips for crafting the perfect about us page with examples

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Crafting the perfect about us page

Why do you have an “About Us” web page on your website?

In this blog post I’m going to cover 7 tips for crafting the best possible about us page for your company website.

After the homepage your “About us” section is one of the most visited sections on your website.

Your about us page contains

An introduction to your company.
The story about how your company came to be.
A few sentences on why you should be considered for buying products and services.
Your mission, vision, philosophy, and values.

Your about us page gives you an opportunity to tell your visitors who you are, what you stand for, and what people stand to gain when they do business with you.

What exactly is an “About Us” page?

While other pages on your website talk about your products and services, the about us section is an opportunity to talk about your company.

Some about us pages have the profile of the CEO, the founding members, or people at the helm.

An about us page having CEO profile

They talk about some or all employees.

An about us page showing employees

It answers the most pressing questions your new and existing customers and clients may have about your business such as what your business does, how it does it, who owns the business, and what type of people run it.

Your about us page is the perfect place to tell your story.

It can be a great marketing tool.

It allows you to add a human element to the information that you want to impart.

You often find the “about us” link in the footer of the website or in the top navigation.

This section allows you to show off your personality as a company or an organization.

Ever since I have started writing content for websites there has never been a single instance when the client didn’t want an about us page.

It is always an integral part of the website site map.

Do you always check out the about us page?

Do you remember checking the Amazon.com about us page before shopping over there?

Highly unlikely.

In fact, when I checked the About us section of amazon.in, they are mostly promoting their latest offers although, when you scroll down, they talk about the various community initiatives.

Amazon India about us page

Even on Amazon.com, they seem to promote their latest The Lord of the Rings (it is being broadcast on Prime video at the time of writing this) series aside from some press releases.

The about us section on some websites also appears as “Our company”.

For example, Coca-Cola.com has an “Our company” section.

On their our company section instead of telling the story of their origin they talk about their employees or the top management, they talk about the various “human” and “environmental” initiatives they are taking.

They talk about how they manage waste during production.

Coca-Cola about us page

They talk about creating a sustainable future.

They also showcase how they encourage diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunities at their workplace.

Does this matter? Definitely.

According to a Salesforce study, 86% customers believe that businesses must be more proactive in their roles towards societies, especially after the pandemic.

62% customers stop doing business with companies whose values are not aligned with their values.

Your about us page is the perfect place to share your core beliefs, philosophies, and values with your visitors and let them know where you stand on important issues.

What are the basic elements of your about us page?

What to cover on your about us page?

You can talk about your office environment – how comforting and inclusive it is.

You can list your team members along with the photographs and small statements from them. If you are a large company, then of course it won’t be possible to list everyone, but you can showcase your top management.

You can explain processes – how you execute projects. What are the various processes you follow to optimize your performance? How do you ensure your customers are easily able to buy from you and derive maximum satisfaction?

As written above, most of the about us pages talk about the core values of the business, the philosophy, and the mission statement. These don’t have to be long. Even a single sentence would suffice as long as it fully represents what you want to convey.

What about the history of the company? Is it relevant to customer and client satisfaction? If yes, then definitely tell the story of your company – how it came to be and what makes it what it is right now.

About us page our story example

Doing some social good within your community? Don’t forget to mention that. Making donations? Definitely mention that. Are your employees involved in social welfare activities? Showcase their work, possibly with videos and photographs. Have a social media presence? You can embed the most successful updates on your about us page.

Listed below are the key elements of a perfect about us page:

Headline: Hook your readers immediately.

You can capture the main essence of the product or service that you provide in the headline. For example, is an SEO company your headline can be

“We achieve for you higher search engine rankings for toughest keywords”

What is the biggest benefit of working with you?

How does your business change people’s lives?

Is your about us page really about your company?

Let’s be frank: those visiting your about us section are not your acolytes.

They are least worried about your accomplishments unless those accomplishments have something to do with what you intend to deliver.

Whereas the accolades you have accumulated over the years can certainly be reassuring (that you are a company of repute and performance), what people want to know is

How you’re going to serve their needs.
Whether your values align with their values.
How you have served your present and past customers and clients.
What is your company culture.
What is the attitude of your top management as well as your employees.
What sort of atmosphere you maintain (you are inclusive or not)?

This Search Engine Journal blog post says that you shouldn’t spend much time on rambling on about your back story when writing your about us page.

They want to know less about your past and more about your present and future.

Take your own example: when you find an Amazon link while looking for a mobile phone you don’t want to know how Jeff Bezos started Amazon (maybe another day) – you want to know how the website is going to help you find the best model for your need, how the model is going to be delivered to you, and how it is going to be replaced in case you don’t like it.

Is an e-commerce about us page different from the about us pages on other websites?

There are about 20 million e-commerce websites worldwide. The valuation of the e-commerce industry is $ 5.5 trillion.

With so many websites to compete with, how do you create a contrast so that people can recognize your e-commerce website, and not just recognize, but agree to do business with you?

Want to distinguish yourself from other e-commerce websites? Your about us page can help you with that.

For an e-commerce website, your potential customers will visit your about us page to know why you are passionate about the products you are listing on your website.

To make people spend on your website, you must sound authentic and build trust and loyalty among your customers.

When they buy from your e-commerce website, they should be convinced that they will receive the item in impeccable condition and if they need to return it, they will be able to do so without much hassle and without spending money.

You can cover this on your e-commerce about us page.

What makes your about us page awesome?

7 tips for crafting a perfect about us page for your website

There are some standard elements that exist on every about us page. In fact, these attributes and elements are so common that even unconsciously, people are looking for them when they visit your about us page. Nonetheless, you can also make your about us page unique to include an element of surprise. Listed below are 7 tips that can help you craft the perfect about us page for your website.

1. Avoid the sales pitch

The purpose of your about us page is to give a glimpse about your company, your employees, and other aspects of your business.

Of course, every web page on your website exists to help you generate more leads and business opportunities and the underlying purpose of your about us page is also to help you sell more, but this should be achieved through engaging information instead of directly asking people to buy from you or do business with you.

Therefore, avoid sales pitch on your about us page. It can have CTA but it should naturally flow with the context of your about us page.

2. Make sure your about us page stands out

You can use engaging visuals. You can create a layout that is different from other about us pages.

Don’t make an about us page unique simply for the heck of it – it should represent the ethos and the personality of your overall website and business philosophy.

An increasing number of organizations these days showcase the various activities happening at their premises instead of simply talking about the history or the values of the company. They show their employees indulging in fun activities and learning engagements. They publish photographs of workshops and orientation programs. If they participate in social welfare activities, they publish videos and images about those.

Publishing testimonials can also help your about us page stand out but quite often, websites have dedicated testimonials web page. If you don’t have it, you can publish some stellar testimonials on your about us page.

3. Tell your brand story

Tell your visitors why your company exists. How it came to be. What are the events that led to the formation of your company – you solved a problem for yourself and based on that you created a solution that you could offer to the others.

Stories are always engaging. Weave a narrative.

4. Update your about us page regularly

There are multiple benefits of updating your about us page regularly. New things are constantly happening in your office and people would like to know about them and the about us page is the perfect place to talk about that.

When you regularly update your about us page it gives a reason to your visitors to check it out regularly. Awaiting your about us page is also good for your search engine rankings.

5. Make it about customers and clients

Although above I have mentioned that avoid using sales pitch on your about us page, ultimately, every page on your website is about customers and clients, and your about us page shouldn’t be an exception.

What would your customers and clients want to know on your about us page? What information would enrich them in such a manner that they would like to do business with you? What can help you establish a relationship with them? How do you convince that your corporate values match with the values of your customers and clients? How do your business practices benefit your customers and clients?

6. Include your values, mission statement, and vision

On almost every web page you come across these three sections: values, mission statement, and vision.

Take the opportunity to tell your visitors what you stand for through your values. You believe in an inclusive environment. You stand for the environment. You value peace and prosperity for everyone in the world.

Your mission statement tells your visitors what you intend to achieve for them through your business.

Vision is normally long-term – how do you see your business after five years? It represents your long-term goals.

7. Include a strong CTA

The CTA doesn’t always have to be “Buy from us”. You can prompt people to download your e-book. You can ask them to subscribe to your email updates. You can send them to another web page with more information about your company. Ask them to do something so that they stick around.

Examples of awesome about us pages

Let’s have a look at some great about us pages from different businesses and companies. I will also tell you why these about us pages rock.

Intel

Intel about us page

In case they haven’t changed it, you can view the complete about us page on the Intel website.

I like this about us page because it gives all the necessary information in plain language. Look at the headline that says:

Delivering World-Changing Technology

Then in a short paragraph it describes how Intel has been an industry leader in creating world-changing technologies since 1968.

When you scroll down, you come across the financial status of Intel.

Throughout the page they explain different technologies they are influencing, and they even talk about their products.

In a separate tab, you can read about their management team.

This is a very straightforward about us page. In different sections it explains different aspects of the company. It talks about innovation, it talks about leadership, it talks about technologies, and even evolving culture. They don’t try to be brief. At the same time, the page doesn’t seem cramped. It is a professionally designed corporate about us web page.

Interestingly, I had to search for “Intel about” to find Intel’s about us page. I couldn’t find it in their official navigation.

The same is the case for the next about us page.

Mailchimp

MailChimp about us page

You can see the complete about us page on the MailChimp website.

I have chosen this about us page from MailChimp because it is a quintessential page. There is nothing outstanding about the page. It’s quite straightforward. It talks about employees. It tells you the founder story – how MailChimp came to be.

Since serving small businesses is their primary forte, they talk about how they are streamlining their operations to better serve small businesses in multiple domains including creating product pages, landing pages, social media updates, and of course, email marketing.

They also talk about the investments they are making helping small businesses grow. The about us page talks less about their products and features, and more about the motivation that drives them. This is the kind of about us page I would like to write.

Zoho

Zoho about us page

Here you can view the complete Zoho about us page.

Zoho has a very straightforward, but comprehensive about us page and that’s why I have chosen to showcase it here.

I like the headline:

Serious Software, Friendly Company

Then they explain how they create beautiful software to solve business problems. While talking about their work culture and the quality of their software engineers, they also talk about how great their products are.

As you scroll down, you read that they spend more on product development and customer support and less on sales and marketing. This tells you about their business approach. They don’t believe in up-selling. They don’t even force their customers to sign a multi-year contract. They are assured: since they are constantly beating their competition, they know that their model works.

This is a nice mix of promoting their products and talking about their company culture.

They also talk about one of their biggest strengths: they have kept the company private despite all the pressures. They have their own Zoho Schools of Learning, and 15% of their engineers come from this program.

They talk about customer privacy. They talk about their campus. They explain how their products meet almost every business need.

In the bottom of their about us page they have a complete chronology right from 1996 up till 2022 telling the entire story. As you click different years, you can read about related phases of the company’s development.

Zoho chronological history

WordPrefistsss

WordPress about us page

The WordPress about us page begins with their mission statement, appropriately because it is a free source-open source software company with a mission to “democratize publishing”.

It’s a very unimpressive page so why have I chosen it? Being WordPress, they could have chosen the fanciest of layouts and could have gone on and on – after all, they have been providing publishing software for almost 2 decades now – but still, they stay to the point because that’s what the audience wants.

They have kept their about us page minimalistic. Instead of having lots of information on the same page, they have linked to features, history, philosophy, testimonials, accessibility policy, and other details. Everything you want to know about WordPress, without beating around the bush, is on this web page. Easy navigation. Lots of white space. No extra graphic.

Band

Band about us page

As they say on the web page, Band is a creative design studio. Like any other creative design agency, they are majorly focused on showcasing their works. The web page loads quite fast, but it is full of graphics.

Sticking to the contemporary design ethos, they have used lots of white space to make it a relaxing browsing.

What I like about the Band about us page is that they have balanced visual and textual information proportionately. They aren’t solely relying on the visual presentation of their portfolio.

They use very simple language. In the headline they say

Band is a multidisciplinary creative studio.

If you’re not sure what “multidisciplinary” means in this context, you can read further. It sparks curiosity and in a way, prompts you to read.

The language is quite simple and yet professional. Without using fluff, they tell you that they “design, create and produce work” they are proud of. They also let you know that they take on only those projects they believe in, which shows conviction and sincerity. They work in a “wide range of creative disciplines”.

When you scroll down you can read about company history. There are no specifics. Just about how the founders met and then how they got together to form the creative studio.

Very little info, but enough to give you a sufficient idea of what the company is about and how they approach individual projects (projects they feel about).

Buffer

Buffer about us page

You can scroll through the complete Buffer about us page here. They have a very simple, linear about us page with no earth-shattering headings. They display no unique “attitude” – they have simply explained what Buffer does, in which countries they have their employees and how they help their customers manage social media accounts.

The unique thing about their employees’ profiles is that they also tell you how much each employee is making.

When you scroll through their about us page you will notice that the format of their about us page is like a typical home page. They talk about their work. They have a ticker the way many homepages have these days. They display the logos and names of the companies using Buffer.

Their Our values section is quite comprehensive with subheadings like transparency, positivity, gratitude, reflection, consistency, and stretching themselves beyond their limits. They openly claim that their salaries and salary formula are publicly available. You can also get a glimpse of their product roadmap – where they’re heading.

A wholesome about us page.

Why have I chosen these about us pages? They may not seem unique.

As a content writer my primary focus is communicating the message. I don’t believe in bells and whistles although, I’m not averse to the idea of creating fancy and “unique” about us pages. Somehow you must be sure of what you want to put on your about us page. As long as the surety is there, it is up to you what type of about us page you want to publish.

Content writing: why is it important to know your audience?

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Finding the right audience for content writing

Why must you know your audience when writing content?

To give an answer to this question, you need to first understand why in the first place you are writing a particular blog post, web page, or landing page.

You are writing to serve the need of someone.

Whom are you talking to?

Why should they listen to you?

What words and search terms do they use when talking about or searching for your business?

What common questions do they have?

Successful content writing takes an audience-centric approach

It may be difficult to do extensive research on your audience before every content writing project, but you can do a little bit of study or questioning to at least find out for whom you are writing.

I will give you the example of this blog post.

I’m writing this for people who are looking for the importance of defining an audience when writing content.

I am also writing for people who are simply researching for their own blog post, or would like to link to my blog post when referring to information present here.

Am I targeting people who need to hire a content writer?

Maybe indirectly, but not directly.

People looking for a content writer may not search for how to write content for a carefully selected audience, unless their awareness level of content writing is an entirely at a different height.

This University of Maryland article makes very nice suggestions about selecting your audience and then modifying your communication accordingly.

Suppose you have a car accident. It was a minor accident, but an accident, nonetheless.

You tell your parents about the accident – you may tell them differently.

You may tell your friends about the same incident a bit differently.

What about the insurance company?

What details are you going to skip or include?

Will you tell these different categories of people your story in the same order or different order?

Obviously, the narration will be different.

Email can be another example.

The season’s greetings that you send to your customers and clients are completely different from the greetings that you send to your cousins and siblings.

The point is, whenever you are communicating, you are communicating to a certain audience.

The same is true for content writing.

When you are writing content, you need to modify it based on your audience.

When you are writing content, you cannot please everyone.

If you try to please everyone, you please no one.

Therefore, you need to narrow down your audience.

Select that one person for whom you are going to write.

In content writing terminology it is called “defining persona”.

How to target the right audience for writing content?

There can be different types of audience based on

Occupation
Age
Marital status
Social background
Hobbies
Gender
Interests
Location
Health status
Income
Professional background

Understandably, you can just imagine the traits of your audience.

You may need to check out different data sources such as

User feedback
Customer surveys
Internal customer database
Third-party analytics tools
Onboarding and exit interviews
Surveys
Your own research.

Suppose you have designed a health app.

You want to write lots of blog posts and articles about the benefits of using the mobile app.

But you want to target only those people who stopped going to the gym in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.

Even when things are back to normal, they don’t seem to be able to catch up with their old habit.

You want to make them health-conscious again.

They are lacking the motivation.

They need a psychological and emotional push.

You may have to write your blog posts differently for this set of people.

On the other hand, there are people who are motivated, but are not getting enough time.

They don’t need to be encouraged.

They are simply looking for a solution that would allow them to maintain a good health despite their busy schedule.

For them, your blog posts will sound differently.

The better you can target your audience, the more effective will be your content writing.

How to prevent self-criticism from sabotaging your content writing process

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Self-criticism sabotaging your content writing process

Self-criticism isn’t just toxic, sometimes it can be devastating.

Different toppings and subtopics discussed in this blog:

Why does self-criticism raise its head when writing content?
Content writing and confidence go hand-in-hand
Techniques for subduing self-criticism as a content writer

Do you want to become a successful content writer?

Unconsciously, self-criticism might be one of the biggest roadblocks that you don’t even know you face.

It creeps up on you slowly and gnaws at your content writing process unbeknownst to you.

You think that other content writers are better than you?

You are unable to negotiate prices because you begin to believe you don’t deserve to be paid much.

You assume you don’t understand the topic.

You worry that you won’t be able to meet the deadline.

I have written professional content for more than 17 years.

Even now, whenever I am about to begin a new content writing project, I’m filled with self-doubt and besieged by a wave of self-criticism.

Whenever I receive a new query, I wonder whether I will be able to deliver what the client needs.

I suffer from the imposter syndrome.

The inner voice tells me: you are not good.

You are deceiving your client.

You are pretending to be a good content writer.

Though, over the years, I have developed some techniques to beat the demons of self-criticism.

Why does self-criticism raise its head when writing content?

Self-criticism is natural.

It is good in small, manageable doses.

It keeps you on your toes.

It pushes you to improve and better yourself.

Hence, a little of it doesn’t harm you much and in fact, does you good.

In fact, I often come across content writers who definitely need some self-criticism.

Their writing is really bad.

Still, they act as if they are writing for the New York Times on a regular basis.

Even that level of confidence can be toxic.

Self-criticism on the other hand exists in the form of wanting to better yourself.

At a fundamental level I know I write better than many people.

I write good sentences.

I am confident of my writing style.

I can express any complicated idea simply.

My self-criticism originates from the fact that I may not have enough information to write what I’m supposed to write.

I may not have the appropriate vocabulary to work on a specific project.

I’m not good enough to get published in reputed publications.

My self-doubt doesn’t originate from the inability to express myself.

In different people, different types of self-doubt and self-criticism exist.

The problem with content writers is that they need to get paid for their writing per document or per assignment.

The client is instantly going to judge how the content writer has written.

There is always a fear of rejection.

There is always a chance that the client may think that the writing is not worth paying for.

Most of the content writers are underpaid so there is always this financial insecurity looming large at the horizon.

Gradually, self-criticism attains such a proportion that it begins to sabotage your entire content writing process.

Content writing and confidence go hand-in-hand

Remember that when you are writing content, you are writing for businesses and individuals who are running businesses.

Your content writing must instill confidence among your readers.

If your content writing lacks confidence, it will show through your words and sentences.

You will sound stiff and unsure.

You will convey the same feeling to your readers.

Your words have a magical way of communicating your true feelings.

Hence, to write with conviction, you must build your confidence.

Confidence comes with knowledge.

It comes with experience.

It comes with a core set of beliefs within you.

The best way to build your confidence as a writer is to write.

Write when you get work.

Write even when you don’t have paid assignments.

If you write only when you are paid, your writing becomes stilted.

Think like any other performing art.

Does a singer sing only when he or she is performing in front of an audience?

No.

He or she practices every day.

Do athletes perform athletic fetes only during sporting events?

No.

They practice for hours every day.

Practice writing every day.

In fact, write for 2-3 hours every day, whether you have professional content writing assignments or not.

Techniques for subduing self-criticism as a content writer

As I have written above, little bit of self-criticism can be used constructively.

It prompts you to excel.

It encourages you to better yourself.

But lots of self-criticism can be harmful.

When it stops you from writing, when it begins to meddle with your content writing process, you need to take some measures to control it.

Here are a few things you can do:

Distinguish between being critical and being self-critical

Sometimes we are critical of ourselves.

This is different from being critical about your work.

You certainly need to review your work.

Sometimes I revise documents multiple times.

I edit sentences.

I change words.

Complete rewrites are needed sometimes.

This shouldn’t be confused with self-criticism.

Even writers who have sold millions of books have editors.

Their books are revised multiple times.

So, each time you find an error, or you need to revise a sentence, don’t self-criticise yourself.

This is integral part of content writing.

Acquire knowledge of content writing

As I have written above, knowledge is empowering.

The more you know, the better you write.

Read books on content writing and copywriting.

Join LinkedIn forums on writing, content writing and copywriting.

Interact with other content writers and copywriters.

Follow blogs on the same topics.

Learn the latest about SEO copywriting.

I’m working with multiple writers these days.

Many writers write like content writers who used to write 10-15 years ago.

They haven’t updated their styles.

They haven’t upgraded their language skills.

Although they write well, they can do much better if they keep an eye on the latest trends in content writing and online copywriting.

Never shy away from learning and acquiring knowledge.

People in every profession are constantly learning.

The same is true in the field of content writing.

Start a personal blog

Starting a personal blog means updating it, not if every day, but at least a couple of times in a week.

I have found that blogging is one of the best ways to beat self-criticism.

Choose a topic that is close to your heart.

It doesn’t have to be a professional topic.

This is my blog on content writing and copywriting, but I also have a personal blog where I share my passion on books, religion, politics, and other topics.

On a personal blog I can write in whichever manner I feel like.

Even if people judge me, I don’t really care because my livelihood does not depend on my personal blog.

I get to express myself.

I get to practice my art of writing.

I have a small fan following that raises my confidence.

I get to build my own writing style.

But, it requires work.

You need to update your personal blog on regular basis.

Don’t constantly compare yourself with other content writers

Comparing yourself with other content writers can be positive or negative.

When you compare to learn, it is positive.

When you compare to discourage yourself, it is negative.

It is fine if another content writer writes better than you.

It is fine if his or her range of vocabulary is vast.

It is all about learning.

It is all about regularly practising your art.

It is all about acquiring knowledge.

If that particular content writer can write so well, so can you.

You are not there yet, but soon you will be.

You are already writing.

You have already reached a certain level.

Now you need to improve.

As you gain more experience, your writing will improve.

It has improved till now, it will improve further.

Learn to do research

A lot of times you are hit by a deluge of self-criticism when you cannot find the right information that you need to write content.

For every content writing project you need to research.

You need to find information.

Google may be your best friend.

It has advanced search features that can help you filter out unnecessary information.

You may need to use different queries to find exactly the information you are looking.

Sometimes, a seemingly impossible topic becomes crystal clear once you have done some research.

Also develop a system of storing information when you’re researching so that the next time when you need to find the same data, you already have it.

I use note-taking apps like OneNote and Google Keep to preserve important bits of information.

Work with a mentor

These days I’m working with around 15 content writers and I am mentoring some of them.

It is not like teaching.

A mentor can help you fine tune your writing without being extra critical.

An experienced person becomes your mentor only when he or she thinks you have the ability to excel.

This in itself is an endorsement and proves that you are capable of becoming a successful content writer.

Interact with experienced content writers on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Regularly engage with them.

Respond to their updates.

Ask them if you could work for them.

Then once you have been working with an experienced content writer, politely ask if you can seek some guidance.

Revisit examples of exceptional writing that you have done

Even those content writers who have been working for a few years suffer from bouts of self-criticism.

I have been preserving the testimonials that my clients have sent me.

Sometimes a client recommends my work and CCs me the email.

Sometimes he or she sends me high praises.

I save such messages separately.

I go through them when I’m self-doubting myself.

I have worked on some very difficult content writing assignments, but I forget about them when I’m going through self-criticism.

I have created a separate folder where I have saved all the challenging content writing assignments, I have worked all these years.

After opening the document, I start reading and soon, I experience self-criticism melting away.

Self-criticism is a state of mind.

A state of mind can be quickly altered.

You just need to hack your way out.

One step at a time.

Don’t be impatient with yourself.

Accept the problem, and then work towards a solution.

Recognize different aspects of your writing abilities that need improvement.

Then improve, one writing ability by one.

How can content writers benefit from AI writing tools?

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A few days ago I reviewed an AI writing tool.

I even published a blog post using this AI writing tool.

Writing tools powered by artificial intelligence use a combination of machine learning algorithms and natural language processing to understand the context of what you want to write and then generate quality content.

In total, artificial intelligence is a big market.

It is predicted that by 2024, it will reach $500 billion.

AI is already being used extensively as virtual assistants, chat bots, insurance processing, and Google search.

AI-powered content writing is a new development.

An AI content writing tool can help you quickly generate lots of text that then you can write according to your requirement.

This way, as a content writer, you can save hours of grunt writing.

Bulk content can also be created for SEO purposes.

But ever since the Google helpful content algorithm update has been rolled out, many SEO experts are going to be cautious about using AI writing tools directly to generate bulk content.

Can content writers benefit from these AI writing tools?

They definitely can.

If you feel threatened by the onslaught of AI writing tools, there is no need.

As of now, these tools are far away from writing like humans.

Like you, they don’t have a unique writing style.

They write well.

There are no grammar and spelling mistakes.

In near future they may even do research to get relevant data when writing articles and blog posts.

But if they are doing the work of content writers, why would someone hire a content writer?

Why not simply work with an AI writing tool?

Many people may choose to do so.

Lots of grunt writing will be done by these tools.

By the end of the day writing is a creative process.

An AI writing tool can write like a content writer with average abilities.

It cannot write like a professional content writer.

The one blog post that I generated lacks emotion and style, and hence, I published it in the name of another writer, and not under my own name.

Some advantages of working with AI writing tools

AI writing tools definitely come with multiple advantages and that’s why there are so many of them these days.

I’m listing some advantages below.

AI content writing tools are good for creating outlines

Creating an outline can be a tedious job.

You may need to gather points from different websites and blogs and then craft your outline.

When I was trying out the Scalenut AI writing tool it asks for some keywords.

Then it asks for the main headline.

Beneath the main headline, you need to enter 200-500 characters about what you want to write.

Then it automatically generates a list of topics and subtopics that you can cover in your article or blog.

For example, it presents you with 5-6 H2-level subheadings.

You can move them up and down.

You can remove them one by one.

You can add your own H2-level subheadings.

You can similarly add your own H3-level subheadings.

It also showcases similar blog posts and articles published by other websites.

It has an interface that automatically makes you write an outline for your blog or article.

Even if you don’t want the AI content writing tool to write for you, it is good for creating outlines and doing some initial SEO research.

Unfortunately, I can no longer use the Scalenut AI tool because when I tried to subscribe it asked for a credit card.

I have a debit card but I don’t have a credit card.

I have contacted them on Twitter, but they haven’t yet responded.

You can scale up content writing

Sometimes your blog or website requires you to make multiple updates in a day.

You can either spend hours writing content, or you may need to hire multiple content writers.

With an AI content writing tool you can generate 1500-2000 words in a matter of a few minutes.

It may not be a perfect article or blog post, but it gives you enough material to edit and reform.

In the time it takes to manually write a single blog post, you can write 3-4 blog posts.

Personally I feel how well your AI content writing tool writes depends on your niche or your field.

I haven’t had a chance to try out various professions with the AI writing tool that I tested.

I tried topics like content writing and copywriting and for that, it was generating decent content.

What about accounting?

What about topics like engineering, medicine, architecture and other topics that require expertise?

What about writing a movie review or a product review?

Most of the AI writing tools are not offering preview without a credit card.

This is a bummer.

Therefore, I haven’t been able to try various topics.

But you can certainly scale up your content writing if your AI writing tool generates good content on your topic.

Make more money as a content writer

Again, this is subject to how well your AI writer writes your content.

But if you can generate lots of content and then revise it according to your writing style, as a content writer you can work much faster.

Most of my clients hire me not just because they need content, they are looking for content in my style or in my voice.

When you can work faster, you can take on more assignments and this way, you can make more money.

You need to keep in mind that your subscription cost may go up as you use more words.

In particular subscriptions, some AI content writers offer up to 10,000 words and some offer 100,000 words.

It depends on which AI tool you use.

An AI writing tool can help you overcome writer’s block

A good thing about AI writing tools is that they don’t suffer from writer’s block.

Writer’s block is a state of mind when you are unable to write.

Suddenly, ideas cease to come.

You cannot think of good words.

You cannot form sentences.

You feel stumped.

In such situations, an AI writing tool can help.

First of all, it asks you questions in such a manner that you are forced to use at least some imagination or creativity.

For example, it will ask you to enter a headline or the title of your web page or blog post.

Then it will ask you to enter a few introductory words.

Based on this information it will present you with an outline.

Even after that if you’re not feeling like writing, you can generate 1500-2000 words to play with.

By the time you are through with the interface, your writer’s block will be over.

Here is a nice blog post on how to generate content writing ideas with an AI writing tool.

What are the disadvantages of using an AI content writing tool?

There are certainly some risks involved when you choose to depend solely on an AI writing tool.

Here are a few disadvantages that you may encounter when using an AI writing tool.

Risk of plagiarism and inferior quality

How good a writer are you yourself?

Can you easily differentiate between quality content and inferior content?

I will tell you why it matters.

When you work with a “human” professional content writer, you can rely on him or her for writing high quality content.

Even if you’re not an experienced writer yourself, you know that you are getting good content because it is being written by a person, manually.

Solely depending on your tool’s judgement can fill your website or blog with lots of inferior quality content.

Can you trust the developers of the AI writing tool?

What if they are simply plagiarising content from other websites and blogs?

It may be difficult to make out whether they are actually using AI and natural language processing to generate text or they are simply extracting text from other websites.

Suppose your command over the English language (assuming that you are writing content in English) is not good.

Can you make out if the language used by the AI writing tool is up to the mark?

What about Google’s wrath?

These days Google is coming down heavily upon websites and blogs that use automated tools to generate lots of content just to improve search engine rankings.

The latest Google algorithm update specifically targets such websites.

What is an AI writing tool but a software that generates text automatically?

Google hasn’t laid out all its cards, but what if its algorithm can make out if you have used an AI writing tool to generate lots of text fast?

Your search engine rankings may suffer irreparably.

Google may be a big reason why many people won’t be using AI writing tools, at least in the coming few months, until the dust settles down on the latest update.

No creativity and imagination

Human creativity and imagination are limitless.

You give me a topic and I can write on it in 10 different ways using the same information.

I can tell you an anecdote about a certain product or service.

I can use storytelling to drive in a point.

I can make a joke.

I can be funny; I can be tragic, and I can evoke fear in the same piece of writing.

An AI writing tool cannot do that.

Its writing is boring and drab.

Even if it tries to be funny, it sounds like an inexperienced writer.

This is one of the biggest reasons why people who really value quality content won’t be using AI writing tools.

My suggestion would be, if you want to use an AI writing tool, use it for research, compiling ideas and creating outlines.

Don’t use an AI writing tool if you are not an experienced content writer because otherwise, you won’t be able to judge its quality.

Also, be careful of what AI writing tool you use.

There are many in the market.

As it happens with every fad, every kid on the block wants to develop the next killer AI writing tool.

Some of them may be resorting to “shortcuts”.

Use a tool only when it is endorsed by authoritative people and publications.

Here is a list of some good AI writing tools.