Become a writer before becoming a content writer
This is again one of those times when I try to expand my business by trying to partner with multiple content writers.
Mostly I write content on my own but now I feel if I want to grow my business beyond what it is now, I will need to start collaborating with other content writers so that I can focus more on expanding my reach and getting more work. Most of my time is spent doing work rather than getting work.
Right now, my main problem is that most of my clients hire my services thinking that I will write for them. They read what I have written on my website. They read my blog. They read my articles and blog posts on other websites. They like what I have written. Hence, I am the reason they contact Credible Content. Which is natural.
But then, as I have written above, I need to grow my business. Over the years I have observed that I am good at getting work. Right now, just 5-10% of my time is spent on marketing my services, communicating with prospective clients and getting work. Sometimes weeks go by without any sort of marketing and promotion. Even with such little effort, I get regular work (which is not enough, of course).
I’m also good at writing and I enjoy writing a lot (the point I’m trying to make through this blog post, which is the central point), but in terms of business, if I keep on writing I am less able to focus on getting more work.
Anyway, these days I’m trying to find some good content writers with whom I can partner. As a result, I am interacting with a few content writers and there is one thing that I have observed: most of the “content writers” just want to make some quick money and then get on with their lives.
Writing is not their passion.
They will write because they are getting money and that’s it.
I don’t mean to preach, but content writing doesn’t work this way, and in fact, any type of writing doesn’t work this way.
Just because you can write sentences and paragraphs without committing spelling and grammar mistakes doesn’t make you a writer.
When you’re trying to promote a business through your writing, you need to make an emotional connection and, call it something bordering to metaphysical, your real message, your real communication exists between the lines, and not in the words, sentences and paragraphs that you write.
When budding content writers send samples to me, within a couple of paragraphs I can make out whether the person is a passionate writer or not.
The disinterest is too obvious. And the writing invokes the same disinterest in readers.
It’s your passion for writing that makes you a good and effective content writer
“Do something that you would love to do even without getting paid, be good in that, and you will be never out of work.”
This is not a lofty ideal. I have actually seen it materializing right in front of my eyes, right in my own life, in multiple ways. Of course, you need to promote yourself, you need to market your skill so that people who can benefit from your skill can contact you.
I’m not a published writer in the conventional sense. I mean, I don’t have books in my name.
But, before I became a professional content writer, I had already written a lot. I have written without getting paid, without even expecting to be paid.
I just wrote for exposure. I liked it when people read what I had written and then praised it. It was very thrilling. I always wanted to show off my writing skills. I was proud of the way I wrote. Although I’m not a Pulitzer-prize-level writer, I’m confident about my ability to communicate.
During my school and college days, my friends used to tease me that I never read books and novels for enjoyment, I read them to polish my language (whether it was English or Hindi) and then later, show off. I did enjoy, though. Still do.
I’m not saying that it is bad to expect to be paid for your writing, I’m just telling you about how I evolved as a content writer – your story may be totally different.
So, I was published a few times in the city newspaper. I had my articles published in local magazines
When the Internet came up and when the concept of publishing helpful content began to materialize, I started publishing tutorials on various websites to promote my web design business.
I have used practically every blogging platform that was started in the 2000’s and this meant lots of writing. I wrote on various forums. I participated in email discussion threads.
The point I’m trying to make is, I wrote a lot.
So, by the time I started receiving professional content writing assignments, writing came to me naturally. Yes, I may have done badly in some cases and I may have done well, but the fundamental skill required to get good content writing assignments was there. The ground had been prepared.
The problem with the content writers that I come across is that without having honed their skills, they want good content writing assignments.
Believe me, this doesn’t work.
Of course, there are many clients who are not looking for quality writing or, they are not aware what quality writing is (lack of knowledge, lack of desire, or both).
You may get work from those clients, but this work is not going to sustain you as a content writer. There are hundreds of thousands of mediocre writers and if you are a mediocre writer, you are constantly competing with them.
You will have to work very hard, put in long hours, and you won’t earn much, eventually giving up.
Enjoy writing to become a successful content writer
Again, this is not a pep talk, this is reality.
Writing is not a skill, as many mistakenly think. Writing is an art, preferably, a performing art.
You are performing through your words and people are watching you perform when they are reading your words.
When it comes to being a good performing artist, you have to lose yourself in your performance. If you’re cautious of what you are doing, you become stiff and instead of performing, you are simply displaying yourself.
Compare it with walking. Do you have to constantly think when you walk? Are you thinking of every step?
No, if you think of every step, very soon you will get tired and you may even fall.
To be able to walk long distances, you need to be able to walk without thinking of walking, without thinking of every step. The same happens with writing. You shouldn’t have to think.
You shouldn’t have to think about writing – you only need to think about the subject, the thing that you want to say, the message you want to communicate.
How can you lose yourself in your work, you may ask, when you’re writing for a business?
By not counting every penny, or every paisa. By not constantly doing clock watching. By not being conscious of much effort you need to put or not.
When you manipulate your writing according to the money you are getting, you are not doing justice to your art.
I’m not saying people should exploit you and you should spend hours on work you are not being paid much for, but once you start writing, focus on your writing.
This is exactly what I do.
Although, I quote my writing work per word, per page or per hour, once I’m writing, I don’t hold myself if I have more to say. When I’m writing, at that time, my writing is important, not how much I am being paid. If you have a problem with the payment, don’t take up the assignment, but once you have taken it up, give your 100%.
It is great that you want to become a content writer, but don’t approach me if you are between jobs and you are looking for something to do in the meantime, if you are a student trying to make side income or if you are a housewife looking for “opportunity on Internet”.
Being a student, being between jobs and being a housewife isn’t something bad, what is bad is, you want to be a content writer just because you are in these situations otherwise, you would be doing something else.
You have to be a writer first. Writing must be one of the priorities of your life. Only then you can become a good content writer.