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10 tips to make your boring content writing interesting

How to make your boring content writing interesting

How to make your boring content writing interesting

Do you feel your content writing is making people fall asleep?

These pieces of advice can turn your boring content writing into an interesting piece of content:

  1. Tell a story
  2. Write a compelling headline
  3. Get to the point as fast as possible
  4. Make your writing easier to scan
  5. Use small and simple sentences with lots of white spacing
  6. Hook your readers with a captivating introduction
  7. Experiment with short form content
  8. Use active voice
  9. Write in the language of your readers
  10. Avoid redundant phrases and expressions

For your content to be interesting and persuasive, it should brim with excitement and fervor.

No matter how informative and well-researched your article or blog post is, if people are not enthused, if they are bored, they leave after reading a few lines.

I agree that boring and interesting are subjective.

In a study conducted by Digital Marketing Community, 98% of the respondents who were surveyed said that written content is the most used type of content in the marketing industry.

Yet, one in three marketers admitted that the content is not effective.

It means there is lots of content out there that is boring and uninspiring.

Very little interesting content writing.

Some content writing that may seem boring to one reader may seem quite interesting to another.

Maybe some people are just interested in hard facts and useful information.

It doesn’t matter how that information is presented.

Nonetheless, as a professional content writer, it is your job to make your writing engaging and interesting to cater to a wider audience.

Here are a few things you can do to make your seemingly boring content writing interesting.

1. Tell a story

Stories are always interesting.

A story brings in a human angle into your narrative.

Even when you tell stories about animals, we tell their stories as if they are humans – they talk like humans, they show emotions like humans, they behave like humans.

Yes, features are important, but along with telling the features of a TV, also tell how a new TV changes the viewing experience of a family that was getting disinterested in TV content.

Tell about Peter who was about to shut down his business and then how his business was saved with the help of an on-demand app.

Marketing and selling are all about emotion.

This Forbes article says that by telling a story, you can hit the emotional quotient.

The article further says that tell stories that are real, or at least tell stories that can evoke real emotions and feelings.

A story can instantly make your boring content writing interesting.

2. Write a compelling headline

If 100 people come to read your blog post or web page, 80 read just the headline and only the remaining 20 read the rest of your copy.

A headline makes people read the rest of your copy.

You need to get your headline right because your readers make their first impression about what you have written based on their perception of your headline.

If your headline does not move them, they will leave after reading just the headline.

Stay away from crafting fake headlines just to make them sound interesting.

Click bait may work for some publications, but for genuine businesses, “click-bait” headlines can be counterproductive.

Take care that your headline has the following qualities

  • It portrays the usefulness of your content.
  • It conveys urgency.
  • It is unique and stands out among the crowd.
  • It provides specific information – what you are delivering.

People at Buzzsumo analyzed the headlines of 100 million articles and drew some solid conclusions.

One of the conclusions is that the headline that has around 60-65 characters performs the best on not just search engines, but also on Facebook and Twitter.

I’m sure by headline they mean the meta title because that’s what is displayed on Google and social media websites when you post a link.

Your headline is the <h1> tagged caption that is actually displayed on your homepage with a big font.

The big-font caption can be as long as you feel like – just make sure it can be read in a single breath.

3. Get to the point as fast as possible

Many content writers, perhaps to create longer articles and blog posts, talk about everything but the main issue.

They will write 500-600 words before they come to the main agenda.

By that time people are bored.

Avoid long, rambling sentences.

Don’t fill up your article or blog post simply to write long form content.

Convey your main point in the first paragraph.

For example, if you are writing a blog post on 13 benefits of hiring a professional content writer, you don’t need to first explain who a content writer is and what a content writer does.

People who want to read about the benefits of hiring a professional content writer already know who a content writer is and what a content writer does.

I’m not saying that you should reduce your blog post to its bare bones, but the points that can be omitted, omit them.

4. Make your writing easier to scan

Divide different sections under subheadings.

Craft your subheadings in a manner that they tell the reader what is followed in the smaller text.

For example, in the subheading “Make your writing easier to scan”, you can easily make out what the topic is about and then after that, it is up to you whether you want to read the remaining text or not.

Aside from subheadings, convey smaller points in bullet points.

  • Bullet points are easier to read.
  • They provide your reader something quick to read.
  • They are easily scannable.
  • You don’t even need to write complete sentences.

You can also use block quotes to highlight portions you don’t want your readers to mess.

5. Use small and simple sentences with lots of white spacing

As you can see in this blog post, every sentence has its own line or its own paragraph.

No line has more than one sentences.

This makes the blog post easier to read.

Long paragraphs having multiple sentences can be difficult to read and hence, after a while, they bore the reader.

Small sentences, of single lines, keep the readers interested.

Even if your content writing is not as interesting as you would like it to be, just because it is easier to read, people read.

6. Hook your readers with a captivating introduction

You may like to read: What is blog post introduction and how to write a great one?

After your headline, it is the first few lines that are responsible for making your readers read further.

These first few lines are the introduction of your article or blog post.

57% of the page viewing time is spent above the fold, according to a Nielsen Norman Group study.

Above the fold means the portion of the web page you have just loaded, and you haven’t scrolled down yet.

Below the fold, only 17% people read, and only the most determined people go beyond that.

So, whatever important point you want to make, make it in the introduction.

There is another thing I have started doing recently.

If you have a look at this blog post 10 advantages of hiring a professional content writer for your business, you will notice that I cover all the main points in a bulleted list in the beginning.

I have done that even for this blog post.

This gives a bird’s eye view of the entire blog post and makes it easier for people to decide if they want to read further.

They immediately know what points I’m covering.

7. Experiment with short form content

Although most of the SEO experts and digital marketers advise you to focus more on long form content (at least 1500-2000 words), you can also experiment with short form content – around 400-500 words.

This way you can write on highly focused topics.

You don’t beat around the bush.

Your readers don’t get intimidated by a seemingly never-ending stream of text.

There is no danger of information overload.

Since for every topic you are writing a new blog post or a new web page, you never run out of topics.

Smaller articles and blog posts are also easier to read on mobile phones.

Also, if you don’t get to the point, people leave midway, missing the whole idea of why they came to your article or blog post in the first place.

8. Use active voice

Content writing using lots of passive voice expressions becomes boring.

Active voice on the other hand makes your content writing interesting.

No, I don’t mean that merely using active voice makes your writing interesting, it is just that, it is easier to read and hence, people don’t get tired, and consequently, don’t get bored.

For example, instead of writing This blog post has been written by Amrit you write, Amrit wrote this blog post.

Instead of writing The dog has been taken to the vet, you can write They have taken the dog to the vet.

Instead of writing The coding will be done by our team, you can write Our team will do the coding.

This is a small thing, but if there are too many passive voice sentences and expressions in your writing, unknowingly, people get disinterested in your writing.

They are unable to make any connection.

9. Write in the language of your readers

It is important to have your own voice and your own style of writing.

But every professional content writer writes in the language of his or her readers.

This makes your writing comfortable.

If you need to use your mind to understand multiple words and sentences, it will tire you out.

On the other hand, if your content writing is smooth and easily understandable, reading becomes fast, and faster reading is usually interesting.

Avoid getting carried away with your own vocabulary and jargon.

You are not writing to impress anyone.

The purpose of your content writing is to prompt customers and clients into buying something or acting upon your call-to-action.

In my many blog posts I have suggested my readers to use simple language when writing content, but simple doesn’t mean oversimplifying your language.

Read other blogs and websites.

Study queries submitted on Google about your niche.

Observe words in the Google Suggests section.

Talk to your client.

Read reviews about similar products and services left by their customers and clients.

This way you can get the hang of what language or what expressions they use while talking about particular products and services.

10. Avoid redundant phrases and expressions

Redundant phrases and expressions are groups of words that are needless and even when you remove them, the sentence remains the same and in fact, becomes better.

For your content writing to be interesting, people should be able to read fast.

The more words they need to read, the more boring your writing becomes.

For example, consider the sentence:

The purpose of this app is to provide you directions even without an Internet connection.

You can remove “The purpose of”, and you can also remove “is to provide” and then rewrite the sentence as

This app provides directions even without an Internet connection.

Another example:

This document has been prepared to provide you an outline of our methodology.

It can be written as

This document provides you an outline of our methodology.

Another small example:

His arrival was an unexpected surprise.

Isn’t surprise always unexpected?

Therefore, you can rewrite the sentence as

His arrival was a surprise.

Use as many unnecessary words and expressions as possible to make your writing crisp.

Even when you’re writing about a boring product or service where there is nothing to talk about but descriptions and features, the points mentioned above can help you write text that is easier and faster to read.

When people can read your content writing with ease, they don’t lose interest.

They don’t feel exhausted.

Since your text is easier to read, they are not forced to abandon midway.

 

How to improve your content writing in 3 easy steps

Improve your content writing in 3 easy steps

Improve your content writing in 3 easy steps

Do you want to improve your content writing? Then these three easy steps can take you a long way.

Content writing is the process of writing for websites, blogs and other digital pieces of information that businesses may use to nurture leads and keep their visitors engaged.

As a professional content writer, I work on the following content writing assignments:

  • Main website content
  • Blog posts
  • Case studies
  • White papers
  • Landing pages
  • LinkedIn profiles
  • Email marketing campaigns
  • Social media updates

Do I work on all content writing assignments by myself?

Not necessarily.

These days I’m closely working with at least 15 content writers.

They write well.

They are hard-working.

Their English is good (most of my content writing involves writing in English).

I regularly mentor them.

You may like to read: 15 Content Writing Best Practices

Just being able to write well doesn’t help you improve your content writing

If you want to improve your content writing in the sense that you want to work on more lucrative assignments and get paid better, you need to understand one thing:

Professional content writing isn’t just about knowing how to write well. This is not how you improve your content writing.

Even English professors can write well. There are grammarians who can give you sleepless nights with the length and breadth of their knowledge.

No.

Content writing isn’t just about writing. It is a combination of various factors – inherent and acquired – that makes you a professional content writer worth paying for.

Sometimes when I tell my clients that I am working with other writers and I’m not writing all the content by myself, they become reluctant.

They come to my website.

They read my content.

The go through my blog posts.

They ask for samples and like them.

They want similar content writing.

For that, they want me to personally write for them.

It is humanly not possible.

After years of writing content, I am more interested in getting content writing assignments – as many as possible – and then making my writers work on them.

Nonetheless, when other writers do content writing for me, I go through every individual page and unless it satisfies benchmarks I have defined, I don’t forward the documents to the clients.

So, how do you improve your content writing?

Frankly, a book can be written on the topic, but here I’m going to list three fundamental steps that you can take to improve your content writing.

Incorporate these steps and you will instantly notice a marked difference in your writing. Here they are.

Define the search intent clearly to improve your content writing

The term search intent comes from SEO, but it can help you become an effective content writer.

You can read more about search intent on this blog post: What are the benefits of writing content for informational search intent?

Understanding search intent helps you understand why would people read your content?

What information are they looking for?

What is the intention of looking for that information?

Are they looking for information just to get educated and have some knowledge?

Are they looking for comparison and reviews?

Do they want to buy your product or service?

Are they still in the process of making up their minds?

These differences may be subtle and even indistinguishable to the untrained eye but for an experienced content writer, the ability to know the differences is invaluable.

Suppose your intention is to attract people who are in the process of deciding whether they need your services or not.

Suppose you provide content writing services.

They have realized that they need a professional content writer but they haven’t yet decided whom to hire.

They are ready to hire.

This is commercial search intent.

They may search for

  • Content writing services for educational content
  • Content writing services for accounting website
  • Content writer for your digital marketing company

Yes, people use longer, specific queries.

For the above-mentioned queries they are not looking for educational or informative content.

There is no need to convince them that they need to hire a professional content writing service for their business.

They already know.

What you have to do is, convince them that yours is the right content writing service for their accounting website or for their digital marketing company.

This is where you may commit a mistake as a content writer.

Instead of explaining to them why your content writing service is the perfect fit for their accounting website, you may end up explaining why a content writing service is beneficial to their accounting business.

They don’t want to be informed.

They don’t want to be educated or explained.

They simply want to know why they should hire you.

Knowing the difference can generally help you become an effective content writer.

Write simple sentences to improve content writing

I have seen this is a problem with content writers who don’t habitually speak English.

Maybe they want to prove how well they write, but they use long, convoluted sentences and expressions when a simple sentence can do the job.

Avoid sentences having multiple independent and dependent clauses – complex and complex compound sentences.

Take for example the sentence:

The late 1950s was a key era for programming languages because IBM introduced Fortran in 1957 and John McCarthy introduced Lisp the following year, which gave programmers both an iterative way of solving problems and a recursive way. (source)

Structurally and grammar-wise there is nothing wrong in the sentence, but it is needlessly long and makes a difficult reading.

It captures multiple ideas in a single breath.

I can easily write this sentence in 4 sentences:

The late 1950s was a key era for programming languages.

IBM introduced Fortran in 1957.

John McCarthy introduced Lisp the following year.

These languages gave the programmers both an iterative way and a recursive way of solving problems.

I’m not saying there is something special in these four sentences, but it makes the narrative easier to read.

The sentences are more engaging.

It is easier to focus on them.

I’m not saying that you should always write smaller sentences.

But make sure that there are fewer conjunctions and commas in a sentence.

Another tendency that I have seen among writers is to use passive voice because they think that officially it sounds good.

It does not.

Instead of saying

This has been brought to our notice

you should say

We have noticed.

Instead of writing

The assignment will be done by our outstation team.

Try to write

Our outstation team will do the assignment.

Sentences in active voice are easier to read and less tiring.

Additionally, when you are writing for the web, write in a conversational manner.

This will improve your content writing: write as if you are talking to someone sitting in front of you.

As a writer this advice may seem strange, but it actually works on the Internet.

You will notice that your writing will certainly improve when you start writing the way you talk (without abuses, of course).

Use headings and subheadings strategically

Frankly, headings and subheadings are the heart and soul of your content writing.

Many clients are aware of the importance of headings and subheadings, and they insist that you format your content using them.

Unless they are looking for something very specific, most of the people, when they read on the Internet, first quickly go through the headings and subheadings.

It doesn’t make sense to use headings in a short document.

Usually there must be 3-4 headings and subheadings in 1000-word long document.

On the Internet you have 15 seconds to capture the attention of your readers.

Your main headline or your main heading is the proverbial foot inside the door.

It must be punchy.

It must ask the right question, or it must provide the right answer.

Take for example this headline

7 silly grammar mistakes that can embarrass you

Nobody likes committing grammar mistakes.

Nobody wants to be embarrassed.

Even those who write well would like to take a look at your blog or article to make sure that he or she is not committing these silly grammar mistakes.

Even if you are a professional content writer, to improve your content writing you may want to go beyond the headline and see what all grammar mistakes are covered.

What about subheadings?

These are sectional headings.

For example, above you can see the subheading

Use headings and subheadings strategically

You use subheadings to sectionally divide your content and make it easier for your readers to skim through it.

Even if you don’t read this blog post in its entirety, by simply going through the subheadings you can make sense of what suggestions I am making.

Therefore, it is important to write subheadings in such a manner that they truly represent the information that is presented below them.

There are innumerable suggestions that I can make to help you improve your content writing, but these 3 steps can give you an instant start.

You can implement these suggestions right now and create an effective web page or blog post.

How do I write content on very difficult topics?

How to write content on difficult topics

How to write content on difficult topics

When I use “very” before difficult, I mean a topic I have no clue about. Even if I do research, I may not be able to come up with a piece of content that delivers something convincingly and clearly.

Recently I did exactly that. I worked on a topic I wasn’t familiar with. I’m not going to mention it because then the client is going to know which topic I’m talking about (some of my clients read my blog).

I could have said no but I am the only writer going for him. He had given me multiple topics and I had written on all the topics but the one I’m talking about.

I procrastinated for a couple of days but then the project could no longer be delayed. I worked on the document for two hours and I must say, I was impressed.

This wasn’t the first time I was stuck. I am writing for my clients everyday and not all the topics are easy. Some of them are difficult.

What makes a content writing assignments difficult?

There are two ways a content writing assignment can be difficult.

  1. The topic is totally alien. I have no clue what even the title means. I don’t feel like asking the client because then he or she will get uneasy thinking that I may not be able to write.
  2. The topic is familiar but no good information is available on the web. The current content published by other authors doesn’t impress me. The research data is not there.

Very few times I have had to turn down the assignment because it was too hard for me to take up. I can’t even remember.

Yes, I remember recently I turned down an assignment not because it was difficult, but because I thought the client was writing it better than I could. She sent me an outline which in itself was exceptionally written. Once I explained this to her, she agreed, and she was also impressed by my honesty.

Anyway, coming back to the topic, with a little bit of research, I can find the needed information and do a job that meets my standards. But sometimes, the topic is completely out of my league. How do I handle such topics?

Here are a few things I do:

Remind myself that this is not the first time

Starting writing on a difficult topic is the most difficult. It’s because you don’t know what to write. You don’t even know how to begin. How do you write the first sentence? And if you cannot write the first sentence, how do you bring yourself to starting to write?

Have I been in such situations before? Multiple times. So many times I have felt that I won’t be able to complete a content writing assignment because it is too difficult or the information available is too little, but by the time I’m through with the document, it turns out to be a great job.

When I cannot begin, I remind myself that. I remind myself that I have been in such a situation innumerable times. Somehow, I just need to start and once I start, I will finish. As far as I can remember, this has always worked. I cannot recall the occasions when it has not worked. In fact, even right now I’m going through the same phase. I need to start working on an e-book which I’m finding difficult. I need to start writing it. But I know that once I start, I will be able to complete it.

Start preparing an outline

This might be an extension of the above point, but preparing an outline always helps. I start writing random words and sentences in bullet points. This works both at psychological level as well as practical level.

I tell myself: at least I’m doing something. I’m not wasting my time going through social media timelines or spending time on another wasteful activity. I’m working on the project. If I need to write 1500 words, I have written 50 words. That is some work done.

When you’re randomly thinking, lots of useful thoughts come to your mind. If you’re not putting them down, you often lose these thoughts. When I’m randomly writing sentences and words, I’m preserving the thoughts that are coming to my mind. These thoughts can then be used to write the complete piece. Otherwise, once lost, these thoughts rarely come back.

Sometimes these notes are so precise that I simply need to expand them and by the time I’m done with that, I have completed my project.

Have a system to save research material

This is a long-term strategy but over the years, I have collected so much material using OneNote (Evernote before that) and Google Keep that once I start going through it, there is not a chance when I don’t get a new idea or when my thoughts don’t get unblocked.

I’m not saying I always get the information that I need from my saved notes, but they get my motor started.

The gist is, start writing. After a while, it starts coming on its own.

 

Something that I have observed in most budding content writers

Become a writer before becoming a content writer

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.

My content writing process for different niches

My content writing process

My content writing process

In this blog post I’m going to explain my content writing process for different niches – different industries and segments.

This content writing process is for general reference as well as for clients who want to know what process I will be following when I write content for them.

What exactly do I do to make sure that I use the right language for that particular audience?

Here is the outline of my content writing process:

Many clients who contact me for the first time ask a very valid question, “What makes me a good writer for their niche?”

Also, what is going to be my content writing process?

Someone from a web design company wants to know how I will adapt my content writing for their audience.

Someone from a jewelry design company wants to know the same, and so does someone from a real estate construction company.

At the outset I would like to tell you that I am most comfortable writing on technology.

This is due to 2 facts:

  1. I have great interest in technology: I read a lot about technology. I firmly believe that it has a strong, positive impact on our society. Personally, since I have cerebral palsy, technology plays a big role in enabling me to earn a living and also make my day-to-day life easier without having to go out.
  2. Technology businesses understand content marketing better: It’s easier to work with technology companies because they understand the importance of quality content. Since they understand its importance, they also know that they need to pay for the service. Hence, by the time they approach a content writer, they have the budget for it.

Then what enables me to write for other business realms?

Do I follow a special content writing process?

Well-defined content writing process for different niches

Well-defined content writing process for different niches

I have been writing content since 2004.

I have written content for all major industries and business segments including Internet marketing, web design, software development, surveillance, background check, detective services, high-tech gadgets, home appliances, accessories and apparels, photography, hospitality industry, real estate industry, non-profit, healthcare businesses, emotional and physical well-being, legal counseling and even a rock band.

And there are many categories I cannot recall right now.

Owing to my well-defined content writing process, I can say with confidence that I can count the number of unsatisfied clients on my fingers.

In most of the cases, clients have been satisfied, happy, and whenever they have needed content, they have come back.

For a good writer, for a trained and experienced writer, writing for varied niches isn’t as hard as it may seem in the beginning.

Journalism is a different ball game.

Specialization matters in journalism because you are not just informing people of the latest happenings in your niche, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly, you are also expressing opinion, and when you express opinion, you need to know lots of other stuff.

But when it comes to content writing for business websites, as long as you have the basic information, a style guide, and writing experience, quality content can be written.

My content writing process

Content writing process explained

Content writing process explained

Here is the process I follow when writing content for different niches:

Submit content writing samples

Once I receive a query and the client shows interest in my content writing services, I submit appropriate samples.

Over the years I have written for many niches. Most of the times I have a live sample (active links) that I can share with my client.

What happens if I don’t have a sample?

I request the client to give me a topic and I prepare a write up of around 300 words. This is enough to give an idea to the client how I will be writing and how I present my idea.

The sample often gives an insight on my writing style, my presentation, text formatting and research abilities, if needed.

Take an advance for my content writing services

Once the client finds the sample/samples acceptable, I request an advance.

If it is a small project – one blog post, one web page, or one email marketing campaign – I take full advance.

If it is a medium-sized project – 5-10 pieces of content – I take a 50% advance.

For larger projects, I take a commitment money and after that, I may charge every month.

Why I take an advance?

When I start working on a project, I will be committing my time.

I need to make sure that the time that I’m spending, I will be spending on a paid assignment.

Charging an advance also raises stakes on the client side.

They respond faster. They are more committed. There is greater cooperation.

Do background reading

This helps me set the tone.

Different industries have different languages and different styles.

They even have different concerns.

Though, sometimes the budget available for a particular content writing project doesn’t give enough scope for extensive reading, depending on how much payment I’m getting, reading is an essential part of the content writing process.

Reading helps you understand how people write in the industry and how I can write better.

Understand the concerns of the end customers and clients

Content writing is basically for end customers and clients.

If you are a web design company and if I’m writing for you, I’m writing for your clients.

They should be able to understand how they will benefit if they hire your web design services.

A content writing process is not complete without understanding the needs of the end customers and clients.

Similarly, if you are a jewelry seller and I write for you, I will write keeping in mind the needs and desires of your customers who will buy jewelry from you after reading your content.

Make a list of primary and secondary keywords

Keywords are not just for SEO.

They also help you write for the target audience using the language the target audience prefers.

When you have a list of primary and longtail keywords, it gives you an idea of what terms to focus on while writing content.

Of course, using primary and secondary keywords is also good for your SEO.

Write the first draft of the first document

I first create the outline.

Crafting an outline is important if a document is long: 1500-2000 words.

Otherwise everything goes haywire.

I write all the subheadings first.

I make a list of all the important points that I would like to cover.

I also write phrases and expressions that my client doesn’t want me to miss in the document.

Since the first document sets the tone and also gives an idea to the client how I’m going to approach the project, a lot depends on the first document.

I prepare the first draft and send it to the client for approval. This is where the core part of the content writing process kicks in.

The client can suggest changes and I try to incorporate those changes as soon as possible so that the main project can be kickstarted.

After evaluating the first document, the client can also decide whether he or she would like to continue with me or explore other options.

Submit the document for review

The review of the first document is one of the most important parts of my content writing process.

The review of the first document sets the tone of the remaining documents.

It is very important for the client to properly go through the first draft and suggest revisions, if any.

Based on the suggestions made by the client, I revise the document.

I move forward only when the first document is approved by the client and he or she is satisfied.

Work on the remaining documents

While working on the first document I gather as much information as possible about the project.

Once the client is happy and satisfied with the first document, I proceed with other documents.

Most of the clients prefer to get the documents as they are completed so that in case there is some problem, it can be sorted out.

I also prefer this because then psychologically, I’m always on my toes and I don’t leave all the documents to the last couple of days.

Concluding remarks on my content writing process

Ultimately, it rests on the client whether he or she wants to work with me or not, whatever is my content writing process.

Sometimes, I can quickly make out whether I myself want to work on a project or not and I communicate this to the client.

Fortunately, most of the serious clients (clients who convert and eagerly pay) have already gone through my samples.

They have also gone through my website and my blog.

They are convinced that I can write for them even if initially they think I need to educate myself about their business, which I obviously do.