What is content writing? 10 Tips for Killer Content Creation

If you're looking for tried-and-true techniques to ensure your content writing efforts don't fail, then this fascinating post will explain the foundations of great content creation. Have you ever read something that made you feel the same way? Or ready to jump out of your seat and take action right away? You might think that strong writing is a product of luck. Or that great writers are just gifted. But I'm here today to bust those myths and show you how to add this special seasoning to your writing. Ready to produce such extraordinary content that your readers will choke? In this article, we will examine: what content writers do, Ten content writing tips to take your writing from good to great, and Answer the question, "What skills do content writers need?" Before we start, let's define our terms.

What is content writing?

The term "content writing" covers everything from planning, writing, editing, and publishing written digital content. It may include blog posts (like the one you're reading right now), videos or podcast transcripts, social media posts, e-books, white papers, press releases, web pages, etc. Let's compare: Copywriters focus on producing persuasive writing (copywriting) designed to sell. Freelance content writers create web content to educate readers and help them fall in love with your company or brand. Ready to write killer content? Let's dive in. 10 Tips for Creating Great Content Let's break down some tips that will help you learn how to write breathless content.

1. Understand that content is not king

The queen of content writing beats the king of chess Every other post will tell you that "content is king". But move past, content. There is a new ruler in the town, and her name is Empathy. One of the best ways to help your readers fall in love is to put yourself in their shoes. One of my favorite examples of developing audience empathy comes from this Copyblogger "confession" post by Smart Blogger's own Writer Extraordinaire and Badass Visionary Jon Morrow: Imagine two women, lying in bed. Can't sleep alone because she worries about her teenage daughter. It was already 2:00 in the morning and she hadn't come home yet. Mom knew it might just be normal teenage rebellion, but she couldn't stop the horrific images in her head. Here's the 2 a.m. quiz: Find out what keeps your readers awake at night. It helps you create high-quality content when you have a deep understanding of your target audience: talk about their desires, goals, fears, and frustrations, and Make them wonder if you can surreptitiously read their minds. Figure out where your readers congregate online. Talk to them, read their posts and comments, and jot down the exact phrases they use to describe their dreams and challenges. Then you can write blog content that touches them on the feel.

2. Write like a chameleon

Just as some chameleon species can change their skin color to match their surroundings, great content matches where it's posted. Before you start writing, think about your content goals. Who is the target audience? Which content style best suits the combination of audience and results? For example, let's compare how social media content writing differs across platforms: LinkedIn is a professional site, so you should write content for a primary business audience. Facebook content can be less refined and more personal. Twitter forces you to think of bite-sized ideas with a 280-character limit. Instagram is highly focused on images, but a good headline will help your post stand out from the crowd. content writing gary v playing video games Gary Vee's two social media posts show the differences between LinkedIn and Twitter content. Research your competitors. Pay attention to the titles they use. Look for patterns in the types of visual media they contain. And check their writing structure. Then use that information to write better content.

3. Stick out like a sore thumb

Spend a lot of time online? Then you probably know that high-quality content is not the norm. Instead of making another boring, crappy, or otherwise shoddy piece of written content, consider how to stand out from the crowd: Make your readers the centre of attention. Think about the angle of the topic they are most interested in. Add emotional details. And show them the benefits of taking action. Write original content based on personal experience. This will enable you to write with a unique voice and unique perspective. Chances are, at least some of your audience will be able to put themselves in your place. Persuade with powerful prose. Remove the fluff, add powerful words, and use metaphors to entertain and delight your readers. An example of content writing that uses a powerful personal story is Jon's On Mothers, Dying, and Fighting for Your Ideas: Growing up, I always had to work hard to get people to listen to me. The worst part of disability isn't the pain or struggle, it's how the world tries to push you into corners and pretend you don't exist. After all, what might you need to contribute? You're going to die soon, poor fellow. It's a nice, quiet room, and some morphine for pain relief. They don't actively stop you, no, but they don't expect you to succeed either. I have struggled with the pressure of these expectations my whole life. Keep your ideas flowing with this creative writing exercise

Give Google what it wants In the early days of the internet, it was easy to get your content in front of the right eyeballs. Write an article, publish it, and readers will show up. But as more and more writers came along and started publishing every idea in their minds, the technique stopped. Instead, befriend Google for good content marketing results. This means knowing the basics of search engine optimization (SEO): Primary, secondary and related keywords - designed to combine low competition with high search volume Searcher Intent - Make sure your readers are happy Content Length and Formatting - Readers searching for short videos won't read a ton of Ultimate Guides and vice versa On- page optimization - ensuring a good search experience for both Google and your readers Content writing kwfinder screenshot KWFinder is a (paid) tool you can use to do keyword research. Marketers and writers looking to deepen their knowledge of SEO content should check out Brian Dean's list of SEO resources and Ahrefs' Beginner's Guide to SEO.

5. Don't sit next to your pants

Starting your writing journey with just a vague idea of ​​where you want to go can be a fun way to write short stories or explore new ideas. But if you want your content marketing strategy to connect with readers and help you achieve your goals, planning is the way to go. A good content strategy will combine the SEO tips above with a content brief to ensure everyone is on the same page. What's in the content brief? A good article will contain many specific details on how to make the article great, including a brief description of searcher intent, key insights and takeaways, and an article outline. Ideally, the content profile also includes a list of possible titles, keyw
ords and related terms, recommended word counts, and a list of ranking competitors and their post URLs. Content Writing Googlers also ask The "people also ask" section of Google Search will help you learn more about searcher intent. To learn more about making a solid introduction to content, listen to this podcast from the Smart Blogger team.

6. Plan the reader’s journey

Do your competitor research before drafting a full outline. Reading through the top-ranking posts for your main keyword will help you understand how to write better articles. This research process allows you to gather your main points, fill in any gaps, and add new insights (if possible). Then create an outline of your article, using your subhead as a stepping stone to guide your readers. Finally, brainstorm other possible headlines. Persuade readers to click: use powerful words, Show readers how they will benefit, Use click-through rate (CTR) boosters, such as numbers, percentages, or brackets, and Be clear, don't be smart. Jon is a master at writing such headlines: content writing smart blogger power word title With enough outline, create a content writing template to make your process faster.

7. Impress your readers

By now, you want to know how much research and preparation it takes to write killer content. The good news is that writing the post itself should be fast enough to engage your readers from the start - a strong introduction catches their eye and quickly reassures them that they're in the right place. You can then weave your readers into the story, using the sweater-knit copy (meaning: no fluff) to tell a compelling story. For example: It's not about how smart you are. This has nothing to do with the professionalism of your blog design. It's not even a hint to readers that they can go out and apply right away. It's about how you make those readers feel. You want them to cry. You want them to laugh out loud. You want them to tremble with rage. But the most important part? You want them to feel alive. Using examples that resonate emotionally with the middle 80% of readers, focus on thoughts, feelings, and experiences they identify with. Finally, a cogent conclusion related to the introduction is drawn. A convincing conclusion: remind them where to start, show them the way forward, and/or Let them see the future. Make your call to action (CTA) clear so it's obvious what action they should take next.

8. Write for humans, not robots

Remember in tip #4 I told you to write for Google? Now is the time to add nuance. The best way to write ranking content is to write it for humans first, then tweak it for Google. Pay attention to the grade level at which you are writing. Explain things simply without using a lot of buzzwords or complicated explanations. Use correct essay format and sentence structure. Formatting like short paragraphs and bold text and pull quotes will help break up the text. Be sure to include: Engaging and relevant images and videos Expert Quote Short "sound clips" shared on social media Internal and external high-authority links Then edit. edit. and edited again. Content writing grammar screenshot Make your writing clearer and more compelling with Grammarly. Finally, you can make small SEO tweaks: Write a meta description Use keywords in related tags Place secondary keywords and related terms wherever possible, including in subheadings With a full post in hand, you probably thought you were done. But not so fast!

9. Make friends with technology

There are still writers who see technology as the enemy. AI is coming for our jobs! (But not so fast. Have you ever seen a bot with good quality writing?) The best writers take content writing courses to improve their knowledge. They use technology and tools to make their lives easier. From grammar checkers like the Hemingway App and Grammarly to headline analyzers from CoSchedule, ExactMetrics, and the Advanced Marketing Institute team, there are tons of technologies to help your writing grow.