The inception of online media represents the dawn of a new era of information technologies where one can present or exchange information in the form of content. Content is like a super sticky glue that attracts and makes visitors stick around the site for a good amount of time and makes them return in the future. To make this happen, the content should be compelling, reliable, and well organized.
The extraordinary rise of the internet and technology has transformed society in many ways. The world of the internet has so much to offer and it has given rise to many different online platforms.
It’s possible to do everything online. Be it buying and selling products, watching movies, ordering food, playing games, socializing, teaching, learning, searching jobs. The list is infinite.
People not only consume productive content online but also actively participate in creating it. Due to the arrival of the internet, the opportunities for skilled writers have increased manifolds. Online medium allows the content to be distributed around the world with zero cost.
From small businesses and companies to the popular big brands, everyone shines through content. “Content is king”. This has increased the demand for content writers who create gripping content which helps in bonding with the audience and increases the sales of the products and services of the company.
What is content writing?
Content writing is the process by which content writers create content for online use. It is a skill-based career. Having the skill of understanding the needs of the users and the market, and aligning the content according to it is what makes a content writer shine.
As the demand for internet and social media has increased, there has been a meteoric career growth in content writing. If you are passionate about writing and it’s something that makes you happy then choosing the career as a content writer will bear fruits.
There is no special degree in the field of content writing but having a degree in mass communication, English literature is recommended. One should have a good command over the language they wish to incorporate in the content.
The piece they write about should be original even amidst an overworked subject. They should be open to taking feedback and criticisms from the clients and should have positive mindsets. Just having writing skills is not enough. One should also know how to make it marketable. Content writers write content for websites, newspaper articles, blogs, articles, and many more. The more experience you gain, the more proficient writer you become.
Career opportunities in content writing:
Content writing as a career option has a huge scope. Throughout the world, there is an abundance of career opportunities for content writers. Some of the popular career opportunities for content writers are listed below.
- SEO writer
Highlighting career growth in content writing will be incomplete without shedding light on SEO writers.
SEO or search engine optimization is the process of making the website and its content more visible by optimizing it in such a way that makes the search engine present it in the top results for searches related to a particular topic.
SEO writers write content for search engines like google, yahoo, binge, and others. The SEO optimized contents help boost traffic to the respective website.
The higher the rank of the website in the search results, the more visitors are likely to visit that site, so the content has to be credible and SEO friendly.
To SEO writer should focus on the following points:
- The content should be succinct, grammatically correct, and well organized.
- Writing content focusing on what the readers want to know.
- Should include the focussed keywords but overstuffing known as spamming should be avoided.
- The writer should keep track of the popular search phrases related to the content they want to write about.
- Incorporation of references, outbound links, inbound links, image alt, internal links, and others is important.
- Proofreading is always rewarding
- Freelance content writer:
A freelance content writer writes on a self-employed basis. Career growth in content writing as a freelancer has been great since the past few years due to its huge demand among writers. The writer gets paid for each writing assignment or per batch of assignments and usually works for more than one client.
After choosing a particular niche, one should have a firm grasp over it to write capturing content about it. Your niche will help you get paid for your writing.
From established business to the start-up company, every platform needs good content to make an impact on the users.
For freelancers, there is an abundance of options to choose from. In the beginning, they might have to work on different types of freelance writing jobs and work with different clients, which will eventually lead to finding a suitable one for them.
You can thrive as a professional online freelance content writer if you are hardworking, egoless, consistent, and stay open to taking inputs from the clients.
- Academic writer:
Academic writing was always in demand but due to the increased dependency on the online medium for education and the dissipation of information, there has been a considerable boost in the career growth in content writing as an academic writer.
An academic writer should have a good command over language and grammar. They need to have a clear picture in mind about the topic before writing. The content should be thoroughly researched, well-read, structured, impersonal, and backed up by evidence. Reading more resources helps gather more ideas which make the content strong and reliable.
An academic writer writes the content keeping the audience in mind. It should be able to transmit information and knowledge to the readers.
Organization and proofreading their work before submitting is an important aspect of academic writing.
- Blog writer
Career growth in content writing as a blogger has been immense. Today there are more than a few hundred million blogs on the web.
Blogging is often opinionated. Blog writers write from a personal outlook on the topics they are passionate about which in turn helps them to connect directly with the readers. The content should be credible, engaging, and appeal to the masses. The blog sites need to be updated with new blogs daily.
Blogging can be a personal or business orientated. In personal blogs, writing content makes the blogger get connected with more audiences interested in specific niches. Business blogs act as a medium to reach out and be more visible to the target audience. It is important to make a strong online presence so that customers stay up to date with the company products and to increase the number of people visiting the site to get more exposure.
Establishing blogging as an income source takes some time. Over time the site starts receiving huge traffic through quality content and gains credibility which helps to monetize it.
- Social media writer
Social media has become an indispensable part of our lives. People use social media as a platform to reach out and engage their audience irrespective of their locations. With every passing year, the usage of social media increases and so is the career growth in content writing as a social media writer.
Social media writers write for platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and a few others. Each social media network is different from the other one with different audiences who have different needs and interests. So before writing the content they should keep in mind which network they want to use to share their content with the audience. The content should be relevant to the target audience.
Each network is unique in its way. For example, on twitter using a #hashtag is a must to make the content more visible and engaging.
The posts should be concise and simple. The writing should be of an eighth-grade reading level which makes it easier for the reader to read and relate to it. Should be devoid of negativity, bullying, and criticizing others publicly.
Using videos and images makes the posts more crisp, catchy, and visually captivating which helps the audience to connect more to the content. Adding a CTA(call to action) link urges the target audience to take the desired action after reading the content.
Many small businesses and companies which are new to the market engage in social media networks to attract new customers. Social media increases the brand awareness of the company. A company’s social media presence if done correctly acts as a missing link that connects it with its consumers and helps them stay updated with the products and services of the company.
- News writer
News writers create content for news reporting in media such as newspapers, web, television, and radio. In a country like India, there is no electricity or online services present in many remote rural areas. People there still depend on newspapers as the source of information. Career growth in content writing as a news writer has increased over the years.
The creation of the content should depend on the accurate facts and hours (and hours) of research is involved in it. The writer should be unbiased and have an impersonal and unopinionated tone when writing the news articles.
The news writing should include an incredible lede or introduction in the beginning which should beautifully portray the summary of the content in a single sentence. It should be enthralling enough to capture the reader’s attention. The use of complicated words should be avoided and the use of simple words should be encouraged which is easily understandable to everyone.
Sentences should be simple and concise and paragraphs should be short containing one to two sentences each. The use of grammar and vocabulary should be on point. Should incorporate inverted pyramid storytelling and active voice.
One can write news writing content for politics, current affairs, health, sports.
Most common career paths for a content writer
Content writers work in different industries and write credible content according to the target audience.
After working and gaining experience as a content writer, they get many opportunities to advance in a content writing career and move into a role where their writing skills help them to become content managers, content strategists, instructional designers, and many others.
The list is long with innumerable options. The more experience you gain, the more career paths open up.
Some of them are:
Content Editor
Content writers are proficient in their fields and they have extensive experience in developing content for companies, clients, or publications. Those interested in advancing their content writing career and skills might consider becoming a content editor.
The content editor’s job is the creation and supervision of the content. They create, proofread, publish, and update content on the website and different social media channels. They are actively involved in supervising and then implementing the best practices to maximize benefits from the content. Writing blog posts and marketing copy to promote the products and services of the company.
They also have the responsibility of editing, organizing, and restructuring of the articles by content writers. The editor makes sure that the content is well written, well developed, and organized.
Content editors must have a prolific knowledge of SEO, use of keywords, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. They analyze data and attempt to increase reader engagement and retention. Collaborate with team members and co-workers to generate content ideas keeping the target audience in mind.
Many content writers are actively involved in creating content for marketing and specialize in providing relevant content for websites. They can further advance their career by becoming content managers.
The job of the content manager is to build the brand identity of the company and establish its online presence. Some content managers focus on the content part and others focus on the management of the site.
Their role is to create, improve, maintain, and update content to achieve business goals. They must know to perform under pressure and meet deadlines effectively. Must have a command over SEO, marketing and should be familiar with different social media channels. The responsibility of the content manager is to share optimized content to increase brand awareness and boost traffic to the website.
Content strategist
Content writers take advantage of their engaging and compelling writing skills to write content for various platforms and may further want to grow their content writing career and work as a content strategist.
The content strategist’s role is to develop a content strategy according to the company or client’s objectives. They create specific content for the company’s target audience and strategize to have improved delivery of the content by planning, writing, and editing it.
Their responsibility is to analyze data and look for what’s working and what’s not working for the company, create and manage social media campaigns, and incorporate best SEO practices.
Create and manage an editorial calendar, establish style guides for the writing style and tone to create consistent and compelling content specific for the users.
Technical writer
Content writers have the skill of delivering complex information in an easy and simplest form to the consumers and target audience of the company. Some of them can propagate their career further by becoming technical writers.
Technical writers transfer professional information to the consumers, customers, and target audiences of the company or business through different mediums that aid in the distribution of the information.
They create technical documents like instruction manuals, FAQ pages, user manuals, and quick reference guides to provide support to the consumers of the company’s products and services. Graphs and charts also aid in the presentation of some of this information.
Today, in the gadget freak world, each and everyone around us is using a gadget. Technology has become part and parcel of life. The demand for technical writers has increased over the years.
The technical writer aims to make the end-users understand how to use technical products easily and understandably. They thoroughly research a topic and take additional help from team members and design documents in simplified forms.
Copywriter
Some might get a chance to be copywriters. Copywriters are engaged in creating copywriting content for advertising and other forms of marketing.
The copywriter’s job is to create appealing and compelling content for educating consumers and selling products. It helps in increasing the brand awareness. Copywriting involves writing copy that persuades the consumers to take action and make them understand why they need to choose that particular product.
Copywriters write for blog posts, landing pages, advertising, video scripts, product descriptions, magazine ads, sales letters, and others. They help in generating traffic on the site. Understanding what the clients want and working in collaboration with them and editing and modifying the content whenever there is a need is what makes the writer become an asset for the company. They should know how to work in pressure and handle criticism well.
Also, they need to have a thorough understanding of the product that they are selling, what are its unique features, and how beneficial it is for the customers. Knowing your customers is equally important to write a good persuasive copy. The headlines should be eye-grabbing and specific and CTA needs to be strong.
Major content writing companies in India
The market is full of content writers to write targeted content for the companies. Many business owners, marketers benefit by working with the below content writing companies in India:
- White Right
- Bhavik Sarkhedi & Company
- Marketing Bunnies
- Orangus
- SEO.com
- Estorytellers
- Taletel
- Lexiconn
- Justwords
Over the past few years, career growth in content writing has been exceptional. Every day a plethora of job vacancies in the content writing field are posted for individuals who seek such positions. In Job portals like Naukri and Monster, lots of companies post job openings to hire content writers.
For instance, a brand like “Amazon”, who is the world’s largest online retailer, has needs for talented creators of content and cannot be successful without content writers, creators, editors.
Amazon hires content writers for different positions. Their editorial, writing, and content management positions include:
- Technical writer
- Copywriter
- Marketing/Business writer
- Publisher
- Digital editor
- Creative materials coordinator
- Content developer
- Content quality associate
- Content strategist
- Content manager
Online content writing has been a huge hit all over the world. Over the last decade, there has been a spectacular career growth in content writing which indicates its high demand in the market.
To make a brand or company prosper, they need to build gigantic amounts of written content that should be unerring and instructive. As per PayScale, content writing professionals can earn from Rs.5 lakhs to Rs.10 lakhs per annum based on the number of years of experience in the field.
Many Indian workers have been involved with international platforms that host online freelancing opportunities. For women populations in India who have to work in a constrained society, it has presented itself as a lucrative career option because of the work from home option with flexible working hours especially if the person is a caretaker of children or elderly people at home.
Even men have also expressed their need to have a hold on the choice of working hours. Students also showed an inclination towards freelancing as they get to have an extra income source while completing their studies.
Students benefit from the experience gained from the online freelancing work that further helps them build their career in the content writing field and the plus point is they also get paid for it.
The Covid-19 pandemic impact has resulted in a forceful increase in online services and content consumption. As people have to stay indoors and at home, they find a way out by getting engaged in online activities. This has made everyone aware of how lucrative online platforms are.
Conclusion
It won’t be wrong to say that year 2021 is expected to see a boost in career growth in content writing. Start walking on the path of creating a career out of content writing by choosing any of the branches of content that you feel will make you achieve success.