How to Become a Content Writer in 5 Simple Steps
Many people have asked about how they can become a Content Writer and some have even asked where I learnt to be a writer.
Well I never learnt how to mix up letters to form meaning sentences or stories worth sharing beside the formal writing taught in schools generally.
I just know I can write convincingly and that was all I needed when I started out as a Content Writer.
However, writing is a craft that can be learnt even though many writers were born with a flair for writing.
Today’s digitized world has made Content Writing Skills one of the most sought after skills of our time.
So if you want to learn how to become a better writer, improve your writing skills, become a content writer and you don’t know where to begin, start from here:
- Become a Reader
I owe most of my writing abilities to reading. It’s funny how reading, which used to be my way of escaping from the harsh reality of the world around me, has now become my major source of income today. This proves to say, it is true when they say find something you can pick up when life throws you down. When I was down, I got books, I read books, I had books as companions and when it was time to get up I picked it up and carried it around for years. Today, I am eating from its fruits. That said, the more you read, the better you will write. Finding myself reading pushed me to put words to paper and till date I haven’t written that book I ought to have written, but you can bet that I am going to get it out one day soon.
2. Start Writing
You don’t have to wait to be a professor before you start writing. One sweet truth about writing is that, once you start, you will find it difficult to stop. It doesn’t matter if what you write makes sense or not, just start and keep doing it. Even the best of writers don’t always get it right. One sad truth about life is that nobody gets it all figured out. The people you see who seem to have gotten it all figured out seem so because they kept trying until they brought out something great, so it is with you, keep writing until people start noticing your work. Do it afraid.
3. Choose an Area of Interest
After you’ve gotten a grasp of your pen the next thing you will want to do is to pick topics that interest you most. Choosing a focus area will help you to write more and more enjoyably because you are writing about a topic that interests you. Although this is difficult for many people to do, it shouldn’t be an issue. You will get it all figured out as you move along. For me I love to write about Spirituality, Personal Development, Mental Health, Well-being and Digital Marketing. However, it was a long time before I discovered my niche but this hasn’t stopped me from writing other topics. As a writer and content writer, you should be able to write about different topics. Today I write about topics that have to do with Entrepreneurship, AI, Cybersecurity, Stock Exchange, Agriculture, Industrial Technology amongst others. The good thing about getting a niche is that; it helps you find your voice and makes it easier for you to generate content.
4. Be Confident in Your Work and Your Abilities.
Nobody will help you to become a content writer more than you. After deciding you are a content writer, believe it enough so that other people can believe it too. Put your contents out. Let content writer be attached to everything you do online. Market yourself. The world is a global village and like in our local villages people will refer to you with what you are known with. If you parade yourself as a content writer in this space, people will start referring to you as a content writer and before you know it the universe also will acknowledge you as one and the opportunities to work as a content writer will start presenting itself.
5. Practice Your Craft
Many people now know you as a content writer, but people will still want to see what you can do and have done in a real setting. This is where I recommend volunteering. Yes, give out your service for free! This is the price you pay on your way to becoming a paid content writer. I am yet to meet a content writer who didn’t start by rendering his or her services for free or for a price that is good as free. For me, youthup and my LinkedIn page was the platform that gave me the assurance people wanted me to give them as a content writer in addition to the efforts I had put in as a Blogger and Author, plus showing the world I was good at Content Writing by posting as many as three posts daily during my early days of intentionally tagging myself as a content writer on LinkedIn, and oh my dear, it is paying off!!
