Content Writing: Everything You Need to Know

If you’ve spent even the slightest amount of time browsing the internet, you’ve probably come across written content. It is closely associated with marketing strategies and underlies various mediums. Content writing takes a whole bunch of information and condenses it down to make it easily understandable and digestible for the reader. It removes the time-consuming and, at times, difficult work of research. 

If you want to understand more about how content writing could be helpful for you and how to improve it, we have covered the essentials in this article.

What is content writing?

Content writing is the process of creating written material for the web, which includes the writing, planning, and editing stages. It is presented in various formats for online marketing, usually to inform, educate, and answers questions; unlike copywriting, which is more focused on persuading people to take action. There are multiple content types you can write, including blog posts, scripts, eBooks, and landing pages. Content writing is predominately for online content; however, it could include writing for physical products such as packaging.

Suggested reading: Copywriting vs. Content Writing: What’s the Difference?

Why is content writing important?

Content writing is instrumental in the world of digital marketing and equally so for anyone wanting to promote something online through the use of words. Written work conveys information about specific topics. It can be entertaining, persuasive, or purely informative and should be a critical component of any brand strategy. 

Maximize brand awareness and engagement

Content writing helps maintain brand awareness by publishing material that explains different aspects of a company. It could include the brand story, why a person decided to start the company, the development process, or how it can help individuals. This all allows users to connect with a company and learn more about their products or services and how they could fit into the reader’s life.

Content writing encourages audiences to be actively involved in a brand by providing valuable tips, information, or actionable steps. This further strengthens the relationship between a company and its consumers. 

Besides providing informative material for readers, content writing helps get your website noticed. This is important because you want people to see what information, service, or product you offer. It is a method to generate more revenue and help your business grow or your message reach a wider audience.

Establish yourself as a thought leader

Publishing written material on a topic can secure your place as a thought leader in that particular domain. The aim is to educate and inform readers, so they come away from your article with the answer they were looking for or at least will be more informed about the subject. It can help establish trust with readers by educating consumers on your area of specialization. People learn to associate certain information with a particular brand. It is more likely that your product will be at the forefront of a reader’s mind if they have read content on your page or linked to your page.

It can help boost SEO

It’s tempting to think that good writing alone will attract users and views to your page, but the world of content writing doesn’t work like that. If you want your content to be found organically via search engines like Google, it’s important to ensure your content is “search-friendly”.

When your content appears high in search results, you’ll get a constant influx of targeted visitors to your website, which equals more growth. To get your content to the top of Google, you need to research keywords, decide which ones to target, and then write content in a way that fulfils the intent of users better than the current content ranking high. This entire process is known as “SEO writing”.

Suggested reading: What Is SEO Writing? 10 Tips to “Write for SEO”

The different types of content writing

Content writing can be divided into short-form and long-form content. Short-form content is generally less than 1,200 words and needs to capture attention quickly. Long-form content requires more in-depth thinking and can be used to inform and educate a reader at a deeper level. 

Examples of different types of content writing include:

Blog posts

Articles or entries which are published as a blog. These can be part of a website or can be published on a third-party website such as medium. Blog posts are an excellent way to help build authority in your industry and share helpful information with your target audience.

Email newsletters

Shorter-form content is often sent out as an email as part of a marketing campaign for a business. These keep users engaged in a particular product or brand and encourage new and existing customers to revisit the website or make a purchase.

White papers

White papers are more formal and technical documents that present complex information (such as the results of a study) and often lead to the sale of a product or service. These are great for establishing yourself as a leader in a specific field and generating leads.

Ebooks

eBooks available in pdf or kindle format dive deep into a specific topics. eBooks vary significantly in length and could be as short as 5,000 words or as long as 100,000. 

Scripts for videos or podcasts

Full scripts or templates that are used to generate audio content. These help to deliver a story or message in a particular way.

Social media posts 

Short-form content which accompanies a visual post on a social media platform such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Social media posts are often used as an informative or promotional means to market a brand or personal story.

Website content

Website content is a broad term that could include blog posts, about pages, FAQs, landing pages, product descriptions, and more. It essentially covers anything content published on your website. 

10 tips for writing great content

There are several things a writer can do when considering how to write great content. Firstly, you will want to write quality material so that when a user does find it, they will find it helpful and commit to reading it. You should research the topic well and ensure it is relevant and appropriate for the time when it is published. But as mentioned above, it also needs to be easily found.

When you are writing content that will be found through an internet search, you provide information that will answer a question or solve a problem for a user. It can help by seeing the search through the eyes of the user, thinking about what type of answer they are looking for or what they need help with. This content needs to be incorporated into your writing.

Here are some tips that can improve the quality of your writing and help your content stand out.

1. Adapt to your audience

The tone and style of your work will differ immensely depending on the medium. For example, a blog post requires a different take than an email newsletter. It helps to put yourself into the character of that particular industry. Look at existing articles to get an idea of how concepts are presented. If it’s a medical article, the tone will be more scientific and informative. You will also have to tread with caution about making particular claims. But if you’re writing a social media post on motivational tips, you can be more enthusiastic and direct.

2. Plan like an A-type personality

A well-thought-out article is clear, informative, and easy to read from start to finish. Prior to starting, research the topic adequately. This encourages a well-rounded perspective and helps select the best angle for the piece. Writers might not always be the subject matter expert, but they should try to know enough to supply a worthy answer for readers. Once you’re ready to write, it helps to start with a writing plan. Planning how to approach will help create a flowing structure and avoid repetition.

Create an objective for your writing so that it sticks to a certain point and is memorable to readers. Think carefully about why exactly you want to publish a particular piece of writing. This will help you to target your content to a specific audience. 

3. How interesting is your work, really?

Content writing is a highly competitive market, with millions of articles being published daily, so your writing needs to stand out. You can do this by finding a unique perspective on your topic, including videos or images to break up the text and provide a visual example. Providing a clear explanation on a topic might be enough to keep a reader engaged since you’ve helped them understand something better. But if your writing is dull and uninteresting, readers might tire quickly and look elsewhere. Keep it snappy, fun, and a little out of the box. 

Sometimes readers will accidentally land on your content if it comes up as a recommendation. Although they might not have intended to engage with it, they will continue to read it if it is thought-provoking and stimulating. A useful tip is to captivate your readers from the get-go with an enticing introduction. 

4. Make it useful. Make it valuable

Think about what you can provide to a reader that encourages them to take action. It could be in the form of an improved process, steps to follow, or links to check out. You want the user to come away from reading the article gaining some value, in addition to having an interesting read. Actionable steps help because they solidify the content in the user’s mind and make them feel that they have made a change to something in their life after reading your content.

5. It’s not just what you write, but how you write it

Analysis of millions of blog posts found that those over 1,000 words were linked to and shared more often. Interestingly, less than 15% of all published content is over 1,000 words, so writing longer-form content may give you a competitive edge. An investigation from Hubspot found that the optimum length of a blog post is between 2,100 and 2,400 words. However, you ideally want to say as much as possible with the least amount of words. So keep it concise and avoid repetition. 

Posts in the form of a list were shared significantly more than other types of blog posts. A list article is a set of numbered items on a specific topic, such as ‘Top 10 flowers to plant in Autumn’. 

Of course, these recommendations will differ between different types of content. But it pays to do some background research to find some methods to generate more views for your specific type of medium. You’d be silly to ignore the statistics, use the research to your advantage, and work smarter, not harder. 

6. Relevance and recency. Why should people care about your work right now? 

When a user searches for an answer, the most recently published content will likely be more relevant to them. A good strategy is to include dates that reference the current year. Relevancy depends on the type of content. For example, an article titled ‘top 20 house music songs’ is likely to vary month by month. But ‘top historical landmarks to visit in the UK’ will likely be applicable for a few years. Outdated information is more likely to be placed further down the index. Make sure your content is relevant at the time of publishing. This also includes going back and revisiting older articles that may benefit from a good revamp. 

7. Editing matters, and it matters a lot more than you would like to think

Editing is the process of correcting grammar, spelling, and formatting of your written work. You can edit yourself, which is free, and it’s an excellent skill to work on. Alternatively, you can invest in a quality editor or tools such as Grammarly. Either way, it is always worth the extra effort to make your work appear more professional and captivating. Nothing is worse than reading an article online only to find numerous spelling errors which make you question the authenticity of the content. Some editing tips include removing long-winded tangents, removing redundant words, and using a tool to check for appropriate punctuation and spelling.

8. Clear and compelling headings make life a breeze for the reader

Headings create the skeleton of the whole article. They help the writer and the reader to compartmentalise thoughts and break down the content. Headings also make the content easier to read and consume. If they aren’t clear, the whole article can become confusing and blur into one big lump of information. A good practice is to plan out your headings prior to starting. This streamlines the writing process. Remember, headings set the tone for each corresponding paragraph, so make them persuasive, unique, and eye-catching.

9. Write regularly

Writers who write regularly are considerably more likely to generate powerful results. An analysis found that the majority of blog writers who published content every day were more successful. The more often you write, the more you can hone your skills and keep up that momentum. Don’t wait until you have the perfect article ready to go; try to get quality material out there as often as possible. Sometimes you never know what readers are going to love.

10. Keep it simple

Content writing should provide easy-to-understand written material for a range of different audiences. The topic itself may be complicated, but it’s your job to break down that topical information so that it’s clear. Avoid limiting the audience to those who may already be experts in that area. You can do this by reducing overly technical language or industry-specific jargon. Explain technical words clearly and keep sentences short and concise. If a piece of writing is too complex, many readers will tire easily and stop reading past a few paragraphs. Keeping it simple means that readers can skim through the material more easily, quickly getting the information they need. 

The bottom line

Content writing is a powerful means to help readers and brand owners worldwide. It establishes a link between businesses and their customers through the use of written material.

Think of the many times you have searched something on Google, and your question has been immediately answered with minimal effort on your part. Then there are all the times you’ve read articles, website content, product descriptions, and countless other things online.

Content writers have taken the hard work out of research and presented information to you in an easier-to-understand format. If you’re creating content, focus on quality and strategies that will get your work noticed.

As a business owner or marketing executive, you may not have time to actually write content yourself, which is why many companies work with content writing services.