clueless content writer? find direction to start your content writing journey

Picture this — you are flying in enthusiasm. Because, you found your passion, to write, to express and now you want to monetise it. You talk to people. You ask them for advice. You ask them how to monetise it. And all you hear is silence.

Most of the clueless content writers start by writing creative short stories and poems and, slowly turning to monetizing it — and ultimately make a living out of their passion-turned-profession.

But finding the right direction in your writing career makes things hard.

From 2018 to 2021, I went from making zeroes to $500. It took lots of trials and errors, failures and backlashes.

This is why, I don’t want you to feel clueless like I felt, so I am sharing my secrets of getting started and building a profitable writing career with you.

But before I share everything, I want a commitment from you — after you read this guide — you will get into action, put efforts and not forget it as as just “another” usual guide you read.

Know the language, know the grammar and you are sorted with writing.

“Do you think getting started is this simple?

Well, now let’s complicate it for you..

Flavor of research, outline, writing, editing and publishing?— this what you need to becoming a?content writer.

It’s not just about you sitting with your laptop and typing on Google docs. There goes so much more than this..

So the big question comes in —?how can you become a content writer?

But before that, let me ask you, what is CONTENT?

Yes, the content everyone talks about.

The subtitles that you read in your favorite web series..

The videos that you see from your favorite youtuber..

Or the cheezy captions that you read on Instagram..

All of this is?CONTENT.

Content is well-researched information put together in a unique voice with your opinions to educate and inform your audience.

So what do I need to become a content writer?

You need 3 skills:

1. Observation
2. Reading
3. Research

Observation

Observe before you write.?With strong observation skills, you can become a brilliant writer.

Want to know how? Read blogs. Observe the writing style of the writer. Ask yourself these questions:

• How did they start their blog?
• What tone are they using?
• Are they using plain language or a fancy one?
• Are they using daily life examples and analogies in their blog?
• Are they using stories to explain their point?

Don’t just read their content but?study it. Observe their writing style and tone. Start writing. Write, write and write. This is how you will polish your skills and improve your writing skills.

Reading

Whether you like reading newspapers, books, or blogs, reading helps you grasp your writing style and knowledge. As a content writer, you need to have your opinion while writing content. This comes from reading about diverse niches.

Read educational and information-based books. If you want to learn more about content writing, read books.

Here are some resources to get started with content writing:

Copyhacker

Smartblogger

Copyblogger

While reading, take notes. Understand the perspective of the writer better and improve your reading skills.

Once you complete reading, start writing. Choose any of your favorite topics. Once written, check the reading checklist.

Research

Know that a?content writer is 80% researcher and 20% writer.?You need to have?strong research skills.

To be a talented researcher, you must know?your research doesn’t end at Google’s last page.

Here are some resources to conduct in-depth research:

1. Pinterest
2. Twitter
3. Blogs & Public Forums
4. PDFs, Ebooks and Case studies
5. YouTube, Podcast & Interviews

Do you like to read about the beauty industry? Or about marketing? Food, travel, social media? Whatever your area of interest is, grab a book around the topic and start reading.

Alternatively, go to google, type these topics and start reading blogs, listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos.

How to build a profitable career as content writer?

You need 4 things to start your writing career:

Niche

To niche down, select 5 topics that you like to talk about. Do a mini exercise now. Take a pen and paper.

Write 5 topics down that you love talking about.

For example,

I love talking about calligraphy, LinkedIn, writing, travel and artists.

Now imagine you are talking to your best friend on one of these topics. Which one would it be?

Label it as “best friend.”

In my case, it would be calligraphy.

Now, select two topics people come to take help from you on. Next see, do you enjoy giving advice or providing solution on these topics? Label them as “advice.”

For me it is?LinkedIn & Writing.

The next two topics are the areas that come under the “less interested category.”

Focus on writing content on the first three topics. You can combine the last two areas as well. But keep the first three areas as your primary niches.

Once you have done this quick exercise, you will find your niche.

If you are just starting out, explore multiple niches.

Niche or no niche is a controversy.

Niching down happens in two ways:

1.?Industry-Based

Choose the industry you want to work in.

Let’s say you like writing content for the health, travel, and entertainment industry. These are the niches that you can use for starting your journey as a content writer.

2.?Writing-Based

Would you do blog writing for the health industry or ghostwriting? You can choose from multiple forms of writing and stick to them.

For example,

I am a content writer, copywriter, and ghostwriter for coaches and entrepreneurs.

I write blog posts and social media posts for my clients which fall under the category of content writing.

I am a copywriter who specializes in email copywriting.

I am a ghostwriter who ghostwrites LinkedIn content for coaches and entrepreneurs. This is a limited area that I write on and this is my niche.

Portfolio

Your portfolio is your credibility?to showcase your prospects your ability to write and the skills you have developed.

There are multiple ways to create your portfolio and having a website is not the only one.

You can use Google docs, Google drive, or Canva portfolio.

1.?Google Docs Portfolio

To create your portfolio on Google docs, write the project name and attach the link to your project and share it in pdf format with your prospects.

2.?Google Drive Portfolio

This portfolio is a combination of Google docs and Google drive. Create a different folder for your projects.

Let’s say you have worked on ebooks, blogs, website content, product descriptions, and email copywriting. Create one folder for each of these projects. Inside these folders, you have a Google docs file where you share the links to your work.

3.?Canva Portfolio

If you want to make your portfolio visually appealing, use Canva. Use the presentation format in Canva and start designing each slide. The first slide can be your introduction followed by each slide for your project. Attach the links to your project.

Social Proof

The reviews you write for your Amazon purchase or about the new top you bought from Myntra,?are?social proofs or testimonials.

And, as a content writer, you need to have social proofs for your your work. Having social proof helps you build trust and credibility and your prospect can trust you.

To get social proof for your writing, ask for it.

When you work on your first project, ask for a testimonial once the project is completed.

To get social proof, you can use a barter method. Write content for companies in exchange for a testimonial. This is a great way to build social proof for yourself.

LinkedIn recommendations is a great place to collect your testimonials and showcase to your prospects.

Network

Engage with fellow content writers, graphic designers, video editors, content managers and editors.

On a Consultation call, content writer asked me, “how would networking with other content writers help me if money comes from my clients?”

Here’s the thing..

A powerful network is the treasure of opportunities for you.

Imagine you are connected to 5 content writers who have worked on multiple projects. Not every time they would say yes to every project. Either they will pass it on or collaborate with other freelancers.

If you have a good network and engage with them, you could be the one working on that project.

If you want to build a powerful network, start by joining?communities like Peak Feelance, Koolkanya.

How to find your first client?

The big elephant in the room is —

Finding your first client..

Generating leads..

And, these two questions consume your creative energy and you quit.

Here are 3 ways for your 2 questions to find your clients :

1. Cold Email

Cold emailing is one of the favorite and old school way of landing your first client. The catch here is, you need to find several mails to get response from fewer and convert only a fewer.

Let’s say, you want to land your first client this month. Now, you need to do some calculations. You will send out 90 emails to them.

In a month, you have 30 days. If you send 3 emails everyday, you will reach your monthly goal of sending 90 emails in a month.

2.?LinkedIn

What if you could directly reach out to the founders of the company, pitch them for a project and get on call with them?

Yes, that’s what you need to do.

LinkedIn is a great platform to reach your goals, find new projects and clients. For this follow these 5 quick steps to generate leads in 15 minutes everyday:

1. Optimize your LinkedIn profile. Make sure your profile reflects your skills, your expertise and your positioning as a content writer.
2. Connect with your target audience. You need to be visible in front of your target audience. Start by connecting with at least 5 people everyday.
3. Create content related to your industry and topics that you want projects in. Create a “game plan” which helps you understand the type of content you will be posting to attract your prospective clients.
4. Engage with your target audience’s content. This is the second phase of being visible. By commenting meaningful comments, you are showing yourself up t your clients. This way, they remember you.
5. Message them and ask for a quick 15 minutes call. If you have made enough engagement with them on comments, reach out to them on DM. Remember, your pitch for a quick call should not look like a pitch but a friendly “get-to-know-each-other” conversation.

Do this diligently and watch the difference LinkedIn can make and help you generate leads.

3.?Facebook Groups

“Facebook is powerful. But, your generation doesn’t believe in using facebook for lead generation.”

This is what my client said in a meeting few weeks back. And, trust me..

She wasn’t wrong when she said so.

To find clients through facebook, do this:

1. Optimize your facebook profile.
2. Join 5 to 10 active groups where your clients stay active.
3. Post content on your profile that showcases your expertise.
4. Start posting educational content in these groups.
5. Comment on other people’s posts on groups and become a recognized face.

Let’s say,

My target audience is coaches and small business owners. So, I will join groups where coaches are active and interact within the group. Now, I will start engaging with their content and post educational content in the group.

Remember..

Do not post promotional content as you could get banned.

When people find your post valuable, they will comment and maybe directly message you and send you a connection request.

..let’s wrap up!

It’s now time to change your situation — turn from a clueless content writer to smart content writer who know their craft well — know how to market themselves well.

Choose the right resources to learn from, study them, implement them and improve your craft.?Once you start improving your skills, don't hesitate from reaching out to your potential clients.

Remember, you have to reach out to your potential clients where they are most likely to respond you.

And finally, before reaching out to them, be prepared with an email or message template or script and a portfolio that you would be sending them out.

If you liked reading this article,?join The Creative Cure ?.