A unicorn content writer lives and breathes the trade, but how can you tell is that is really so?

What does it take to make a unicorn content writer?

It's not easy to be a content writer. In a world in which everything is measured and analytics has turned everything into a set of numbers, how can one be evaluated as a good content writer?

Do you have a unicorn writer in your pocket?

While one can evaluate content according to its performance in the world of analytics and stats (what is the reach? how many people read the blog or viewed the video? etc. these result depend on many factors and not just the quality of the content. Good content is in many ways a matter of feeling, you just know when it's done right! So how to determine a good content writer from a bad one? Here are some characteristics that a unicorn content writer should have.

Customer oriented thinking

A good content writer has to write about your business in terms the customers want to read or hear about it. At best, your writer has been a customer of your product or a similar product and knows what the customer needs. A good content writer should first review and use your product before writing about it. If your writer understands the challenges your customer is facing, the writing will be oriented to present solutions to these challenges, and that is what your customers what to see!

Second nature creativity

A good writer is a creative person. Creativity has many manifestations. Your content writer will help their child build a paper model of "the theory of relativity" or make a "Noah's ark" presentation for a sibling's school project. Not to mention dressing up for Halloween. Content creation is not just about writing good text but also creating visuals, videos and making them all complement each other.

Excellent explaining skills

A good content writing is good at explaining things. Anything! Why a certain camera is better than another? How to bake shortbread? How to calculate your mortgage payments...Taking complex concepts and simplifying them to the layman is a key asset in content writing for business.

A sense for greatness

When you see a product that is well designed you just know it's so! Even if you are not a professional designer. This explains how so many people around the world from many different cultures think that Apple products are cool! The design just works for them all! It's the same with content. When the blog post or video is good, it's recognizable. A content writer should have a sense for greatness, so that they are able to create really good content that simply works!

An eye for trends

A good content writer need not shy from looking at what others are doing and learn from what they find. Gathering insights from data and statistics, watching content from the competition, analyzing trends and explaining the reasons for them is key to understanding the industry one is writing about.

Fast turnaround

Reacting to current events quickly is key to writing compelling and relevant content that is always up-to-date.

Quick learning skills

A good content writer learns not only about the industry they write about, but also about content marketing industry and any tools that compliment writing content. Knowing the framework, in which the content needs to be disseminated and in which it needs to perform help make a better writer.

Success satisfaction

A good content writer enjoys seeing the fruits of their hard work. Seeing good content being read or viewed by people and learning from one's successes is key to continue writing successful content.

CLO - Content Listening Officer

A content writer is always on the prowl for new information. Listening to the conversation on the web, social media, and reading blogs and magazines is important to stay on top of the game. A good content writer is truly interested in the themes they write about.

Writing for the sake of writing, or just for fun

Is your content writer writing just for fun? Do they have a blog? More than one? Are they writing a book? A writer who enjoys writing for the sake of writing is practicing the craft and will thus only be getting better and better. Enjoyment in one's work is a good starting point for quality.

If you find all of these characteristics in a content writer, you have a unicorn!

Originally posted on The Content Guru blog

https://contentguru4all.blogspot.co.il/2016/06/what-does-it-take-to-make-unicorn.html