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Welcome to the third episode of our weekly video series. We have embarked on this crusade to illuminate every nook and corner of the content domain and dispel the pervasive myths people harbour about writing. 

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So. let’s get started with our third chapter.

Since ECT took its breath, there has been a persistent question that students from every batch have asked and debated about.

Is there a sure-shot way of becoming an excellent content writer?

Taking some pages from his own writing journey, Mr. Saket Kumar Singh, the founder of ECT has tried to answer this question in as clear and cogent manner as possible.

Check out the video below to discover his priceless pearls of writing wisdom.

The Blog that Evolved into 2 Businesses

Mr. Singh’s thirst for writing kicked in when he wrote his first piece of content at the age of 26. It was for his blog, “Careers after Graduation”. He tells his students, “Since the blog ranked well on Google and fetched decent traffic, I thought I was a good writer. However, 3 years later, when I started writing for clients, my opinion about content writing changed completely.”

He is not the first to have realized with time, how drastically different their imaginary writing career is from the real client-driven world of content writing. 

So, for those who are on the first rung of their career ladder, make sure to implement these invaluable tips that Mr. Singh learnt after keeping his nose to the grindstone for years.

Publish Your Work

As the first step, dare to reveal your work, even if it comes at the cost of mockery and criticism. Many aspiring writers never publish their work because of the fear of making mistakes and being judged for them. 

A great quote states, 

So, you may just miss the opportunity to live your dream while staying comfortable in the clutches of fear and self-doubt. 

More than the mistakes, readers judge content based on its message, the extent of research done and the value it provides. The blog, “Careers after Graduation” became immensely popular due to the high-value readers gained from it.

So, if you have got even one of the three correct, know that you are on the right path. 

Start by creating your blog on WordPress, Medium, Blogger or any famous blogging platform. Publish your content and share it across all social media networks. You never know what aspect of your writing style will be liked by the audience. Any random piece can bring a dramatic change in your life. 

If Mr. Singh hadn’t published his first blog, he would not have realized his writing potential and built two organizations based on it.

Seek Feedback and Work on them

Imagine cracking a joke that doesn’t make anyone laugh. It simply doesn’t make sense. The same goes for writing. If your readers can’t comprehend your message, there is no point in writing the content. 

As I pointed above, until you receive feedback, either from clients or from other reviewers, you will never know how worthwhile your content is. An objective eye, rating your content based on its value and comprehensibility, gives one a fair idea of the actual quality of the content.

From personal experience, my writing has shown remarkable improvement from what it was two years back, thanks to all the client feedback I have received. 

And trust me, much of it was deprecatory. 

But, as every creative field demands, grow a thick skin and learn to assess the feedback for its productive value. If it’s constructive feedback, see what you can learn from it and implement it in your next piece. If it’s negative and driven purely by a desire to belittle, let it go. 

For those allergic to criticism, there is a way to lower the chances of you getting negative feedback. The way is to proofread and revise your content until it’s refined to the best of your ability. 

Hemingway and Grammarly are two such online apps that can help to improve your content’s readability and grammar to a large extent. 

On the Hemingway app, aim for a score of 8-9, which is a sign of your content being clear and easy to read. Work on Grammarly, until you have fixed all the errors highlighted in red.  

So, the correct sequence to follow before publishing is:

Add Value and Get Rid of the Habit of Paraphrasing

Have you realised “add value” has been mentioned the fourth time in this blog?

Well, that’s how important this factor is !

It’s a documented fact that almost 98% of the content on the internet sees less than 100 unique visitors in its lifetime. 

Any guesses why?

Kudos to those who understood the reason being the lack of value. 

Working in the content writing industry, the most prevalent practice I have observed is of copying content and paraphrasing it to remove plagiarism. While it’s tempting for a new writer to indulge in this practice, all it leads to nothing but mediocrity.

Every excellent piece of content you come across has one defining, common element- it offers a takeaway that enriches you on some level. 

So, what’s the best way to write such content?

Simply, don’t copy and be your authentic self. 

Based on your experiences, you might have gained certain views and knowledge on different subjects.

Be sure to imbibe your personality in your craft, even if your content becomes the subject of debate, controversy or ridicule. It’s the only way to gain confidence and develop your unique voice and writing style.

Get Certified

Unlike other professions, it’s not mandatory to get certified to become a professional content writer. However, simply practicing and publishing might cost you a lot of time (and money) before you refine your skills to a professional level. 

What’s more, it might also give you an edge when you apply for a job by adding credibility to your profile.

Work for Clients

Working for a client is like learning the craft at someone else’s expense. They will give you neutral yet important feedback and help you hone your writing skills like no other activity. All professional writers chisel their writing skills by working on the comments and critique of their clients. 

The best part of working for clients is the myriad domains they hail from. In just a month, a content writer might need to develop creative, academic, business, technical, web and promotional content. Since every client’s need is different, you will learn different styles of writing and nuances of different industries with ease.

In fact, the fun of becoming a content writer is 

The process of getting a client is a whole different ball game that will be discussed in a separate blog.

How much do you agree with what we taught?

Think we covered all bases or there’s something we missed?

Feel free to comment below or message us personally.  

We Writers, after all, will learn from your feedback!