With a pandemic devastating our world, the need for more jobs that can be done at home is greater than ever. In fact, regular jobs, whether office, private, even government, have been turned into something that’s telecommuting-friendly. At least for the time being. But if you’re out of work because of the pandemic and are looking to start anew, here’s one recommendation: build a content writing career.
Writing for a living can be your thing, even if you’re not a writer. Even when you don’t think yourself much of a wordsmith, you can probably still create a decent Internet article about a lot of things. The internet is flooded with this kind of job – plus, you only have to have a decent working laptop and connection to start!
In this article, we listed down some of the things you can do to get a content writing career. Here are some things you need to know to start:
Write about the things you love
The first rule of writing is that you can’t write what you don’t know. That follows the principle that whatever it is that’s in your heart, you should write down. Start with the things that you like – don’t think about form or grammar or syntaxes yet – just write. The first step is to identify yourself as a writer.
There’s no rule in making your first article, story, or poem. Write as if it’s your last day on earth, and it’s the only way you know how to live. When you write by following your heart, you won’t find writing as a dull job. Prepare your tools as well. A great word processing tool that has word and character counting abilities should do the trick.
Depending on the desktop or laptop you are writing from, the best ones to get if it’s not in your device yet, are Microsoft Word, Pages, and LibreOffice. If your client will have you write online, there are numerous sites and apps you can download for free to address situations as they arise. And, if you are lucky enough to be a social media copywriter you also get to have the extra fun of adding emojis to your content. For example, for a halloween related article you have the benefit to add a pumpkin emoji to emphasize and voice out halloween even further, adding extra emotion to your content.
Specialize in content creation for the web
In the last two decades, content creation for the web has seen an astronomical rise. More and more businesses are using the Internet to advertise their products and services. Social media platforms, as well as smartphone apps like Snapchat and YouTube changed the way people read, view, and watch their content.
The web content creation industry is booming and it’s not showing signs of stopping. So dip your toes in. Write some magazine-worthy articles about anything under the sun – start with what you’re passionate about, what you’re genuinely interested in, and create 500-800 word articles of each. To have an idea of what to write, listicles, as well as general informational articles, are safe bets to start on.
Learn about the role of search engine optimization in web content writing as well. Being a content writer, you’d need to have a basic understanding of the whole SEO process in order to make your write-ups at par with the industry. Learning basic social media skills is imperative too. But first, hone your web content writing capabilities. Once you’ve had that down, you’d find that there’s a treasure trove of opportunities waiting for you out there.
Slowly and surely expand your writer’s portfolio
Don’t stop at being just a content writer. When you start earning enough with one writing job, then it’s time to work on other projects. Explore your writing talents more by doing poems, short stories, one-offs, etc. This is where you take your talent to the next level, evolve your craft, and find another specialization that you may be good at.
There’s magic in creating things and finishing them on your own. Take a chunk of your time out every single day to be dedicated to writing new projects – even when you’ve been hustling all day! The first step is usually the hardest one, so take on your project with gusto and immerse yourself in it.
Takeaway
While in quarantine, you have all of the time in the world to delve into content writing. Try and follow the things listed above and see if you can get yourself a client. Or better yet, put yourself out there. With a portfolio at your disposal, you can send your write-ups to relevant publishers – both print and online. Scour job postings as well, so you have instant prospects.
