A Practical Guide On How To Become A Content Writer In India
Writing is one of the most interesting, engaging, and intriguing jobs for someone who has a creative bent of mind. Content writing is one of the primary means of channelizing your innate creativity. It helps to provide value in the form of your words and your point of view. Writing in any format is a way of expressing yourself and conveying your perspectives and perceptions about a particular subject.
A career in content writing is not always an easy ride. With all the advantages that come with the profession of content writing, you still have an uphill task in the initial few years to create your brand reputation of being an impeccable content writer.
You need immaculate writing skills to become a coveted content writer in India. But that is not all. You need a different set of skill sets too, to go with your writing skills and make it a top content writer in India.
With economic development, digital expansion, and technological mushrooming today, we have several startups and big corporate houses that need the skills of a competent content writer. They require the skills of a writer to convey and communicate their mission, goals, and objectives to their prospective customers.
Let’s face it, content is the kingpin of the Digital Marketing industry. You need words to communicate your message effectively to your target customers out there. The number of online users has increased manifold in the last 5 years. That has facilitated a huge demand for writers who are central to any digital strategy and planning.
Here are some statistics to prove how content writing is most effective in lead generation and driving quality traffic to your website.
According to ace marketer Neil Patel
Content leaders generate 7.8 times more traffic than others
According to research in 2018 by Lcat, 47% of buyers go through 3- 5 pieces of content before making a purchasing decision. Again for B2B buyers, a staggering 96% look for information from authority leaders before taking the final call on purchasing a particular product or service. Also, 82% of customers trust the company after reading customize content meant to educate and inform them.
Now, let’s look at what exactly does the job profile of a content writer require
Content writers are involved with researching the topic that they choose to write on or that their clients ask them to write about. Gathering information from various sources is a very vital aspect of content writing.
Content writers have to be adept at writing for various formats and mediums as is required. They have to know several digital platforms through which content can be disseminated.
Also, content writer has to have their distinctive style of writing which in the long run helps them to gain the status of authority leaders in the field. You have several examples like Neil Patel, Eric Siu, Ann Handley, Nisha Chittal, etc who are great experts in the digital marketing world churning out content effectively.
These are some types of content writers in India
- Business Writers
- Blog writers
- Technical Writers
- Video Script Writers
- SEO Writers
- Legal Writers
- Bloggers
- Research and Report Writers
- Feature Writers
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Press Release Writers
- Ghostwriters
- Copywriters
- Communication Writers
- Marketing Writers among others.
Whatever may be your specialty, the one thing constant while aiming to become a content writer in India is your thirst for knowledge and your ability to be creative.
There is no age barrier or other impediments to a career in content writing. Anyone can choose to opt for a content writing career at any point in their life. It is a skill set you can hope to acquire without any prerequisites of education or degrees.
These are some points that accelerate your process of becoming a top content writer in India
#1. Reading is mandatory
Reading consistently is a prerequisite to becoming a successful content writer not only in India but all across the globe. Before you start your journey of being a content writer, you should read up all about content writing from the various sources available to you.
Secondly, you should be aware of the online marketing trends content trends that are prevalent in India at any given point in time. Your knowledge of the marketing scenario in India is key to your success in content writing since content writers are essentially marketing experts.
Without developing a habit of consistent reading, you will lose out on gaining information on the various happenings around the marketing arena in India.
Want to Ace Content Writing? Learn from the Best Content Writing Course
#2. Research Skills
Another fundamental quality of content writers is the ability and intelligence to research various topics that your content is based on. You have to be efficient at making groundwork research about the topic you choose to write on.
This involves going through social media channels, articles, blog posts, interviews, journals exhaustively to glean information. Moreover, a content writer has to be well versed with tools that help in better content writing like Grammarly, Hemingway App, Ubersuggest, Keyword Finder, Small SEO tools, etc.
Research skills are your ability to dig up relevant information. This means you have to be competent enough to find good sources of information related to the topic will be writing on. Additionally, you have to possess great communicative skills as well as sound planning and strategy skill.
An affinity to create inspirational content is one of the greatest traits of a content writer. One extremely helpful way to retain information better is to collect and write down everything on paper yourself
This is sometimes the most effective way of developing expertise in your field of writing because when you write anything down, the brain processes information much better and retains it for a longer time. Different content writers have different methods, therefore, you should test for yourself whether this method of researching and writing down helps.
#3. Choose a Niche topic
Now if an individual has made up their mind to exploring a career in content writing in the Indian market you have come across the word “niche”.
Niche topic is a specific topic content writers base their writeups on. India is an emerging market with greater prospects in the digital industry in the next few years.
To become a successful content writer in India you have to choose a niche for your content. There are many advantages to choosing a niche topic. It helps in giving you thought leadership, helps in better search engine rankings, a more prolific writer on the topic.
These are some popular Niches in the Indian Marketing scenario today
- Health And Fitness
- Technology
- Jobs And Career Opportunities
- Digital Marketing
- Recipes & Restaurant
- Sports
- Relationships
- Banking
- Finances
- Automobile Especially Cars
- Travel And Holidays
- Beauty
- Do It Yourself (Diy)
- Education Blogs among others.
You should make sure that the next topic you choose has considerable search volume. That is, online users, go to search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and search for these topics. This helps to determine how profitable the niche is going to be and whether you have takers for your articles.
#4. Developing Expertise and Vocabulary
Choosing a niche topic invariably allows you to become an expert in that specified field. To develop expertise in your area of content writing you should concentrate on the following.
First, you should be able to have impeccable skills in using the information you get from sources on your topic. Whether they are books, blogs, virtual conferences, PowerPoint presentations you should be able to find out sources that will give you knowledge on a specific topic. All pertinent points should be incorporated in your copy for more focused content.
Next, you should have an active social media presence with regular contributions in discussion forums, podiums like Quora Reddit, etc. Keep yourself updated with whatever is happening on social media and discussion platforms.
To develop vocabulary skills that will help you in writing in a fluent, lucid manner you should read anything and everything you can get access to. Increasing vocabulary doesn’t require you to only read matters related to your specific topic.
Learn 5 new words every day. Write them down and use them in sentences. This helps to remember the usage of such words better,
#5. Build your Portfolio
To become a successful content writer in India you have to build a portfolio. What does a portfolio mean? It is a collection of your works accumulated in one place for better visibility.
It is the best way to showcase your talent, skills, and establish your brand in the online content writing world. Having a portfolio is your key to making an impact on your potential employers to get your first gig.
You have to understand that in a career in content writing practical experience is what counts. Your certificates won’t matter as much as your writeups and your work experience will. Therefore your portfolio of work will likely have a better impression on your clients and prospective employers than your resume.
#6. Create a Website
This is something that is quite debated upon. Whether building a website is a necessity for content writers. However, being a content writer myself I assure you that building a website can give you great leverage as far as a career in content writing is concerned.
A content writer does not only have to be adept at writing, but they should also have some basic knowledge of WordPress the most popular content management system in the internet world today. It is an added skill set that can open up a diverse range of opportunities for you in the online corporate world.
#7. Have an active Social Media Presence
A lot of writers don’t understand the importance of having an active social media presence for a writing career to thrive. Now, having a social media presence doesn’t mean uploading videos or photographs and scrolling through other people’s feeds unnecessarily.
The opportunities that social media has produced for content writers today are a testament to their ability to be a great resource of information and job prospects.
The only thing is we have to use social media pragmatically. You have to invest adequate time and effort to publish quality content on social media to get the attention of your customers.
A top content writer in India is also a social media writing expert who makes relevant topics, compact content for social media channels. The characteristics of each social media platform are different they are unique in their own ways. Therefore, a content writer has to develop the skill of writing for each of these platforms in distinctive ways aligning with the traits of that particular social media platform.
One of the most important things to determine while writing social media content is to develop your brand voice? This means writing in a way that instantly connects the consumers with your business. Also, look at the bright side of things and write positive content, influence, and helps consumers make better decisions.
Writing for social media has to be succinct, much more than any other digital marketing platform. Moreover, it is always better to accompany your text with videos, images, infographics that help to bolster your writing in the social media channels in a more efficient manner. With that, the skill of storytelling can make you a very successful social media campaigner for your business.
Facebook Communities
Also, Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms that help to find you writing jobs in plenty. Therefore make sure you join Facebook communities and groups that deal with content writing and related fields. A content writer can find immense opportunities by being a part of such groups.
Most people today have a Facebook account, whether they are actively involved in posting or not. Please take that first step and look for communities that support and nurture writers.
#8. Start developing a pitch to send to potential employers
When a content writer is starting new in this profession you need to have an impressive pitch to garner the attention of prospective employees and clients.
What is a pitch exactly?
Pitch is an example of your writing skills which tells how talented and skilled a writer you are. Your pitch, just like the properties of good content writing should be about providing value and inspiration. That is what makes for a winning pitch.
A content writer in India can successfully make that impact by providing an interesting, engaging, headline that surmises your content. Also, thorough research and homework, along with brevity in writing is the key to successful pitching.
You should always cite the information you incorporated in your writeup and mention the source from where you retrieved that data While pitching, remember to provide your contact details and attaching your credentials with the pitch.
#9. Search job portals and writing sites
A great number of Content writers in India get several job opportunities from job portals like indeed Naukri, Monster India, Shine, LinkedIn, Freshers world, Glassdoor.
Several freelance writing platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, Freshers Live, Jobrapido can help you get a steady stream of jobs provided you can offer them what they intend to create content on.
These job portals have completely changed the way people look at applying for jobs today. There are also some of the easiest to use and provides a diverse range of jobs in each specific field.
If you notice, you will see that all these portals have numerous writing opportunities and jobs that can come to great help to content writers all over India.
#10. Call to action
If you have a website as mentioned in point 6, you will know that it makes sense to create a compelling call to action on your website for better visibility exposure reputation, and traffic.
A call to action can include a link to another page on your website, a free eBook, free template for your specific content niche. They can instill faith in your consumers regarding your credibility.
While the purpose of content is to provide value, a call to action consolidates your position as an expert in your field of writing. The purpose of providing a call to action in the case of content writers in India is not to lead them to make purchasing decisions.
It is the act of nurturing your consumers and your leads so that they become long-term advocates of your brand and your writing prowess. As long as you are creating useful content with skilled writing, doing your job with full honesty, you are on your way to getting great success in this career field.
#11. . Create a LinkedIn profile and provide details
Social media platforms are a great way to connect with a wider range of consumer base, disseminate powerful information that will help in getting writing opportunities. However, LinkedIn is one digital media platform that is meant for businesses and jobs only.
It is a platform where B2B businesses, B2C businesses interact and provide value to one another through business transactions. You can find several businesses on LinkedIn that look for competent content writers.
They also have the specified skill sets mentioned in their job requirement section. You can head to that section and check whether you are eligible to apply for that position. LinkedIn has helped get great jobs for many content writers in India with enhanced skill sets in writing.
#12. . Take up internships and freelance projects
This is for content writers who are starting in India trying to look for opportunities. Remember every experience counts. Therefore you should not let go of a good opportunity of internship for a freelance project even if the pay is low initially.
Though content writing is a lucrative profession, you still need time to strengthen your position as a credible content writer through experience just like any other field. Therefore, you should never neglect any job opportunity that comes your way provided it is genuine.
How to know whether the internship or job opportunity received is is genuine or you are being duped? The answer is by doing proper research on the companies, looking for testimonials, reviews, and feedback.
Check out their website, social media presence. Also, check whether they have a LinkedIn profile. The key is to analyze the company well and then proceed with it. With social media being so useful, you will get to know whether the company is genuine or not.
#13. Take up a content writing course from a reputed institute
This is also a very good way of getting skill sets as well as job opportunities through the placement assistance given by reputed institutes of content writing in India.
Taking into account the demand for writers, a lot of distinguished content writing institutes have come up in India providing some very high-quality education in content writing.
These institutes have tie-ups with several reputed organizations. The institute after completion of the course can provide you with placement opportunities in eminent brands and companies.
#14. Knowledge of SEO
A content writer has to possess an understanding of SEO and how search engine rankings work. They have to keep themselves updated with the latest practices of SEO and SEO basics.
Google algorithms help in defining your position in search engine pages. Since the digital industry is still an emerging market, content writers in India have ample scope to make mark their mark in the online web domain.
Good writing, relevant topics, and unique value provided to the consumer are characteristics that get your content to rank in the first two pages of search engines in a very short time.
A content writer has to grasp the concept of keywords with complete clarity. Keyword insertion in your content is vital, however, you should keep your keyword between 1 to 3% of the total words in your content piece.
Anything more than that is considered keyword stuffing or spamming which can be harmful to the ranking of your content on a platform like Yahoo search Google etc.
#15. Evolve and Update Yourself
The main objective of a content writer is to provide high-grade content on topics so that they provide intrigue, entertainment, knowledge, inspiration, and motivation to readers.
Content writers have to be very careful not to plagiarize content. It can have legal consequences and can harm your reputation as a credible content writer.
it is to be noted that any profession needs an individual to evolve and update. Content writing is one of the most flexible and dynamic fields out there. Content writers in India have great growth opportunities.
Keep yourself ahead of your peers by reading, researching, and creating a habit of gaining information from any material you can access. It will not only help fructify your efforts of becoming a successful writer, but it will also help you to become a more knowledgeable person as well.
Conclusion
Content writing is an extremely rewarding job but it requires you to have a thick hide and to brave challenges with a winning attitude. The initial few hiccups can be replaced by the dream job of your life only if you have the sincerity, diligence, and optimism to help you to thrive in this career of content writing in India.
Know your value and do not settle for less after you get that sufficient experience. Charge for your content what your writing is worth. Your confidence, expertise, and knowledge will be your key elements to become a prosperous content writer in India.
