Last updated on December 9th, 2022
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” -Stephen King
Simple, isn’t it?
Well, not really.
No doubt, a great content writer must read a lot.He or she must have content writing skills.
But, what really separates effective content writing from the mediocre ones? Let’s take a look at how the best content writers differ from the rest.
A Great Content Writer Is a Thorough Researcher
The difference between great, effective content writing and mediocre writing lies in the power of information, making the researching abilities of the writers the biggest differentiator.
A great content writer must be a thorough researcher. The best content writers are well informed about what works.
The best examples of good content writers are also expected to stay up to date with market trends and targeted content strategies that work for a specific business.
Another important aspect of being a great content writer includes how well you understand and can connect with your target audience through your writing.
Ask yourself this
Who is reading the content?
Why is the content being written? Or Why should they read the content?
What is the goal of the content?
These 3 W’s can transform mediocre writing into effective content writing. More than researching, a great writer must be a great reader.
Follow User-Friendly Writing Style
The best examples of good content writers appreciate the reading preferences of their audience and the best content writing practices demand that the writing style is as per audience preferences. Ensure that the language, tone, and information used in the post are in line with the audiences’ understanding.
Understand:
What do they like?
What don’t they like?
Will they understand what I’m trying to write?
Whether casual, conversational, or informative, always ensure to follow a similar algorithm for your writing style to maintain the connection.
Structure their Content Well
Any blog post or content piece must follow a definite structure. SEO storytelling is like art, which also makes it an insightful and actionable read. A great content writer follows the best content writing practices.
If your writing is not pleasing to the reader, your content becomes irrelevant. If not always, try following the inverted pyramid approach to writing by providing a proper introduction, body, and conclusion to your content whenever possible.
Also, Readability is extremely important.
Understand the writing and formatting tactics to get your long form content read.
To make sure that the readers are not skimming through the content, make it interesting by adding visuals and graphics.
Also, including examples of good content writers to make the topic more relatable and easy for the reader is advisable. A well-structured post with visual references makes the content more engaging and impactful.
Easy to Understand and Relevant Information is Key
For a lot of educational or informative blogs, the language should be simple. Using great vocabulary does not always show great writing skills.
It is not always advisable to throw fancy words at your readers or use Shashi-Tharoorian English in an attempt to sound smart.
Moreover, effective content writing is always backed up with facts. Add examples to make the topic more relatable and easy for the reader. Provide relevant and recent statistics to validate your writing.
Also, make sure the sources of your reference are credible. Adding non-credible sources or facts should be avoided at all costs.
Great Writers Generate Marketable Content
Identifying the brand’s history and persona is critical in SEO storytelling. There is no doubt that a great content writer will be well informed about their target audience. Not only that, understanding the buyer’s persona is just as important.
It is imperative that you Identify the business’ needs and generate original and targeted content. Research about the best content marketing resources. Generating Marketable content also means optimizing it for search engines.
These were tips on how to become best content writers.
A few more quick tips great writers follow to stay ahead of mediocre ones:
- Not stuffing keywords but still ensuring accurate SEO.(What are LSI keywords?)
- Using a Keyword tool to optimize blogs
- Ensuring optimal keyword density
- Backlinks to other relevant posts
- A well-defined content distribution strategy
And, most importantly, when ghostwriting for thought leaders, take accountability and talk directly to the audience. Conversational language is the key here. Make sure you write directly for the user with zero passive voice.
When writing from an authoritative or thought leadership position, make sure the writing sounds confident and well informed.
