Writing engaging online content is one of the cornerstones of a strong digital marketing strategy, being an incentive to increase page clicks and building a following online across your social media accounts. However, this can prove a challenge if you are no J K Rowling and do not feel confident in your writing skillset. You might be tempted to outsource your content writing to professionals who will be able to produce quality articles that you can be sure will draw in readers with a quick turnaround. However, with the right skill set, it is possible to produce quality content yourself. With this in mind, here are three ways you can improve your content writing.
- Read a variety of online content
Most writing advice you will come across, whether during a class or in a book, will include something along the lines of ‘if you want to be a writer, you must also be a reader’. This can just as successfully be applied to producing online content as to writing a novel. Read content created by other people, paying close attention to those that are posted on the same forums as your own, or discussing similar topics. By reading widely, you will pick up on the tone required for that publishing site, whether a chatty style is preferred or something more academic. You will also get ideas of potential topics for your articles that allow you to discuss your business in an engaging, not overly salesy, manner.
- Invest in Grammarly
Ensuring that the correct spelling and grammar are used is perhaps the most essential part of content writing, as, without this scaffolding of good writing, your article will be unintelligible, however engaging the topic is. However, with complicated terms such as ‘comma splice’ and ‘dangling participles’, as well as the notorious differences between ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’, a lot of people do find the world of English spelling and grammar confusing. To help you out, you could invest in Grammarly. Not only is this app a spelling and grammar checker, but it also provides a detailed explanation of your errors and explains confusing grammatical rules. Rather than mindlessly correcting your mistakes, as other spelling and grammar checkers do, you are provided with the knowledge to actively improve your own writing.
- Take writing classes
Content writing is not quite marketing, not quite creative non-fiction, and as such is a bit tricky to get your head around at first. Writing classes are not limited to creative writing for the aspiring novelist: they are also available specifically for those wanting to boost their content writing. There are a huge amount of content writing courses taught online for free thorough respected websites such as skillshare.com, which will provide you with the basics of producing quality content that people actually want to read. There is also the option to pay for certified courses if you decide that you would like a formal endorsement of your content writing skills to help boost your resume and skillset for future employment opportunities.