Become a Content Writer Without Experience?🤔 (Complete Guide)

 

Become a Content Writer Without Experience?🤔 (Complete Guide)

Introduction:

Hello friends! Welcome to the-how-to-hub blog! I am Umair Altaf. In today's article, we are going to understand how you can start content writing with zero experience or how you can build your career in content writing by starting from the zero level. We will understand the whole process step by step, what to do first, what to do afterwards, what skills you should have, and what matters before making a career in content writing. And further, what you have to keep in mind, what are the charges to be kept, or if you want to do a full time job, then how can you do it. If you want to do freelancing, then how can you do it. I will discuss the whole road-map step-by-step process.First point is, 

What is content writing?

So let's understand. Content writing is a very simple term and its meaning is also very broad, but if I explain in one line, that whatever you are reading in written form nowadays, whether you are searching for anything on Google, then many websites will come in front of you, you opened it, you opened many blogs, many web-pages, the content that you are reading is written by a content writer only. You open the Amazon app in your mobile, you are browsing the products, their description is written, that too is content, that too is written by the writer. Suppose, you are opening Cricbuzz, you are watching the score on mobile, there is content, you are watching commentary, that too is content, some news is happening that Pakistan has won the World Cup, you are reading about it, you are seeing information about some players, that is all content.Whatever content you have seen on Wikipedia till date, a content writer has written it. So, all these things are included in content writing. If you go to our website, there is a separate page for each course, there is content on that page. There are blogs, there are articles, that too is content. So, all the work is done by the content writer only. This definition will be clear. 

What is the best thing in content writing? 

Everyone can do this. It was not so earlier. It was that only those who know English can do it. Nowadays, content has started running in regional language also, means if your English is not good, you can do content writing in Urdu also because nowadays Google is giving preference to Urdu content or regional content along with English content. Why? Suppose, if I Write all the articles on blog-spot in English, then half of my audience will be filtered, those who do not know English will not read, and there is such a huge population in Pakistan who do not know English or will have difficulty in understanding English properly, will not be able to understand properly. So by this type, those issues also come in the content Writing, that's why Google is currently searching, for example, Pakistan audience, if someone's preference is Urdu, then he has to show content in Urdu. And a website is needed there, the demand has increased there as well. And second thing, everyone can do it. For example, if your English writing is good, then it is okay, you can also go to the international level. Whether you want to do it full time, part time, you have to go ahead with freelancing, you are a housewife, you have to manage work and balance life. if you want that I should spend four to five hours in my work and do not do it full time, then also you can manage it. Content writing is a flexible skill. That's why its unique thing is that everyone can do it, but you have to work on your skills. It is not that there is a lot of easy and typing work, it is not. There is a requirement of some skills in you and it is also very important for you to practice regularly. So further understand how to start your business,what you should know, what is the requirement of  tools and everything else.what you should know, what is the requirement of  tools and everything else. So the first thing is that  you have to know some skills, tools and important  things. So let's talk about the most important  thing first, if you do content writing then you must  have these research skills. 

What is Research Skills

What is the meaning of research skills that if I gave you a topic, Top Ten Content Writing Tools, then you have to find out which are the top 10 tools. What will you do? You'll research on Google or YouTube, which tools are in demand these days or are useful. So you will see many articles that which tools are  good. You will make them understand what this tool is  for. If you are telling about 10 tools, then which tool is  useful in content writing. Do all this research.  On the other side, for example, another topic  visited Jaipur, have never seen it, then you will  research there which are the top 10 places you can write,  wrote about Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal,  Amer Fort.

Suppose, you knew 5-6 and  if you want to know 10, then you will do research, you will go to different
sites, you will know that they have mentioned these things top 10 places,  in this article. So from there, you made your  own structure, started writing it in your  own words. So the first important thing is that according  to what research should be done. 

What is Plagiarism

The second thing which  is more important is plagiarism. If I tell the  meaning of plagiarism in simple words, then it is  that you have copied the content, you are writing  like if you are going to write about Nahargarh Fort,  it was written in some other website about Nahargarh Fort and you have copied it in your content,then what will happen?  Plagiarism issues will come. The issue of plagiarism  means that you are not a content writer.  If there is plagiarism in the content, it is a duplicate  content, then there may be a copyright issue.  If the client for whom you are writing comes to know,  then the project will be taken from you. So it is  necessary to have 100% unique content, this thing you have to  keep in mind. So whenever you write content, convey it in your  own words. Like if I am telling  you some 10 things, then my way  of writing, my way of presenting will be different.  If you are telling the same 10 things then you will have  a different way. The same thing also matters in content writing  that how do you convey the message or information in your own words in your own way. Tools  also come for that, to check plagiarism, 

Grammar In Content Writing

The third thing is Grammar. Your grammar should be  fine because what happens is that if you do not keep the  grammar right, then there can be a disaster of meaning. So the  grammar should be fine. You can use Grammarly for this.  If you have  basic grammar, you feel that mistakes are made by me,  then Grammarly gives you a lot of suggestions so that you can fix your errors. Fourth thing, you  should have some basic idea about SEO. It is  not necessary to be an SEO expert. Basic idea means  what is the full form of SEO? Search Engine Optimization, means the motive of writing content is that  of the company or website so that more and more people come to read it. 

Title in Content Writing

if you keep the title of your article as 'Become a Content Writer Without Experience?🤔 (Complete Guide)', then you will not know what the article is about. So that's why make a good title,  people who are searching, for example, you must have searched today by going to Google, how to become a  content writer or how to start content writing.  So we have to know the words related to this type  that what people are searching to find  our content. We then try to use that word in  our title and content. There is some basic idea  that when your content is searched on Google, then  your content should appear here first. You should have some basic knowledge a little bit. 

Content Readability

One more thing  that matters that is content readability, means how easy it is for the user to read and understand your content. Like, I am telling  you this thing, how easily should I explain to you  that you will easily understand everything. In the same  way, in the content also you have to do this thing that you  have written only top ten places,  if you wrote the content  without heading, subheading like we used to write essays in school then what will happen? User will not understand. So what to do? You have to make headings, subheading, keep sentence short, keep paragraph  short so that the reader can understand a little  easier and read that thing easily. So readability  matters a lot in the content.

Choose a niche

Second point is you have to  choose a niche. What does it mean to choose a niche? In which domain you can write your  contact well.  For example, if you like to  travel more, then you can write about travel  related things very well. You have interest in sports,  for example, cricket, football, badminton,  whatever sports you like, you  can write well related to it because if you have interest in it then you  will be able to write well. Mobile phones, gadgets, if you like all this,  then you will be able to write content well. So you have to choose some niche. Like technology, digital marketing, there are different niches.  You cannot become an expert in every niche.  If today you tell me to write content on finance,  I have never written, then I will not be able to  give content with my expertise. If I am writing this  article, I get a new topic that you have to tell about HTML, then I have never used HTML, so I will not be able to tell things properly.  After  doing research, after reading a little bit, I will give information  but I will not be able to explain at that level from which  you have expectation or the user can understand  easily. So it is important to have a niche. 

What to do in starting? 

Choose two-three niches. There is no  need to write content on every niche. You can choose two or three niches.Suppose, you have chosen  travel, you have chosen technology, you have chosen  education. In education, you have given some parenting  tips related to school or you have given  some preparation tips for any competition  exam, you have given time management tips for students. So you  can include this thing also inside your niche. You have chosen  2-3 niches or even if you choose one, it's okay. You choose two-three, you  think that I can write content in these two-three niches, have knowledge & I  also have interest. What do you have to do? Some articles  related to niche have to be written for samples. 

You have to make your portfolio?

Because whenever you apply  for a content writing job or in freelancing, the first question will come to you that what have you written  already, show us the samples so that we can see how your  writing skills are. If you apply for a job anywhere,  you are asked for samples first. In the resume and even  before the interview, you are asked about the sample, so that  from there you can decide whether the writing skills are  good, then proceed to the interview process. What do you have to do? Some topics have to be decided. Suppose, you  chose travel, so pick some topics related to travel,  do content writing on those topics. Suppose,  You wrote an article of 800-1000 words, by doing  this you write at least 10 articles, to get your  portfolio-sample ready. What to do after the portfolio-sample is ready? You  have to prepare resume. Nowadays, fewer people ask for  resume in freelancing because your sample and portfolio have started to matter more, but if you are looking for a full  time job and for example, if you are doing freelancing, then  some people ask for resume. You must have it. It should not  be that you were asked, you do not have it, now you are  making it. Now what? Make a simple resume of yours.  Templates are available in MS Word, you can create  from there. You get templates inside Google Docs,  if you have practiced Canva, you get built-in templates inside Canva as well. You just have  to copy-paste the content inside, your resume  is ready within 10-20 minutes. Then, what can you  do to make the samples that you have created  more presentable? 

 Start your own blog

You can start your own blog.  If you start a blog, you will get the same  competitive advantage, that means if 100 people start today after reading this article and 10 people start  their blog, then they are a little one step ahead  of 90 people and starting a blog does not  mean that you should buy a hosting, buy a domain. I am saying that if you want to start a free blog then you can do it. Inside WordPress,  you get the option of a free blog. You can  simply put your content on this and publish it under  your name. Second, medium.com allows you to  publish free. Publish your content there under your  name. What will happen then? After publishing, you  will have links to blogs. Your content will become a publish article,  means, then what can you do, when someone needs a sample, you can send the link that this is my link to the sample, you can see my content is published here. So it gives you a quick good competitive advantage  in this thing. 

Set up your profile

The next step is that you have to set  up your profile by going to some online platform. Where to do,what is important, what  matters to you, let's discuss them.  First is LinkedIn because LinkedIn is a professional  platform where there are companies and employers  and everything is available there. So you have to  create your profile. If you already did it, then it has to be optimized linked to the content writing profile.  What can you do to optimize? Insert your  own photo there, where there is an option of headline, you write content writer there. You can also mention your niche, for example, you are a travel content  writer, sports writer, technical writer, mention  it there, put a cover photo. There is a section of skills, writing, content writing, SEO writing.  Add these some skills. Set up Bio, Experience, Education, everything, that means you should have an optimized  profile so that if someone is searching for a content writer,  then your profile should be visible somewhere. Second,  on Facebook and Instagram also you can mention in bio that you are a content writer. Like, when you see  the job section of Facebook, you have mention there, working as a content writer at this company or as a  freelancer. What will happen with this is that the connection  you have, friends will have an idea, plus, we are  going to see what we will do next. Third thing, Quora. 

How to Use Quora

Quora is a very powerful platform where the audience is very good, there is a lot of traffic on  the platform of users. So you create an account there with your name. It is made for free. Look at some questions there of your niche. For example, you  see someone is questioning, what is the latest review of iPhone 14? You have iPhone 14, you have written a review for it. What will happen if you  keep answering a lot, then you will get views there. Like,  There are views on YouTube videos that there is one million views on any video, there are 10 million views, in the same way,  answers on Quora also have views that how many people have seen your answer. What will happen with this,  suppose, everyday you are giving  an answer of 200-300 words  and adding value to someone, views will come and  your profile will be built which will lead to authenticity.  For example, you got 50,000 views in a month,  and it happens, if you give 10 answers, you will know  how many views can come. You have to pick the questions  properly which you think you can answer correctly.  If you build a Quora profile, it will add value to your skills and authenticity.  

That is, everything has been set up, now what have you created,  you have created a base of your own, the base to start  content writing has started. Nothing has worked for you  so far, you have to find out how it will work now. We  have prepared the base, after all this is done, you  start. Then what do you have to do? You have to start pitching, you have to approach clients there or in the company. Here the strategy of your  reachout starts. What to do for that? 

Prepare an email template

Inside it you will mention what  skills you have and what value you can add for that company or for that client. 

Then the first thing  you do is from the group on Facebook, which will be related to content writing. You go to the group section  to search for content writers or join some groups related  to content writing, Pakistan. For example, join your  5-10 groups and what will happen in them that  people share their requirement. Anyone needs a content writer and puts the requirement that we  need a fresher content writer or content  writer of this niche. There you can  message them, comment that I can do this.  Process can start from there.  

There are also groups on Linkedin. Join such a group on Linkedin where there is hiring or someone has requirement of Freelancing Content Writer.  

How To Find Content Writing Jobs?

The next thing is that bloggers, for example, there are some blogs  where there are a lot of views  or a lot of traffic so find them and look  at the ones that belong to your niche. For example, you are writing  about travel, find travel bloggers and write a message to them that  you write content, because bloggers  need content writers. So you reach out there, who knows if someone needs you and  hires you. Third is digital marketing agencies. Digital  marketing company has many  projects of SEO, digital marketing where content writers are needed, then the  demand is very high in digital marketing company. So you reach out there, send your CV there,  send samples, then from there also you can get freelancing or full time opportunity. Next, where else can  you find work?  There are some online platforms where you can get freelancing tasks or pick  up projects. So some other top platforms  which are considered best for content writing are fiverr, Upwork, freelancer.in, Truelancer is also an emerging platform where  there are good projects. Focus on one or two platforms out of these four  platforms. If you focus on everyone then your focus will be divided & you yourself will get frustrated because when you  start from zero then it is a bit difficult to get work in starting but once you get it, it will create a flow and you will start getting work easily. What can you do as a beginner in starting?  You can also write some free samples or reviews, there are reviews on these platforms, ratings,  what feedback did you get from the clients  of the projects you have done. Out of 5 stars  you have got four stars, 1 stars, 5 stars.  So what can you doin the starting that  you can write in the exchange of reviews.  When other people will see in your profile that you get five star ratings, then you will start  getting work easily. So from here also you  can pick up a good project which is a high  paying project. An important point, which we are  going to discuss next, everyone has mixed opinion  on it, many writers, including those who are business  professionals, that you should not write free samples. But I think that I have applied for work as a writer,  on the other hand, now my part is also done in the interview process, so you need  free samples. For example, today I  have received resumes of 50 people.  I have to select three people out of 50.  He is hired on the basis of sample and interview  process. So the first thing is the sample. Samples are  more important than interviews for a content writer, how are the writing skills, that practical thing  has to be seen. I gave everyone the topic, now I can't pay everyone. Having free samples becomes an important part there because I have paid 50 people, out of them I have been  able to finalize two people and I am not able to use the rest of the content, there is a loss of  money. But as a content writer, you will feel it is your loss as well. I have also written a sample for you for free, it is of no use to me, my  time has also been wasted. What can you do? The free  sample you wrote, if it is not approved, then publish it on your blog.  Your one more sample is ready. Value added in your terms.  Second thing, if someone is asking you to write a free sample,  what can you do? You wrote an article on the topic you got, publish it  on your blog and send the publish link as a sample  to him that here is my article, written by me. What  happened to this that there are some companies or bloggers who asked you to  write for free and keep using it. So you  will avoid that thing because you have published earlier, you have written the content first,  then the chances of re-publishing the published article are reduced. You can do this thing.  Have done all this, and you feel that nothing  can be done in this too or it is difficult then the smoothest  path is that you are looking for full time job or want  to do anything, what is the smoothest path is that you do a course of content writing  in which you get to learn everything step by step because your skill is completely ready within two-three months of the course. 

Do an internship  

for three to four months, in which you will work  under someone, you will get feedback, opinion,  grammatical mistakes or other issues, you will  come to know, you will also have an idea of  SEO or you can start a full time job.  Start full time job in any company.  If you have done a job for 6 months-year, then  you have come to know how content writing  works, what are the expectations from the company or if you are working as a freelancer, then what is the expectation of the client from you. You'll  going to understand this process well. You work  with other team as well, if there is coordination then everything works for you. If you follow this  strategy, then you can make a very good career in  content writing or if you are looking for part time job, full time, freelancing, whatever you are thinking, you can pick it for every reason. And  The most important thing that I told you is that  you should know what happens in plagiarism,  how are the tools, your grammar should be  fine, you do not have to enter in every niche.  Don't say that any niche is there, give me a topic,  I will write it, because I say this every time that the one who writes everything, does not know how to write anything well. You pick two-three niches. If you said that I can write well about sports and no one can write  better than me, then if you want to reach the best level,  then you have to pick the niche. If I had also said  from the beginning that you ask me to write anything,  I will write it, No. I picked two or three goals,  for example, software development, digital marketing asked to write on finance, I have not worked on  finance till date, then if I do research on finance, I will  not be able to write well, the person whose niche is finance,  he has knowledge of everything, I will not be able to write better than him. 

Conclusion

So choosing a niche is  very important. You make samples, create  them well, take them seriously, don't make them as  if just making samples is a part of a process. Don't  see it as a task completion, make it seriously.  Give your best in sample. Check plagiarism,  check the grammatical mistake so that if you  send the sample, then the person checks  how many grammatical mistakes are there in your  content, whether it is unique or not. Take care of all these things. Make a portfolio.  If you start a free blog, you will  get a competitive advantage. All these things are a bit important to you. Have to take care. Thank you.