This article is all about how to become a content writer and how to find work on the internet. In my last two posts, I mentioned how I found out about content writing and how I learn to use my writing skill to earn money. I hope in this article, you will find all the answer to your questions.

What is content writing?

Every written word on the internet is content written by a writer. the news article you read on politics, the top ten articles, the miracle technique to lose weight article, click-bait article, these all is a type of content writing. Let see how many types of content you could write.

Types of articles

  • Website content: every website needs content, like about us, company information and product description. These are all website content and you can find more about them on any website as well. To write website content, first you need to learn about the company and what are they trying to convey with their website. This job is one of the highest paying jobs as everyone wants their website to look good and have an impact on their customer, so you need to learn how to write the content first and then approach them.
  • Articles and blogs: these are the easy one and my most of income came from here. Articles are a type of content which you read in a new website or other. It’s subject-specific writing the same as this blog post. You need to research well and come up with something new and write those article in an informative way.
  • Small article: you must have come across this when you were scrolling on your facebook or twitter. You open a news article and it will contain minor information with a clickbait This type of article is a headache for the writer as they have to research the same amount of time as they spend on a 1000 word articles and yet it pays less.
  • SEO article: this last one is all the rage now. SEO means search engine optimization, it means to write an article in a way that it could come up in search engine. You will be provided with a certain keyword and then you need to put them in a certain position of the article. You also need to be careful about not to overdo it otherwise it would be considered as spam.

 

There are many other types of articles, but basically, they all come in this category. Now we know types of content, so lets head into how to write them.

Things you need before becoming a content writer

  • Learn: you need to learn how to write that way, you need to check articles written by the professional content writer. The easiest way to do that is search content writer on fivver and look at their sample article to get an idea.
  • How to start: first of all you need a subject, take an example of the advantage of eating a mango. So this is your title and keyword, now search this on google and read an article about it. then mention types of mangos, advantages and how many ways you can eat them, like juice or cutting them in pieces. Write a 500-word article and ask someone to read it.
  • Choose a style: every content writer has a style and you also need to create one for your self. Remember, while writing professionally, you cannot use sarcasm, jokes, puns, metaphors or your poetic prose. Write simple and informative and soon you will develop your own style.
  • Language: I always choose simple over hard language. There are many people on the internet who are known for their expertise in vocabulary and throwing big words but you are not there yet. Keep it as simple as possible so that your reader can understand it.
  • No control+v: never ever copy someones else work. People have tools to check that and even one copied line can ruin your whole project. Just research and write it in your own way.

 

Now after a few months of guidance and practice, you might feel confident enough to try your writing skills to earn some money, but where do you go to get some projects? If you have friends in that field, ask them for advice or you can try this platform.

Where to find work as a content writer?

  • Freelancer: it’s the biggest freelance marketplace in the world. I have an account in this one for the last 2 years and I still didn’t get any work from here. The reason is, it’s a Kumbh Mela of freelancer(very crowded place). when someone posts a project and you open it for detail, there would be no bid submitted to it yet. When you refresh the page, you would find that there are already 10 bids for this project. With every second passing by, you will find more and more bid coming on the way. I think people are using a script or some kind of the app to bid on the project like this as their bid will appear almost simultaneously. So finally when you bid on that project, you will be behind 50 to 80 bid and no one is looking at that for their freelancer. Also, there are some projects which have very few details, it would be like, need a content writer and that’s it. those are the fake one so that you can put your bid in it and then it will disappear. Which mean now you need more bids and now you need to buy those bids.
  • Fivver: when I was introduced to the freelancing work, one of my friends suggested me this one. He was really successful on this platform and earning quite well. But fivver is totally different than any other platform, we as a freelancer don’t have to visit any project, they will find us. There is also an option where you can find work like freelancer, but honestly, when you are totally new, without any stars or project, no one will going to give you any work. With a plethora of a freelancer, no one will look much down to hire any freelancer.

 

  • Upwork: it’s like going to the Ferrari showroom. Every single freelancer has a hefty fee and years of experiences. Every single project needs those experiences and project accomplishment as a requirement. Your work needs to be flawless and above all. Pay is good, but yet I never get a chance to work on any one of them.

 

Now, this was a little sad, but worry not, we have other option as well.

Here is the list of the website on which you will find some work easily.

 

  • Truelancer: it’s basically an Indian version of freelancer but you can get many projects. I have been working here for 6 months and I get tons of projects. Just make sure to deal with the project inside the freelancer and not the outside. People used to lure you out and complete their work and then disappear.

 

  • WorkNHire: this is also an Indian version of a freelancer. I only get one job from here and he asked me to chat on the email and ask me to pay to vie bank and after completing the work, he never showed up. So be aware of this.

 

  • LinkedIn: the best professional social media platform I have ever come across. No flirting, no other business, and just work. I have found my first project from here and still working with the same person. Make a LinkedIn profile and add all the content writer and ask them for work, in a professional manner.

 

  • Facebook: if you can’t find work anywhere else, Facebook can help you. Join the freelance and content writing group and find a project you can do. Contact them in a personal message and work for them. there is a 50% chance that you will get cheated so make sure to take all the precaution before.

 

One thing you need to understand about being a content writer, you cannot trust anyone.  get paid as soon as you write, some people prefer to be paid before they write anything. always have a backup website or source to upload your content when they don’t pay you. I use my website and Quora to do that.

Getting paid is one thing you cannot compromise for. As you know in freelancing work, you don’t see your client or know anything about them. You just need to assume that they are a nice person and will pay. That won’t happen every single time. I get cheated by people whom I trusted, they will pay for your earlier work upfront and then give you some bulk work. After completing those work and submitting to them. They will disappear. Your work and effort will be wasted. So choose wisely and get paid by articles or weekly. Don’t do the monthly work, you don’t know what happens after a month. Just because of this, I have started working only for the website which offers deposit security.

I hope my article is helpful for you to learn about content writing. even after many years, I am also still learning. meanwhile don’t forget to read about my new post on medium, Best Mac Cleaner Software 2021.