13 Content Writing Skills to Succeed Right Now!

Last updated on 14th July, 2022 by Dr Shivangi

You know that content writing is a skill-based career.

So, now the question arises: What are the essential content writing skills required to be successful?

6 years ago when I started as a content writer, I believed that it just takes the basic writing skills to earn a fortune in the content writing industry.

But with time, I realised that the reality is different. Writing content for businesses is far different from writing poetry or as a hobby.

So, today, I will tell you the essential content writing skills for beginners to be a successful content writer.

Work on these basic content writing skills and you’ll be good to go on your career path.

Ready to learn those skills? Let’s dive in.

13 Essential Content Writing Skills Required for Success

1. Fluency in Written English

It sounds obvious, but fluency in written English is the first content writing skill required.

Many content writers, especially the beginners are not well-versed with the nuances of English grammar.

For example, the difference between “its” and “it’s”, “advice” and “advise”, where to place the comma or semi-colon, etc. They use one in the place of another. Plus, you need to be consistent to use UK/US English throughout one article. You can’t mix both.

Such silly mistakes take a toll on your writing and put your career at stake.

Worry Not!

Here’s how you can improve your English writing skills!

2. Understanding your Audience

Content writing is creating content for the readers; the one they enjoy reading and understand what you wanna tell them. However, creating such a piece of content is impossible if you don’t understand for whom you write.

Without considering your audience’s choice, likes/dislikes, problems, etc. you cannot connect with your readers and develop trust in them.

3. Adaptability

Adaptability is the next important content writing skill. You should be able to adjust your tone and style of writing as per the piece of content. For example, the content for a landing page is short and meant to persuade the reader to take action whereas a blog post explains a complex issue in detail.

Similarly, a blog post for a scientific equipment company will differ in tone from that of an organic food shop. So, more the styles you learn, and the quicker you adapt, the more valuable you will be as a content writer.

4. Strong Research Skills

An ability to search for interesting and trustworthy information is important. It adds credibility and value to your article. Remember, I added a research study on content writing jobs in this post? I did so to support my post about the career in content writing.

Thus, be adept at what and where you search for information before writing your post.

5. Solid understanding of SEO

SEO and content writing go hand-in-hand. However superb your article be, it’s a waste if the readers can’t find it on the internet.

So, optimising your content for search engines is a vital content writing skill. It’s important to know the keywords for your article, how to search them and use effectively within your content, and keep up with Google’s latest trends.

6. Creativity

A creative content writer can present even the most boring information interestingly, thus keeping the readers hooked to the content. And that’s what your clients want. If you can engage their readers with their brand with your creativity, you’ll be a hero in their eyes.

7. Organisational Skills

Organising means not only maintaining a clean workspace, but organising your work assignments as well. Keep your laptop decluttered and all the files neatly organised so it’s easy to find them when you need.

Keep a calendar and know the deadlines of all your assignments. Submitting them after the due date sends a terrible message to your clients and won’t earn you a reputation of a successful content writer.

8. Strong Communication Skills

Communication skills come in handy not only during an interview but also while working on the client’s assignments. If you have questions about the assignment, let your client know about it beforehand. Treat it as an official communication and proofread your message/mail before sending it.

9. Ability to meet deadlines

As said before, companies expect writers to respect their deadlines. If you can’t, it automatically registers you into their scrapbook. On the opposite, if you deliver high-quality content promptly, you showcase your professionalism and reliability, which helps to win more clients/assignments.

10. Ability to focus

Content writing is a work of focus. You can’t afford to get distracted by phone calls, messages, etc. So get rid of all the distractions while at work and focus on completing one task at a time.

11. Proofreading and Editing

Though discussing it later, this is the 2^nd important content writing skills required.

We rarely write perfectly at first attempt. Therefore, proofreading and editing your own content before submitting is crucial. This requires patience, discipline, and an eagle eye.

Leave your first draft for a day or a few hours. After some time, look out for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, typos, redundancies, overused words, and sentence structure. You’ll be surprised at how many mistakes you find in your own writing.

Cross-check with an editing tool like Grammarly or ProWritingAid.

12. Deliver Quality

Nothing promotes your work better than delivering high-quality and engaging articles to your clients. If you want more work and high-paying clients, consistently focus on the quality of the content you deliver.

13. Stay updated

Know the recipe of an IDEAL content writer?

Besides the above content writing skills, he keeps himself updated with the latest trends in the industry. Because if he won’t, it will limit his job opportunities.

So, join online writing and freelance communities, leverage different social media platforms, be comfortable sending emails to the clients, and improve your online presence and network.

Takeaway on Content Writing Skills

“What are your top skills?”

That’s frequently asked during any job interview nowadays, which shows that recruiters value skills more than your educational qualification.

Note down the above basic content writing skills and start working on them TODAY!

To make things easier, sign up for our Content Writing Course to gain these necessary content writing skills.