What makes a good content writer? 5 signs you found a winner to keep!
Content writers can be a complete waste of nerves, money, and time. However, they can also be the difference between growth and stagnation for your business. Great content has many benefits, but it takes time, team effort, and a good content writer.
In this article, you’ll find:
Table of Contents
What is a content writer 101?
People outside of the writing industry generally assume that anyone who writes content online is a content writer. Although that definition isn’t wrong, it gives you as much clarity as the terms’ engineer’, ‘developer,’ or a ‘factory worker.’
The devil is in the details, and it’s essential to understand the limits of content writers and know when you need a different type of writing specialist. You can skip this part if you already know the differences between Content Writers, Copywriters, and SEO writers.
A content writer is someone who typically creates content with the intent to inform. They usually create long-form content types, such as skyscraper blog posts, and make them useful, interesting, and engaging.
An informative piece of content should always communicate the solution to a problem of your target audience. In addition, educating your audience helps you build trust and positions you as an authority on a subject.
Informative content like “How to guides” or “List of best” is not there to make the sale, but is there to help raise your visitor’s level of awareness, which prepares them to make a purchase later on.
Thus, the job of a content writer is to create content that makes an excellent first impression and helps your prospects solve a problem to build trust in your brand.
Five signs you’ve found a Good Content Writer:
A good content writer specializes in a specific service.
Many guides online tell you a content writer needs to understand SEO, graphic design, essential web development, be a master of psychology and marketing funnels, and a dozen more skills.
That is an unrealistic elitist description full of crap and tries to increase entry barriers to the industry for young writers. Moreover, it misleads some owners that they can pay one person for the work of a marketing team.
Seeing a writer specializing in a dozen services makes me as suspicious as a cheap restaurant with 300 items on its menu. You never know which one will send you running to the bathroom.
Bottom line – writers who offer a specific service are more trustworthy than generalists who try to do it all.
A good content writer specializes in a niche.
What’s better than a writer who specializes in a service? – A writer who applies his services continuously within the same industry.
To borrow Bruce Lee’s metaphor, not only have they practiced the same kick 10,000 times, but they also practiced hitting the same target.
Frankly, it’s hard to suck at something if you do it long enough.
Just make sure your writer can prove any of his expertise. Writing samples are great, but a conversation is often enough to determine if they understand a subject as deeply as they claim.
A good content writer has a clear-as-day writing process.
If writers understand your industry and their service, they already have a rough idea of success and how to achieve it.
The difference between beginner writers and experts is that the former tries to improvise most of the time, while the latter knows when to follow a routine and when to unleash their creative talent.
If your writer has a writing process that allows them to grasp priorities and hit the ground running quickly, that’s a sure sign this isn’t their first rodeo.
A good content writer proactively eliminates uncertainty.
Experienced writers hate doing the same work twice. That’s why they go above and beyond to ensure your vision is crystal clear, and your expectations are set in stone.
They understand that it is in their best interest to make every effort to understand you completely. That’s why they don’t take anything for granted and ask you many questions to eliminate uncertainty.
A good content writer has a natural sense of tact.
Good content writers understand the purpose of their content. In most cases, they help a reader make an informed decision about a given problem.
Sometimes your product or service is one of the solutions, and you might be eager to promote it. However, a good writer shouldn’t just add raw promotional elements that ruin the flow of their article.
Poorly mixing informational and promotional content has a repulsive effect, just like the pitch of a sleazy car salesman. A good writer understands that and ensures all messages in their workflow naturally, as if they have always belonged there, without triggering suspicion.
3 Common myths about Good Content Writers
Writers need an advanced vocabulary to be convincing.
Writing is the glue that makes people stick to your message. It is far better to be relatable than to create distance with big words. In addition, you communicate more authority by explaining things simply.
Writers should always be open to changes.
The standard for revisions in the writing industry is two rounds. Most of the time, writers tolerate small changes and edits beyond those two. However, if you give specific instructions twice, change your mind, and decide to demand a complete rewrite for free makes you as loved as a cactus plant in a balloon party.
Writers should deeply understand SEO.
You need an SEO writer if you need SEO proficiency and writing talent. Unfortunately, mainstream professional SEO software costs about 200$ per month in 2022, which makes it a non-starter for many writers.
Content writers can easily be instructed to follow SEO best practices within their writing. However, expecting them to buy a 200$ subscription for your 50$ article and take care of all your SEO needs is unrealistic.
Final Words on Good Content Writers
The one-word answer to what makes a good content writer is experience. Experience in the service they provide and in the niche they operate.
Experience in creating an effective process, adapting to new priorities, and developing a sense of tact when representing your brand online. Finally, I hope you enjoyed the read!
