How to write amazing content as a new writer?

As a new writer, the field of content writing is very overwhelming. With so many experienced writers out there, making your content stand out sounds like a difficult task. Especially, being unknown to the field and lack of experience stand as a hurdle while starting out. In addition to that, the pressure of writing amazing content hangs like a sword on the head.

I have been through that phase myself, and I know how writing amazing content feels complicated and difficult. If you are starting out and feel the same, do not worry! I have got you covered. 

After reading this article, you will find new insights into the features of the content you need to adopt. And, also the aspects of content writing you should not ignore. This article will act as a checklist for your content and enable you to make your content amazing. 

Do read till the end to find additional attached resources which will help you write better content.

So, let us get started.

What is amazing content?

Content is any piece of information you consume. Let it be in the form of audio, visual or text-based format. You consume a lot of content every day, but not all content feels amazing. 

Am I right?

We stumble across only a few pieces which happen to wow our brain and answer all the questions running in our mind. Those content pieces are the ones you would call amazing.

While researching about amazing pieces of articles, I found a few features, which all those articles had inscribed beautifully. 

These were the features which made them stand out from all the competition.

These features made the content more understandable.

Those features were simplicity, clarity and elegance. Let me explain them in detail.

Features of amazing content

Simplicity

Simplicity is the quality that makes your content easy to read and understand. It is an essential feature of any content as it prevents the readers from feeling confused. And, puts across your message in a way readers can make most of it.

Let us take this example:

1. My domestic feline companion has adorable characteristics.
2. My cat is adorable.

Which of the two sentences makes more sense to you?

The second one. Isn’t it?

Now, both sentences hold the same meaning, but the second sentence makes more sense.

Do you know the reason?

Because the second sentence uses simpler words. 

When you write simple content, your audience will connect to the content, and it will not be a brainer for them. They will understand the exact message you want to put across.

How to write simple content?

Write in familiar words:

In the example, you can notice that feline refers to the cat family, but not everyone is familiar with it. Rather, they are more familiar with the term cat. When you use words, your readers are familiar with, you connect with the reader’s mind. 

So always use simple English words. Remember: Your reader will be able to connect to your content only when its language is simple, and they are familiar with it. (Tip: write in words a 10-year-old will understand)

Uncomplicated your ideas before writing them down:

You will have numerous content ideas running across your mind. Always write them down before actually writing your content. Break those ideas into simple ideas, this will uncomplicate the ideas, and you will be able to put across simple content.

Now, let us talk about the second important feature, i.e. clarity

Clarity

Clarity is the quality that will make your content clear to understand. Generally, simplicity and clarity walk hand in hand. 

Let us take an example:

1. The rivalry between Riya and Shreya has intensified since she was promoted.
2. Since Riya was promoted, the rivalry between Riya and Shreya has intensified.

Which sentence would you say has more clarity?

Both the sentences look alike, there is just a little difference, and that difference is what makes your content clear.

Here, the second sentence has more clarity than the first one. The first sentence leaves confusion for the readers by not mentioning who among the two was promoted.

Studies suggest you have just 3 seconds to grab the attention of readers. If your content makes the reader think, then you lose that attention. So always make sure your content has clarity, and the reader can understand it without being confused.

How to add clarity to your content?

Avoid using jargon in your writings:

Jargons are words or expressions, which are related to a particular group. Not everybody is familiar with the jargon.

When you add jargon to your content, only the people of a specific segment will understand. For others, it may sound like Greek and Latin. Hence, avoid using jargon in your content.

Avoid ambiguity in your content:

As I told you earlier, if your content confuses the reader, you lose their attention. To write content with clarity, you need to remove confusing sentences and make your point clear to the reader.

Make careful use of punctuations:

Punctuations are very important in the English language. A small mistake in punctuation changes the meaning of the entire sentence. Hence, make appropriate use of commas and other punctuations in your content to add an extra layer of clarity.

After simplicity and clarity, comes the third essential feature.

Elegance

Elegance refers to the flow of your content. Amazing content is one, which has a rhythmic flow that compels the reader to read the entire piece of content.

Take an example:

1. I woke up early and got a chance to see the sunrise. It was a beautiful moment. It gave a soothing effect. It made my mind relax.
2. I woke up early and was able to see the sunrise. The beautiful moment had a soothing effect that relaxed my mind.

Here, both the examples hold the same meaning, both are simple, and both have clarity. Yet, the second one is better to read. This is where elegance comes in. 

Lack of elegance makes the content dry. You lose connectivity with your reader if your content does not have elegance.

How to write elegant content?

Give your ideas a structure:

When your ideas are structured, your writing flows well. It is because your mind has the clarity of what comes next. Structure gives continuity to your content.

Write in active voice:

Writing in active voice makes the flow of your content better. The tone of your content becomes conversational. Active voice sparks interest in the reader to read, as they feel like having a direct conversation with the writer. 

When you write content in passive voice, it seems more like in past tense and vague. Hence, try avoiding passive voice as much as possible.

Use powerful words:

Powerful words are highly stimulating and excite the reader. The use of a few powerful words in your content will make it sound a lot different.

For example: 

If the topic of this article was how to write good content as a new writer? You might not have read until here.

Amazing is a powerful word used in the headline, which lifts up the entire sentence.

Do not repeat the same subject-verb agreement:

Repeating the same subject-verb agreement makes the content dry. It makes your content monotonous as depicted in the example. Hence, avoid repetition of subject-verb agreement in more than two sentences.

Content has many other features, but simplicity, clarity and elegance are the ones you should always instil in your content. These three are the basic features that you should make mandatory in your content. And it will make your content stand out.

After understanding the features of amazing content, let us discuss the aspects of the content writing process.

Aspects of the content writing process

Content writing doesn’t always start with actual writing, and also never ends when you finish writing the content.

Content writing is more than just writing the content.

Are you confused?

Let me explain.

To start writing content, you must have complete knowledge of the topic you are writing. Also, after writing you must know whether your audience liked the content or not.

Therefore, content writing starts with research and ends with analysis. These make up the aspects of the content writing process.

Five aspects of the content writing process

1. Conducting in-depth research

Research is a crucial step in the content writing process. The quality and depth of your research can make or break your content. 

You might ask what to research about?

There are three things you need to do detailed research on Topic, Keywords and Target audience. 

Detail research on the topic will give you deep knowledge, which will make your article content-rich. 

Keyword research will help you use words your audience is looking for.

Proper research on the target audience will give you insights into the behaviour of your audience. It helps in writing content in the language of the reader.

2. Drafting a proper outline

Outline refers to different parts or sections of the content. When you draft an outline before writing content, it gives you direction. You know what point comes next, and this gives your content the required flow.

An outline usually consists of Headline- Introduction- Different sections of the content- Conclusion. This is a basic outline on which you should build your content. You can modify the outline as per the content you are writing.

3. Editing your content mercilessly

After drafting the outline and writing the content, the next important step is editing. This step is essential as it gives a finishing touch to your content. 

Always make sure you do not start editing right after writing. Take a minimum of a 15-minute break and divert your attention off the content. Talk to your family or a friend, listen to music or just do a short tour of your house.

Come back, sit down and edit the content.

Three bases you need to edit your content on are Relevancy, Spellings and Grammar.

Even if you have written the best sentence of the day, if it doesn’t relate to the content, eliminate it. Every word and sentence, of the content, should be relevant to the topic of your content.

Then check for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and typos. Get them right before publishing or submitting your content.

4. Having a call to action

A lot of new writers ignore adding a call to action in the content. Not having a call to action leaves the content incomplete. When a reader reads your content and leaves without taking action, you are not impacting the reader. 

You need not have a specific call to action. It can be the form of a simple reply, comment or share. Having a call to action completes your content.

5. Analyzing the performance

The last step or aspect is analysis. Think like an entrepreneur while analysing.  Analyzing the performance of your content is essential. It gives you an idea of whether the reader liked the content or not.

Analysis is of two types: content analysis and performance analysis.

Content analysis refers to analyzing the style and information of the content. It is a continuous process as your skills develop over time. 

Performance analysis refers to the way your readers reacted to the content. Whether they liked it or not. 

Analysis can be done based on feedback.

Analysis helps you in knowing the flaws of your content and improving on it.

You need to write- analyse- improve- repeat.

You should never ignore the five aspects of the content writing process. They guide you from the start to the end of writing content.

You can also watch this video, where I have explained the aspects of the content writing process.

The three features and five aspects when followed and imbibed in your content, make your content amazing.

Additional tips for writing amazing content

Focus on a single topic:

Make sure you write and focus on a single topic in a blog. When there are more topics, it makes your content confusing. Hence, stick to one topic.

Optimise your content:

Digitally optimize your content. Here, I refer to using appropriate font, font size, paragraph spacing etc. which make your content visually appealing.

Do not crowd your paragraphs with too many sentences. Try avoiding more than 4- 5 sentences in a paragraph. 

Remember: A majority of the readers read your content over their mobile phone. Hence, optimize your content accordingly.

Read more and write more:

Whether you are starting out or are an experienced writer, one tip you should always abide by is reading more and writing more. 

The more you read, the more you understand the writing style and readability of the content.

The more you write, the better your content becomes.

I hope this article provided new insights on content writing and helped you in understanding the features and aspects of content writing.

If you are completely new to content writing are looking for help and motivation to start your writing journey. I would suggest you read the articles below which will guide you on taking the initial steps.

How to start content writing?- A step by step guide

4 Week Action Plan To Become A Really Good Writer

Write as you speak- Conversational writing techniques

As a new writer, a lot of questions would be revolving around in your mind regarding niche selection and portfolio building.

Suggested articles for the same:

3 steps to discover the perfect niche for you

Step by step building wordpress website

Comment below and let me know if you have any questions that remained unanswered in the article. Also, leave a suggestion on what topic I should be writing my next article.

Want to get in touch with me? Click here.

Thank you for reading.