I’m Upset Because Not Even My Mentors Taught Me These 4 Writing Lessons
Start with a blank page and work your way up.
Writing for the web is different from traditional essay writing.
Here’s the thing: the goal of web writing is not to impress teachers but to engage an online audience. Unlike school essays, web content is accessed by a diverse range of individuals with varying interests, knowledge levels, and preferences.
While grammar and style are important in traditional essays, they don’t always apply to web writing.
Understanding reader psychology and the right target audience are two things everyone has to learn and tweak according to their own preferences. Not just limited to this but there are few more writing lessons that if known before could definitely change our lives for good.
Below are four important web writing lessons not even my mentor taught me:
1. Your first 100 followers should be your friends
Gather your supportive friends.
Now ask them to support you on your writing journey by becoming your first subscribers, first followers, or even better, your first referrals. Platforms don’t charge a fee for following someone.
Friends can recommend and endorse your writing, providing social proof. Encourage your friends to recommend your writing to their networks and ask for their feedback constantly.
Additionally, if a friend reshares your post on LinkedIn, more people can discover your name. Use this opportunity to connect with more writers in your field.
These tips help you stay connected to enormous writing communities and events and let people know about the services you provide through connections.
2. Find the essay writing style and throw it in the dustbin.
Growing up, we all studied essay writing styles.
These styles required using filler words such as “notwithstanding,” “in the light of,” “morever,” and “subsequently,” etc.
While the filler words are appropriate for academic essays, they are not suitable for web writing. When it comes to crafting content for the web, break away from the essay writing style and adopt a fresh and new perspective.
Online readers crave digestible information. People don’t want to spend unnecessary time reading sentences that resemble academic reports. So, shed academic report-like sentences and adapt to the crisp writing style. Adapt to the web’s demand for concise and to-the-point writing using these tips:
- Concise: Keep your sentences and paragraphs short
- Avoid complex terminology: Use plain language and avoid jargon
- Scanability: Use sections, bullet points, subheadings etc
3. Start early, learn along the way
You can’t fully grasp the struggles and challenges until you begin. While guidance offers direction, the path must be walked alone.
Therefore, it’s important to start. Just start.
People figure it out and adapt along the way. Until you go down the road, you won’t know the rocks and nature.
It’s through experience that people figure things out and adapt along the way. Learning in the field equips you to overcome obstacles, transforming setbacks into stepping stones.
Starting early provides a head start, but learning along the way shapes your journeys. Along the way we progress, adapt, and ultimately achieve our goals. So, take the leap, begin early, and embrace the opportunities for growth and learning that unfold along your path.
4. Niches build riches
If you worked as a doctor 4 years and as a pilot for four years, your medical industry experience would still be 4.
That’s why you need to have a niche.
Find a niche to write about. What excites you? Is it finance? Startup? Writing? Self-improvement? Find a passion for the niche and build an audience around it.
Discover what truly excites you. Is it finance, startups, writing, self-improvement, or another area? By identifying your passion and focusing on a specific niche, you can build an audience around it by:
- Introducing a newsletter
- Sell a course/ product/ service
- Consulting
Once you have chosen a niche, readers who are interested in that particular topic will naturally gravitate toward you. By concentrating on your niche, you can continually improve your expertise and knowledge within that specific area. This positions you as an authority and trusted source for information.
Having a niche allows you to stand out from the vast pool of writers. You become unique and distinguished, offering specialized insights and value to your audience.
Final thoughts:
The journey of becoming a skilled writer extends beyond what we learn in traditional English classes.
In the world of writing, the above four lessons can pave the way for success and growth. By implementing them, you can navigate the challenges, stand out among the competition, and build a reputable name for yourself.
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