Some Hard Truths I Learned as a Member of a Content Writing Team
It’s very different from churning out words off the top of your head and hitting publish
I see a lot of new writers proudly displaying the newly minted shingle on Medium like this — “YBG, content writer, open for gigs.” But what they may not realize is that creating content on this platform is one thing and writing for a client, say, a nonprofit is a completely different thing.
It can be overwhelming to those who have no prior experience.
How do I know this?
Because several months ago I agreed to be part of a content writing project for a nonprofit organization. It was quite the revelation.
Going in, I knew my strengths:
1️⃣How to write a blog post and successfully promote it.
2️⃣When given a writing task I know what questions to ask and the research it entails
3️⃣Also, I am used to the edits, revisions, and deadlines oftentimes required before an article goes live.
But beyond these basics, I really didn’t have much clue about what goes on in the content writing world.
For example, when I was tasked with creating content for social media posts I discovered that a lot of thought goes into them not to mention the multiple revisions before the final product is approved and ready to roll.
Some of the things I learned were:
✅Formula for writing social media posts.
✅How to research the topic and condense the relevant points.
✅Choosing the right link-back articles and YouTube videos.
✅Constructive criticism is necessary for improvement and it is important to keep that in mind especially when it is doled out in the presence of the entire content writing team.
✅Learned to navigate different project management platforms and tools.
It can be a great learning experience, however, not every content writer may think so.
🛑The whole process of brainstorming, pitching an idea, creating it, going through several rounds of edits, and having to work with deadlines can be daunting.
🛑And if you are not a native English writer, as I am, then sometimes there is a tendency for self-doubt to creep in and some may choose to throw in the towel before giving it a chance.
I say this because I have seen aspiring writers join the team and leave just as quickly.
They are all gung-ho to start with but when given their first assignment, reality hits, and all at once it may appear like they have bitten off more than they can chew.
Well, what were they thinking when they put out their open for gigs shingle? That all it took was to churn out words and that was it?
No, it isn’t.
Evidently, there is more to content writing than meets the eye.
What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear them!
🌸Want to be a writer for Reciprocal? Then click👉here
🌸Connect with me:
Table of Contents|Twitter|Instagram|Newsbreak|Facebook|Substack|
I would like to share some reads I enjoyed this week: