As a freelance content developer, I create content for a wide variety of businesses, both B2B and B2C, on a full-time basis. These have ranged from small mom and pop shops to a Fortune 500 company. I am a member of the prestigious, member-vetted American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). I am a lifelong learner with a passion for research and writing, and I love it when a piece of content works well for a client. In the past, I provided a wide spectrum of content creation services, and so I’ll provide answers to FAQs that includes information about what I’ve done in the past as well as a current focus: creation of optimized content.
This is what my desk really looks like:
What are content creation services?
As a freelancer, I write for numerous companies—and so step one is always to learn more about the company for which I’ll be writing. What products and/or services do they sell? Who is their target audience (or audiences)? What are the company’s goals for the content being developed? Sometimes, the client can’t articulate what goals they have or the goals are not realistic. So, a content developer needs to work with the client to formulate an effective strategy; analyze how effective the strategy actually is; and then adjust as needed. There are a number of disciplines with content creation services, including organic search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, link building, and more. Not all content developers offer all of these services, but those who can offer the spectrum are more in demand.
What are common challenges for a content developer?
There are significant numbers of people offering content services, so it can be a challenge to break into the industry unless you obtain an internship or entry-level job at a marketing agency. Then, some clients–as mentioned above–can have unrealistic expectations about what website content can do for their company, often wanting very fast results (higher rankings in the search engines, increased targeted traffic to the site, and so forth). Because so many companies are competing for consumer attention through content development, there is plenty of online noise to break through to get your content noticed.
What are important skills to develop?
Content development is a hybrid of journalism and marketing, so it’s important that a content developer becomes skilled in both areas. Being good at writing but not marketing can mean your great content never gets noticed; being good at marketing but not at writing means you will fall short in presenting a client’s story well. People skills are also important because you’ll work with clients to develop strategies and content. Researching skills are crucial to finding quality information and discernment is necessary with so much inaccurate information available. Self-discipline and motivation are important, as well, since you need to stay on task and on time.
What are content creation tools?
To find relevant keywords to use and their traffic numbers, you’ll want to use a keyword research tool. I use SEMrush, which provides a broader scope of content creation tools/marketing tools (some I use and, others, I don’t). This costs money; if you’d like to start out with a free tool, you can see if they’re offering a free trial or use something like Answer the Public. This second content creation tool has a free and a paid version. Google Trends offers insights into what people are wondering about and where interest is highest, geographically. You can get limited domain analysis each month at Moz.com. What you’ll need will depend upon what specific content creation services you’ll offer and whether you’ll freelance or work for a company; if the latter, the company will likely pay for the tools they want you to use.
Would I be good at content creation?
If you enjoy writing, that’s great, because that’s at the core of content development. But many people discover that, yes, they enjoy writing–but only on topics that interest them. With content development, you need to brainstorm what types of content would appeal to a client’s customers and prospects, and that may include topics not typically considered glamorous.
Does this sound like you? You:
- love to research and learn
- are curious and willing to try new things
- aren’t thrown off stride when internet technologies change
- enjoy writing and are good at it
- understand marketing
- are self-motivated and self-disciplined
- are interested in a wide range of topics
- can interview people effectively to get expert information
- can discern what secondary sources are quality and which are suspect
What other questions do you have about content creation?