How To Be a Successful Content Writer Online

Whether you want to write for a blog, social network account, or make content for a YouTuber and share the income with him, writing material online is a widespread habit nowadays. But it takes some knowledge and effort to become a good and reliable writer.

First of all, you must decide for yourself what kind of content writer you want to be. If your goal is just to make money, you should aim for popular topics such as fashion, celebrities, football, pop music, or politics. You may not like such topics, of course, but not everything that’s popular is also of good quality. If you’re planning to write about the latest discoveries in astrophysics, for instance, that’s a great idea! But unfortunately, far fewer people will be interested in such posts compared to those who follow news about fashion, celebrities, football, pop music, or politics. Therefore, you’ll also be earning less money while writing about astrophysics.

Grammatical accuracy is a ‘must’

Let’s face it: nobody trusts an article that contains a lot of grammatical errors. We all make mistakes, but too many are just not tolerable while you’re writing content online. Besides, internet trolls are everywhere, and you wouldn’t want one to keep nagging you in the comment section about your bad grammar. Of course, you have the option of deleting his message, but wouldn’t that be a cowardly and foolish act? There are even reliable pieces of software available on the web that will help you a lot with your grammar, and one of them is the Grammarly app.

Read, read, read

Make your documentation about the subjects you’re writing about. Don’t be just another fellow who drags and drops a piece of information from one website to another because you’ll be hating your job. Why not write of passion instead of writing only for money? Choose your favorite topics and keep an eye on updates. Start from learning some of the basics of the topics, then proceed with the newer stuff. Ask yourself this question: “why would someone read my articles when there are already tons of websites out there?”. Focus on bringing something new, and you can’t do it unless you have some real knowledge on the subject you’re writing about! Be creative, unique, or at least try to be funny!

Offer a positive vibe

Don’t just drag and drop information on your post. Try to emphasize any positive aspect found about the subject! For instance, you may not be impressed about the latest album from Judas Priest, but don’t forget that you’re writing for people who are interested in what you write as long as they hit click. Try to pinpoint any interesting aspect like production, art work, or resemblance between a song with a highly successful one. Of course, lying is certainly not an option, but that doesn’t mean you can’t act as excited for what you’re writing about. People generally like to read posts that provide a positive vibe, not a negative or dull one (regardless of how right or wrong you are).

Go straight to the point

Time is a luxury these days for many of us, so nobody likes to read articles where the writer says something totally unexpected in the first paragraph. Of course, building an introduction is important, but don’t waste too much time unless your article is listed in a website with both its title and a few words from the first paragraph.

Be respectful

We all hate a lot of things in life, and society is already full of malevolence. Pretty much nobody wants to read posts full of hatred after an annoying day at the office, while reading the latest news in politics, or after a fight with the spouse. If you aim to criticize a company or a person, it’s a good idea to do it in a funny way.

Don’t give all the information in the title

The title is the most important aspect of an article, as that will make the user hit the click button or not. Choose an attractive title, one that emphasizes the essential part, but don’t give all the vital information of the article there. For instance, why would someone click on an article that has the title “Rockstar Releases GTA 6 on January 10”? It’s a much better idea to add a title like “Rockstar Finally Announced The Release Date for GTA 6”. Or instead of entitling your article as “Superman Returns in The Man of Steel Game,” you can write something like “The Upcoming Game That Brings Superman Back – Release Date and Other Info”.

Mention sources as much as possible

Of course, very few articles are completely original these days, but you don’t know when someone can accuse you of plagiarism. Besides, stealing someone else’s work is unethical. You certainly wouldn’t like it if someone does it to you. Therefore, you should mention sources within your posts as much as you can, even when you’re quoting someone. Adding links on pieces of text will also make your post look professional.

Insert images and videos

Content writing is not all about writing, as you often need to spice it with pics and videos. People like to have their imagination stimulated, and let’s be honest: we all like to see relevant images and videos in an article. Of course, don’t forget to mention the sources of those pics and vids!

These are our top suggestions, and we would be happy to read your own opinion on the subject. But remember: be original, respectful, straight to the point, and have good grammar!

Tonia Nissen
Based out of Detroit, Tonia Nissen has been writing for Optic Flux since 2017 and is presently our Managing Editor. An experienced freelance health writer, Tonia obtained an English BA from the University of Detroit, then spent over 7 years working in various markets as a television reporter, producer and news videographer. Tonia is particularly interested in scientific innovation, climate technology, and the marine environment.