Every content writer finds themselves in a creative rut in some phases of their career. Various content writing and SEO content services work hard to keep up with the needs of their clients and to create content that garners more search engine attention, which may take a toll on the creativity of their writers. Sadly, this can ultimately result in more written work being stale and repetitive.
However, content writing and creativity can go hand-in-hand with more time spent on practice. Exercising your writing ‘muscle’ is as easy as improving any other skill one might have. With this in mind, here are some exercises that can help improve a content writer’s creativity and get them writing with flair in no time!
Outlining
Almost all great pieces of content begin with the proper organization of ideas, and this applies to content writing too. Its effectiveness is often overlooked by many writers who are eager to begin putting pen to paper without a sense of where they are going. Thus, to have some sense of direction in your writing, it is always good to have an outline. This outline may consist of simple notes, maybe in the form of a mind map, acting as a guideline which will help save time in clarifying some questions later on in the writing process.
This is why many outsourced content writing and website copywriting services here in Malaysia come up with an outline of their clients’ interests so that they can cover all the necessary bases in their tasks, making sure no stone goes unturned. As a result, content writers get more room for creativity by understanding what needs to be done to satisfy their clients and target audience. Having more organized information beforehand will definitely show in your finished work, where readers can enjoy reading written content that oozes flair.
Reading and Editing the Work of Others
With the influx of content marketing in Malaysia, content writers have an abundance of samples and examples in the form of the work of others. This can act as an inspiration to any content writer as they dissect and comprehend these pieces by other great writers. It is as simple as searching for a random article or even blogpost and picking the best ones that come from the best writers. Pay close attention to their style of writing and how they lure readers in with their words. Studying their techniques and applying them to your own work can greatly improve your sentence structures and choice of words, which just adds to your flair.
On the other hand, whilst reading helps you learn what to do, editing the work of others gives you a better idea of what not to do. It’s as simple as picking out a random article and proofreading it for errors or inconsistencies that affect the quality of the written content. Take note of any forms of clichés, poorly worded sentences, as well as any mistakes in grammar and punctuation. By doing this, writers are able to avoid making these silly mistakes in their own body of work.
These exercises are currently being taught to many content writing trainees at the different content writing services in Kuala Lumpur and throughout Malaysia, to allow them to properly understand what makes good written content and what does not. When reading and editing the work of others are done together, it is easy to read, and tighter content will be the norm for any content writer.
Rewriting Old Content
Many content writers have their beginnings, where old written work is often cringe-inducing to them. As such, reviewing and rewriting these pieces that did not work put them on the right path to improving their writing skills. For starters, take a piece of your own past work that you think is not up to par with the other great written content you have read. Here, you must openly critique your work and understand what stops it from being a great read. Pose yourself questions to determine what’s wrong with it and how you can eventually improve it.
As always, be attentive to whether the necessary keywords were precisely placed and get rid of them if they were used shoddily. Furthermore, always have your target audience in mind and ask yourself whether this piece of old content connects with your audience. Once you have picked it apart, now comes the part where you have to rewrite it. Take your time to iron out all the aspects of it that can be improved and make sure to eliminate anything that could hinder its readability. In terms of writing creatively, rewriting old content allows writers to learn from past shortcomings and to find ways to improve their writing styles.
Often times, by doing this, a writer is encouraged by how much they have grown and excelled beyond what they expected of themselves, which goes a long way towards building a more confident writer who produces work that flows smoothly and with flair to boast.
Headlining
Now here comes an aspect that all content writers are aware of and know fairly well, and that is writing a headline. Content marketing and content writing thrive on good headlines, and the art of writing one that catches the attention of readers is something that many try to master. Headlines are the first thing anybody reads, so it’s best that they are written with flair as well.
So what makes an excellent headline? Well, a good headline usually consists of the use of precise keywords and attractive language. To achieve this, writers should brainstorm multiple headlines for a topic that they will be writing about. What this does are it pushes the writer to flex their creativity in coming up with the numerous headlines. Another important tip that writers should rely on is using short headlines in favour of longer ones. It is best for a headline to stay within 60-70 characters only.
Ultimately, you get to train your eye to weed out weak headlines. A content writer’s headline not only brings in the right audience, but it also allows the writer himself to start off on the right foot.
Conclusion
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and content writing is no different. In Malaysia, the only way for the many content writing, website copywriting, and SEO content services to flourish is through practice and more practice. Content marketing is at the forefront of the success of any business in our world today, and content writers have to be equipped with creativity beyond their clients’ mandates.
Concise, factual information alone is not enough to build on the readability of one’s work, where audiences seek more creatively written content that brings joy to the reading experience. Some writers may not have been gifted with flair. However, it can always be developed with a bundle of effort.
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