Content Marketing 101: What is a Content Writer?

It’s often said that “content is king.” Although Microsoft founder Bill Gates made that famous claim way back in 1996, it remains true today. Quality content that delivers valuable, relevant information is the linchpin of most successful marketing campaigns.

Respected SEO and content marketing experts Semrush recently reported that 45% of marketers are publishing more content than ever, more frequently, while 44% stated that marketing success revolves around the quality and value of the content.

But marketers aren’t necessarily creating that content themselves. Statista reports that at least 30% of B2B marketers are outsourcing all their content creation, with more still seeking expert, external advice on aspects like keyword research. The most commonly outsourced task was content writing. To really understand why the role of content writer is so in demand, it helps to get to grips with the basics of content marketing.

Learn more about content creation with Scripted here.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a way to build brand loyalty and sell products, services, and expertise. You achieve this by creating and sharing information that’s relevant and useful to your chosen target audience. It’s a vital aspect of inbound marketing: marketing that gets leads to come to you rather than you chasing them down.

A great content marketing strategy relies on different types of content such as blog posts, articles, infographics, and video content to demonstrate a brand’s authority. In that way, people are willing to trust the brand and turn to it when they need its products, services, or expertise. Good content is simply well-written, well-researched information that can stand on its own, even though it’s shared by a business to attract customers. Content writers are the foundation of great content marketing.

What Does a Content Marketer Do?

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At its core, content is simply information. As we’ve seen, content on the web can take a variety of forms, both written and visual. Content writers, of course, specialize in written content, but that can range from the typical blog posts and web pages to social media posting, press releases, SEO-friendly image captions, whitepapers, and even video scripts.

Take a look at the many products available from Scripted’s content writing team here.

Content is messaging directed toward the needs of a particular audience, which could include current and potential customers, investors, employees, or other stakeholders. That’s why understanding the purpose of content is foundational to producing high-quality work. Content can be well-written, thoroughly researched, and creatively conceived, but if it doesn’t speak to the intended audience and provide the value that the audience is looking for, it's not doing its job. High-quality content for marketing purposes combines creative writing skills with great research and a thorough understanding of the target audience.

Content writers often work directly with a business’s marketing team to ensure their copywriting efforts are ranking in organic search results. Metrics from Google Analytics provide clear insight into how a business's content is performing. Your content’s performance must be measurable so you know what works and what doesn’t.

Content Writers Demonstrate Why People Should Care About Your Products and Services

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If you’ve spent hours browsing available content writers online, you probably feel more confused than you were before you started. That’s because a lot of content creators—including journalists and copywriters—position themselves as content writers to attract clients.

However, not every writer qualifies as a “content writer.”

A good content writer has one main job: demonstrate to your potential buyers why they should care about your products and services. They achieve this goal by using your brand’s voice to educate people about what you offer or create content that provides value to that audience in some other way. Getting this job done can take hundreds or thousands of words.

Content writers have several secondary objectives as they work to demonstrate your brand’s value. For example, they might:

Include keywords that your potential customers will use in their search queries.
Write meta descriptions that encourage readers to click your link over other search results, also known as search engine optimization .
Identify other pain points of customers and clients.
Enhance your brand’s image by giving your blog, social media accounts, podcast scripts, email marketing, and publications more personality.

This all feeds into an effective content strategy that delivers genuine, measurable results. Although successful content writers use multiple digital marketing strategies, demonstrating your value to readers is always top-of-mind.

Scripted’s writers come from multiple industries and all have marketing and SEO expertise to help you create content that provides genuine value to your readership. Get started here.

Is a Content Creator a Content Marketer?

Some content creators might work as content writers, but not all content creators are content writers. Does that sound confusing? Let’s break it down.

People who call themselves “content creators” can work in various areas of content creation. Some are podcasters. Some are directors who make YouTube videos. Some are artists who draw funny memes. And, of course, some work as content marketers and content writers.

You can think of content writers as a specific type of content creator. They might even dabble in other creative areas. When they write for you, though, their work educates audiences so people know they can trust your brand to offer reliable solutions.

Is a Journalist a Content Marketer?

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Journalists often have the writing skills to become content marketing writers, but they have to abandon objectivity and investigation when they work for you.

Obviously, you don’t want to pay a writer to hand you an article about some mistake your company made a decade ago. That’s the kind of content journalists write. Great content marketers strive to show what’s great about your company, products, and services. They want to subtly promote you while also helping readers learn something.

What Skills Should You Look for in a Content Writer?

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Great! Now you know what a content writer does. Let’s move on to the skills someone needs to work as a successful content writer.

Flexibility to Match Your Brand’s Voice

Your brand has a unique personality that needs to come across in every piece of content you publish. If content marketing doesn’t feel authentic, it will not convert readers.

The best copywriters can alter their writing style to match your voice. They can take a formal tone that appeals to investors interested in emerging cryptocurrencies, or they can take an informal tone that attracts outdoor adventurers who connect with tales of hiking muddy trails and lazily drifting on the water after a long day of kayaking.

Some content writers specialize in certain tones. This approach works well for them, and it could work very well for you, too. Does it really matter that Jack W. can craft hilarious one-liners when you need someone to explain how hedge funds function? Probably not. As long as the writer can follow your brand’s tone, you have a good match.

Creativity

How many blog posts does the internet need about the benefits of exercise? Do you need to read another piece of content about which social media platform is best?

There are literally billions of web pages on the World Wide Web. Very few of them stand out. For the most part, it’s the same old content pointing to the same research trying to sell you a different version of the same product.

The internet is so cluttered that very few people can write valuable content that stands out. It takes impressive creativity to create brand awareness. This includes keeping on top of emerging content creation trends. Currently, TikTok is the fastest-growing platform for short-form video content, with over 1 billion active users as of February 2023. 18% of marketers have already jumped on this opportunity, and great content writers could help you write video scripts that appeal to a whole new audience.

You can also talk to a content writer about what’s worked in the past for businesses within your industry. When you join a content creation platform like Scripted, you get access to writers that have worked on projects ranging from affiliate programs to creating flyers for trade conventions. While digital marketing is the biggest focus for most companies, these traditional avenues still create excellent ROI. In fact, combining a print advertising campaign with digital efforts could increase success by as much as 400%.

Industry Expertise

Brands usually have specific needs when they look for content writers. If your company makes custom GPUs for hardcore gamers, you should hire a technology content writer who can explain RAM usage, motherboard compatibility, and other topics that interest your customers. You might also need someone who can make currently dry product descriptions pop.

Does your company offer business advice to companies that cultivate or sell recreational marijuana? Then you want a professional content writer with experience in cannabis content marketing.

Any topic that requires a high level of understanding demands a technical writer with plenty of experience. You probably don’t need an expert to write general knowledge posts about home gardening, but your law firm definitely needs a legal expert to cover the specifics of a new law.

Great content writers also have skill sets across a range of different platforms. They know how to utilize trending topics and hashtags on Twitter and Instagram and how to be professional while providing thought-provoking long-form content on LinkedIn. Creating content that can be shared widely creates more opportunities for “earned media”: likes, comments, and even testimonials that your readership provides for free in response to your brilliantly written web content.

Example of Great Content Writing

What does great content writing look like? If you want to see some content writer’s work we believe in, here are some great examples from current Scripted writers that you can hire right now:

Find out more about great content and how to promote and publish it here.

Finding and Working With a Content Writer

If you're looking for a content writer, a content marketing platform like Scripted can help you quickly find the right one for your needs. Before you begin, define the formats and types of content you need and the results you want to get. Do you want to optimize your landing pages for SEO, or create a series of thought leadership blogs? Scripted can match you with a writer that suits your needs.

Determine a general word count and any other considerations. Then search for content writers with experience not only in your industry but also in writing the sort of content you’re looking for. Your content service may also choose specific writers for you.

Scripted's pool of professional freelance writers specializes in SEO-friendly digital content for startups, agencies, and enterprises. Our expert editing team proofreads and hones content for guaranteed results.

We're proud to work with a fantastic community of highly-vetted writers with experience in a diverse range of industries, including automotive, construction, healthcare, IT, security, personal finance, and sales. in fact, our writers have years of experience across over 50 industries. We also have writers who are skilled in languages other than English to help your business's online content gain a truly global reach.

How it works: Register. Order your first piece of content. Work directly with our innovative platform and a content writer who understands how to drive your conversion rate.

Published by Scripted Writers on Monday, April 3, 2023 in Content Marketing, Content Writer, Freelance Writing.