Effective Writing Skills for Content Writers

Writing means putting letters, numbers or other symbols on a surface usually paper. Writing is one of the most important communication skills. Generally, children are taught this skill right from the start. Bacon said, "Writing maketh an exact man." These words of Bacon verily show the value of writing.

It is true that professionals spend most of their time in speaking and listening. According to a survey, people spend only 9% of their time on writing. But this figure never tells the impact of writing on one's career. Whenever a policy or procedure is established, whenever a contract, bid or a report is needed, it is put into writing to provide a permanent record. In short, whenever an important information is to conveyed, it is sent in written form. This shows the significance of having solid writing skills.

Writing is a skill and like any other skill, proficiency comes only through training and practice. Good writing skills are highly essential because organizations demand quality content writers. In fact, many people develop careers with their writing skills. The poets, the novelists, the newspaper reporters, the bloggers, and the historians, for example. Though not all people are professional writers; but still we all use writing as a tool in our careers.

All effective writing styles are graceful, clear, precise letter-perfect. Writing is clear when a message is to be conveyed directly. Writing is graceful when it appeals to the reader's eyes. And, writing is precise and letter-perfect when it contains only necessary things. Therefore, while writing something, we should aim for a style that is distinguished by clarity, grace and precision.

TECHNIQUES / PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WRITING :-

There are certain techniques or principles used by content writers to make sure their writings are persuasive. These writing techniques ensure the seamless flow of ideas within their content and increase productivity which helps them in achieving their goals in the most efficient way possible. Here are some techniques you might beneficial:

1. Have Purpose in your Mind

First of all, you must know why you are writing. The purpose of your writing must be in your mind in order to communicate efficiently. There can be countless purposes why one writes. It can be a good news such as congratulation, a bad news such as refusing a claim, or neutral message as an enquiry. Some communications are light in nature; and some are serious, but the body of the message is to be constructed on the skeleton of purpose.

2. Think of the Reader

After determining the purpose, think of the reader who's going to decode your message. Is he your boss, a sub-ordinate, a colleague, a friend, a customer or a layman? Make sure you have their age, qualification, status, etc. in your mind. This knowledge will help you in choosing the right words and designing a perfect body of your message.

3. Content

Even a message of thousand words begins with a single word. But once you have gathered your ideas, it is now time to clothe them with words. At this point, content comes into play. Content means the information you wish to give in the writing. It is the soul of the whole writing activity. The content should be relevant and easy to understand. It should contain all the necessary information which can help the reader in making a decision.

4. Verify Facts and Figures

If you want your content to have an impact on the reader, make sure that it's authoritative. It should contain verified facts and figures. Doing so will make your message powerful and will assist users in making different decisions.
Crucial information to shore up any claims includes:

• Statistics and surveys

• Quotes from authority or influential people

• Case studies

5. Arrangement

Generally, when you first gather the content, it is in a disorganized form. You have to arrange it in a proper order to make it easily digestible for the reader. There should be a good opening, a solid body and a conclusive closing. The important matters should be brought first. If the message is complex, you should proceed from simple to difficult. Any requests should be made in the end.

5. Style

Style is the man. Every writer has a style of his own. An easy style has a quick impact while a complex one takes a little long to digest. In short, whatever style you adopt, your message should contain clarity and brevity to make it look attractive to the reader. It should be understood on the very first reading.

THE WRITING PROCESS :-

A good writer should follow the following writing process in order to make his content conclusive:

1. Pre-writing

Pre-writing prepares you to write. It is the first and most important step in the writing process. If it is planned effectively, your writing will be informative, interesting and organized. Good writing grows from thoughtful pre-writing. On the other hand, writing that does not grow from pre-writing is likely to be dull and confusing.

2. Writing a First Draft

After developing the first set of notes from the selected topics, you write a first draft. It is an initial attempt to express ideas in a series of related sentences. Some people write the first draft very quickly without stopping to make content or wording changes. While writing the first draft, you should always consider it a work in progress.

3. Revising

Good writers know very well that revising will improve your writing. Revision can be made on large scale or small scale. It depends upon the extent of the improvement required. On a large scale, you may add or delete a whole paragraph. While on small scale, you may decide to change the wording and the structure of sentences. After making all the changes, your final draft is ready.

4. Proof Reading

Proof reading is necessary as there might be some errors or changes still required. It is necessary because the writer is responsible for his communication and it is important the information he is conveying is correct and decisive.

5. Presenting

The last and final step in the writing process is presenting it expertly. Presentation holds much importance. It indicates sense of importance and esteem to the receiver. Therefore, you should try to present your written content in the most efficient way.

Why Are Writing Techniques Important ?

Words have a powerful impact on human behavior whether they are in written form or spoken. Writing techniques are important to ensure that your message is understood by the reader. Make sure that your message is concise, complete, correct and presentable. Otherwise, it won't bring the desired outcome.