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Top Freelance Scientific Writers for Hire

Work with top-rated freelance scientific writers to develop high-quality, authoritative content. get help with research papers, grant proposals, blog articles, and more..

• Choose from hundreds of freelance scientific writers specialized in medical writing, science writing, technical writing, academic writing, grant writing, and more.
• Get a subject matter expert to help you write a research paper and prepare it for publishing in a journal of your choice.
• Consult a specialist for help to write literature reviews, conference proceedings, or how-to manuals.
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• The scope of the service can be fully customized and tailored to your specific requirements.

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• 01 Start your project Describe your project, and select the service you need.
• 02 Choose an expert You will receive proposals from experts. Choose an expert based on expertise, price, and other criteria.
• 03 Collaborate Sign NDAs, set goals, and work closely with your chosen expert to get your desired output.
• Job done! Verify the project is complete to your satisfaction and release the payment to the expert.

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• On-page SEO

How to Research for Content Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide

• Published December 1, 2023

Research is the foundation of effective content writing. Whether your goal is to inform, entertain, inspire, or persuade, solid research will lend your content the credibility and authority it needs to rank.

Strong research takes time, there’s no doubt, but it ultimately gives your writing more substance, accuracy, and actionable advice that readers can use.

In this step-by-step guide, I’ll shed light on how to research content writing while sharing tips and tricks that I personally use to streamline my research process.

How to Conduct Research for Content Writing Step-by-Step

Now that you see the critical value thorough research brings to content writing let’s explore the step-by-step process for effective research.

Step 1: Identify Your Core Topic, Audience, and Questions to Answer

Start by defining the primary topic and subtopics you’ll address based on client needs or your site objectives.

Also, you need to determine who you are creating content for and their informational needs and interests. This lays the foundation for targeted research around their concerns.

From there, identify the specific questions you seek to answer and the issues you want to address through your post. Make sure they align with the searcher’s intent . 

For example, say I’m writing a buying guide for parents around “best family cars under $30k” and targeting parents looking for spacious and safe cars fitting tight budgets.

My research would focus specifically on prioritized features like cargo space, reliability ratings, and affordability-related questions for that buying group.

Note: I’ll use this family car example throughout the article to drive my points home.

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Step 2: Use Search Engines to Explore Subtopics, Related Terminology, and Top Searches

Enter your topic and sub-themes into Google to analyze results on pages 1 and 2. Google’s auto-suggestions also reveal how people search for content around your topic. 

The questions and subtopics from this process indicate subjects to research to satisfy reader inquiries specifically.

Evaluate competitor content as well. This shows if certain subtopics get covered extensively while some queries remain unaddressed. You can differentiate your content by focusing on those unexplored areas.

Search engine insights also highlight broader terminology and keywords to incorporate for seamless, natural optimization.

For my family car buying guide example, Google results show that people frequently search comparisons around “mid-size SUVs.”

So, I’d research and contrast popular options like Toyota Highlanders and Honda Pilots. I find sparse advice on “choosing car seat configurations” among results, making it a prime content differential subtopic.

You get the point.

Step 3: Consult Reputable Websites, Studies, and Data Sources to Gather Facts

The next step is identifying respected sites and publications related to your niche that provide well-sourced information.

Publications like The New York Times, research journals, non-profit websites ending in .org or .gov, and data providers like Pew Research or Statista offer accurate reference facts.

Bookmark pages and download relevant studies for easy access later. Use tools like Google Scholar to discover detailed data about your subject.

For researching family cars, I’d tap sites like Consumer Reports and J.D. Power for vehicle reviews and rankings.

Government transportation databases provide statistics on car safety tests. These credible inputs build an evidence-based buying guide.

Step 4: Interview Experts to Get Quotes and Insights

Reaching out to subject matter experts takes your writing authority to the highest level. Their commentary endorses your perspectives and provides the exclusive context you won’t uncover otherwise, even through extensive reading.

Seeking a range of specialists provides balanced viewpoints on complex issues, too. Connect with them through social media, professional associations, company websites, or services like Help A Reporter.

For my family car buying article, I’d interview child passenger safety technicians on fitting car seats properly as this niche expertise improves advice uniqueness.

Getting mechanic viewpoints on model reliability also helps recommend the best vehicles.

Step 5: Organize and Analyze Your Research to Determine Key Themes

Review accumulated materials like notes and bookmarked pages to spot connections between data points. Do certain statistics or conclusions keep arising? What angles remain controversial across sources?

Identifying these research patterns will help you determine positions or recommendations to focus on.

I may notice through family car reviews that the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot have overwhelmingly high reliability and owner satisfaction marks. This signals the need to emphasize and contrast these specific models in my buying guide as leading choices. 

Affordability challenges may represent another key theme for my audience to address separately.

Step 6: Outline Sections and Subtopics to Cover Based on Your Research

Shape precise sections addressing your target audience’s questions and writing comprehensive yet digestible content. 

Divide broader topics into manageable subsections on specific issues uncovered through research review.

Consider weaving in subtopics around controversy or new developments, which initial topic brainstorming may have missed without thorough investigation. This ensures content feels authoritative and broader than a typical post.

For my car buying guide example, beyond just rating different cars, I’d structure sections around “Comparing Top Family SUVs on Reliability and Safety” and “Fitting Car Seats and Strollers.”

This elevated focus stems directly from research findings as opposed to generic points.

Step 7: Write a Draft Incorporating Research to Answer Questions and Provide Value

Integrate research findings seamlessly within your writing using quotes, specific facts, and data points. Link to original sources using hyperlinks for readers to access primary references, too.

Try to keep the questions and pain points identified for your target audience front and center as you write.

Address their concerns directly while working in statistics, quotes, and contextual information educationally. Also, structure the flow and transitions smoothly between the research aspects you highlight.

For my car review sections, I’d incorporate J.D. Power dependability rankings and crash test results from government databases while directly addressing “safety” and ”reliability” questions parents have.

This draws the connection between research inputs and addressing reader priorities.

Step 8: Fact Check Details and Cite Sources

Double-check that your statistics are accurately quoted and that data points match the provided context and dates. 

For quotes, ensure proper credit by mentioning someone’s professional credentials and links wherever permissible to build citation integrity.

I’d validate that the SUV safety test results I mentioned align with those model versions’ corresponding years. 

Sources should be credited clearly with the experts’ full names and titles.

Step 9: Review and Refine to Ensure an Authoritative Yet Engaging Final Piece

Analyze flow between ideas, smoothness of sentence structures, and appropriate paragraph lengths for online readability.

Break up lengthy paragraphs and signpost takeaways using subheadings. Insert graphics if helpful for visualizing complex data sets.

The finalized piece should be read authoritatively, reflecting mastery through research-backed insights shared clearly and conversationally. 

It should adequately answer reader questions while encouraging engagement through compelling presentation.

The Benefits of Conducting In-Depth Research

Conducting extensive research for your articles or blog posts comes with multiple advantages that make it an indispensable practice.

Creates Content That Provides Real Value

Research allows you to delve deeply into a topic and become an authority. You can address common questions and pain points for readers and provide actionable and fact-based advice they won’t find elsewhere.

Well-researched content is useful, practical, and provides true value. Readers recognize this substance and are more likely to trust you.

For example, if you’re writing a post on “how to start running for beginners,” you must research common obstacles like injuries, creating a plan, and nutrition. This equips you to address those specific concerns rather than just writing generic tips.

Leads to Higher Search Engine Rankings

In-depth research ensures your content targets relevant search terms and topics that readers seek information on.

You can focus precisely on what people search for around that subject by identifying keyword opportunities during research.

Optimizing your pages for those keyword terms can boost your website’s search engine rankings .

If your content comprehensively focuses on the right topics, search engines also recognize you as an authority, improving rankings over time.

Builds Your Credibility and Authority on a Topic

Proper research separates amateur writers from subject matter experts.

You build authority and gain the reader’s trust when you back up your writing with facts, quotes from specialists, and credible references. 

Demonstrating expertise establishes you as a thought leader readers keep returning to.

For instance, referencing prominent research studies and interviews with psychologists makes your articles on relationships more convincing and authoritative.

This separates your relationship advice from random people expressing opinions without proof.

Helps Write More Comprehensive and Insightful Content

Conducting research uncovers angles of a story you wouldn’t know just off the top of your head. It reveals “holes” in superficial understandings of a topic that readers often have.

What’s more, thorough research leads to more well-rounded, insightful content by showing what aspects other writers may have missed.

For tech posts, for instance, researching the history of a product and interviewing its inventors can provide unique perspectives beyond just describing product features.

These insights make your content more enlightening.

Enables You to Fact Check Details and Avoid Errors

Research allows verifying specifics like statistics, historical facts, and terminology for total accuracy. This attention to detail boosts credibility so readers don’t undermine your writing due to simple factual mistakes.

Say you’re writing a historical piece on Cleopatra; research enables you to confirm specifics about her life and reign rather than weakening your analysis with incorrect dates or details.

Keeps Your Content Up-to-Date

Topics trend over time, and new information arises frequently. Conducting thorough research ensures your writing won’t become outdated soon after publication . Staying current instills additional reader confidence.

By keeping on top of a field through regular research, you can continually produce evergreen and relevant content, even on subjects prone to change.

Overcoming Research Obstacles

Conducting extensive research inevitably exposes common frustrations that can hamper writers. Being aware of these challenges and deploying solutions ensures research progress doesn’t get derailed before content creation.

Information Overload

It’s easy to keep gathering more data aimlessly without clear direction.

Prioritize specific research aspects that address your defined audience considerations rather than attempting to digest everything loosely connected.

Access Constraints

Sometimes, key statistics or expert commentary critical to your piece may come locked behind paywalls.

In these cases, check if limited free trial periods give access or whether your client has existing subscriptions to leverage.

For gated research content, summarize key aspects without quoting verbatim.

Topic Tunnel Vision

Rigorous investigation around narrow subtopics can cause a loss of perspective of the broader piece’s purpose.

Frequently reorient back to core reader questions and knowledge gaps identified earlier to avoid over-investigating tangents.

Stale Information

Re-verify the timeliness of sources frequently. Data sets, studies, and trends turn outdated fast. Confirm nothing gets cited well past relevance, even if discovered through a reputable portal.

Repurposing Efforts for Multiple Content Types

Research processes for long-form writing, like blogs and articles, also kickstart other content types with minimal repeated effort. Reformatting existing materials generates more assets at your disposal as a writer for amplified impact.

Research origins powering added formats include:

• Website Content into Pitches: Shape extensively researched ideas into single-paragraph pitches for freelance writing gigs. Mastery displayed convinces editors immediately.
• Article Research Into Videos: Rather than scripting entirely new video content, convert researched blog post themes into scripts for YouTube. Repurposing saves sourcing additional facts.
• Stats Into Visuals: Transform dry statistics from research into engaging infographics . Draw fresh visibility from new mediums.
• Interview Notes Into Podcasts: Extensive interview transcriptions and call summaries provide perfect podcast fodder. Section out key quotes as episodes covering subtopics deeply.
• Ebooks From Topic Overviews: Combine research paper overviews into condensed, consumable eBook guides around popular subjects you uncovered.

Savvy writers extract the absolute maximum mileage from proven research efforts. Each piece powers multimedia content types targeting different audiences but anchored in core analysis.

That hallmark research foundation continually expands creative options and reach.

Creating well-researched, insightful content fuels success as writers and bloggers in the long run, much more than hastily constructed posts.

While thorough research initially requires significant effort, it leads to clearly differentiated web content optimized for users and search engines.

You should apply this rigorous yet foolproof process for integrating effective research into your next client or website content project.

Gradually, you’ll find wide-ranging subject mastery translating into improved domain authority for your brand, which this process facilitates holistically.

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I’m an SEO Consultant passionate about SEO tools and how SEO can drive large amounts of traffic that drives conversions.

I started as a programmer and found the technical aspect of SEO super interesting. I then transitioned fully, working with all aspects of SEO, and that’s where I am today.

If you want to learn more, then check out my YouTube channel , where I review new and upcoming SEO tools and share SEO tips.

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• Content Production

Content Writing 101

Written by Brian Dean

What Is Content Writing?

Content writing is the process of planning, writing, and publishing written material, such as articles, blog posts, product descriptions, and marketing copy, that is intended for online consumption. The goal of content writing is to inform, educate, or persuade readers, and it can be used for a variety of purposes, including:

• Building brand awareness
• Increasing website traffic
• Generating leads
• Improving search engine rankings
• Establishing credibility

Why Is Proper Content Writing Important?

When most people hear “content writing”, they think “writing articles”.

However, writing content isn’t just important for blog posts.

In fact, content writing is important for all types of different content formats, including:

• Video scripts
• Email newsletters
• Keynote speeches
• Social media posts
• Podcast titles
• White papers
• Web page copy
• Landing pages
• YouTube video descriptions

Or put another way:

Writing is the foundation for pretty much any content that you publish.

Best Practices

Create an outline.

Creating an outline is a GREAT first step in the content writing process.

Outlines help your content come out better for two main reasons:

First , outlines force you to put all your thoughts down in an organized way (rather than writing everything off the top of your head). Which really speeds up the writing process.

Second , outlines usually lead to a much better structure for your content. That’s because an outline lets you see your content from a “high level” that’s impossible to see as you’re writing.

Plus, because you have an outline, your final content will hit all of the major points that you set out to before you started writing.

So: how do you actually go about creating an effective outline?

Here are three main strategies that work well:

So when we start working on a new guide, we use a lot of the structure from our existing guides as a base.

• Use a template: Most professional content writers work off of proven templates. Here are 5 content templates you can use to create outlines .

For example, let’s say you’re about to write a guest post about the keto diet.

Well, you’d want to type “keto diet” into BuzzSumo to see what’s already done well.

Then, read some of the best posts to see exactly what you should cover in your article.

Make It Easy to Consume and Share

Content that’s super easy to read and share is of the keys to great content .

You can have a post written by the world’s top copywriter. But if that post is hard for people to consume, no one will read it.

Here are a few tips to help make your content easier to consume, skim and share.

Keep it Snappy, Rich and Entertaining

Whether you’re writing about content creation or cars, your writing needs to grab (and keep) people’s attention .

Otherwise, they’ll click over to something else.

How you grab someone’s attention depends on the format you’re working with.

When I create videos, I use “Family Guy moments” throughout the video. These are little asides that add some humor to and spice to my video content.

And when I write videos, I focus a lot on formatting and layout.

Specifically, I try to keep my paragraphs short:

I also sprinkle in visuals and screenshots to mix things up.

And if you’re about to sit down and record some audio, you want your lines to be short and snappy. You also want to avoid parenthetical statements. Content in parenthesis is easy to follow when you’re reading it. But you can easily “lose the thread” if you’re listening to your audio as a podcast.

In short: your final content needs to be super engaging to work. And no matter what format you’re working with, that starts with the content writing process.

Quotable On Social Media

According to a study that we conducted, very few blog posts get shared or linked to .

And to increase the odds that your content ranks in search engines and gets shared on social media, add shareable quotes.

For text-based content, this can be a statement that you highlight in your post.

And if you’re making a YouTube video, you can pull out a short snippet from that video to share on LinkedIn.

The important thing here is to have these quotes ready before you publish the post. Then, highlight them in your content.

Choose Interesting Angles

With 2.3 million blog posts going live every day , you can’t just publish something generic and expect a wave of visitors.

Instead, to get traffic to your content, it needs a compelling angle.

An angle is simply the hook that makes your content stand out from all the others on that topic.

Your angle can be a personal story. A bit of controversy. Or something that simply looks better than what’s out there.

The angle you go with depends on your target audience.

For example, when we published our guide to becoming an SEO expert , our 8-bit design helped it stand out.

Make It Actionable

For most niches, your content can’t just be entertaining.

And it’s not even enough for it to simply be informative.

For your content marketing to work, your content needs to be super useful .

Here’s how:

Our SEO audit post is a great example of this.

It’s not a collection of random tips. This content is a step-by-step action plan that anyone can follow.

• Keep it up-to-date: A single outdated step or example can derail an otherwise great piece. I recommend going back and updating your old content at least once a year.

Make it Trustworthy

For people to share and link to your content, they need to trust it first.

And while design factors in to how much people trust your content , your writing plays a big role too.

Here are a few tips to make your content more trustworthy.

• Use proper grammar: If you want to improve your writing skills, a tool like Hemingway Editor or Grammarly can be a huge help.

For example, whenever we write a guide, we add lots of stats and references.

Here’s an example from our blog.

Give it a Magnetic Headline and Introduction

Most visitors only spend 15 seconds reading an article before leaving.

With such a short window of time, your headline and introduction are incredibly important.

Here’s how to create headlines and intros that work:

Note how these bullet points aren’t topics . They’re benefits that someone will get out of reading and implementing what’s in the guide.

How can I become a content writer?

If you’re looking to dive into the world of content writing, you’re in for an exciting journey. Let me walk you through the steps that have worked wonders for me and many others.

1. Learn SEO Fundamentals

First off, get cozy with SEO basics . It’s the backbone of content writing.

Start with keyword research – it’s like picking the right tools before you start building. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Semrush to find what your audience is searching for.

Then, dive into on-page SEO . Think of your titles and meta descriptions as your first handshake with your readers – make it count.

2. Niche Specialization

Now, pick a niche.

This isn’t just about what you love; it’s about where you can add real value.

Ask yourself, “What unique perspective or solutions can I bring to my readers?” This focus will make your content more engaging and valuable.

3. Develop a Unique Writing Style

It’s your signature. Keep it clear, engaging, and packed with actionable tips.

I always aim to write as if I’m talking to a friend – straightforward and helpful.

Use tools like Grammarly to keep your grammar in check and Hemingway Editor to make your content crisp and readable.

4. Create a Portfolio

It’s your playground for trying out new ideas and a portfolio to showcase your skills.

Make sure it’s SEO-friendly; after all, you want to walk the talk.

5. Learn from the Best

Learning never stops. Keep an eye on the top content writers and digital marketing resources.

What are they doing right? How are they engaging their audience? How are they using new AI tools in their workflows?

Don’t just consume content; dissect it.

6. Feedback and Improvement

Lastly, the power of feedback can’t be overstressed. Use it to refine your writing.

Remember, the best content writers are those who listen, learn, and adapt.

That’s my blueprint for becoming a content writer. I

t’s about blending SEO savvy with a unique voice, continually learning, and always striving to provide value to your readers.

Stay curious, stay committed, and you’ll find your path to success in content writing.

The Definitive Guide to Writing Blog Posts : I recommend sending this to any content writer that you work with.

The Complete Guide to SEO Content : How to write quality content that’s specifically engineered to rank in Google.

Evergreen Content : How to plan and write content that continues to bring in traffic for years after you publish it.

The Definitive Guide to Copywriting : Learn how to write SUPER compelling copy for blog posts, sales letters, videos and more based on tips from the world’s top copywriters.

10 Skills To Succeed As A Content Writer

Did you know that as many as 78% of companies have a team of at least one to three content specialists? A few basic content writing skills are a must for any writer to succeed. From attention to detail to editing your own copy, today, a content writer has to combine creativity, data, and technology to be successful at their craft.

Content is nothing but information. In content marketing, this content is written in the form of blogs, articles, videos, images, emails, or a combination of all. Quality content is one of the main reasons for the success of digital marketing strategies. According to Social Media Examiner, 58% of marketers feel that original content is the most important type of content, outdoing visuals and videos. 

For your content to catch the reader’s eye, it needs to be of some use to them, while being optimized for search engines. Who brings all of this together? A writer with good content writing skills, of course! Written content is an art, and the content writer is the artist.

Who Is a Content Writer?

A website is designed to promote a service or product. An average reader has a short attention span, and hence, has to be quickly engaged so that there are more clicks and fewer bounce rates. This reader can be an investor, stakeholder, existing customer, or prospective customer. A website requires quality content that can provide relevant, clear, informative, and specialized information, conveying the right message to the viewer and compelling them to take some action. 

A content writer does all this by writing content that is creative, well-researched, catchy, and in a language that speaks to the audience. They are specialists in writing blog posts, social media posts, landing pages, whitepapers, emails, press releases, website content, audio and video scripts, and more. 

Skilled content writers have a solid understanding of the purpose of the content. They also possess the knowledge of most digital mediums and create content that is specific to that particular platform. A content writer helps in maximizing reach and increasing the chances of sales. 

Top 10 Content Writing Skills 

A content writer should be multi-talented, along with being creative and versatile. Although it is an uphill task for a beginner wanting to become a content writer, it can be achieved with lots of practice. In order to become a successful content writer, you must possess these basic content creation skills. 

1. Adaptability to different writing styles 

Adaptability is a skill that content writers must imbibe, as they have to change their tone and style of writing according to different projects. When writers are adaptable, they can respond to requirements effectively. A writer may not always be familiar with a particular domain or writing style. However, they need to learn or unlearn as per the job requirement. 

For example, writing a white paper is different from web content writing . A white paper needs detailed research and explanation, while a home page needs short, catchy, and concise data that makes the user click on the call to action (CTA). It is also essential to learn as many writing styles as possible, so that you can quickly adapt as per the assignment. Also, by being adaptable, you not only add more value to the content, but also become valuable as a content writer. 

2. Strong research skills 

An ability to conduct independent research based on the client’s requirements is an essential skill that every content writer should possess. A writer may have great fluency, creativity, and flair, but if the information provided by them is not well-researched, it will damage the credibility of the content. Hence, a content writer needs to research well and write informative copy that conveys the message clearly and truthfully. 

Research can be conducted online by going through white papers, digital journals, government websites, or other reliable sources. Offline research can be conducted via books, interviews, and more. Content that is well-researched and honest offers great value to the reader. The website on which such content is posted becomes a trustworthy and credible source, leading to more online traffic and repeated visits. 

When the viewership of a site increases, the site’s popularity also goes up, which helps boost the brand value. A well-researched, properly put-together piece is a win-win for everybody. It can increase web traffic , shares, click-through, search engine rankings, and eventually, sales. For the content writer, it makes their profile more attractive. The image below is a depiction of what well-researched offers the reader. 

3. Creating original and creative content 

A content writer might not be an expert in the topic assigned, but irrespective of that, the piece of work they provide should be original and unique. After conducting thorough research, the writer should be able to convert their learnings into informative, knowledgeable, and original content. Original content that is creative and unique attracts more readership than unoriginal and long, boring pieces. Non-plagiarized work is essential in optimizing for search engines. 

Original content with the right keywords gets ranked higher than content that does not have relevant keywords, is plagiarized, or is not unique. Creativity is as important as originality.  A catchy headline, a good punch, and thoughtful words are some of the prerequisites to creative writing. Adding audio, video, images, and optimizing digital content can be an added advantage. Put it all together and it makes a complete piece that is creative, unique, and original. 

4. Good understanding of SEO

Content writers come from various backgrounds, such as public relations, journalism, literature, etc. But to turn that love for writing into a successful digital content writing career, you must know about SEO. Why is it important?

Knowing SEO means the following things: 

• Research the right keywords. 
• Analyze the competition.
• Know the customer’s pain points.
• You understand the technical aspects that go into optimizing content. Knowing how to optimize content for SEO helps in creating a better strategy for your piece.
• You can publish work with a better understanding of what has to go in the headline, subheads, meta description, images, external links, etc.
• You can effectively use keywords that match the latest search engine algorithms.
• You won’t be creating content blindly. After every piece of work that is posted, you can analyze its outcome and make relevant changes to boost readership. Based on the data, you can adopt new writing techniques that can produce better results. Hence, learning the basic aspects of analysis tools is a must. 

5. Organization skills 

Organization skills are an important soft skill that a content writer must have. Here, the organization involved is much more than arranging books alphabetically or placing things on your desk neatly. It is about managing your deadlines when you have multiple assignments to work on or to be on top of things personally and professionally. Smartphones are a great way to keep track of deadlines; you can set up calendar alerts. Proper prioritization of jobs ensures the timely delivery of content. It also helps update your clients on the work from time to time. 

It is not only about organizing your time and schedule as a writer; you need to write in an organized manner as well. A writer’s mind is full of random thoughts, more so when they start to write. Hence, if a proper pattern isn’t followed, the piece can become a mixed pie where the reader cannot taste anything special. Simply put, the piece becomes confusing, and the reader immediately loses interest. 

Hence, the writing process has to have a pattern with the right flow and structure. Every paragraph has to be interconnected, so that the work is focused, readable, and interesting. Also, bear in mind that the readers come from different backgrounds. Hence, you need to organize ideas in a way that is universally acceptable. Analyze your thoughts and plan the structure of the content so that the idea is effectively communicated. 

After finishing a piece, the written copy should be edited. Simple proofreading can minimize errors and aid in publishing quality content that fits the readers’ requirements. 

6. Communication skills

Skills, such as knowing fundamental grammar, composing proper sentences, and research, are the pillars of content writing. However, these are the basic content skills. Becoming a good writer involves much more than writing grammatically accurate sentences and fulfilling the word count. The content should be purposeful , and should be aimed towards your client’s goal. 

For this, communicating with the clients is of utmost importance. Have open conversations with the clients and other stakeholders. If you have questions or need clarifications, communicate that, too, to the client. Make notes of the information you may need from the client, so that you avoid multiple revisions. 

7. Understanding of social media 

Social media is a great platform for content writers to display their work. There are millions of users and diverse fan bases from all parts of the world. So posting content in relevant places can increase the readership and create a buzz around the brand. Also, social media is a great place if you are stuck and are looking for story ideas. 

Additionally, these platforms have inbuilt tools that can help you analyze the content that users liked or disliked the most. Using this data, you can build on your work so that the content has more reach. Therefore, being proficient in social media works well for content writers. 

8. Creating a content strategy 

Strategic thinking is an important skill for a content writer. Your content should follow an integrated approach of a macro thought process with a micro viewpoint. Every content piece that is created should be based on the larger goal, which is the target audience. 

It should contain keywords and other aspects of SEO that increase traffic, while making it relevant to the target market segment. A content writer should think progressively, with a 360-degree perspective of things. It enables writers to create entertaining and engaging pieces that can help the brand connect better with the readers. 

9. Knowing the brand voice

Know the brand better so that you can write as per its voice. Understanding the brand value and voice helps in creating quality content. For example, if the content has to be written for

an educational portal, an FAQs section can be a good addition. On the other hand, if you are creating content for social media, having hashtags, images, etc., is a plus. So by knowing the brand voice, a content writer can create impactful content. 

10. Staying updated 

A content writer needs to be updated on the latest trends to stay relevant in their job. Understanding the latest updates in the content field, as well as search engine and social media algorithms can help write effective content pieces. The more you know, the better you will be at creating good, original copy. This would please the brand you write for and yourself for producing unique content that the audience likes.

How to Improve Your Content Writing Skills

The difference between a good writer and an average writer is that they constantly learn through practice. Some of the ways to improve your content writing skills are as follows:

• Brush up on the fundamentals, as they never change. Sometimes, when you get too creative, certain rules can break. But to get back on track, keeping an eye on fundamentals helps. There are many online resources where you can brush up on those basic content skills.
• Focus on understanding SEO, as it keeps changing. Having content with the correct keyword ratio and volume always works better.
• Focus on writing content that is fresh, useful, informative, and relevant. Search engine algorithms grade content based on its quality, and so you should create great copy to pass these standards.
• Even if you are a part-time content writer, write every day. Practice leads to perfection. You can write reviews of the products you buy, a movie you watched, etc., to keep you at it if you do not do regular writing work otherwise.
• Make reading a daily habit too. Read the work of other good content writers to get inspired by their tone, writing style, and language.
• Do not underestimate the value of research. Whether you are an expert or fresher, going through relevant and valuable information keeps you updated. 

How to Highlight Content Writing Skills on Your Resume

Your resume should highlight your content writing abilities. Instead of mentioning all the skills you possess, highlight those based on the company you are pitching for. But if you want to create a generic resume, here are some skills you can highlight:

Communication skills

• Written language skills
• Grammar skills
• Technical writing skills
• Editing skills

Technical skills

• Analytics software
• Monitoring software
• Content management software
• Word processing software

Other skills

• Time management and organization
• Conducting research
• Adherence to SEO

Creating high-quality content can drive followers, which boosts brand value, generates leads, and ultimately leads to sales. To become a sought-after content writer, honing the skills mentioned above can help you take a step forward in your career. You can also opt for the various free content writing courses available online. 

The most important skills that you need as a content writer include are as follows:  – Adaptability – Research skills  – Creativity – SEO knowledge – Time management – Communication skills – Editing skills – Social media knowledge

To become a successful content writer, you need to be able to write compelling content. These content writing skills can be honed by doing the following things:  – Seeking inspiration from quality research – Speaking to experts – Staying updated on the latest trends  – Knowing your audience

A plethora of resources is available online to hone your writing. These include:  – The Purdue Online Writing Lab – HyperGrammar by the University of Ottawa’s Writing Centre – Paradigm Online Writing Assistant – Hubspot Academy’s Content Marketing Course – Technical Writing Strategies by Lumen Learning – Hemingway Editor  – Copyscape – Grammarly – Pepper Academy

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Content Writers

How to do research for content writing – 7 Ideas to get you started

So, you’re a content writer? Congratulations! You’re going to need to do some research before you can start writing about your topic. One of the hard parts of content writing is doing research, and it’s important that you do it right or else your new article will be meh at best.

You have to consider what people might be looking for, what type of language they use to search for content and the like without some in-depth knowledge. You don’t want a bunch of boring articles that are just words on a page without any substance.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to do research that will be easy as pie and not take up too much time on your end. Here are some of some steps that will help you research your topic that I’ve found most effective.

Before we get started….

let’s talk about brainstorming and how it can help you with your research.

Brainstorming is a way to get new ideas for your research. Brainstorming is something you should do in order to get the title and body of your article written. It can be difficult to come up with good research topics because you have so many options that it can be hard to narrow down your options.

You can brainstorm using basic prompts like, “I want to write about , what should I write about?”, “I want to write about , what should I write about?”, etc. Be careful though as these prompts can sometimes be very vague. For example, if someone’s trying to brainstorm about their trip to the zoo, a prompt like “I want to write about my trip to the zoo, what should I write about?” is very vague. You could be thinking about a topic like “my food” or “the rides”.

Another way to brainstorm your idea is using the Tree of Life concept. This is a great way to brainstorm your topic and research it as well. You start by drawing a tree, then you write down your topic on the top of the tree. Then you start subdividing sections off the sides of the trees by writing in smaller trees. This is a great way to brainstorm because it will help bring out small details that might not have been so apparent before.

Now let’s get into some ideas on how to do research for content writing:

Idea 1: Read about your topic

Read what has already been written about your subject matter. This will give you an idea of what others have already tried to write about the subject, and it will give you a better chance of making something that stands out. You can find a lot of quality writing from other people on the internet.

Idea 2: Use some keyword research tools

Do some keyword research. Figure out what words people are searching for in order to find your kind of content, and make sure that you use those keywords in your writing. Read other similar writings to see what keywords people search for on a regular basis.

Idea 3: Use Google Trends

Use tools like Google Trends to see what is popular or what people are actively searching. This will give you an idea if people are interested in a certain topic or help you find trending topics. This can form a baseline for further discovery.

Idea 4:: Research how people behave online

Do some research to learn about how people behave online. Look up the common mistakes that you can learn from, what types of writing others gravitate toward on sites like YouTube or Google Plus. Learn what types of users they tend to be, so that you can include those in your writing and attract them as readers.

Idea 5: Read other posts on your topic

Do some research about what common topics that you can write about. Read some sample posts and figure out what people want to read about. What are their interests? What sort of things do they tend to blog about? You don’t have to tell people what to think, but in order for them to read your content on the subject, you have to learn as much as possible.

Idea 6: Understand the language of your topic

Do some research on how other people have used language in their writing in the past. What is it that you can do better than they have done? How have you seen other writers make rival posts? Use these tips to your advantage.

Idea 7: Use online forms to search for your topic

Look at some of the online forums relating to the subject that you are writing about. See what people are saying, and use this information to determine how you can create content that’s going to get a lot of attention in the future.

Some will argue that research is the hardest part of content writing and could possibly be a reason why some writers aren’t making enough money online. The thing is that you want to spend your time doing research on topics that aren’t going to bomb because they have been done before or are just boring.

You’re going to want to make sure that you come up with a unique angle or perspective in order to get people’s attention within the first sentence. It will help you out in the long run.

Remember, it’s important to do your research before you write an article in order to be successful, but there are plenty of tools out there that are going to make it a lot easier. This is how you can make sure that your articles stand out and the readers want more.

Want to learn how to become a content writer?

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20 Best Free Content Writing Tools

Millie Dinsdale

Table of Contents

Features to look for in a content writing tool, best overall content writing tool, free research content writing tools, seo content writing tools, free grammar and editing content writing tools, miscellaneous content writing tools, how to pick the best tools for content writing.

As content writers, we know how long it takes to create high-quality, engaging content. When you’re producing multiple articles weekly, it feels like an insurmountable mountain. That’s why we, like many others, use writing tools.

Content writing tools help streamline more manual parts of the content creation process, improve overall productivity, and help keep writers happy.

But content writing is a complex process that involves many unique steps, with each step requiring different features and tools.

Working out which tools you do and don’t need is time-consuming. Which is why we’ve done the legwork for you.

Here are 20 tools split into four categories: content research, SEO content optimization tools, editing, and miscellaneous. For each tool, we’ve broken down the features, integrations, pros and cons, and pricing. We also give a recommendation for the best overall content writing tool.

A great content tool matches your budget, works with your current writing process, offers the features you need but not the ones you don’t, and is highly customizable. With that in mind, here are four features you should look for in a content writing tool.

There’s a vast array of pricing options out there, from free to $500+ per month.

The amount you should pay depends on how many tools you need, how many people will use the tool, how frequently you intend to use the tool, and how important the tool’s output is.

Some tools offer a lighter touch and help you improve your writing without doing it for you. Others offer a heavier touch and generate content in bulk. And some tools offer a mixture, giving you the freedom to choose.

To get the best tool for you, decide on how involved you’d like the features to be before purchasing.

Integrations

Do you prefer writing online or offline? Would you like to work in a dedicated app or have a tool that slots into your favorite writing app?

It’s essential you answer these two questions before deciding on a tool. If you don’t, you may find yourself with a tool that slows you down rather than speeds you up.

Customizability

Do you need to add a custom dictionary? Does your business have specific writing and content rules you need the tool to abide by? Do you need to write in multiple languages? Do you have additional security requirements?

If you’re looking for a fully customizable tool, we recommend starting with the paid tools, as the free tools are more generic.

ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is an all-in-one AI tool that strikes the perfect balance between being a writing aid and giving writers autonomy over their work.

The tool offers 25+ online writing tools and reports that help with every aspect of writing, from improving sentence length and structure, to adding transitions, highlighting overused words, correcting grammar and spelling, and even providing suggestions to enhance dialogue.

In addition to this, you can also see in-tool articles, videos, and quizzes so you can learn and improve as you go.

With a Premium Pro license, you get access to Sparks, which is an AI generative tool that provides more options than any other software on the market. With Sparks, you can improve fluency, summarize text, add sensory descriptions, expand from notes, add dialogue, quotes, emphasis, counterarguments, and much more.

Integrations : Windows, Mac, MS Word (Windows & Mac), Google Docs, Scrivener, Final Draft, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge.

Price : ProWritingAid has three pricing options: Free, Premium, and Premium Pro. The Free plan allows users to access 25+ reports with a 500-word limit. The Premium plan has an unlimited word count and costs $10 a month. The Premium Pro plan adds 10x the usage of AI features and costs $12 a month.

Conclusion : If you want a tool that can help you with every aspect of writing, including generative AI, then try ProWritingAid for free .

Google Bard

Google Bard is a conversational AI tool available to the public in over 40 languages in 230 countries and territories.

It has three different generative options: Understand, Create, and Explore. Understand provides specific details and information. Create generates text based on a user’s prompt. Explore is for general requests and exploration.

The tool also offers voice commands, translation in over 100 languages, and a share feature, so you can continue and refine responses with others.

Integrations : Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

Price : Free to everyone aged 18 and older.

Conclusion : It’s useful for providing information for general use, but it isn’t a top choice for business writers or students due to the lack of citations, the limited privacy, and the fact that you cannot sign up with a business account.

ChatGPT is an online chatbot that can answer questions in a conversational manner.

It uses natural language processing (NLP) to understand messages, make inferences, and generate replies. The program uses information that is publicly available on the internet, information from licensed third parties, and information from users and human trainers.

It has a few limitations. For example, it’s only trained on information up to September 2021, the tool generates responses that can be biased, and it is not a grammar checker tool.

The interface is simple. You simply add a prompt and ask ChatGPT to generate content. You can then edit the prompt and regenerate responses.

Integrations : Online and Android, iPhone, and iPad apps.

Price : Free.

Conclusion : Despite its limitations, ChatGPT is a great free online tool with a lot of potential as a content generator. However, you have to spend significant time and effort generating the right prompts to get the most out of the tool.

Google Trends

Google Trends is a tool that analyzes search queries and shows search trends over a set time period.

It works by sampling search data and generating a graph. This process means that users can quickly generate results, which would not be possible if the tool crawled the billions of search results for each search query.

Instead of providing exact data, it provides comparative data, rating each keyword from 1 to 100, with 100 representing the highest amount of traffic at a given time.

Integrations : Online only.

Conclusion : Like most of Google’s tools, Trends is incredibly intuitive, and the limited features it offers are excellent. However, this is a tool that should be used alongside other tools rather than a stand-alone.

Create high quality content quickly

Write flawless content with the help of an AI-powered writing aid.

Frase is an SEO-optimized content generation tool for digital content creators.

It helps with the four stages of the content creation process: researching, outlining, writing, and optimizing.

In the research stage, you can analyze competitors and generate content briefs. Then, in the outline stage, you can generate heading and sub-heading ideas. In the writing stage, the tool can create blog intros, FAQs, and general content. Finally, in the final stage, you can identify target keywords and compare your article to competitors.

Integrations : Google Doc, Chrome, Google Search Console, and WordPress.

Price : Frase has three plans: Solo, Basic, and Team. The Solo plan is $14.99 a month and allows you to optimize four articles a month. The Basic plan is $44.99 a month, and you can optimize 30 articles a month. The Team plan is $114.99 a month. It includes three seats and has unlimited use.

Conclusion : It’s a great tool for producing SEO-optimized article drafts, but writers will need to run their work through another tool to edit because Frase doesn’t offer advanced writing suggestions.

Writesonic is an AI content creation tool that generates text, images, and audio.

It pulls information from Google, and it has built-in SEO optimization tools. The tool also offers the ability to generate prompts if you are facing writer’s block, and AI images.

One of the most popular features is brand style, which allows you to create content in line with your brand voice. This helps users ensure their content is always consistent.

Integrations : Zapier.

Price : There are four plans: Free, Freelancer, Small Team, and Enterprise. The Free plan has a maximum of 10,000 words a month. The Small Team costs $13 a month, and the Freelancer costs $16 a month. They both offer a few more features than the Free plan. The Enterprise plan is $500+ a month and offers enhanced security, onboarding, and support.

Conclusion : The tool speeds up content creation, but the difference between the four plans is not clear, and they’re on the higher end of the price spectrum.

SurferSEO is a tool designed for writers to optimize their content for search engines.

It analyzes your content against the existing content that ranks for a particular keyword. It provides target keywords, titles, image counts, and word counts. Plus, SurferSEO works in any language, so you can rank content anywhere.

The tool can also generate briefs with headlines and check for plagiarism, so you can ensure your content is always your own.

Integrations : Jasper, Contentful, WordPress, Google Docs and Keyword Surfer.

Price : There are four plans: Essential AI, Advanced AI, Max AI, and Enterprise. The Essential AI plan costs $139 a month and allows you to generate five articles a month with 15 content editors. The Max AI plan allows you to generate 20 articles per month with 90 content editors, and it costs $499 per month.

Conclusion : The content editing features are incredibly user-friendly, meaning that anyone can use them with ease. However, the tool is quite pricey, and only the cheapest plan is suitable for individual writers.

Semrush is an SEO content tool designed for small to medium-sized businesses.

It offers help with keyword research, on-page SEO, competitor analysis, local SEO, rank tracking, content marketing, social media management, link building, and more.

The tool has a simple interface that is suitable for marketing teams who don’t have a dedicated SEO expert. The inbuilt reporting and social media tracking also mean that it’s suitable for teams who are tight on resources.

Integrations : Gmail, Google Analytics, Google Docs, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, WordPress, Trello, and more.

Price : There are four plans: Free, Pro, Guru, and Business. The Free plan gives you an idea of how the interface works and what the tool can do. The Pro plan costs $129.95 monthly and allows you to create up to five projects. The Business plan costs $499.95 a month, is designed for agencies, and allows you to create 40 projects.

Conclusion : This is an excellent tool for teams and individuals who are getting started with SEO. However, it prioritizes search engines over the reader, so if you would like content that does it all, you’ll need a writing tool alongside this.

Scalenut is a research and optimization SEO tool designed for marketing and content teams.

It has a variety of features, including a keyword planner that suggests keywords and interlinking structures. There is also a topic researcher, content optimizer, traffic analyzer, and more.

The tool works in multiple languages, including English, German, Japanese, French, Chinese, and more.

Integrations : WordPress, Semrush, and Copyscape.

Price : There are four plans: Essential, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise. The Essential plan costs $39 a month and allows you to generate 100,000 words. The Pro plan costs $74 a month, includes two seats, and allows you to audit and create 75 articles per month.

Conclusion : The UI is easy to use and suitable for SEO beginners. However, the tool doesn’t suggest any writing improvements, so you may want to run your long-form content through another tool before publishing.

LanguageTool

LanguageTool is a paraphraser, text editor, and grammar checker.

It can fix punctuation mistakes, help with formatting, and allow you to set up your own style guide. Premium users have access to unlimited rephrasing, while Free users are limited to five per day.

Additionally, LanguageTool works in over 25 languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Italian. Although it doesn’t offer the option to translate any text.

Integrations : Chrome, Edge, Google Docs, Firefox, and more.

Price : There are three plans: Free, Premium, and Teams. The Free plan offers basic features, with the advanced features behind a pay wall. The Premium plan offers four payment intervals, with the cheapest being the two-year plan, and the most expensive being the monthly. The Team plan is priced per number of users and offers additional features like a team style guide and dictionary.

Conclusion : LanguageTool’s price is on the lower end, and it offers a fair selection of features. However, the lack of a plagiarism checker, tone checker, and structural reports means that academic and creative writers may need to carry out additional edits.

Like ProWritingAid, Grammarly is an AI writing tool that checks grammatical errors in your writing in real time. It’s designed to streamline the writing process and reduce writing errors.

It’s available for multiple different English dialects, including British English, Canadian English, and American English.

Some of its most popular features are spell check, engagement ratings, citation generator, grammar check, synonym checker, readability score, writing style suggestions, plagiarism detection, tone adjustments, and writing assistant.

Another popular feature is the paraphraser, which allows you to reword sentences, emails, articles, academic work, and more.

Integrations : Windows, Mac, MS Word (Windows & Mac), Google Docs, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

Price : Grammarly offers four different subscriptions: Free, Premium, Business, and Enterprise. The Free plan is simple and corrects written mistakes. The Premium plan includes rewrites, plagiarism checks, and more. The Business and Enterprise plans are designed for teams and organizations, and they include enhanced security and customized integrations.

Conclusion : This is a generalized tool suitable for most types of writers. However, if you’re looking for a targeted tool that offers customized writing options for creative, academic, or business writers, other tools may be better suited.

Quillbot is a writing tool for students and working professionals.

Quillbot offers seven features: paraphraser, grammar checker, co-writer, plagiarism checker, summarizer, translator, and citation generator. The most well-known of these features is paraphrase, which has a variety of modes, including standard, fluency, and creative.

The tool is available in over 20 languages, including English, Spanish, German, and French.

Integrations : Chrome, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and more.

Price : There are two plans available: Free and Premium. The Free plan is limited and gives users an idea of what the tool can do. The Premium plan includes all the features and is available in three different payment plans: annual, semi-annual, and monthly. The annual plan costs $99.95 a year, and the monthly plan totals to $239.40 a year.

Conclusion : The plagiarism checker and citation text generator tools make Quillbot a useful tool for students, although the pricing is on the higher end for academic aids.

Ginger is an AI-powered writing assistant and proofreading tool designed for all types of writers.

The tool offers basic grammar and spell checking, which you can accept and correct in bulk, a translator, a rephraser, text-to-speech, and more.

The translator is the feature that sets Ginger apart. It allows you to translate into 50 languages, plus it can proofread text in those languages too.

Integrations : Microsoft Office, Gmail, Chrome, Safari, Edge, desktop and mobile apps, and more.

Price : There are six plans: Free, Monthly, Quarterly, Annual, 2-year, and Teams. The Monthly plan is $19.99, and the 2-year plan is $120 overall. The Teams plan is $4.99 per month per member. Each paid plan offers the same features.

Conclusion : It’s a top choice for English second language (ESL) speakers because of the translator, but for native English speakers, it doesn’t have as many advanced features as some of the other writing tools on this list.

Spinbot is a free grammar checker, summarizer, and article rewriter tool, primarily designed for students and academics.

You can use it to rewrite large pieces of text, or you can split content down into smaller pieces and paraphrase paragraph by paragraph.

It’s not a content generator, so users have to first generate text with the important points before pasting it into the tool and running a basic paraphrase. You can ask the tool to rephrase the text, shorten it, or lengthen it.

Conclusion : The tool is basic and functions much like a synonym generator. It’s useful if you have a sentence that you want to change, but it is not effective for long chunks of text.

Claude is an AI writing assistant that is accessible through a simple chat interface.

It’s designed for business professionals and can help with coding, content generation, customer support, editing, translation, summarization, and more.

One of the most popular features of the tool is the high security. Unlike many other generative AI tools on the market, Claude does not use user data to train. This makes it perfect for businesses who need help working with sensitive information.

Price : There are two options, Claude instant and Claude 2. Claude instant is good for lightweight requests at a reasonable price. Claude 2 is a more expensive version of the tool designed for complex tasks. Each plan is priced per million tokens, which are used to complete actions.

Conclusion : Claude is an excellent option for business professionals who frequently encounter limits and issues with other free generative AI tools. However, if you are a casual user, its functionality is probably more advanced than you need.

Anyword is an AI writing tool for marketers.

It can create a variety of content in your brand voice, including emails, ads, social media posts, and web pages. The tool analyzes all the published content you have in order to learn and replicate your brand voice, tone, and messaging. You can optimize this process by feeding the tool information about which pieces of content were the most successful.

Integrations : Chrome, Notion, Canva, and more.

Price : There are four plans: Starter, Data-Driven, Business, and Enterprise. The Starter plan is $39 a month and is suitable for one user. The Data-Driven plan allows up to three users and is $79 a month. The Business plan is $249 a month and also allows three users alongside additional integrations with other marketing channels. The Enterprise plan has pricing on request and includes customizable security options.

Conclusion : With the cheapest plan coming in at $468 a year, it is likely too pricey for small businesses.

Rytr is an AI writing assistant for content creators.

It can create blog post outlines, copywriting frameworks, emails, social media posts, SEO meta titles, job descriptions, and more.

The tool works in over 30 languages and has a built-in plagiarism checker to ensure all copy is original. It also has an image generator, although this is limited on every plan (including Unlimited).

Integrations : Chrome and desktop apps for Mac and PC.

Price : There are three plans: Free, Saver, and Unlimited. The Free plan allows you to generate 10,000 characters per month. The Saver plan costs $9 a month and allows you to generate 100,000 characters and 20 images. The Unlimited plan costs $29 a month and allows for unlimited content generation.

Conclusion : It’s adept at generating short-form copy, such as social media posts and emails, but it isn’t as good at creating long-form content, such as reports and articles.

Paraphraser.io

Paraphraser.io is a text rephraser designed for academics, freelancers, and SEO content writers.

There are six rephrasing options: fluency, standard, word changer, creative, smarten, and shorten. There is also a plagiarism checker, although the word count is limited if you’re on a free plan.

The company doesn’t offer refunds on purchases, so it’s important to try the free version and make sure it works for you before upgrading.

Integrations : Online only, unless you’re an enterprise customer.

Price : There are three plans for students: Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. All the plans have similar limits on plagiarism checks, word changes, and paraphrasing. The Weekly plan is $9 a week, the Monthly plan is $23 a month, and the Yearly plan is $69 a year. There are also enterprise options available.

Conclusion : The functionality is limited, and other rephrasing tools provide more for cheaper. Although the free option, which has a limit of 600 words, is great for the occasional user.

Jasper is an AI content generator that markets itself toward enterprise teams.

It can learn from your brand’s style and tone and generate unique high-quality and engaging content that matches your brand voice.

Jasper can create a variety of content, like product descriptions, social posts, landing page copy, ad copy, and unique articles.

Integrations : Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Price : There are three plans: Creator, Teams, and Business. Creator is for individuals and costs $39 a month. Teams includes up to three seats and is $99 a month. The Business plan includes all the same features and is available on request.

Conclusion : A comprehensive tool with a user-friendly interface, although it’s quite expensive if it’s for occasional use.

Smodin is an AI writing tool designed for students. It can help with homework, grading, plagiarism detection, and more.

It can simplify homework by showing explanations for any type of question, providing relevant resources, and assessing the structure and quality of a piece.

You can grade your own papers by using a premade grading system, or you can upload your own. It provides an estimated grade with feedback about why you received that grade, meaning you can improve your work before turning it in.

There is also a plagiarism detector, which students can use to ensure they only turn in original content and never unintentionally plagiarize.

Price : There are three plans: Limited, Essentials, and Productive. The Limited plan is free, the Essentials plan is $10 a month, and the Productive plan is $29 a month. The best plan for you depends on your intended usage frequency.

Conclusion : A useful tool for students with some unique features, although the pricing is quite steep if you plan to use it often.

When it comes to picking a content tool, free trials, money-back guarantees, and free plans are your best friend.

Reading reviews, talking to colleagues, and looking at feature lists will give you a good idea about how a tool works, but there’s no better way to decide whether it’s right for you than by trying it for yourself.

If you’re looking for a tool to help with every aspect of writing, including ideation, drafting, editing, and proofing, then why not give ProWritingAid a try?

There’s a 14-day money-back guarantee for yearly and lifetime memberships, and a free plan that allows you to test 25+ reports on up to 500 words of your text.

Millie is ProWritingAid's Content Manager. A recent English Literature graduate, she loves all things books and writing. When she isn't working, Millie enjoys gardening, re-reading books by Agatha Christie, and running.

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Content Writer Skills

Learn about the skills that will be most essential for Content Writers in 2024.

Getting Started as a Content Writer

• What is a Content Writer
• How To Become
• Certifications
• Tools & Software
• LinkedIn Guide
• Interview Questions
• Work-Life Balance
• Professional Goals
• Resume Examples
• Cover Letter Examples

What Skills Does a Content Writer Need?

Find the important skills for any job.

Types of Skills for Content Writers

Exceptional writing and editing abilities, seo and digital marketing proficiency, research and analytical skills, creativity and storytelling, adaptability and continuous learning, top hard skills for content writers.

Crafting compelling narratives with SEO expertise, strategic content planning, and multimedia design to drive engagement and deliver impactful digital experiences.

• SEO and Keyword Research
• Content Management Systems (CMS) Proficiency
• Data Analytics for Content Engagement
• Technical Writing and Documentation
• Copywriting and Persuasive Writing Techniques
• Research and Fact-Checking
• Editing and Proofreading
• Content Strategy and Planning
• Graphic Design and Multimedia Content Creation
• Understanding of HTML/CSS and Web Publishing

Top Soft Skills for Content Writers

Harnessing creativity, empathy, and meticulous research to craft compelling narratives that resonate with audiences and meet stringent deadlines.

• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Creativity and Innovation
• Empathy and Audience Awareness
• Research and Information Gathering
• Storytelling and Narrative Development
• Time Management and Deadlines
• Attention to Detail and Precision
• Collaboration and Teamwork
• Communication and Interpersonal Skills
• Feedback Reception and Constructive Criticism

Most Important Content Writer Skills in 2024

Seo and analytics proficiency, adaptability to evolving content platforms, storytelling and brand narrative, research and fact-checking expertise, understanding of content marketing strategies, technical proficiency with content management systems, empathy and audience engagement, editing and self-revision abilities.

Show the Right Skills in Every Application

Content writer skills by experience level, important skills for entry-level content writers, important skills for mid-level content writers, important skills for senior content writers, most underrated skills for content writers, 1. research acumen, 2. emotional intelligence, 3. time management, how to demonstrate your skills as a content writer in 2024, how you can upskill as a content writer.

• Master SEO and Analytics: Deepen your understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and analytics to ensure your content ranks well and reaches the intended audience. Familiarize yourself with tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to track performance and optimize your writing accordingly.
• Explore Multimedia Content Creation: Expand your repertoire by learning how to create and integrate multimedia content such as videos, podcasts, and infographics, which can enhance engagement and retention.
• Develop a Specialization: Carve out a niche for yourself by specializing in a particular industry or content type. This can make you a go-to expert and add value to your writing services.
• Embrace Content Marketing Strategies: Understand the broader scope of content marketing to align your writing with business goals. Learn how to craft content strategies and measure their impact on brand growth.
• Enhance Storytelling Techniques: Engage your audience more deeply by honing your storytelling skills. Study narrative structures and practice weaving compelling stories into your content.
• Stay Current with Industry Trends: Keep abreast of the latest content writing trends and platform updates by subscribing to industry newsletters, following thought leaders, and participating in webinars.
• Improve Writing Efficiency: Adopt writing tools and technologies that can help streamline your writing process, such as Grammarly for editing or Scrivener for organizing long-form content.
• Network and Collaborate: Join writing groups, attend workshops, and collaborate with other writers and content creators to exchange ideas, receive feedback, and build professional relationships.
• Practice Adaptive Writing: Learn to tailor your writing style for different audiences and platforms. Practice writing for various formats, from social media posts to long-form articles.
• Invest in Continuous Learning: Dedicate time to continuous learning through courses, certifications, and reading to stay updated with writing techniques, content management systems, and digital marketing tools.

Skill FAQs for Content Writers

What are the emerging skills for content writers today, how can content writers effectivley develop their soft skills, how important is technical expertise for content writers.

Content Writer Education

More Skills for Related Roles

Shaping narratives and engaging audiences through compelling, creative content

Crafting compelling narratives to drive brand engagement and consumer action

Shaping narratives, refining content to captivate audiences and uphold brand voice

Shaping compelling narratives, driving engagement through strategic content creation

Translating complex tech jargon into clear, user-friendly content, bridging knowledge gaps

Crafting compelling narratives, engaging audiences with powerful words and ideas

Start Your Content Writer Career with Teal

What does a content writer do?

Would you make a good content writer? Take our career test and find your match with over 800 careers.

What is a Content Writer?

A content writer specializes in creating written content for various platforms such as websites, blogs, social media, and marketing materials. The role of content writers is to produce high-quality content that effectively communicates a message or information to a target audience. They must be able to research, write, and edit content that is engaging, informative, and relevant to the target audience.

Content writers may work in-house for a company, or they may work as freelancers, providing their services to clients on a project basis. They must have excellent writing skills, a strong understanding of grammar and syntax, and the ability to tailor their writing style to fit the tone and voice of the brand they are writing for. Additionally, content writers must be able to work efficiently and meet tight deadlines, as they are often responsible for producing a high volume of content in a short amount of time.

What does a Content Writer do?

In a world where information is constantly being consumed and shared online, content writers provide a valuable service by creating content that is not only informative and entertaining but also contributes to the overall success of a business or individual's online presence.

Duties and Responsibilities The duties and responsibilities of a content writer may vary depending on the organization they work for, but generally include:

• Research: A content writer needs to be able to conduct thorough research on the topic assigned to them. This means they should be able to identify reliable sources of information and gather information that is relevant to the topic they are writing about. They need to understand the target audience and tailor their content to meet their needs and interests.
• Writing: Once the research is done, the content writer needs to create engaging and informative content. This includes using appropriate writing style, tone, and format for the platform and audience. The content should be well-structured and easy to read, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The writer should also be able to use persuasive language to encourage the reader to take action, if that is the goal of the content.
• Editing and Proofreading: After writing the content, the writer needs to review and revise it for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and clarity. They need to ensure that the content is error-free, and that it meets any specific guidelines or requirements set by the organization.
• Content Management: Once the content is ready, the writer needs to publish it on various platforms such as websites, blogs, social media, or email newsletters. They need to ensure that the content is properly formatted, optimized for search engines, and easily accessible to the target audience. They may also need to update or archive the content as needed.
• Collaboration: A content writer needs to work closely with other team members such as designers, marketers, and project managers to ensure that the content aligns with the overall marketing strategy and meets the organization's goals. This may involve brainstorming ideas, coordinating deadlines, and sharing feedback and suggestions.
• SEO: A content writer needs to understand search engine optimization (SEO) principles and incorporate them into the content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engines. This may involve using relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptions, as well as optimizing images and videos.
• Content Promotion: Once the content is published, the writer needs to develop promotional strategies to increase its reach and engagement. This may involve sharing the content on social media, creating email campaigns, or using paid advertising to promote it.
• Continuous Learning: A content writer needs to stay up-to-date with industry trends, best practices, and new technologies to improve the quality and effectiveness of their content. This may involve attending conferences, reading industry publications, and participating in online communities and forums.

Types of Content Writers There are several types of content writers, each with their own unique skills and specialties. Here are some of the most common types:

• Blog Writers : Blog writers create content for blogs, either on their own websites or for other publications. They may specialize in a particular niche or topic, and their content is typically written in an informal, conversational style.
• Content Marketers: Content marketers create content with the goal of driving traffic, engagement, and conversions. They need to be able to understand the buyer's journey and create content that meets the needs of the target audience at each stage of the funnel.
• Content Strategists: Content strategists are responsible for developing a content strategy that aligns with the organization's goals and meets the needs of the target audience. They may work with a team of writers to create a content calendar, identify content gaps, and measure the effectiveness of the content.
• Copywriters : Copywriters create content that is designed to persuade the reader to take a specific action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service. They may specialize in writing sales copy, email marketing campaigns, or advertising copy.
• Educational Content Writers: Educational content writers specialize in writing educational content, including textbooks, lesson plans, articles, and online courses. They research educational topics, organize information, and write clear and engaging content that is accessible to learners.
• SEO Writers: SEO writers create content that is optimized for search engines, with the goal of improving the website's ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). They need to be able to incorporate keywords, meta tags, and descriptions into their content without sacrificing readability or quality.
• Technical Writers : Technical writers create content that explains complex technical concepts in a way that is easy for non-technical readers to understand. They may create documentation, manuals, user guides, or help articles for software or hardware products.

What is the workplace of a Content Writer like?

The workplace of a content writer can vary depending on their employment situation. Content writers may work as full-time employees for a company or work on a freelance basis, which could mean working from home or from a coworking space.

For those who work in an office environment, their workplace may look similar to that of a traditional office. They may work in a cubicle or share a workspace with other writers. However, content writers often require more creativity and inspiration than other types of office workers, so their workspaces may be designed to encourage this. They may have personalized decorations, plants, or other elements to help them stay inspired and focused.

Freelance content writers have the flexibility to work from anywhere they choose. This could mean working from home or a coffee shop, or even while traveling. Many freelance writers prefer to work from home, where they can create their own personalized workspace that suits their needs. However, working from home can also be challenging as it can be difficult to separate work and personal life. Freelancers must also be self-disciplined and able to manage their time effectively to ensure that they meet their deadlines.

Regardless of where they work, content writers must have access to a computer, internet connection, and necessary software, such as a word processor or content management system. They may also use tools like plagiarism checkers, grammar checkers, and keyword research software to help them produce high-quality content. Collaboration tools like Google Docs, Slack, or Asana may also be used to work with editors, clients, or other writers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Writing and journalism related careers and degrees.

Writing Careers

• Academic Writer
• Content Writer
• Fiction Writer
• Food Critic
• Ghostwriter
• Grant Writer
• Music Critic
• Nonfiction Writer
• Screenwriter
• Speechwriter
• Sports Writer
• Technical Writer
• Television Writer
• Travel Writer

Journalism Careers

• Correspondent
• News Anchor
• News Reporter
• Photojournalist
• Broadcast Journalism
• Children's Literature
• Creative Writing
• Screenwriting
• Songwriting
• Technical Writing

Continue reading

What Is Content Writing? Everything You Need To Know

What is Content Writing is a question on every beginner’s lips. Content writing is your digital frontline. It’s the act of drafting web content, typically for digital marketing purposes. But let’s cut through the jargon, and this is about crafting words that resonate, that hit home where Google searches and skim-readers live. It’s about finding the pain points in your audience’s lives and addressing them with words that act like a balm.

Table of Contents

Content writing for beginners can be like staring at a blank page, the cursor blinking back at you, and the mounting pressure of crafting something that might click with your audience. The path from rookie to writing whiz seems fraught with hurdles. You need content writing techniques that transform that blank page into a canvas of opportunity, giving you the tools to produce content and effective content writing that grips your readers.

Benefits Of Content Writing For Businesses

Do you know what it’s like to run a business without content writing? It’s not so different from trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it. Sure, you’re putting in effort, but it with keep leaking out. Here’s how content writing plugs the gap, addresses your pain points, and opens up a world of opportunity:

Improves Search Engine rankings

We all know the despair of being on the second page of Google—let’s face it, it’s a graveyard. Your content needs to claw its way to the front, where SEO and content writing come hand in hand. It’s not just about keywords; it’s about creating something valuable that search engines can’t help but notice.

Step-by-step action plan

• Keyword research: Identify the terms your audience is searching for
• Competitor analysis: See what the top-ranking pages are doing, then do it better.
• Quality content: Write comprehensive, authoritative content that answers real questions.
• On-page SEO: Optimize your titles, headers, and images.
• Backlinks: Get reputable sites to link to your content.

Increases brand awareness

Think of the internet as a crowded party. You’re there in the corner, sipping your drink, unnoticed. Content writing is your voice in that room, helping you build conversations and relationships. It’s how you tell your brand’s story, draw people in, and make them remember you.

• Understand your audience: Craft personas to speak directly to their needs.
• Consistent brand messaging: Use a tone and style that reflects your brand across all content.
• Storytelling: Share stories that connect on an emotional level.
• Distribution: Get your content out there through social media, email, and partnerships.

Cost-effective marketing

Traditional marketing can feel like shouting into a void—expensive and exhausting with uncertain returns. Content writing is the savvy marketer’s secret weapon: it’s less about the hard sell and more about providing value, which draws in customers organically.

• Plan your content: Align it with sales goals and customer pain points.
• Create with Intent: Every content should have a purpose and a call to action.
• Track your spending: Use analytics to see where your content brings value.
• Repurpose: Turn successful content into infographics, videos, and more to get more bang.

Improves conversion rates

Traffic is good, but it’s like having a shop full of window shoppers. You want buyers. Content writing zeroes in on those visitors and gently guides them toward making a purchase. It’s about creating content that’s informative, persuasive, and reassuring.

• Understand your conversion funnel: Tailor content for each stage of the buyer’s journey.
• A/B testing: Try different calls to action and see what works best.
• Benefit-focused content: Highlight how your service/product eases pain points.
• Use testimonials: Let current customers do the talking with success stories.

Build customer relationships

No one likes to feel like a number. Personalized content writing makes your audience feel seen and heard, which is the foundation of any strong relationship. By addressing their specific concerns and interests, you build trust and loyalty.

• Engage on Social Media: Use it as a two-way conversation tool.
• Newsletter: Regular updates that provide real value deepen relationships.
• Feedback loops: Use surveys and comments to learn and show you’re listening.
• Community building: Create spaces for your audience to connect over shared interests.

Throughout each of these benefits, it’s essential to weave in the various types of content writing, from blog posts that tackle niche problems to social media content that sparks conversations.

Content Writing: Best Practices

Navigating the digital world without a compass, content creators often face the daunting task of consistently producing engaging, relevant, and impactful content. Let’s walk through some best practices that address these pain points and set a clear pathway to crafting content that resonates and performs.

Create a content outline

Here’s a step-by-step action plan to craft an outline that will be your blueprint to success:

• Identify the core message or idea of your content.
• Break down the topic into main points or sections.
• List out sub-points under each section that further develop the idea.
• Arrange the points in a logical, flowing order.
• Include keywords, such as “what is content writing” and “content writing techniques,” to optimize SEO.

Creating a structured outline isn’t just about organization; it’s your strategy to combat the chaos and inject clarity into your content creation process.

Craft compelling headlines

Your headline is the gateway to your content. A compelling headline must promise a solution to the reader’s problem, ignite curiosity, or offer a compelling benefit. Consider these tips:

• Use powerful, emotive words to grab attention.
• Include numbers or data points for specificity.
• Pose a problem that resonates with your audience’s pain points.
• Promise a clear and desirable outcome.

Crafting a headline is an art form that combines psychology with linguistic precision. It’s not just about getting clicks—it’s about fulfilling a promise to your readers that what lies ahead is worth their time.

Add Strong CTAs

A strong Call to Action (CTA) bridges reader engagement and business goals. It’s the part where many content writers falter, failing to direct their readers towards a clear, actionable next step. Here’s how to craft a CTA that converts:

• Use action-oriented language that propels the reader forward.
• Create a sense of urgency with time-bound phrases.
• Offer value that speaks directly to the reader’s needs or pain points.
• Make it visually stand out from the rest of the content.

Your CTA should resonate with the reader’s intent and provide them with a clear, accessible path to the solution they seek.

Make your content easy to read

The digital space is plagued with as digestible content as a brick. Long paragraphs, complex jargon, and lack of visual breaks are the bane of readability. To make your content more accessible:

• Use short paragraphs and sentences.
• Incorporate bullet points or numbered lists.
• Utilize subheadings to break up text and guide readers.
• Employ images, videos, and infographics to complement text.

By enhancing readability, you not only make your content more accessible but also show empathy towards your reader’s time and cognitive load.

Types Of Content Writing

In the diverse ecosystem of content writing, one size only fits some. Each type of content writing serves a specific purpose and addresses different pain points of the audience.

Blog Content Writing

Blog writing involves weaving words into a tapestry of information, storytelling, and persuasion. It’s about creating a narrative that informs and connects with the reader on a human level. Its pain points are the thirst for knowledge and the desire for human connection in the digital space.

Email Writing

Email writing is about getting to the heart of communication, direct and personal. It addresses the pain point of impersonal, spammy inboxes by delivering value straight to the reader’s personal space.

Social Media Content Writing

Social media content writing is the frontline of engagement in the digital battlefield. It’s quick, it’s dynamic, and it’s personal. It solves the pain point of disconnection in a hyper-connected world by fostering community, conversation, and brand personality.

Continue reading Types of Content Writing .

Tips To Write Your Content That Converts

Creating content that doesn’t just occupy space on a webpage but pulls its weight in gold by converting readers into customers is an art. Here’s your no-fluff, actionable plan to make that happen. It’s about addressing the gnawing concerns of why your content isn’t performing and how to turn that around.

Always research on your topic first

Your audience is tired of the same regurgitated insights. They crave fresh meat. Don’t be the tenth person to serve them a reheated burger. Here’s how to find the prime cut:

• Dive deep: Use tools like Google Scholar or industry-specific databases for the latest research.
• Listen in: Join forums and social media groups where your audience hangs out. What are their pressing questions?
• Survey says: Run surveys or polls to get direct input from your target market.

Understand the search intent and target audience

Picture this: You’ve got a vegan entering a BBQ joint because the sign wasn’t clear. That’s your website with mismatched search intent. Pain point? Wasted traffic. Solution:

• Keywords are key: Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to understand the keywords and their intent.
• Persona crafting: Build detailed buyer personas. The more you know them, the better you can serve them what they want to feast on.

Write unique and original content

Plagiarism is the cardinal sin of content writing. It’s like stealing someone else’s painting and signing your name. To create your masterpiece: Start with Why: Begin each piece by outlining why it’s different.

• Personal touch: Inject personal stories or case studies. No one else has those.
• Opinion matters: Take a stance. Even if it’s controversial, it’s uniquely yours.

Include multimedia components in your content

Text-heavy content is dry and hard to swallow, like a lecture without visuals. Spice it up:

• Visual aids: Break up text with relevant images or infographics.
• Interactivity: Add polls, quizzes, or interactive slides to keep the engagement level high.
• Video content: Can something be explained via video? Show, don’t tell.

Write content for all the stages of the marketing funnel

Not addressing each stage of the marketing funnel is like fishing with a net that has holes. To patch it up:

• Awareness: Use informative blog posts and articles to solve initial problems.
• Consideration: Create comparison guides, case studies, and how-to content for deeper engagement.
• Decision: Use product reviews, testimonials, and strong CTAs to seal the deal.

Edit and optimize everything you write

Unedited content is like showing up to a job interview in pajamas. To dress your content for success:

• Grammar tools: Use Grammarly or the Hemingway App for a quick clean-up.
• Peer review: Have someone else read your content. Fresh eyes find fresh problems.
• Read aloud: Hearing your content can highlight issues your eyes might miss.

SEO-optimize your content for Search Engine

Ignoring SEO is like winking at someone in the dark. You know what you’re doing, but no one else does. Light it up:

• Keyword optimization: Don’t just sprinkle keywords; strategically place them where they’ll get noticed.
• Meta matters: Craft your meta titles and descriptions as if they’re your only chance to sell the content.
• Mobile-friendly: Ensure your content looks good on mobile. Google cares, so you should, too.

Let Stabilli write for you and increase your conversion rates with our effective writing tips. Hurry up, talk to us now!

Content Writing Examples

We’re diving into various formats and styles when discussing content writing. There are diverse content writing examples; for instance, consider a blog post that delves into the ‘Top 10 SEO Strategies for 2023’. It’s informative, rich with keywords, and leaves the reader with a clear understanding of current SEO best practices. Another example is a how-to guide titled ‘How to Create a Content Calendar.’ This piece would walk readers through the process, providing actionable steps and downloadable resources.

Content Writing vs Copywriting

While both are crucial tools in your marketing arsenal, content writing and copywriting serve distinct purposes. Content writing is about building relationships, providing value, and establishing trust. The blog posts, articles, and videos educate and engage your audience over time. Copywriting , on the other hand, is persuasion in print. It’s the art of creating compelling calls to action, whether in ads, product descriptions, or landing pages, designed to convert the reader, viewer, or listener into a customer.

Read more about copywriting vs content writing .

FAQs On Content Writing: Addressing Common Concerns

Explore our FAQs on content writing, where we address common concerns, starting with how to begin a content writing sample.

Starting a content writing sample

Starting a content writing sample involves understanding the topic and anticipating the reader’s questions and expectations. Begin by understanding the topic and your target audience. Plan the structure, research thoroughly, and then start writing with a captivating introduction, informative body, and memorable conclusion.

What makes an effective content writer?

Effective content writers can consistently navigate the challenges of the craft and deliver content that resonates with the audience and meets the client’s objectives. Effective content writers understand their audience, research well, adapt to different styles, master SEO, have strong editing skills, and excel in storytelling to engage readers.

The 3 C’s of content writing

Clarity, conciseness, and consistency are vital in content writing, yet achieving them in every piece of content is a challenge that requires practice and dedication. Here’s a tip on what each entails:

• Clarity: Clarity in content writing means that your message is easily understood by your audience. It involves using straightforward language that avoids jargon or ambiguity. Effective content communicates the intended message clearly, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
• Conciseness: Conciseness is about conveying your message efficiently. It involves using the fewest words necessary to communicate effectively. Concise content engages readers by delivering information succinctly, avoiding unnecessary verbosity, and keeping the reader’s attention focused.
• Consistency: Consistency is vital for building trust with your audience. It pertains to maintaining uniformity in style, tone, and formatting throughout your content. Consistent content looks professional and well-organized, providing a cohesive reading experience.

The 4 basic writing styles

The four basic writing styles, expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative, each require a different approach, and writers must be skilled in all four to communicate with diverse audiences effectively.

Identifying high-quality content

High-quality content is content that achieves its purpose. It’s relevant, accurate, clear, engaging, error-free, and well-structured. Achieving this requires research, writing skills, and understanding the audience’s needs. However, the path to producing such content is fraught with challenges, from concept development to final editing.

Related Articles

Top 5 Types Of Content Writing

Dec 6, 2023 | Blog

Copywriting vs Content Writing – What’s The Difference?

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Content Writing 101 | A Beginner’s Guide for Content Writer

Information flows very easily and the attention spans are getting really short in this revolutionary digital world which makes the ability to create content that grabs attention very valuable. But what is content writing and how can you master this skill to engage your audience and achieve the outcome that you desire? Here, we will discuss all the key aspects of content writing including types, skills required, and even career opportunities. So, let’s quickly get into the topic.

What is Content Writing and Who is a Content Writer?

Content writing is a skill that requires creating written information that is informative, interesting, and helpful to specific audiences in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. Blog posts, articles, website copy, social media posts, and email newsletters are some of its examples.

The one who possesses the above skill is known as a content writer. A content writer is a professional who creates written material for a variety of purposes online. They’re like the storytellers, educators, and brand voices of the digital world.

Not only writing but they are involved in multiple things like 

• Proofreading and Editing the content piece, 
• Analyzing the performance of their published content, 
• Understanding the client’s requirements, managing the deadlines, and
• Taking care of SEO to rank their content.

Table of Content

Skills Required for Content Writing

Types of content.

• Types of Content Writers
• Creating Ideal Content
• How to be a Content Writer?

Final Thoughts

There are many types of content writers but all content writers need to inculcate the following basic skills to be excellent at their job.

1. Adaptability

The content writing world is constantly evolving, with new trends, platforms, and audience emerging preferences. Content writers should have the ability to adjust their style, voice, and approach to different formats, audiences, and platforms.

2. Grammar and Vocabulary

A solid grasp of grammar and vocabulary is non-negotiable because an understanding of sentence structure, tenses, punctuation, vocabulary, and other grammatical elements ensures that your writing is polished and professional.

3. Research Skills

Research is a content writer’s best friend as it enables a writer to gather information from various sources and present it in an organized and coherent manner adding depth and credibility to the writing. The writer should have an eye for credible sources while doing research. That makes their research skills stand out from the rest.

4. Creative Writing Skills

The foundation of content writing lies in the ability to express ideas clearly and engagingly. A good content writer has expertise in choosing the right words, constructing sentences, and telling stories that capture the reader’s attention.

5. Understanding of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

In the digital age, knowing the basics of SEO is crucial for a content writer to incorporate relevant keywords, understand meta descriptions, and structure the content in a way that search engines can easily recognize and index.

Now that you have an overview of skills, it is the best time to know the types of content. Yes, there are types because what you read everywhere is not in the same tone or conveys the same message, right? So let’s read about them. 

There are several pieces of content that writers have to prepare. Below we have listed some of the top types of content that you should be aware of while embarking on a journey of becoming a successful content writer.

1. Copywriting

Copywriting refers to the art of writing persuasive and compelling content to promote a product, service, or brand. To increase conversions and sales, it is necessary to create attractive headlines, appealing sales content, and effective calls to action.

2. 10x Content

10x content is a term invented by Rand Fishkin that refers to exceptionally high-quality content that provides ten times the value compared to other similar pieces. It goes beyond just providing information and aims to be comprehensive, unique, visually appealing, and highly shareable.

3. Listicles

Listicles are articles presented in a list format, typically featuring a catchy title like “Top 10 Tips” or “5 Ways to Improve.” They are popular because they concisely provide easily digestible information. Listicles often attract readers’ attention due to their organized structure and promise of quick takeaways.

4. Lead Magnets

Lead magnets as the name itself suggests, a piece of content that acts as a magnet for leads are valuable pieces of content that businesses offer to their audience in exchange for their contact information and are designed to attract potential customers and generate leads such as e-books, whitepapers, or webinars. 

5. Evergreen Content

Evergreen content refers to timeless and enduring pieces of content that remain relevant and valuable over a long period and are not tied to specific trends or events, making it consistently useful for readers. Comprehensive guides, tutorials, or FAQs are good examples that continue to generate traffic.

6. Social Media

Social media content involves creating and sharing various forms of media, such as text, images, videos, or links, on social networking platforms. It aims to engage and interact with the target audience, build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and foster customer relationships.

After you have gained information on the types of content, we have prepared a list of types of content writers that top-notch companies hire today.

Types of Content Writers that Companies Hire

1. technical writer.

A writer who communicates complex technical information in a clear, concise, and user-friendly manner, often for specialized audiences is called a technical writers. They write

• User manuals
• Online help systems
• Training materials
• Technical specifications
• White papers and research reports

2. Ghostwriter

A writer who produces content for someone else who then takes credit as the author is considered a ghostwriter. Basically, you get paid for your write-ups but cannot take the credits. Ghostwriters are usually responsible for writing

• Books (fiction and nonfiction)
• Articles and blog posts
• Speeches and presentations
• Memoirs and biographies
• Social media content

3. Copywriter

A writer who creates persuasive text to promote products, services, or ideas, often to drive sales or engagement are the Copywriters. They create

• Advertisements (print, digital, social media)
• Website content
• Email marketing campaigns
• Product descriptions
• Sales letters and brochures

4. Brand Journalist

Brand journalists are those who create content that aligns with a company’s brand identity and values, often with a storytelling approach. They write:

• Brand stories and feature articles
• Case studies and customer testimonials
• Thought leadership pieces
• Blog posts and social media content
• Internal communications materials

5. Social Media Writer

These types of writers create engaging content specifically for social media platforms, tailored to each platform’s unique format and audience. They are offered to write the following content.

• Social media posts (text, images, videos)
• Engaging captions and text-based content
• Community management responses
• Social media ad copy

6. Email Writer

These writers craft effective emails that capture attention, drive action, and build relationships with subscribers. They write:

• Newsletters and email campaigns
• Welcome emails and onboarding sequences
• Promotional emails and sales offers
• Transactional emails (order confirmations, receipts)
• Customer service emails

7. Scriptwriter

A writer who creates scripts for various forms of media, including film, television, radio, podcasts, and video games. They write:

• Screenplays for movies and TV shows
• Radio and podcast scripts
• Video game narratives and dialogue
• Corporate videos and training scripts
• Commercials and advertising scripts

Best Practices for Creating Ideal Content

Now, here is your guide to writing compelling content along with the essential tools and strategies that will help you along.

1. Develop a Reader’s Persona

Imagine your ideal reader and understand their demographics, interests, needs, and challenges to understand your audience better and tailor your content to their specific preferences. This ensures that it connects with them, fostering a deeper connection.

Tools: HubSpot’s Make My Persona, Xtensio, UserForge

2. Craft an Effective Outline

A well-organized outline is like a roadmap ensuring your readers navigate smoothly through your content. That’s why, you should structure your content logically for clarity and flow and develop a strong outline that guides your writing and keeps you on track. This increases user interaction and enhances the readability of your content.

Tools: MindMeister, Coggle, Evernote

3. Include relevant Facts & Statistics

Back up your claims with accurate and reliable information from trustworthy sources to add credibility and authority to your writing. The incorporation of relevant facts and statistics strengthens your argument and builds trust with your audience.

Tools: Google Scholar, Statista, Pew Research Center

4. Let Visuals Tell Your Story

Visual elements are not just decoration but they are powerful storytellers that enrich your content. So integrate relevant and high-quality images, videos, and infographics to enhance your message, capture attention, and make your content visually impactful.

Tools: Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud, Unsplash

5. Clear Call to Action, Without Being Salesy

Guide your readers towards taking the desired action after reading your content. However, avoid sounding pushy or overly promotional. A clear call to action is like extending an invitation rather than making a sales pitch, encouraging a genuine response from your audience.

Tools: CoSchedule Headline Analyzer, Hemingway Editor, Grammarly

6. Make SEO-friendly Content

SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization, which means creating and improving content using techniques to increase its visibility on search engines. If you want to learn more about SEO, read the article: Search Engine Optimization | SEO: A Complete Tutorial . Remember, mastering SEO is like giving your content a passport to be discovered in the vast digital landscape.

Tools: Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Search Console

7. Proofread, Edit, and Edit Again

Before publishing your content, carefully proofread and edit it to ensure clarity, conciseness, and error-free writing because the final editing stage is like adding the finishing touches to your masterpiece.

Tools: Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Hemingway Editor

What Courses or Qualifications are required to be a Content Writer?

While there’s no one-size-fits-all path to content writing. However, aspiring writers can explore options like renowned online courses on platforms like  Udemy or Coursera . These online courses help you learn the basics of writing and enable you to kick-start your career.

In case, you are inclined towards taking the official degree road, bachelor programs can help you with that. You can opt for  a Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication or B.A. honors in English/literature.  These programs help you get a grasp of the language and gain insights into the plethora of writing career options available in the market. 

By that time, here’s a quick guide on how you can become a demanding content writer easily.

• Identify your niche:  Identify a specific industry or field where your knowledge and passion intersect. This will let you establish yourself as a valued authority.
• Read digital content:  Continuously consuming high-quality online content across various platforms will give you an idea of how to write different content for different audiences. 
• Build a portfolio:  Actively develop a diverse portfolio showcasing your writing skillset and adaptability by creating samples for different content types and target audiences. You can use various free portfolio builder websites like WIX.

Content writing lets you to reach out to a wide range of people to spread knowledge and achieve your goals. To do all this effectively, you would require in-depth knowledge of skills and best practices, and this article contains it all. Remember that the path to content writing excellence is a never-ending cycle of learning, experimentation, and improvement but with commitment and passion, you can create meaningful content that leaves a lasting impression. So grab a pen or now a laptop as we are going digital, let your imagination run wild, and start writing! The world is ready to be enchanted by your distinct voice.

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Top 12 Content Writer Skills to Put on Your Resume

In today's digital age, content writers play a pivotal role in engaging audiences and driving traffic to websites. A well-crafted resume highlighting your top skills as a content writer can set you apart from the competition and catch the eye of potential employers.

Content Writer Skills

• SEO Optimization
• Google Analytics
• HTML Basics
• CMS Experience
• Copywriting
• Proofreading
• Social Media
• Content Management
• Adobe Photoshop

1. SEO Optimization

SEO Optimization for a Content Writer involves strategically crafting website content to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) through the use of relevant keywords, high-quality content, and adherence to search engine guidelines.

Why It's Important

SEO optimization is crucial for a Content Writer because it enhances the visibility of their content in search engine results, attracting more readers and potential customers, thereby increasing website traffic and engagement.

How to Improve SEO Optimization Skills

To improve SEO optimization as a content writer, focus on the following key strategies:

Keyword Research : Identify relevant, high-search-volume keywords using tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush . Integrate these keywords naturally into your content, including titles, headers, and body text.

High-Quality Content : Create valuable, informative, and engaging content that addresses the needs and questions of your target audience. Use Yoast SEO to ensure your content is SEO-friendly.

On-Page SEO : Optimize your content for on-page SEO elements. This includes using short, descriptive URLs with keywords, meta descriptions, and optimizing image alt attributes. Tools such as Moz Pro can guide on-page optimizations.

Internal Linking : Use internal links to connect your current content with other relevant pieces on your site, enhancing site navigation and spreading link equity.

Mobile Optimization : Ensure your content is mobile-friendly, as Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test can evaluate your website's mobile responsiveness.

Loading Speed : Improve your site’s loading speed to reduce bounce rates and enhance user experience. Google PageSpeed Insights provides recommendations for speeding up your site.

Backlinks : Gain high-quality backlinks from reputable sites within your niche. Tools like Ahrefs can help identify backlink opportunities.

Social Media Sharing : Share your content on social media platforms to drive traffic and generate social signals. Using engaging descriptions and hashtags can increase visibility.

Regular Updates : Regularly update your content to keep it fresh and relevant. This encourages return visits and signals to search engines that your site is active.

Analytics Monitoring : Use Google Analytics to monitor your site’s performance. Analyze which content performs best and optimize your strategy accordingly.

By implementing these strategies and consistently producing high-quality content, you'll improve your SEO optimization and increase your visibility in search engine results pages.

How to Display SEO Optimization Skills on Your Resume

2. WordPress

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that allows content writers to easily create, edit, and publish web content without needing advanced technical knowledge.

WordPress is important for a Content Writer because it provides an easy-to-use platform for publishing and managing content, offers SEO optimization tools to increase visibility, and supports a wide range of plugins and themes to enhance the functionality and appearance of written material.

How to Improve WordPress Skills

To enhance WordPress for content writers, focus on these key areas:

• Optimize Performance : Use a caching plugin like W3 Total Cache and optimize images with tools like Smush .
• SEO : Improve visibility with Yoast SEO , which guides on readability and keywords.
• Content Organization : Utilize the Editorial Calendar plugin for planning and scheduling posts.
• Distraction-Free Writing : Activate WordPress's built-in Distraction-Free Writing Mode for a cleaner writing interface.
• Backup and Security : Keep content safe with UpdraftPlus for backups and Wordfence for security.
• Grammar and Style : Use Grammarly or the Hemingway App for proofreading and style improvement directly in your browser.
• Social Media Integration : Amplify reach with Revive Old Post for auto-sharing content and Social Media Share Buttons for easy content sharing.

Focusing on these areas can significantly enhance the WordPress experience for content writers, making it more efficient, secure, and user-friendly.

How to Display WordPress Skills on Your Resume

3. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a web analytics service that provides insights into website traffic, user behavior, and content effectiveness, helping content writers optimize their work for audience engagement and reach.

Google Analytics is crucial for a Content Writer as it provides insights into audience behavior, allowing for data-driven decisions to optimize content strategy, engagement, and reach.

How to Improve Google Analytics Skills

To enhance Google Analytics for a Content Writer, focus on:

Set Clear Goals : Define specific objectives for your content. Use Google Analytics' Goals to track conversions and measure how well your content achieves its objectives.

Monitor User Behavior : Pay attention to metrics like bounce rate, time on page, and pages per session. Tools like Behavior Flow can help understand how users interact with your content.

Analyze Traffic Sources : Determine where your audience is coming from using Acquisition reports. Focus on channels that drive the most engaged visitors.

Optimize Content with Search Queries : Use Search Console reports integrated with Google Analytics to understand the search queries leading visitors to your site. Optimize your content based on these insights.

Use Custom Segments : Create custom segments to analyze specific groups of users. For example, segment users who spend more than two minutes on a page to understand what captures their interest.

Leverage Content Grouping : Group your content into meaningful categories using Content Groupings to analyze the performance of different types of content (e.g., blogs vs. tutorials).

Conduct A/B Testing : Use Google Analytics to conduct A/B testing on your content to see what resonates best with your audience. Tools like Google Optimize can be integrated for deeper insights.

Regularly Review and Adapt : Analytics should inform your content strategy. Regularly review performance metrics and adapt your content plan based on what's working and what's not.

By focusing on these areas, a Content Writer can use Google Analytics to refine their strategy, create more engaging content, and achieve better results.

How to Display Google Analytics Skills on Your Resume

4. HTML Basics

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard language used to create and design web pages. It consists of a series of elements or tags that tell the web browser how to display content. These elements can define text as headings, paragraphs, links, images, and other types of content. For a content writer, understanding HTML basics allows for better control over how content appears on a webpage, enabling the insertion of links, emphasizing text, and structuring articles for improved readability and SEO performance.

HTML basics are important for a Content Writer as they enable you to format and structure web content effectively, ensuring it is accessible, engaging, and optimized for search engines.

How to Improve HTML Basics Skills

Improving your HTML basics as a content writer involves understanding the structure of HTML documents, mastering the common tags, and practicing regularly. Here's a concise guide:

Learn the Structure : Understand the basic structure of an HTML document, including the <!DOCTYPE> , <html> , <head> , and <body> tags. W3Schools offers a clear explanation.

Master Common Tags : Focus on tags that are regularly used in content creation, such as <h1> to <h6> for headings, <p> for paragraphs, <a> for links, <img> for images, and <ul>/<ol> with <li> for lists. The MDN Web Docs is a reliable resource.

Practice with Editors : Use online HTML editors like CodePen or JSFiddle to practice your HTML skills in real-time.

Understand SEO Basics : Learn how to use HTML to improve SEO. Tags like <title> , <meta description> , and proper use of headings can impact your content's search engine ranking. Moz offers an excellent introduction.

Stay Updated : HTML standards evolve, so regularly visit HTML5 Doctor or W3C to stay informed about new tags and best practices.

Read and Analyze : Read the HTML source of well-structured websites and blogs to understand how they are constructed. Right-click on a webpage and select "View Page Source" to get insights.

By focusing on these areas and practicing regularly, you'll improve your HTML skills, making your content more effective and versatile.

How to Display HTML Basics Skills on Your Resume

5. CMS Experience

CMS Experience refers to a content writer's familiarity and proficiency with Content Management Systems, the tools used to create, manage, and modify digital content on websites without needing specialized technical knowledge.

CMS experience is crucial for a Content Writer because it enables efficient management and publication of written material on digital platforms, ensuring content is accessible, up-to-date, and tailored to the target audience's needs.

How to Improve CMS Experience Skills

Improving CMS (Content Management System) experience for a Content Writer involves several key strategies. Focus on simplifying the user interface, ensuring responsive design, providing comprehensive training, implementing robust search functionality, and offering customization options. Additionally, integrating SEO tools and ensuring the CMS supports multimedia content can greatly enhance the experience. For more detailed insights:

Simplify User Interface : Opt for a CMS with an intuitive and uncluttered interface to reduce the learning curve. WordPress is an example of a CMS with a user-friendly interface.

Ensure Responsive Design : Choose a CMS that offers a responsive design, allowing content writers to work efficiently across different devices. Squarespace is known for responsive design templates.

Provide Comprehensive Training : Offer ample training resources such as tutorials or webinars. HubSpot Academy offers free online training that can be beneficial.

Implement Robust Search Functionality : A powerful search feature within the CMS can significantly improve content management efficiency. Drupal has strong search capabilities.

Offer Customization Options : A CMS that allows customization in terms of content presentation and layout can be very empowering. Joomla offers extensive customization options.

Integrate SEO Tools : Having SEO tools integrated into the CMS can streamline the content optimization process. Yoast SEO for WordPress is a popular plugin that integrates seamlessly.

Supports Multimedia Content : Ensure the CMS can handle various multimedia formats effortlessly, enhancing the richness of content. Adobe Experience Manager excels in managing diverse content types.

By focusing on these areas, the CMS experience for content writers can be significantly improved, leading to more efficient and enjoyable content creation processes.

How to Display CMS Experience Skills on Your Resume

6. Copywriting

Copywriting is the creation of persuasive, engaging text aimed at promoting or selling products, services, or ideas, often utilized by content writers to influence the audience's actions or opinions.

Copywriting is crucial for a Content Writer as it enhances the ability to persuade and engage the audience effectively, driving conversions and achieving the content's intended purpose.

How to Improve Copywriting Skills

Improving copywriting skills is essential for a content writer aiming to engage and persuade their audience effectively. Here are concise tips with external resources for enhancing your copywriting:

Understand Your Audience : Knowing your audience's needs and preferences allows you to tailor your message effectively. HubSpot's Guide on Understanding Your Audience offers comprehensive insights.

Practice Writing Headlines : Compelling headlines grab attention. Use CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer to refine your headlines for impact.

Focus on Benefits, Not Features : Highlight how your product or service improves lives. QuickSprout's Guide delves into consumer psychology and the importance of benefits.

Keep It Simple and Clear : Avoid jargon and complex language. The Hemingway App helps simplify your writing for better clarity and engagement.

Use Persuasive Techniques : Familiarize yourself with persuasive writing techniques. Copyblogger's Introduction to Persuasive Copywriting provides valuable strategies.

Create a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA) : Encourage your readers to take action. For tips on crafting effective CTAs, check out WordStream's CTA Guide .

Edit and Proofread : Ensure your copy is free from errors and flows smoothly. Grammarly (Grammarly) is a useful tool for catching mistakes and improving your writing.

Read and Analyze Good Copy : Learn from successful copywriters. Swipe-Worthy is a collection of effective marketing and copywriting examples.

Continuously Learn and Practice : Copywriting is a skill that improves with practice and ongoing learning. Copyhackers offers free tutorials and articles to hone your skills.

By consistently applying these strategies and leveraging the resources provided, you can significantly enhance your copywriting abilities and create more effective, engaging content.

How to Display Copywriting Skills on Your Resume

7. Proofreading

Proofreading is the process where a content writer reviews their text to correct typos, grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, ensuring the content is error-free and polished before publication.

Proofreading is crucial for a Content Writer as it ensures accuracy, enhances readability, eliminates errors, and maintains professionalism, thereby elevating the quality of the content and reinforcing credibility with the audience.

How to Improve Proofreading Skills

Improving proofreading skills is essential for a content writer to ensure the accuracy and quality of their work. Here are concise steps to enhance your proofreading abilities:

Take a Break : After writing, take a short break before proofreading to refresh your perspective. This helps in catching errors more effectively.

Read Aloud : Reading your content aloud enables you to notice mistakes and awkward phrasing that you might skip while reading silently.

Use Tools : Utilize proofreading tools like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor for initial checks.

Check for Consistency : Ensure consistency in style, voice, and tense throughout your content.

Focus on One Type of Error at a Time : Tackle spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style separately, rather than trying to catch everything in one go.

Print it Out : Sometimes, reading a printed version of your work can help you spot mistakes that you might overlook on a screen.

Get External Feedback : Have someone else read your work. A fresh pair of eyes can catch errors you might have missed.

Create a Checklist : Make a list of common errors you make and check your work against this list every time you proofread.

Read Backwards : For checking spelling, read your text backwards. This technique forces you to focus on individual words rather than the content flow.

Practice Regularly : The more you proofread, the better you become. Regular practice sharpens your skills and helps you identify errors more quickly.

For further improvement, consider taking online courses or workshops focused on proofreading and editing. Platforms like Coursera and Udemy offer relevant courses that can enhance your skills.

How to Display Proofreading Skills on Your Resume

HubSpot is an all-in-one inbound marketing, sales, and CRM platform that helps businesses attract, engage, and delight customers, offering tools for content management, email marketing, social media, and analytics, tailored for effective content creation and distribution.

HubSpot is important for a Content Writer because it offers an all-in-one platform for content management, SEO, analytics, and marketing automation, enabling writers to create, optimize, and track the performance of their content efficiently.

How to Improve HubSpot Skills

To enhance HubSpot for a Content Writer, focus on key areas for optimization:

SEO Optimization : Utilize HubSpot's SEO tools to research keywords and optimize content for better visibility. Learn more about SEO on HubSpot.

Content Strategy : Develop a content calendar within HubSpot to plan and execute a consistent strategy. Explore content strategy tools.

Analytics Tracking : Track the performance of content using HubSpot's analytics to understand audience engagement and refine strategies. Discover how to analyze content performance.

Automation for Promotion : Use HubSpot's email and social media tools to automate the distribution of content. Check out HubSpot's automation tools.

Continual Learning : Stay updated with HubSpot Academy for the latest content marketing strategies and tools. Visit HubSpot Academy.

Integration for Content Creation : Integrate external tools with HubSpot for enhanced content creation, such as Canva for graphics or Grammarly for writing. Explore HubSpot integrations.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve your content creation and distribution process within HubSpot.

How to Display HubSpot Skills on Your Resume

9. Social Media

Social media refers to online platforms where users create, share, and interact with content, including text, images, and videos, fostering community and communication. For a content writer, it's a space to engage audiences, share written content, and enhance brand visibility.

Social media is crucial for a Content Writer as it amplifies content reach, engages directly with the audience, builds brand presence, and drives traffic to digital content, effectively enhancing visibility and engagement.

How to Improve Social Media Skills

To improve social media as a Content Writer, focus on these concise strategies:

Understand Your Audience : Use analytics tools and surveys to learn about your audience's preferences and tailor your content accordingly. SproutSocial offers insights on utilizing analytics tools.

Create High-Quality Content : Ensure your content is engaging, informative, and visually appealing. Canva’s Design School provides excellent tips on creating eye-catching visuals.

Use SEO Techniques : Incorporate relevant keywords and hashtags to increase visibility. Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO is a great resource for understanding SEO basics.

Engage With Your Audience : Respond to comments, messages, and mentions to build a community around your brand. HubSpot’s Guide to Social Media Engagement highlights strategies for effective engagement.

Leverage Analytics : Regularly review your social media analytics to understand what works and refine your strategy accordingly. Hootsuite’s guide on Social Media Analytics is a comprehensive resource.

Stay Consistent : Post regularly and maintain a consistent tone and style to keep your audience engaged. Buffer’s Social Media Calendar tips can help plan your content strategy.

Experiment and Innovate : Don’t be afraid to try new formats, platforms, and strategies to see what resonates with your audience. Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Trends report can offer insights into emerging trends.

By focusing on these strategies, you can significantly improve your social media presence and effectiveness as a Content Writer.

How to Display Social Media Skills on Your Resume

10. Content Management

Content Management involves organizing, storing, and overseeing the creation and modification of digital content, enabling Content Writers to efficiently create, edit, and publish textual material across various platforms.

Content Management is crucial for Content Writers as it ensures the organized creation, storage, and delivery of content, enabling efficient updates, consistent quality, and strategic distribution, which are essential for engaging audiences and achieving content objectives.

How to Improve Content Management Skills

Improving Content Management involves streamlining the creation, storage, and distribution of content. Here are concise steps tailored for a Content Writer:

Organize with a Content Calendar : Plan your content creation and publication schedule. Tools like Trello or Asana help in organizing tasks and deadlines.

Use a Content Management System (CMS) : A CMS like WordPress simplifies the process of creating, editing, and publishing content.

Optimize for SEO : Use tools like Yoast SEO for WordPress to improve your content's visibility in search engine results.

Leverage Cloud Storage : Services like Google Drive or Dropbox ensure your content is safely stored and accessible from anywhere.

Implement Version Control : Track changes and manage versions of your content with tools like Git and GitHub .

Regularly Review and Update Content : Keep your content relevant and up-to-date to maintain its value for the audience.

Analyze Performance : Use analytics tools like Google Analytics to track how well your content performs and tailor your strategy accordingly.

Each step incorporates tools and practices that enhance the efficiency and quality of content management, making the process more streamlined and effective for content writers.

How to Display Content Management Skills on Your Resume

11. Research

Research is the systematic investigation and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions, crucial for content writers to ensure accuracy, credibility, and depth in their work.

Research is crucial for a Content Writer as it ensures accuracy, enhances credibility, and enriches content by providing well-informed, relevant, and engaging material for the audience.

How to Improve Research Skills

Improving research as a content writer involves continuously honing your ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize information from reliable sources. Here’s a concise guide to enhance your research skills:

Define Your Objective : Clearly understand what you are trying to achieve with your research. This helps in focusing your search and analysis efforts.

Use Advanced Search Techniques : Learn and utilize advanced search operators on search engines like Google to find precise information quickly. Google Search Operators

Evaluate Sources : Prioritize information from reputable and authoritative sources. Check the credibility of the website and the author. Evaluating Internet Sources

Bookmark Research Tools : Utilize a variety of tools and databases tailored to your niche. Tools like Google Scholar for academic papers, or Statista for statistics, can provide valuable data.

Organize Your Findings : Use digital tools to organize your research. Tools like Evernote or Zotero can help keep your research structured and accessible.

Cross-Verify Information : Always seek multiple sources to confirm the accuracy of the information. This is crucial for maintaining the credibility of your content.

Practice Critical Thinking : Analyze the information critically, looking for bias, relevance, and context. This is key in synthesizing information that adds value to your content.

Keep Notes and References : Documenting your sources as you go makes it easier to cite them correctly and enhances the credibility of your content.

Stay Updated : Fields and data can change rapidly. Use tools like Google Alerts to stay informed about the latest developments in your areas of interest.

Seek Feedback : Share your research with peers or mentors to get feedback. A fresh perspective can often identify gaps or new angles to explore.

By consistently applying these practices, you can significantly improve the quality and effectiveness of your research, leading to richer and more accurate content creation.

How to Display Research Skills on Your Resume

12. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is a powerful software tool designed for editing, manipulating, and creating images and graphics, widely used by content writers for enhancing visual content.

Adobe Photoshop is important for a Content Writer because it enables the creation and optimization of visuals that enhance written content, making it more engaging and shareable across digital platforms.

How to Improve Adobe Photoshop Skills

Improving your Adobe Photoshop skills, especially as a Content Writer who might need to create or edit visuals for articles, blogs, or social media, involves several straightforward steps:

Explore Tutorials : Start with Adobe's own tutorials for a mix of basics and advanced techniques.

Practice Regularly : Consistent practice is key. Set aside time each week to experiment with new tools and techniques.

Use Templates : Leverage Adobe Stock templates to learn from professional designs.

Join Communities : Engage with Photoshop communities on platforms like Behance or Reddit to exchange feedback and tips.

Learn Keyboard Shortcuts : Memorize Photoshop keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow significantly.

Follow Blogs and YouTube Channels : Stay updated with the latest trends and tutorials by following renowned Photoshop educators on blogs and YouTube .

Experiment with Plugins : Enhance your Photoshop capabilities with plugins. Explore options on the Adobe Exchange for new tools and effects.

By incorporating these steps into your routine, you can significantly enhance your Photoshop skills, making your content visually appealing and engaging.

How to Display Adobe Photoshop Skills on Your Resume

Related Career Skills

• Web Content Writer
• Content Developer
• Content Manager
• Content Strategist
• Content Editor
• Content Producer

Research Content Writers

Requirements.

• Linguistic competency in English (US) equal to the following: ILR Level 5 or CEF C2
• Must be located in the United States
• Experience in journalism, editing, and copywriting
• Proven capability to create written content in line with set guidelines meticulously
• Proficient in developing well-organized paragraphs and comprehensive content.
• Sharp attention to detail and a dedication to elevating content quality
• University degree in Journalism/ Translation/ Applied Languages or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experts in technical writing tasks 
• Ability to follow guidelines 
• Basic knowledge of AI data structures and approaches 
• Agile and effective at working in a constantly changing environment
• Naturally curious and excited to contribute to improving the world around them through communication and teamwork 

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How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?

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In one sense, the national conversation about what it will take to make sure all children become strong readers has been wildly successful: States are passing legislation supporting evidence-based teaching approaches , and school districts are rushing to supply training. Publishers are under pressure to drop older materials . And for the first time in years, an instructional issue—reading—is headlining education media coverage.

In the middle of all that, though, the focus on the “science of reading” has elided its twin component in literacy instruction: writing.

Writing is intrinsically important for all students to learn—after all, it is the primary way beyond speech that humans communicate. But more than that, research suggests that teaching students to write in an integrated fashion with reading is not only efficient, it’s effective.

Yet writing is often underplayed in the elementary grades. Too often, it is separated from schools’ reading block. Writing is not assessed as frequently as reading, and principals, worried about reading-exam scores, direct teachers to focus on one often at the expense of the other. Finally, beyond the English/language arts block, kids often aren’t asked to do much writing in early grades.

“Sometimes, in an early-literacy classroom, you’ll hear a teacher say, ‘It’s time to pick up your pencils,’” said Wiley Blevins, an author and literacy consultant who provides training in schools. “But your pencils should be in your hand almost the entire morning.”

Strikingly, many of the critiques that reading researchers have made against the “balanced literacy” approach that has held sway in schools for decades could equally apply to writing instruction: Foundational writing skills—like phonics and language structure—have not generally been taught systematically or explicitly.

And like the “find the main idea” strategies commonly taught in reading comprehension, writing instruction has tended to focus on content-neutral tasks, rather than deepening students’ connections to the content they learn.

Education Week wants to bring more attention to these connections in the stories that make up this special collection . But first, we want to delve deeper into the case for including writing in every step of the elementary curriculum.

Why has writing been missing from the reading conversation?

Much like the body of knowledge on how children learn to read words, it is also settled science that reading and writing draw on shared knowledge, even though they have traditionally been segmented in instruction.

“The body of research is substantial in both number of studies and quality of studies. There’s no question that reading and writing share a lot of real estate, they depend on a lot of the same knowledge and skills,” said Timothy Shanahan, an emeritus professor of education at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Pick your spot: text structure, vocabulary, sound-symbol relationships, ‘world knowledge.’”

The reasons for the bifurcation in reading and writing are legion. One is that the two fields have typically been studied separately. (Researchers studying writing usually didn’t examine whether a writing intervention, for instance, also aided students’ reading abilities—and vice versa.)

Some scholars also finger the dominance of the federally commissioned National Reading Panel report, which in 2000 outlined key instructional components of learning to read. The review didn’t examine the connection of writing to reading.

Looking even further back yields insights, too. Penmanship and spelling were historically the only parts of writing that were taught, and when writing reappeared in the latter half of the 20th century, it tended to focus on “process writing,” emphasizing personal experience and story generation over other genres. Only when the Common Core State Standards appeared in 2010 did the emphasis shift to writing about nonfiction texts and across subjects—the idea that students should be writing about what they’ve learned.

And finally, teaching writing is hard. Few studies document what preparation teachers receive to teach writing, but in surveys, many teachers say they received little training in their college education courses. That’s probably why only a little over half of teachers, in one 2016 survey, said that they enjoyed teaching writing.

Writing should begin in the early grades

These factors all work against what is probably the most important conclusion from the research over the last few decades: Students in the early-elementary grades need lots of varied opportunities to write.

“Students need support in their writing,” said Dana Robertson, an associate professor of reading and literacy education at the school of education at Virginia Tech who also studies how instructional change takes root in schools. “They need to be taught explicitly the skills and strategies of writing and they need to see the connections of reading, writing, and knowledge development.”

While research supports some fundamental tenets of writing instruction—that it should be structured, for instance, and involve drafting and revising—it hasn’t yet pointed to a specific teaching recipe that works best.

One of the challenges, the researchers note, is that while reading curricula have improved over the years, they still don’t typically provide many supports for students—or teachers, for that matter—for writing. Teachers often have to supplement with additions that don’t always mesh well with their core, grade-level content instruction.

“We have a lot of activities in writing we know are good,” Shanahan said. “We don’t really have a yearlong elementary-school-level curriculum in writing. That just doesn’t exist the way it does in reading.”

Nevertheless, practitioners like Blevins work writing into every reading lesson, even in the earliest grades. And all the components that make up a solid reading program can be enhanced through writing activities.

4 Key Things to Know About How Reading and Writing Interlock

Want a quick summary of what research tells us about the instructional connections between reading and writing?

1. Reading and writing are intimately connected.

Research on the connections began in the early 1980s and has grown more robust with time.

Among the newest and most important additions are three research syntheses conducted by Steve Graham, a professor at the University of Arizona, and his research partners. One of them examined whether writing instruction also led to improvements in students’ reading ability; a second examined the inverse question. Both found significant positive effects for reading and writing.

A third meta-analysis gets one step closer to classroom instruction. Graham and partners examined 47 studies of instructional programs that balanced both reading and writing—no program could feature more than 60 percent of one or the other. The results showed generally positive effects on both reading and writing measures.

2. Writing matters even at the earliest grades, when students are learning to read.

Studies show that the prewriting students do in early education carries meaningful signals about their decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension later on. Reading experts say that students should be supported in writing almost as soon as they begin reading, and evidence suggests that both spelling and handwriting are connected to the ability to connect speech to print and to oral language development.

3. Like reading, writing must be taught explicitly.

Writing is a complex task that demands much of students’ cognitive resources. Researchers generally agree that writing must be explicitly taught—rather than left up to students to “figure out” the rules on their own.

There isn’t as much research about how precisely to do this. One 2019 review, in fact, found significant overlap among the dozen writing programs studied, and concluded that all showed signs of boosting learning. Debates abound about the amount of structure students need and in what sequence, such as whether they need to master sentence construction before moving onto paragraphs and lengthier texts.

But in general, students should be guided on how to construct sentences and paragraphs, and they should have access to models and exemplars, the research suggests. They also need to understand the iterative nature of writing, including how to draft and revise.

A number of different writing frameworks incorporating various degrees of structure and modeling are available, though most of them have not been studied empirically.

4. Writing can help students learn content—and make sense of it.

Much of reading comprehension depends on helping students absorb “world knowledge”—think arts, ancient cultures, literature, and science—so that they can make sense of increasingly sophisticated texts and ideas as their reading improves. Writing can enhance students’ content learning, too, and should be emphasized rather than taking a back seat to the more commonly taught stories and personal reflections.

Graham and colleagues conducted another meta-analysis of nearly 60 studies looking at this idea of “writing to learn” in mathematics, science, and social studies. The studies included a mix of higher-order assignments, like analyses and argumentative writing, and lower-level ones, like summarizing and explaining. The study found that across all three disciplines, writing about the content improved student learning.

If students are doing work on phonemic awareness—the ability to recognize sounds—they shouldn’t merely manipulate sounds orally; they can put them on the page using letters. If students are learning how to decode, they can also encode—record written letters and words while they say the sounds out loud.

And students can write as they begin learning about language structure. When Blevins’ students are mainly working with decodable texts with controlled vocabularies, writing can support their knowledge about how texts and narratives work: how sentences are put together and how they can be pulled apart and reconstructed. Teachers can prompt them in these tasks, asking them to rephrase a sentence as a question, split up two sentences, or combine them.

“Young kids are writing these mile-long sentences that become second nature. We set a higher bar, and they are fully capable of doing it. We can demystify a bit some of that complex text if we develop early on how to talk about sentences—how they’re created, how they’re joined,” Blevins said. “There are all these things you can do that are helpful to develop an understanding of how sentences work and to get lots of practice.”

As students progress through the elementary grades, this structured work grows more sophisticated. They need to be taught both sentence and paragraph structure , and they need to learn how different writing purposes and genres—narrative, persuasive, analytical—demand different approaches. Most of all, the research indicates, students need opportunities to write at length often.

Using writing to support students’ exploration of content

Reading is far more than foundational skills, of course. It means introducing students to rich content and the specialized vocabulary in each discipline and then ensuring that they read, discuss, analyze, and write about those ideas. The work to systematically build students’ knowledge begins in the early grades and progresses throughout their K-12 experience.

Here again, available evidence suggests that writing can be a useful tool to help students explore, deepen, and draw connections in this content. With the proper supports, writing can be a method for students to retell and analyze what they’ve learned in discussions of content and literature throughout the school day —in addition to their creative writing.

This “writing to learn” approach need not wait for students to master foundational skills. In the K-2 grades especially, much content is learned through teacher read-alouds and conversation that include more complex vocabulary and ideas than the texts students are capable of reading. But that should not preclude students from writing about this content, experts say.

“We do a read-aloud or a media piece and we write about what we learned. It’s just a part of how you’re responding, or sharing, what you’ve learned across texts; it’s not a separate thing from reading,” Blevins said. “If I am doing read-alouds on a concept—on animal habitats, for example—my decodable texts will be on animals. And students are able to include some of these more sophisticated ideas and language in their writing, because we’ve elevated the conversations around these texts.”

In this set of stories , Education Week examines the connections between elementary-level reading and writing in three areas— encoding , language and text structure , and content-area learning . But there are so many more examples.

Please write us to share yours when you’ve finished.

Want to read more about the research that informed this story? Here’s a bibliography to start you off.

Berninger V. W., Abbott, R. D., Abbott, S. P., Graham S., & Richards T. (2002). Writing and reading: Connections between language by hand and language by eye. J ournal of Learning Disabilities. Special Issue: The Language of Written Language, 35(1), 39–56 Berninger, Virginia, Robert D. Abbott, Janine Jones, Beverly J. Wolf, Laura Gould, Marci Anderson-Younstrom, Shirley Shimada, Kenn Apel. (2006) “Early development of language by hand: composing, reading, listening, and speaking connections; three letter-writing modes; and fast mapping in spelling.” Developmental Neuropsychology, 29(1), pp. 61-92 Cabell, Sonia Q, Laura S. Tortorelli, and Hope K. Gerde (2013). “How Do I Write…? Scaffolding Preschoolers’ Early Writing Skills.” The Reading Teacher, 66(8), pp. 650-659. Gerde, H.K., Bingham, G.E. & Wasik, B.A. (2012). “Writing in Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices.” Early Childhood Education Journal 40, 351–359 (2012) Gilbert, Jennifer, and Steve Graham. (2010). “Teaching Writing to Elementary Students in Grades 4–6: A National Survey.” The Elementary School Journal 110(44) Graham, Steve, et al. (2017). “Effectiveness of Literacy Programs Balancing Reading and Writing Instruction: A Meta-Analysis.” Reading Research Quarterly, 53(3) pp. 279–304 Graham, Steve, and Michael Hebert. (2011). “Writing to Read: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Writing and Writing Instruction on Reading.” Harvard Educational Review (2011) 81(4): 710–744. Graham, Steve. (2020). “The Sciences of Reading and Writing Must Become More Fully Integrated.” Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1) pp. S35–S44 Graham, Steve, Sharlene A. Kiuhara, and Meade MacKay. (2020).”The Effects of Writing on Learning in Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics: A Meta-Analysis.” Review of Educational Research April 2020, Vol 90, No. 2, pp. 179–226 Shanahan, Timothy. “History of Writing and Reading Connections.” in Shanahan, Timothy. (2016). “Relationships between reading and writing development.” In C. MacArthur, S. Graham, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Handbook of writing research (2nd ed., pp. 194–207). New York, NY: Guilford. Slavin, Robert, Lake, C., Inns, A., Baye, A., Dachet, D., & Haslam, J. (2019). “A quantitative synthesis of research on writing approaches in grades 2 to 12.” London: Education Endowment Foundation. Troia, Gary. (2014). Evidence-based practices for writing instruction (Document No. IC-5). Retrieved from University of Florida, Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform Center website: http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configuration/ Troia, Gary, and Steve Graham. (2016).“Common Core Writing and Language Standards and Aligned State Assessments: A National Survey of Teacher Beliefs and Attitudes.” Reading and Writing 29(9).

A version of this article appeared in the January 25, 2023 edition of Education Week as How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?

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World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience

Promptframes: evolving the wireframe for the age of ai.

May 17, 2024 2024-05-17

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In This Article:

The need for quality placeholder content, introducing promptframes, benefits of using promptframes, how to use promptframes in the design process, the potential of promptframes, a few precautions to consider, a good tactic for the 1-person ux team.

Using placeholder text or images early in your design workflow can help you explore possibilities and cope with evolving requirements.

However, placeholder content (especially the notorious lorem ipsum) can be a barrier to gathering insightful feedback from users and stakeholders. I have personally experienced derailed usability testing sessions because of my placeholders provoked unintentional confusion and doubt in my participants. (And folks like Anna Kaley have previously highlighted the benefits of taking a content-focused approach in early design work.) In UX, remember that the content inspires feedback , not the container .

To enable a more efficient feedback loop, I propose a new design deliverable: the promptframe . Use promptframes to create realistic placeholder content faster using AI.

Promptframes unite the classic UX wireframe with prompt writing for generative AI.

A promptframe is a design deliverable that documents content goals and requirements for generative-AI prompts based on a wireframe’s layout and functionality.

Promptframes organize and document prompts locationally within an existing wireframe. UX designers can create promptframes early in the design process as they begin crafting interfaces to address requirements. Promptframes describe the goals, purpose, requirements, and other details of the content that goes within various design elements, so that AI can readily assist with content ideation and generation.

Wireframes can sometimes create problems for UX designers:

• Reduced ideation . When designers rush ahead to make prototypes with high visual and interactive fidelity, they may spend less time exploring content. Most ideas are poor, and it's usually through evaluating many ideas (or combining several mediocre) that good designs emerge.
• Obscured requirements . Allowing placeholders to linger within designs can hurt the UX designer in the long run. Unknown requirements or technical constraints that the UX designer discovers too late may result in infeasible or misaligned designs that cannot be easily corrected in due time.
• Diminished feedback. Designs with poor content fidelity are too abstract for users to understand. For example, a data-intensive app with nonsensical charts and tables will be incomprehensible to a data-analyst user accustomed to evaluating realistic data. Users may ignore these areas or ask questions about them in testing, consuming precious session time on what you (mistakenly) felt were unimportant details.

Promptframes address these issues in several ways:

• Efficient ideation . One of the superpowers of generative AI is providing multiple variations of an idea with minimal effort. Promptframes integrate this idea engine into the UX design workflow.
• Improved content fidelity . Specific, focused AI prompts can result in helpful content that, while not necessarily ideal for release, may be good enough for user testing and gathering feedback.
• Faster iteration . Writing prompts may initially require some upfront effort, but that effort is repaid with the ease of incorporating insights from testing and feedback. Content can be pivoted and improved rapidly by sharing those details in subsequent prompts.
• Better collaboration . Visuals are a great help when collaborating, as they build common ground with your team. Yet squiggly lines and lorem ipsum are often too abstract for nondesigners. AI-generated content, as well as the prompts generating it, can stimulate dialog and feedback from colleagues and may surface obscure requirements earlier in the design process.
• Greater focus on objectives . Promptframes ask UX designers go beyond interface components and describe business and user goals. If the UX designer struggles to explain these goals to a generative AI tool, it calls into question the content's purpose.

Conduct your early-stage UX design process normally using sketches and simple wireframes . This work will serve as the foundation for your promptframes once it is digitized in your design tool.

To illustrate promptframes in the design process, we will use hypothetical examples based on a page from Blue Apron's website describing a special promotional offer for people in community-service roles.

1. Establish Context and Describe Users

Documenting and sharing context with the generative AI will improve its ability to assist with content creation. ChatGPT is particularly well suited for promptframes due to its support for various output types.

Consider including these important high-level details in your prompts.

Generative AI also needs user insights to be effective. Share written content from high-quality personas or archetypes that mention user needs, behaviors, goals, pain points, as well as motivations for the product, service, or feature being designed.

All this specificity will give you better results than just using off-the-shelf AI agents that proclaim to fulfill similar content-generation roles. Although this looks like a lot of effort to write or compile, you need to do this only once and can reuse them throughout this project or others.

Remember to leverage AI-tool features that maintain this context. For example, ChatGPT offers a custom - GPT feature that conveniently persists these details. Other AI tools like Gemini or Claude currently don’t support easy reuse of context; for those tools, you will need to capture these details (perhaps in a text document) and feed them into your prompt before discussing project specifics.

2. Write and Document Prompts

With the context and users established with our AI tool, the next step is to document prompts that will direct the AI in content creation. Start by writing down the purpose of the various areas and elements in your design that will contain content.

Always include these details in your prompts:

• Objectives : Why is this piece of content present in the design? How does it benefit the business and the users? User stories and other requirements from a product-manager colleague can be an excellent reference here.
• Desired outcomes : What do you hope users will do or think because of this content?
• Examples : If available, include examples that could serve as inspiration when generating the content.

Here are additional aspects to consider for specific types of content:

• Message : What core message are you trying to convey in this copy? What facts and details must be included?
• Container : Where will the copy be seen (landing page, call-to-action button, error message, etc.)?
• Constraints : Are there word-count limits or other limitations required by the container?
• Tone of voice (conditional) : Should the default tone of voice be adjusted for this copy? For example, softening a typically humorous tone of voice for an error message likely to disappoint the user.
• Subject : Who or what elements should be depicted in the image?
• Actions : Are any actions happening with the subjects in the image?
• Background : Is the background relevant, or should it be plain for easy removal?
• Dimensions : What size should the image be to fit the interface? For example, if real images will be coming from another system, then this would be an excellent opportunity to start asking colleagues about expected dimensions of those real images and documenting that constraint in the prompt.
• Style : How should the image be presented? What illustrative techniques are being used, or should it be a photo?

Some generative AI systems are capable of photorealistic content, but some vendors prohibit its creation as a precaution against abuse and misinformation. Don't waste time trying to work around these prohibitions if your current AI tool won't comply. You may need to use a different AI tool or settle for less than true-to-life images.

Data Visualizations

• Type : Describe the specific visualization desired, such as a bar chart, line chart, or table.
• Data and outliers : Provide a spreadsheet of data or request AI to create synthetic data to illustrate a desirable visualization. For example, instead of handcrafting data, just describe that a specific product line should trend downward over time on a line chart if a downward trend would support a task in future usability testing.
• Columns and totals : Where applicable, describe table-column labels, desired totals, and reasonable upper and lower values. Again, consider what might be helpful to represent in future usability-testing tasks.
• Sorting : For tables, describe any default sorting of the data.
• Axes : Describe the components of chart axes, such as minimum and maximum values, data type, and label formatting.
• Style : Provide a color palette for charting elements, if relevant.
• Background : Describe the background fill and any usage of reference lines.
• Legend : Describe the content and placement of a legend, if relevant and desired.
• Labels : Consider data labels for specific data points or the label of the overall chart.
• Dimensions : For charts, describe what size and image format should be used.

3. Run Prompts in AI Tool and Populate Your Designs with Content

Copy and paste the prompts into your AI tool. Then integrate the generated content in the wireframe to start evolving it into a prototype. To keep your work organized, document links to separate AI-tool chats in the promptframe, as you will likely revisit them in future revisions.

When performing this step:

• Guard against perfectionism . Don’t be tempted to create production-ready content. You can inadvertently waste a lot of time trying to refine the AI tool’s output to be “just right” for only marginal improvements.
• Chunk your prompts . AI tools have token limits for prompts and the AI tool’s input and resulting output. For ChatGPT, that limit currently translates to about 2,000-2,500 words. You still need detailed prompts to be successful, though, so break very long prompts into chunks and run them separately so the AI tool can still provide a detailed response.

4. Refine Through Collaboration and Testing

As you conduct design critiques with your collaborators, review the AI-generated content or the prompts that were used. Parts may be added, revised, or dropped — which is normal — but you should always be progressing towards greater content fidelity in all aspects of the design.

Think of the AI-generated content as a provocation for your colleagues — is this content aligned with our project and user's goals? Why or why not? Capture that feedback by revising the prompts. If there's considerable disagreement, consider splitting the design into 2 prototypes for testing.

Remember, promptframing aims to quickly construct a testable design with meaningful content . Consider the tasks you want participants to perform with the proposed design and use them to influence your prompt writing and content-creation strategy.

5. Iterate Quickly

Following this process should buy you more time, and skilled UX professionals know to reinvest those time dividends into iteration. Revise your prompts with your research insights and regenerate new content for future testing. Weaker parts should be scrapped or have their prompt revised before rerunning it in the generative AI tool.

6. Craft Quality Content

Once you have finished iteration, give your successful prototype the "human white-glove treatment" and elevate it more content, visual, or interactive fidelity. Human effort will still be required to create the final design! However, you should have received a higher volume of richer feedback covering more design ideas, resulting in an overall more effective design. You can even share your prompts with other human collaborators to give them additional context on the prototype.

UX-design tools are currently exploring generative AI. Some vendors make bold claims, but their practical utility to UX professionals is not so bold (see our review of the current state of AI tools for UX design .) These tools may someday output robust experiences with basic prompting, but what's likely to happen currently is a mishmash of incoherent material derived from commonplace design patterns needing an excessive amount of rework to be useful.  Whether machine or human — garbage in is garbage out.

Promptframes acknowledge that current generative-AI technology can be practical and helpful in the UX-design workflow. But they nudge us to chunk content challenges into well-documented pieces and don't excuse us from thinking and deciding what is needed and why from a user perspective. Instead, they accelerate our ability to check our assumptions with content that users can meaningfully evaluate and give us feedback on.

Perhaps future UX-design tools will offer better support for documenting prompt inputs and their associated generated outputs to help designers create and refine promptframes efficiently within their project's context. Passing a designer’s prompt via an API call to a generative AI platform is simply not enough.

No single UX deliverable can do it all. There are a few precautions to consider specifically with promptframes.

Not for Executive Consumption

Promptframes, like their wireframe cousins, are not suitable for reviews with executives. People cognitively distant from a project typically need high visual and content fidelity to understand design deliverables. At a minimum, promptframes can convey some forward progress (you've been hard at work making something for this project) but don't expect early-stage promptframes to be particularly helpful in a design review with stakeholders deciding the project's direction or future investment.

Content Will Require Revision

Depending on the details provided in the prompts and the generative AI's robustness, the resulting AI-generated content will vary wildly in quality. Images may be inconsistently styled, and copy will undoubtedly need editing. Remember, the goal is not pixel-perfect, launch-ready content but to have sensible content faster so colleagues or testing participants might reasonably understand and share insightful feedback.

Respect Organizational AI Policies

Some organizations regulate the use of generative AI tools to protect their data. Be aware of and adhere to these before using promptframes.

Many UX professionals are a 1-person UX team or work in environments with low UX maturity , with few resources or specialized collaborators. These folks benefit from augmenting their workflow to accommodate an AI content assistant, particularly if writing or graphic design are not strong skills.

However, what if you can collaborate with a content strategist or UX writer? That’s wonderful! Think of promptframes as a collaborative deliverable with these roles, which are (unfortunately) often included very late in the design process. Use the same general workflow described above to get their feedback and suggestions into the design early so their contributions can be tested along with yours.

Promptframes combine our thinking of content containers with a greater emphasis on the content itself in a way that enables generative AI to accelerate our workflow for user testing and feedback. Lorem ipsum as a placeholder practice is as dead as Latin is as a spoken language. Leave Cicero to the philosophers and use promptframes to rapidly create content your users can understand.

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Dozens of Egyptian pyramids, some in Giza, sat along a branch of the Nile, study says

The pyramids in and around Giza have presented a fascinating puzzle for millennia. 

How did ancient Egyptians move limestone blocks, some weighing more than a ton, without using wheels? Why were these burial structures seemingly built in the remote and inhospitable desert? 

New research — published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment — offers a possible answer, providing new evidence that an extinct branch of the Nile River once weaved through the landscape in a much wetter climate. Dozens of Egyptian pyramids across a 40-mile-long range rimmed the waterway, the study says, including the best-known complex in Giza.

The waterway allowed workers to transport stone and other materials to build the monuments, according to the study. Raised causeways stretched out horizontally, connecting the pyramids to river ports along the Nile’s bank. 

Drought, in combination with seismic activity that tilted the landscape, most likely caused the river to dry up over time and ultimately fill with silt, removing most traces of it.

The research team based its conclusions on data from satellites that send radar waves to penetrate the Earth’s surface and detect hidden features. It also relied on sediment cores and maps from 1911 to uncover and trace the imprint of the ancient waterway. Such tools are helping environmental scientists map the ancient Nile, which is now covered by desert sand and agricultural fields. 

Experts have suspected for decades that boats transported workers and tools to build the pyramids. Some past research has put forward hypotheses similar to the new study; the new findings solidify the theory and map a much broader area.  

“The mapping of the Nile’s ancient channel system has been fragmented and isolated,” an author of the new study, Eman Ghoneim, a professor of earth and ocean sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, wrote in an email. “Ancient Egyptians were using waterways for transportation more often than we thought.”

The study looks at 31 pyramids between Lisht, a village south of Cairo, and Giza. They were constructed over roughly 1,000 years, beginning about 4,700 years ago. The pyramid complexes contained tombs for Egyptian royals. High officials were often buried nearby. 

Some of the granite blocks used to construct them were sourced from locations hundreds of miles south of their sites. In some cases, the blocks could be “mammoth,” weighing several tons, said Peter Der Manuelian, a professor of Egyptology at Harvard University and the director of the Harvard Museum’s Museum of the Ancient East.

Manuelian, who was not involved in the new study, said wheels were not used to move the large blocks, which is one reason researchers have long suspected the Egyptians moved materials by water.

“It’s all sledges,” he said. “Water helps an awful lot.”  

In the past, researchers have posited that the Egyptians might have carved canals to the pyramid sites. 

“Canals and waterway systems have been in the consciousness for decades now,” Manuelian said. But newer theories suggest that the Nile was closer to the pyramids than researchers once thought, he added, and new tools can provide some proof. 

“Archaeology has gotten more scientific, and you have ground-penetrating radar and satellite imagery,” he said.

He added that the new study helps improve maps of ancient Egypt.

The findings suggest that millennia ago, the Egyptian climate was wetter overall and the Nile carried a higher volume of water. It separated into multiple branches, one of which — the researchers call it the Ahramat Branch — was about 40 miles long. 

The locations of the pyramid complexes included in the study correspond in time with estimates of the river branch’s location, according to the authors, as water levels ebbed and flowed over centuries. 

In addition, several pyramid temples and causeways appear to line up horizontally with the ancient riverbed, which suggests that they were directly connected to the river and most likely used to transport building materials. 

The study builds on research from 2022 , which used ancient evidence of pollen grains from marsh species to suggest that a waterway once cut through the present-day desert.

Hader Sheisha, an author of that study who is now an associate professor in the natural history department at the University Museum of Bergen, said the new findings add much-needed evidence to bolster and expand the theory. 

“The new study, in concordance to our study, shows that when the pyramids were built, the landscape was different from that we see today and shows how the ancient Egyptians could interact with their physical world and harness their environment to achieve their immense projects,” Sheisha said in an email. 

Ghoneim and her team explain in the study that the Ahramat Branch shifted eastward over time, a process that might have been propelled by drought about 4,050 years ago. Then it gradually dissolved, only to be covered in silt. 

She said they plan to expand their map and work to detect additional buried branches of the Nile floodplain. Determining the outline and shape of the ancient river branch could help researchers locate the remains of settlements or undiscovered sites before the areas get built over. 

Manuelian said that today, “housing almost goes right up to the edge of the Giza plateau. Egypt is a vast outdoor museum, and there’s more to be discovered.”

Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. He can be reached at [email protected].