The information age is well and truly taking over India, and this is marked by a steadily growing dependency on the Internet for almost everything, right from fixing laptop issues to planning our travel. The Web is an amazing resource for information-seekers and the generally curious, but where does all the content come from? The answer is content writers across the world. With increasing Internet penetration in developing countries, content writing for new media services is turning out to be an interesting offbeat career option.
Offbeat careers – Content writing, the way ahead
In this fiercely competitive world every company has a target audience and a set goal to achieve. Consequently, there is a rise in the demand of good content writers who play a pivotal role in any online marketing campaign. Today, content writing is one of the major areas of outsourcing to Indian companies. Companies usually don’t have time to write themselves so they give the contract of writing to other companies, which, in turn, hire content writers to write high-quality content.
Web content writing is another aspect of content writing in which a writer’s calibre lies in writing content that attracts and engages visitors so they start exploring the website. Web content writing is very different from writing for print, such as newspapers and magazines, as they only look for the 5 Ws and the H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How), but a website writer is tasked with looking carefully for words that can lure readers, words which can hook the readers and can grab their attention.
Genres of Writing Opportunities on the Web
Writing for the web can take many different forms:
Web Content Writing/Web Content Writer-This includes writing content for websites from scratch or rewriting already existing content. Web Content is informative, factual and sometimes educational. A good knowledge of what works for the Search Engines (Search Engine Optimization techniques) is an added benefit.
Website Copywriting/Copy writer- The task of a copywriter includes writing persuasive copy to meet advertising and marketing needs.
Technical Writing/Technical Writer- From writing user manuals and product guides to putting together technical white papers, the job of a technical writer is highly specialised. Engineers and pharmacy professionals need the help of technical writers to explain to the common man how something technical works.
Creative Writing/Creative Writer- Where there is need for creativity, a Creative Writer is required. Creative writing is all about putting ordinary thoughts into words in a tasteful, and interesting, manner.
Research Writing/Research Writer-When there is a lot of data and information that needs to be studied and reproduced, a Research Writer is hired. Such writers are good at conducting research on various topics and then assembling all this data into a desired format.
Ghost Writing/Ghost Writer-Ghost writing helps those who can’t write, write. To put it simply, a Ghost writer writes for someone else. In such a case, the writer is provided with all the relevant research material to base his writing on.
The ideal candidate can be a graduate in any respect, but with good written English. The English language should be impeccable and the person should be able to present the documentation in correct and accurate English. Unlike newspaper companies there are no editors to correct the mistakes so the content developers in the advertising media should do a perfect job. The company may also need to develop websites for clients, and in that case the content writer should be able to produce web content suitable for the client’s needs.
The Qualification required
Any graduate having good English skills, a course in content writing, Search Engine Optimisation knowledge, media publishing exposure and MS Office proficiency can think about career in Offbeat careers – Content Writing.
The basic skills required to be a content developer are creativity and excellent written English. How the content is presented also matters so the person taking up the job should be well-versed with Microsoft Office tools. Web developers are responsible for creating websites but what is written in the website is the content writer’s prerogative. The writer should be very good at proof-reading which means the writer should have an eye for detail.
The skill sets of this person determine the interest of the reader. If the content is boring and has many errors, it may not appeal to the person who is going through it and they may ignore the whole document itself. Also, the content writer should be able to present industry-specific and relevant content to the client.
Especially while designing brochures, extra attention should be given as to what kind of data should be presented and what should be written first. The desired candidate should also have a good knowledge about the changing trends of the industry and what kind of words and language is appropriate.
A Content writer needs
- Excellent proof-reading skills
- Should be a team player
- Should know the different forms of English, such as UK, US
- Creativity
- Ad copying and content writing skills
- Web design and computer skills (optional)
- MS office knowledge
If you are planning your career for Offbeat careers – Content writing, then you might be interested in knowing what are the educational qualification to enter this filed. For – The Best Writing Courses in India click here.
Source: http://education.in.msn.com/careers/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4444629#page=1 and http://www.thehindu.com/features/education/careers/content-is-king/article5275760.ece