An Introduction to Content Writing
In 2024, Forbes estimates that the content marketing industry will grow to be worth $600 billion. Impressive, right?
Businesses are learning that content is a vital way to engage their audiences, build brand awareness, and drive sales – all of which drives revenue to be reinvested into the industry. In fact, with 90% of marketers including content in their marketing strategies, the importance of content writing cannot be ignored.
In this introduction to content writing, we’ll cover the key types of content writing, the core benefits for your business, and debunk common misconceptions about the industry.
What is content writing?
In simple terms, content writing is the process of researching, writing, and editing content.
The most common examples of content writing include:
Blog posts and articles
Reports
Guides, tutorials, and listicles
SEO Content
Technical Content (e.g. product manuals)
eBooks and white papers
Pitch decks
Podcast and video scripts
Between B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer), content writing may look slightly different. For example, blog posts, guides, and tutorials are most common in the B2C space, while pitch decks, eBooks, and case studies are more typically associated with the B2B space.
There will also be differences in terms of tone and complexity. Technical writing, for instance, is a subsection of content writing that is tailored towards a technically-minded audience and tends to incorporate data and analytical language. Content aimed at younger consumers, by comparison, will lean towards simplicity.
Remember, content writing must be tailored to your audience. It is not so much about educating the reader about your product (although it may include those topics for BOFU – Bottom of Funnel content). It is more about establishing a bond between your business and your audience.
Content Writing vs Copywriting
It is very important to make a clear distinction between copywriting and content writing.
I see a lot of confusion online about what they mean and why they are different – even from professionals in the business! Blog posts, training courses and even job offers will sometimes include landing page copy, advertising copy and social media copywriting under the banner of “content writing”.
But… they’re not included in the content writing definition we just went through. Wait, what?
Notice how each of these (landing page copy, advertising copy, and social media copywriting) each contain the word copy, not “content”? That’s because these forms of writing are called copywriting.
Honestly, I think writing is sometimes is looked down upon in the business world. It’s strange, because writing is a vital part of every aspect of business – from the concept of a product to the analysis of sales versus expenditure. Writing is how we create, sell, and analyse. But a blog post and a landing page headline can just be lumped into the same vague “writing” category, right?
Uh, no. Absolutely not.
While some content writers are also copywriters (and visa versa), “copy” and “content” are fundamentally different types of writing that require different skill sets, have different goals, and achieve different things.
How do we define the difference? It’s simple. Let’s make a quick comparison between the two:
Content writing: Trustworthy content that is typically long-form and aims to educate, inspire, or entertain your audience.
Copywriting: Short, snappy sales pitches that aim to sell directly to your audience – essentially, convincing them to take action.
Copywriting and content writing are both important to your business, but they are not the same. Copywriting is tailored towards selling, whereas content writing brings sales as a secondary impact – it is primarily the voice of your brand and is responsible for building the tone and reputation of your online presence.
The Benefits of Content Writing
Different types of content writing can have different benefits. For example, a blog post will have different goals and measures of success compared to a pitch deck. That being said, there are four key benefits of content writing that apply across the majority of content formats.
Increasing Traffic:
Content writing that is available publicly (e.g. blog posts, podcast scripts, reports, articles) seeks to increase traffic by offering an incentive – typically, the chance to learn something. That concept of incentive is a key aspect of building a content-led SEO strategy.
In other words, offering high-quality content attracts your readers. For the best results, build a cohesive distribution strategy across other channels, including social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, as well as newsletters.
Establishing Authority:
Genuine, high-quality content shows a deep understanding of the industry your business operates in, and over time, this establishes your business as a figure of authority. This is particularly crucial for those in the B2B space.
Building Brand Awareness:
When a user reads your blog post, they’re likely to remember the name of your business – even more so if the blog post was particularly educational or inspiring. Why is this so beneficial? Well, we know that the modern buyer considers a near limitless number of options before making a purchase.
If they already recognise your brand, you are already one step ahead of your competitors. They already know your brand! In a competitive space like marketing, recognition is truly a crucial part of the process.
Nurturing Trust:
When a user recognises your brand, they are more inclined to trust it. This trust is crucial for building a customer base who genuinely like and support your products.
Users who trust your content (and, by extension, your brand) are also more likely to discuss it – with friends, colleagues, and in online forums – and make personal recommendations.The more mouths talking about your business, the better… particularly when it is not sponsored and when your products are being presented as a trustworthy solution.
As you can see, content writing has numerous benefits and is an effective way to grow your business. But, as the staying goes – “if it was easy, everyone would do it”.
The Challenges of Content Writing
All aspects of marketing involve challenge. The industry is big precisely because it is challenging. However, each aspect of marketing comes with its own unique set of difficulties. Let’s take a closer look at the crucial challenges of content writing:
Time:
Content is a crucial part of your marketing foundations, but it cannot build castles overnight. Everything – from blogging, to lead gen magnets, to SEO content – requires time to be found by your audience and generate objective results.
Businesses and their content writing staff must be patient and allow the content time to work… as well as being ready to step in if the results are not quite as expected.
Competition:
Content marketing (and, by extension, content writing) is generally considered to be one of the cheaper branches of marketing, and that makes it a competitive space.
Competition can be a good thing. It can drive us to be better. But… the threat of failure looms ever-closer with increasing competiton. You need to be prepared to keep a close eye on your competitiors, and find areas that existing content publishers are failing in. Then, sieze the moment – and reap the rewards.
Quality:
Since AI became everyone’s favourite hot topic, the concept of quality is becoming more and more important. I read a lot of content in my day-to-day routine, and I can recognise AI generated content pretty easily.
The problem with AI is that it isn’t truly intelligence – it is a language model that repeats phrases based on common patterns that have come before. That means it can write words fast, and a lot of them, but the quality is not truly there.
Fans of AI won’t like to hear this, but from a professional perspective, AI models really only produce poor quality content.
Cost:
Investing in a team of content writers, editors, strategists, and SEO experts is not a cheap process.
However, let’s remember that content is exactly that: an investment. In the same way that paid advertising has a budget, and website hosting have pricing plans, content marketing needs to be allocated resources in order for your strategy to see results.
If you are struggling with any aspect of content writing – from finding the right topics, to writing for your audience, to achieving the right quality – why not consider hiring a freelancer?
Conclusion
At the end of the day, content writing comes down to one thing: trust.
Practically every piece of content your business creates should seek to build a connection between your readers and your business. Why? Because readers who trust you are much more likely to buy from you.
But let’s remember that content writing isn’t just about the immediate sales. Viewing content marketing through this lens is an oversimplification of the process and misrepresents how your audience interacts with the brands around them. Content is a long-term process that reaps long-term rewards for businesses who fully commit themselves to strategised, authoritative content.
Hi, I’m Charlotte, a freelance content writer based in London, UK. I help businesses like yours build a reputable online presence with genuine content that your audience just can’t resist. Want to chat about working together? Go on, get in touch…
