Can you survive long enough by solely doing content writing?

Overview

“Survival is the primary necessity and living is an ultimate goal.”

The question itself is very ironical because keeping only ‘Survival’ as a goal will surely ruin your ambition. Rather, it would be more practical to ask “Will the career in content writing bring me a happy living ?”

By happy living here we refer to high paying salary and a well-furnished life. Every profession has it’s own demands and desired skills. If you are the master of those skills then surely you will set your mark in your chosen career. The primary step to decide the feasibility and relevance of any career option is to weigh your interest and inclination towards the work.

Content writing as we know is about writing content online and creating articles, blogs, marketing content, white papers and a wide range of content in different genres.

Before choosing content writing as a career ask yourself these four questions!

• Do I like reading? (Reading is the first eligibility criteria for a good content writer.)

• Can I make good conversations? (Interactive people understand the audience better and prove to be better content writers.)

• Am I good at researching & deriving results? (Most of the times this profile demands you to create full researched articles and blogs which are easy to understand.)

4. Do I love bylines or paychecks? ( Content writers are not well paid initially but if you love bylines then you can keep moving ahead in this career.)

If answers to most of these questions are “yes”. Then, you are ready to jump into content writing.

Career options for Content Writers

Social Media Writer

Social media is a tough dog to be tamed. Once any brand or business is successful in taming social media platforms half war is already won. This requires kick-ass content to make the brand more relatable to social media users. Social media content writers are required to generate posts and campaign content to enhance brand visibility amongst potential client base.

Technical Writer

Technical writers are the ones who are experts in any specific arena of technique. For instance, an engineering (software) background writer is a technical writer who can write about computer hardware, software and other related stuff. Similarly, a scientific writer is an expert in any one of the natural sciences including physics, chemistry or biology. A medical writer is the one who is an expert in the health industry.

Blogger

Blogging is another form of content writing. Here, you create your own blog and then wait for viewers to click. This is a medium for professional writers to put some of their own articles in the showcase.

Copywriter

Copywriters work closely with brands and products to generate ads which can grab more buyers. This is a highly paid job and there are courses offered by institutions to become a professional content writer.

Freelancer

You can work from the comfort of your home and receive projects from potential clients. Upwork, Internshala and Appan are some of the platforms largely used by freelancers to get quality clients.

Projects may be short term or long term. Companies also recruit intern freelancers as a full-time employee based on the quality of their work.

Synopsis

In the current state of digital transition entire firms like Write Right (Bhavik Sarkhedi), Orangus, Addkraft and Content Mart are set up to deliver quality content. These firms offer Technical Content, SOP writing, Ghost Writing, Social Media Content, Copywriting and Video Scripts writing.

In a very short span of time, these have significantly captured the content market in India. These firms hire skilled content writers and salaries are enough to keep you above the survival limit.

Conclusively, It’s just the vision, skill, consistency and planning required to remain sustainable in content writing.