Content writers create written content for use on websites and other types of media. The content team of a corporation, which comprises marketing specialists, project managers, and executive officers, assigns writing jobs to writers. Let’s know how to become a writer in India.
Aspiring Content Writers should study graduation and postgraduate degrees in the Arts stream, such as Bachelor of Arts or Master of Arts, among other options. This profession is rapidly expanding in India. Content writers are paid according to the company. It ranges in price from INR 15,000 to INR 20,000.
A writer has a wide range of job opportunities in this field. A content writer has the advantage of being able to work in a variety of sectors and disciplines, many of which pay well. A Technical Content Writer is someone who develops manuals, guidelines, and online help sections, among other things.
How to Become a Writer in India: A Step-by-Step Guide
For your convenience, we’ve included a list of some of the most important steps to do to become a Content Writer.
Step 1: Skills To Acquire
Although a bachelor’s degree in topics such as English, Journalism, or Mass Communication isn’t required, it may be useful to both the writer and the firm in many cases. This is an important step to follow to know how to become a content writer in India.
The most significant talent is the ability to write, which is a prerequisite. It is difficult, but not impossible, to perfect the art of writing. Practice is the most effective approach to developing writing abilities. The demand for professional writers is growing in today’s digital world.
Content writers must be knowledgeable with SEO, HTML, and CSS in addition to writing. These abilities may be acquired through a variety of online paid and free courses.
Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO is a wonderful place to start. It is free and teaches you all of the necessary tips and tricks to get started. Web development necessitates the use of HTML, which is another vital skill to master.
It is not necessary to have a deep understanding of these languages; just basic formatting skills, such as headers, lists, and hyperlinks, are required. CSS knowledge isn’t required for most content writing positions, although it might be advantageous. Knowing your way around websites and technologies like WordPress and other content management systems, on the other hand, is a must-have ability.
Step 2: Creating Presence
An important step is to establish a presence. After learning the talents, it’s essential to share them with the rest of the world. Making a Portfolio is the most effective means of exhibiting abilities. This is an important step to follow to know how to become a content writer in India.
A portfolio is similar to a resume. It encapsulates a person’s talents and efforts at their most basic level. The initial step for beginners should be to produce several articles to demonstrate their writing ability.
- The articles may be found on
- Make a blog article about something you’re interested in.
- A work of writing for a community organisation, a club, or a university magazine
- An analysis of a contentious issue in an essay.
- A long-form piece of reporting
- A research paper is a document that contains information on a
- A letter to the editor and/or an op-ed
- This is a personal essay.
Following the completion of some of the writeups, the next stage is to create a document that includes the following information:
- A professional alias
- A job title – You can choose from Web content writer, freelancer, content marketing professional, or journalist as a job title.
- Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media networks have ID URLs.
- Experience – Any previous writing experience.
The next step after creating the portfolio is to update the skills and portfolio on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and others. Include a link to the written profile on your profile, or share the work on social media.
Step 3: Finding Work
The first option is to join an internet agency such as Copify. The second option is to work for a corporation as an in-house writer.
This would be a 9-to-5 position. An in-house writer’s primary role is to ensure that all of their online material is consistent with their brand, which may include blogs, email newsletters, and social media postings.
Working as a freelancer is the third choice. Freelancing might be challenging at first, but once established, it can be the highest-paying employment. This is an important step to follow to know how to become a content writer in India.
How to get started as a freelance 6 simple steps.
It makes sense for most people who are just getting started in writing to pick a topic to focus on. The good news is that you don’t have to have studied the topic or have any specific qualifications to write about it. Simply being enthusiastic about a subject and writing in an appealing manner is often enough to land work.
Here are some important steps to get started:
Step 1: Choose your niche
You’ll discover that if you choose a topic you’re passionate about, you’ll be able to write well without having to spend hours researching – and your enthusiasm will show in your work. You might opt from one of these prominent niches, or you could pursue a personal passion or interest:
- Travel
- Fitness and diet
- Health and wellbeing
- Family, relationships and parenting
- Yoga and meditation
- Cooking and nutrition
- Finance and budgeting
- Leadership and careers
- Crafting, knitting or other creative hobbies
Step 2: Set up a website or blog
If you want to work as a freelance writer, you must have an internet presence. Writing a blog is an easy method to accomplish this, and it provides a platform for you to write, share, and receive comments on your work. You may create a free blog using WordPress or Wix, or you can publish on Medium. Alternatively, you might create your website to function as a blog as well as an online résumé and portfolio to share with potential clients. This is an important step to follow to know how to become a content writer in India.
Step 3: Write great sample work
You’ll need to create sample work, which will become your portfolio before you can go any further. Many writers contribute to various blogs and online publications as guest writers or as regular contributors to their blogs. At this level, share your work with relatives and friends to gain comments and build a readership.
When it comes time to pitch for paid employment, you may utilize your sample work as a résumé to demonstrate your abilities.
Step 4: Pitch yourself everywhere
You’ve completed your portfolio and begun to grow your audience in your chosen field. Online and print publications, as well as other channels, may provide one-time paid tasks, guest writing opportunities, or ongoing writing positions. Some of these may not be paid at all, or may only be paid a little amount. For many new freelance writers, though, they’re a great method to expand your portfolio and attract a larger audience, so they’re worth investigating.
Step 5: Check writing job boards
If you’re seeking more high-profile and paid writing employment, specialist job boards are a great place to start.** Writer communities may exchange ideas and information about sites, publications, and blogs you might be interested in. As a starting point, check out the following employment boards and resources:
- IWriter
- BloggingPro
- The Writer Finder
Step 6: Collect testimonials from your clients
It may be beneficial to have testimonials from former clients as you begin to establish a reputation. Request a few words about working with you through email once a task is finished, or using LinkedIn’s testimonial option. Publish positive client testimonials on your website so that potential buyers may understand what you’re all about. This is an important step to follow to know how to become a content writer in India.
Three ways to increase your earnings as a freelancer
Growing your freelance writing profession and developing the relationships you’ll need to start earning money will take time, just like any new business. Once you’re up and running, though, it may be a terrific source of extra cash — or even a full-time career if you want it to be.
Here are some suggestions for taking your freelance writing to the next level while also increasing your earnings:
Whether you’re writing for enjoyment, as a second source of money to complement your full-time employment, or as a future profession, the proper goals for you will vary. Having some written objectives, on the other hand, is the greatest method to ensure that you stay on the path that is right for you. For example, you may set a goal to write a certain number of articles per week, get published in a specific journal, or make a certain amount per month.
Working as a freelancer allows you to choose your schedule. This is a fantastic benefit, but it might also mean that you spend more time on some tasks than you think, or that you blur the borders between work and pleasure. Tracking how you spend your time is the greatest way to ensure you’re charging the proper amount for your job, and it may also help you understand where you can make more money by focusing on the writing that pays the most per hour.
1. Avoid content mills
Freelance writers are regularly hired by content mills to generate blogs and content marketing materials. However, they frequently pay poor rates to writers and pocket a big portion of the writing profits for themselves. Create your online presence with a blog or website, network with companies in your industry, and pitch for paid writing jobs directly. This may take a little longer than earning quick money from a content mill, but it will quickly pay off.
2. Develop new business as you go
If you want to make a living writing, you’ll need to keep pitching new clients to get additional work. Setting aside a specified amount of time every week or month to seek out new leads, grow your network, pitch clients, and explore new business ideas is an excellent method to achieve this. Treat this as a critical portion of your workweek to ensure that you have a steady stream of work.
3. Grow a global client base
Freelance writers have the option of working with clients located anywhere on the planet. Don’t let your native place limit you; you might be able to build a customer base outside of your own country.
The simplest way is to start looking in English-speaking nations, such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, or New Zealand. Companies in Europe and abroad frequently require English-language blogs, website copy, and other services, so reaching out to clients in countries where English isn’t the primary language might be beneficial.
You may invoice clients in their local currency so they can pay you swiftly with a smart multi-currency account like the Wise borderless account, making dealing with an international customer no different than working with one in the United States. You can also use our downloaded free invoice templates to produce and send invoices, as well as locate an independent contractor agreement form to make your business official.
As a freelance writer, you’ll grow better at writing and tracking bills, as well as managing your money as you take on more customers. If you’re working with international clients, it’s a good idea to establish an account that allows you to easily receive payment in foreign currency, so you can invoice them in their currency.
To experience how simple it is to accept payments in international currencies, try the Wise borderless account. You can get paid in major currencies including British pounds, Australian and New Zealand dollars, and euros for free if you have your local bank information. You’ll be able to keep dozens of different currencies in the same account and swap between them at the mid-market exchange rate. That means you won’t have to worry about any hidden costs – simply a tiny price to convert your money back to dollars.
What is the average salary for a content writer in India?
To summarise, stop thinking of content writing as a “career” and instead think of it as a talent that you can use no matter where you are or who you are.
However, it is tough to break free from the comfort of work and the addiction to a monthly paycheck. And having a job is sometimes more of a necessity than a choice for many individuals.
So, if you’re seeking a job as a content writer in a Tier 1 city, you can anticipate a monthly income of roughly Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000, depending on a variety of circumstances. How to become a content writer in India is a second question, how to become an efficient writer is all you need to know first.
With a few years of expertise under your belt, you may boost that amount up to Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 40,000, which is likely where you’ll reach a limit. You may either stay in your current position while having your income adjusted for inflation each year, or you can move up the ladder to become a content manager, editor, or even a content marketer. You may expect a salary of more than Rs.50,000 after that, but it will take some effort, time, and patience to get there.
Since I am a proponent of the gig economy and highly advise you to pursue freelancing, you must ultimately begin setting charges for the words you produce.
It’s always a good idea to build up your portfolio and go through everything in this post before deciding on a price. You can charge Re.1 per word if you have a good portfolio and are just starting.
It’s a good idea to set a minimum of Rs.1000 for every piece so you don’t waste time working on little projects but still get paid well.
You can eventually start charging individuals more, and the easiest method to do so is to change your price with existing clients first. They recognize the value you bring to the table, and you should as well.
As you go from Re. 1 to Rs. 2, you’ll find yourself hovering around the Rs. 5 per word threshold. I know authors that charge much more, but you need a lot more experience and credibility to earn such high fees.
Conclusion
How to become a writer in India, will not be easy, as it is with most things in life. You must go through the learning curve to improve.
You will have a better understanding of it as you study more.
Your flow will improve as you write more.
Yesterday was the ideal day to begin writing, and today is the second-best day to begin.
In the comments box below, tell me about your road to becoming a content writer.
