Welcome to my Content Editing/Writing Journey. Below is an outline of topics I will touch on in this series that will hopefully assist you in your decision making:
a) My Remote Content Writing/Editing Journey b) 7 Tips Become a Content Editor Today c) What you need to be a good Content Editor d) The Joy of Content Editing/Writing e) Perks of Content Editing at TMK f) Content Editor/Writer on the job
If you had asked me two years back or even a year, what content writing/editing was I would have literally gone blank. I had no idea my life would take the turn it took or that I would even consider remote working. I mean; a year and a half ago when I quit my 8-5 job I just knew I couldn't do it anymore. I was really not cut out for the corporate world. It had its own highs; like having to get dressed up to go to work and I loved my co-workers with whom I shared really good laughs.
But yeah, I can safely say mentally and emotionally, I had reached my ceiling if there is such a thing. There was really nothing to aspire to in the field I worked in, I hadn't reached the top yet, but then again I had no desire to.
Even though I hadn't really thought it through before, I just wanted to be the one to raise my own child; not the teachers at school, nor the nanny after school. I wanted to be involved. And so, I just quit my day job, lucky enough my husband still had his so I had the luxury of not worrying about the bills. This gave me a chance to homeschool my daughter, and to take a look at my life to see what I would love to do. I really felt grateful because not a lot of people get that chance in life.
If you are like me you would know that even though I was doing what I wanted there was still something missing. I want to be able to provide all that I can for my daughter's future, so that means I needed to look for ways to help out financially. That's when I came across blogging. What? Yes, blogging - it is a form of content writing, kind of like this article, very opinion-based. Most of the testimonials about this were showing people that are getting some good money from this activity.
At first, it really didn't do anything to me, think about it; so many things have come and gone, people claiming this and that just to get us to try them for their own good, while it leaves us in the same position or even worse off. So I just glossed over it and left it alone for quite some time.
Until I was constantly coming across a lot of different people from all over the world in different walks of life talking about the same thing; that they actually benefited from starting a blog. Then I paid more attention. It was around that time when I started taking career quizzes based on my personality and the one thing that I gathered from all the stats, is that I am extremely opinionated. So why not blog about all my thoughts and passions, especially if there would be people out there interested to read about it: a very important consideration.
So I knew absolutely nothing about any form of writing other than writing an essay/thesis, which is very formal and I must say it sounded rather boring to me. I had to get training because I had no idea where to start. And I am so grateful because, at that moment when I decided to do this, an opportunity was presented to me to apply for an internship through an agency that is affiliated with my former school.
So I did - and believe it or not, I got the internship. So guess where I had applied to be based? Yup, South Korea!! After years of watching South Korean dramas, I knew I loved what I saw in their work ethic that almost seemed like a cultural thing; what was even more wonderful was that this internship would be remote. Little did I know that I would find a content writing/editor internship position!!!
I was beside myself. If you are new to this you are probably wondering what the fuss is about but hang in there; I will tell you all about it: There are so many benefits to content writing: the concept itself is so broad and accommodating that it trains one to be very versatile. The main aim for content writing is digital marketing, so that means you want people to see what you are writing about, you want people to find solutions and solve their problems through your content and, moreover to keep coming back to your page whenever they are looking for answers.
What is Remote Content Editing/Writing?
Most people only associate content writing with blogging, and it is much more than that. Content writers are responsible for a very wide range of content, such as design, presentations, email editing. This happens while they keep in the corners of their mind their targeted clients and the position of the product they are trying to sell in the content. This means content writers work very closely with marketers or can even cross that boundary to marketing while creating, evaluating, or even analyzing the content. This is even more exciting when you do it remotely; yes it will require proper time management but you get to choose the space you work in, it becomes part of your life, it fits into your schedule once you have rearranged your schedule.
Why Choose Content Editing/Writing as a Career
I am sure you realize by now that editing and writing are quite interchangeable in this context. If you are thinking of starting a blog, content writing is definitely the way. Honestly, we live in the 'online era. So much of our lives can be searched and found online. This means there is a very dire need for good editors that can decide on the content that is displayed or that can be published online.
That can be you and me; if you like talking, find a way to put those words on paper, or if you have a passion for writing then what can be better than doing our passion for a living. To be very clear every content you find online was managed and published at the discretion of a content editor. Below is a screenshot of the company that is training me to be a sound-minded content writer. As seen in the above shot of the placement confirmation, content editing is very closely linked with digital marketing. What you see below was designed by a team of content editors:
Skills you Need to be a Successful Content Editor/Writer
It goes without saying that to do something really well you will need a certain form of skill. Now if you just wanted to concentrate on blogging all I would say is you just need to have an approachable friendly tone in your writing, for people to be drawn to your content. However, since we have established that content writing is in itself a very diverse role, it also means that amongst other things you will definitely need a very versatile style of writing that can fit into different content needs.
As you can see above I got trained at a company called Takemetokorea to be a content editor. I honestly came with no experience whatsoever. The company took its time to train me to create content for SEO purposes, I also learned what that means, only then did I become aware that:
a) content writers do not just pick random topics to write about,
b) they write for their target market,
c) content writers are very original and take their time to learn abut other things that have to do with search engine optimization
d) as a content editor you have to find a way to be social media acquainted.
Now like said I knew nothing about such and am only learning them in my newfound passion. One thing I am learning is that it is very possible to move from having nothing to do with writing to actually writing and editing. Stay tuned for my next article on how I became an intern and my experience in learning to be a content writer.