13 Feb 11 Valuable Lessons from 20-Odd Years of Writing Marketing + Business Content

Becoming a confident content writer doesn’t happen overnight. Let the writing rules I learned over two decades give you a leg-up – and a head start over your competition.

Written by Daniela Cavalletti

9 min read

Today I realised that I had missed a personal milestone: I had been writing for a living for over 20 years. Apart from feeling a little old (and sorry for myself) for a split second, I felt a warm glow of happiness. If annual polls are anything to go by, I’m one of the rare people that absolutely loves what she does for a living. Of course, there have been bumps in the road along the way, but getting up every morning and set to writing work has always put a spring in my step and a smile on my face.

From Rooky Mistakes to Writing That Flows (Mostly)

It all started so innocently with mentoring fellow pupils at school. And to, ahem, … swapping writing essays for my best, more artistically inclined friend, for him finishing my art assignments (which, to my utter dismay, I was incredibly crap at). If you take this bartering system into account I might be able to stretch my writing career to three decades. But shh, that makes me feel even older. Moving on …

Since those heady days of bending the rules at school, I‘ve been writing content in every job I held. Be it as part of my job description or unofficially. Eventually this love for words and writing led to me starting my own business, Cavalletti Communications, and working full-time as a content writer in 2009.

What Two Decades of Written Content Creation Have Taught Me

But to get to that stage, I made all the textbook mistakes along the way. The early writer-me had her ego and confidence dented, and occasionally crushed. I learned, recovered and soldiered on. The first times of officially putting my name to a blog, editorial and report were all equally scary and exciting: this was me, and all the world could see. If it was a bit rubbish they knew who to blame, … gulp.

With practice and over the years I’ve become a confident marketing and business content writer. The butterflies of anticipation are still there every time I pen a piece – a bit like the exciting jitters of stage fright – but now there is no fear in it, just joy.

11 Tips for Becoming a Confident Content Writer

Buzzing me feels utterly relaxed and ‘in the zone’ when writing. It’s my happy place. Here’s how you, too, can feel more confident – and enjoy – writing for your business or for pleasure.

#1. Loosen Up, Follow Your Passion … Have Fun

Your writing will flow best when you write about something you’re passionate about. Something that lights a fire in you. Build your writing confidence by starting with things that are close to your heart. They don’t have to be about work, even if you are practising your writing in order to eventually run your own business blog or write a business book. You don’t have to publish your early pieces (but you might want to, e.g. in a club magazine). Whether you write about fly fishing, making the perfect omelette or the migration patterns of whales: anything goes. Had something funny, sad or exciting happen to you today? Write about it. Don’t worry about why you’re writing or for whom: just write and enjoy the process.

#2. SEO Often Sucks

Don’t get me wrong: there is a place for SEO (hey, it pays for a lot of my bills!). A lot of businesses would not be around for long without it, but … If you truly want to create not just click-bait and Google-fodder – but want to stand out with your content – dare to break Google’s rules. At least occasionally.

When you only feed Google SEO buzzwords by ‘optimising’ your periodical content, you’ll likely end up with common terms and ideas for your industry. And get lost in a big ocean of sameness. If you want to be the shimmering tropical fish everyone’s eyes are drawn to you cannot be grey like a pilchard in a shoal of sardines. SEO-optimise your website – but with your blog or other additional content cut through the online noise, blaze your own path. Dare to be different.

#3. Boldly Go Where No WoMan Has Gone Before

Having butterflies when writing? Congratulations – it’s a sign that you’re really connecting with what you are writing about. Writing and having god-knows-who read your thoughts is scary. Be brave. Whether it’s a blog or book: have the courage to be you. Use your experience and your voice. Don’t be afraid to reveal your ideas, opinions, quirks and idiosyncrasies. Some of it will make it to publication and create conversation. And some of what you write you just needed to get out of your system; it may never to be seen by another soul. But either way you will have improved your skills as a content writer.

#4. Practice Makes (Sort of) Perfect

Here’s the bad news: writing brilliant, interesting and engaging content won’t happen overnight. Most accomplished writers weren’t born this way, but had to put a lot of hard work and time into perfecting their art. Now to the good news: regular writing, getting into a writing routine will get you there. And far more quickly than you might think. Block out a couple of hours each week (or day) to write a short piece. Switch off all distractions (yup, no vibrating phones either) and sit in a spot in your office or home that feels relaxing. Keep a notebook or file to jot down any ideas for posts and articles, white papers, a book, etc. I have an Excel spreadsheet that is organised by categories and topics, and I use Pocket to save interesting articles.

#5. Be a Curious Purple Cow (Experiment)

Once you get to regularly write (or guest-write) for a blog or (online-) magazine, you’ll have to learn how to come up with new article ideas all the time. It’s easy to fall into a rut and keep things safe and just churn things out. But you’ll be bored in no time – and so will be your readers. Break the mould occasionally, be daring, be controversial … stand out! Keep surprising, teasing, exploring; and your readers shall engage with your writing. Only when you try different approaches will you know what your readers crave and how to best engage them – and stay engaged with your writing yourself.

#6. Bugger Strategy, Occasionally

In order to become a voice people recognise and a source of information that is seen as reliable, you need to follow your own (appropriate) rules around topics, style and formats. But in the beginning you simply won’t have found your own groove or know what your audience likes. Some posts or articles might be wildly popular while others tank for no apparent reason. Be ok with that; it’s impossible to work out all the factors that caused applause or lacklustre reception sometimes. Play with different tones and formats that still feel like you; always stay authentic. There will also be the times when you either burst with wanting to talk about something a bit left of centre ­… or you’re utterly stumped re what to write. The latter, writer’s block, is something you can overcome. Just write – about anything – keep the flow going. Worry about whether it’s publishable later on. Step away for a bit. If even Shakespeare chucked out a lot of his writing while honing his skills, so can you.

#7. Don’t Be Afraid to Fly Your Own Flag

I cannot stress it enough: don’t censor yourself out of fear that you or your thinking are different. People crave to hear about experiences and view-points different from theirs (and that’s not counting trolls). They want to learn, be entertained; be awed and inspired. Hearing the same things they already take for granted or know won’t do that. Fly your own multi-coloured, crazy flag. I salute you.

#8. Like Water Off a Duck’s Back (Sniff)

As a content writer you’ll need to become something of a paradox: sensitive and emotionally intelligent – while growing a thick skin. You’ll have your writing rejected by readers, your boss, your client, or a literary agent. It’ll happen. Trolls aplenty roam the net, and they might find you. Don’t let this discourage you and go ‘safe’ in your writing. Keep creating bold, exciting content. Rejection is part of the process with anything in life. You’ll never ever be able to please everyone. What matters is that you are proud of what you’ve written.

#9. Cross Your Ts and Dot Your Is

Do your research, back up your claims, cite sources. Don’t rely on just one source when you’re researching some fact for your story. Especially in these days of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ check, check, and check again before you publish. How many quotes do you know that have been attributed to Churchill, Lincoln, Oscar Wilde and Leonard da Vinci – when none of them actually said or wrote any of them? Having a controversial opinion will create conversation – but getting your facts wrong too often will see your reader run for the hills.

#10. Mind Your Words

When writing regularly, you’ll notice that certain words and expression pop up in your pieces more often than others. We all have pet-expressions and our unique speech patterns, and they’ll creep into our writing. The trick is to use enough of them in your writing to create your distinct writing style, authentic to who you are – yet not use them ad nauseam and irritate your readers. An experienced content writer ensures they go over what they’ve written with a fine-toothed comb. For those over-used expressions, as well as spell-checking. I got a bit excited while reminiscing, for example, and had to get rid of a few too many uses of the word ‘bold’ in this blog post. And I always step away from my writing for a while before proofreading it. With blog posts and other online content, once uploaded I also always give it a quick check. For typos, and whether the content looks good or needs tweaking its length.

#11. People Want You to Succeed

Sure, not everyone will love what you write, and some people are simply rude. But here’s one of the most important parts to remember (especially on days when you feel you’re a lousy content writer). People are generally not harsh critics, quite the opposite: they do want you to succeed. They rally around you and cheer you on. Even those readers who disagreed with me have generally been pretty nice about it. I’ve occasionally been having kittens over publishing controversial or rather personal posts on my business blog and across the net. And guess what: those ended up being the ones I got the most positive and amazing feedback on. 

The Happy Content Writer

After all these years of writing I still get surprised and humbled by the generosity and kindness of people. The time they – you! – take to read, engage with and comment on my musings.

Your curiosity and support are keeping my passion for writing exciting, alive and well.

Thank you.