As a child, I never quite understood why stories had to end. I would find a book, read it from start to finish in a blink of an eye, and then read it all over again. I couldn't comprehend why authors would write these riveting stories for them to just end. Eventually, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I picked up a pencil and paper and wrote my own versions. Granted, I don't think I added anything particularly valuable to the plot, but it brought me incredible joy, and sparked a lifelong love of writing. But I never thought it would generate income.

Throughout life, I took every opportunity to write my own blog. I entered every writing competition, joined every club, read every book on writing methods, styles and search engine optimization I could get my hands on with the goal of developing my skills and personal experience to share my work with the world. I never won a single competition, in full honesty, but I never let that stop me.

My Own Blogging Platform - Never Lose Hope

As time passed through school, college and university, my hobby of writing articles had to take a backseat. During this period, I found that writing in any sense became increasingly difficult. The words no longer came to me naturally. I could spend hours staring at a page and barely writing a paragraph or coming up with compelling blog topics.

Overcoming Writer's Block with Your Own Blog

It wasn't until my second year of university that I was diagnosed with dyslexia, and all the pieces fell into place. All the years of silent struggles with essays and assignments finally had a reason. Not long after this discovery, I decided to leave university. I had fallen out of love with my course of marine zoology, and wanted to take my life in a different direction.

In the months after leaving, I was able to truly engage with my love of writing. I stared longingly at other bloggers just trying to come up with a sensible blog name. Once again, I had the ability to create characters who reflect my own inner struggles, to build worlds full of my greatest dreams and desires; it brought me immense happiness, just as it did when I started writing all those years ago. Starting a blog was difficult, but once I'd reached out to the right target audience, I was raring to go.

At this point, I knew blog articles were something I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I didn't know how or to what extent, but I was certain I was not going to give it up again.

I was later approached about the idea of blogging. Creating eye-catching blogs and articles to educate people on a topic aligned with a company's brand in an exciting and engaging way. Honestly, I was extremely nervous at first. But the chance to earn money from my blogs was just so inviting and exciting!

This was a whole new side of the writing process that I had not explored before, though I refused to let that stop me. I completed my first piece, and then another, and another. Before long, I had fallen in love with the craft.

Discovering Your Passion for Writing Blog Posts

I knew creating content was what I wanted to continue doing, so I dedicated as much time as I could to developing the necessary skills. To be a successful content writer, it requires great creativity, research skills and flexibility.

You need to be able to understand target audiences and how to communicate with them effectively; the tone, the vocabulary and their motivations. There is no denying that it takes time and hard work, but the outcome was totally worth it in the end and has given me tons of confidence, despite my initial struggles.

There are a few tip and tricks that I picked up to help me improve my content creation abilities, so let's have a look to see if my top tips can help you too. 

The Road to Success - Top Tips for Aspiring Content Writers

Read what you write

To truly understand the content you intend to produce, you need to understand the standard.

If you're exploring blogging, then get out there and read some blogs! It allows you to get a full rounded view of what is typically involved with this content style so you can better produce your own work down the line.

Explore your blog content program's features

Before sending off your work to the client, it's crucial to ensure you are 100% happy with the result. That means proofreading, a lot.

Because of my dyslexia, spelling and grammar mistakes can go unnoticed far too easily, so I make use of my program's read aloud feature. I can have my work read back to me, making it much easier to notice anything incorrect.

Stay organised to capture the attention of search engines

Keeping an organised folder of all your work is essential. If you need multiple files at once, or different Google tabs, then having them in an order that's easy to find will save you a lot of time.

Reflecting on your blog post

Saving a copy of previous writings has been super important for me. If I'm having a moment of doubt, or struggling on a particular piece of work, I like to look back on older pieces to see how far I've come.

Being able to see the physical improvement before my eyes gives me the strength to continue. Looking back, I am confident in saying I am proud of the content I have created. 

Investigating online courses for beginners

While a university degree is definitely not necessary for a career of successful blog creation, online courses can still be of great benefit, particularly those courses held remotely. Quality content can be created completely online, so partaking in an online course can be quite convenient. 

Reliable Online Writing Courses

The Comprehensive Copywriting Academy (CCA) is a highly respectable online course for copywriting and it incorporates certain elements of content writing to help you along. They provide thorough lessons into the world of content marketing, and ensure you walk away confident in every related area. 

They teach you how to create your own portfolio, how to use empowering language to persuade an audience and find the right tone and style to match your specific goals. All while tailoring these skills to different writing formats, including newsletters, blogs and social media pages. 

Completing an online writing course will not only teach you physical writing skills, but will also aid you in understanding the business side of content marketing. Whether that be for establishing your own business, or crafting your CV to apply for a new position. Breaking into any industry can be a challenge, especially for a novice, but gaining a certificate in copywriting and content marketing will be a perfect start. Though, it’s important to note to only take courses through accredited colleges, just like the CCA.