If you’re a freelance content writer, you’re likely very familiar with the ins and outs of content writing. After you get into the groove, you might find that your weekly or monthly assignments are as routine as falling off the proverbial log – but falling off a log doesn’t mean that you’ll end up falling into profit. One of the things that many freelance writers struggle with is the need to keep their writing fresh – after all, if you’re writing a blog about Persian rugs or papermaking or stamp collecting week after week after week, by the time you hit week forty you might think that there is nothing else you could possibly write about that topic.
Rest assured that this isn’t true. If you’d like to keep your writing fresh and keep your clients coming back for more, take these tried and true tips to help keep your content as vivid as possible!
- Keep your brain ticking. You might not realize that keeping your blogs re-Tweet worthy is more about the way your noodle works, rather than the amount of information it holds. The brain is naturally programmed to fall into patterns of thinking, but it’s more about getting out of the box rather than getting into Lexus Nexus. Keep reading fiction, and always make time to write creatively. The more your brain works in different ways, and the more you stretch your writing skills, the better your blogs will be!
- Engage your senses. If writing about a particular topic for a long period of time, don’t simply rely on thought processes alone. What does papermaking taste like, smell like, feel like? Bringing in the rest of your senses – even to more technical assignments – can help you expand your writing schema and please your clients. Splicing sensory elements into blogs makes them more grabbing, and ultimately more rewarding to both read and write.
- Chase the new. If it feels as though you’re stuck in a rut, either personally or creatively, you likely are. Don’t chain yourself to the computer for hours. Go to a museum, spend time with friends, go outside, and remember what the sun feels like. This may seem unrelated to writing topics at hand, but if you get out of the rut and go after a diverse body of experiences, you’ll find that your thought process is much more dynamic, and you’ll be able to better harness your creative powers.
Never underestimate the importance of creativity when it comes to freelance content writing. Even the most banal assignments can shine when you treat your brain like the valuable resource that it is!
Do you have any special tricks that keep you pumping out conceptually unique content week after week?