Last updated on April 8th, 2023 at 10:51 am
Content writing courses train you on how to become a content writer. This article reminds you not to neglect one important aspect – ‘a global audience’. Why? Read on and you’ll understand.
Obviously, a global audience will bring in excellent rewards. Needless to say, it’s way more challenging than becoming a good content writer with a limited audience in your own locality.
I know, the idea poses a contrarian view to the micro-niche theory yet I recommend it because of its one great advantage – the capacity to earn big dollars for you!
It simply means if you’ve been writing for a US-only audience, why don’t you tailor-make it to suit Indian and UK audiences too? Alternatively, why not make it suitable for countries of budding bloggers like Nigeria and Kenya?
What are the things you should care for if you’re going to be a content writer for an international audience? What are the rewards and challenges? You get everything in this post. So, let’s jump in.
Opening Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Page contents
What is the Meaning of Content Writing?
Before ‘content writing’, let’s first understand what is called content in today’s world. The soaps on the OTT platform, movies, podcasts, articles on a blog, and a YouTube tutorial video are all different forms of content.
However, by ‘content writer’, we mean only those who create content in the text form. Examples are writing of blog posts, video scripts, and podcast transcripts. Content writers may also perform the job of editing the written content.
How to Become a Content Writer for International Audiences? – 7 Tips
1. Post on the Best Days, at the Best Times for Traffic
A worldwide readership means your content will be read in different time zones. That implies the best days and time slots most suitable for publishing your articles (with respect to traffic volume) will not be even. So, maintain a list of such timings and publish and promote your content at the most suitable hour on the best days for the target audience.
2. Keep Track of the Latest International News
If you key in something like ‘Twitter trends now in US’ or ‘top-selling electronic products currently in India’, you may stumble upon a piece of information that could be your next topic to write about. Writing and publishing on such topics popular in different countries makes you a star global writer in true sense.
3. Lifestyle Descriptions in Your Content Must Correspond to the Target Audience
When you are writing a content piece for a particular community of a different country, it is quite commonplace to forget the lifestyle details existing over there. You tend to detail your descriptions with costumes, food habits, and other daily life aspects of your own surroundings. Such a mistake could annoy your audience to the extent of opting out of readership.
4. The Language, Specially the Slang Should resonate With the Targeted Readers
Though I’ve already mentioned issues with the lifestyle details, the language used in your content needs a special mention. If you are writing a story or a play, you need to watch out for the slang prevalent at the place. Moreover, a global content writer should use words, phrases, idioms, and abbreviations particular to a community or locality while targeting the audience therein.
5. Learn About the Histories and Geographies of the Countries You Write for
Knowledge of history and geography comes in handy when you are preparing the backdrop or setting for a content topic. Google research helps, no doubt. But you can search and research better with the knowledge you’ve accumulated over the years. So, keep enhancing your knowledge of history, geography, and anthropology of nations.
6. Choose Useful Content Topics Having Global Appeal
I should not miss out on this point while advising you on how to become a content writer with a global following. Soccer is played all over the world. People are keen on knowing who will win the US presidential election. Why has a war begun or when will it end? These are such topics that attract a huge following on the internet. So, always be on the hunt for such topics with global appeal.
7. Keep Checking the Content Markets in Different Countries
Some countries like the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia etc. pay more per word to the content writers. Whereas for mega volumes of traffic, the content topics must have roots in India, China, or other countries with huge populations.
Some Evergreen Content Topics With Universal Appeal
Below is a list of broad subjects that readers all over the world like to read and know more about. The demand and interest for these topics never die.
- Sports like soccer, volleyball, basketball, lawn tennis
- Fiercely competed exams like IELTS, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT etc.
- Hollywood celebrities
- Saving and earning money
- Preventing hair loss and tips for healthy hair
- Weight loss techniques, dieting
- Continental recipes
- Best deals on e-commerce platforms
- Computer gaming
- Fashion trends
- Top songs and dance numbers
- Physical exercise, Calisthenics, Yoga
- Most sought after travel destinations in the world
- Awards like Nobel Prize, Oscars, Grammy, Pulitzers etc.
The above was just a hint. Find out more and more global topics for content generation.
What are Different Forms of Content Writing?
Content writing manifests itself in different forms. Some examples are as below:
- Blog post writing
- Guest post writing
- Compiling tutorials
- Review writing
- Newsletter making
- UX writing
- Persuasive copywriting
- Creating social media posts
- Writing e-books
- White paper writing
- Video scripting
- Podcast transcribing
How do Content Writers Regularly Get Freelance Work and Make Money by Writing Global Content?
Networking
To be amidst work regularly, content writers maintain a network of writers and followers for reference.
Suppose you have a good rapport with an online content writer who is a bit short of time to do a project. He may either outsource it in part or full to you.
You may also get ghostwriting opportunities this way. And who knows? A kind-hearted writer could hand over an entire writing project to you.
Influencer Effect
If you observe the social media account of any famous web writer, you will understand how big a following they carry. If you happen to be a follower, you get a chance to do some writer-networking among the followers.
Moreover, if the influencer says something about your skills, you rock. This means following an influencer can only better your position as a writer for global audiences.
Cold e-mailing
Thanks to digital marketing, companies need content like never before. No wonder, skills like copywriting, UX writing, and video scripting are in great demand.
Content writers often sniff such opportunities and send what is called a cold e-mail, to the outsourcing managers of the companies.
A cold email is a mail sent to the hiring or outsourcing department of a company to find a possible writing job or one-off gig. The prefix ‘cold’ means that the email requests for a job or gig that has not yet been advertised by the company. However, cold emails serve to request for open positions too.
Getting a break into the content writing work is the difficult part of it. Even so, once you get in and steal experience, there will be no dearth of work and earnings. Cold e-mailing can surprise even a newbie by way of getting her a breakthrough.
And definitely dare to try international websites. I totally understand that your writing as a new writer would suit your local audience more. However, a global website may also identify your SEO skills or writing style and give you a chance.
Job Boards
Content writers keep applying for part-time and full-time writing jobs. Sites like ProBlogger, FreelanceWritingGigs, Contena, Bloggingpro, and many more have job boards where they can apply and choose to do the kind of work they want.
A ready resume is very important in this regard. If you want to keep getting content writing work regularly, you have to have a good portfolio of sample articles. You may create a portfolio of samples on sites like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, etc. Alternatively, you can have a site of your own to showcase such samples. Seasoned content writers self-promote their skills for guest posting and ghostwriting on their own social media accounts.
Generally, unless otherwise stated, Job Boards do not debar you from applying even if you are not a native writer.
Adsense and YouTube Income
Website content writers self-run their content on their websites and YouTube channel and make huge money online from Google Adsense and similar other advertising platforms.
Affiliate Earning
Content writers have a big following. Hence, the high-commission affiliate marketing products promoted on their pages earn affiliate income once a deal is cut.
SEO Skills
Generally, a good content writer has good SEO skills. It is a known fact SEO-based writing benefits the digital marketing of a company immensely. That is why efficient SEO writers enjoy getting regular work.
General Best Practices to Become a Good Content Writer
Just now we discussed about writing content for global audiences. However, there are some tricks that apply universally and for all kinds of content writing. The most important ones among those are as follows:
Write Uncommon Content
No doubt, content is the king. Hence the demand. However, there is such an overflow of ordinary content on the worldwide web that unless your content is uncommon and outstanding, it won’t be noticed. So, find a suitable spot and time slot to sit in meditation and discover unusual content writing topics.
Engaging Content Writing
Practise engaging writing. This kind of writing pushes the reader to read the next sentence. Writing a great headline is only a step in this process. It hooks the reader right from the word go. If you can write an introduction capable of driving the audience to the next section, you’re a champ. I penned an article on propulsive writing and you can have a look by clicking here.
Write Interactive Content
Involving the readers in your content is very important. For this, request them to give feedback, participate in your polls and solve exercises given in your content. Write in a conversational tone and include Call to Action (CTA) sections in your write-ups.
Editing Never Ends
Revise your articles as many times as possible before publishing. If you read out your article to yourself, you’ll feel every time, something can be improved. Check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and factual errors. Cut wordiness and make your sentences short and straightforward in meaning.
Learn to Format Your Writing for Readability
Short paragraphs with subheadings are what readers like most. Small white spaces here and there in your post make reading easy and comfortable. Place the images of a befitting size and worth at the most presentable and appropriate spots.
Traits to Follow to Become a Content Writer
Apart from the tips and tricks of content writing for beginners to pros, there are some traits to inculcate in order that one may become a good content writer for local as well as global audiences. Here are some of the most crucial ones:
Be an Avid Reader of Cross-Cultural Books
Reading is a habit that can improve your writing in multiple ways. Reading books by the authors of different countries endows you with
- Writing topics that have global appeal,
- Fresh writing thoughts and content resources,
- Original ideas for imagination,
- Uncommon tones and styles of writing,
- Great thoughts of great authors
Become a Travel Freak and Visit International Destinations.
Trans-national travel stimulates interest to produce global content. You pick up words from the native language and get to know about the pop culture in countries. During such voyages, you should capture scintillating snaps that reflect the culture of countries. Simply put, the lesson is, “Adopting a cosmopolitan outlook helps you produce global content.”
Don’t Lose Friends Due to Distances and Borders
Some of your friends have perhaps moved to foreign locations due to job requirements. My advice in this regard is to be always in touch with them. Communicating with such friends regularly keeps you updated about the happenings thereof.
Remain Updated About the Latest SEO Trends
SEO experts have the magic ability of tweaking your posts to appear on page 1 in the Google search rankings. If in addition to being a content writer, you learn this skill too, you’re a champ. However, it’s easier said than done. It requires a lot of practice and you get perfect at it after writing a large number of copies.
Expand Your Imagination
Search for new techniques that widen the horizon of your imagination.
For example,
- Mix up topics belonging to different cultures and geographies,
- Dive deep into your own experiences,
- Think about what would have been the consequences had something occurred in just the opposite way to the reality.
Try finding more techniques to dream far and wide.
Think About How Your Written Content May Sound or Look
In today’s world, your written content may get adapted into a TV soap, a movie, or a podcast. So, when you are writing content even for a blog or your own website, take care to instill an adaptability element into it. This simply means your content should be pleasant to listen to and view if presented as a soap, movie, interview, etc.
Learn ‘Foreshadowing Towards a Climax’
Seasoned writers play with their audiences concealing the climax of the story till the end. They have the ability to create suspense through the story, without divulging the outcome in one go. A content writer must learn the art solely for the purpose of engaging their readers. This really creates a huge difference in readership.
Start Searching for Content Writing Jobs – Rake in Dollars
Content writing is in great demand.
Learn the skills necessary for content writing. Create a resume for yourself and start searching for content writing jobs.
If you are already a freelance content writer, see if you have missed out on any of the above mentioned techniques or have not been fostering any of the said traits.
If you have a full time day job, find time to search for and do content writing work as a part time writer. It can prove a good side hustle to earn extra cash.