Writing News Update - SEO & Content Writing at Croud

Friends,

As a bit of a change, I'd like to detail how my writing will continue to grow throughout 2019.

I am excited to announce that since the end of last year, I have been writing for Croud, which is a digital marketing company that offloads its content creation to vetted & interviewed freelancers, dubbed "Croudies." Since I became a Croudie, I have focused my writing to be more suitable for Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO. This means that I must now put targeted keywords in my work, link specific web pages that encourage traffic to stay on a website, and plan out the format of my writing to look visually appealing, opposed to only worrying about the content itself.

Speaking of content, the work I have done in the past was usually closer to creative writing than content writing, albeit on the research-heavy side of creative writing (I just really like science and technology, okay?). This new year will garnish a stronger foothold into content writing, or copywriting, through Croud. While this may seem like a bit of a bummer, it's not, and here's why:


  • I got into writing to learn. They say if you can teach a topic to somebody else, then you've mastered it, so I like to "master" topics that I wouldn't learn about otherwise. Copywriting is still full of learning - just the other day, I learned about which types of pens are best in each situation, and oddly enough, I enjoyed it.
  • Topics are chosen for me. Behind the scenes of writing is a lot of article pitching, which actually can be quite tiring. I'll often pitch three detailed topics to a customer (usually with links and references on what I'd like to write about), and they are supposed to choose one. Sometimes, I'll have to pitch a second round, or they'll give me one of their own after I already pitched them a few! So, it's refreshing to only have to think about how to go about a subject.
  • I can still be creative with copywriting. The content writing jobs I've had so far at Croud have allowed creativity in how I finish an assignment - they just tell me the aim of the article and keywords to use.
  • There's more content out there for copywriters. I'm also paid in a more consistent manner for content writing, opposed to sporadic payments per article. Simply put, the market wants more content creation than creative, so it's a great supplement for my income.
  • I am still doing my creative writing! That's not going anywhere - I'll be able to do that on top of everything else. I still write for other websites, and Croud occasionally will issue me a creative task, too.

I am excited because Croud assigns me employee contacts that stay in communication throughout projects. When I'm done with an article, they review my work, which I appreciate. Most of the time, I'll submit an article and only see it again when it's online. This allows me to better my writing.

Ooh! I've also finally been able to write in Australian English instead of American. I've been writing in British / Aussie English my whole life, mostly to annoy teachers, but finally, I've got a legit reason to.

As of "write" now, I don't have any links to share of the work I've done so far with Croud. I doubt I'll be able to post everything I write for Croud simply based on the nature of the work, but once projects are approved by clients and then hit their websites, I'll ask my contacts if I'm allowed to link them to my personal website. No promises there, but I'll try!

There are other projects I have planned for the year as well. I've been submitting my book to publishing companies, and will hopefully have that sorted out in the next few months. Best to check up on that on its Facebook page, but when it's finally released, you'll hear about it here, too. That's a big one for me, so I'm excited (and a bit nervous) about it.

Thanks, everyone, for being a part of this writing thing I've got going on. I've enjoyed it a tonne so far, and I reckon I'm not doing too poorly for somebody with no formal training in English or Journalism. So hey, guess I'll keep swinging for the stands, right?

x

Benji

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