In any industry, establishing a strong online presence is imperative to attracting new clients and customers. The content you create helps you communicate in an accurate, useful, and engaging manner.

Additionally, it allows you to showcase your expertise in your field. Writing for a living requires you to establish your company's authority in the content marketplace.

To do this, you must first master the basics. This includes grammar, syntax, tone, and SEO. Check out these key dos and don'ts for creating valuable content that will sell.

Content Writing Etiquette: Do's

Online writing

1. Do Prioritize Value Addition for the Reader

Readers don't just read for the sake of reading. They do it to gain knowledge, discover answers, and be entertained. All of these are values that readers seek in exchange for their time reading your content.

It is important to do your research and understand what you are writing about and why you are doing it. This will allow you to develop your own unique opinions and views instead of just paraphrasing the content you conveniently found online.

Tools like Grammarly can help you improve the clarity, correctness, and delivery of your content. But don't over-rely on it. Although writing tools can suggest changes, they cannot replace the expertise and natural flair.

Related: How to Become a Paid Writer: A Guide for Graduates

2. Do Make Editing and Proofreading a Habit

If you have finished writing your content, it still needs to be submitted or published. While writing, we unconsciously ignore many spelling, grammatical, and syntax errors that make the writing look unprofessional. This affects the reader’s interest and makes them click away.

This can be avoided by proofreading your content to ensure that it is error-free and high-quality. In most cases, simply reading your content aloud is enough to detect grammatical errors, inconsistencies, and poor sentence composition in your content which you can then edit and fix right away.

Alternatively, you can also use Ginger or any writing tool that helps proofread your content for you and also allows you to rephrase undesirable elements.

3. Do Pick a Niche Best Suited for You

Instead of competing with everyone and being mediocre, it's better to pick a niche you can excel at and become exceptional. The higher your expertise in a particular niche, the more valuable your services become for prospective clients. As a result, you can then command better rates for your writing.

A great way to figure out your niche is to identify the kind of topics you like to read and write about. Websites like Quora and Feedly are some great sources that make it easier for you to find out what kind of content interests you as a writer. The core idea behind picking a niche is to become increasingly irreplaceable.

4. Do Learn and Master SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a practice used to increase your article's visibility on search engines, such as Google. The higher your article ranks on Google, the more likely it is to be clicked. Your goal as a writer is to attract more readers.

SEO is a holistic process that cannot be achieved by adding keywords to the article. Instead, concentrate on how meta titles, descriptions, H1 tags, inbound links, and LSI keywords affect SEO.

When it comes to content readability, a general rule of thumb is to use short sentences, break long content into multiple sections, and use easy transition words. It makes your content easier to understand for readers.

Related: How to Write SEO Friendly Content With Google Docs

Content Writing Etiquette: Don'ts

Person stopping to think as they write
Karolina Grabowska/Pixabay

1. Don't Plagiarise Content

Plagiarism is a strict no-no. Publishing directly copied content can result in serious penalties and lead to eliminating your website from search engines.

This is not just limited to text but also images. When you write, draw inspiration from other articles and combine them with your own opinions to create unique content.

If copying is necessary, always cite the source. You can also use plagiarism checkers online like SmallSeoTools and Duplichecker, which help ensure your posts are not plagiarised. Make sure to use them before publishing your content to be on the safe side.

2. Don't Use Complicated Vocabulary

The best content is always easy to read and understand. It is important to keep in mind that your readers come from varying backgrounds. Over-the-top vocabulary and jargon can make readers lose interest in your content and result in them not reading it.

Also, complicated content does not appeal to search engines, which affects SEO. Use short paragraphs, simple language, and images whenever you can.

3. Don't Write Wordy or Repetitive Content

The average reader's attention span is about eight seconds. Using too many words in your sentences and article is not a good idea. Many new writers add irrelevant content to reach a specific word count or repeat what they have already said, but in different words.

This is a terrible idea, as you might expect. Instead, you should write articles that save the reader's time instead of wasting it with unnecessary content that doesn't add value.

Related: How to Overcome Writer’s Block: 13 Tips for Content Writers

4. Don't Overdo SEO

Another common mistake writers make is to focus too much on SEO and compromise on clarity and delivery. As a writer, it is your responsibility to provide valuable information to the reader instead of just stuffing keywords to please search engines because that doesn't work.

Google's algorithm is extremely strict about keyword stuffing and will disregard your article if it is found. To make sure that doesn't happen, you should always write good content first, focusing on value-addition.

Write With Flair

Content writing is not something you can learn through tricks. The process of writing involves a lot of trial and error, and the finished product is often very different from the original idea.

The Dos and Don'ts mentioned above can help you navigate your writing journey more effectively and create content that provides value to your readers.