Content is the king in the online world. It is the content that you write on your website or on social media pages that drive the targeted audiences to your product or service. Just as you need web developers to create your website perfectly to represent your business online, you need to hire freelance content writers with specific skill sets to write impactful and SEO-friendly content. When it comes to the skill sets of the content writers, you need to be aware of the different types of content writing possible and post freelance jobs according to hire specialized writers who can deliver the best content possible.
There are basically three types of writing possible – technical writing, content writing, and creative writing. A technical writer may not be strong in creative writing and hence, understanding the difference between these three categories is important for both clients and writers to choose the best candidates and projects by the respective people. Some people consider technical writing and creative writing as sub-divisions of content writing which is completely wrong. The writing styles and the knowledge required in all these three categories are completely different and hence, you should understand the difference before posting freelance jobs to hire writers.
Difference Between Technical Writing and Content Writing –
For technical writing, a writer needs to have a deeper knowledge of the particular technical subject he is about to write on. It can be industries, machinery, products and services, technologies and likewise. The information provided in a technical writing has to be scientific, authentic, and relevant to the technical topic. In technical writing, a strict format is followed and the tone has to be professional. For example, a technical article on how to operate a washing machine needs the writer to know the technicalities of the washing machine and write the article in a specific format following a set of conventions without any exaggeration of words. A technical writer needs to know the technical jargons associated with the technologies he is specialized in. The purpose of technical writing is to educate and inform the targeted audiences. As a technical writer, you will find projects to write manuals, guides, tutorials, academic stuff, product specifications and likewise.
For content writing, a writer needs to be a jack of all trades as it is a vast field. It can be anything like electronics, science, spirituality, reviews, sports, and even social media writing. The best example of content writing is blogs. The writing style of content writing depends on the requirements of the clients as well as the topics. For example, if you are writing content for web pages, the tone of writing has to be professional yet flattering and the content has to be informative and marketable. But when you are writing a blog sharing your personal experience, you can write any way you want it so that that the readers find the blog interesting to read.
The main convention of content writing is that the writing should be engaging. But the goals of content writing can be different based on where it will be posted. For example, if you are writing it for social media, it has to be intriguing and something unique so that people share them and make it viral. It can also be for the promotional purposes for a product or service. When you are writing a review, it must convince the readers to buy a certain product so that you get a commission from the affiliate link. When you are writing for a website and want organic traffic, the content has to follow certain SEO guidelines. You do not need any deep knowledge about the subject you are about to write as most of it are already available on the internet in lucid form to read and understand before writing on it.
For creative writing, a writer needs to be imaginative, understand the psychology of the targeted audiences, and have a strong command over the language he is about to write on. It is not something that you can learn as such writing a poem, novel, story, script, and even creative articles. You need to have an inner passion for writing and literature to become a creative writer. Furthermore, a creative writer needs to have a vast vocabulary and know different writing styles so that he/she can stay the readers with his/her writing. There is no particular format, convention, or formula in creative writing. The content is self-created and ideas may be completely imaginative or inspired by the reality.
To sum up, technical writing requires deeper technical knowledge about a subject and needs to follow a specific format. Content writing requires good writing skills to achieve the required goal and influence the targeted audiences. Creative writing requires strong writing skills, imagination, and understanding of the readers’ minds. The next time you hire freelance content writers, make sure you specify the skill you are looking for.
