What skills does a content marketing writer need?

This article is for anyone wondering about a career in writing for a company. To a certain extent, it's a word of caution to those who think it's the same as being a novelist!

Neither being a novelist nor in content marketing are as romantic as they seem. That, and the use of words, might be the only two things they have in common. What you will discover as a content writer is a career that's fulfilling, allows you to learn every day, and connect closely with admired subject matter experts.

If you're thinking about becoming a content writer or to start writing a blog for professional purposes, here's what you need to know.

What skills does a content marketing writer need?

• Ability to collaborate across the board You'll be working with salespeople, marketing, possibly product or the development team too. In some roles, you'll be dealing with founders and business owners. This means learning all sorts of communication styles if you're to project their message effectively.
  

• Capacity to aline with other’s objectives Other teams have their own goals, alien to your content writing plans. You need to find a way to marry both and needless to say, this isn't easy! Draw parallels when possible, and plan your content publicly so that others can do half the work of aligning their goals with yours.
  

• Joining someone else’s mission You're being paid to push someone else's ideas out there. This can be either curtailing or freeing — you choose! If you're new to content marketing, know that it's always easier to write to someone else's mission if you at least share a basic value system.
  

• Having an area of #1 expertise, but being willing to flex to many formats Some of us love to really dive into an idea [long-form], and many content writers have worked a spell as a copywriter [super-short-form]. This means we can adapt to the format required, but that doesn't mean you won't have a preference! As you advance in your career, you'll be able to choose your format more frequently.
  

• Persuasive skills Not everyone gets content, so many content writers develop persuasive skills just to convince others to let us get a project going! Luckily, this skill transfers perfectly to promoting the brand that hired us.
  

• Ability to adopt a new voice depending on the brand This might be the easiest skill on this list if you read a lot of different genres. Everyone has their own words or phrasing they love to fall back on, but imitating a company's voice, be it in a presentation or marketing blog, simply takes immersion and practice.

So you'll see, content writers need a completely different skill set from authors who write fiction books.

While some will talk about "selling out" once you get onto a regular paycheck, working in corporate is not soul-crushing for writers. Being a content writer is an excellent career choice. Moreover, being an author and a company writer aren't mutually exclusive, one can fuel your creativity in the other.

Corporate writers are the people’s writers.

Our ability to fight someone else's corner needs to be innate. We need to want to jump on someone else's bandwagon, and not only enjoy the ride, but help push it up the hills. Have something to add about what you've learned from being in the corporate world? We'd love to see it in the comments!