Are you an inspiring freelance writer looking for content writing examples to get started? Or are you a business owner who wants to learn different types of content?
Either way, you want to look at the best content writing examples.
This way, you know the content type your target audience would like to see on your site. You can then learn how to create them and increase your site's engagement and conversion rates.
This post teaches
11 Types of Content Writing
People mostly think of articles as content writing examples. However, it involves different content formats that can reach potential customers throughout the customer journey.
Read on to learn different types of content writing, their purposes, and how they can benefit your business. Let’s start!
#1 - Blog Posts
A blog is journal-like content organized according to categories or chronologically. Blog content ranks on search engines and engages its target audience.
This content type also aims to connect with your target market by building authority and trust. Its tone makes it sound like you’re conversing with your potential clients.
Not to toot our own horn, but we at Legiit have some pretty good blog posts about freelancing. One of our best-performing articles is about CPM affiliate marketing.
It details the what, hows, and whys of CPM affiliate marketing. It also lists the best CPM ad networks and their best practices to maximize your results.
Many freelance writers charge between $50 and $100 per 1,000-word post. Aim for a lengthier article targeting 2,000-2,500 words to increase ranking.
#2 - Web Content
Website content informs prospective customers about your business. Web content is static, while blog posts are more dynamic and updated over time.
If you checked out Legiit's freelancer pages, how they write their respective copy is an example of web content.
The page aims to convince visitors to order the freelancer's services, which is what the written content is designed to achieve.
All your site pages need content, whether an About Us or a Contact page. That's why you must add content writing to your website building budget. The Freelance Writers Hub suggests a minimum of $150 to write a 500-word website page.
#3 - Social Media
Writing social media content is scribbling down short sentences or blurbs.
Short-form content published on social platforms to create an active social media presence designed to engage with this target audience. Often, social media posts come with images or videos to show a brand's personality.
When you look at Nike's social media, it's evident that they are more than just a footwear and sports apparel brand. Their posts celebrate culture and lifestyle that align with the brand's company goals and objectives.
Its social media game allows Nike's audience to associate it beyond its perceived purpose. It gives the brand a communal, larger-than-life feel that people gravitate towards.
Social media content creation price starts from $10 per post. You can order in packages or get a customized quote based on your needs. You can read more tips for writing content for social media posts in this article.
#4 - Ebooks
Ebooks are digital versions of books either in HTML or downloadable in a PDF format. This long-form writing contains valuable content focused on a specific topic. Ebooks can be a compilation of articles, blogs, or interviews with industry experts.
Ebooks can help you reach a highly-targeted audience that most likely needs your offer. Businesses use it to gather leads and increase email subscribers. You can also sell it or commission it to a client.
Hubspot is one of the most prolific brands when it comes to ebook creation. They have 75 free ebooks currently available for download. And all of them are jam-packed with value and actionable items.
Ebook ghostwriters can charge $60-$70 or $0.10-$0.15 per word. You can check the rates of work-for-hire writers at the Editorial Freelancers Association.
#5 - Case Studies
A case study is an in-depth examination of a person, group, or event.
Brands or service providers use it to showcase that their product or service works. They also demonstrate how you have solved a problem through facts.
SE Ranking is an SEO software that has published various case studies on how it helped businesses reach the top of Google using the tool.
From a reader's perspective, case studies help them decide whether to purchase your product or service. So, the more case studies your brand can produce, the more appealing your brand becomes to your audience.
Case studies can be written in blog posts, PDFs, infographics, or videos. A case study content writer can charge $500 to $1,000 per page.
#6 - White Papers
A white paper is an informational document that promotes or highlights the features of a solution, product, or service. It is a long-form piece of content, similar to an eBook. However, white papers have a more technical and in-depth writing style.
White papers' content is backed by original research or statistics from reliable sources. In addition, you can often see visualized data such as charts, graphs, or tables published.
Visme has a host of white paper templates you can choose from to edit and create your own. Simply replace the placeholder text with your own and edit the layout and design accordingly.
According to to Make a Living Writing, clients are ready to pay $3,000-$10,000 for a 6-14 page white paper writing job.
#7 - Email Newsletters
An e-newsletter is an email you distribute to subscribers regularly. This aims to notify them of new information about your brand or product. You can also create it to engage your email list or convert subscribers into clients.
One email newsletter idea is to curate content for your readers. An example could be Moz’s Top 10 articles on search engine optimization and content marketing.
Moz ENewsletter from Campaign Monitor
According to Zip Recruiter, the average hourly pay for a Work From Home Newsletter Writer in the United States is $28.10 an hour. For more e-newsletter tips, check out our comprehensive guide about Newsletter Best Practices.
#8 - Press Releases
A press release is a written document for the media to announce something newsworthy. A well-written press release can yield publicity.
Press releases can now be provided to media outlets or found online using a web search engine, company blogs, or other internet resources. Businesses also use it to communicate directly with influential bloggers, authors, and other industry members.
Sites like PR Newswire churn out press releases from various brands and companies with a streamlined format.
Unlike other content types mentioned, press releases are written in a formal and factual way. This enables news outlets to share press releases with their audience due to their informational and objective nature.
According to E Releases, a skilled press release writer will charge anywhere from $500 to $2500 for a press release.
#9 - Resumes and Cover Letters
A resume contains your qualifications, including work experience, education, and memberships. It's a tool for job applications written in either chronological or functional format.
A chronological resume lists your work experiences and achievements, starting from the most recent one. Meanwhile, a functional resume format focuses on skills. Use the latter type if you need more work experience or switched careers.
On the other hand, a cover letter introduces yourself as a job candidate and why you're applying for a work position. It usually consists of three to four paragraphs with an opening, body, and closing.
Both resumes and cover letters have specific formatting rules. Hence, job seekers who are non-writers often seek freelancers who can do this for them.
You can find excellent resume templates in Canva if you plan on creating one yourself.
However, service providers estimate $750+ for a top executive resume writer or $150-$450 for an entry-level resume writer.
#10 - AI Content Creation
AI content creation uses software to create high-quality content. This is similar to the content writing types listed above, but the writer knows how to use tools properly.
AI and machine learning can gather valuable data and analyze them. These insights can make highly-personalized recommendations to better connect with your customers.
The AI content writing tools help you generate ideas, choose keywords, and write content from scratch. However, a human still needs to edit and tweak each piece.
Jasper.ai is arguably the most popular among AI content generators out there. The others include Frase, Rytr, Copysmith, and Nichesss, to name a few.
Use these tools if you want to get help when creating content for your website.
#11 - Surfer SEO Content Creation
Surfer SEO is an on-page optimization software that creates a roadmap for you to follow in content creation. It scrapes and analyzes the top results in the search engine results page for a search term.
Using this tool acts like a content marketing and on-page SEO consultant. As a result, it maximizes your chances of high rankings. SEO Surfer offers three essential tools:
* The Keyword Research Tool - Helps you find information about your main keyword and related phrases
* The SERP Analyzer - Helps you consider different ranking or content factors
* The Content Editor - Lets you see real-time text optimization guidelines for your content Content
Editor Dashboard from Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO’s basic plan allows you to optimize and track two websites and get SEO insights every seven days. Moreover, it enables you to write and optimize ten articles monthly with its Content Editor tool.
Read more tips on outsourcing SEO services here.
Tips on How to Become a Good Content Writer
After learning the different types of content writing, which do you want to use for your business? You can start with one or two types of content. The goal is for you to get started and be consistent.
If you’re an aspiring freelance writer, which service would you like to offer? Here are helpful tips on how to improve your content writing skills.
Do Your Research
Content research starts with knowing your target audience. Use tools like Buzzsumo, Google Trends, Answer the Public, and Quora. Find out what potential customers are asking about your topic.
Learn more tips from our blog post, "How to Know Your Audience."
You can also look at competitor blogs or websites. This will give you an idea of relevant content topics that work for your readers.
Your existing website can serve as a starting point to help you measure your efforts. You can use Ahrefs or SEMrush to check your monthly average traffic sources and ranking keywords.
Last, keyword research is also an essential step in content writing. This helps you find the best keyword to target for your content strategy.
Craft a Compelling Headline
Composing headlines is an invaluable skill in content writing. A compelling headline catches your readers' attention, makes them curious to click, and accurately describes the content. One step to consider in writing a headline is to pick a format such as the following:
* Listicle - This headline is used for content that lists ideas or tips and often starts with a number. An example is “10 Ways to Write Compelling Headlines” or “5 Free Tools to Craft a Catchy Headline”.
* How to - This headline summarizes what your content will teach. It also starts with a “how-to” phrase. An example of this is “How to Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines.”
*Versus - This type of headline compares one idea to another. An example is “List-Type Blog versus How-to Blog: Which Ranks Better?”
Alternatively, you can use headline generator tools online like Inbound Now, SEO Pressor, Content Row, The Hoth, or SumoMe.
Structure Content for Easy Readability
Readability is about communicating ideas in a manner that's easy to understand. Use short sentences and paragraphs. People prefer scanning, so create readable content that's easy to browse.
You can also use subheadings to organize subtopics into their sections. You can also use H2 and H3 subheadings to properly format and structure your content. Maintain hierarchy: don’t start your article with an H3 subheading followed by an H2 subheading.
Media such as images and screenshots can also break the monotony of text. You can also use image alt tags for your photos to increase web accessibility.
Make Readers Care About What You're Writing
One way to make readers care about your content is to focus on the benefits instead of the features. A feature is a unique trait or characteristic of your product or service. Meanwhile, benefits refer to outcomes or results that users will experience.
For example, an umbrella feature might be its unbreakable or wind-resistant construction. The benefit is staying dry even in strong winds that might break other lower-quality umbrellas.
Another tip is to use a bucket brigade to retain their attention. Bucket brigades have been adapted in content writing to break your text into short paragraphs. Use these to introduce, explain, or transition.
Sample bucket brigade phrases include “Ready?”, "Let’s begin,” or “Let’s sum up.”
Be Receptive to Feedback
Writers who don't take in constructive criticism won't be better. For example, let's say you learned that your website isn't getting any traffic (which is a type of feedback). If you don't take action, you'll keep getting the same mediocre results.
For business owners, schedule a content review process now and then. In doing this, check what's working well with the content you've created and how you can still improve. Back up your comments with specific examples or use collaboration tools to pinpoint corrections.
5 Content Writing Examples for Inspiration
Below are sample profiles of writers to help business owners like you outsource their writing tasks. Likewise, these can be an inspiration source for aspiring freelance writers.
Ready to check them out?
Premium_content
Patricia Williamson is a journalist and article writer behind Premium Content. She has more than six years of writing experience and created her Legiit account as early as 2019.
As of November 2022, Premium Content has more than 400 positive reviews. One of her clients appreciated that her articles were well-written and readable.
Premium Content’s starting rate is $10 for a 500-word blog post. These articles are already optimized, Copyscape passed, and plagiarism free. She also specializes in medical centers and offers a 1,000-word content package at $19$.
You can check Premium Content’s Legiit Profile here.
Seoamber
This freelancer has been in the e-commerce world for 18 years. She specializes in SEO content writing and website articles for lead generation.
What’s excellent about Seoamber is how she has gathered around 300 reviews as of November 2022. Her Legiit account was created in February 2018 and has gathered returning customers since.
Amber offers a 500-word blog post in US English for as low as $15.
You can check SEO Amber’s Legiit Profile here.
Deboxe
Chris, the writer behind Deboxe, is a serial content writer and top-rated seller on Legiit. He specializes in SEO articles and is available for short-term and long-term gigs. This freelance writer is based in Washington and has been a Legiit member since 2019.
As of this writing, Deboxe has more than 200 positive reviews. He offers a King Pack for a 3,000-word blog post at $119 with a 14-day delivery promise. His base pack with 500 words starts at $29.
You can check Deboxe’s Legiit Profile here.
Pur_Kashish_Jahan
Pur Kashish Jahan is an SEO content writing specialist based in Pakistan. She’s been a Legiit Member since 2019 and has more than 150 positive reviews. She also acquired a Level 3 Status on the website.
What’s great about this freelance writer is her familiarity with plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, or SEO surfer. One returning client commented on her excellent writing skills and affordable package. Another one gave good feedback about her conversational skills.
Pur Kashish Jahan’s 1,000-word Blog Post Pack starts at $6, and she offers Pro Pack at $55.
Visit her Legiit Profile here.
Oluwaseun Ayodele Kolade is the writer behind Textthoughts. He is a blogger and SEO content writing specialist with over five years of experience in Digital Marketing. Based in Nigeria, he’s been a Legiit member since 2020.
Textthoughts write about various topics such as health, gadgets, automobile, digital marketing, and pets. He promises a three-day delivery for a 1,000-word SEO article for as low as $17. Of course, custom work more than this number is also welcome.
As of this writing, Textthoughts have over 160 positive reviews in his profile. One client commended how his work was readable and passed all plagiarism checks.
Visit Textthought’s Legiit Profile here.
Conclusion
Creating a brand's digital marketing strategy starts with good content. But you can't create good content if you don't have a basis for what is considered "good."
Hopefully, the content writing sample provided for each type and its best practices should help you jumpstart your content writing initiatives for your brand.
If you're a freelancer, consider this post as a reminder of the kind of writer you want to become. And once you're ready to take your career to the next level, sign up for a Legiit account and start selling!
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