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Web Editor. A profession that attracts more and more candidates, charmed by the idea of being able to earn a living by writing. Thanks to the importance taken by the content published on the Internet at the expense of traditional advertising, the offer does exist. But the profession, still in full expansion and multifaceted, can turn out to be quite different from the clichés prevalent on the Web.
Web writing accessible to all
This is the first thought about web writing. It would be enough to know how to write to make a fortune in this paradise of self-entrepreneurship that is the Internet. Being particularly good, with a concrete grammar and an irreproachable spelling is indeed for success.
But having scored 18/20 on the baccalaureate writing test, or winning a short story competition doesn’t make you a potential web copywriter. The profession of web copywriter is not limited to the simple practice of writing.
Web writing is therefore not the sole preserve of the intern. An idea that nevertheless has a tough skin. The web editor, in addition to an excellent pen and a sharp creativity, must have multiple skills. The first and most important is knowing how to understand the customer’s expectations. Identify the policy of the company, the aim of the text. He must also know how to identify with the reader, choose the tone that will be the most effective.
And that’s just the beginning. A web copywriter will be successful if he sets himself apart by the quality of his work. Knowledge of SEO, natural referencing and HTML is appreciated by clients. Skills that are acquired through research and study work. You may learn these skills from an online copywriting course here.
But above all, being a web writer is knowing how to sell your products effectively.
A web editor is not a journalist
Many journalists are getting into web writing. This does not change the fact that the two professions are extremely different. Because an SEO article is not a press article, far from it. Writing or news research techniques are common to both professions, but a good journalist won’t necessarily make a good web writer.
Because the latter must be more flexible. Its tone can vary dramatically depending on the request, or the audience. The web editor can and should afford literatures that journalism does not tolerate. This is what keeps a reader on a web page longer. This is also what can lead him to take action on this page. Two criteria that take into account the customers who delegate their Web writing.
Writing on the Internet also requires specific knowledge. And the know-how to implement them. We are talking about SEO and natural referencing, writing criteria that do not exist in journalism. The journalist, like the editor, best informs the reader. But web copywriting has an irreplaceable marketing aspect.
Need training for web writing?
With the rise of the Internet, writing courses for the Web have developed. In particular specializations in Masters in schools or faculties of journalism. Obviously, the mention of a diploma in web writing on your CV can only be beneficial.
In short, no diploma is essential for practicing the profession of web editor.
Which doesn’t mean you won’t have to train. Thus, if knowledge of HTML language is not required, it will sometimes be necessary. And always a plus in the eyes of your customer. As an in-depth expertise in SEO and natural referencing. It is these alongside the profession that will make it possible to stand out from college students in need of money.
Above all, there is more to web writing than just writing for Google. Because with the optimization of its robots, Google is no longer just looking for keywords, but relevant, sensible and well-referenced content. So many working rules that differentiate a web editor who has completed training from another.
The first action of a newbie web copywriter is almost always to register on a writing platform, where the orders are high … and, sometimes, low paying. The image of the profession has taken a hit. Many see web writing as a nightmare that leads to content writing all the time on topics that are as uninteresting as possible, for a salary not necessarily commensurate with the time spent at the start.
In short, the happiness of the freelance.
No need to lie, or sell a fictitious paradise. Getting started is hard. But this is the case in the majority of trades. So the web editor doesn’t find himself writing quietly by the fireside overnight because it’s raining outside.
And it is these two criteria that make a web editor live. Because earning a living via writing platforms must be seen as an accumulation of practices serving your experience and thus accepting many contracts, on all subjects. Being curious can then save you from boredom. Especially since the hours spent in front of your screen can be a source of loneliness that you have to know how to manage (think of coworking in these cases).
Web writing for a living?
Only here, all these thoughts can be erased with perseverance. First, web writing is not necessarily a freelance practice. A position within an agency is even an excellent basis for creating a clientele and references for setting up on your own. At the same time, goodbye loneliness, hello teamwork.
Likewise, if writing about all the topics offered by your clients will be almost compulsory at first, the success of the web copywriter often depends on his specialization. Nothing prevents him from specializing in subjects that interest him. It is even recommended, since he will have to know them inside out.
Web copywriting is a clean job, which requires skills and commitment. Like all trades that can be done freelance, web writing allows you to do whatever you want … if this is web writing!
