Step-by-Step Plan for Becoming a Content Writer

Introduction

As of 2020, we recommend you get a Bachelor’s degree in English or Journalism. The current reality is that many companies will require you to have a degree to even get to the interview process. 

However, beyond learning the fundamentals of English and practicing your writing skills, the degree alone won’t provide the other skills you need to be a content writer.

Follow the rest of the steps below to put yourself in a position to get hired. If you go the degree route, you’ll need to do these things on top of your schoolwork. 

No matter which initial path you choose, you will need a portfolio of work. Start working on your portfolio early and update it often.

Financial Recommendation

Keep student loan debt below $61,393. This will ensure your student loan debt-to-starting salary ratio is below 1.25x.

Assuming a 6.8% interest rate and 10-year loan repayment, your maximum monthly payment would be $707 or 17% of a starting salary of $49,114.

Career Plan

🎓 Education

Online certificate programs are the far cheaper and faster path but this route carries some risk (see above).

You also lose out on having someone edit and provide feedback on your work. Combine this with the steps below and you will have what it takes to be a content writer. 

💵  Cost: $NaN - $NaN

⏳  Time: undefined undefined

🗃 Hard Skills

Inbound marketing is the process of attracting potential customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. Learning the fundamentals of inbound marketing will help you better understand the buyer's journey, from the first touch to an eventual purchase.

💵  Cost: $0 - $150

⏳  Time: 9-13 hours

🔖  Projects to build your portfolio

The practice of search engine optimization (SEO) is how you get websites and content to show up on the first page of Google. Knowing how to do this is a key part of digital marketing.

💵  Cost: $0 - $150

⏳  Time: 4-20 hours

🔖  Projects to build your portfolio

You'll apply these principles in the Inbound Marketing section when you start creating content.

Additional Resources

Rank: Unkown 🤔

Create an account to how you stack up as a candidate.

Complete steps on this plan to unlock job opportunities!