My Writing Journey – How I Became a Content Writer

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”

― Plato, The Republic

We all started somewhere, right? I’d like to believe that content writers aren’t born content writers, but rather as writers…plain and simple. Writing good content comes with years of practice, trial and error, and experience. You might be born a writer, but to produce quality content, you’ve got to put in a lot of hours and effort.

“Dude…”

My journey as a content writer started in 2010 (if memory serves me right!), when one of my good friends pointed out something obvious that I’d been totally oblivious about for pretty much all my life:

“Dude, you’re great at writing. You could actually make a ton of money this way!”

You see, up until then, I’d been writing only for myself, sharing a sentence or two with others every now and then. My main income was through teaching and translation (both of which I still do and love!) Most of my writing was the result of self-expression and artistic musings. But unknowingly, I’d actually been practicing for what would later on become a professional career.

Just like any beginner, I, well, didn’t know where to begin! Fast forward to 2013, when a friend of mine from Armenia who was freelancing with a company in Yerevan at the time, sent me an email asking me if I would be interested in doing freelance writing work. My answer was definitely a big fat YES, and it all snowballed from there.

I started out writing blogs for different industries focusing on different spheres. The pay was average at best, but I loved writing and to be able to finally make money doing it? Damn! That was the dream!

From writing content for a company which designed smart self-flushing toilet seats (because we’re too lazy to push that little button!) to a very strange encounter with a company that produced alien sex toys – yes, you read that correctly – I would write anything, for anyone. In retrospect, I probably wouldn’t do that now, or recommend doing it either. But it did lead to the flexibility in working with different mediums and industries which I have today.

I also became familiar with writing content that is not always seen, such as meta descriptions for website back-ends, as well as link-building articles. This also familiarized me with SEO, which was just beginning to boom back then. Aside from the company I was freelancing with, I managed to score some clients here and there, and those clients liked my work, so they referred me to their buddies. And that’s how my network began to grow. I still work on and off with those clients, more than ten years from when we first met. Yeah, yeah, even the alien sex toy guys...and no, I am not a client of theirs...they are of mine!

From Teaching to Writing

Teaching English is a passion of mine. I’ve been doing it for many years and I love it. In fact, aside from translation, most of my resume consists of my teaching experience. However, at one point, I realized that working full-time as a writer but also having some students on the side would be a better career fit for me. I began to focus on different companies and was finally hired by one as a full-time content writer. While most of the content I produced for that company was in Farsi, it was still a great asset for my resume when I moved to Armenia, where content writing was, and still is, very much in demand.

I applied for a content writing job, but the company hired me a “supplier acquisition specialist,” thanks to my knowledge of English. I eventually did transition into the senior content writer at the company, managing a small team of junior content writers. But by the time I got there, I became familiarized with sales techniques, allowing me to enter another domain of writing, which is copywriting. Nope, it’s not the same as content writing! I talk more about that here.

After leaving that company, on the verge of leaving Armenia, I was discovered by the company I am working with now. This new industry I stepped into introduced me to another domain of writing, which is technical writing. This has helped me add more weapons to my writing arsenal which gives me an edge in Armenia’s content writing market. One of my friends describes me as a “writing shapeshifter” because of my ability to mold my writing skills to any industry I set foot in.

We Just Got Here!

Is my journey over? Have I “finished” content writing? The answer to both questions is a big fat NO!

The more content I write, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more knowledgeable I become, and the more knowledgeable I become, the more professional I get. This leads to more freelance clients, and of course, more revenue.

It also leads to more challenges, which I definitely welcome! I am still as open to criticism as I was back when I first started, and I am just as eager to learn! There is no end to education, whether in an academic environment or otherwise.

I recommend any writer, regardless of their competency level, to approach their writing career with this same mentality! You’ll see how big you can scale in a short period of time!

Just remember to stay humble, be transparent with your clients, have confidence in yourself, and, before this blog turns into one of those lame motivational scripts, continue learning!

Write every day, read even more! Trust me, you’ll probably end up reading more than you write!

Good luck on your writing career, and visit my website for my writing tips and stories!