How to Become a Better Writer & Create Content that Matters in 9 Steps

It’s possible to become a better writer, create kick ass content and change the world with your content but, eventhough it’s doable, achieving this level of success is never a walk in the park.

It takes a lot of mastery, consistency and skills to create visible success in content creation. And as someone that started from scratch after stumbling on writing many years ago, I am certain, getting on the journey to become a writer is worth it, anytime.

I understand writing might never be your thing. It was never mine. But, remembering how I started from a little unknown blog, to build a writing career that’s inspired millions around the world in less than a decade, I feel almost anyone can do the same.

And to make it even more reassuring, my personal journey has shown me that you don’t have to be born a writer to become a great writer. Anyone can always start from somewhere. And of course, here’s where we start today. So, are your ready?

Why you Should Beome a Better Writer

Writing is one of the most powerful tools you can use to create change, make a difference and influence the lives of people both around and even far away from you.

From brand positioning, building thought leadership, boosting visibility to growing a platform, being a writer comes with so many benefits.

Personally, writing has given me a platform that’s transformed my life in the many ways. It has given me the opportunity to interact with people I would never have had the chance to interact with, create value for brands around the world, build a business and even get series of recognitions as a thought leader in my niche.

This and more are some of the benefits of writing that some successful writers around the world have enjoyed. And you could also enjoy these, if you get to learn, grow and build a thriving writing career.

That said, in the following paragraphs, I’ll be sharing some of the key steps you can take to learn about writing and become a better writer.

Find your Why

People write for many different reasons. To make the most of your writing journey, you can’t wake up and start writing just about anything.

In order, to become a better writer much faster than the average beginner, you have to know exactly why you’re writing. Alongside this, you have to figure out, the goal you want to achieve as a writer and why you want to achieve that goal.

As soon as this is done, you can then go ahead and choose your niche in a way that aligns with your goal and the begin to learn about and start writing in that niche.

PS: For some beginners who may not necessarily figure out their goals from the onset, you can start writing about topics that interest you. Eventually, you’ll figure out what matters most to you.

Learn the Skill

Writing is a skill. Whether you already have a writing talent or not, to become a better writer, you have to learn the skills and the basics about writing. This is very crucial.

You can start writing because you have interest in writing. You can jump right in and that’ll be pretty much okay if you want to end up as as an average writer. But if you want to become better at writing, learning the robes cannot be overemphasized.

Supposing you already understand your writing goal, at this stage you want to go further, align your learning with your specific writing goals.

After that, start with learning about the basics. Things like the use of grammar, finding writing topics, structuring your content, to picking up an audience and writing for a specific platform.

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a book or creating a Facebook post. Whatever kind of writing you want to be engaged in, start with learning the rubrics and eventually you’ll grow through it.

Start Writing

You cannot write without writing.

To become a writer, you have to write. And to become a better writer, you have to start writing even more content. That’s the math behind it.

Now that you’ve already started learning about writing in step 2 above, to strengthen your writing muscle, you have to start writing actual content.

Your writing may not get well polished on the initial days but eventually, it gets better. So, regardless of how it turns out, you have to keep writing and keep finding ways to improve.

If you’re starting without being too sure about the perfect goals you should go for, focus on building your writing muscles in one niche at a time then grow into others as you gain mastery.

Don’t get too worked out on trying different styles or engaging in too many different niches at the same time. It might lead to a burnout.

Read Widely

Reading widely might sound cliché but it’s single handedly one of the best ways to learn how to become a better writer.

Personally, reading widely has impacted my writing in so many different ways. Outside shaping my writing, it has given me ideas, given me ideas to become better at writing and real live example of successful writings I could learn from. So, you must start reading widely.

As someone who was not a fan of writing during high school days, being a voracious reader, made writing to naturally grow on me. After my high school, I became more of a reflective reader. And as I continued to read and ponder on the things I learned, I started feeling the need to pen down some of these things as snippets of my thoughts.

Little by little, these tiny snippets of a few disjointed phrases, grew into tiny articles of a few more words. And then hundreds of words. And now, it has accumulated into hundreds of thousands of words written over 10 years.

I have no doubt that reading widely and putting in the work can get either you or any other writer, to repeat this same cycle of growth, all over again.

Write Consistently

Whether you’re a beginner or not, writing is work.

There are times you’ll be in the flow and it comes all easy and straight forward to find inspiration. There are also times you’ll struggle to find ideas or phrases to maintain the flow.

But in the midst of this, it is very important you find a way to write consistently, of you really plan to become a better writer.

I know. Besides writing, you probably have other things taking your time. And you may also think that writing is only a hobby at this stage so its okay to show up and start writing only when you have enough time.

In fact, this is what most beginners do. But the thing is, staying inconsistent can eventually kill your dream before it starts to sprout.

Writing more consistently builds up your writing muscles. It gets you to create more content while building the discipline to stay on course.

Outside ruining your chances at success, inconsistency can impact your brand, causing you to lose your audience in the long run.

So, to become a better at writing, you need to be writing more consistently. Come up with a writing calendar that will guide you on writing. And get to stick to it.

Set Goals & Milestones

As a new writer, you may feel that you don’t have any need to set a writing goal or anything. But, that’s not true. You need a writing goal that’ll give you a level of focus and get you to stay on track.

Because if you really want to become a better writer, you want to set important goals, starting with let’s say word count for example, where you set out the expected word count you want to write per day, week or month.

Or a certain number of pieces of content you plan to create over a set period.

Doing this gives you a target to focus your creative energy. And with time you can judge your performance based on your writing goal for the specific period.

Apart from word count, you can also set other writing goals that will help you in fast tracking your journey to the to becoming a better performing writer.

Majority of amateur writers do not have laid down writing goals to direct their writing journey. Setting your own goals and sticking to it gets you a step ahead of these kind of writers.

Join Writing Groups & Competitions

One thing you have to keep in mind during this journey is the fact that there are others in the same quest to become a better writer, just like you.

Instead of embarking on this journey all by yourself, to make it more fun and stimulating, locate these other writers and find a way to join them.

Sometimes, writing can be lonely. In these times of loneliness, writing groups can be your fall back to find the needed support and encouragement from like minds.

Seeing yourself in the midst of other writers like you, reading and seeing their own growth and struggles has a way of encouraging you through your own writing journey.

Also, you can get some feedback, criticism and honest peer level opinion on your work from these groups, just as you learn from others there.

Another thing is, joining writing challenges like the National Novel Writing Month aka #NaNoWriMo among other writing competitions has a way of helping you to stay consistent towards achieving a specific writing goal.

I joined a handful of these groups when I started writing. And they influenced my writing significantly.

I still remember how I was always challenged to become better with my writing after I saw how much better other people in the group were becoming. It was largely a very pleasant experience.

PS: While these groups are very beneficial, they can also lead to unnecessary comparisons and undue peer pressure. You have to also watch out for this as well as understand the difference between real growth and writing to get the likes.

Start Blogging

Starting a blog might not be the first thing you want to put in place before you start writing but opening a blog is like a feather to your cap as a writer.

It gives your writing a face. Takes it beyond what’s just existing on social media thus making you look more professional.

The moment you own a blog, people begin to see you as a more serious writer. And this has a way of rubbing off on your brand.

Also, your blog becomes a more permanent place to build your brand off the social media thus giving you the chance to grow an audience and connect with people outside the social media platforms.

PS: You can always start writing on the social media but be sure you get a blog as soon you build your writing muscles to a certain level.

Evaluate your Writing

You can’t become a better writer without evaluating your writing at intervals, finding out where there’s improvement and areas you need to improve on.

This is very crucial. So, while sharing your writing with others be focused on taking up their criticism, comments and feedback and then find areas they can come in handy to shape your work.

Doing this will advance your writing.

Also, work on evaluating your goals. Be it weekly, daily or monthly goals, identify the ones you’ve achieved, the ones you didn’t and the major factors that influenced both.

Evaluating your writing gets you to understand your growth, areas you need to focus on and it also gives you insights on how to become an even more successful writer.

Final Words

Becoming a better writer is not just possible, it is doable. And as someone who’s seen his writing grow in leaps and bounds within years, I can assure you that you can become as good a writer as you ever want to be.

But to make this a reality, you have to be very intentional. This is really important. Beyond reading this tutorial, you need to put into practice all the steps you’ve learned here.

And to get even better at writing, sign up for our Content Marketing Masterclass where you can learn all the bolts and nuts about writing and gain the mentorship that will get you to become more successful at your craft. So, are you ready to take this step? You can also contact us here.

Now, it’s over to you! What’s the biggest challenge that’s currently stopping you from becoming a better writer? Drop your comments below.