6 Ways To Gain More Knowledge as a Professional Writer - Craft Your Content
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6 Ways To Gain More Knowledge as a Professional Writer

If you’ve made up your mind to push all forms of learning to a very distant future because you’re too busy growing your business as a professional writer, you need to quickly have a rethink.

Because the world we live in moves fast and changes rapidly, your current skills and knowledge can become obsolete and irrelevant at any time, and that can happen sooner than you’d expect. 

And if you’re caught unaware, making a living from your writing can become impossible, since you won’t be able to provide value or meet the needs of your target audience with obsolete knowledge and information.

But guess what?

To avoid this big mistake, you don’t have to go back to school for years at a time or take a whole week or even a day away from your business.

Instead, you can take deliberate steps to gain more knowledge and improve yourself on a regular basis while still growing your business.

Eager to find out how to do this successfully?

Then keep reading to discover six ways you can gain more knowledge daily as a professional writer.

Carve Out Time for Learning in Your Schedule

To improve your knowledge regularly, you need to make time for it in your schedule.

Whether you plan your days with a daily or weekly schedule, don’t be surprised if it appears too full to accommodate this additional task at first glance. This is normal, and all you need to do is take another look and move tasks around.

For instance, can you reduce the amount of time you spend on social media or shopping online and offline, or watching television or playing games, or watching movies and so on?

To begin with, consider allocating just 15 to 30 minutes a day to improve your knowledge, with a plan to increase it later on.

Decide whether you want to use the 30 minutes in bulk once a day or break it into 15 minutes to be used twice a day. Likewise, you can also use a similar arrangement on a weekly basis.

The most important part is to start small and keep to it.

Before you know it, you will have developed a useful habit of improving yourself by gaining more knowledge consistently.

Read, Watch, and Listen to Experts in Your Niche 

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Identify experts in your niche or industry or those who have expertise on topics you’re interested in, and start reading.

You can gain more knowledge as a professional writer when you identify experts in your niche or industry and consume their content regularly.

Based on your preference, you can do this in various ways:

  • Read relevant print books, eBooks, blog posts, how-to guides, case studies, white papers, presentations, and other types of written content.
  • Watch relevant videos in the form of thought leadership videos, webinar videos, how-to videos, demo videos, explainer videos, and so on.
  • Listen to relevant podcasts and audio books.

After all, most people now produce content in all these formats to cater to different tastes so they can attract as many people as possible to their work.

Bottom line, identify experts in your niche or industry or those who have expertise on topics you’re interested in, and start reading, watching, or listening to them on a regular basis to improve your knowledge. 

Subscribe to Relevant Newsletters and Channels 

Want to avoid missing out on any new content from the experts you identified earlier? 

Then make sure you subscribe to their email newsletter and any other channels they have.

A newsletter is an email sent out regularly by entrepreneurs and businesses to all those who subscribed to their email list so they can keep them engaged and updated about their business with information such as:

  • Recent happenings, news, and events
  • Latest content produced, e.g., blog posts, eBooks, videos, podcasts, etc.
  • Special offers, deals, and promotions

To subscribe, simply go to the website of your expert, and look for a subscription box asking for your name and email address so you can become a subscriber and receive regular emails when content is sent out.

In addition, you can also subscribe to relevant video channels or to your favorite podcasts so you’re notified once new content is available.

When you subscribe to email newsletters and channels that are relevant, you won’t waste valuable time wondering if you’ve missed the latest content or have to search for it, making it easier and more convenient for you to be updated once new content is available.

Become a Member of a Writing Community

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Most writing communities regularly invite experts to train their members on diverse relevant topics.

Another option you can use to gain more knowledge while growing your business as a professional writer is to become a member of a writing community.

In case you’re wondering, a writing community refers to a group of writers who meet regularly either online or offline or by a combination of both methods to learn and share ideas about various topics of interest to them.

Sometimes called a writing group or circle or club, different types of writing communities exist based on their goal or focus, whether membership is free or not, and based on how members meet. In most writing communities, you can find a combination of newbies, experts, professionals, and so on as members.

You can improve yourself and gain more knowledge as a member of a writing community in various ways:

  • You can ask questions and learn from more experienced writers and professionals in your niche or industry.
  • Most writing communities regularly invite experts to train their members on diverse relevant topics.
  • You can learn from questions asked by other members and the advice or answers given to them.
  • Latest industry news, trends and events are usually shared and discussed.
  • You can reach out one-on-one to experts and veterans in your niche that are members like you.

For best results, do your homework, and join a writing community whose goal or focus or niche matches yours so you can have a wonderful learning experience and gain more knowledge as a professional writer

Attend Industry Events and Conferences

Believe it or not, there are many good reasons to attend conferences and industry events, and a major one is the opportunity to learn and improve your knowledge.

And it’s all because events of this nature allow you to interact, network, listen, and learn from successful entrepreneurs and talented experts in your niche and industry that know far more than you do and also have more experience.

Here are some valuable take-aways you can get when you attend the right conference:

  • Fresh insights about your industry that can expand your thinking and open your eyes
  • Knowledge about mistakes that can kill your business and how to avoid them
  • Information about successful competitors that can give you ideas to make your business more competitive
  • Knowledge to correct business mistakes already made
  • Access to new findings in your industry before they become general knowledge
  • Knowledge that challenges your thinking to take your business in a different and better direction or push it to a higher level
  • Up-to-date information about what has changed or is changing in your niche and what the future also holds for your industry

Apart from live conferences that take place in physical locations, online conferences also exist and provide most of the benefits of physical conferences.

To choose the right conference and industry event, do your research to confirm that topics to be discussed are relevant for you and your business, and in addition, create time to evaluate and investigate the authority and reputation of invited experts and speakers.

Register for Online Courses and Training

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Most online courses are self-paced, meaning you can move at your own pace without any form of pressure or push from anyone.

Because of your busy work schedule as a professional writer, another method you can use to gain more knowledge is to take online courses and training.

With the global e-learning market growing rapidly and expected to reach $325 billion by 2025, there’s no doubt that online courses and trainings are popular due to various benefits such as these:

  • You can take an online course from the comfort of your home or office or wherever you like without going or traveling anywhere.
  • Most online courses are self-paced, meaning you can move at your own pace without any form of pressure or push from anyone.
  • You can spend time on the course whenever you like, maybe very late at night or early in the morning or late afternoons or whatever time of the day or night works best for you.

While some online courses and training comes at a price, countless ones are available at no cost.

To choose the right online courses for your needs, be specific about what you want to learn, and consider your answers to the following questions while researching the course:

  • Does the course have clearly spelt out end results that students will be able to achieve after completing the course?
  • Does the instructor have real-life experience doing what you want to learn?
  • Are there testimonials of previous students who have achieved your own desired goal by taking this online course?
  • Will you have direct access to the instructor to ask questions or gain more clarity if necessary?
  • Does the course provide a private community where students can ask questions, relate, interact, and encourage each other?

No doubt about it, taking the right online courses can help you gain more knowledge and improve your skills as a professional writer while still growing your business.

Gain More Knowledge, and Grow Your Business

Make no mistake about it, to grow your business successfully as a professional writer, you need to improve yourself constantly and gain more knowledge on a regular basis.

But your best bet remains on those methods that can be combined with your busy work schedule, such as consuming content of experts in your niche and industry, subscribing to relevant newsletters and channels, taking online courses and training, joining a relevant writing community, and attending industry events and conferences.

Of course, you have to make time, include it in your daily or regular schedule, and most importantly, keep to it.

In essence, adding to your knowledge on a regular basis will help you reposition your business to take full advantage of current and future opportunities so you can eventually grow it to a level far above your wildest expectations.

About the Author Sola Kehinde

Sola Kehinde is a freelance content writer and SEO blog writer with 5+ years of experience. She helps businesses and brands engage their target audience, build trust, and gain more customers, with compelling long-form content. In addition to writing, editing & publishing topics, she also covers digital marketing, productivity and other business-related topics. Check out her LinkedIn profile to learn more!