1๏ธโฃ ๐๐'๐ ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐ผ๐๐.
You know that feeling of pure joy and slight terror when you land your dream job? That's exactly how I felt when the brief from SEMRUSH hit my inbox. This is a dream job because I learned content strategy/content marketing by reading Semrushโs blog, and now I am writing on the blog.
Iโm not gonna lie, I was so nervous to get started. I doubted myself several times, but I kept writing even when I wanted to call it quits.
At the end of the day, I figured it was all in my head. Everyone has imposter syndrome, and this was just mine, rearing its head again.
2๏ธโฃ ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ (๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ณ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ด๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ!).ย
While I'd practically memorized the SEMRUSH blog, writing for the team was a new ballgame. It requires being strategic, thoughtful and intentional about every word you write.
Thanks to editing lessons from Alex Lindley and Erica Schneider, I learned how to remove fluff, fact-check and remove unnecessary words while self-editing, which elevated the piece.
3๏ธโฃ ๐จ๐ฝ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ:
Contrary to popular opinion, content updates are harder than writing from scratch. With content updates, youโre taking a well-written piece, tearing it down and brainstorming ideas to improve it so it can gain SERP dominance!
To improve this piece, I had to:
โ Pull out all the stops with images, screenshots, and GIFs to make the content stand out.
โ Conduct a content gap analysis on the keyword to identify areas where competitors are lacking, so we can provide a unique perspective and additional value. (Plus, Semrush provided a detailed brief.)
โ Update the existing content with fresh information and expand on existing sections to give the reader more depth and make this piece authoritative.
4๏ธโฃ ๐๐'๐ ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ
Not many people know this about me, but I struggle to let go of my work because I am a perfectionist. I am a trained Architect, and feedback in my field often translates to mediocre work.
This project, however, showed me that thereโs a better way to see things. Feedback from the SEMRUSH team wasn't a blow; it was a brush that helped me polish the content into its best possible form.
Overall, this project was an incredible learning experience. Huge thanks to the Semrush team for this fantastic opportunity!
This post was originally shared by Dorcas Adisa on Linkedin.