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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Writing Assistant

💰 $40,000 - $65,000

ContentWritingMarketingCommunicationsEditorial

🎯 Role Definition

The Writing Assistant supports content creation, editing, and optimization across digital, marketing, academic, or corporate communications channels. This role collaborates closely with writers, editors, marketers, researchers, and subject matter experts to produce clear, engaging, and high-quality written materials. The position blends strong writing fundamentals with research, SEO awareness, and content workflow management to ensure consistency, accuracy, and audience relevance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Editorial Intern / Content Intern
  • Junior Copywriter / Editorial Assistant
  • Marketing Coordinator with strong writing background

Advancement To:

  • Senior Content Writer / Senior Copywriter
  • Content Manager / Editorial Lead
  • Content Strategist / SEO Content Specialist

Lateral Moves:

  • UX Writer / Product Writer
  • Social Media Manager
  • Technical Writer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Produce polished, on-brand copy for a variety of channels (blog posts, long-form articles, whitepapers, landing pages, email campaigns, product descriptions, social captions, and video scripts) that meets editorial standards and business objectives.
  • Research industry topics, audience needs, and competitor content to create data-informed briefs and authoritative, well-sourced content that improves organic search visibility.
  • Optimize content for search engines and users by applying keyword research, on-page SEO best practices (titles, meta descriptions, headers, schema-aware copy), internal linking, and content structure improvements.
  • Copyedit and proofread drafts for grammar, tone, consistency, legal compliance, and accuracy, ensuring adherence to style guides (AP, Chicago, or brand-specific standards).
  • Create and maintain content briefs, outlines, and templates that clearly define target audience, purpose, CTA, keywords, and distribution plans for writers and stakeholders.
  • Manage editorial calendar tasks: schedule assignments, track deadlines, update status in project management tools, and ensure timely delivery of assets.
  • Format and publish content in CMS platforms (e.g., WordPress, Contentful, Drupal) including images, alt text, metadata, and basic HTML/CSS formatting when required.
  • Collaborate with UX designers, product managers, and developers to align content with product language, microcopy, onboarding flows, and in-app messages for seamless user experiences.
  • Localize and adapt copy for regional markets, coordinating with localization teams or vendors and ensuring cultural and linguistic appropriateness.
  • Produce and maintain content governance documentation, editorial guidelines, and brand voice playbooks to ensure consistency across channels and contributors.
  • Assist with A/B testing copy variations (headlines, CTAs, subject lines) and report performance to identify high-converting language and messaging strategies.
  • Conduct competitor content audits and content gap analyses to prioritize topics and create editorial strategies that capture organic traffic and conversions.
  • Support content repurposing efforts by converting long-form content into briefs, social posts, emails, and visual assets for cross-channel distribution.
  • Build and maintain relationships with subject-matter experts and stakeholders to gather input, fact-check technical content, and source quotes or case study material.
  • Track content performance with analytics tools (Google Analytics, Search Console) and prepare succinct performance reports with actionable recommendations to improve KPIs (traffic, engagement, conversion).
  • Ensure compliance with accessibility (WCAG) best practices in content (clear language, headings, alt text) to improve usability and reach.
  • Contribute to creative ideation sessions and editorial meetings to generate topic ideas, campaign themes, and seasonal content plans aligned to product and marketing objectives.
  • Support email marketing efforts by drafting subject lines, preview text, body copy, and CTAs optimized for open and click-through rates; coordinate with ESPs (e.g., Mailchimp, Klaviyo).
  • Maintain a backlog of evergreen content and update outdated articles, statistics, and SEO targets to preserve and grow organic search value.
  • Assist with onboarding and mentoring freelance writers or junior team members, providing constructive editorial feedback and quality checks.
  • Monitor industry trends, algorithm changes, and content marketing best practices to recommend improvements to content processes and tooling.
  • Draft internal communications, help center articles, FAQs, and knowledge base pieces that reduce support load and improve customer self-serve outcomes.
  • Create content outlines and wireframes for UX copy projects and collaborate with product teams to validate messaging through user testing and feedback loops.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc content performance requests and exploratory content experiments.
  • Contribute to the organization's content strategy and editorial roadmap by proposing prioritized topic clusters and content series.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate product, sales, and customer needs into effective content and copy deliverables.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within cross-functional content and product teams.
  • Assist in vendor management for freelance contributors, localization vendors, and external agencies, including brief creation and quality assurance.
  • Maintain content asset inventory and taxonomy to improve findability and reuse across marketing and product channels.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced copyediting and proofreading skills with strong command of grammar, punctuation, and style guides (AP, Chicago, or in-house).
  • SEO copywriting and on-page optimization: keyword research, metadata, headers, URL structure, and internal linking.
  • Experience publishing and formatting in CMS platforms (WordPress, Contentful, Drupal, or similar).
  • Familiarity with analytics and SEO tools (Google Analytics, Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz) for content performance and keyword research.
  • Ability to write for multiple formats: long-form articles, blog posts, landing pages, email, social media, and product microcopy.
  • Content brief creation and use of editorial planning tools (Trello, Asana, Jira, Airtable, Notion) to manage workflow and deadlines.
  • Basic HTML/CSS knowledge for content formatting and troubleshooting in CMS.
  • Experience with email service providers (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Campaign Monitor) and best practices for subject lines and CTAs.
  • Familiarity with content accessibility standards (WCAG) and inclusive language principles.
  • Comfortable using collaboration and document tools (Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Slack, Figma for copy handoffs).
  • Basic experience with A/B testing platforms (Optimizely, Google Optimize) or experimentation frameworks for copy testing.
  • Experience with content localization workflows and translation management systems (Smartling, Lokalise) is a plus.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and an obsessive focus on quality.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills across internal and external stakeholders.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to juggle multiple assignments and tight deadlines.
  • Critical thinking and research aptitude to synthesize complex topics into clear, audience-appropriate content.
  • Collaboration and interpersonal skills for working with designers, product, marketing, and subject-matter experts.
  • Adaptability and willingness to iterate based on feedback and performance data.
  • Creativity and storytelling ability to craft engaging narratives that align to brand objectives.
  • Problem-solving mindset and ownership of content deliverables from brief to publication.
  • Empathy and user-centric thinking to write helpful, clear content that improves user experience.
  • Curiosity and continuous learning approach to stay current with SEO and content marketing trends.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Marketing, or related field; or equivalent professional experience in content creation.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Communications, Journalism, Creative Writing, Marketing, or related discipline with published writing portfolio or content marketing experience.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • English / Literature
  • Journalism / Media Studies
  • Communications / Public Relations
  • Marketing / Digital Marketing
  • Technical Writing / Human-Computer Interaction

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–4 years of professional writing, content creation, or editorial experience (including internships with substantial portfolio work).

Preferred:

  • 2+ years in a content or marketing role with demonstrable SEO and CMS experience.
  • Portfolio with examples of SEO-optimized articles, landing pages, emails, or product copy.
  • Experience working in cross-functional teams and with agile workflows.
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