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written word worker

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Written Word Worker
salary: $ - $
categories: [Writing, Content, Communications, Marketing, Editorial]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Written Word Worker.
Detailed recruiter-style summary of the Written Word Worker role: responsibilities,
career progression, required hard and soft skills, and education/experience expectations.

🎯 Role Definition

The Written Word Worker is a versatile content professional responsible for researching, crafting, editing, and optimizing high-quality written materials across channels (web, email, social, product, and print). This role blends editorial craft, SEO know-how, audience-first storytelling, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver content that drives awareness, engagement, conversions, and trust. Ideal candidates demonstrate strong grammar and editing skills, a data-informed approach to performance, and the ability to manage multiple projects and stakeholders while maintaining brand voice and clarity.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Content Writer / Content Assistant
  • Copywriter (agency or in-house)
  • Reporter / Journalist

Advancement To:

  • Senior Content Writer / Senior Copywriter
  • Content Strategist / Content Manager
  • Editorial Lead / Content Director

Lateral Moves:

  • UX Writer
  • SEO Specialist / SEO Content Manager
  • Social Media Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Research, outline, and produce original long-form articles, guides, and whitepapers that explain complex topics clearly and align with content strategy and audience needs.
  • Write concise, on-brand marketing copy for landing pages, email campaigns, ads, and product pages optimized for conversion and clarity.
  • Create and schedule short-form social media posts and microcopy that maintain voice consistency while driving engagement and shareability.
  • Perform multi-stage editing and developmental reviews: structure, pacing, tone, accuracy, and readability, ensuring high editorial standards for all published content.
  • Conduct keyword research and integrate SEO best practices (on-page optimization, internal linking, title tags, meta descriptions) to improve organic visibility and traffic.
  • Produce metadata and schema-ready copy (meta titles, meta descriptions, alt text) to boost search relevance and accessibility.
  • Maintain and enforce brand voice, style guide, and editorial standards across teams and contributors, adapting language for different personas and channels.
  • Collaborate with product, design, marketing, and legal teams to ensure content accuracy, technical feasibility, UX alignment, and regulatory compliance.
  • Interview subject-matter experts (SMEs), synthesize notes, and convert technical or proprietary information into audience-friendly copy.
  • Manage content calendars, prioritize competing deadlines, and coordinate with stakeholders to ensure timely delivery of high-impact pieces.
  • Optimize existing content through content audits, gap analysis, and refresh projects to recover search traffic and improve engagement metrics.
  • Localize and adapt copy for regional markets and multilingual audiences in partnership with localization teams or vendors.
  • Create content briefs and SEO requirements for freelance writers and agency partners, then review and edit deliverables to quality standards.
  • Develop and run A/B tests for headlines, CTAs, and content layouts; measure results and iterate copy based on data-driven insights.
  • Produce clear, scannable web copy using headings, lists, and visual cues to support accessibility and mobile-first reading habits.
  • Fact-check all claims, statistics, and references; maintain source logs and ensure proper attribution to preserve credibility and reduce legal risk.
  • Build and maintain reusable templates, style sheets, and content modules to speed production and ensure consistency across properties.
  • Support product copy needs, including onboarding flows, help center articles, release notes, and microcopy to improve user comprehension and reduce support tickets.
  • Monitor content performance with analytics tools (pageviews, time on page, conversion rates, bounce) and prepare regular performance reports with actionable recommendations.
  • Mentor and review work from junior writers, interns, and external contributors, providing constructive feedback to elevate overall content quality.
  • Coordinate editorial launches with email, SEO, PR, and social teams to maximize reach and measurability.
  • Ensure all content meets accessibility standards (WCAG best practices) and is optimized for screen readers and varied user needs.
  • Keep abreast of industry trends, algorithm updates, and new content formats (video scripts, podcasts, interactive content) and recommend opportunities to innovate.
  • Manage freelance rosters and vendor relationships, including scope definition, briefs, budgets, and quality control.
  • Draft and maintain crisis communications or rapid-response content when urgent reputation or product issues arise.
  • Translate analytics insights into content experiments and strategy adjustments to improve funnel metrics and retention.

Secondary Functions

  • Assist with editorial planning sessions, brainstorming content themes and campaign ideas aligned to business goals.
  • Support content governance by contributing to policy updates, content lifecycle rules, and archival procedures.
  • Help create content training materials and onboarding documentation for new hires and cross-functional partners.
  • Participate in user research and content usability testing to validate messaging and information architecture.
  • Contribute to thought leadership programs by helping craft op-eds, bylines, and speaking materials for executives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Strong copywriting and long-form content writing skills with demonstrated portfolio samples (articles, landing pages, email campaigns).
  • Proven SEO skills: keyword research, on-page optimization, meta tags, structured data basics, and content gap analysis.
  • Proficiency with Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Contentful, Drupal, or similar.
  • Familiarity with analytics and measurement tools (Google Analytics 4, Search Console, Adobe Analytics) and experience producing performance reports.
  • Experience using SEO/keyword tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, or SurferSEO.
  • Excellent editing and proofreading ability with knowledge of AP Style, Chicago Manual of Style, or in-house editorial standards.
  • Basic HTML/CSS literacy for formatting web content and troubleshooting display issues.
  • Experience with collaboration and project tools such as Jira, Trello, Asana, or Monday.com.
  • Competency with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office (Docs, Sheets, Slides) for drafting and collaborating.
  • Experience creating content briefs, editorial calendars, and templates to standardize production.
  • Working knowledge of accessibility (WCAG) principles and techniques for inclusive content.
  • Familiarity with email marketing platforms (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot) for campaign copywriting.
  • Ability to create and edit content for social platforms and basic understanding of paid social ad copy best practices.
  • Basic localization and translation workflow knowledge for international content rollouts.
  • Experience managing freelance writers and external agencies, including briefing and quality control.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent written and verbal communication with the ability to adapt tone to audiences and channels.
  • Strong attention to detail and obsessive commitment to accuracy and clarity.
  • Project and time management skills: ability to prioritize, manage multiple deadlines, and deliver under pressure.
  • Collaboration and stakeholder management: able to align cross-functional partners and negotiate scope.
  • Critical thinking and problem-solving to convert business goals and analytics into content solutions.
  • Curiosity and research mindset for quickly learning new domains and synthesizing sources.
  • Creativity and storytelling skills to produce engaging narratives and original approaches.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-changing editorial or product environments.
  • Mentorship and constructive feedback skills to raise team writing quality.
  • Data-informed decision making: comfortable using performance data to iterate on content.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Marketing, or related field — or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree plus specialized certifications (SEO, content strategy, digital marketing) or a Master's in Journalism/Communications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • English / Literature
  • Journalism
  • Communications
  • Marketing
  • Technical Writing
  • Media Studies

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of professional writing or content experience for mid-level roles; entry-level may be 0–2 years.

Preferred: 3–7+ years with a proven portfolio across content types (SEO articles, product copy, email, social) and experience using CMS and analytics tools. Experience working in a cross-functional environment (product/marketing/design) and managing external contributors is a strong plus.

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