I’ve had a number of writers tell me that they want to break into content marketing writing, but don’t know where to start. My standard reply is: “I’m almost positive that you are already a content marketing writer but don’t even realize it.” And once they think about it, they realize that I am correct. The interesting thing about content marketing strategy is that the deliverables most of us have been writing for years are now being called “content marketing.”

Since brands are more likely to hire experienced content marketing writers, it’s important to use as many of your past projects as you can to market yourself to new clients. And the first step is to identify all of the content marketing projects that you have already written.

Have you written any of the following types of common content marketing deliverables?

1. Blogs for a Business – Do you write a blog for a software company that helps small business owners grow their companies? Or perhaps a local interior designer hires you to maintain her blog on the latest decorating trends. Any business blog that provides useful information to the target customer, not just sales pitches, is content marketing.
2. Newsletters – If the newsletter provides informational articles and not just product information, then your newsletter experience qualifies you as a content marketing writer. Most internal corporate newsletters count as content marketing writing as well. And it’s a big bonus if you edit the newsletter as well because you can also promote yourself as an experienced content marketing editor.
3. Custom Publications – Have you written for a magazine published by a company like Costco Connection, a hospital magazine or written for an association publication? Since these articles are paid for by the brand and used for the purpose of increasing trust in the brand, they fall under the umbrella of content marketing.
4. Whitepapers – Whitepapers have been around for decades, but used to be mainly about heavily technical topics. With content marketing strategy at the forefront of many companies marketing initiatives, whitepapers are now hip and fashionable. And they are now a cornerstone of many brands content marketing strategy, especially B2B companies.
5. Case Studies – Case studies tell the story about how a customer is using their products or services to increase efficiency, save money, or improve customer service. Case studies are also often used by B2B companies to show how a product is used in a specific industry to help save money, increase efficiency or improve customer service. While some case studies border on sales pieces, case studies are still in the realm of content marketing.

Take 15 minutes or so this week to go through your writing clips and see what projects you have written that now fall under the umbrella of “content marketing.” I am positive you will see you have more content marketing writing experience than you think you do.

What writing have you done that you were surprised to realize counts as content marketing writing? Post examples to some of your past content marketing writing deliverables.