Content Writing Samples (SEO)?

[abrink15]

Many of the job openings that I am looking into require writing samples along with my resume. I don't have any writing samples to provide and I'm not sure what type of writing samples I should have. Should I create some of my own samples? And if I do, what type of content should I strive for? Or should I write some pieces on freelance sites such as Odesk?

[mrreliable3599]

You're a good writer. I can't believe you don't have writing samples.

Don't you have some old school assignments?

If you really can't find anything, just write something. Seriously (I analyze writers for a living), you have serious talent. If you have nothing to submit, you'll be able to write something and impress the judges.

[Andrew B]

Why not just send your resume with a hand-written covering letter.

Somthing along the lines of:

"Dear Sir/Madam (or the actual name if you have it),

"I would like to apply for the vacancy of (state job title and how you found the vacancy).

"I enclose my resume, and hope that you find this of interest. I would particularly like to draw your attention to (state the part of your resume which best shows your qualifications/suitability for the job).

"I would be happy to be interviewed for this position, and am available (state when you are available).

"Should you have any questions, or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

"I look forward to hearing from you.

"Yours sincerely..."

[petiteDreamer254]

no need for writing odesk etc. just create a good blog on blogspot and show them.. or if you have written for someone else would be much better..

[Emma]

you should remember keyword density ratio 1%-2% approx 500-1000 words .


you have good grammar knowledge and read content the some important sites such as Forbes , self growth, Ezine etc

cheers

technocrab

[Doodled]

Content Writing for SEO has just turned a corner. Have a read of this which explains major actions by Google to get rid of poor quality content writing:
http://doodleddoes.com/blog/why-google-b...blogguest/

So now you know what not to do create a blog in which you can showcase your writing skills. As this is for SEO you will need to show:
- your work is genuinely engaging and valuable (ask some of your friends to share the work on Facebook/Google+ to help you out and then have Facebook/Google widgets on your site to show it has been shared).
- you research pieces and then provide links/citations to them within the text of the article (as per the blog post link above or like this: http://searchengineland.com/googles-matt...s-187122). See how the writer references external sources, other people and other content that he has written.
- your work is easy to absorb - break your text up. Short paragraphs. See how BBC and CNN do this.
- your work is interesting to view - include images - photos, diagrams, potentially even YouTube videos that support what you are writing about and break up your text further so it doesn't look so heavy.
- your work is readable - ask a friend or someone in the family to read through your work for obvious errors.

Avoid Ezine for advice - it's a very spammy site. Stay off the freelancing sites as they are over run with very poor quality content writers working for peanuts or websites who want to fill up their sites with anything that resembles a bunch of sentences so it could take you a while to pick up any genuine work.

If your work is taken and placed on a content farm that will also reflect badly on you.