A red Power Ranger. A full-time masked vigilante. A professional basketball player. Jimi Hendrix. What do these individuals have in common? Not only respectable, heroic figures with an impressive craft, but also four different career aspirations Josh Breeden had between the ages of 5 and 15 – with the exception of still wanting to be Hendrix, or at the very least Lester Bangs, to this day.
There’s no denying his creativity and imagination – two compelling characteristics of a writer, the career Josh eventually decided to pursue full-time.
Where it all began
Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Josh slid west to Memphis, Tennessee, where he spent his teenage years before heading to the University of Mississippi to study English and History. His interest in music inspired him to start writing about it, which led him to his first paid creative gig as an arts reporter at The Daily Mississippian, the Ole Miss’ college newspaper and one of the oldest collegiate publications in the country.
“I wrote super flowery record reviews and interviewed musicians, which was fun,” Josh said.
His experience with the DM pushed Josh to pursue his career in writing and apply to Syracuse University, where he earned his master’s degree in Arts Journalism. From there, he worked as a freelance marketing producer and journalist, and now he claims a spot on the Boston editorial team at Brafton.
Chords, cooking and content
When Josh isn’t noodling around on his guitar, annoying his wife or showing off his baking and cooking skills in the kitchen, he’s doing his research and crunching the keyboard in the editorial department at 2 Oliver Street.
You could say that Josh has a handle on content variety when it comes to his place at Brafton. He joined the company in October 2015 and initially began working with the Health, Lifestyles and Education writers before moving to the Small Businesses team, and then on to the Finance, Business and Industry desk. Now, Josh says he specializes in writing for clients who work in the technology space but is not limited to this industry.
“Working for varied clients is nice,” he said. “It keeps things exciting.”
When it comes to writing as a content marketer, Josh understands the importance of using keywords. But there’s nothing more he enjoys than sharing a customer’s story or writing pure, honest content that readers can understand and relate to.
“Honest content is my favorite,” he said. “I enjoy telling actual customer stories and speaking openly with audiences as opposed to bombarding them with keywords or indulging in obfuscation.”
Personal accomplishments as a content writer
Among all of the blogs, infographic outlines, landing pages and other pieces of content Josh has worked on throughout his tenure at Brafton, there’s one project that he holds dear to his heart. Not only has Josh produced most – if not all – of the content for a specific client, but he enjoys what this organization stands for and finds himself passionate about its industry in general.
I enjoy telling actual customer stories and speaking openly with audiences as opposed to bombarding them with keywords or indulging in obfuscation.
“I write for an organization that produces outage management software for utility companies,” he said. “I’ve basically written every piece of content on their website, including all of the landing page copy. I really love working for this client because the technology they produce has an immense impact that professionals in the industry are willing to discuss at length. Plus, the sector itself is super interesting. The public utility space is a real American success story and has a rich history.”
Josh has witnessed many individual successes for the companies he writes with, including his ability to propel one of his client’s blogs into the top 100 Enterprise Resource Planning blogs on the internet—a personal accomplishment for him, and a proud moment for his peers.
Words of wisdom
The creativity and drive to write a well-thought-out piece takes more than a fresh cup of coffee and riveting imagination. Quite a few skills are needed to be a successful content writer, according to Josh. Those traits include toughness, patience and an ability to communicate well.
“Over time, the writing part becomes easy,” he said. “At a certain point, the job boils down to client interaction, where these two attributes [toughness and patience] come in handy.”
Josh has witnessed many individual successes for the companies he writes with, including his ability to propel one of his client’s blogs into the top 100 Enterprise Resource Planning blogs on the internet—a personal accomplishment for him, and a proud moment for his peers.
Beyond crafting your decision-making abilities and growing a thick skin, Josh said content writers need to recognize the importance of improving their research skills, especially in the marketing space. When Josh finds himself struggling to cover an unfamiliar topic for a niche industry, research is always his saving grace.
“Don’t skimp on research,” he said. “I usually just do as much research as possible to familiarize myself with common operational activities and market trends. Marketing content is worthless without authoritative sources and strong data.”
Strong research skills, an open mind and creativity: The key elements of content writing in the eyes of Josh Breeden.
