Lists And A Little Bit More....

Aloha! It is again the time of the year for self review of my work, and to seek control over my TO DO list which I fear has now garnered more items than what I was hoping to see there!

After quite some deliberation I have decided to add my pricing in INR too on my website. I had till now mentioned my content writing prices only in USD. This was because 90% of the assignments which came my way were from clients abroad. I would respond to any price queries sent by Indians wanting to know about the same in INR via emails. But lately these kind of enquires became a little too many therefore frankly speaking, in order to lessen my burden I am putting up my price list in INR too.

Also up for some fresh lease of life is the portfolio section on my website. This work has been lurking on the list for quite some time now. I need to add some of my latest work there and sort out some of the older websites that are there in the list.

This reminds me that I also need to update the blog too with my new projects. My my, I really need to take control on this list now. The only question is WHEN??????

Ok, so let me do a small bit and write something about my latest project. This one is different. Yes, I know I say the same for all my projects!! But what to do, this too is different and that too in two perspectives. 1. I am doing it for a friend and 2. It is a website dedicated for pets, something which again is new for me.

The website is still in its building stages and so is its final name. It is supposed to be a one stop solution to take care of all your needs regarding your pets. It includes information on their diet, their style trends, their health and other aspects. It also prospects to have a section on their day care support near to your place, a DIY section for projects that you can do for your pets as well as other small nuggets of information related to your pets. Something new for sure but yes, interesting too! One thing would have surely helped, It would have been easier had I been a pet lover! :)

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An Inspired Entry

It is very rare that you will find me inserting actual scripts from a blog that I would have read. But this is one instance when I just could not hold myself from doing it. The blog was written in such an inspiring way that i thought of sharing it with everyone here.

The blog was about how freelancers should price their work. The article says: " A person’s willingness to pay for something is directly related to the value they see in it. And like it or not, that value may be as fluffy as “a better life”. Or it may be something quite straight-forward that you just don’t realise. Either way, if you don’t charge correctly for that value, you lose." Rightly said!

The article goes on to say that " frequently freelancers and young agencies in the web industry lose business because they over-value their work. Be honest, how often have you cursed the other guys that won the job on price? The cowboys. The jokers that couldn’t mark up a holding page. Idiots. Their own site doesn’t even validate! But all that happened was that you tried to sell your expertise to someone that just didn’t value it. And can you blame them? Maybe their site needs to describe their business and provide contact details, but doesn’t need the latest, greatest HTML 5 tricks? They don’t give a damn about “perfect” markup and neither do their customers. So why would they pay for it? Would you pay €20 for a pint if the barman told you he’s serving it in his favourite glass, made by a famous, naked, dancing, glass-blowing tribe from Brazil?"

What stands out here is the fact that the freelancer needs to understand the requirement of the client. It is OK to try and sell your services to him but this should not overshadow the basic requirement that the client seeks. Accordingly, this should form the basis as to how you would charge the client. Charge him for what he wants and not for all that, that you can offer! PERIOD.

Rightly stated in the article is "nine times out of ten, your clients value only your availability, flexibility and malleability, not your sweet Javascript skills. Price downwards accordingly."

The entire article is available here.

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A Taste Of Fashion Writing

Sometimes there are some projects which come your way which you think you would not be able to handle. I have had one similar experience lately. I got in touch with a gentlemen via one of the social networking websites that I frequent on when I he enquired if I was up for another assignment. I requested him to send me details for the assignment and that I would get in touch with him after I go through the same.

The gentleman was kind enough to send me an elaborate description of what he exactly wanted. In his words... "We are creating a portal for branded fashion in India.This is fashion which middle and upper middle class can afford, and is a step below the designer fashion which only ultra rich and Page3 personalities wear. We want to target the fashion which common youngster can wear to college or office." They wanted content for articles in content of the same. It was not a one time assignment and it required a regular relay of articles on the desired requirement. This had me thinking for a moment. The hesitation was not because of the time commitment but mostly because fashion was one domain where i was completely naive. I was not sure if I could do justice to the articles and if I had it in me to bring out the desired elements that would have the fashion conscious readers hooked and interested. It had me thinking hard. I spoke to the people involved in the project and this made me a little more comfortable as I liked the people I would be working with.

I was required to submit a sample article initially following the guidelines provided to me by the client. This was going to be the acid test for me. I decided that if this article met my satisfaction and if I liked the process I would seriously give this assignment a thought. And as it turned out that i really liked the whole process of digging into this new territory. The people in the team were eager to help out and provided me with candid feedback regarding the sample. This further cemented my decision and now I am on with this team writing for them good about 4 articles per week.

Clients brief: The language has to be simple, something that the young kids could connect you and enjoy reading it. The content should be informative and at the same time not boring. Short punchy lines would be apt.

Find below one of the articles that was submitted by me to towards this assignment:

In this movie besides his super smooth dance moves, grabbing attention is Shahid’s chic yet casual attire. It is worth noticing that taking his relaxed look to a new level are his uber cool pair of Aviator sunglasses. There is no denying the fact that Aviator’s have always been in fashion and worn by generations alike. What works in the favor of Aviator sunglasses are that not only do they help shield your eyes, but they do it stylishly! They are very versatile and can be worn just about anywhere as they are extremely comfortable..... These sunglasses are ideal for everyday eyewear both for men and women. In the case of women they can so easily toughen up a feminine frock and for men they go ahead and provide a touch of street style chic to the normal pair of jeans and a jacket.

With large rectangular frames and metal rims, these glasses are available in several different colour tints for people to choose from and to team them with their dresses.

When shopping for sunglasses it is important that you try on several pairs so that you end up with the one which you feel most comfortable wearing. There are some tips which can help you zero down on that perfect pair which would suit your face the best....

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Research On A SuperBowl Advertisement. Super Cool!

Work with iTrip is going on well. Am already done writing 5 blog posts for them and each of them were unique in a different way. Like I always say that what I like the best about my job is that I get to learn and know so many new things. Something on the same lines happened with iTrip too. I was to write a blog entry for them wherein their competitor (lets say company X) would be putting forward their advertisement during the Super Bowl!

My task here was to research on this very advertisement that company X plans to launch, bring in the advantages of advertising during the Superbowl and then link company X with iTrip! Interesting I say!

What I loved doing the most here was to research on the super bowl advertisements. With a sports crazy dad and husband here with me I had to know what super bowl was all about but never realised the potential that it could hold. Anyways, this assignment was a true blessing in disguise coz I could now understand the financial implications behind having the chance to air your promotions during that valuable time space of the super bowl.

Clients Brief: write me a blog on the super bowl advertisement that company X is doing during the super bowl. And how both them and iTrip is riding the same wave. Research on the up coming ad and tie iTrip into the blog in a positive way.

Neat I say!

With my job pretty much chalked out I knew what all I needed to focus on. I wanted to introduce iTrip in the article in a very subtle way so that it does not overpower the article. The article had to be based on company X but what i wanted the content to do was to make the reader leave the article with a clear recognition of iTrip.

Here is what parts of the final approved article looked like:

Drawing millions of viewers from around the world, the Super Bowl has produced some of the most memorable and effective commercials in the history of television. Interestingly, such is the craze of these super bowl commercials that a large chunk of its viewers tune in to watch Super Bowl just to catch these commercials. Producing an ad for Game Day is a huge strategic marketing task for any big company that can manage to afford the price tag associated with it......

......Hoping to reap similar benefit is the Austin based vacation rental company X. This company is making its first foray into Super Bowl advertising during CBS telecast of the February 7 game and aims towards successfully engaging people by means of their commercial to want them to see more. By means of this commercial, X wishes to capture the essence and need of proper accommodation while on a vacation and ..... Vacation Rental Companies like X and iTrip wish to serve the generation of ....What makes these vacation rentals all the more popular and interesting and finds a mention in this X commercial too, is the fact that this facility of vacation rentals can be availed at a cost which is far less than what you would end up paying for a hotel accommodation.

So when you go ahead and opt for vacation rentals offered by companies like iTrip and X, not only do you end up enjoying your holiday but at the same time you end up saving your money too! An exposure into the world of Super Bowl commercials will prove out to be good for vacation rental companies like X and iTrip. It will help them to take care of the low consumer awareness towards vacation rentals and will provide potential travelers with an additional accommodation option to consider when they plan their next vacation. ...

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New Projects, New Waters To be Tested.. Bring Them On!

Personally this new year has begun with a mixed bag of goodies. I may have had to take it slow owing to some bad eating episodes which landed me with strange sounding medical issues but then what is important is making the most of what you have. I too made the most of this rest time which does show now on my reduced typing speed! ;) Too much of everything is bad they say huh... yeah yeah ok!

Anyways, speaking on the work front, things have started to look interesting here.. I was in talks with a few individuals regarding writing assignments and from the bunch a few of them do look to be turning positive. I have been asked by a travel website- itrip to write a couple of blog posts for their blog each week. A travel and a vacation rental website, the blog posts here have to be centered around a few specific keywords.

Client: itrip

Client Brief: A good write up centered around the provided keywords. A check on the keyword density is required and the language needs to be attractive yet persuasive to enable customers and readers to give the services of itrip a try.

After analyzing the content of the clients website and reading the previous blog posts as well as the range of services offered by itrip I made a brief for myself wherein I realized that ideally the content for the blog posts should:

1. Have a good description of the destination from a tourist's point of view.
2. The rental services offered by itrip should be mentioned clearly.
3. And lastly a connection between the above two should be created as to how itrip could help make a vacation to this place all the more better.

Following this I sent my first article last night to the client and got his approval too.

A couple of sections from this write up is pasted below for you guys to have a look.


There are some beach destinations which provide guests with serene scenic beauty and then there are some which appeal to party hoppers and crowd seekers. But if you are one of those who seek a bigger bite then welcome aboard! Forming a third different category are those beach destinations which choose to deliver a bit more.. a bit more of natural beauty coupled with a bit more of entertainment options. Welcome to fun unlimited. Welcome to the Panama City Beach.

A favorite vacation destination throughout the year, Panama City Beach offers around 27 miles of uninterrupted, charming and beautiful starchy white beaches shimmering against the emerald blue of the water.......... be your age or source of fun and entertainment Panama City Beach is bound to have something to suit your needs. It offers championship golf, great casual and fine dining, lifestyle shopping excursions, water sport options, amusement parks, electrifying nightlife and the good old-fashion entertainment under the sun......

We believe that a good and a comfortable place to stay form’s a very integral part of having a good relaxed vacation. Ideally your accommodation should allow you to experience your holiday destination and to feel a part of it without bringing you too close to the crowd. The Panama City Beach vacation rentals offered by itrip qualify to be your perfect home-away-from-home! .....

What works best in this assignment is that the number of articles expected to be delivered by me each month is not only easily manageable but at the same time would not affect my other regular assignments too...

Am in talks with another similar assignment... details when i manage to nail that too!! fingers crossed for sure! :)

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The Link For The Not-For Profit Dance Foundation

My last content writing assignment, the not for profit dance foundation is up and live. I was emailed the link last night. Thought I will put it on the blog for all to view and share their comments!

The academy is called Guiding Star Dance Foundation and the link for the same is www.gsdfonline.org.

A couple of changes( nothing major though) has been suggested by me to the client regarding the arrangement of the text on certain web pages. Apart from these web pages there will be the addition of 1 new page. It will have a membership form for willing guests to fill and become a member of this foundation.

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One More Project For The Files

My content generation project for the non profit dance foundation is done. The foundation is named as Guiding Star Dance Foundation. The project was challenging in a way that non profit oganizations demand a little shift in tone while drafting their content and try and make it a little more persuasive and genuine. As discussed earlier, the client had provided me the freedom to structure their website by deciding on the tabs that should be there on the website. The only condition was that all the desired components should be incorporated in the content. The aim of the foundation - to promote Indian dance forms in US- should clearly come across as should the fact that the foundation is a 501(c)(3) oganization.

I looked on the Internet for several other websites working in the same functional area and got an idea as to what all should be there on the website. Also, it gave me a couple of ideas to structure the content on the website. Based on the same as well as the inputs that I got from the client i chalked the skeleton and sent it to the client for his approval.

Once I got the approval from the client on the same I started with my work of structuring content for it. I decided to keep it to the point and concise but since it was aimed towards getting in sponsors therefore it HAD to have some marketing punch too. Not too much but of course! I structured the website to have a Company page, About Us Page, Education page( it further would have 2 parts- mentors as well as schedules and archives) Foundation Page( it would be divided into board of directors, sponsors as well as mailing list tabs), Donate as well as Contact us web pages.


I decided to draft the 'Company' page first as being the landing page it would need to be impressive and take the most time too. Related on similar lines were the 'Foundation' tab as well as the 'About Us' tab. Effort was therefore put in towards trying to bring in a clear distinction as to what content goes in where. Since the client already has a dance academy website(www.guidingstaronline.com) which was drafted by me only, therefore the cleint has asked to pick some content from it and use it towards the 'Education' tab.

Though the task took me 4 days to complete it but the end result was up to my satisfaction. Am yet to hear from the cleint for his final word so there is still the last YES awaited to consider the project DONE! :)

As always, the link of the website will be duly posted once it is live for all you guys to have a look at the final drafted product.

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Learn To Say NO

Even though how much ever we might wish for not all clients fall in the same category. And when I say that i mean the good category! There are plenty of chances that you might land up with clients who might leave no stones unturned in making their project a real trouble to get over with. The issues could be plenty.

Your endless corrections might not be approved, they might still be looking out for answers towards what they are actually seeking out from you or worst that they decide endless times during the due course of the project to introduce changes.

Whatever be the reason the fact is that you are now tied up with a tough nut to crack. Solution? Get out of it!

• Fortunately, as a freelancer you have the choice of weeding out projects and rejecting them if you start feeling uncomfortable in the initial stages itself. Believe me, that is the wisest thing to do. Understand this that if you end up taking that project you will be most probably hurling yourself towards a project which will not be making you happy for a long time. So it is better to refuse early on.
• However if you have still somehow managed to put yourself in the midst of trouble and now wish to find a way out then the most workable solution is to politely convey your sentiments to the client. Agreed that in our line of work client referrals are very prized but then the refusal can be done in a very polite and courteous way too.
• It would be a great idea if you could provide the client with alternatives like say names of other freelancers who might be interested in doing the project. By doing this you will not leave your client feeling that you deserted him midway.

So how do you just know that the project you are doing is just not good enough to be pursued further? The following points may be of help.

1. You realise that you have way passed the initial deadline that you had set towards completion of the project.
2. The main theme of the project has changed ever since you started working on it.
3. You are spending way too much time on the project than what you had decided to spend on it.
4. The client still seems confused and uncertain regarding the path on which the project is moving.
5. It is becoming very difficult to maintain regular contact with the client as he does not seem to be easily accessible.

If its a Yes for most of these points then it is better that you stamp the golden word NO and move on!

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