A First: MBA Essays

Lately I have been occupied helping a friend with his essays for his MBA applications. With the list of institutes amounting to 4 there are good about 12 odd essays to tackle. Till now I had not worked on this kind of project because of 2 main reasons. Firstly, none came my way and secondly I was too scared to try looking for them! :) yeah.. i don't know why but the thought that the person's career depended on these essays was enough to scare me off! But when this my friend approached me for help I could not say no and therefore took it as a shot to scare the thought off.

Working with these essays there were some main things which stood out:
1. The word limit! This can turn out to be the most excruciating part of the entire exercise as it is very difficult to round up such elaborate topics within the said word limit.
2. The aim of grabbing the attention of the reader right from the first sentence. I thought of the fact that the aim here is to grab the attention of the reader in the midst of thousands of odd applications and for the same it was required that it have a good start. Also an impactful ending which can leave the reader curious will increase the probability of your application being selected.
3. Not making the essay sound drab and mechanical. It is very important to make it feel personal and something which is right from the heart.
4. Refraining from using too many big words. It is best to make use of simple words and short sentences in your essays. An overdose of too many big words will make it sound very artificial.
5. Never exaggerate and spin tales in your essays. You have to remember that your interview will very much be based on your essays so it is important to stick to true facts.
6. Keep in mind to keep all your essays in the same flow and ensure that you do not end up disputing your own thoughts in your essays. They should all have a common theme revolving around them.

Since the essays have not been submitted I cannot show them here. So it is going to be some wait till I can put them here. It will be a great opportunity to showcase that rare "before" and "after" moment! :)

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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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A New Day A New Project!

Assignment: Website and marketing collateral for a not-for-profit dance foundation.

I had mentioned in my last post that work on a website for a non profit dance academy was due to start, and yes it is on! This assignment would allow me to work towards drafting the entire content for the website as well as working on their marketing material too. The dance academy wishes to go the non profit way and wishes to collect money from shows and use the same money towards sponsoring children to enroll themselves in dance schools. An absolutely noble thought!

What is particularly great about this project is that the client has given me a free hand to even structure the skeleton of the website! This made me suggest tabs we could use, the content which should be put and structuring the same. Since the website is for a non profit use therefore it will not be investing all that much on the designing part. The ‘attraction grabber’ therefore has to be the content.

Structure:
To work on the structure of the website I browsed the internet for other websites on similar lines. Taking an idea from them on as to what are the important elements which it should have and how to structure the same. Once done I set down and made a structure which suited the clients need. I decided to keep it simple and yet effective. I liked the concept of having a main tab with sub tabs attached to it. By doing this not only will the content have flow and at the same time I will be able to add all the content that should come without creating mess in one single tab.

Client’s brief: The content has to be based on the fact that we are promoting and creating awareness towards Indian dance forms in the US. The content should be to the point and try and include bullet points wherever possible.

As mentioned, the project was bifurcated in two parts; the website as well as the marketing collateral. The marketing stuff is taken care off as the client has provided with a sample of what he actually wants and will be working on the same line. It would be including an introductory letter, a couple of application; the sponsorship levels available as well as info on the upcoming shows. Here too marketing collateral= Punch lines!! Something which my assignment with www.savingsmela.com has taught me good enough! Since I could manage that I expect this to be a breezer.

Once done with the marketing requirement I will start structuring the content for the approved website skeleton. I have made some rough notes on what I would be putting there. Need to talk to the client on these and see if it works for him too. The website has yet to be registered and will surely upload here the final product.

A new theme, some new energy.. I love my work!!

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Work Has Been Good...

I know it has been time since I blogged about my work and projects. Things have been pretty hectic here. With my regular work I have been tied up with new assignments and projects. The most significant being getting into a contract with www.savingsmela.com. A deals directory I have been roped in to take care of their marketing needs and delivering content on the same. Am on a contract with these guys for an year now.

By saying a deal's directory what is inferred is that it is a one stop platform to showcase all the store as well as well online deals available. Kinda cool concept for sure!

Am done with a couple of business letters for them and am on working on their marketing presentations right now.This assignment has bought with it a couple of firsts for me. Business writing was not something which I had tried before. I am more of a copy writing guy. So drafting business letters and business proposals liberally doused in marketing punches took me to a new area. I did manage to sail through good with the letters but the business proposal came back wonderfully rejected! :) will have to work hard on it now. Works well for me... I get to explore new facets of writing.

Client's brief: Marketing punch, Creativity. Marketing punch, Creativity! That sums it up!!

Being a start up the first impression surely has to be impactful. Have started work on the presentation and have sent the first few slides for feedback. I have always felt that the difference between a normal presentation and a powerful presentation are the simple one liner messages which can make the readers to think. I like creating impact with words. That is my style. I like to inject a couple of these one liner slides in between the regular content. By this way I am able to control the attention of the reader.

Will await feedback and then proceed forward. Since the content here is copyrighted I will not be able to post it but yes will surely update you on the journey.

Meanwhile there is a website for a non profit dance academy in the US for which i will start working from next week probably. So it is hands full right now!

Cheers!!

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A new project came and delivered..

Client: Urbanimatic Designs
Requirement: Content for home page.

Got hold of a new project on twitter and it was a quicky! :) The client needed content for the home page of his website. His website is all about website templates, twitter backgrounds and YouTube backgrounds.

His creative brief: I need the content to be personal because most of my followers asked me a lot of time where they can donate me a buck or two for the information and resources i share on twitter so i decided to create this websites and instead of donations they will be able to buy cool twitter background.

The client had also provided enough information for me to start work.
I got the understanding that the client wished the home page to be his forum to talk one to one with his friends and therefore his requirement of a personal language was completely justified. With no heavy words and a simple conversational language I formulated the content and delivered what the client needed.

Clear, prompt and easy availability of the client made the project easy.

The website might not be running as of now but should be up in a day or two... Till then the quest for new projects goes on!

PS: The work on the IT project is also going on with couple of reviews and edits. Have been paid the first installment and all's well! :)

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