5 Indispensable Tools for a Content Writer

5 Indispensable Tools for a Content Writer

by | Content Writing, World of Work, Writing

The life of a content writer is not easy. We understand that. It sure is a tough job to produce content which is well written, well researched, factually correct and pleases Google baba enough to list it in its searches! Here’s how we’ve tried to make your life a teeny bit easier by sharing these resource hacks with you. If you were a shoe-maker, these tools would be your elves. Well, you are a writer, and these tools can still be your elves!

1. Tagcrowd

A post which is not search engine optimized might do well to not exist on internet at all. This tool helps boost search engine optimization by enabling you to create your own tag cloud from the text in your content, to visualize word frequency. It gives you an idea about what your post will look like with word clouds and frequencies.

2. Evernote 

From your grocery shopping to your research bibliography, Evernote is the ‘one size fits all’ solution to note keeping. It’s our favorite here at OBOlinx as well. The interface is easy and the layout is clean and simple with tons of useful features. It enables to create entire notebooks so that your notes don’t get jumbled up. The web clipper extension is especially useful when you are researching on something and taking notes simultaneously, instead of switching windows, it enables you to view the web clips while you take notes! The best thing – it syncs your notes automatically, allowing you to start from where you left off, on any of your devices – laptop, desktop, phone or iPad!

3. Factbrowser

The facts you incorporate into your content should always be from a dependable source and verified by you, as a writer. While people may not appreciate when the facts are accurate (because that’s what you’re supposed to do anyway!), it surely damages your credibility as a writer if they are not correct! Factbrowser to the rescue. This website is a savior when it comes to helping you find dependable sources for studies, surveys, reports, stats and other kinds of facts you need to add some meat to your writing.

4. Grammarly and Correctica 

If you are a content writer, you would know, the wrath of a Grammar Nazi is the worst thing to bring upon yourself. Especially since you are one yourself! (a safe assumption?) Grammar and spelling errors are extremely embarrassing, more so if you are a writer. We may be merciless editors ourselves, however, just to triple check, use tools like Grammarly and Correctica before you publish your posts. Additionally, Grammarly also checks for plagiarism.

5. Headline Analyzer 

People do judge a book by its cover and a post by its title. Only 62% of readers, read past the title (yes I have used Factbrowser for this one). Spend as much time, or more, as you spend on writing the content to come up with a kickass title for the post. And when you think you’ve found it, use Headline Analyzer. This tool scores the title of your post and rates its SEO value, ability to attract traffic and generate shares on social media. It also shows you how far up or down below your post will appear in the search results! Which content headlines will get you most results? Have a look at this post to crack the secret.

Did you know about these tools? Do you think there are other awesome tools we have missed out on? We are all ears!

Stop! Before You Say Yes To the Job Offer – 5 Questions You Must Ask the Employer

Stop! Before You Say Yes To the Job Offer – 5 Questions You Must Ask the Employer

by | Job Offers, World of Work

If you’ve been waiting long enough for that job offer, it is likely that you would say “yes!” immediately. However, let’s agree that most of the times, decisions made on an impulse may not be the best ones, especially when they are regarding your career. When you receive the job offer, the first thing you should ask your prospective employer is for a deadline to seal the deal. A cooling period of at least 24 hours is necessary before you accept or decline the offer, even if you may have made up your mind regarding the offer before you even got it. Here are a list of five questions you absolutely must ask the employer before accepting the offer.

What is the salary structure and the benefits plan?

You may have fought tooth and nail while negotiating the numbers to get your salt’s worth, however, numbers are more complicated than one might think. Ask clearly regarding your take-home amount after tax, bonus and incentives (and its basis for calculation). Find out about your employee insurance benefits. There are many kinds of insurance, like health, maternity, et al. Make sure you know what the insurance covers. Ask in detail regarding transport and accommodation reimbursement, if any. Make a list of all the benefits you can think of, and know other people receive in similar kinds of jobs, so that you don’t forget. Ask the organization to list the benefits they finally agree upon, on paper, before you accept the offer.

Will my moving expenses be covered?

It is not unusual for companies to pay for your moving expenses (which is equal to the transport expenses for you and your stuff), in fact, it is expected (though not mandatory). If they do not mention the details regarding the reimbursement of your moving expenses, make sure you ask. Most companies also arrange accommodation (which includes meals) for you while you house hunt and are in the process of settling in. Understand the rules of the reimbursement carefully to avoid complications later. If they do not have a policy of providing for moving expenses, try and negotiate for one.

Are the work timings flexible? Will I have the option to work from home on certain days?

Is it going to be a typical 9 to 5 job with strict sign ins and sign outs or can it be a flexible one? If yes, what are the terms and conditions of the flexibility? Ask in detail regarding the timings and also if you have the option to work from home on a rain check day. Do ask about the consequences in case you fail to adhere to the rules for timings if they are not flexible.

How many paid holidays do I get?

Balancing work and life is tough and paid holidays are a crucial determinant for the balance 😉  While you may feel inhibited asking about holidays even before starting work, it is very wise to go ahead and ask anyway. No point whining over it once you’ve accepted the offer. Also make sure to find out if your holidays can roll over from one calendar year to the next.

Will the company support my decision to continue my education in the future?

If your plan is to achieve some work experience and continue with further education few years down the line, you may as well discuss about the company’s policy to support employees’ education. Find out about the tuition fee reimbursement, if any. Of course, if the company does invest in your education, it would expect you to come back and resume work post your studies. If not reimbursement, the company may also provide loans with a subsidized interest rate. Even if you may not be planning on getting another degree any time soon, it is anyway wise to find out in detail regarding their policies for employee education before accepting the offer. It is essential to keep polishing your skill set and education is one of the best ways to go about it.

These are the five crucial questions that we think you must ask before saying aye or nay ! There are also a few important questions that you must ask yourself before accepting the job offer, read more on that here. Do you think there are other equally or more important questions? We would love to hear from you.

And if you have asked yourself these questions and have decided to go ahead and accept the job offer, we at OBOlinx wish you much success in this new step of your career journey!

5 Simple Life Hacks to Help You Write Better

5 Simple Life Hacks to Help You Write Better

by | Career, Communication, Communication Skills, Content Writing, Managing Yourself, Motivation, Productivity, Writing

Being a writer is a full time job. You are not on vacation even when you are on vacation because you are constantly thinking about what to write next! Being creative 24*7 is quite a challenge and a very difficult one to live up to. We, at Oorja Biz Ops have been brainstorming about changes we can bring about in our daily life, to help refuel the creativity. Here are five hacks that will work for you to write better (they certainly did, for us !):

Write Better Hack #1 – Start your day early

Being an early riser has a lot more advantages than you think. This is the best way to give your day a head start. Schedule the first 45 minutes of your day to write five hundred words of anything you can think about. With consistent practice you will see your writing skills improve significantly in just a matter of weeks. Accomplishing a task right at the beginning of the day is also a great confident booster and keeps you pumped up all through the day.

Write Better Hack #2 – Replace the caffeine

Did we hear a collective gasp? We know what coffee means to writers. For many, it can be impossible to start a day without a cup. However, it is a proven fact that a regular dose of caffeine is not a very healthy thing for your body. Caffeine also causes anxiety and restlessness which may not be what you need when you are already on the edge due to work stress. Try and replace caffeine with healthier options like green tea or even regular tea or some other healthy beverage. Might be worth it to give it a shot and notice the difference!

Write Better Hack #3 – Find ‘me time’ 

Gifting yourself some time is the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and the best hack to trigger your writing creativity. Set aside about 45 minutes of your day, every day, to recharge your soul simply by indulging yourself. Cook, bake, garden, sing, dance, paint – whatever helps you connect with your inner self and makes you happy. Finding ‘me time’ can be a tall order given the lifestyles we lead. This problem may be solved by going back to what we said about waking up early. That way, you will have more time than you usually do. Even if it’s just an hour earlier, it still gives you some space to fit ‘me time’ into your otherwise cramped day.

Write Better Hack #4 – Read Often, Read More

Read as much as, or more than you write. Reading helps recharge your intellectual resources and keeps those brainy ideas flowing. Reading fires your imagination – the stuff writers are made of.  As Stephen King wrote in “On Writing”:

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut. . . .

It’s hard for me to believe that people who read very little (or not at all in some cases) should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written, but I know it’s true. If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me he/she wanted to become a writer but didn’t have time to read, I could buy myself a pretty good steak dinner. Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

Just like a balanced diet is essential for a healthy body, balanced reading is crucial for a healthy mind and will make you think in different directions. Make sure your reading list consists of a mixed dose of current affairs, fiction and non-fiction. What you read, reflects in what and how you write.

Write Better Hack #5 – Be Honest with Yourself

While it is crucial to have expectations from oneself, at the same time, it is important to have goals which are practical and achievable. Setting long term targets on a high-on-red-bull day, probably isn’t a good idea. What we mean is, enthusiasm is vital, however, a lot of times we tend to become over enthusiastic with our goals and go on over drive trying to achieve them. Being honest with yourself about what you can and cannot achieve in a given period of time does not mean tardiness, it means being practical. But then, a little pressure now and then does help to shoo the devil called Procrastination away!

And finally, after putting our neck on the line, we leave you with the words from our idol and mentor, Seth Godin :

The biggest takeaway for anyone seeking to write is this: don’t go looking for the way other authors do their work. You won’t find many who are consistent enough to copy, and there are enough variations in approach that it’s obvious that it’s not like hitting home runs or swinging a golf club. There isn’t a standard approach, there’s only what works for you (and what doesn’t).

We hope you enjoyed our post. We would love to hear from you on what you do to help you write more and write better!

A Quick Guide to Writing Compelling Ecommerce Content

A Quick Guide to Writing Compelling Ecommerce Content

by | Career, Communication, Content Writing, Infographics

You are staring at an image of this plain white tee on an ecommerce website, wondering if you really need it.  Beside the image, the word ‘versatile’ catches your eye and you decide to read. Here is how it goes – ‘This versatile, white t-shirt is a must-have in your wardrobe. An everyday essential, this simple round-neck t-shirt is cut from the finest cotton with an extra-soft feel. A straight fit, it has a ribbed round neckline, short sleeves and neat stitched edges. Wear it under a casual shirt or pair it with denim shorts and loafers, the possibilities are endless.’ Sold.

Content and content marketing is all about offering value to your customers, keeping them engaged and giving them all the necessary information they need to make an informed buying decision. Ecommerce content is every form of write-up that goes into building an engaging ecommerce website. It includes Home page content, keyword optimized category and sub-category descriptions, SEO blurbs, product descriptions and blogs, newsletters and editorials about the latest trends. The content needs to be creative, crisp, original and engaging because compelling content is always a competitive advantage. It is important to capture the customer’s attention and hold it just long enough to convince them to take the buying decision. In fact, content marketing generates 3 times as many leads as traditional outbound marketing, but costs 62% less (see infographic below).

To be able to sell your product, you need to first have SEO friendly descriptions that will target the right kind of customers for the right kind of products. Next, your description must convince the buyer that he/she “needs” the product and that it would be a worthy buy.

Here are some tips and tricks, dos and don’ts to help you write great ecommerce content:

  1. Be Simple and Relevant – Always keep your sentences simple and short, and your grammar impeccable. Assume the reader has very little time and patience, and keep your writing crisp and fluff-free. Sell style, sell quality, sell trust.
  2. Do Keyword Research – Learn the basics of SEO. Use properly targeted words. Think about the consumer that you would like to convince to buy. Decide what you would want them to feel.
  3. Think USPs – What makes the product special? When writing about this, follow an order, macro to micro and top to bottom. This allows for easy and quick reading by the buyers.
  4. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes – Why would he/she want to buy this product? Emphasize on how this product will add/improve the buyer’s lifestyle. If you’re describing household items like bedsheets, for example, mention how well it would go with that bedside table and the wooden finishing of the bed.
  5. Don’t exaggerate – Remember, it is all about trust. Your words should match the product image and be consistent. If any feature isn’t matching, the buyer will get confused and just go buy something else or end up buying something that he or she didn’t want or expect.

To sum it all up, good content will engage the right audience and boost sales by making the products more appealing. The content on your website is your voice – authoritative and confident. It should list high up on your marketing and sales strategy.

Thoughts? Questions? If we have missed anything, do let us know!

Bonus: To learn more about what content marketing is, how it can benefit your organization and how to get started using this technique to promote your company, check out the great infographic from Demand Metric :

Content Writing: A Short Career Guide

Content Writing: A Short Career Guide

by | Content Writing, World of Work

If you have been mulling over a career in content writing, we have some inputs for you. As content writers ourselves and as a content writing company, take it from the horse’s mouth :). A career in content writing is a  challenging, fulfilling, and a joyous experience.

Who is a content writer? A content writer is someone who creates and curates content for use in the traditional and new business media sphere. A content writer essentially creates engaging content for public consumption. This content may have to do with editorial or commercial use. Let us take a look into the various domains where content writing is a professional reality:

–              Copy: Doing ads and coming up with one liners. If one liners are your thing, then digital marketing agencies are the way to go. You can approach them and work on a project wise basis or a full time basis as an employee. The perks are great in terms of creative satisfaction and the brain storming sessions will leave you asking for more.

–              Blogging: Popularity in this sphere has led to great competition. A good blogger can make a killing every year. If your blog becomes popular, you can take on brands and mention them for a small fee. Also, an Affiliate program with Google or Amazon will help you monetise with the help of advertisements and click throughs. For a successful blogging stint, regularity and ingenuity are both pre requisites. The best thing to do is to find yourself a niche or an area you are good at, and couple your ideas with latest trends, or happenings in that field.

–              White Papers: Content writers for white papers are also a huge requirement in this field. Corporates are on the constant look out to unravel, and assimilate all that big data into creatively done reports and industry centric white papers that can be peddled as not so direct, brand material. The pay out for this field is good. But you can get gigs depending on your networking skills, and also your competency in that area or industry. Research skills are a premium here.

–              E Books: Got a skill or body of knowledge that people can learn from? Well, dip in and create an ebook for public consumption. Not only will this fetch you good revenues, but if marketed well, it could be a good author platform to gain further assignments and projects to write for that niche or industry. The best way to publish and market your ebook is to use the social media, as well as other forums like Amazon Kindle Direct (for self publishing). A mammoth marketing effort will have go in for any success, but the end result will be hugely satisfying.

–              E Commerce writing: If buying guide and e commerce descriptions are your thing, then you may start off with writing e commerce descriptions, copy for buying guides, and even website content for the e commerce market. Again, this an area that requires networking and you will do best to start off with a digital marketing agency that gets these kinds of contracts and projects from the e commerce website itself.

–              Editorial content: There are many online blogs and e-zines where you can start writing articles. These are usually niche oriented and require original photos and experiences. Travel, food, fashion, décor and so much more thrive in this sphere. So get your notebook out and start making a list of all your interesting experiences. Make a pitch for submission and get started. The initial pay may be nothing or even next to nothing, but as your work gains an audience, the pay as well as the fame will be well worth it.

–              Education: Writing for the academic field can be challenging, yet satisfying. You can create question banks, course material and get into instructional design and writing. The pay is good, but the hours can be long. But if you love teaching AND writing, this is the perfect place to be.

For serious content writers, a course in creative writing is recommended so that your work stands out on the foundation of good ideas and creatively put, engaging thoughts. The pay depends on a per project basis or per word basis. So invest your time and effort in a satisfying and well paying career, today.

Whichever field you choose – passion, persistence and hard work are tools you will always need. All the best!