Hi Sahil. Hope all is well with you. Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi Trupti, it’s my pleasure to have this conversation with you, and a big Hi to everyone reading this.
My name is Sahil Sharma, and I help businesses world-over to enhance their online presence and earn more clients through content marketing. It was a sheer stroke of luck and destiny playing its cards that I got into this field. I had been pursuing content writing as a freelancer during my graduation.
I worked with a few clients based out of India, and by the time I graduated, I had built up a pretty decent resume which landed me a full-time job as a Content Writer. Since then, there’s no looking back. I’m working as a Content Manager with my current organisation. My responsibilities include handling a team of writers while ensuring quality and meeting project deadlines. Content Writing has always been an important part of my job, and I’d love to keep it that way in the future as well.
I believe in ‘leading by example’. Simply asking a writer to create a remarkable piece of content has never worked out for me. I have to first show them what a remarkable piece of content looks like, and what are the key components that go into its making.
Fortunately, we have a strict selection process that gets only the finest writers on board who are already motivated enough to change the landscape of Content Marketing and sweep the world off its feet. Inspiring such a wonderful team has always been a delightful experience.
Any thought leaders you are following at the moment?
I would like to take a few names here. Trevor Noah, Dan Lok and Simon Sinek. All three of them are successful in their respective fields. Trevor Noah is the host of The Daily Show and also the author of the book, ‘Born a Crime’. He has his way with the audience that has gotten him a huge following. There’s so much one could learn from him as far as communicating with the masses is concerned.
Next, Dan Lok is an entrepreneur A.K.A The King of High Ticket Sales. His sales and marketing lessons have helped me a lot in my professional life or wherever negotiations are the deal-breakers.
The third one, Simon Sinek is an entrepreneur with a vision that goes beyond money and success. He emphasizes more on the emotional aspects of the business rather than recycling what has been taught to us by marketing gurus.
Following these great personalities help me grow and succeed in different verticals of my career.
What’s the best experience you’ve had with writing?
Every day is a new experience, a new challenge, success, failure, learnings and what not. There have been many experiences over my tenure which I feel proud to share with my peers. The best experiences have always come from finicky clients who would make our lives hell with recurrent revisions. However, the fulfilment my team and I get after delivering the desired content piece overshadows the pain we take along the process.
I’ve read a few of your articles, and they are amazing. So what are the top 5 skills one needs for being a successful content writer?
- Talking about skills, one needs to have a strong command over the language. Once you master the language your audience understands, half the battle is won.
- It is important to understand the psychic of your target audience. The more you learn about the people you are writing for, the stronger will be the impact.
- Research is really important to create a content piece that stands out, delivers value and sometimes rank highly across Search Engines. The more you know about the topic, the better will be the delivery.
- Reading is a must. Devote at least 1 hour to reading every day.
- Be patient. Sometimes content writing feels so frustrating that you feel like quitting. In that case, take a nap or indulge in a fun activity to calm your nerves before you put the pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.
A lot of companies are entering into the content marketing space. What is the most common mistake they are making?
The most common mistake that holds them back from succeeding is overlooking the importance of quality. Today, Google’s algorithm has become smarter and more dynamic than ever, and readers have grown immune to mainstream content. If you really want to stand out and get noticed, you ought to write something that has never been written before or put a creative spin on whatever has already been written a thousand times. You know, I have always been a huge fan of Ogilvy & Mather. Their strategies work like a charm, and they never hesitate to make bold moves or take the path less travelled by.
We see most of the writers face challenges in writing cool engaging content. What’s your advice to them?
If I were to advise them through my experience, I’d say the key is to understand your readers. Even if you are writing for masses, you don’t write for everyone. The more you research about the topic and the more you understand your target audience, the better.
What are the biggest challenges you are seeing in the industry right now?
Content Marketing is a booming industry with immense scope in the future, but it has its fair share of challenges that most content writers can’t see. With the shrinking attention span of online users, it has become really difficult to get the eyeballs, let alone getting the message across. Also, getting your content piece noticed by the right people at the right time is something you can’t control unless you run sponsored posts.
Today, our world is driven by technology. Do you think we are at a point where a good content marketing strategy can’t exist without smart technology?
Technology has taken over our lives, and it permeates through every industry imaginable, no matter how primitive or advanced. I believe a good content marketing strategy cannot go far without the technological push. There’s a reason why technology exists and controls this industry in the first place.
Anything you would like to share with our readers?
This is a message to all those who are sceptical about making a full-time career out of content writing.
I believe that the ability to communicate is the biggest virtue mankind has. Without communication, nothing sells, no deals are concluded and no friends are made. Much as communication is the cornerstone of our existence, it is the driving force behind the marketing industry. If you believe in the power of words and that they can make a huge difference, jump on the bandwagon and steer your career towards a promising future, whilst enjoying the exciting journey that will always keep you on your toes.
How to contact you?
Simply connect with me on LinkedIn.
