Bootstrapping and building a business from scratch is quite a difficult task in today’s startup environment. Using only the resources at hand and not having to rely on external factors to expedite the growth of a business to garner a reputable position in the marketplace is rarely seen and nothing to be coughed at.
That’s precisely what we did at Wittypen, and we have our Founder & CEO, Anshul Motwani, share our journey on the “Ultimate Start-Up Building Podcast.”
Today Wittypen has 1500+ writers, 70% of which are comprised of women. Led by founders Anshul Motwani and Preetesh Jain, Wittypen has created content for companies like PayTM, Swiggy, MoEngage, Freshworks, and hundreds of customers across the globe. Without further ado, let’s dive in!
About “Ultimate Start-Up Building Podcast”
SidBoson is a master community builder with 10 years of experience. Having started his journey working with Harvard University’s CS50x at age 17, Sid has catalysed growth for communities across domains.
Currently, he leads Community at Scenes – the ultimate community platform and hosts The Ultimate Start-up Building Podcast which had featured guests including Venkat Malladi (CTO @ Vymo), Ishan Rakshit (Co-founder @ ShopFlo) and more.
Writer, musician, and interview host – meet Merril Diniz, our multi talented Witty writer who epitomizes the free and maverick spirit of her beloved Goa.
Scroll down to hear her talk about her motivations, challenges, and experience as a freelance content writer as she answers our questions for this week’s ‘Writers of Wittypen’ story.
“Tell us about yourself – your personal and professional journey.”
I’m Merril Diniz, a full-time freelance writer, blogger, and digital interview host, based out of my hometown Goa. In the past, I have played editorial and communications roles in diverse media, education, and consumer tech platforms, and digital agencies in Mumbai and Delhi. As remote work became an accepted culture around the world, I decided to pursue my first love, writing, full-time.
“What prompted you to become a freelance writer?”
I began writing a diary at age 12. With the encouragement of my parents, I began writing as a way to express myself. Writing also played an important role in my full-time editorial and communications work. But I was never able to dedicate enough time to it. So, there were several drivers attracting me to the freelance writing life.
One, I had a deep desire to grow my identity as a writer. This requires time for introspection, reflection, and honing my craft. Freelance writing gives me the flexibility to experiment without barriers. This journey has just begun, and I am excited to see where it takes me.
Two, I also wanted the freedom to design my own daily schedule 365 days a year!
Three, this shift enables me to actively pursue other passions, prioritize time for family, and friends, and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
“What are the primary domain topics you work on?”
I’m a writer specialized in creating long-form marketing and PR content for enterprise and consumer tech products/ platforms, which thrive at the cusp of innovation. The spectrum of businesses I have served includes fintech, HR tech, edutech, agro tech, logistics, and digital publishing. My strength lies in deconstructing seemingly complex topics, and making them consumable for a non-tech audience.
“Your tips for upcoming writers looking to work on the same.”
It’s important to build your domain knowledge so you can write in an informed manner. For me personally, my exposure to personal finance concepts, sustainability, consumer tech, entrepreneurship, the education sector, and digital marketing, helps bring context to narratives.
My second piece of advice is to bring empathy into your writing. Understand the mindset, challenges, and lived experiences of the audience that will be reading your content. Then write.
Last but not the least, if you aim to be a full-time freelance writer, it’s important to build a basic financial framework, to make it a sustainable path. Track how much you earn, follow up on payments where necessary and create a budget for yourself. And yes, don’t forget to save and invest, so that your money keeps working for you (even as you sleep!).
“What are the challenges you face as a freelance writer on a daily basis? How do you overcome them?”
The core challenge is when a client or editor is unable to provide actionable feedback. With Wittypen I do not face this issue as editors like Priyadarshini, understand how to break down feedback to make it very focused and specific.
Actionable feedback is important as it brings efficiency and speed to the content delivery process. I believe that actionable feedback is a skill that needs to be cultivated to harness the strengths of a writer.
“Tell us about your experience working as a writer with Wittypen.”
I have been working with Wittypen for almost two years, and it has been an extremely pleasurable, smooth ride. I am grateful to my friend Niki Singh, a marketing professional, who recommended I connect with them.
A key advantage is that the entire content management and delivery process is tech-enabled, which optimizes the experience for all stakeholders. And yet, the process has not lost its human touch.
I find that Wittypen editors also have great respect for writers. Writing is a task that takes up a lot of emotional labor. So, there’s a certain comfort and safe space created, when feedback is constructive, without the risks of things getting personal.
Last but not the least, Wittypen functions in an organized manner. As a writer, this is extremely valuable, as it helps you organize your time.
“Apart from writing, what are your hobbies and interests?”
I moved back to my hometown Goa last year after spending many years away. So, I’m using my time to reconnect with family and friends, and rediscover the beauty and culture of my home state. I do hang out at the beach a lot with my sister.
I now also have the bandwidth to pursue my other love, which is music. I can dedicate time to music practices and performances because I can redesign my day as required.
Other than that, I enjoy learning Portuguese via Duolingo, which leverages AI and machine learning to make learning customized and addictive. The good kind.
I’m also looking forward to ramping up my blogging adventures in the coming year on two of my favorite topics – Women and their relationship with money, and spotlighting sustainable personal care brands.
“Lastly, please share your favorite book and current reading list.”
I am part of the Women On Wealth Book Club, which meets once a week to discuss books connected to women and finances. Two books in particular deeply influenced my thinking. The Psychology of Money helped me rethink my temperament and mindset around investing in the stock market, while The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness, propelled me to take the plunge towards the BYOB (be your own boss) lifestyle.
I recently also completed The Tenth Story by Manisha Singh, a compilation of stories of women who powered through tough times with a mindset of gratitude, and decisive action.
I am now reading Goa: A Daughter’s Story, which unpacks 450 years of Goan history.
Leaving a successful 8 years corporate experience behind, Meenakshi, our this week’s spotlight writer decided to pursue a more flexible career path, something pertinent to her long time interest for reading and writing.
Scroll down to read our “Writers of WittyPen” story for this week.
“How did you end up becoming a full-time freelance content writer? Tell us about yourself – your personal and professional journey.”
I am a management graduate with a degree in Finance and Marketing. I started my career as a management trainee in one of the leading NBFCs. After working there for 3+ years, I moved to a multinational bank and worked there for another 5+ years in different capacities. Apart from my corporate stint, I also worked with an educational non-profit for a couple of years as part of a CSR initiative.
While I absolutely enjoyed my corporate and non-profit work journey, I was struggling to manage the work-life balance due to long travels and stressful working hours. This is when I started looking out for flexible options and content writing came as a natural choice due to reading and writing as particular interest areas during my academic life.
Initially, I began writing parallelly with work and slowly moved full-time as it allowed me to balance work-life much better. The one thing that helped me immensely in making the transition to full-time content creation as a career choice is accepting the role wholeheartedly and seeking opportunities that allowed me to grow and improve in the area, instead of looking at it as a career filler.
“Tell us about your journey as a freelance writer at WittyPen.”
When I started as a full-time content writer, I was exploring multiple platforms and have had my share of struggles in terms of getting work, being paid on time, etc. Then I came across WittyPen and honestly it was one of the best content writing platforms I have ever worked with. The journey since has been pretty smooth with a very professional team to work with, quality work opportunities, on a consistent basis and always getting paid on time.
“What motivated you to become a content writer?”
It was a very personal choice to leave a decent corporate career and become a freelance content writer. The main motivation was (and still is!) the freedom to choose the amount and timing of work to be able to balance work and family life better.
“What are the primary domain topics you work on? Your tips for upcoming writers looking to work on the same.”
While I am pretty comfortable with almost any domain, software/tech, lifestyle, education, and healthcare are some of the areas I do best. As a new writer, the best way to approach these domains is to develop a thorough understanding of the subject by focusing on the research part a bit more and preparing an outline to work on, instead of jumping directly on to the task.
“What are the challenges you face as a freelance writer daily? How do you overcome them?”
The main challenge I face is keeping up with the submission deadlines. The best way to manage this is to keep a track of how much work is assigned and what is due when by putting reminders for every task.
One pro tip here is- never wait for the last day of submission.
Always keep a day’s buffer so that there is no last-minute stress. Also, it is best to be proactive in reaching out and informing well in advance in case of delays so that the other person also gets enough time to reassign the work.
“What is your favorite thing about working at WittyPen?”
It has to be the ease of approaching absolutely anyone for the smallest of help. Be it content-related queries, deadline extension requests, or payment-related questions, the team at WittyPen is super approachable, quick to respond, and lovely to interact with. It makes working here much simpler and hassle-free.
“Apart from writing, what are your hobbies and interests?”
I love reading, traveling, and indulging in creative craft activities with my kids.
“Lastly, please share your favorite book and current reading list.”
Choosing one favorite is really difficult but some of them are from Jeffery Archer, James Patterson, RK Narayan, Satyajit Ray, and Dan Brown. Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
A jack of all trades, Mrinalini – a mother, a freelance writer, a published author, and once a full-time teacher – has been mastering them all, beautifully. She took up freelancing when the world was in turmoil, 2 years back – thinking of this as just an added income. However, as fate would have it, Mrinalini quit her day job and turned towards being a full-time freelancer.
An awe-inspiring move!
Kudos to Mrinalini for showing courage, doing the hard work, and going the extra mile to make it in the world of freelancing. We, at WittyPen, support and appreciate her the most for her consistent work and can’t wait to see her grow more with us.
Scroll down to learn more about Mrinalini, her journey, challenges, and tips for upcoming content writers.
“How Did You End Up Becoming a Full-Time Freelance Content Writer? Tell Us About Yourself – Your Personal and Professional Journey.“
I have worked for the past 20 years for companies like Wipro, Barclays, TIME, and Saffron.
Due to some personal issues, I had to join a school with my son and financially support him (being a single mother). During my tenure at the school and post-pandemic, I got the opportunity to work with WittyPen as a freelancer.
Honestly, I started very casually and aimed to earn some extra income. Also, I was not sure if I would be able to manage freelancing along with my day job.
After investing a year at WittyPen, I finally quit my full-time job as I was confident enough to raise my son well without having to do 2-3 jobs simultaneously. Today, I can claim that I am surviving well.
I am glad I decided to depend on WittyPen, and I am confident that my relationship with the organization will only improve with each passing day. I have to make my best possible effort to deliver quality tasks and meet deadlines. Rest, I can trust WittyPen to take care of all its writers.
“What Motivated You To Become a Content Writer?“
To be honest, it was actually COVID that motivated me to become a content writer 😊
I also wrote a book on essential CAT English available in the market 6 years ago. Then I got so busy with regular work that I never thought of writing again.
However, the pandemic encouraged me to go back to my basics and try content writing (something good that came out of the COVID era for me).
“What Are the Primary Domain Topics You Work On? Your Tips for Upcoming Writers Looking To Work on the Same.“
When I first applied, I would write on specific domains like Insurance and Education. But today, I write on every subject in almost all the domains.
I suggest upcoming writers not restrict their writing skills and try every niche or topic that comes their way. There is an abundance of information and support available. If you can write well, you can cover any given subject.
A completely non-technical person like me writes articles on AI and technological advancements. So, I believe, if you have the zest for writing, you can actually write on anything.
“What Are the Challenges You Face as a Freelance Writer on a Daily Basis? How Do You Overcome Them?“
My biggest challenge as a freelance writer is that there are times when it becomes difficult to balance work. You don’t want to say no to projects, so you take on several tasks, and then there are some days when you don’t have work at all (which have been few at WittyPen).
Some days, I work 15-16 hours a day and on other days, I do absolutely nothing. I actually enjoy the days when I am overloaded with work, as I know I would be keeping myself busy, and I can manage time well and deliver my tasks on time.
The days without work are quite frustrating though, and how do I overcome them – I start bothering my managers and pestering them to assign more work to me.😝
“Apart From Writing, What Are Your Hobbies and Interests?“
Apart from writing, I love spending time with my son. We go to movies, outings, and a walk in the park, so whatever time I have when I am not writing, I only like to dedicate it to my son.
“What Is Your Favorite Thing About Working at WittyPen?“
A lot of things! WittyPen allows me to explore diverse topics in multiple niches, increasing my confidence to write on anything and everything, keeps me busy, and most importantly, WittyPen helps me run my home.
“Lastly, Tell Us About Your Journey as a Freelance Writer at WittyPen.“
My journey at WittyPen has been amazing. I am so grateful for the immense support and the outstanding work I have received regularly for the past two years, and I hope my relationship with WittyPen grows stronger.
We all have great content ideas. Sometimes, these hit us over a breakfast table conversation and sometimes, while we ponder under a warm shower. However, great ideas without a structure or strategy to materialize them are futile. Finding the best content writing tools in the market becomes a tedious process.
To make sure that our content creation strategy hits the bull’s eye, along with original content, it’s necessary to streamline our ideas. This will help us with the actual implementation of those thoughts as opposed to them fizzling out in an unstructured ecosystem.
So, we are here to help you with some of the online content writing tools for researching, curating, and writing great content.
Content Writing Tools To Create Ranking Content
Now that you’ve done your research, you’re ready to slam your keyboard and pour out all your thoughts and theories (well, don’t literally kill your keyboard).
1. Wittypen
This is a content creation platform driven to bring better results to publishers, give a voice to a huge pool of writers, and ultimately, satisfy the end user out there by providing professional content writing services.
They partner with a huge number of freelance content writers with years of professional experience to bring to you the best-brewed content for your specific needs. They also provide solutions and suggestions for your content marketing strategy. Need fresh and original content; talk to Wittypen – hello@wittypen.com
This is an excellent platform for you as a content marketer since they provide a forum to discover and share content to blogs, newsletters, etc., specific to the industry. Curata admits that one of the keys to fresh and original content creation is content curation.
They won’t let you burn out in an attempt to endlessly generate new ideas, but let you relax those nerves a little, and create strategically, with support. Relied upon by some of the biggest companies and industry experts in the world, Curata is one content marketing platform that you must definitely consult before content creation.
ClearVoice is a database to organize, regulate, and simplify your content workflow. You and I, both know that content marketing is the new solution now. But, it won’t be effective if you’re all over the place.
ClearVoice helps you with exactly this – streamlining your work into an organized system. Your process of content creation and curation, thus, made simpler.
One of the best content writing tools, Hemingway is just what you need whether you’re a starter or a professional. This is a distraction-free writing app that lets you remain focused on your idea and put them down on paper (or screen, rather) without having to stop to look left or right.
While you’re in the zone and racing your fingers over the keyboard, looking out for the comma in that complex sentence is something that you might miss or could break your flow. This is why you choose to write in Hemingway which does the job for you.
‘Pure writing flow’ Yes, Ilys guarantees this because it is programmed like this. Ilys is a very effective writing tool for practically everybody but is probably also harder on you than your gym coach. You are, however, grateful to them for keeping you in that routine when you see results, right?
You will be grateful to Ilys too. You have to feed in your target word count, which Ilys will lock, implying that you cannot stop writing until the word count is reached. It does not allow you to delete, go back, or edit before you reach that target.
Once done, you have complete freedom to edit as you like. Ilys does this so that you can form a good habit, dear writer, to keep the processes separate and improve your flow, helping you create long-form content and time management skills.
SEO storytelling for content marketing is an art form. Whether you’re a college student writing a research paper, or the CEO of a thriving content agency who’s mastered the art of writing, your key tool before you write is to read. I know it because I read it before I wrote this piece.
The same piece is now furnished properly and is at your disposal to scroll through. That blank page holds umpteen possibilities for different writers, but more often than not, it starts in a similar way for most of them, with the constant blinking of that intimidating cursor. There are various challenges that you must have faced and probably continue to face as you sit down to write.
This becomes very creatively draining since it is not easy to generate new ideas on a regular basis and to create spot-on content for your user. However, you and I, both know that this is no excuse either. So, here are some of the best content writing tools that industry experts stand by to improve content writing skills to keep you well informed and ideating.
6. Feedly
Like they say, ‘Be in the know.’ Feedly is a news aggregator application that operates across various devices running on Android and iOS and also has a cloud service. This tool keeps you up-to-date with everything from the latest blog post of your competitor to the newly uploaded YouTube video of your favorite channel.
With its easy availability and accessibility, you can go through important feeds and trending topics to know what you should be creating your content on, next.
This is what your display will look like. You have the selected categories and other user options along the left column and your daily digest will appear on the main screen.
An extremely useful tool with omnipresence on the Internet, RSS Feed Reader monitors a massive range of online information sources to see what is changing and constantly being updated.
It allows a user to monitor news sites, blogs, Twitter or Facebook pages, financial information, daily deals, classified sites, and government alerts, to name just a few. It is, however, often misunderstood for its purpose. So, consider this – RSS is basically your personal spy.
There is no point in subscribing to all those web sources if you cannot keep track of their new updates/posts. By subscribing to the RSS feed of a website, you take that extra step ahead. The browser monitors the site and alerts you every time there is an update while keeping your private information safe.
So, be it a conversation with your friend over a coffee or your next content topic, you are soundly prepared.
What the Internet is about right now.’ Clear from its tagline, Digg is another news aggregator website that is designed to keep up with the most trending topics for an Internet audience. This is one of the best apps for social news.
By following Digg, you are making sure that you never miss out on the most happening and potential topics that your content can cover.
Yes, they have an exclusive section on Donald Trump too.
The name sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, what this tool does is incredibly helpful. It analyses how trending a particular topic is on the basis of the frequency of Google searches made around the world.
It calculates and gives you results based on time (year-wise), location, and also by category. For instance, the most searched topic currently, across most parts of the world, is the FIFA World Cup. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Google Trends also provides a feature to compare the trends of the different keyword(s) or topic searches against each other to get a sense of their popularity or similarity and differences among those.
Modify your target keywords and seed keywords and you can strategize on the basis of these trends and fill the existing gaps with your content. So, here you know which medium of marketing is better preferred.
This is your analytics tool to analyze social networking sites for specific hashtags, keywords, posts, etc.
Keyhole does a complete timeline check to show you the popularity of a particular topic. It also gives you related topics, top user postings, location-based results, and so on.
Researched and written, your content piece is now ready. But, the process does not just end there. You need to publish and ensure your landing page has an effective reach, right?
For this, we have compiled a list of platforms that help you publish your content online in a user-friendly and optimized manner, so as to strengthen your current user base and attract new ones.
These people have taken content marketing to a whole new level with a will to genuinely interest their users, and not impose upon them. Outbrain taps into the user’s mind and actually engages them with content that is appealing and engrossing.
Theirs is a content recommendation platform that puts the word out about your brand on many web publishing sites.
Their key focus is to keep the user/viewer engaged and on-site for as long as possible. In the words of David Sassoon, the Founding COO, “Algorithmically, at Outbrain, what we’ve really been trying to tackle is how do you… power serendipity through data.” Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? They are your go-to people to help you spread the word.
“Don’t just promote your content, use it to build relationships.” Like Outbrain, OneSpot has a similar agendum – engage with your user repeatedly to build a relationship.
They believe in not only distributing content as far and wide as possible but also in holding on to your existing customer base by delivering personalized and preferred content. They “remarket” content recommendations across digital devices, making you the user’s favorite stop for relatable and desired content.
“CodeFuel is a key ingredient when it comes to content marketing, in making the Internet accessible for everyone through intelligent advertising.” Makes it clear what they do, does it not? CodeFuel is another one of those big names in this domain that helps brands and organizations scale their product by laying emphasis on user needs.
Adam Goodvach, the company’s business development VP, says, “What we’re focusing on is the intent of the user.” By providing relevance, they draw on their user’s interests, and by delivering analytics that wraps ad units in a simple manner, they keep the publisher updated with how they’re being interacted with.
Acrolinx is the only software in this domain that is powered by AI and uses techniques like natural language processing as part of the larger process of machine learning. It understands your content, evaluates it, and then guides you to optimize it in a way to reach a user base that will find applicability in your content.
From guiding the writer with grammar and tone to ensuring ROI, Acrolinx is an SEO tool that heavily enhances your entire content marketing and content writing process. Acrolinx has been chosen by some of the world’s most powerful brands and organizations, creating suitable and high-performing content for them.
Similar to Acrolinx, Percussion is a content management and development system that helps you boost your strategy and take control of your website. Helping you to revamp your website without you having the technical skills for it, they “focus on getting the right digital content to the right channel at the right time.”
This is a digital publishing software that helps you create and publish your content with the right visual appeal. Like they say, ‘Experience limitless web publishing.’ They do not restrict you with templates; they allow you all the free space you need to create your design.
Their main goal is to help you build and publish effectively and consistently, gaining the desired results.
So, these are the best content writing tools for researching, curating, and writing great content. We hope that these state-of-the-art tools equip you to upgrade your methods and get better returns. Happy marketing!
