Writing is a Creative Art

I was going through some emails from various organizations and placement companies that are constantly looking for freelance content writers recently. I was going through them with customary nonchalance that has become the norm now when such emails hit my inbox.

Most of them want the same output at similar pathetic budgets. Let me put down here some of the ‘usual offers' that pour into the overstuffed inbox:

• Need 18 - 25 articles (in a month) if you are a fresher, in case of experienced writers, the demand can exceed 50 articles in a month. They can be from any sector or industry. Internet can be used for research. All articles should be rewritten and proof-checked.
  
• We will give you a wonderful platform to showcase your talent but, sorry we can't pay as publicity is a priority over content. We want great quality content with original images, if possible.
  
• Need articles for websites. Will be paid 30 paise per word (1 rupee is 100 paise). Length of article should be around 1000 words... etc. etc. etc.

Many learning and training organizations also seek the earth and the moon (read customized and quality training content) at ridiculous budgets and practically zero timeline.

After going through such emails for years now, I have decided not to raise to the bait ie. write back saying, "Sorry. You are being ridiculous." I just ignore or delete them in my attempt to keep my inbox clutter-free.

I know that consultants are not supposed to be negative about work of any kind because, hey they are ‘possible’ clients! And we depend on them for work. We are supposed to grin and be polite like some rag doll with a permanent smile painted on its face or a housewife forced to make laddoos like Sridevi in her comeback film, English Vinglish, to supplement her income. But, I choose to differ.

I have decided to completely ignore such summons. I have in the last few months even listened to many such pitches where the person-concerned tried to sell their wonderful concept to me soliciting my 'help' to put it on paper without discussing 'money' because, it's all between 'friends'.

But, wait a minute please! "You would not have suggested that I work for free if I was "really" your 'friend'!" 

I don't mind a few friends here and there who go ahead and tell me upfront that they are stuck and need help for which they cannot pay. I am perfectly fine with that. I get stuck and often seek help too.

But, people in general need to understand that writing is a creative art. It takes time, patience and craftsmanship to be delivered. It is in no way a cup of Instant Coffee.

Also Read: How to Write a Story

I take pride in what I do. I do it well. I am a writer and I treat my talent as something precious.

I am sure that there a whole lot of people willing to work for a lot less or even for free but, the quality of their work shows that they don't know the first thing about writing.

I had done a piece on story writing earlier. I have also done workshops on creative content writing for teams of 'writers' on the same. I realized however, that though everyone loves a story and often has several to tell, most are unable to follow the basics even after they have gone through the program. It is not easy to write a coherent story or even article with proper flow if you are not willing to learn the basics. 

The problem with most ‘aspiring’ writers being, “I know because I studied in school…” Sorry! You learnt only the basics of grammar and how to answer questions in school. That was definitely not content writing. It at best gives you basic communication skills through the written word. It would be great to accept the truth and learn how to write first before picking up jobs that helps you pay pocket money or maybe not even that going by the price of written words quoted by some of the advertisers.

I have also been told by many that people who often advertise such ridiculous sums often end up not paying at all. Well! I don’t blame them. You agreed on the ridiculous price in the first place, then delivered content lifted from the Internet and maybe they decided you have credibility or quality issues and refused to pay for shoddy work. It is perfectly understandable.

Most people don't understand that the Internet is at the best, two dimensional and at worst, a space where wrong information is teeming and crawling for attention.

Writing from the Net and for it is not writing because, it lacks the depth, feeling and understanding of the topic and that shows. The end result is shoddy and can easily be traced by the original writer because it is hastily slapped together with just about no care to even change the grammatical mistakes in the original story.

If you are lucky, you will not be caught but, if you are then, be ready to pay the price of such a transgression. It can be heavy.

Writing is a fine art and like most arts, it is not only something inbuilt (you are simply born with the talent) but, also something that comes with practice. You need to be critical of your own words and expressions, need to read extensively and with a keen eye for detail.

Anyone who says that they are professional writer but, don’t like reading or just read ‘airport / railway station literature’ needs to rethink their chosen profession.

If you don’t read, do not understand the nuances of dialogue writing, the power of words correctly used to convey a feeling and not to showcase your familiarity with the ‘lexicon’ or if you cannot write without being ‘inspired’ by other articles or stories need to take a rain-check. Maybe, it is really NOT your calling. 

You may earn a living out of it but, it may not be enough because, you are not passionate about it.

If you still think you want to write. My suggestions would be start with the basics:

• Read. Read as much as you can in the language you want to write in.
  
• Then, learn to write short, well-crafted original sentences. Keep them simple.
  
• Write short paragraphs to capture real experiences you have had using short, succinct sentences and dialogues.
  
• Bring out the sentences and paragraphs after a week and check for possible improvements.
  
• Rewrite, craft, make others read them and seek active criticism.
  
• Rewrite again. Keep writing and rewriting till you feel it is good enough to be shown to someone from the fraternity or to be entered in a contest.
  
• Meanwhile, don’t stop reading. 

Writing demands lifelong improvement just like any other skill especially if you want to pursue a career in it. 

Styles change with the season, new words enter the vocabulary. Delivery of dialogues undergo changes as new words make entries. The society changes sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly and a writer needs to capture all such changes in their craft.

Remember there are no shortcuts to this. If you want to be a professional writer you should be ready to be a lifelong student. Only then, will you be able to command the price for your skill.

What Users Want

If you are in the business of content development you should know by now that there is no way to know what will work with your audience.

It is sometimes baffling what will click with an audience and what may not. At times I have posted some well-curated or well-researched content but, found no takers. In contrast, some very random posts get totally unexpected appreciation. The pattern is same with learning content. You may design the best learning games or weave the learning into the best of stories but, when you evaluate retention, you realize the audience was not engaged enough to learn!

I agree that high-end learning does not work for everyone however, there often is no telling what does. What is making the business of catering to tastes more and more difficult now is also the fact that in this era of 'individualism' you cannot really club users into types or groups anymore. There are all possibilities that the content may not work for everyone in the group.

Why?

With increased presence in the social media at all times thanks to the smart phones, everyone has become an 'individual'. The digital social presence that started with chat rooms hanging out with virtual people in the late 90s when a conversation started with, "ASL (age, sex, location) please" is now crowded with curated presence on the Internet. You don't need to ask anything about a person anymore - just go to their Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Reddit, Tumblr or Instagram profile/ handle and it's all there. Every profile has a storyline. You can go on Twitter and check a person's political views or lack of it or read blog posts to determine their thought process.

Each and every person is a storyteller today and have the leading role in the story of their lives. No doubt that a recent survey recently reported that 50% of the Millennials think that their lives should be turned into a movie.

Don't be surprised. When you put up your life on the Internet and treat your smartphone like how Gollum treated the ring in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and share every moment of your life on a platter with friends and strangers, you obviously start believing that you are a brand. While many argue that this kind of presence on the social media is making strangers of family members because the only place they hang out together is on the Net, I firmly believe that being on the Internet helps broaden your horizons. The access to news, ideas and knowledge is immense and it is all free. When you are browsing all the time and learning so much, your IQ is bound to be much more developed than many others around you and you are bound to have very well-developed interests as well as dislikes - in short, you know your mind and don't care if it does not match your peers'.

Which brings us back to our dilemma, what works for such a diverse and eclectic audience who already have access to almost every information for free?

It is obvious that despite knowing that your audience has individualistic tastes it is not possible to create content targeted for individuals. So, what is the solution if we cannot create content targeted for either groups and individuals then what works?

The best solution would be asking them to do it.

Don't be surprised by the solution. It has already a rage in the marketing world and also in learning and development. It is called, Reverse Marketing' in one and 'Hands-on Training' in the other. It comes with personal branding and endorsement of and from each and every individual involved.

Have you ever thought why a Kim Kardashian is so well-followed individual with immense influence though she is neither a movie star nor a model? I am sure you have and the answer is that she is famous for being famous! She and her family are mostly famous because they hung it all out there for their reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The intimacy of sharing their daily life with television audience for several years made them immensely famous. And while we would think that daily life of a family would put people off, in reality it had the opposite effect. The audience bonded knowing that no one was writing the script and that the storyline was developing on its own just like their own lives and wanted more. The rest as they say is history!

Now, take for example the soap brand, Dove. They burst into your lives with real people and real stories. They ran a series of advertisements where unknown women shared their tryst with the soap on TV endorsing the fact that it made their skin feel smooth and happy. It worked. It still is working. Dove has no celebrity brand ambassadors but, has a thriving niche market!

Now, think of all the blogs and Instagram postings and Facebook and Twitter shares on the social media. It is engaging billions of like-minded as well as diverse sets of people with each other. The influencers with huge online following are as easily unknown people who have gone 'viral' as much as well-known faces from glamour, sports or politics.

So, coming back to our discussion, what works, well... Here's your answer.

I have said it earlier and I will say it again. You can click with your audience by being yourself and being visible. Create a strong platform for yourself. Make your opinion count and let the audience come to you. Be the viral guru!

Or

Throw the platform open. Interaction is the key to your success. Let the users lead the show.

How?

It is pretty simple actually. Let them set the pace. Here are some of the ways you can do it:

1) Use interactive platforms where your users can share their experiences, thoughts and ideas

2) Let the users lead the campaign or training - you can be the facilitator

3) Let the users dive into their experiences and share their understanding of what you want to teach/ sell

4) Ask them to upload videos, submit papers or write ebooks that endorse or reinforce what you are wanting to say

There are many other ways to do this as well but...

Yes there is always a but.

When you throw your doors open to the village, you need to keep a watch that your house is not ransacked.

What do I mean?

Simple. When you are letting everyone share their opinion in your campaign or course, you need to have the last word. Ensure that you check and curate everything that goes out to the world. Your role is the most important here. You will be the floodgate that lets the water out. If you don't know when to clamp-down and when to let go, then it may not work.

How to do that?

Well, that would be the topic for another story. For now, build your community, gather it together and take the plunge!

All the best!

Why Content should Hit the five Senses

Every human being has five sensory organs and uses them to learn, remember and memorize situations and incidents. These memories help shape their character and behavior. As a content person you need to ensure that at least two to three of these sensory organs are getting stimulated to make an impact on your audience. But, hey! They are once removed from you and hence, virtual. So, how will you work it out?

This is a problem that anyone creating marketing campaigns would face. Because, unlike a sales person, a marketing content writer does not have access to a live audience except during an event. But, organizing events is a pretty expensive proposition which would require a whole lot of propaganda to rope in the target audience.

So, how to sell an idea to a virtual person?

The answer is simple, target their five senses.

I'll take a simple example. You need to create a campaign for an audience that travels frequently and enjoys it. You have to 'help' them decide that it is best for them to cook their own food when travelling and then, help them train on basics of cooking using vlogs or videos that have been either made by your team or by a client. Or maybe sell a cookbook or dried ingredients that can be carried around the world easily as they travel.

Your brief is clear but, how about the audience?

Obviously your audience is a bunch of travelers who wake up in two to three different places every month, cooking would be the last thing on their minds. As it is, they can grab exotic local food for very less price wherever they are.

What can you do to make them change their minds?

This is usually the most important part. And this is exactly what your client expects you to do.

Your client wants to sell the concept of cooking-on-the-go to people who are least bothered about cooking because they are travelers. They may not even be looking at anything cooking-related at this time. So, what is the way around to get their attention?

Often a content specialist is expected to sell an idea to an unresponsive audience and therefore, is no less than a sales person. While a salesperson uses spoken words demonstration to sell items, a content person is stuck with the difficult prospect of often selling ideas and concepts to people who are not even engaged. They may not even look at your efforts as they are not hardwired to look for it.

Don't worry there is always a way around. That is why you get paid. Get the attention by hook or by crook. If normal is boring then try disruption. It will at least get you attention. Remember, Shakespeare said it first, "Beg, Borrow or Steal." Or as in this case, use your guile to pull the audience into a cauldron of sensory perceptions.

How?

Do what you have to. Use emotions, explore their interest areas and the mediums best suited to reach out to them because they would be using them more. You have to be aware of your target's head or rather how it works.

Remember, the most important sensory organ are the eyes. Research says that:

• Almost 50% of your brain is involved in visual processing at any given time
• 70% of your sensory receptors are in your eyes
• A visual scene is sensed in less than 1/10th of a second

So, there you are. Grab the eyeballs - literally!

Remember, unless you delve deep, you cannot succeed. I'd say that if the stakes are high, go walk a mile in your users' shoes. You can befriend them online, join clubs where they frequent or travel to a new location where you can hangout with them. In short, see and figure out what they like to see or would want to see.

This is research and is often hard work.

But once you know your audience and what moves their groove, target it. Develop a campaign around it. Maybe they genuinely miss home cooked food or they just want to save money. Who knows? Try all the pressure points you discovered during your research because not everyone will have the same taste or thought process.

Now, start by creating curiosity about your product. How it can change their lives and make it better than it already is? Let the sense of hearing be clubbed here and make interesting videos that not only show and tell but, also compel to touch and taste.

Once the target audience starts hitting your website, they need to be hooked. They need to be interested enough to stay and check it out. That's when your skills at content creation and designing comes in. Your web design should be minimal and website, easy to navigate. If you think that your hard-earned visitors will be hard-pressed for time, make your campaign the central point on the website. It can be a stand-alone page that tackles nothing else.

So, now that your audience is here and looking what should you do? Well! It again depends on the visitors you are attracting. Use this attention wisely. They will only give you a few seconds at first so, be sure that you have your pitch ready and run with your idea before they can say, 'blink'.

Now that you have lived their lives, you must now what ticks their boxes. Go for it. If you think they miss home-cooking then, showcase a tempting video of easy-to-cook meal that tastes just like home and give it away for free. Let them try it out at their own pace. Let their nose smell and tongues taste the labor of their own cooking using your sample video.

If you think, that they need a push in the right direction, you can show them the money or the health benefits of home cooking.

You could use an infographic on how cooking their own meals with simple ingredients can considerably lower their overall cost of travelling. That should make them sit up. Show through it that with the money saved they will be able to take an extra trip every six months maybe. You will of course need to work it out.

Or use the health and safety plank. How cooking their own simple meals can help them stay healthy on foreign trips and unhygienic food.

Use your research and go for the kill. Ensure that they click on a free video to check how to make this miracle happen.

Once, they have tried your product for free, then they can decide if they can really go with it or not.

You must realize that only 10 in say 500 will actually pay and sign-up for your product and maybe just 1 or 2 will further endorse you and refer you to others. So, you need to keep the traffic coming.

Happy fishing!

Blink and Miss: On Millennials & Overcoming Attention Span Disorder

I read recently that millennials have an attention span of 12-8 seconds - even less than that of a goldfish!

I know that most of you already know that but, what are we going to do about it?

As a creator of content it almost turns me into a ball of knots to think that I have no time to catch attention of the people I am trying to catch attention of - go figure!

I have also been reading up on disruption as a technique to catch attention but, I honestly do not believe that attention grabbed that way can be held for too long. It can be used as a one-time-odd gig to pull people in but, it doesn't guarantee that they'll stick around.

So, what can I do to grab those roving eyeballs and turning heads to stay in place and glued to what I want them to see - my content?

I pondered for a couple of weeks on this and meanwhile, kept rewriting my draft here. I spoke to some of these so-called 'dreaded' millennials and found them not much different than me in habits and behavior. Except for one BIG difference - they were way more relaxed in their approach towards life and that they pursued things with passion. If it clicked for them then, they'd move mountains to work on it.

No wonder then that there are so many web influencers who are perhaps half my age but, they have huge following on web portals and social media. They may not be sharing the best, most polished content but, they were dedicated and honest in their postings. They are also interacting with others in their network. They have grown because they actually read what others were writing, cared to comment and strike up conversations. Plus, they are sharing personalized messages and views on what works and what doesn't. There is a lot of care in the chaos if you look at it closely.

Which led me to believe that they were actually not lacking in attention department but, were pretty high on the passion front. They like to be appreciated and in turn are ready to appreciate other people's handiwork albeit it is a personalized and honest attempt and I am not talking of the bloopers videos!

So, wow! Therein lay my answer.

Buried in the discussions on lack of attention we had forgotten that, we are equally inattentive when it comes to things we don't care for. But, the difference between Gen X and the Millennials is that the later are passionate in their pursuit of what holds their fancy. It does not matter too much if it doesn't bring home the bacon but, it does make them feel appreciated. There are so many of them touring the Earth like vagabonds on tight budgets to be able to click pictures of remote places and share them with the world. There are those who are religiously blogging about their newborns and toddlers or baking recipes. They don't care to follow the tried and tested path unlike their predecessors.

It all fell in place the other day while interviewing a girl for a corporate role, I asked her the age-old HR question, "where do you see yourself five years from now?" I was smugly settled thinking she'd make up a long story about climbing the ladder to the top but, she stole my thunder with, "I want to start my own bakery and be a famous TV food host." She was so convinced that she was going to achieve it by watching YouTube videos of other famous cooks and chefs and baking up a storm in her kitchen. She didn't come from a very well-to-do family nor did she look like someone who had everything provided for her by her doting parents. On the contrary, she was contributing to the family income.

I loved her answer and it made me rethink everything that is being said about the Millennials. They are not seeking what the Baby Boomers had not already asked for. Then why do we criticize them for putting themselves and their families first?

We couldn't even say that to our folks at home forget at job interviews.
  
After that I decided to look into each and every bit of content that I have been working on and asking myself:

• Is is great?
• Does it make an emotional connect?
• Is it focused?
• Is it easy to understand and follow?
• Does it make an impact?

And the most important question:

• Will it stop me in my tracks if I had not made it myself?

The last question is the most important. If we are able to answer it honestly. A whole lot of issues that we face with audience attention disorder can be done away with if we can answer that one from our guts.

So, my take on creation for the supposedly ADD Millennial audience:

• Keep it simple
• Keep it focused 
• Keep it useful
• Don't preach
• Make it your own

Unless we can honestly tick all the boxes, keep reworking. You will hit the sweet spot! (Pun intended) 

The Instructional Designer as a Bespoke Tailer

'Instructional Designing is boring!' I often hear many younger teammates complain. The lack of creativity often turns many towards trying out other more creatively-paying jobs abandoning ID by the wayside.
But, I have always disagreed that argument. An ID's job is NOT boring. On the contrary, it is no less interesting than that of a Fashion Designer's or Bespoke Tailor's!
"Training becomes boring without interactivity." This was the very first input I had received when I started off around 14 years back as an ID.
"But, how much interactivity?"
That is a pertinent question to ask especially when you are creating content for classroom training purposes. Because, in a classroom, the trainer is the helmsman who keeps things going. S/he needs to have a grip over the class. If the content is too interactive, the trainer may have a tough job keeping things together. Unless of course it is an outdoor training camp or a theater workshop. Then of course, the approach changes.
Similarly, while developing creative content which could be either, game-based, story-based or audio/video-based, it is important to know your audience and then, think what would work for them before running with a current fad.
Remember that the latest in fashion does not work for everyone. A stylist or a fashion designer would suggest different clothes to enhance the personality of each client. A dress is often designed keeping in mind the demography, body type, age, season, fashion, purchasing power and finally the outfit to make an impact by enhancing the personality of the one wearing it.
Similarly, Creating training content is like high-end or bespoke tailoring. You need to cut the cloth according to the requirement and keep in mind the personality of the wearer. It may not be as glamorous a job as a fashion designer's but, it is very similar. The idea is to cut the cloth according to need.
Many IDs often think that theirs is a very non-creative line of work. They are not thinking out-of-the-box. A good course material always reflects the ingenuity of the Instructional Designer. They are like well-tailored suits. The cloth is cut and stitched to accentuate the wearer's body and highlight their best features while hiding the flaws. Similarly, a well-designed course should also work for the end user by not just being good to look at but, also allowing them to learn and apply the newly-acquired skills at work thus enhancing their career.
If you don't study your end users or recognize their needs, the training content you create for them is unlikely to make any impact on the learner. No matter how creative, interactive, beautiful, knowledgeable your training material, it will only work if it is relevant for the end-user and enhances their skills and boosts their careers. Just like a beautiful but flashy outfit would look out of place on an elderly person but, works wonders on a younger wearer and vice versa.
To be able to make hard-hitting training course, an ID needs to get inside the mind and working life of the end user. The ID also needs to speak to the manager, the customer and the company head honchos to understand what is it the vision of the organization and where does the target audience fall in the scheme of things. As a dress must be designed keeping in mind the need and the occasion when the wearer is going to put it on. A party dress cannot be worn to work.
Then there is the content itself. It pays to remember that a Subject Matter Expert (SME) is NOT an ID. An ID needs to pick and choose the relevant and discard the rest this is very important. It is often difficult for the SME to do so. Not every tailor can be a designer. Can they? But, a fashion designer need not be an expert tailor. Their job is to make their clients feel confident of facing the world in the clothes designed for them.
Finally, the medium of instruction, how will the training be delivered? Will it be on an online platform? Will it be delivered face-to-face? On a mobile phone? As a book or workbook? As a hands-on training? These factors also have an impact on the course design. Each medium needs to be handled differently and an interactivity used in one for the same course cannot be reused in another - at least not without making proper adjustments to make the activity/ game/ story fit in with the medium. As cloths are designed keeping in mind, season, trend, age, lifestyle and many other factors.
If your assessment is correct then your course design solution is definitely going to make an impact on your learners' careers just like a designer dress on a fashionista. At the end of the day both the Instructional and the Fashion Designer help their clients by making them face the world with confidence.
But, don't forget the Jazz. It helps keeping the story moving in the classroom or in a self-learning session.
Happy designing folks!

Content Can't Be Original But, Treatment Must Be

Creating original content is perhaps the most difficult thing in the world. I was reading somewhere the other day that, 'everything original has already been created by God.'

It's absolutely true.

Every story worth telling has already been told and every idea worth trying has already been applied by someone at some point or the other. Few scientific discoveries are without controversies. For each patent or scientific discovery that is lauded, there will at least be a handful of inventors who at some point will come out and say that they too were on the verge of discovering the same thing or that they had already discovered but, did not file for the patent on time.

This is not unusual because, everything worth discovering is already out there for millions of years. Man has been walking on Earth for a 1000 generations now and every story worth telling has already been experienced/ expressed by someone even if it is the most unique or one of its kind.

So, what makes the cut if every story has already been told?

You.

Yes, you are the USP of your story. How you tell it, what is your focus, your roadblocks, your perspective is what makes it unique.

The greatest storyteller of all time, William Shakespeare never used a single original story. He picked up some of the most well-loved tales from across the continent and adapted them with timeless dialogues and some of the most well-crafted scenes that have been put up on stage ever.

To his credit, he knew the pulse of the audience. He knew emotions made an impact on them. They could connect to them at the level of blood, sweat and tears. There were blood and wars, love and thunder, heads rolling and kissing on stage that made the onlookers throw rotten eggs and tomatoes at the actors in excitement. And made them come back again and again for repeat shows.

Needless to say that William Shakespeare who studied in a free school and was caught poaching a fawn from a rich man's estate retired a rich man himself - not to mention famous and influential and well-known.

I have always believed that Shakespeare's vast success is due to his great understanding of human emotions and being in touch with the common people of his time. Another interesting thing that Shakespeare's works showcase is that human emotions are timeless. The plays with their deep understanding of human nature remain relevant even till date.

Any good content should be treated as your creation. Creation is like giving birth or rebirth. When you create you are bound to put a lot of you in it. And that is what makes your creation exceptional. A lot of great works of arts were birthed by mistake or made unique because of the creator's quirk.
If it was not for cataract, we would not have seen the waterlilies by Monet as they are till date - masterpieces.

I rest my case with what I started with, to be a great creator, you have to immerse yourself in your work and make a difference in the outcome just by being you - just like I did in the image that I created for this piece.