Interview with Aakanksha Jain content creator

“Don’t get distracted. Never tell yourself that you need to be the biggest brand in the whole world. Start by working on what you need at the present moment and then what you need to do tomorrow. So, set yourself manageable targets.”

I had a conversation with Aakanksha Jain who is founder of Books Charming and Author of a non-fiction book, How to Become an Amazon Influencer.

She shared her valuable experiences and her career journey to become a founder and author of non-fiction book, How to Become an Amazon Influencer.

Aakanksha is a fabulous book blogger, reviewer, and promoter. Aakanksha provided an honest, thoughtful review of any book.

Aakanksha is professional, knowledgeable, and an asset to any author.

Below, you can see the full Q&A and learn more about content creators.

1. An introduction about yourself

Hi, My name is Aakanksha Jain, founder of Books Charming and Author of a non-fiction book, How to Become an Amazon Influencer.

2. How did you become a Content Creator? Could you tell us about your career journey, starting with your education?

I’m a Commerce graduate and an MBA drop-out. I worked as a school teacher for three years before I become a full-time content creator.

It all started in mid of 2017; I was going through many things and not happy with my job, so I started searching for a future where I can be my boss.

I was always good with words, and writing makes me calm, so I started blogging on random topics.

Within a few months, I realized that I need to find a niche and finalized book blogging.

By the end of 2017, I started posting book reviews and never look back.

3. Why did you choose the field of content writing? How did you get introduced to this field? What inspires you the most about your career choice?

To be honest, this field chose me. When I begin my journey, I never thought that I’d earn money from it; it was an experiment to see where it goes and mostly to learn something about blogging.

But the deeper I go, I realized that this field has enormous opportunities to grow and earn money, not to forget the fame of becoming a successful content creator.

The most inspiring thing about my career choice is that I’m my boss, and it is something that makes me go every day for the last four years.

4. What leads up to finding “the perfect” story for a brand?

For me, the excellent story comes from tons of bad decisions, non-stop learning, shining under challenging times, and most importantly, by the core values and how they inspire others.

No brand is perfect, but they all can be imperfectly perfect. Just stay true to yourselves and your audience.

5. Why did you choose to freelance? When did you begin to freelance? Were you plan it, or how did it happen?

As I said earlier, it all started as an experiment. I never plan about it; I just go for it.

6. What are the most prominent techniques that you use to market yourself?

Social media channels. I share each and everything related to Books Charming there, and it helps me to get exposure.

7. What has been the biggest challenge for you as a content creator, and how did you overcome it?

I have a list of these challenges, you know. But I think my biggest challenge was to create competitive rates; being a novice, it’s hard to know how much money you can ask for or not.

I self-doubted myself for a long time but overcame this issue in 2018 with the help of my partner Prateek.

8. According to you, what are the top five skills that a content writer should possess?

1. Good communication skills – both written and speaking.
2. Multitasking – Excellent at multitasking.
3. Eager to Learn – Eager to learn new things and ready to implement them.
4. Be practical and patient – because content creation is not something that is for everyone, and if you enter this field only for quick money; trust me, you’re not going to succeed here.
5. Be Creative – You have to be creative and original.

9. Who and/or what influences your work and why?

My endless love for reading and writing influences my work. Also, I wanted to make Books Charming an international brand, so it inspires and motivates me to do better every single day.

10. How did you get your first client? What was your first project?

I worked for free for more than one and a half years to build my portfolio, and then I get my first paid client via LinkedIn.

She wanted me to review her two books on Books Charming.

11. Would you like to suggest any online courses for those who want to improve their writing skills?

See, I don’t have any writing background or a fancy degree in this field.

So, whatever I learned was reading other people’s articles and then working on my way slowly and steadily to create unique content of my own.

In the process, I did think about taking courses, but they are expensive, and not everyone can afford it.

So, I can only suggest that if you’re serious about it, then you can find tons of free resources online. Find them, study them.

12. Are there any hobbies or interests that helped you develop your writing skills?

Reading books and binge-watching Hollywood series helped me a lot to expand and strengthen my writing abilities.

13. What are your favorite tools to use as a content writer, how are they helpful?

1. I use SEMrush to keep a close look at my competitors.
2. Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixels to know about my audiences.
3. Keyword tools to make my content SEO worthy.
4. Canva for designing.
5. Grammarly for editing.

14. Is there a content writer who you admire or think they are killing right now?

I admire many creators, and they all have the potential and making this field more competitive.

15. How do you price your services as a freelancer? Any essential points that a new freelancer should know of?

We charge on a project basis, but for editing work, we charge per word.

If you’re a beginner, then you should charge less compared to someone who is an established freelancer.

Once you make a strong profile, then increase your rate, but keep it reasonable.

16. How do you deal with writer’s block? What are the steps that you take to overcome it?

Writer’s block is fundamental, and I hit it once or twice every month. Then, I completely stop working or thinking about the projects and go for a walk or watch series to overcome them.

17. What are the challenges that you face during freelancing? What were your worst mistakes?

I made a lot of mistakes but learned valuable lessons from each of them.

For example, sometimes, I send wrong emails or post content with grammatical or spelling errors in a hurry.

I also didn’t know about the importance of SEO and had a tough time realizing that it’s okay to ask for work/projects by contacting potential clients.

Now, it’s all in the past, but the lesson will always stay with me.

18. What are the major advantages and disadvantages of freelancing, according to you?

Advantages –

1. Be your own boss.
2. You can create enormous opportunities for yourself.
3. If you don’t like a project, don’t take it.

Disadvantages –

1. You need to work 24*7, 365 days to get ahead of your competition.
2. Unstable income.
3. You have to motivate yourself to keep going.

19. How to Make an Online portfolio?

First, provide a brief intro about yourself and the services you provide, collect the sample projects you worked on for clients, and asked them to give you a testimonial.

Then choose a suitable template according to your niche and organize the data.

20. What do you want to be in the future? How do you want history to look at you?

I choose an unpredictable and aggressive work field, and it suits my personality.

I’m an ambitious and strong-headed woman who knows that success comes from commitment and endless hard work.

The last four years taught me that I could be whatever I want to be, and I want to make Books Charming the best book blogging site globally. I’m working on it and had some plans in motion.

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