Interview with Aanchal Parmar Copywriter and Social Media Manager

“I think clarity starts with having (a few questions) really clear in your mind: ‘What is this blog post about and what am I going to teach my readers with it? How will it make them feel once they’ve learned this?”

I had a conversation with Aanchal Parmar who is copywriter and a social media manager.

She shared her valuable experiences and her career journey to become copywriter and social media manager.

She can write website content for you that will hook your readers to the end along with SEO practices.

She will also help you in attracting your potential customers to your social media page with amazing social media content.

Below, you can see the full Q&A and learn more about a digital world.

1. An introduction about yourself

So hey people, this is Aanchal Parmar; I am from Odisha. If I speak professionally about myself,

I am a copywriter and a social media manager, and personally, I am a final year student of B.com.

I love reading, and dance has been my soulmate since childhood!

2. How did you become a Content Writer or Social Media Manager? Could you tell us about your career journey, starting with your education?

So basically, I never thought of being a copywriter or social media manager.

I chose commerce as my education stream initially and thought of working at the Reserve Bank Of India.

However, I have always been a writer since my childhood, and when I started college, I got into blogging and started my blog on BlogSpot.

I used to post about fashion, travel, and self-help topics. This is how I discovered this career path of content writing and eventually started with social media management.

So I started off with internships in companies and then transitioned to freelancing. It has been a year now, and I am loving the freelancing part!

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

The reason why I chose these fields is complicated. When I started off blogging, I never knew that I could monetize this writing skill.

I have been a lover of writing, and I chose this because words hold a great amount of power.

People purchase products or trust because of the words on their website and social media.

This is the power that words hold, and when done right, it benefits both the businesses and the audience.

The person who introduced me to this field was Saheli Chatterjee, and most people know her as Helly.

She is my mentor, my inspiration, and my elder sister a friend, so I can’t thank her enough!

When it comes to my career, the most inspiring thing is e-mails and messages that I get from my clients and my audience that they are loving my posts, they are inspired by them, and they are getting results from my services.

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

A brand story should depict these two traits, first the representative or the owner of the brand and the target audience.

Your brand’s story should not be only you; it should be the mixture of you and why you.

This means why you are doing what you are doing and what one emotion will bind your visitors with your brand. This is what leads to that perfect brand story.

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

The reason why I chose freelancing is that I have the liberty to say no.

But when it comes to the corporate world, you don’t have that liberty to say no, to choose projects, or the opportunity to work with dream clients.

I began freelancing a year ago, and my life could not have been better.

I was planning it because I knew that the corporate world was not for me. And when I got that opportunity, I transitioned.

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

When it comes to marketing myself, I started off with LinkedIn, and it is a great place for any freelancer provided the ideal audience.

When it comes to LinkedIn, text posts get the best reach, and as a content and copywriter, it is the best place for me to show my writing skills.

There are two purposes of marketing myself, and those are:

1. To generate leads and get clients
2. To educate people

So I batched my content into two categories, one for newbie content writers and another one that would get me clients.

Then engaging and connecting with relevant people as much as I can.

After spending some time on LinkedIn and generating leads, I jumped on Instagram and figured my way there.

On Instagram, my sole purpose is to help aspiring content and copywriters or freelancers get started and scale themselves.

7. What has been the biggest challenge for you as a content writer or social media manager, and how did you overcome it?

Challenges are part of our lives, and we cannot escape from such challenges.

As a content writer, the biggest challenge I faced in my initial stages was SEO.

SEO is the most crucial for any content writer, but I had no clue about it, and my manager would always pile projects which needed SEO analysis.

I remember those days, and I would literally cry because I didn’t know SEO.

However, long story short, SEO is one of my biggest strengths now, and it couldn’t have been better.

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

1. Observation
2. Listening
3. Communication
4. Patience
5. Research

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

I have been blessed with a beautiful community on my socials and friends whom I have never met.

My community and friends are the major influencers; they are always there to support me during my failures and wins, be they small or big.

They are my strength, and this journey would have been really tough without them. I love my F101 community. Thank you so much, guys.

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

There is no need to take courses for writing. It will only improve when you start writing, and you make it a habit.

If you keep watching courses, but you don’t write a word, there is no chance that you will ever improve as a writer.

For LinkedIn marketing, I would recommend reading LinkedIn Inbound.

For copywriting Gary Halbert letters, The Adweek Of Copywriting Handbook, The Persuasion, and learn about consumer psychology as much as you can.

11. Are there any hobbies or interests that helped you develop your writing and marketing skills?

I have always been a reader and writer, which has benefitted me a lot in my career. Writing has been my habit since childhood.

12. What are your favorite tools to use as a content writer or social media marketer? How are they helpful?

As a content writer, my favorite tools are:

1. Google Docs – for writing
2. Keyword Surfer – For SERP analysis
3. Grammarly – for grammar checks
4. Hemingway – for readability analysis
5. Coschedule Headline Analyzer – For headline analysis

As a social media marketer my favorite tools are:

1. Mojo – For Stories
2. Plann – For designing the feed
3. Canva – For Designing Posts
4. Filmora – For video editing
5. Not Just Analytics – For Social Media Audit and tracking analytics
6. Ingrammer – For Hashtags
7. Publer and Facebook Creator Studio – For Scheduling

13. Is there a content writer or social media marketer who you admire or think they are killing right now?

Yes, Saheli Chatterjee and Shreya Patter. These two ladies are breaking that old stereotype image and killing it right now.

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

Honestly, I don’t have a fixed rate for my services. However, certain factors are important while pricing services:

1. The demographics of the client
2. The niche of the project
3. Are there any extras that you need to provide
4. The effort that you are putting into
5. Always consider the time you will need to give to this project.
6. Deadlines

For beginners, I would say always charge in advance and don’t start working until and unless the client signs a contract with you.

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

When I hit writer’s block, I don’t push myself to write something because I know that won’t be my genuine content.

So I give myself some time and let my mind settle. I am a believer, and I meditate to calm my mind and soul.

If I ever have writer’s block for more than one day, I start reading, listening to my all-time favorite songs playlist, going through my swipe file, and watching documentaries.

These are some of the things that I do to overcome writer’s block.

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

Freelancing is full of challenges, so when you think you have tackled one, another will come into the picture.

But, one of the major challenges that I faced initially was to say no, no to reduce my rates so that it matches with the client’s budget.

My worst mistake was not to charge in advance and not having a complete system of management.

However, now I am the opposite, I am a freak of organization, and it panics me if something is not managed and handled beforehand.

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

The major advantages of freelancing according to me are:

1. Liberty to choose who I want to work with
2. Liberty to choose the time I want to work.
3. Liberty to say no
4. No limitations when it comes to money

Major Disadvantages of freelancing according to me are

1. No manager would always correct you
2. Instability when it comes to income
3. At the end of the day, you answer yourself
4. There is no one to spoon-feed you.

So, if you are ready to hold accountability for your mistakes at the end of the day and you choose to grow rather than being in a single position for the rest of your life. Then freelancing is for you.

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

I want to be that successful badass woman who didn’t give a damn to anyone who said that I can’t be successful or rich if I choose to freelance.

I grew up in a middle-class family, and you know how the mindset of people in a middle-class family is.

Either they will say that you should marry or go for a government job.

But then we still cannot blame them because they just want that secured future for us.

However, I wanted something more; I didn’t want to sit in any government office and wait for another transfer.

I chose commerce, and most people advised me to take a CA course, but then I wasn’t able to do that because I wasn’t allowed to go out of my place for higher education.

So, when my college started, my teacher always said that if you haven’t taken any professional course, you cannot be successful in your life.

I want to change this particular mindset that, to be successful, you don’t need to have a certificate of a professional course. You just need to have that zeal and a strong mindset!

19. According to you, what are the top five skills a social media marketer should possess?

1. Patience
2. Copywriting
3. A knack for designing
4. Research
5. Management.

Follow Aanchal Parmar copywriter and social media manager to stay updated with her amazing work on her website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.