In the second episode of The Translate By Humans Podcast: For Humans, By Humans, our host Shifa Miyaji picks Senior Content Writer Aarohi Pathak’s brain on topics like content ideation, her preferred tools for structuring and organising her tasks and the importance of eCommerce localisation.
Hello everyone, welcome to Translate By Humans’ podcast, where I talk to colleagues, linguists, and experts about their lives, cultural experiences, and professions. I am Shifa Miyaji – a content writer and social media enthusiast, and I am going to take you on a journey through some amusing and inspiring personal stories.
We have Aarohi Pathak - Sr. Content Writer at Translate By Humans, with us today. In the last episode, Aarohi talked about her journey of becoming a writer, her experience as a remote worker, and more. If you missed the last episode, do check it out!
Today, Aarohi will be sharing tips of writing tools that must be in every writer's techstack, and eCommerce localisation tips that can help brands reach the global consumer market. So, let's begin!
Shifa
Hi Aarohi, welcome back! How are you doing this fine morning?
Aarohi
Hi Shifa, I’m doing very well, thank you 🙂 How are you?
Shifa
I’m great! So, the last time we talked, we got to know how you came to be a writer, and we got some snippets of your childhood and your college days too. Let’s move ahead and let’s talk specifically about writing – your work, the challenges you face while writing and how you find the right solutions.
Aarohi
Sure. I dabble in different kinds of writing – long form writing and short form writing. These include writing blogs, social media copies, brand emails, newsletters, website copy, case studies, UI/UX copy, and product knowledge base. Along with writing, I also create content strategies for brands and style guides to ensure all content and copy is on-brand.
Shifa
Wow, that’s quite a diverse set of skills. Looks like you’re a jack of all trades!
Aarohi
You could say that 🙂
Doing different things brings new challenges and keeps me on my toes. But eventually, I would like to build expertise in one area.
Shifa
I see. Which area is that?
Aarohi
I would love to learn more about product marketing and UI/UX copy.
Shifa
That sounds interesting. Also, you mentioned challenges. What challenges have you been facing?
Aarohi
As a writer, the challenges I face usually circle around some questions:
How do I ideate and create fresh ideas and content?
What resources do I need to create this content?
How do I find the sweet spot between selling a product or service and what content people wish to consume?
How much time do I need to create this content.
And finally, how do I amplify this content’s reach?
This is the entire life cycle of a piece of content.
Shifa
Okay. So give us a glimpse into what processes you follow for generating fresh ideas?
Aarohi
Sure. Well, most writers know that good ideas don’t usually have a great timing. One day you’re brimming with ideas, and another day you come up empty.
It’s quite hilarious actually. Since you’re a writer, people expect you to come up with ideas at the drop of a hat! That’s when your Hall Of Ideas helps you. Writers sometimes get ideas randomly. The ideas might be not-so-useful or irrelevant then, but I store them in my notes or pen them down. You never know when these ideas might come in handy.
Shifa
Do you also use some tools for brainstorming?
Aarohi
Yes, I do. To name some - I used SEMrush for brainstorming. Their content marketing tools let you run a keyword search and show you content ideas in the form of maps, popular blogs written including the keyword, and related keywords. Buzzsumo is quite helpful too. It gives you a list of all the hot topics so you know what people are talking about online. Honestly, most of the tools you need for ideating are available to you for free - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Quora.
Shifa
I agree. I too use these platforms to learn about the topics that are trending. Are there any specific tips you’d like to share?
Aarohi
Sure. I use Twitter lists extensively. I identify accounts that share interesting information relevant to the industry and add them all to my lists. That way, I don’t have to spend time looking through my entire feed to find good content.
On LinkedIn, you can follow relevant hashtags so the platform customises your feed based on them. Same goes for Instagram, too. Quora is a sea of information. It’s the perfect platform to reach out to experts and get their insights into the topic you’re exploring.
Shifa
According to you, how important is it to reach out to experts when creating content?
Aarohi
Oh yes, it’s important that writers do that. Especially when it comes to certain technical aspects – so you can ensure you’re presenting accurate information. Also, it adds credibility to your piece. In fact, I use a free platform called HARO (Help A Reporter Out) for finding experts and getting in touch with them.
Shifa
Right. That’s an awesome tip. Now let’s talk about something that happens to be every writer’s agony – deadlines!
People like creativity, but only when it comes with deadlines. How do you feel about this?
Aarohi
Yes, that’s so true. Which is precisely why we need structure and organisation.
Shifa
So, how do YOU organize all your content tasks?
Aarohi
Well, as you know we use Zoho Sprints to organise all our tasks. Using Sprints may seem like an unconventional choice. However, it helps us maintain an agile system – we get a clear vision of which tasks are blocked and the time we need to finish the current tasks.
I’ve also used Asana in the past. It’s got a good UI – helps writers categorise all their tasks neatly and see them all in one calendar view. Recently, I started using Notion. It provides a great scope for customisation – you can create different parameters and invite your entire team to collaborate.
Shifa
Yes, I, myself have created social media calendars in Notion. It is quite efficient. So let’s circle back to a very important question that you posed earlier – about the sweet spot between selling a product or service and what content people wish to consume. Can you elaborate on that?
Aarohi
Sure. Readers are rarely interested in getting to know your offerings unless they’re actively looking for a similar product or service. In that case, visiting the website’s pages and talking to a representative helps them best. However, the main aim of content should be an exchange of essential information in an engaging manner.
Aggressively promoting your offerings in blogs or social media copies might repulse readers. Instead, find out what challenges they face regularly and provide them with solutions. This is why ‘how to’ content works very well.
Shifa
I agree. It’s best to do a little bit of trial and error to see which kind of content is received well by your audience.
Aarohi
True, true.
Shifa
I’d like to tell our listeners that Aarohi has been researching and writing about eCommerce localisation for Translate By Humans. Over the last two years, she’s acquired a good understanding of the topic.
So Aarohi, for our readers who don’t know much about eCommerce localisation, how would you define it and what are its benefits?
Aarohi
The term ‘translation’ refers to converting text from one language to another. While you might think this is enough for customers, it’s not. Personalising customer experience requires you to go a step further – and that’s localisation. Localisation helps you adapt the all components of CX for another language, region, and culture.
Shifa
And why is it so important for eCommerce brands to localise their listings and websites?
Aarohi
The beauty of having an eCommerce business is that anyone in the world with a device and access to the internet can find your product.
The only thing restricting eCommerce businesses from reaching out to everyone is language. 65% of consumers prefer content in their language and 40% say they will not buy from websites in other languages.
Shifa
The numbers are quite a revelation. So can you give us an example of how it would play out in a real life situation?
Aarohi
Now, let’s say you visit an Amazon listing for a dress. As your location is in India, the information is in Hindi. However, the images show an American model wearing the dress. Moreover, the sizing chart is not suited to Indian system – XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL. The listing shows prices in dollars. Imagine the effort it’ll take for you to order one dress.
Localisation means adapting each and every component of a product to the target consumer market. That includes localising product images, size charts, currencies, checkout page, payment methods, and more.
Shifa
I see. So, what happens when an eCommerce listing or website isn’t localised properly?
Aarohi
It makes for a terrible customer experience. With so many options available online, businesses end up losing potential customers.
Shifa
I agree with you here. But many businesses think it’s quite a huge investment of time and money.
Aarohi
If a business is trying to do this in-house, it might seem like that. It’s wise to hire agencies or eCommerce translators who not only localise your listings and website but also ensure that it’s SEO-friendly. Having a good SEO means that your product page is likely to appear at first instance when a person searches for the product on a search engine.
Shifa
Right, their expertise and team of linguists helps cut down turnaround time thereby reducing costs – as opposed to hiring in-house employees.
Aarohi
Yes, true. And it’s also important to see this investment as a crucial one since this enables a business to expand its reach considerably.
Shifa
Very true. Now we know the integral role localisation plays in international markets.
So, before we end this episode Aarohi, would you like to share some tips or advice for all the budding writers listening to our conversation right now?
Aarohi
Sure. Every writer’s journey is unique. So, my advice may not be relevant to everyone.
One, I would advise you to try your hand at all kinds of writing - don't restrict yourself to one kind of writing early in your career. Two, like I said earlier, the best tools at your disposal are absolutely free. Having said that, if you think a certain tool can be of great help, do pitch it to your superiors. Three, never stop learning! Our profession is very dynamic. We can't stick to old rules and strategies. Keep updating your skills and keep moving upwards and onwards!
Shifa
That’s great advice Aarohi! It was great having this insightful conversation with you. We definitely learnt a lot.
Aarohi
My pleasure, Shifa. Thank you so much for having me.
Shifa
Dear listeners, if you have any questions about writing and eCommerce localisation, do comment below and Aarohi will respond to all your questions. Also, do check out all the informative blogs that Aarohi has authored for our website at www.translatebyhumans.com.
Stay tuned for our next episode where we’ll bring you another interesting story of one of our team members. Do subscribe to our podcast so you know when we release our next episode.
See you soon.
About The Translate By Humans Podcast
Made by humans, for humans. The Translate By Humans podcast takes you through some inspiring personal stories and cultural experiences of people working in the language industry.
