Building Indispensability and Igniting Creativity: Meet Sanketee Kher, an extraordinary Content Writer from India with a global vision.

In this week’s remote worker spotlight, we had the chance to speak to a visionary content writer from India who has used the power of building relationships and personal branding to build a global career for herself. Read more to discover Sanketee’s firsthand experience as a remote worker, her strategies for thriving in a competitive job market, and insights on overcoming gender barriers as well as tips that have helped her thrive as a Remote worker in India.

Hi Sanketee, it’s great to meet you! Could you please share your experience working remotely?

My first work experience was as a recruiter. It was an onsite role, but I wasn’t really happy with the kind of work I was doing, so I transitioned. Since then, most of the work I’ve done has been remote. Although I didn’t struggle with getting opportunities, the transition from an office environment to remote work was a bit difficult in the beginning. However, it’s really fun now.

I got my first remote job on LinkedIn in 2021. Initially, I thought they were remote because of COVID, but I discovered that they had always been remote. The application process was similar to that of an onsite job, except for the medium of communication.

Wow, that’s interesting! Have you worked with companies abroad, and was it difficult to find these opportunities?

Yes, as a content writer, most of my clients are from the United States. However, it was initially difficult to find these opportunities because there were often barriers like “only in the US,” “only in Canada,” or specific to Australian jobs, “only in Australia.” These restrictions can be discouraging. However, what has helped me so far is constantly updating my portfolio, showcasing my work, and building genuine relationships. This way, I often receive opportunities through referrals and inbounds.

I totally understand the barriers, experienced some myself. You mentioned being a Recruiter before. Was it challenging transitioning into the content space, and what made clients take a chance with you?

Well, I didn’t give it much thought, but when I first transitioned into freelancing, I worked with an agency where I couldn’t show my work to new clients. I had to start from scratch, so my focus was on building my portfolio. I created a few mock pieces, wrote an ebook, and used those to attract clients. When I started getting clients, most of them were local. I made sure to build long-term trust, and that helped me expand my portfolio in diverse niches like health and SaaS, although now I have specialized.

Hmm, Insightful. Speaking of updating your portfolio and showcasing your work, have there been situations where your articles were ghostwritten, and you weren’t able to share them?

Yes, most of my work is also ghostwritten. However, there are a few guest posting sites where I can have my own bylines, and I have written articles that allowed me to showcase my work to clients. Additionally, by building strong client relationships, some of my clients have given me the approval to showcase the work I’ve done for them, which helps attract more clients.

Building client relationships is important indeed. I’m curious because I’ve heard about how content writers in India are sometimes paid less compared to their counterparts abroad. Have you experienced a similar situation?

That’s true. Interestingly, this hasn’t happened to me much. When an overseas client can’t afford my prices, they have been really polite about it. However, I have experienced it when reaching out to Indian clients because they think I’m too expensive. So, my advice to other content writers is not to take those jobs. Earlier, I accepted lowball rates for the sake of building my portfolio or because I liked the product, but it wasn’t worth it. It led to constant hassle, micromanagement, and all sorts of issues you can think of with bad bosses or clients throughout the project. It may be difficult to say no, but that’s what I do now.

Hmm, when you say no, how do you feel afterward?

Earlier, I felt a little guilty about letting go of these opportunities. But now that I have been in the content space for a while, I know how things will turn out if I accept a bad offer. I know it won’t end well, and I’ll be unhappy. So, I make peace with it. I have actually visited your website a few times to look for gigs, as well as other job boards. Then I try to replace that with something else. Now, I’m past the guilt of turning down clients.

Your courage is amazing, Sanketee. When working remotely, have you faced gender barriers, considering that in India, like in Africa, women are often ascribed to gender roles and find it hard to balance career ambition with family?

Oh god, it’s a very similar culture here, but I have been extremely privileged. I come from a predominantly women-led family. My mother is also very supportive of everything I do, and I live with her. It’s very normal to stay with your parents until a certain age, so she takes care of all the work at home while also excelling at her job as a Supervisor at a school, plus she has been working for 35 years.

Oh wow! You are extremely lucky. She must be really amazing.

Yes, she is. And that’s why I don’t feel guilty and have time to look for more opportunities. However, as I mentioned before, when I was a recruiter, there was gender bias in employment, especially against married women. But my advice to women out there is to work really hard and have something to prove. We can’t do much to change their perception, but we can keep improving, and that’s what I believe

Hopefully, we keep breaking down barriers. So, what job boards and tools do you use as a remote content writer?

Most of my work comes from LinkedIn through inbound leads and referrals. I have also gained a few through outreach. I visit the Inclusivelyremote website, Problogger, and anything in the writing niche. I also make it a habit to do this every 15 days because I don’t have a full-time job, so I don’t know when one gig will end. For example, I lost one job when Chat GPT was released, so it’s really uncertain. It’s best to be prepared and not put all eggs in one basket.

As for content writing, the tools I love using are Grammarly, Google Docs, and Hemingway to ensure my writing is simple, and Notion to keep track of all my projects and set deadlines, so if an article is due on Wednesday, I set the deadline for Monday to be ahead of time.

This is very insightful. Are you currently in the job market? If you are, what’s a selling point you would like to share with any Recruiter or Founder reading this?

Okay, so I have a master’s in Psychology, which helps me create content that resonates with people. Moreover, it allows me to transition from content writing to content marketing, where I understand the funnel and the system needed for content to drive sales. Apart from this, I have over 5 years of experience in SaaS writing, and most of my work ranks on Google. So, if anyone wants to hire me, I’m available. chuckles

I love this. A company would be extremely lucky to have you. For our last question, what advice would you give to other remote workers?

The thing that sets remote work apart from office life is that you are at home and can work on your own schedule, which is great. However, you still need to have a routine. Without it, it’s very easy to slack off.

Ps: You can reach out to Sanketee, via her Linkedin or Portfolio