Blog On!

You sign into Facebook, perhaps post a few tweets, surf the Internet and indulge in all sorts of self-expression thanks to the free nature of the virtual world. In a nutshell, you can shout as much as you want and most often you will be heard too! Nothing exemplifies this more than blogging.
Once regarded as the domain of the tech-savvy, blogging has truly come of age, with professionals and everyday netizens becoming a part of the blogosphere. Unlike the initial period when blogging was just an outlet for one’s passions and interests, today, it has become a viable profession. Although a relatively new career in India, blogging is now being pursued seriously.
“I started blogging as a hobby back in 2008 because I love to write. A friend of mine, Karan Wadhera, suggested I start a blog. I had never heard of blogging until then. I also started to discover Perez Hilton and Pop Sugar and was very intrigued!
I was still doing radio full time and had also taken on being the Digital Head at Channel [V]. But I started to enjoy blogging so much that it almost became a daily activity. Plus, I almost immediately started getting positive feedback from people about the blog so that encouraged me to blog even more. The rest, as they say is history!” says Malini Agarwal, a popular celebrity blogger.

So You Think You Can Blog
Although blogging may come across as a piece of cake, gainful blogging is a different ball game altogether. You must network, have patience and most importantly, have an unwavering passion towards your blog. If you are one of the many who have been bogged down by the 9-to-5 job, blogging may come as a lucrative retreat. You get a chance to write on topics that you love and are passionate about, whenever you wish to. Basically you become your own boss! But you ought to ask yourself some crucial questions. Can you really earn your bread and butter from blogging? Are you serious enough to devote the required time to it? Will you be able to sustain your blog in the long run with your content? Indeed, there are plenty of questions and to get your blog up and running, you will first need to answer them all.

Lucrative or Not?
Let’s admit it; we are all suckers for money. Other than the usual perks that come with blogging, you can also rake in the moolah. Depending on how your blog is listed and the number of visitors it gets, blogging can give you some decent returns. And today, gaining money from your blogs is easier, thanks to the availability of services like Google AdSense, BuySellAds, TribalFusion and BlogAds. These services save you from the nitty-gritties of looking out for ads by yourself. Instead, you are charged 30 per cent for the ad hosting services provided, while you pocket the rest. Here is a fun-fact while we are on the subject of the prospects of blogging. Mashable, a tech blog started in 2005, was recently bought over by CNN for a whopping $200 million! Yes, blogging can get you that far.
The blogosphere is vast with over 150 million bloggers with at least 11 per cent of them earning their primary income from blogging. The youth have all the more reason to be a part of the blogging bandwagon as research indicates that about 37 per cent of bloggers are in the age bracket of 18-34. With age on your side and a passion to guide you forward, blogging as a career can seriously work for you. Malini Agarwal says, “I definitely feel that one can work towards becoming a full-time blogger. I think I am living proof that this can be a full-time job! It is important, however, that you have a specific content focus and audience in mind.”

Getting Started
Blogging may start off as a way of killing those extra twenty minutes of time or as a way of putting out one’s ideologies into the open. Getting started on a blog need not mean you do it with the sole intention of making money. A true blogger never starts off with the motive of milking the potential revenue the Internet holds out dry. “Many friends suggested that I start a blog. For me, it was an attempt to understand the place in which I was living- Delhi. It only made sense by writing about this city. Thus, was bornn The Delhi Walla!” says author Mayank Austen Soofi.
A true blogger is one who types out his words directly as they come to his head. He may not have a superior command over his grammar or may even have that annoying habit of making typos, but what he does have is the complete freedom of expression.
Some people believe that blogging as a career is something that one cannot decide beforehand; it is said that a good blogger stumbles into this world invariably. “I blog to express my thoughts and ideas. I don’t write with the intention of attaining a large audience. And, I write at my convenience. So in the future, if my blog gets a larger viewership, that’s great. But if it isn’t overwhelming, that’s fine too,” says Trikaash Karkera (student, 17) who has his own blog.

The Road to Blogosphere:

• Find a decent blogging platform that appeals to you. The most popular platforms are Blogspot, WordPress, Tumblr and TypePad. These user-friendly sites offer a host of templates.
• Decide whether you want your blog to be private or public. Do you want anyone on the Internet to be able to read your blog or do you just want your own circle to read it?
• Find a topic that you want to write on and stick to it. Slightly random but related stuff on the blog is fine, but maintain the subject that your blog is all about.
• Publish your blog by sending the URL to your friends or publish the URL on your website. Add the URL to posts you make on other blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
• Avoid plagiarism at any cost. Imagine investing time and energy into an article only to have someone ‘cut, copy and paste’ it on their own blog. Not cool, right? Don’t do it either.
• Don’t make the mistake of blogging just for money. Once you start expecting your bank balance to increase, the will to write for your readers diminishes. Your page may be clustered with ads and the quality may go to the dogs. If you make it a money-spinning tool, problems are bound to come up.

Making Sense of it All
Bloggers today are almost as good as journalists. They are called upon to cover events, offer their inputs (valuable or otherwise) and then promote companies, brands or people. In a way, a blogger has become one of the tools of public relations and promotions. Of course, the blogger has the option of writing negatively too, since nobody can force him to write what he doesn’t believe in. Yet, no public event like a product launch or fashion event is complete without the presence of bloggers.
Two years ago, bloggers were faceless with just a catchy online name to go by, but nowadays, they are widely recognised in the real world as well. “The best moment in my blogging history was when my blog was mentioned in Pakistani textbooks as well as in a cover story in the Guardian!” says Soofi of his blog on offbeat things to do in Delhi. Interestingly, Harper Collins approached him to write books on Delhi after seeing his colourful and in-depth blog.
The infamous Anupam Mukherji, the mind behind the 2008 IPL ‘Fake Player’ fiasco, now writes regularly for a daily in Mumbai.
It’s true; blogging has grown by leaps and bounds and is not limited in scope anymore. Today, we have blogs about fashion, health, lifestyle, technology and what not. People are even finding new and innovative ways to monetise their blogs.

And Just One More Thing
So are you gung-ho about blogging yet? Just make sure you have a plan B alongside your blogging venture. It always makes sense to adopt a safe approach and have a backup plan. You need something to fall back on, just in case things don’t go as planned. This is when education and your past work experience will come in handy.
Blogging can be a fun and rewarding experience and give you immense satisfaction. It’s a learning curve, so the more you blog, the more you stand to learn and gain. We suggest you start with one and devote at least an hour in a day to it. A key to bettering your blog is to stay persistent, know your audience, network with other bloggers and most of all, keep blogging on what you love the most. You will find that with the blog making it big, your satisfaction and interest levels will grown immensely too. Happy Blogging!

The youth have all the more reason to be a part of the blogging bandwagon as research indicates that about 37 per cent of bloggers are in the age bracket of 18-34.

Miss Malini’s tips for budding bloggers!

• Use a blog theme that’s easy to navigate and fun to look at.
• Blog everyday to keep your audience coming back for more.
• Blog about things you know and care about. If you’re faking it, it shows. If you love what you blog about, you’re golden!
• Be yourself, blogging is very different from typical writing. Type how you talk.
• Use the power of social media to share your posts, and ask your friends to help you spread the word.
• Always spell check!

Volume 2 Issue 1