An interview with Sramana Mitra – Author, Entrepreneur,Forbes Columnist and a Successful Blogger
Sramana Mitra is a technology entrepreneur and strategy consultant in Silicon Valley. She has founded three companies and writes a business blog, Sramana Mitra on Strategy. She has a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mitra is also a columnist for Forbes.
Writings from Sramana’s popular strategy blog are syndicated by Seeking Alpha, GigaOm, ReadWriteWeb, TheStreet.com and many other high traffic online business, finance, and technology publishers.We were lucky Enough to Have a Conversation with Sramana On her Journey of Blogging.
1. When did you start blogging? What made you do so?
Sramana: In April 2005. Om Malik made me start. He knew I write well, and encouraged me to start a blog.
2. Apart from sramanamitra.com, do you maintain any other blog?
Sramana: No. I syndicate my Technology Stocks coverage to Seeking Alpha.
3. How much time you spend in blogging everyday? Do you think that’s sufficient or you need to spend more time on it?
Sramana: I spend about an hour each day. I can’t afford to spend more. But I have a research team that support me to produce/manage the blog which consists of another 7 people.
4. You have around 31 guest Authors in your blog. You must have started the blog all alone. So, when did you decide to add more authors in your blog? What was the main reason for doing that?
Sramana: I don’t necessarily ‘need’ more guest authors, but I know a lot of people, and when someone mentions something interesting to me, I invite them to guest blog on my site. It’s just a nice way of showcasing good ideas. I am very much an ‘idea’ person.
5. Apart from writing for sramanamitra, you also write a weekly column for Forbes and are currently authoring Entrepreneur Journeys, a series of books focused on demystifying entrepreneurship. Which one out of all those you like doing the most and are closest to your heart?
Sramana: All 3 leverage each other. I do research on the Blog, so everything, in essence starts on the blog. Some of the ideas get synthesized into my Forbes columns. Then a smaller selection of blog and Forbes columns get packaged into the books. So, in essence, they are all related, and one leads to another.
6. Your blog covers various topics starting from WEB 3.0 to movie experience and design etc. Out of them which one do you think draw the attraction of your visitors the most?
Sramana: The definition of Web 3.0 is one of my all-time highest traffic generating post.Read it Here
7. After becoming a member of this whole blogging community and being a part of it for such a long time, do you find any change undergoing among the mindset of the bloggers after checking the new blogs coming up every now and then?
Sramana: I think people are tired. Many bloggers have not been able to generate enough money out of their blogging efforts, and they are tired, frustrated, etc. You may want to read this piece
8. What role do you think different networking sites plays in order to make a person’s blog more popular and accessible to other people?
Sramana: Facebook and Twitter drive very good traffic.
9. Apart from blogging what do you like doing the most? What are your hobbies?
Sramana: I write fiction. I dance. I travel all over the world. I cook. I entertain. I think. I paint. I read. Not everything all the time, but I do have a wide range of interests and activities.
10. You are getting so many comments on your post daily. The advices must be coming your way too along with them to improve your site. What is the best advice you think you received till date?
Sramana: People wanted to be able to print the multi-part Entrepreneur Journeys interviews and read them in bed. This gave me the idea of the books.
11. If you don’t mind us knowing, what is the revenue you generate out of your site? What role do you think it plays in motivating a person to improve his/her site day by day?
Sramana: My blog serves as a brochure for my consulting practice. I make a significant revenue through consulting, and also some through advertising, book sales, etc. You have to have a clear financial model, otherwise blogging is impossible to carry on at any serious level.
12. What advice would you like to give to all those young bloggers who has just opened their blog?
Sramana: Focus on the quality of content, define your target audience, do guest blogs elsewhere to gain visibility and build relationships.
13. Do you have any role models who you look up to and wish to be like him/her one day?
Sramana: Not exactly, but I have been deeply influenced by Mohammad Yunus and his work with MicroFinance.
14. What do you like the most about internet? What is the thing that you don’t like in it?
Sramana: I like the reach. I don’t like the noise and the overload of crap.
15. What according to you is the most unique thing in your blog that separates it from other regular blogs we find in the internet?
Sramana: It is much deeper in terms of content and analysis, and it operates from a philosophical framework of value creation, entrepreneurship and innovation. I try to inspire, encourage, and educate entrepreneurs through the blog, my Forbes column, and the books, as well as the online roundtables.You may like to read Strategy Roundtables for Entrepreneurs
16. What are your future plans for sramanamitra? Where do you want to see your site 1 yr. from now?
Sramana: The plan is to build further the ‘franchise’ if you will with more content, programming, traffic, partnerships, books, etc. In a year from now, I will have 5 books out in the Entrepreneur Journeys series.
17. And finally, what according to you is the most important factor in making a blog successful? Please let us know your blog’s success secrets!
Sramana: Good writing. Quality content. Intelligent partnerships. The last one is very, very important. You need it for creating visibility and credibility for your blog. But no one will partner with you unless you have great content. Finally, work ethic. I have worked extremely hard to make this all work the way it does today. There is no short cut.
If you have any suggestions or Questions please Leave your valuable Comments.
“Finally, work ethic. I have worked extremely hard to make this all work the way it does today. There is no short cut.”
I did not know so far that Bengalis work hard. That is a stunning comment.
As far as I know WB is the only state in India with both IIT and IIM and see their contribution to industry since independence. Now look at south (4 states) with 1 IIT and 1 IIM (same as WB and much later) and look at their contribution. Reason, ask any Bengali genuinely, they prefer to be arm chair intellectuals!
Thank you Jeevan for your comment.Being a bengali Myself.. Its a Big compliment for us.And someone rightly said “What Bengal thinks Today,India thinks tomorrow” :)
And you interpreted it that way! Good!!!
I am impressed to see this interview. Meanwhile i found an another interview too at http://tech.inkapoint.com/interviews/exclusive-interview-daniel-scocco/520/
Let’s check it
Thank you Karthikeyan. I am glad that You liked it. I also saw your Interview With daniel of Daily blog Tips.Good Work Dude !
Do you write the articles yourself or do you get somebody to write out your ideas for me? As when i tried blogging I was nowhere near this good!
We Write the article ourselves.