Today we have with us Raju of Technically Personal. Technically Personal is a popular technology blog on web apps, online tools and useful software tips. With more than 3000 rss subscribers, TechPP has also been featured in CHIP magazine, a popular Technology magazine in India.

1. When did you start blogging ? What made you make that first post?

I don’t remember exactly, but must be sometime in early 2005. I remember seeing my classmate’s blog and thought even I want to have one.

2. How many Blogs do you have or write for currently ?

I have around 5, but write for only 1.

3. How much time you devote to your blog everyday ? We know that you work in an MNC as a Technical Specialist, so how do you find time to blog ?

On an average I spend about 4-5 hours per day. It gets really tough at times, but if you love something, you can ALWAYS make time for it.

4. What according to you is more important for a tech blog : Quality or quantity ?

Quality for sure. It is very important to make your blog stand out in the crowd.

5. In 1 year your blog has reached 3000 Rss subscribers. That’s really a great achievement.Please Tell us the secret and strategies you have implemented.

Initially I tried hard to get the count to 200. That was when I organized contests and giveaways. But I realized people who subscribed then used to unsubscribe at the end of the contest. Having unique content along with subscription widgets at right places helps a lot.

6.Where do you find compelling content. I mean Every Blogger uses RSS feeds to consume Content. Do you think that it adds up in rehashed material?

In a way, it does. May a times I keep off from such posts. But then, if you are able to add something (like a view or review or a tip) on top of the original content it helps everyone. Moreover when you have a dedicated set of readers who expect to know the details from my blog, I can’t afford to disappoint them.

7. What is the biggest mistake you think you have done in your entire blogging career? How did you manage to come out of that?

This is a tough one. I guess during early days of TechPP, I tried to emulate other popular bloggers in the kind of posts I wrote assuming “if they can get traffic by writing that post, why can’t I ?”. I was completely wrong. All those posts went unnoticed. Only then I realized the importance of “making my own way”.

8. What’s your best tip for bloggers starting out today ?

Never try to emulate successful bloggers in the kind of posts they write. You got to find your own way to success, there is no shortcut to success.

9. According to you, how much time a blogger should wait before deciding to monetize his blog ?

There is no rule defined for this. It also depends on the niche you are in. For Tech bloggers, I would suggest them to wait till they get 200 unique visitors per day.

10. Tell us some Blogs that you love reading ? Who are the bloggers you admire the most ?

I love the posts, not the blogs :)  Few of the may bloggers I admire – Keith, Lee Mathews, The Geek, Ajith and many more.

11. Give us some tips on how should a beginner market their blog from the very beginning.

1) Don’t waste too much time “initially” on blog marketing. Rather, concentrate on writing quality posts.
2) Leaving valuable comments on popular blogs related to the niche will help in developing good relationship with the blog owner/author.
3) Write guest posts on those blogs. The benefits you get out of guest blogging is HUGE.
4) If you are into Internet marketing, SEO and other related niches, spend some dedicated time on related forums. Promote your blog via signature. Make sure you don’t spend too much time in this.
5) Don’t look desperate.

12. What has been some of the challenges ?

Every day has been a challenge. Right from the time I had to decide about spending $10 on domain and $80 on hosting, to this day when I look to diversify the blog content and build a community around it, everything has been a challenge!

13. How has your blog audience changed over the years?

“over the years”? It’s been just 1 year :) Initially the core audience consisted of fellow Tech bloggers, now it isn’t the case anymore.

14. Where do you want to see TP in a couple of years ?

TWO years is way TOO long for me. I evaluate myself on a monthly basis. Having smaller targets help a lot!

An Interview with Raju of Technically Personal originally published on Ampercent

Apart from writing a blog,Shoutmeloud also provides various blogging services, like article writers, WordPress set up, SEO for wordpress , BlogSpot to wordpress migration etc.

1.”Shoutmeloud”. The name itself is very interesting.Tell us something about  the idea behind starting your blog.Did you started out just as a hobby or were you aware of the bigger Picture ?

An Interview with Harsh Agrawal of Shoutmeloud originally published on Ampercent

Apart from writing in TechZoomIn, Lax is also the author of SteStuff.com, WPPlug.in.

Currently Lax is working as a Software Engineer for an MNC in India

1.Tell us something about your main gig “Techzoomin”. When do you started your blogging journey ? How many blogs do you have or write for currently ?

Lax : TechZoomIn was my first blog started on 2nd sep,2008. First I started it as Tech blog, but after a month or so, I found interest towards Blogging & Money making and moved the niche towards this. That’s why you’re seeing domain “TechZoomIn” instead of “BlogZoomIn”

I own 4 blogs in total, but only 3 of them are active at the moment, they are: TechZoomIn.com, SteStuff.com (Software Testing blog) and WPPlug.in (Launched Recently). And I do own a domain called DailyUseful.com (Started as a Tech blog recently, but not active now & Planning to sell soon…)

2.How many hours do you dedicate to your blog every day? Are you a full time blogger?

I’m not a full time blogger at the moment (But planning to be in future). On an average I do dedicate at least 3 to 4 hours a day on blogging.

3. If you could read only one blog, which one would you pick?

Hmm it’s tough to answer.. Really I don’t have any one blog in mind. Every blog has got its specialty… But initially I used to read only DailyBlogTips.com (In blogging) and TechCrunch.com (In Tech niche)

4.If you were given the chance to change the way you have developed your Blog from Scratch what change you would implement?

I recently got custom design from a designer and happy at the moment. But I love to use Full graphic theme with lots of images and designs (Load time stops me to go further )

5.Over the years, the “Blogging tips” Niche has grown steadily and there are quite a number of blogs competing over it . Do you think that slowly this Niche is getting saturated?

Of course, competition is the correct word, but saturation can happen only if all the bloggers get succeed. I don’t think it will happen

6. How does the design aspect affects a Blogs Performance? Do you think that a Blog can be successful on a Free theme or a Blog should have a Unique Brand of its own ?

I don’t believe in this concept. Content & writing style plays major (90%+) role in blogs success. It’s good to have a unique theme and brand value, but it’s not mandatory.I recommend to start on a free theme and just go for a low cost simple design once you start getting some bucks. Simply I want to say, don’t spend even a single penny from your/fathers pocket. Just avail all the free stuff, make some money and then start spending on blog.

7. According to you which is more important for successful blogging ” Writing a Blog on a Profitable niche ” or ” writing a Blog on a Niche you have expertise on” ?

Writing on niche which you have experience is the best option, as you don’t need to learn nothing new initially. Then you can start one more blog with the market choice 

8.You get a lot of comments in your Blog posts which means you have developed a Strong community around your blog. How do you Build relationships ?

I believe in the concept of “Respect your readers and help them if you can”. I do comment on some blogs which I love, most of the friends follow my blog regularly and comment. I do share if any of my reader asks to share his new theme/plugin release on my blog.I do write guest posts on some blogs and I do allow bloggers to guest post on TechZoomIn. There are many ways if you really want to build relationship.

9. How do you find compelling content ? Social Media ,Rss or the Muscle between your ears ?

I’m not a big fan of social networking/media sites. Visits/submits very rarely (Don’t know the reason but am not a fan of them). I do have around 15+ rss feeds on my aggregator which I follow daily.

10. What has been some of the challenges ?

Being a software engineer in an MNC, it’s very difficult for me to find time to maintain the blogs. There is no other challenge than this for me

11. What has been the most satisfying part of growing Techzoomin ?

I never expected that I can get a unique theme for TechZoomIn within 8 months. And I never expected that TechZoomIn will be at this stage now..It crossed 1000 page views per day and 450+ RSS subscribers.
I’m 100% satisfied with its performance and earning till now. What else we need than this  (I’m happy because I didn’t expected too much )

12. Has Blogging changed your life or personality in any way?

Yes 100%… I used to watch TV/Movies before starting blogs. But now I don’t have time to play around them. Blogging changed my personal life and financial life too.

13.If you could give an advice to a blogger who has just started, what would it be?

Start blog by using all the free stuff. Don’t even spend a single penny from your pocket… Don’t expect anything from that in first 6 months. Don’t bother about comments and RSS counts…
Just watch the success blogs, analyze, plan, make friends, help people, blog, blog and blog…. You will land in safe place one fine day.. (Do remember that blogging is a long time effort and long term earnings, don’t expect anything overnight)

14.What is the biggest blogging mistake you did?

I never felt bad of anything…But initially I spent lot of time in observing the things and tweaking/changing the theme very often. But I recommend you to start with whatever you know/had and learn…Don’t waste time in observations and dreams.

15. Finally, where do you want to see TechZoomIn in the couple of years?

I want to see TechZoomIn helps fellow bloggers and want it to build a strong readership around. In terms of revenue am not expecting too much.Of course you don’t need to think of revenue in blogging. Because, revenue starts flowing automatically with the age & success of the blog.Just keep rocking and Happy Blogging..!

An Interview with Lax of ‘Tech Zoom In’ originally published on Ampercent

Abhisek Kumar is a computer Science Graduate and a passionate Blogger.Abhisek Blogs at  abhisays.com where he talks  on Blogging, Internet Marketing, SEO, Open Source Softwares, How to make money on internet, movies etc.Abhisek Started his Online Experiments back in 2006 and now earns a decent money from online sources. Here he shares Some of his experiences with Us.

1. When did you started blogging? What made you do so?

A-Way back in 2006, one of my friends at NIT Bhopal came to me and asked me to help him in making a website. At that time I was in third year of my engineering. I told him that I would need some time to develop the website. Frankly speaking, I didn’t have any idea how to create a website. Then that guy who was from non-computer background got the clue that I was not interested. Finally after 2-3 months I got to know that he launched a very nice and user-friendly portal. That news changed my life. I decided to learn the techniques of web-designing. Within 3-4 months, I learned php, apache tools, mysql etc. Even, I myself developed some static and dynamic web-pages. Then I came across the world of open source CMS and started playing with Drupal, Joomla, Wordpres, VBulletin, phpBB etc. Meanwhile, I got the website renovation project of my college (NIT Bhopal. www.manit.ac.in). I suggested my professors to use joomla for the site. My suggestion was approved and we launched the new website of our college. That was a big achievement for me. Meanwhile, I also launched couple of portals like 100rupees.com, dreamplacement.com, themithila.com. By that time, I experienced many ups and downs as a webmaster. Then I launched my blog abhisays.com. The idea was very simple. Just the aim of the blog was “Listen what abhishek says i.e abhi says”.  Initially I just wanted to share my experiments with latest web technologies and web development tools. But as time progressed, it became a full masala blog with news and articles form almost every field.

2. Apart from abhisays, do you have any other blog?

A- Right now, I am running only abhisays.com.

3. How much time you spend in blogging everyday ? Do you think that’s sufficient or you need to spend more time on it?

A-Now a days, I spend around 2-3 hours everyday on my blog. I don’t think it is sufficient. Actually I want to become a full time blogger like Amit Agarwal. For writing 5 good articles daily, it takes around 10 hours.

4.You have Amit Singh and Raj Kumar Sahu as your other Co-Authors in your site. Please let us know something about them. What role do they play?

A- Both Amit and Raj are from my college. Actually, Amit is responsible for reincarnation of abhisays. After completing my graduation from Bhopal, I shifted to bangalore in a multinational software company. There during 3 months of training period, I completely forgot my blog. You can see the number of aricles from Aug 2007 to Nov 2007. They are very less as compared to other months. One day, I got a phone call from Amit. He offered me a deal. The deal was about paid and sponsored articles. He told that he would write the articles and share half of the money with me. I agreed as it was a very good option for a dying blogger. Then, after Dec 2007, he started posting both sponsored and non-sponsored articles. His dedication towards blogging also inspired me. So Amit saved the life of a dying blogger. Similarly Raj also contributed to abhisays with some excellent articles. Today, they are busy in their careers and I am all alone on abhisays.

5.There are so many blogging sites related to blogging tips,intenet and current news in the web. What do you do to keep your blog competitive among the other biggies?

A- See I don’t care about competition. I write whatever I feel I should write. Earlier I used to write only technical articles, now I am writing gossips, movies, current affairs, politics also. Blogging is all about interests. I have good number of users. The alexa ranking of abhisays is around 85k. Inspite of my hectic schedule, I am able to maintain good traffic on abhisays.

6.Your blog covers various topics starting from the latest happenings around the world to tips for internet and blogging.Which of them do you think draw the attraction of your visitors the most?

A- It depends on region. In India, people prefer movies, gossips, job news, political news. They dont’ bother about technology, gadgets and blogging tips. The latter types of articles generally attracts users from US, Europe and Australia.

7.After becoming a member of this whole blogging world and staying here 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?

A-Earlier money was not the prime target of any blog. Now bloggers are running their blogs just for the sake of money. Also now a days there are many new tools and technologies which have made blogging quite easier.

8.Apart from blogging what do you like doing the most?

A-I love watching hindi movies both old and new. I am also a big fan of old hindi songs. I have dedicated music edition of abhisays.com to old hindi songs. The url is http://abhisays.com/music/. I have also interest in History and literature. During free time, I also read non-fiction books.

9.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?

A-This is very difficult question. I have to browse more than 5000 comments to answer the question. But there is one comment which I will never forget. It suggested me to use adsense codes above the articles. Believe me, this change increased the revenue of abhisays by 3 times. I think, this is the best advice I have received till date.

10.If you dont mind us knowing, what is the revenue you generate out of your site? what role does it play in motivating you to improve your site day by day?

A-Money blogging has never been my target. I write articles just to share my thoughts and ideas with millions of people.

11. What advice would you like to give to all those young bloggers who has just opened their blog?

A-Success in blogging is generally measured in terms of page rank, alexa rank, yahoo backlinks, how much you get on writing reviews, rank in google for some relevant keywords. Just follow these 5 advices, they will definitely work for you.

1.Always write articles about topics of your interest and try to give your ideas, opinions and thoughts in your articles.

2.Use WordPress

3.Write at least 1-2 posts per day. 10-15 posts per week is a good idea for maintaining consistency. Almost all the top bloggers are very consistent in this respect.

4.Follow basics of SEO on your blog, use social networking sites to attract traffic in initial day. Gather as many as backlinks as possible.

5.Read blogging tips of John Chow, ProBlogger, CopyBlogger etc. They are pioneers in the field of blogging. I have learned a lot from them. Last but not the least, try to avoid paid or sponsored articles. It was my mistake to go for such articles. Google page rank algorithm does not like it. Even today I am paying the price.

12. Do you have any role models who you look up to and wish to be like him/her one day?

A-Amit Agarwal (www.labnol.org) is my ideal. He is also known as the first professional blogger of India. Today, Amit is great source of inspiration for bloggers like me.

13.What do you like the most about internet?

A-Internet has changed the meaning of social interaction. It has made possible entirely new forms of social interaction, activities and organizing. I like the widespread usability and access of internet. Social networking websites such as Orkut, Facebook and MySpace have created a new form of socialization and interaction. Users of these sites are able to add a wide variety of items to their personal pages, to indicate common interests, and to connect with others. This new form of social gathering is one of the most important inventions of 21st century.

14.What are your future plans for abhisays? Where do you want to see your site 1 yr. from now?

A-I just want to be a regular or better say consistent with my blogging. Right now abhisays is around 85k in alexa. After one year I would love to see it crossing the magic figure of 50k.

15. And finally, What according to you is the most important factor in making a blog successful ?

A-Consistency, Consistency, Consistency and nothing else.

An Interview with Abhishek Kumar from abhisays.com originally published on Ampercent

1. When did you start blogging and what made you start blogging?

Amit : I once started blogging way back in 2004 while I was still in college. But I somehow could not manage my time well enough, so I gave it up. Then, in February 2007, I started TalkigTails.in. I started blogging because I wanted to have conversations – it is always interesting to explore how and why others think about the way they do. Which is why the word – “Talking” in the title and “a conversation blog” in the tagline!

2. How many blogs do you have or you write for currently?

Amit : Apart from TalkingTails.in, I also helped set up 2 blogs:
• The Elaan Blog – an NGO dealing with Child Sexual Abuse
• The YouChoose.in Blog – An IITKGP start-up (GreenHat Ventures) to set up a blog for their portal – Youchoose.in – which, incidentally, was also baptized by yours truly!

3. What advice would you give to Bloggers who have just started?

Amit : I am no authority on Blogging. But, yes, as an evangelist the only suggestion I can offer is that if want to be a “popular” blogger and create your community of readers, then you have to take an active interest in “people” and what other people “say” in their blogs. This is very well brought-out in a post I had written a couple of years back – The WHY’s, WHAT’s and HOW-TO’s of Blogging!

4. As you have said in your blog you have a passion for Drumming. When did you Started rolling the Sticks and the High hats?

Amit : I started learning to play the drums by watching the senior band play while I was still in Middle School. By the time I came to high school I was the drummer for the school band and we performed at fests across the city. Getting into a prominent engineering college meant that I now had access to a wider audience. Along with a batch-mate and a couple of seniors, we started a band and eventually performed in some big-ticket rock music competitions. You can read about our band – Eleventh Hour in this article published in The Telegraph.

5. Please tell us something about your other projects – ELAAN’s Blog – An NGO dealing with Child Sexual Abuse?

Amit: I took the initiative to update the design and shift it from the older platform to a newer platform and use updated collaborative methods like RSS. A friend, who happens to be a professional photographer and an image-editing expert, designed the header image for the blog. The product was well-appreciated by Elaan volunteers and it continues to be updated whenever relevant information needs to be shared – All for a cause!

6. The most important aspect of growing a Blog is about Ideas. Where do you Find Fodder? Within yourself?

Amit : Blogging is about stories and any story must be told with PASSION!.I blog about whatever I do, or whatever interests me – movie reviews, book reviews and activities. So, my posts range from my experience of watching The Phantom of the Opera (The original musical!) to adventure (Sailing, Snorkeling, etc.) and from stories about communication skills workshops I might have conducted in a remote college in India to my experiences about growing a company in Mumbai.

7. If you were given the chance to change the way you have developed your Blog from Scratch what change you would implement?

Amit: I wish I had started the blog on a self-hosted platform so the entire URL-shifting was not required. SEO would be better and I could also use Java / AJAX applications on my blog.

8. Every Blogger has an Idol. Or at least have something or someone that inspired him / her in the first place. Do you have one?

Amit : My desire to start Blogging evolved as I read more and more blogs. But, I believe true validation of an idea happens when people you know and respect validate it too. One of my school friends has been blogging at Kpowerinfinity for a couple of years and a friend from college at http://suchintya.blogspot.com. It would be fair to say that I was inspired by these 2 guys!

9. Almost 90 % blogs are born only to make Money. Only a Few Succeed in the long Run. Do you think it’s the Idea to “Make Money” that kills personal vision? Or is it perfectly fair??

Amit : That is a choice that must be left to the individual blogger. In the long run, the Darwinian Theory will hold here too – only the fittest will survive!

10. Tools of the Trade? What’s your Blogging toolkit?

Amit : WordPress & Feedburner.. Yeah – that’s it basically. I like to keep it simple!

11. Did you ever “market” your Blog ? Or did things soar from “Word of Mouth” ?

Amit : Everything requires marketing. In fact, I am managing marketing and business development activities in a company which is in its nascent stage of growth. I used to send out emails about any post that I REALLY wanted to draw peoples’ attention to. These mails would be directed at my friends, family and other regular readers of my blog. Gradually, people started liking what I blogged about and they kept coming back! So.. Yes.. A combination of marketing as well as “word of mouth” you can say.

12. What has been the most Satisfying part of growing “TalkingTails” ?

Amit : The most satisfying part of anything one pursues is recognition. I have been recognized as a prominent blogger on 2 occasions:
• November 2008: Received an invite mail and a complimentary copy to write a pre-release book review by WebChutney.com for Nandan Nilekani’s book – Imagining India.
• February 2009: Invited by The Economic Times as one of the Top 10 bloggers from every city to attend the ET – Power of Ideas panel discussion held at Times of India’s Mumbai.

13. Any future plans? Where do you want to see Talking tails in the coming years?

Amit : I want to continue having effective conversations with people – possibly use the platform to reach a wider audience or spread the word about the GOOD things happening all around – I keep writing about companies started by friends or any other special initiatives that deserve praise and announcement!

An Interview with Amit Haralalka of Talking Tails : A Conversation Blog originally published on Ampercent

Some chit chats …

Soumen :  When did you start blogging and what made you start blogging?
Soumya :  I started blogging in September 2005 out of my sheer love for writing, and a wish to share life, observations, experiences and worthy information with others.

Soumen :  How many blogs do you have or write for currently?
Soumya :  I am part of three blogs — Nib ‘n’ Notes (personal), Dewdrops(shared) and Writer’s Blend , though the last has been stagnant for a while now.

Soumen :  How many hours do you dedicate to your blog every day? Are you a full time blogger?
Soumya :  More than dedicating ‘hours,’ I believe in devoting time to thought. That way, one always finds something to muse upon. I play journalist through the day, and my blog lets my other side breathe.

Soumen :  Three Bloggers whom you admire the most?
Soumya :  That’s a tough one, considering there are so many great writers in the Blogosphere. I admire every beautiful blog I stumble upon; I have no favorites.

Soumen :  Digg or Stumbleupon?
Soumya :  Stumble upon, as I just said.

Soumen :  Best movie critic or modern day poet according to you?
Soumya :  Unfortunately, I can never admire critics, since most are too cynical until it comes to themselves. Gulzar and Vikram Seth are two poet-writers I’m in awe of.

Soumen :  What would you suggest for a blogger, who has just started his blog?
Soumya :  Don’t live by others’ suggestions; don’t run after revenue from Adwords; don’t be pretentious while putting down your pieces — visitors can read between the lines and judge your intentions right away. Treat your blog like a sacred space; the clicks and honors will follow. The best approach, I feel, is Wu Wei, or the Tao principle of effortless effort — letting your self, thoughts and words just ‘be’.

On the blog…

Soumen :  Yours is a movie blog that is quite different from other blogs in the niche. Where do you find compelling content? What inspires you to write?
Soumya :  Being an entertainment-lifestyle journalist helps me find some of the stories, information and instances. Interacting with B-town biggies, authors and celebs is part and parcel of my job, but I don’t stuff my blog with frivolous gossip, rumors and pretty pictures. Until and unless there’s something noteworthy about what I know, I don’t hit the keys. One needs to determine their content priorities in advance — what is it that you want most — quality, quantity or clicks at any cost?

Soumen :  What do you think is most important for blogs — few loyal readers or large one-timers? What do you maintain to build them?
Soumya :  None of the above. What’s important is to provide good stuff to chew on — this’d automatically turn one-timers into regulars. Don’t forget to acknowledge comments, thank visitors for compliments and leave your footprints on their blogs — it’s like catching up with friends who came to look you up when you weren’t expecting it. That always feels nice, doesn’t it?

Soumen :  How does social media effect viewership? How do you market your blog?
Soumya :  More than ‘marketing’ per say, it is important to ‘share’ your blog. For instance, I’m least concerned with the money I make from my blog, but just to know it is being read gives satisfaction. Put up the links at as many places as you can — Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn, GTalk — but avoid going overboard, else it becomes a blind spot. If your sole purpose of blogging is to make money off it, read up on ad incorporation and online sponsors, load it with useful info on a specialized subject and concentrate on community building.

Soumen :  Surprisingly, you are in the blogging world for more than 3 years, but are still sticking to the Blogger domain. Why haven’t you transferred your blog to your own registered domain? Is there any secret?
Soumya :  I think a personal domain is very different from a blog, and has a very different scope — it expands the horizons of content, serves as a professional mirror and appeals to an altogether different viewership. Blog servers like Blogger, Sulekha and WordPress are like a world unto themselves, and bind Blogizens unlike individual websites. Most often, word wanderers don’t step out of zones like these when they’re reading. So, I’ve never felt like stepping out of it, either.

Personal Experiences

Soumen :  What have been some of the challenges in those 3 years?
Soumya :  The biggest challenge has been to keep the spirit of the blog alive amid life’s chaotic calendar. There are periods of dormancy, silence and writers’ blocks, but I haven’t ever forced myself into populating the blog just for the sake of it. The most important thing is to keep the faith, and the flame will keep burning on its own.

Soumen :  What has been the most satisfying part of growing Nib ‘n’ Notes?
Soumya :  Being read, being appreciated and being here, today!

Soumen :  How has your blog audience changed over the years?
Soumya :  It has grown as I have — at one point, I had students writing back. Today, I have professionals, poets and other author/writers.

Soumen :  Your Biggest Blogging Success?
Soumya :  To be able to keep my integrity, and not sensationalizing anything, even movie news.

Finally she has some tips for you…….

10 commandments for good blogging:

1. Remember that your blog is unique — don’t try to ape someone else’s, even in the least. If you’re about to start a new blog, refrain from reading others’ for a ten-day period before opening an account; that way, you’ll make sure the layout, content and style is purely original.
2. Don’t upload stuff just because it’s been long since you put up an entry; this can lead to sub-standard quality.
3. Reply to all comments and pay a return-visit to your well-wishers.
4. Don’t use the blog as a means of self-appraisal.
5. Blogroll as many good blogs as you can. It helps builds a stronger community.
6. If you want to write about two or three specialized subjects, it is best to have different blogs for each of these.
7. Don’t overload your pages with accessories, award emblems, chat boxes, ads and pictures – it takes away the focus from the real substance.
8. Avoid using copied/extracted/excerpted content on your blog(s). God has blessed each of us with enough creativity.
9. Every piece you come up with doesn’t have to be Shakespearean or prize-winning; it only needs to be straight from the heart. Write as you’d talk — don’t act pompous.
10. Don’t forget to copyright (or left) your work. You might want to use the Creative Commons licenses

Soumya Mukerji : A journalist from Delhi shares her blogging experience originally published on Ampercent

On Basic Blogging,Posture and methodology

Amit : When did you start blogging and what made you started blogging?
Manikarthik : I started almost 2 years ago. But technically moved to dailyseoblog.com by July 2007. It was an experiment.

Amit : How many blogs do you have or write for currently ?
Manikarthik :I have several projects on blogging, some are group blogging projects, some are passion oriented ones. They are 14 in number and some of them are dead.However I guest blog at webbizideas.com,mashable.com,and seohosting.com.

Amit : How many hours do you dedicate to your Blog every day? Are you a full time blogger?
Manikarthik :I’m a full time blogger, I spent most of my time online, that’s more than eight hours a day may be.

Amit : Three Bloggers whom you admire the most ?
Manikarthik :Darren Rowse for consistency, Amit Agarwal for exclusivity and John Chow for his strategies.

Amit : Digg or Stumbleupon?
Manikarthik :Both.

Amit : Best Seo analyst acording to you ?
Manikarthik :Rand Fishkin from SEOMoz.

Amit : What would you suggest for a blogger, who have just started his blog ?
Manikarthik:Write exclusive and refreshingly different content. I won’t say dont follow the normal cliched stuff, but atleast present it in a different manner. And also, try to be consistent.

On SEO.

Amit : Yours is an Seo Blog and it is quite different from Other Blogs in the Niche.Where do you Find Compelling Content ? What Inspires you to Write ?

Manikarthik :Thanks for the comment. Well, I’ve been experimenting things myself right when I started off, so most of the articles were inferences of those. I always tried to write simple, easy to understand content and not the regular BS. So inspiration is my practices and experiments if they can be called so.

Amit : Are there any mistakes that lots of people make that end up doing more harm than good concerning Seo?
Manikarthik :I guess yes. For instance following a 6% Keyword density was a formula many people followed. But it’s not relevant anymore. And that’s one thing about SEO, algorithms change and you have to be on the edge to follow the right ones. Those who were following strict mathematical keyword densities did well once, but when Google moved away from it, they were pushed to the “spam crowd”. Unfortunately, even today many “SEO’s” claim that Keyword density is relevant, but it is their loss not understanding it properly. The biggest mistake in SEO is when you follow a pattern or formula. It’s a dangerous trend.

Amit : What are the Basic Seo practices you would Suggest For Beginners ?
Manikarthik:Write lot of textual content that’s got a lot of food for the engines. That may mean very long articles. And use a balanced onsite optimization strategy on them. Follow a good link building habit, that’s healthy for you. Quit thinking that things happen fast and quick fixes work. No. Things happen really slow but once you achieve the quality bar, things will probably soar from there.

Amit : What are some of the biggest misconceptions about SEO that you hear from Bloggers ? From other SEOs?

Manikarthik :
1 – Keyword densities work.
2 – Page rank is all about one thousand link backs.
3 – Page rank affects SERPs positions.
4 – SEO methods are 100% guaranteed.

Amit : Webmasters give a lot of attention to Meta tags and submission tricks for high rankings. What part does relevant content play in the search engine marketing ? How important is keyword-rich content in an SEO campaign?
Manikarthik :Meta tags does not affect directly in your SERPs. They are only an additional detail. But yes relevant content is very important. Keyword rich content is important, but more important would be a natural richness brought through use of keyword variations and highlighting.

Amit : What kind of effect do you think social media has had on the search marketing industry?
Manikarthik :Social Media is the next big thing (It is already). My guess is social media will be closely involved in search and deciding what is popular and not. Like the Google Search Wiki that’s introduced lately, I won’t be surprised if a certain part of SEPRs is controlled by user generated content.

Amit : What do you think the most important SEO trends will be in the coming years?
Manikarthik :Mobile search and off web SEO will soar up and more platforms that run parallel to the web will come into existence.

Personal Experiences

Amit : What have been some of the challenges?
Manikarthik :Ensuring quality for the articles and not endind up as a “yet another guy” .

Amit : What has been the most satisfying part of growing Daily Seo Blog ?
Manikarthik :A healthy readership base and recognition. It might sound silly, but I outsource some of my work to the US, we all thought it’s the other way round, right ? So DSB has helped me build a platform to establish myself as an authority, or so I prefer to believe.

Amit : How has your blog audience changed over the years?
Manikarthik :They’ve grown in numbers, which is great.

Amit : Your Biggest Blogging Success?
Manikarthik :Well, DSB of course. Being able to work from home, earning four times a daily job, and being in company with your kid almost all the time is fantastic. Is it not?

An Interview With Manikarthik :Seo Blogger from Daily Seo Blog originally published on Ampercent

Arpit Kumar

ArpitNext is the online Identity of ArpitKumar,a student of Electronic Engineering(3rd year) and a blogger by passion.Arpit lives in Ghaziabad a city close to New Delhi (the capital of India).

Arpit loves exploring new things.His basic interests include Web Administration,reading Blogs,Surfing Web,reading books, Visiting Places etc.Arpit Blogs at Techraga.

Amit :How long have you been blogging?

Arpit : More than one & a half year. But, it was just a “I-My-Me” type blog till this April. I am in serious blogging since last seven months.

Amit : How many blogs do you have or write for currently ?

Arpit : I have just one blog…. but I have written for many blogs as guest blogger.

Amit : How many hours do you dedicate to them every day? Are you a full time blogger?

Arpit : Nope! I am not a Full time blogger. I work 3 to 4 hours daily online.This duration includes all the online activities. So, don’t have fixed dedicated hours for blogging.

Amit : Three Bloggers whom you admire the most ?

Arpit :
* Gina Tripani ( Lifehacker)
* Abhijeet Mukherjee (Jeetblog)
* Amit Agarwal ( Digital Inspiration)

Amit : If you could read only one blog, which one would you pick?

Arpit : LifeHacker : Its ultimate!

Amit : How many RSS feeds do you track daily?

Arpit :400+ feeds. Its too hard to track all of them on daily basis. So, I have created many “watches” in my default feedreader – FeedDemon.

Amit : What do you like about blogging?

Arpit :Blogging is a tool to express and share your views on particular topics. I love the democracy of Blogosphere, where we are free to write our mind.

Amit : What you do not like about blogging?

Arpit : I can’t find anything :)

Amit : What would you suggest for a blogger, who have just started his blog ?

Arpit :* Discover new things and write on them, rather than copying/stealing matters from other blogs, without giving them proper credits.

* Have Patience. You can’t get popularity or big reader-base in few weeks, untill you are Amitabh Bachchan. So, keep on blogging and don’t get dissapointed too early.

* Be first to write on a topic.

* Use WordPress. It needs a little invesment, but if you are serious and want to take blogging as a fulltime job, then Blogger.com can’t help you anymore. Presently, I am on Blogger, but will switch to WP very soon.

Amit :Has Blogging changed your life or personality in any way ?

Arpit :Yes! Blogging has changed me completely. I have got introduced to many things and technologies. I have got some new friends, who are much professional than me. I have learnt a lot from them. I can say that blogging is a learning tool for me. By each post, I learn something new and hence, it helps me in becoming a better techprofessional.

As a blogger, I feel a more dedicated and resposible netizen.

Amit :Where do you see Techraga in a Couple of years ?

Arpit :I want to switch to WordPress as soon as possible. I want to develope as a fulltime blogger. Plus, I want to make TechRaga a complete Tech Blog, with nice readers base and with some team bloggers.

An Interview With Arpit Kumar from Techraga originally published on Ampercent