One not so rainy afternoon destiny played in my favour and on the 16th of July at Title Waves – Mumbai’s first large format boutique bookstore, I had my first professional opportunity to conduct a step into blogging workshop.
Before I get started I would just like to extend my gratitude towards Mumbai Mom who gave me this opportunity to speak at this blogging workshop. It was a firsthand experience for me aka the face behind MaaOfAllblogs. Although I had run a blogging workshop for NGO kids, but this was the first time I got the opportunity to address newbie bloggers.
You might be familiar with the fact that I run a blog that combines the knowledge of parenting, social issues and fashion and I’ve been blogging for a couple years. During that journey, I learned a lot many things that I’ve always wanted to share with other women. So, this workshop allowed me to share my experience about blogging and how I balanced everything along with my family. I was really happy to see the turnout since the audience that I was addressing consisted of newbie bloggers, practitioners, and just beginners as well. They were all set to learn how to Step Into Blogging from four of the best of Mumbai’s professional bloggers at this event.
The panel consisted of some amazing bloggers who shared their experiences and tips to a successful blog. The workshop was graced by the presence of Nidhi D. Bruce aka the Mumbai Mom, Suman Kher, Jaibala Rao and Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal.
An Erickson Certified Coach with 14 years of experience in teaching personal effectiveness, Suman Kher emphasised on being a part of ‘blogger community’.
Jaibala Rao, a microbiologist writes for Huffington Post and other online publications. She further building on Suman Kher’s advice spoke about ‘engagement’ and emphasised the need for unique content.
Me, being a mother of two kids shared my experience about striking a balance between my passions ie travelling, fitness, blogging and my family. So through my real life struggles and experience, I tried my best to aspire others at the workshop to do the same.
There were a million thought in my head when I had started my journey as a blogger which I found answers to eventually. So I addressed all those doubts and questions that any newbie blogger might have. Monetization of your blog is a topic that eludes every blogger. Sharing my methods I shared a few tips and steps towards monetization of a blog.
Google Adsense, the good old way is the highest paying community and the best way to start making money through blogging. Of course, there are other ways that will allow you to monetize your blog.
Collaboration with brands similar to the field that you’re inclined towards.
Social platforms such as indiblogger, blogmint, blogadda and the likes also allow you to monetize your blogs and your videos.
You can’t expect success overnight but it needs passion and work and the key is to be consistent. According to statistics, there are about a billion blogs in the world. Out of a billion bloggers, only 20 % of them write on a regular basis and of that only a handful are successful. So if you’re consistent, you are already in top 20%.
My Mantra: Whatever you decide to write about, be consistent.
One individual, I wanted to hear and learn from at the workshop was Rushina, a celebrity blogger and a chef. She is also the founder of APB Studio, India’s first state of the art kitchen studio. She has developed her blogging into a thriving business, the next step to blogging. In her words;
“Your blog is your home and as we spruce up our home for visitors make sure your blog is also nicely done up, with great content and with the correct grammar and punctuation to greet the visitors to your blog.”
Concluding, I would just like to take a moment to appreciate the turnout. There were newbie bloggers, experienced writers and entrepreneurs who wanted to understand the nuances of blogging. I will like to conclude with a quote by Benjamin Franklin ;
Tell me and I will forget, teach me and I will remember. Involve me and I will learn.
May learning never stop :)!!
