It was on the insistence of her sister and brother-in law that Mridula Dwivedi started her blog in 2005. It was mostly about her weekend escapades and the places she had travelled to in the past. This was just a “platform” to write, like several other writers, who initially started blogging as a “medium to express’ themselves. Her blog, traveltalesfromindia.in grew organically and slowly she started getting invites for sponsored travel trips to India and abroad. The Gurgaon-based blogger managed to grow her online community on platforms like Facebook despite being a full-time professor. So, finally, she quit her job in 2015 to focus actively on her blog. “I am not earning as much as I used to while I was working full time, but then I have made almost five sponsored trips abroad this year and I don’t think working full-time would have given me an opportunity like this,” admits the 45-year-old.
Mridula Dwivedi
Alternative medium
What had started in early 2000 as an alternative medium for creative expression is slowing inching towards becoming a full-time career option provided one understand the niche and focus of his area of blogging. The foundation has already been set by the likes of Malini Agarwal, who started her blog, www.missmalini.com as a hobby in 2008, where she used to write about Bollywood gossip and news, but eventually diversified in verticals like lifestyle and beauty, and is now a face to reckon with in the blogging industry.
The acceleration in the business of blogging is primarily because of the increase in social media consumption with platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube offering right tools to engage consumers through visual storytelling. But without having an understanding of your strengths and focus of the blog, it is easy to get lost in the sea of bloggers.
“One has to first identify his area of interest and focus on the blog. When everyone is writing about the things they want to, what would set you apart? Finding that niche area may take some time, but that is the key to your success,” says Neeru Singh from www.eatstory.in, who is also a trained pastry chef.
Neeru Singh
To keep the cash flow coming in, the 30-year-old has started a food and restaurant photography vertical with her partner and also has started taking cake orders. Along with this, she partners and collaborates with various food brands and promotes them through her social media feeds.
It won’t be wrong to say that the online world is driven by the number of likes and shares and this invariably becomes the benchmark for a blogger’s credentials. The more reach and influence one has among followers, the more likely he/she will become popular.
This rings true in fashion and beauty blogging where “barter” system is one of the ways to stay in business if partners or corporate are unwilling to pay, which happens in most of the cases if one is just a few year old in the industry. Otherwise, fashion bloggers like Kritika Khurana of www.thatbobogirl.com and Shreya Kalra of www.ftlofaot.com have set a precedence by collaborating with international brands and generating good revenue from their active blogging activities.
“Paid blogging assignments are not that frequent as designers or lifestyle brands we feature are more comfortable in giving their outfits or accessories as a mode of payment. This works out for us because one does shell out money on buying these things, and since we are just three years old in the industry and still growing, we aren’t complaining. There is still a long way to go,” says Shilpa Arora, co-founder, www.chiclifebyte.com, who focuses on content for her lifestyle, fashion, and food blog.
The confluence
Bringing this blooming blogosphere community under one roof was the third edition of So Delhi Confluence in the capital recently where prominent bloggers like Shivya Nath, Aakriti Rana Gill & Shaurya Sanadhya of Pretty Little Things and many others discussed several topics ranging from video blogging to monetising content. According to Digant Sharma, founder and CEO, So Delhi, a platform was required to “give newbie bloggers a chance to interact with 800 other bloggers which include veterans in the space”.
So far, one would see blogging as an individual activity, an extension of a person’s personality, her passion, expertise and what she wants to write about. It has always been more about sharing personal experiences of a product or garment. However, Karan Bhardwaj, a former journalist turned media proprietor, who runs the website, www.bornofweb.com, feels blogging primarily has two dimensions. “One is an individual expression and another one is identifying as a brand,” he says. “And, after blogging for a year, I related myself more with the idea of the brand,” he adds.
Simply put, how Miss Malini blog has become more of an online community with several people and experts working with her to curate specific news and information, Karan too doesn’t want to restrict himself as a “blogger” reviewing brands, food or travel properties. “I aim to go beyond that and create a community of my own where there is a balanced dose of information, news feeds, video content and social media stories,” he explains.
The glamorous-looking profession where youngsters are drawn towards because of the idea of free food and travel requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and consistency, as Karan rightly points out that “blogging is very difficult, demanding and sometimes depressing.” “It is as good and as bad as any start-up or a new business and has its share of ups and downs. But the key to surviving is to remain focused and find interesting ways to engage the audience and work towards building a solid revenue model,” he says.
Published - August 17, 2017 01:09 pm IST
