Well, it had been a quite long since I’ve come back with an inspiring chat for you guys. And again, this time, I’d be interviewing someone who had been one of those who inspired me to start off with online business. Who had guided me a lot over the years about freelancing and internet marketing. Let me introduce you to Chitraparna Sinha.
Chitraparna Sinha has been a part of the freelancing industry over a long period of time and have been making passive income of this. So without wasting any of the further time, let’s go deep into the interview!
Q.1 First of all, hello mam. Would you please like to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi Divyansh, it’s a pleasure to be here.
For your readers, I am Chitraparna Sinha, a content developer, blogger and freelance consultant. My online journey started with the first computer my dad purchased in 2008 and I applied for a writing internship with an Indian agency while doing my graduation in English. The internship went well and I started looking for other freelance writing options while pursuing Masters in English. After completing my education, continuing with this field seemed commonsensical since the growth potential is immense.
I divide my time writing for businesses and agencies, writing and maintaining my blogs, coaching new freelance writers and consulting with some Indian companies on their content development strategies. My work hours are heavily erratic but I wouldn’t exchange it for anything else.
I love writing and life is just perfect
Q.2 You have been in this magical world of blogging & freelancing for about 6 years. Tell us about your experiences in the beginning of it?
I have been a full-time content developer for about 6 years and a blogger for 3 years. The journey has been exciting, with some disappointments in between. The experiences between the two are very different.
Whoever said freelancing is easy had been day dreaming. Freelancing is tougher than a 9-to-5 conventional job. One performs various roles – seeking clients, accountancy, business maintenance, meeting deadlines and more. The grind is never ending.
Blogging is tough, equally. You are not only writing but performing various technical aspects. For a non-technical person like me, learning the technical aspects was really time consuming.
Nonetheless, if one has perseverance and dedication, either of these niches are good career options.
Q.3 How did you step in this awesome world of blogging?
I stepped into blogging purely by chance. I used to ghostwrite blog posts for others. In the meantime, I opened a free WordPress blog to publish blog posts when the client did a vanishing act. I used to read how other bloggers were getting successful. Near the end of 2011, a friend of mine created my first blog, SocialVani.com.
He booked the domain and hosted it on his account for a year. The initial months were really enlightening. I learned a lot of things I still apply while blog content writing for others and my own blog.
Q.4 Did you face any obstructions or restrictions from your family against blogging?
Not at all! My mom is a writer too and she is perfectly fine with whatever I do. Yes, it is difficult to explain what I do to relatives but I don’t face any interference as such.
Q.5 Apart from blogging and freelancing, is there any other profession in which you are engaged?
Yes, I coach new freelance author and work in the capacity of a content consultant for few Indian companies. Freelance writing is my full time profession and blogging continues to remain a side hustle.
Q.6 Which are the blog’s you follow regularly?
Quick Sprout, Zen Habits, Search Engine Journal, KISSmetrics and Digital Inspiration are some blog I read regularly.
Q.7 Who was your main idol in the field of blogging?
I didn’t follow any idol as such but yes, Zac Johnson’s success as an entrepreneur has been an influencing factor.
Q.8 How did you start earning from blogging and what are your current earning stats?
If I remember correctly, my first earning came 2-3 months after SocialVani went live. It was in the form of a paid post. In Jan 2014, I started a blog on freelancing, EsmeeNetwork.com, and it started giving returns in the form of paid coaching within 2 months. I also run few niche sites and overall, the earning is good.
Q.9 Do you prefer managing 2-3 blogs or only 1 is better?
As mentioned above, I have 2 main blogs and few niche ones. It is definitely time consuming to maintain a lot of blogs but if one automates most of the process, it get simpler. I can’t really answer this question since it depends on the blogger.
Q.10 Any SEO or Social Media tips which you used to grow your blog?
What I follow isn’t something new. Many successful bloggers use the same strategies and I follow their example, coupled with my own experience.
I believe that efforts should be made towards drawing organic traffic to a large extent. I know search engines like Google can change their algorithms any time and therefore, the dependence on organic traffic is risky but it is worthwhile to take the risk. On-page SEO plays a big role. Try to optimize blog posts without keyword spamming. Do internal linking. You should always link to important resources and write pillar posts. Pillar posts are the ultimate.
Invest equal time on social media optimization. Join groups on major social networks and share new blog post links. Network with bloggers and do a lot of sharing.
Q.11 As we all know that you are currently working on EsmeeNetwork.com of whose I and many other bloggers are big fans. Any future planning of a new blog or growing this only?
No, I am totally concentrating on EsmeeNetwork and SocialVani now. No time bandwidth to setup another main blog; however, some niche blogs are in the pipeline.
Q.12 Any tips for my readers who are new to blogging?
Just one tip: don’t blog for money.
If you want money, create a niche site. Good returns in short time.
If you want to create an authority site and invest years of your time and dedication, don’t run after money. It will come on its own if your chosen path is right.
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