Today I got an opportunity to interview with pro blogger chayan chakrabarti.
This is the third interview of our series and like the rest of the interview, you will also get to learn a lot of new things in it.
Chayan is a pro blogger who has been blogging for the past few years.
So let us start this interview with Chayan.
1. Tell our readers about yourself.
Hi Ayush, first of all, thank you for featuring me on your blog and giving me an opportunity to interact with your audience.
Hey Guys, this is Chayan Chakrabarti. I am the founder and content creator of simplefactsonline. I am an account manager by profession and manage my blog with my full time job.
I create content around blogging seo and digital marketing.
2. How did you know about blogging and how you started?
I learned about this industry in 2016. But due to lack of time I could not start, then in 2018 I started working on a blog which was assigned to me by my employer.
Also Read – How to start a blog from scratch in 2020 [Step by Step Guide]
3. Tell our readers some of your strengths that really helped you in blogging?
I am a self motivated person. And I believe that we have to take accountability about our livelihood.
Before starting my blog, I researched a lot on YouTube and my mind was occupied with too much info.
But when I started, I was like a frog in the ocean. But it made me prepared. I understand that there is no alternative to dedicated work.
4. What type of networking do you think is better to enhance your traffic to the blog?
I get this a lot. Understanding one thing, networking means mutual respect and value the other person. If you can make it happen, then it will be easy to connect with others.
I started reaching out to people for a series of interviews on my blog. I drafted around 135 emails and got 25-26 positive responses. Once you work with someone, it gets easy to work again.
So if you are a beginner, then reach out to like minded people and express your interest to work together. That’s it.
5. What would be your ideal working environment?
I work night shifts for my job. It’s 1.30 am now and i am writing the interview answers. So I am not a person who can only work at a particular time. All I need is wifi, electricity, food and music to work. I also take enough breaks in between to keep myself going.
If you guys are looking to increase your productivity. Then you can check this resource on my blog.
https://www.simplefactsonline.com/productivity-tips/
6. How do you manage time to run your blog efficiently?
If you think too much about one thing, then you will start making it perfect and that delays the process. Just think about it, you do not know how to drive and you want to drive a beautiful car and you are thinking that I will wear an Armani shirt when I drive the car.
The moment you have an idea, take action. Everything else can be taken care of.
I follow a schedule for my bloogging work and I always make schedules 2 to 3 days in advance based on my work pace. It’s Monday now and my social media posts are scheduled till Wednesday.
One can take advantage of free tools like Trello to create and manage all tasks.
7. How do you want to improve yourself in the next year?
I would like to be more active on different channels and start producing more audio and video content. Already started with the podcast and the experience was awesome.
8. Where would you like to be in blogging five years from now?
Five years is a long time. However, I think in the next 5 years, I want to reach someplace where my voice will matter. Blogging will definitely be a part of my life.
9. What was the most challenging moment in your blogging journey so far?
The first and foremost challenge was time. Because of my job I work at nights and sleep in the morning, so when I started blogging, I had to shift my sleeping time from the morning to afternoon, that was a big challenge for me. But I believe in one thing. If you start anything new and continue to do the same thing for the next 21 days, then it will become your habit.
Apart from that, I have zero experience with UX, so optimized content. And I struggled a lot to find a blog post idea. But eventually that got rectified.
10. Is blogging is still profitable in 2021?
Blogging is definitely rewarding and I believe that it will be relevant in 2021 and beyond. Yes, there is competition.
As a user, if I am looking for some info, I would prefer to look in a website instead of watching a video. Make it this way, a 15 minute video won’t deliver what you want. But in 15 minutes you can check more than one website. So the probability of getting a solution is much faster on a blog.
11. Some pro tips for beginners to bring targeted traffic?
Understand the searcher’s intent and optimize your content like that. research the top 10 ranking articles and see what info they have included. You can comply with that and create a 10 times better post. Unique infographics also help.
You can also take help from tools like Semrush and Ahrefs and check the top 10 ranking articles of your competitors.
Referral traffic also cannot be ignored. Create an eco system around your blog. Start FB groups, quora spaces and linkedin groups. Also use twitter.
I recently published an article about 5 simple steps to attract 1000 visitors.
12. what are some must have blogging resources that helps to take blog to the next level?
If you are blogging with wordpress, then you will need a mobile optimized theme.I use generatepress premium theme. It’s well coded and is mobile responsive. And the best part. You can use it for unlimited sites by just paying a nominal yearly fee.
After that, you will need some other tools and plugins that you can use as per your requirements.
Here are a few tools that I use and recommend
Also Read – 7 Must-Have Plugins for WordPress Website
13. Pro tips to increase affiliate sales?
Don’t just think about the sale and the commission amount. See how you can add more value.
Let’s take a hypothetical example here. If you are recommending any product make sure it’s an honest recommendation. So make sure to mention the pros and cons.
Writing reviews, comparisons and listing articles around one product can boost your authority regarding the same product.
Pro tip: Don’t recommend something that you do not use. One should not dream of making thousands of dollars, if they can’t invest at least $50 to $100 to buy that product.
14. Feedback or suggestion about me or my blog?
Ayush, I really like the layout and design of your blog. You are creating excellent content. Keep posting more content.
Final Words
I hope you find this awesome interview with Chayan valuable. He shared very helpful and valuable tips for all bloggers.
Stay connected to us, soon i will invite another pro blogger so you get more value.
Amazing Interview. I am following Chayan sir on twitter he is really good at his skill set. Please bring more guest and keep it up.
Best Regards 🙂
Yes
Great Interview. Chayan is very hardworking and good person.
yes he is a good person
I totally vibe with Chayan when he says to add more value for the affiliate sale. Adding value makes you skilled, credible and trustworthy. From there, sales increase. Rocking interview Ayush.
Ryan
Thanks Ryan