Hi everyone. Today,  you can read about one of my favourite blogger and entrepreneurs – Shailaja.  She is a great friend and has helped me in more than one ways.

She completed 12 years of blogging, in August and I’m more than happy to feature her on my blog.  I only have good things to speak about her, and if you follow me on the gram, you have already seen me talking about her a LOT!!!

If you are a blogger and are hoping to learn some tricks and do some serious learning, then I would insist to definitely signup for her newsletter. 

 

You just celebrated 12 years of blogging! What had been your biggest motivation to keep up
the work?

 As a blogger, it still feels slightly like a dream that I’ve managed to do this for 12 years now.
My biggest motivation would be my readers, my mailing list subscribers and my engaged audience
who keep coming back to read my blog. Without an audience, it can be quite tough to keep the
motivation alive to blog consistently.

 

How did you get into blogging?

 My daughter is the sole reason I got into blogging. When she turned a year old, I began to
catalogue her daily life and milestones on my blog, which was a tiny space back on Blogger in 2007.
From there I moved to a custom domain in 2016 and then finally to self-hosted WordPress in 2017.

 

 

[Tweet “There are four secrets to taking your blog to the next level@shyvish”]

 

 Please tell us a little bit about yourself, Shailaja the lady.

There isn’t much to say, really. I love to blog/write and I love to read. My interests also
include music (as a trained vocalist), badminton and swimming (both favourite workouts) and
spending time with my family.

I have a background in English Language and Literature (a Master’s degree) and a few years of
experience as a trainer followed by a few more years as an editor. As of 2018, I am a solo
entrepreneur and digital consultant for bloggers looking to grow their blog and audience the organic
way.

 

 What are your fav books? Please share one fiction and one non-fiction.

 This is a loaded question  But, if I had to pick only two books, I would settle for these two:
Non-Fiction: Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s the one book I believe everyone should read if they
want to build habits that stick. I talk about it over and over, especially on my Instagram page.

Fiction: ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ by Richard Bach. I read this book when I was around 18, I think
and it’s one book that has stayed with me. I keep going back to it and each time I re-read it, there’s a
fresh perspective I get on life, relationships, goals and self-awareness. It’s absolutely beautiful.

 

We all know you, have some amazing time blocking tips. Please share two with us.

The best tip I can give is to delegate your phone to its original role: that of a phone. Use it primarily
for calls and text messages. Everything else can wait. Just because we have technology in the palm of
our hand doesn’t mean we have to rely on it completely for everything.

The second tip I’d share is to use a planner and track your time each day. You’d be amazed by how
much time you actually have and how well you can use it to grow your blog or business.

 

Also, read: Why I love tome blocking and how I use it in my day.

 

 How do you make sure to stay active as your work is mostly a desk one?

I must admit that I don’t do enough for this aspect. But I do attempt to get in a 30-minute walk
every day. Additionally, I ensure that I don’t stare at my screen for too long since that can cause dry-
eye syndrome. So I take a break from the screens every hour or so and stretch or do a few eye
exercises.

 

 And lastly, please share some tips for my readers here related to blogging.
How can we take our blog to the next level 🙂

This is one thing I can share:

There are four secrets to taking your blog to the next level.

Secret 1: Hard work. There is no substitute for this. What is equally important is to work smarter and
not just harder. Find the things that make money for your blog and work on optimising those tasks
first.

Secret 2: Patience. Nothing will happen overnight. I can publish a post in March of this year and see
that it only begins to rank on Google in September of that year. Patience is key to your success in the
blogging space.

Secret 3: Stop wasting time online. This is especially important because the online space can be quite
addictive and a huge space for distraction. Don’t let it divert you from your main goal. Even if you
are on social media, use that time well to learn something, connect with thought leaders in your
space or share content that will make a difference to people’s lives.

Secret 4: Enjoy the blogging process. All of the above becomes useless if you view blogging as a
chore. It’s hard work and as important as a job, but it is also lots of fun. You need to have a growth
mindset in place before you tackle any challenges in the blogging space. Enjoy the journey and you’ll
notice that the destination becomes that much easier to reach.

 

Also Read: Bullet Journal for bloggers,  to plan your blog.

 

 

About Shailaja :

Shailaja Vishwanath is a solo entrepreneur and a blogging and social media strategist with over 12 years of blogging experience. Her aim is to help bloggers grow, scale and monetize their blogs in a sustainable and organic manner.  Her expertise lies in Pinterest Marketing, Instagram growth, E-mail marketing and search engine optimization tips. Connect here.

She blogs at Shailajav.com.