Interview with Amit from Ampercent

Amit is a tech blog writer at ampercent.com , he writes along with soumen. In ampercent.com they write about computers technology tips which everyone can use, not just geeks. He started his blogging in late 2008 as a hobby but became serious in early 2010. Previously he blogged for fun, providing tips and tutorials for friends at college and things he liked and enjoyed using. Later on he realized blogging as an emerging medium for generating information, sharing your expertise as well as increasing your knowledge on subjects in which you have interest on. Now direct into questions and answers.

Question : Are you a full time blogger? How did you get into blogging?
Yes, I am a full time blogger as of now.

Question : Are you involved in social networking, if so which are the important networks which you think that should not be missed by any other bloggers
I do use Twitter for connecting with likeminded people who think and talk like me, track breaking stories and stay updated on the latest developments happening in my niche. I use Facebook for connecting with friends and Family members.
There is no hard and fast rule for social networking to be used as a tool for Bloggers. It depends on the blogger on how he wants to project his/her image on the web.  Twitter and Facebook works good, in general.

Question : What blog(s) do you own? , can you give a simple description for those (if it is not kept secret).
Only one blog – ampercent.com

Question : Are there any other blogs you regularly contribute to?
Yes, I am a regular writer for Techie Buzz for the last one and half years. I enjoy writing there.

Question : What blogs or individuals inspired you most when you were first starting out – did you have any role models? Any blogger heroes?
I was heavily influenced by Daniel Scocco of DailyBlogTips and Amit Agarwal of labnol.org, when I was starting out on  early 2009. Don’t have any such Role models or ‘Blogging heros” but I admire Daniel of tinkernut.com,  the folks at Menwithpens and Readwriteweb.

Question : Do you use any tools (free or paid) for link building activities; if so which one do you suggest?
Never used any such link building service for my blog yet. I believe that links should flow naturally to a blog and anything done forcefully, doesn’t have a lasting impact. You can speed up in the shorter term, but overtime, every other effort will fail if the main product doesn’t offer value to your readers.

Question : What do you find most challenging about blogging?
The most challenging thing regarding blogging is to keep generating ideas every single day. You have to find a unique voice to stand out from the crowd. The world is getting smarter each day and you have to be on a learning curve, if you want to create a really useful and engaging user experience.
Another challenge is to win the trust of early readers. When your blog has few readers or subscribers, increasing the number from 0 to 100 is really challenging.

Question : How do you keep coming up with material/content for your blog?
I read blogs, forums, newsgroups and have subscribed to a good number of RSS feeds. I read them regularly to get new ideas for upcoming blog posts.
Creating content begins with YOU and then with your readers. I study the reading pattern of my existing readers , subscribers and try to deliver related and meaningful content.

Question : Follow up question # If you are a makeuseof.com visitor do you wonder how they get these much of free tools to review and what is the source?
Makeuseof.com has an extensive panel of staff writers who regularly publish reviews and tutorials and thus they get the attention from app developers, software companies and startups. It’s no wonder that a site launching a new product will themselves tip their editorial team or a senior member, asking to review their product or service.

Question : What are your monetising methods (like adsense, inlinks, private advertisement,sponsered reviews)
I use Google Adsense, Kontera and Technoratimedia. I also occasionally split test between Infolinks and Kontera and keep the one which yields higher revenue.

Question : If you are starting a new blog which would be your next niche ?
Well, many possibilities.
It depends on the idea and your objective – what you want to achieve from the blog. If my sole objective is to make money through the blog, I would research and stick to a profitable niche. Some examples might be Gadgets, small micro niches with an emerging user base

Question : Do you think Pagerank plays a vital role in a blog’s life, what is your PR?
My current Google PR is 4 and Yes, Pagerank is one of the 200 different signals used by Google in their ranking algorithm.
PageRank does not play a vital role in a blog’s life. You can still drive a targeted audience, even if your Google PR is Zero and your site has only 50 articles or so. A blog’s life is it’s content and the users reading that content.
That’s it – don’t obsess on Google PageRank, Alexa rankings etc. Thinking  too much about them and trying to manipulate your website’s visibility  is just a waste of time.

Question : What’s your take on sponsored reviews?
Good as well as bad.
Good when you have tested the product or service yourself and would want to recommend the same to your readers.
Bad, when you’re reviewing or endorsing every other product just because they are paying a hefty sum.

Question : For new bloggers, do you help them with some tips ?
Yes have a couple.
#1. If you are starting a blog just for hobby, have fun. If you’re starting a blog for money making, work hard and don’t ever opt for shortcuts.
#2: Don’t blindly listen to the so called “experts”. Find what works for your site and stick to that no matter what.
#3: Have a thick skin. You just can’t please each and everyone out there.

Strictly Optional Question : How many unique visitors per day you have & approximate monthly income from blogging.
As of now, my blog gets an average of 8K unique visitors a day. My monthly income from blogging is in 4 figures USD.

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