BG- Tell us something about yourself. Which five words would describe you the best?
ARCHANA- I am a Biochemist by profession, a writer by passion, a traveller at heart and an avid reader. I am passionate about cooking, fashion, wedding photography and creative wedding shoots which I do with my husband. Nonetheless, I am a creative person at heart.
Enthusiastic, romantic, explorer, passionate writer and a modern day woman.
BG- When did you start blogging and what was your motivation behind starting the same?
ARCHANA- I started blogging in the year 2008. I used to write about daily whereabouts in my diary since childhood. Later, I started writing short stories when I joined college. I needed a platform to make those stories reach everyone. One of my friends introduced me then to blogging and today I am writing regulary and I also get reviews about my stories and posts in my blog.
BG- Can you give us an idea on the theme of your blog (MY COLORFUL WORLD)and what kind of content your readers love?
ARCHANA- My blog is a personal blog. I don’t consider it as writing a diary. I prefer keeping personal thoughts aside. I write stories, share incidents, travel experiences and participate in contests. I am a romance writer. I love writing passionate and romantic stories and sometimes romantic mysteries or medical mysteries too.
So far, of what I have written the most appreciated ones are the romantic ones.
BG- How much time do you keep for blogging on a weekly basis?
ARCHANA- I try to blog at least three or four times a week.
BG- What are the top three lessons that you have learnt in your journey so far?
ARCHANA-
- Always be positive towards life. There was a phase when I went all negative about my own self. It took a lot of effort for me to come out of that negativity phase and introduce positive thoughts. I started reading and writing more and focused all my negative energy into doing something good.
- Be calm when you do things. Being calm helps in maintaining consistency. Even while writing.
- Always give your best and express yourself well. It helps in leading a problem free life as well as helps in writing well .
BG- How did you get to where you are now with your blog? To what do you attribute your success?
ARCHANA- I was not consistent initially, but slowly I started writing more often and wrote many stories for websites and when my stories started winning prizes with my posts getting recognized, the number of visitors , reviewers and readers started increasing in my blog.
BG- One of the hardest things for beginner bloggers is getting traffic. What tips can you give bloggers to drive traffic to a new blog?
ARCHANA- Writing well is one part, one also has to put that effort in spreading the word about one’s blog and blog content via social media and friends. Sometimes it can be via word of mouth also. These days internet and social media are one of the best ways to attract more readers. Use internet sources to your advantage.
BG- Where do you see your blog five years from now?
ARCHANA- I really wish I would have published a romance novel by the next five years and my blog will have more readers and reviewers. I wish to keep writing more.
BG- What are your five favorite blogs to read? What makes those blogs special?
ARCHANA-
1. http://www.bollymeaning.com/p/about.html- Music and movies . Songs and their meaning.
2. https://pagesfromserendipity.wordpress.com/book-reviews/- Book reviews.
3. http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/- Veg recipies
4. https://indianhomemaker.wordpress.com/– Tips from a Home maker
5. http://ranjana-craft-blog.blogspot.in/- Art and craft
These blogs are unique in their own way. They describe about music, book reviews, recipies,life of a homemaker and about craft that can be made at home. I love reading their posts regularly and keep following their updates. They happen to match with my interests.
BG- What does Baggout mean to you?
ARCHANA- Baggout is a platform which helps me reach out to different readers by hosting contests. I get to compare prices and buy different products from various online retail websites. It is a very encouraging initiative taken up by Baggout to boost the morale of the writers and acknowledge them. Such a platform is required to help budding writers bring out their talent to the world. It is a great opportunity to know where a writer stands when it comes to competing for the best position.
