Harsh Agrawal is an award-winning blogger from India. He is the founder of ShoutMeLoud, a blog that aims to help people to become their own boss.
He started his blogging journey in 2008 and left his full-time job in 2009 to become a full-time blogger. Now he is one of the most successful bloggers of India. And more importantly, he is the inspiration of many upcoming bloggers.
You can find Harsh on Twitter or LinkedIn. This is our recent interview with him, as a part of our How I Blog series.
1. First of all, tell us a little about your background and how you got into blogging.
Hi everyone and thanks Istiak for having me on your blog.
For those who don’t know me, I’m Harsh Agrawal from India. I run an award-winning blog called ShoutMeLoud.com.
ShoutMeLoud was started as a hobby and when I realize the potential of blogging, I made a mission to educate others about blogging as a career option. In the last 10+ years, ShoutMeLoud has helped numerous individuals around the globe to understand the concept of blogging and utilize it to live a boss free life.
2. How many blogs do you have? And how do you manage them?
Apart from ShoutMeLoud, I have a couple of blogs on tech and WordPress niche. I mostly work with freelancers and contractors to take care of things like development work to manage the blog. Most of the writing and videos, I do it myself as I enjoy doing it the most.
I do take advantage of various tools to make the blog management easier for example:
The key here is to find one perfect tool and use the same architect on all the blogs. This alone saves a lot of time.
3. How many hours do your work on your blogs every day? And how do you manage your time?
I’m an easy-going guy and I have a fluid working style. I tend to spend 8+ hours a day on blogs. I don’t live for weekends, as all the days are the same for me.
I do wake up early to practice Yoga and meditation. After that, I spend time on creative stuff like writing, reading or planning. I usually have 2-3 calls (Interviews, partner calls, networking calls, mind friends) every week.
4. Do you outsource any blogging tasks? If yes, share with us some details like where and what type of tasks you outsource.
Development: I usually work with 1-2 developers to continue the site iteration. I usually find them from my existing network.
Consultant: Usually a lot of consultants pitch me on a regular basis about things they could do for ShoutMeLoud, and If I like somebody, I usually hire them for a few months. A good example is Chatty Sharma (Young kid from Chandigarh) who was a reader of ShoutMeLoud and was very interested in managing SML social media, for almost half a year, he managed Social media on ShoutMeLoud.
Similarly, we always welcome young minds to come up with creative ideas, build their portfolio working for us and it becomes win-win for all. This approach can be taken by any established or growing brand.
Overall, it works best for me, when people reached out to me for work.
5. How do you promote your blogs and the latest blog posts?
I have a few fixed sets of promotion techniques apart from SEO. Here are those:
- Send email newsletter to our 50k subscribers (Using Convertkit and Jetpack subscription).
- Send push notifications (PushEngage).
- Schedule social media updates ( AgoraPulse & SocialPilot).
- Bookmark it on Flipboard, Pinterest. Infact, Flipboard is an untapped source of traffic. I have published a Flipboard traffic case study some time back which is worth a visit for every blogger.
6. How do you monetize your blogs?
I’m a firm believer in “never put all eggs in one basket”. ShoutMeLoud is monetized using the following techniques:
- Affiliate marketing
- Direct ads
- Sponsored posts
- AdSense on YouTube
- eBooks
- Courses
You can find updated ways of making money from blog here.
7. Which devices and gadgets are you using now for blogging?
I love this question Istiak. Here is what I’m using these days:
- MacBook Pro 15”
- Huawei P20 Pro
- Sony a7 iii for video recording
- DJI pocket for video recording
- iMac 27” for video editing and gaming (I’m a counter strike and AOE fan)
8. What apps, tools, or plugins do you use to make your blogging journey easier?
I’m all about apps and tools. Here are a few that I use on day to day basis:
- Dashlane: For password management.
- Rescue Time: For productivity.
- Wunderlist: For the to-do list.
WordPress plugins:
- Yoast SEO
- OptinMonster
- MonsterInsights
- AMP for WP
- SEO Writing Assistant by SEMRush (For On-Page SEO)
- Advanced Ads for ad management
- EDD for running ShoutMeLoud store
- WP Link Status for broken link management
SEO Tools:
- AccuRanker for keyword rank tracking.
- SEMRush for the site audit.
I’m looking to migrate from Genesis to Astra theme. Testing is going on and you might see change before our upcoming anniversary.
9. What’s your workspace setup like? If possible, share a picture of your workstation or home office.
I have a humble home office. Here is a picture.
10. Which book are you reading now? Do you have any recommended books for bloggers?
Currently, I’m reading Traction and Mini habits these days.
A few books that are recommended for bloggers:
- The handbook to Affiliate marketing (Authored by truely yours)
- The AdWeek copywriting handbook
- The Unpublished David Ogilvy
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
- Rise of the Youpreneur
11. What’s the best blogging advice you have ever received?
It is not directly related to blogging but from the mindset, it always reminds me of the reason why I started blogging in the first place.
12. What do you do when you are not blogging?
I like learning new things that are even outside my main domain. For example, in the last 2 months, I learned a lot about mutual funds and blockchain.
If I’m not learning, I usually indulge myself in activities such as adventure sports, travel. I feel I’m bitten by the travel bug and perhaps that’s why in the last two years, I ended up fulfilling my dream of traveling to Antarctica and Africa. Here are a few breathe taking pictures.
Do You Have Any Questions?
Now it’s your turn. Do you have any questions to Harsh? Feel free to ask via comment.
Harsh would be happy to answer your questions.
However, if you found the interview helpful, consider sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
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