Blog earnings could allow me to quit a 9-5 job: Anand Khanse

Anand Khanse resides in and runs his Advertising business in Pune. For him, Windows is a passion and he has been awarded the Most Valuable Professional Award by Microsoft for the 4th year in a row. He runs TheWindowsClub.com, which is Asia’s only Microsoft Featured Windows Help Community and also launched several freeware applications for Windows 7 & Vista.

Anand Khanse

Interview

Q: Welcome to Speakbindas. Tell us since when blogging has been a part of your life? Was there any motive or inspiration as a backbone of it?

• A:  For me, Windows OS is a hobby, a passion. And it all started when for every minor Windows annoyance the ‘Computer guy’s’ stock reply was – we will have to format the computer! So that’s when I visited a tech forum asked questions, received answers, implemented them. And that’s when my interest grew and I realized that from asking questions I had graduated to answering them. This was 4-5 years back.

• While I was active on some forums, Microsoft noticed my activities and decided to their Most Valuable Professional Award in 2007. Over a period of time, I realized that most of my solutions and tips were scattered all over in these forums. It was at this point of time that I felt the need to put them all in one place. It was in May 2009 that I decided to start my website www.WinVistaClub.com to cover everything about Windows Vista; and then www.TheWindowsClub.com in May 2009. Along the way, I also added a Windows Help Forum http://forum.thewindowsclub.com .

Q: What is your blog all about? Which topics you cover there? Is that you alone running/maintaining the blog, or have a team?

• A: www.TheWindowsClub.com is a Microsoft Featured Windows Community, a rare honour for anyone in this field.  If you need to know anything about or be abreast about the latest in the world of Windows 7 or Vista, you may just want to check out my site.

• I have decided to focus my blog on anything that would be of interest to a Windows 7 or Windows Vista user. That thus includes the latest news about Microsoft & Windows, tips, how-to’s, articles, downloads, etc about Windows 7 & Vista.

Q.: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive?

• A: Very important actually! And one must respond! But I don’t do so, lack of time being the culprit. I encourage folks to instead ask questions in the forum where I or someone more knowledgeable than myself can help out.

Q: What are the present statistics for your blog, i.e. number of daily visitors, visitors geographical status etc.?

• A: Currently, TWC & WVC gets a total of over 24000 visitors and 70000 page views daily. The visitors are primarily from USA, followed by UK, Germany, Vietnam, Canada, India, Brazil, France, Australia.

Q: Is blogging for you just a passion or a medium for earning too? Does it help you to earn enough cash to quit a 9 to 5 day job?

• A: It started as a passion. It continues so because it still remains a passion. But yes, the blog earnings could allow me to quite a ‘9-5’ job, as you put it, I suppose. But that’s never an option I’d consider. Blogging as a passion does not in anyway interfere with the timings of the Advertising business I run. I usually am online in the evenings.

Q: Who are your favorite bloggers, whom you read frequently?

• A: In my category, www.windowsteamblog.com, www.windowsvalley.com, www.neowin.net, www.liveside.net, www.on10.net are some I enjoy visiting on and off.

Q: From the secret bucket of your blogging experiences, what tips you would like to share with the fellow bloggers?

• A: Focus your blog on a topic. Don’t make it too general. And update it atleast 2-3 times a week. And as the cliché goes … and still holds true … Content Rules! In the initial months, Digg, Stumble, etc your own articles. Start a Twitter, FaceBook, etc account. Network! Participate in related forums. Don’t spam! But simply expose your website url in your siggy. Not only will other members want to visit you if your participation is good, but in the bargain, you will also build back-links.
• Don’t chase PR or Alexa rankings! Let them come on their own. Most bloggers waste their time in building back-links and link-exchanges with the view of getting a higher PR! That’s not important Content is and always will be!
• If you can build a link exchange with 7-8 quality blogs. Great! But don’t overdo it. Visit other related blogs. Post Comments. Submit to all search engines. Don’t forget Baidu.

Q: Do you believe that blogging completes you? If yes, tell us how?

• A: To me, blogging is a creative outlet for expression. It offers a complete change from an otherwise non-techie profession that I am engaged in. That is why it completes me!

Q: What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

• A: In relation to blogging? I guess Microsoft giving me their MVP Award for the 4^th year consecutively and Microsoft recognizing my website as a Microsoft Featured Community. No gloomy moments yet …

Q: Say, you are sponsored to travel to 3 world destinations, where you need not to worry about costs for food, hotel or anything. Which destinations would you pick up, and why? Would you like to take someone along with you? If yes, whom?

• A: Las Vegas, London & Bali. Would love to visit these places again with my family.

Q: Are you into watching movies? If yes, which fills your list of favorite ones?

• A: Yes I do. I enjoy watching English sci-fi / disaster movies in the 2012 genre.

Q: What would be the one thing you’d change about yourself?

• A: Nothing really. Am quite happy with the way I am.

Q: What is your deepest fear?

• A: Thankfully none. Not even human-kinds worst known fear: The fear of the unknown !

Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

• A: Alive? An honest Indian politician. Dead? Hitler!

• The first is a rare species and who eludes me; and the second has always intrigued me!

Q: Which is your favorite television show? Favorite songs?

• A: Jhansi Ki Rani. Never miss it!

Q: How much money do you have in your purse/wallet right now (including change)?

• A: Hey, you caught me with my pajamas on, being a Sunday, so I’m not carrying my wallet. But yes, my wife always frowns at me because I normally carry very little cash in my wallet.

Q: What is your favorite food? Any particular dislikes?

• A: A good Indian thali is something I relish. No food that I dislike …

Q: What’s your take on the technological advancement these days? Does it make people’s life simple or complicated?

• A: Simple & complicated at the same time ! While it may have solved something, it may also have brought its share of woes with it. Technological advances have created, needs in people, that earlier did not exist. And having created those need, people have got hooked to finding ways of satisfying them. While earlier everyone lived comfortably without having a mobile phone around, now we cannot imagine life without it!

Q: What do you think of “blogging is the next BIG thing”?

• A: Next BIG thing? Isnt it already here!?

Q: Any special message you would like to share with your blog readers as well with everyone else?

• A: Hmmm … don’t be disheartened with a low stats or a low adsense revenue figure. These 2 concerns affect most of the new bloggers. In the first 4-6 months develop your blog, build some content and some readership and then apply to Google Adsense program. Give your blog a year to develop. Your blog will do well, only if you enjoy nurturing it.

Q. Other.

• We have launched Ultimate Windows Tweaker & FixWin, two freeware portable application which has been very well received. We have also launched the following freeware Windows applications : Fix IE, Fix WU, Fix MSE, Prevent, Windows Access Panel, etc.

• We encourage budding developers to create freeware  apps for Windows users which we then help launch.