Wouldn’t it be great to learn a little bit more about someone who has been featured on most of the well-known blogging websites like ProBlogger, DailyBlogTips,WriteToDone, LifeHack & BestBloggingTipsOnline not once, but multiple times!!!!! But first I thought will she even have enough time to answer my questions…with all these going on and also writing for her own blog – WritingHappiness.com and participating in many writing contests. Well, it turns out that Marya Zainab has time when it comes to blogging, no matter how small and amateurish it may look!!!
The blogs featuring Marya are not limited to the ones above, but she has well-written articles all over the web and once you visit her site you will realize what makes her stand out in the crowd. In her own words, she specializes in these areas:
- Web Writing
- Education & Careers
- Self help/Personal development
- Relationships and parenting
If you are a writer/blogger and not yet aware of Marya (which seems unlikely), you really need to hop over to her site and start following her. When asked as to which one blog she would read everyday, she made a list of 34 Inspiring Blogs , out of which couple of them have already been featured on the Naked Truth Series – Ruth Zive & Kristi Hines. Way to Go DMC!!!!
I think there is a lot to learn from each of these bloggers featured here, and Marya is none the less. Knowing her a little bit more has made me think in many other directions to which I can take my blog and make it even better. Thanks for sharing all the information Marya and hope you keep writing the awesome stuff.
| Marya Zainab | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | How long have you been blogging? | Properly? Just over one year. Posting and commenting in the forums for ages |
| 2. | How many blogs do you own and contribute for? | I own one, Writing Happiness. I contribute to blogs like Problogger, Daily Blog Tips, Stepcase Lifehack, For bloggers By Bloggers, Write to Done etc |
| 3. | What is the main purpose or objective of your blog? | I would say my blog is primarily educational. I am a huge believer of effective writing = effective communication and then blog writing is merely another form of technical writing. I write about both, but mostly in a ‘fun’ way |
| 4. | How many posts do you write on an average per week? | One for Writing Happiness, 2-3 for other blogs as guest posts. Then my own paid writing projects take up rest of my time. |
| 5. | How much time do you devote for your blog on a daily basis? | More than I can justify. I count all the time spent educating myself about trends and effective practices as well as social media as time spent on my blog. 2-3 hours. This sometimes overlaps with my professional writing (web copywriting services) |
| 6. | How much time do you spend on tracking RSS feeds? | As in reading other blogs? About 30 min per day, sometimes more. |
| 7. | What is your favorite social bookmarking site and Why? | Hmm, I am not big on social book marking sites. Twitter I guess as it is the easiest to manage effectively. |
| 8. | What is your blog’s monthly revenue? | I have only just advertised my blogging and copywriting services (Jan 2012) so at the moment, none from my blog. |
| 9. | How many page views does your blog generate daily? | Doesn’t matter to me. |
| 10. | Name one blog (apart from yours!!) you read every day without fail. | There are a few. I made a list (of 34) on my blog that I can’t do without. |
| 11. | What is your blog’s main revenue generator? | I am counting on my own services. |
| 12. | Do you believe in Alexa rankings for measuring traffic? | I still believe in content more than anything |
| 13. | Do you accept Guest Articles on your blog? | No. |
| 14. | Do you believing in spending money on promoting your blog? | I haven’t had to so I can’t really say. It also depends how you have monetized it. If you are an established, business blog, I don’t see why one shouldn’t |
| 15. | Do you answer to all the comments on your blog? | Yes, absolutely, each and every one of them |
| 16. | How did you market your blog during your initial days to get the readers that you have? | By shedding tears. 🙂 No, I built it up slowly. I always worked to create quality content. I have a very busy life, two young children and I am starting my own online copywriting business, so I am unable to post frequently. I understood that from day one and worked accordingly. I also learn continuously and then work to improve my craft. I do some guest posting as well. |
| 17. | Any mistakes to learn from and avoid? | Stop commenting to gain attention, understand that some bloggers are so successful because they have been putting in the hard work for years. It is their time now, soon it will be yours. |
| 18. | What is your source of new post ideas? | Reading other blog posts and books. I am a bookworm, must read for 40 minutes before I go to bed every night. |
| 19. | Is having a “niche” important to bloggers? | Tremendously. Unless you are a major celebrity, people are not usually interested in your views about anything and everything. Best to pick a market to concentrate in. |
| 20. | Any advice to a start-up blogger? | Understand that the first year is the hardest. You must have a blogger profile ie thirst for knowledge, ability to connect with other people and be ready to not give up any time soon. Best of luck! |
| 21. | Bio | Blog: http://writinghappiness.com/ |
| Follow Me On: | Twitter |
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Nice tips for everyone Marya and am glad you featured her as well Praveen!
I have known Marya only recently, and have read her blog posts at Probloggers and other places- she sure is wonderful 🙂 It is always a great pleasure to meet up with fellow bloggers and learn more about them. And the Naked Series are a wonderful source for that 🙂
Wonderful connecting up once again Marya and learning more about you 🙂
Harleena – Thanks for all the kind and wonderful words. You are a great source of motivation for this series and I appreciate you reading everyone of them and sharing your thoughts on the same.