A Rare Interview with #Harsh #Agrawal who Changed the Face of Blogging in Asia

You know buddy, today I am very happy while I am writing the starting part of this post. It is such like a dream come true. I became succeed to get the interview of world’s one of the most renowned blogger, who is my true inspiration for blogging. Yes, It is Harsh Agarwal- the blogging giant. I want to say a big thanks to him for taking some time and getting answers to this interview questions.

I have compiled a list of questions containing questions which are concerning for both beginners and professional bloggers.

I won’t take more time here. As I know you are excited to know the insights of this interview. Harsh has given straightforward answers to the questions.

Let’s start with it.

1. Tell us Something About you and your Blog.

Hey Nikhil, It’s good to be on your web space & speaking to your audience.  I’m one of those passionate guys who believe in doing the right thing. By education, I’m an engineer & by profession a Blogger. I started blogging in 2008 with my blog ShoutMeLoud.com, and in last 7 years, it has become a blog which has changed the life of numerous individuals & entrepreneurs. ShoutMeLoud is about learning everything about digital marketing & making a career online. Apart from ShoutMeLoud, we have other niche blogs such as ShoutMeTech.com, Wpfreesetup.com to name a few. I also run a domain selling service called as ShoutMyDomain.

I’m based in Delhi & I love travelling. I’m fascinated with the concept of Digital Nomad & I have been travelling all around the world & working at the same time. My last visit was to Krabi where I stayed for 2 weeks & enjoyed the true meaning of the blogging lifestyle.

2. What do You Recommend for an Indian Blog- A US server Hosting or An Indian Server Hosting of the same Company?

It depends upon the target audience of a blog. Technically, if a blog target audience is in India, one should host their blog on Indian server. This actually helps to load the blog faster.  In case, if somebody prefers U.S. based hosting due to server quality, one can use CDN network  likeCloudflare, MaxCDN or any other to give the similar experience.

3. What is the Future of SEO? Is it going to die in Next 3 to 5 Years?

SEO is not going to die, but it will shift to a completely new dimension. More than search, a blogger needs to focus on mobile SEO, App SEO. In fact, I’m afraid that the web we know of may die in few years, & mobile phones like Android & iPhone along with social networking site like Facebook will become  the major chunk of the web. Those who are interested in the technical part of it should read about App indexing  &iOS spotlight in-app search.

4. What things do you Follow while Writing a Blog Post?

The first thing which I keep in mind is the value of the post. One can write a post to drive any traffic & earn money. My goal is slightly different, as I focus on writing those post which is meaningful for me & for ShoutMeLoud readers. Along with that, my strategy is to work on evergreen content so that we can enjoy the true benefits of blogging.  Rest, I love making conversation & being simple in my writing & life.

5. You are a Renowned Professional blogger in the World. What are Your Future Plans? What have you decided to bring your Blogging Journey to the Next Level?

Thanks for the kind words. Recently I did an All India road trip (ShoutMeet) & conducted numerous bloggers meet in various states of India. It was a grand success & I realized the need of a blogger across the country. I plan to continue this in coming years & help the blogging community in India to grow.

One challenge which I’m facing is scaling up at this moment. Since I work from home, hiring more people is not convenient. I plan to move to an office soon & hire 2-3 like-minded people who can manage our virtual team. I’m not a big fan of 9-6 work style, but having an office with flexible working hours sounds more productive & a good step towards doing something bigger.

6. What Tools Do You Use To Make Blogging Easier?

I use numerous blogging tools. Here are few which I can think of right now:

• iMac 27”: Can’t think of blogging without it.
• Blue Yeti mic: For sound recording
• iPhone 6: For blogging from mobile
• Snagit: For image capture & editing
• Camtasia: For video recording
• SEMRUSH: My fav. SEO tool
• BufferApp&SocialPilot: for Social Media marketing
• PostPlanner: For Facebook Page management & automation
• Kinsta Hosting: Where ShoutMeLoud is hosted (November 2015)
• Slack: For team communication
• FileZilla: For FTP
• Focusbooster: An app for mac to help me stay productive
• Selfcontrol app: To block access to sites like Facebook when I’m working
• Wunderlist: For task management
• Evernote: For note taking

7. How to Get More Productive As a Blogger?

One needs to be productive in every part of their life. You can’t be just as productive as a blogger when your personal or life outside blogging is not productive. There are few things which work best for me:

• Don’t check your email all the time. If you are a busy blogger, have someone manage your email.
• Make a To-Do list (Wunderlist) & learn to delegate work. The more you delegate, you will get more done.
• Don’t work on many things at one time. If you are one of those who keep more than 5 tabs opened every time, change this habit. To get things done, focus on one & finish it before moving to other work. Also, read about Pomodoro time management technique.
• When writing, get rid of all the distraction. Disable internet on your Phone & ensure you don’t’ lose focus while researching stuff for your article. If you happened to bump into an interesting topic which is different than what you are working on, bookmark it using Pocket app. You can work on it later, but focus on completing your task first.
• This is the last but most important tip for all the newbies & pro-bloggers. Don’t thrive for perfection, as this is one reason your 80% of work is never completed. It’s a hard thing to do, but with time if you learn to do it, you will know that even the work which you thought is mediocre is useful for many.

8. How Has It Helped To Your Blog? What Things A Blogger Should Consider Before Developing A Mobile App For A Blog?

Mobile app is the future & think of it as important as email marketing.  Hire a developer to develop your app. Push notification is must have feature for your app. Along with that, a great UI & UX is important. Treat your mobile app users as the new generation of readers. Most important, if you don’t have an app for now, get one right now. You can always update your app over the time to add new features & functionalities.

9. Which Yields The Most Qualified Traffic for Shoutmeloud: SEO Or SMM?

Of our 1 million page views a month, 80% of traffic is from the Search engine. The 2nd best traffic driving source is direct traffic where people come from bookmarks or typing the URL. It’s shocking & sad to say that only 5% of our traffic comes from Social-media & hopefully we will fix this gap in coming months. If you know of a good social media manager who wants to work full-time for us, feel free to recommend.

10. Do You Believe That Paid Traffic Is Worth For A Blog?

It all depends upon the kind of blog you are running. Paid traffic is definitely good & a successful model for many million dollar blogs. The key here is, if you spend $1 on buying traffic, you should be earning at least $2. This requires a lot of optimization & targeting which can be achieved with practice & A/B testing. In short, yes, paid traffic can do wonder for those who know what they are doing.

11. Now After Huge Work, Shoutmeloud has Become A Popular Blogging Brand. Suggest Some Tips To Create A Brand For A Blog.

Any name becomes a brand when others are talking about it. To become a brand, one need to give a reason for others to talk about it. Social media has empowered us to achieve this at minimal cost & even as a solopreneur. For bloggers, here are few tips:

• Logo &Favico: Your logo is the first thing you want to focus on. Spend a lot of time thinking about the design of the logo.
• Domain Name &tag line: Your domain name is what people would call your brand as. Make sure your domain name is easy to remember, easy to type & easy to pronounce. Along with it, have a catchy tagline. I’m sure many of you know this tagline “ I’m the CEO-Bitch”
• For personal branding use same image (Profile picture) on all social-media sites including Gravatar. Don’t underestimate the power of cover image on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ as they are the most visible space.
• Last but most important is the consistency. If you are not consistent, forget about branding.
• Trigger: Try to have some trigger point for your brand. For example, When we think about Noodles, we say Maggi. When we talk about Cold-drink, we talk about Coco-Cola. For ShoutMeLoud, it’s blogging.

12. You are Making Huge Money through Shoutmeloud as You Publish Your Blog Income Report Each Month. What Do You Suggest For Newbie Through Which They Can Make Money?

When you start blogging, your focus should be on great content & your audience. Convert your traffic into loyal readers & monetize it using Affiliate marketing. Recommend products which you use & which are useful for others. If you are on a multi-niche, you can monetize using AdSense, VigLink or direct ad sales.

Product review & native advertising is going to earn you a great deal of money though this will only work once you have established a quality brand name for your blog. In today’s date, one can establish a branded blog in 3-4 months with hard work & a good strategy.

HCL Tech to Buy Volvo's External IT Business

Global truck maker Volvo said on Tuesday it signed a letter of intent (LoI) with HCL Technologies to sell its external IT business in a deal seen boosting operating earnings by about 900 million Swedish crowns ($108.5 million) on closing.

The Swedish company said in a statement that about 2,600 Volvo staff would be affected by the transaction and offered employment at HCL.


The deal was expected to close during the second quarter of next year.

"Not only will our cooperation with HCL Technologies provide significant cost-savings. We will also make a capital gain when the contract is signed," Volvo's acting chief executive, Jan Gurander, said in a statement.

The sale of Volvo's external IT operations is part of sweeping efficiency measures aimed at cutting 10 billion crowns of structural costs at the truck maker.

How Do I Pair a Samsung Galaxy S3 to the Ford Sync System?

One of the hottest phones this Christmas season is the Samsung Galaxy S3 and for many users, they will need a quick tip on how to "pair" a Samsung to a Ford Sync System.

First, go to your phone's App menu. 
Tap the Settings folder 
If it isn't already on, Tap the Bluetooth box to turn it on. 
Start up your Ford vehicle, go to the Phone Menu. 
On the basic Sync System, use the "Seek" arrows to go to the System Settings folder. Then go to Bluetooth Devices, press OK, then use the arrows to find Add a Device, then press OK. 
Press the OK button to begin "pairing" and your Sync system will create a 6-digit PIN. If you can, use the Seek Arrows on the steering wheel to toggle the screen until it says "Special PIN." Push OK and select/create a number such as 0000 or 1234.

On the MyFord Touch system, on the lower left of the Phone page is the "Settings" button. Select that, and on the next screen, push the bar that says "Bluetooth Devices." On the next screen will be the list of your connected Bluetooth Devices. Tap the "Add Device" to add a new one. The system will say "Search for Sync on your device and enter the PIN provided." Samsung phones prefer a 4-digit PIN, so you can use the touch screen to "create" the PIN of either "0000" or "1234." 
Go to your phone and select "Search for Bluetooth Devices."

In a moment, it will either "find" and automatically connect to Sync, or, you may have another screen appear with a place to enter the PIN number. Enter the PIN number and hit "Pair" on your phone.

This confirms the pairing process.

In a moment Sync should come back with a few more questions. Such as "Make Primary Phone?" "Turn on 911 Assist?" Push the OK button on your Sync system to approve the questions. Use the Seek buttons to toggle the "Yes" to "No," if you'd like. 
When you push OK to begin "Download Phone Book" your phone will make a chime. 
If a sub-menu appears, tap the box to "Always Connect" the Sync connection. 
If no box appears, "pull down" the menu from the top of the phone screen. It is referred to as the PBAP screen. Once again, tap the box to "Always Connect" the Sync system.

For most Sync systems, push the voice button and say "Bluetooth Audio" to access the music files on your Samsung. It may take up to 30 seconds for the system to start playing music on the phone. If it does not, go to your phone's App menu and tap the icon for your music player. Or, tap the icon for an App such as Pandora. Your Pandora App will start streaming music through your dashboard.

The Honest Truth About Your Business

29 Questions to Help You Determine if What You're Doing is a Business or a Hobby

Are you a true business owner and entrepreneur? Or are you pursuing your business dreams more like a hobby but may not even be aware this is what's happening?

In meshing business and personal life in the past...

I took a lot of time off when I felt like it... ,

I worked around the kid's school schedule and family meals... ,

if I didn't feel like making calls for a few weeks, I didn't make them... ,

when the sun came out, the kids and I headed to the park and work was the last thing on my mind... ,

I would fit in a few hours here and there to work on my business... when time allowed around my other commitments...

What about you? Do you let family, friends and other factors take you away from working on your business? Or are you 100% committed and invested in your business success?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help - you might be surprised with some of the answers if you're being honest with yourself!

1.     Are you clear on your business's focus - have you defined the product or service you provide and have stuck to it or are you continually trying out other things?

2.     Have you registered your business name with your local government?

3.     Do you have a business licence with your local community?

4.     Do you have a dedicated business phone line? A toll free number?

5.     Do you have business insurance?

6.     Do you have legal contracts in place dealing with the various aspects of your business?

7.     Do you have a clearly defined mission statement?

8.     Do you have a business plan? One that gives you a solid blueprint on how to achieve your business goals and how much it's going to cost?

9.     Do you know who your competitors are and what they are doing?

10.   Is your business scalable in a way that it doesn't depend on you being hands-on 100% of the time?

11.   Do you have a marketing plan that provides you with specific steps on how you are going to attract your perfect client and how much it's going to cost?

12.   Do you have a set budget for advertising and marketing to build your client base?

13.   Do you really know who your target market is?

14.   Do you have a professionally designed logo to establish your brand identity and appeal to your ideal target market?

15.   Do you have professionally designed business cards, letterhead, promotional materials and other items to market your business?

16.   Do you have a professionally designed and developed website that represents your business brand effectively, 24 hours a day - 7 days a week?

17.   Do you continually update and employ SEO tactics to your website to ensure optimal results?

18.   Are you outsourcing certain tasks to help you with the things that are not your core competency such as bookkeepers, web developers, marketers, virtual assistants and graphic designers?

19.   Do you have a separate office space where you can shut the door at the end of the day and leave it closed until business hours start again?

20.   Do you have set business hours where no emails and no phone calls occur after hours?

21.   Is your office space organized and systemized so that anyone could come in and take over where you left off?

22.   Do you keep proper books and track all of your business receipts? Or is everything stuffed in a shoe box or file folder until tax time?

23.   Are you aware of all the tax write-offs that you're entitled to and use them to the fullest?

24.   Do you have a dedicated business bank account?

25.   Does ALL of your business income go into this business account and you pay yourself on a regular basis?

26.   Do you work all year round with vacation breaks or do you take whole summers off and tell yourself you'll get busy working again in the Fall?

27.   Do you diligently work at your to-do list of items that will help achieve your goals or are you telling yourself you'll kick things into gear after... (fill in the blank)?

28.   Are you truly happy and passionate about doing what you do?

29.   Is your business fulfilling your life's purpose or are you just going through the motions of trying to make some money?

The questions above do not cover everything when considering what is involved in running a business, by no means, but I hope they got you thinking enough to help you determine whether you are running your business like a hobby or are you seriously running your business to earn a healthy living.

I encourage you to take an honest look at what you are doing and decide today on what your future holds for you - nothing will happen until you make that decision!

Did this article strike a chord with you? Are there areas in your business that you could be improving to get you beyond the hobby mentality?

Is Your Brand Image Becoming Obsolete?

Your brand is the house where your company lives. People get an idea of the people who live there by what they see from the street. If that house isn't being kept up and the place looks outdated, we tend to think the inside must be sloppy and the people who live there must not care what others think.

Just like your home, your brand needs tender loving care. Those companies who built a good solid brand a few years ago, and have been letting that brand slide in recent years, are now realizing that their customers are dwindling and their image isn't as solid as it once was. The small companies who were ignored by these brands are suddenly appearing to be more innovative and relevant in comparison. 

Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to walk in and ask some tough questions. What is no longer resonating with customers and prospects? Is the old Value Proposition cutting it in comparison to the competition? Is the website making a good first impression? In other words, what is the brand's curb appeal like now?

Is it time to take action? There are several options. It all depends on whether the needs are fixable or is it time to start over?

Mission and values

A great example of a company that has done an excellent job of driving home the company's mission and values is USAA. Each employee knows exactly what the mission is and has a real purpose for going to work every day. Your values need to be clearly articulated to employees, customers and stakeholders. The mission should let everyone know what your goals are. 

Test your company. Randomly ask your employees what your company's mission is. If your mission is important to your employees and customers, don't mess with it. But if your employees can't answer affirmatively, they have jobs, but no purpose. This means the mission doesn't have any value for them, or it isn't being promoted properly. In this case, you need to take a fresh approach.

Messaging and positioning

How are you different from your competition? What makes you valuable in a special way? Most CEO's think they have the answer. But CEO's aren't your customers. Sometimes they are simply too close to the forest to see the trees and their outlook is completely outdated. Or maybe the CEO does know, but the messages haven't kept up with the times, nor have they been adapted for all of the critical touchpoints. Not sure? Start with some research to find out what customers and prospects really think. Now, compare this to what you want them to think. This, along with a solid brand audit, will tell you if you need a new approach to the market.

Creative story telling

You may find that your mission, vision and values are solid. But after an audit, you may conclude that your messaging just isn't cutting it for you. Your core messaging make simply be out of date, or you may not be getting your story across well enough to get attention and make your company remembered. Your story needs to take a life of its own. To do this, you need to be bold and creative. 

Boring the market will never work. Your message should be making you just a bit nervous. If not, you aren't taking it far enough to break through the clutter to convey a distinctive message.

As a leader, you need to pay attention to your brand and it's responsibilities every day. Many CEO's don't think of their brand as a priority because they aren't putting out brand fires every day. In the meantime, the brand is going downhill. The result can be a permanent damage to the foundation of your business. Maintenance is mandatory. Keep it fresh. Continuously monitor what your customers and prospects are thinking. 

If you can manage their impression of your business you can dramatically affect your bottom line. What are you doing to stay on top of your company's brand? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

My Five Rules In Beating The Odds For Success In Business

Robert Burns said it eloquently "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry". Business is more than just being smart but lucky as well. However skills and planning can definitely help in making the odds more in your favor. The most important part is that it takes money to make money. Unless you're independently wealthy, then start-up and working capital is a must. If you begin a business venture with not enough capital taking a shot you're doomed from the start.

Where ever you do receive capital from most times they need to be paid back. Generally that payment is incorporated into your operating costs, which uses revenues and percentages to show profit. Make sure your estimated monthly sales are as accurate as possible, and I would suggest reducing them by ten to twenty percent. This way you'll know in slower times that at least the fixed expenses will be covered. 

Here's a hypothetical example, you open a restaurant in a great location, and two weeks later the city starts doing road work making the street none accessible for like a month or two. Very little business comes in but you're on the hook for expenses regardless. If you don't in advance ensure enough working capital, and overestimate sales then you be out of business in a heartbeat. Rule number one in beating the odds, be aware of your business financials!

I've honestly met the worst business people in the world, unorganized, not focused, lazy, terrible with numbers, and extremely successful, how does that happen? Most know inside they're not the sharpest pencils in the box, so they counter that with hiring exceptional people to make them look good. As a result through the staff's hard work in spite of the owner's defiance's the business grows. Rule number two in beating the odds, hire those who might be more skilled than you in certain areas, and most important let them fly!

Make sure the product or service is competitive within your market place. In today's world with the economy so poor more people are purchasing on price than quality. It is vital that you study your demographic, the competitions pricing prior to making a business investment. Rule number three in beating the odds, the money is made in the buying not the selling!

Set a budget for marketing and advertising building a loyal customer base, and make a plan of action that will entice people to check-out your products or services. In developing a brand one must figure-out what will make them stick-out with customers feeling they need to be there. Rule number four in beating the odds, set a better mouse trap!

My final one is never put yourself in personal financial jeopardy when going into business. Make sure to incorporate your business so you're not personally liable if things should go south. Going bankrupt with an incorporation allows you to walk away not in a moral way, but a business one on clear and free. 

If you sign personally have no choice but to go bankrupt they'll take everything cars, house, any personal asset of value. Rule number five in beating the odds, always cover your butt!

7 Step Revenue Planning and How to Ensure Profitability

A few years ago I was at a closed door meeting of business owners. We had gotten together to share information and work on our businesses.

One of the members had just crossed the $500,000 mark in her business. She was understandably psyched and we were for her.

Later, after dinner, we were talking and I asked her what her profit was (cheeky I know).

Her net was under $50,000. On $500,000 in revenue. And she paid herself a salary of $60,000 so it wasn't that she moved $300,000 to her personal savings.

Thinking back on it, my mouth must have dropped. I hope it didn't, but don't see how it didn't.

She then asked my net and her mouth did drop. While hers was under 10% of revenue, mine was closer to 35%.

We talked late into the night about revenue, expenses, profit, taxes, retention and much more.

The next day she hired me. Flash forward 12 months and her revenue was a little under $550,000 and her profit was just over 20%.

When it comes to small businesses, "profit" often seems to be "that thing we never speak about", a secret to remain hidden, often shamefully, brought out from under the bed only during tax season.

What if your profit was public?

Would you be proud? Embarrassed?

What if you were to plan for your profit first?

Years ago I gave away a revenue planning template. One where you actually plan what your profit is rather than "just let it happen". (Hint: It almost never "just happens".)

7 Step Revenue Planning

The planning template was simple and all about reverse engineering your revenue:

1. List all your known expenses, including your salary
2. Add in your desired profit
3. Total them
4. Multiply the total by 10-15% for unknown expenses
5. Add Numbers 3 and 4 together
6. Multiply the new total (#5) by 30% or your tax percentage if known
7. Add Numbers 5 and 6 together. This is your revenue goal

The above works for planning, but what about day-to-day reality?

Day-to-day is simple although it requires a little more discipline to continuously follow the process - that said, if you do, you'll be thrilled with the results.

Ready?

For every dollar of revenue that comes in, give it a home.

1. X% to your Profit
2. Y% to your "Salary"
3. Z% to your Taxes

The remainder is what's left for your expenses.

Depending on your preferences (and whether or not you can keep your fingers out of the other pots), you may wish to set up separate accounts to "house" these sums or simply move it within your bookkeeping file.

Personally I keep separate accounts (out of sight, out of mind).

Following this process:

• ensures that your business is profitable,
• ensures that you get paid,
• ensures that your taxes are paid and
• ensures that you don't spend more than your business makes.

Don't worry about what's happened in the past. Choose today to move forward. The above will help you do that even if you start small and increase over time as you reduce your expenses and, if necessary, pay down debt.

Questions? Hit reply and let me know, I'm happy to answer them.

And, if you're ready to work together on your business, you'll love our "Keep It Simple" Non-program Program designed for the business owner who is looking for a trusted partner to run things by, brainstorm with, get advice when things come up and yet doesn't necessarily need a set schedule of calls.

* Note that, on a personal level, I used to pay for pet insurance each month. Then I applied this same concept and created a savings account just for that - now the funds come out automatically each month and are available when I need them without the feeling of "throwing money away" when the insurance company would deny claims.