I want to be honest here! I am a blogger since last 10 years, and I know very well what it takes to become a blogger in India.
Blogging as a career is not an easy task as many of you believe. Well! There is a belief that every Tom, Dick and Harry can be a blogger and make lots of money overnight.
No, that’s not true!
In the following article, I will give you an honest opinion (with facts) whether blogging can be a good career in India or not?
The answer is not that simple!
Contents
Blogging in India
Although blogging has been around in India since the advent of the internet in the early 90s, it really became popular only after 2005.
In 2003, the Google Adsense program was launched, and within two years every publisher (or a blogger) started including Adsense ads in their blogs.
You get paid for every click. Bloggers realized the full potential of this program. So, in the years to come, the blogosphere expanded so rapidly that every new blogger wanted to integrate the Adsense program into their blog.
Earlier most bloggers either wrote about “making money online” or about technology. These bloggers were generally young males between the ages of 21 and 25.
By the end of 2010, there were thousands of bloggers across India. Today, it is going to be ten times more.
Hence blogging in India has always followed an upward trajectory.
Top Bloggers in India and their Income
Before knowing whether to start your career as a blogger or not, you need to know some success stories in India.
Amit Agarwal
Although he does not reveal his income publicly, we know that he is the number one blogger in the country. His technology based blog Labno.org got millions of views every month about 2 years ago.
Harsh Agarwal
Harsh Agarwal, a resident of New Delhi, has taken the internet by storm. He publishes his monthly income report every month. He earns around $40,000 per month from his website Shoutmeloud.com.
Pritam Nagrale
Pritam Nagrale pioneered the concept of making money online. His site moneyconnexion.com is all about it. From his various blogs, he earns around $25,000 per month.
Arun Prabhudesai
Arun Prabhudesai of Trak.in is also a prolific blogger earning over $10,000/month. He writes about technology and startups in India.
Amit Bhavani
Amit Bhavani used to be a top blogger during 2008 to 2013. At that time he earned over $10,000 a month. He currently blogs about Android phones at his latest blog, Phoneradar.com.
These people are the exception, not the norm.
Who can blog?
Before you read any further, you need to know that 9 out of 10 bloggers fail. So every one of you cannot become a blogger unless you are serious about it.
You will not be successful in blogging unless you are committed and have passion for things like technology, music, sports, travel, cooking etc.
Blogging is not a jackpot where you will become rich overnight. It is a long process where you have to learn a lot over time.
The ability to write and a good knowledge of English can get you started.
More importantly, you need to know what you are going to write about. Gone are the days when you could write anything on your blog and expect Google to pay you month after month.
Challenges you will face in India
Blogging is not a traditional career like engineering, medical, law or accountancy.
No one cares about it except the individuals living in metros like Mumbai, New Delhi or Bangalore.
That’s why there is no such institute or college in the country which can provide the right knowledge about blogging to the young candidates. There is no formal education, and so you have to learn on your own.
Moreover, the attitude of the society towards blogging is not that encouraging. Still, parents and elders do not consider it as a viable alternative to government or private jobs.
Unfortunately blogging in India is still not as mainstream as it should be. So you will find it very difficult mentally to start with.
Career and future prospects
Can blogging be a viable career option?
the answer is yes. Blogging is here to stay. In fact, it is only going to grow in the years to come. Take an example; Google pays billions of dollars ($5 billion) to various publishers (bloggers) around the world every year.
Google needs quality content so that people can click on those ads and buy products. Google cannot create such good quality content on its own, and hence it needs your support.
In return, Google is ready to pay you handsomely through its Adsense program.
So the possibilities are great for blogging, and you can certainly think of taking the plunge.
How much can you earn?
Depends on! Your income will depend on how good a blogger you are.
In India, a blogger can earn anything between $100 and $10,000 per month. On an average, a typical blogger earns around $300 – $400 in a month.
However, if the blogger is more experienced, he/she can earn up to $3000+ as well. Celebrity bloggers in India earn between $20,000 and $30,000 per month.
Most bloggers are average bloggers who are earning $500 – $1000.
Few bloggers are earning $5000 to $10,000 per month. And this income is much more than what an average engineer earns in India.
As far as celebrity bloggers are concerned, they are very few.
So the earning potential of blogging is limitless.
Start your own blog
Technically starting your own blog would not be that difficult. Just book a domain name and then buy hosting for a year and your site is up and running.
But the challenge will be to choose a niche in which you are going to blog. In India, some of the most popular niches are:
Always keep one thing in mind while choosing a Niche, choose a Niche that you know, or can write about. Never choose a niche just because it is very popular and high in demand.
Creating Quality content will be the key to your success. Objectivity matters!
However, you don’t make money just by starting a new site. You earn money only when you drive quality traffic to your site.
To bring quality traffic, you need to not only create great content but also learn SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to rank high in Google search results. SEO helps you to beat your competitors in your niche.
Most importantly, CPC rates depend on the quality of visitors you bring to your site.
If the CPC (cost per click) is only 5 to 7 cents, you will earn only $200 – $300 per month. But if you want to earn $300+, then your CPC should be around 40 to 50 cents.
This is possible only when you learn something new everyday. A successful blogger always has to be aware of the changing technology.
Blogging is not a fire and forget missile!
Conclusion
I would end by saying that a career in blogging is a great prospect.
However, it is not that easy, and the success rate is just 2% – 3%. Most bloggers in India fail because they think blogging is some get-rich-quick scheme.
You need a lot of patience and hard work before you can generate any revenue. For the first six months, you will have to work without expecting any tremendous returns.
But later after some time your hard work will pay off.
So be prepared for a long overhaul.
Happy Blogging!
