Interview with Nirmala Santha Kumar From WPGlossy

In today’s interview, we have Nirmala Santhkumar, one of the top woman entrepreneurs in India and creator of MyMagicFundas and various other blog sites in different categories. An electronics engineer by qualification, she has come a long way in Blogging, choosing it as her profession. We are highly appreciative of the time offered by her to let us take her interview.

Interview with Nirmala Santha Kumar

So what are you waiting for? Read on to find out more about her exciting journey of ups and downs through Blogging and get ideas about monetising a technical site and various insights she has to offer for new bloggers and digital marketers.

#1 Hi Nirmala! Welcome to OnlyLoudest. Before we begin, can you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Hello readers, this is Nirmala, a dedicated blogger who has been blogging for over a decade. I started blogging because of my passion for writing, and now it has become a full-time business. Yeah, I’m making a living out of Blogging, and my most significant achievement is financial freedom through passive income strategies. 

Besides, I’m a busy homemaker, and yes, family is my priority. I maintain both my personal and professional life healthy, and sometimes, I would like to involve myself in social activities to make the community around me better. 

#2 Could you please share with us how you entered the digital market and what made you stay?

Well, I’m an Electronics engineer whose dream was to get a job in computer hardware. But due to family situations, after my graduation, I got stuck at home and then started searching for some jobs to work & earn from home. Then, I came to know about blogging in the year 2008. As writing is my bread and butter, I felt comfortable writing blog posts. 

Moreover, the SEO field is challenging and exciting. It’s where I do a lot of experiments to rank top on search engine page results for my targeted keywords. This long journey let me shape my technical skills and creativity. This made me stick with the digital market. 

Also read: Keyword Research for Newbie Bloggers

#3 How do you decide and select your niche? What makes your blogs unique from the other sites of the same niche?

Most of my family members are technically sound, and they used to buy lots of technology gadgets & software. I know the same stuff well, and I like to write about the tech appliances that we use. Hence I picked the ‘technology’ niche for most of my blogs. And I wanted to learn more about the WordPress content management system, so I have started a blog on the same niche.

I have a working partner, Sakthi, creator of the Admania WordPress theme. He has great experience in coding and designing WordPress themes, and he insisted I start a blog on WordPress niche to write the ‘How to’ tips. I usually publish detailed articles in my tone and with good readability. 

#4 Do you have a team, or do you handle the blogs alone? Please tell us how you keep a balance between your work and personal life?

No, I don’t have any team! As I said earlier, I have a partner who is taking care of the technicalities of our blogs. I manage content publishing and deal with SEO matters. And we are outsourcing content to a few writers to update our blogs. I used to write all the blog posts for our primary blog – wpglossy.com.

Balancing my personal and professional life is challenging because I don’t have a maid to handle the household tasks. My daughter and my husband are supportive in getting things done at home. Sometimes, I need to sacrifice my sleep and entertaining activities to handle both in a better way. 

I never have the mindset that this particular job is hard, and this positive attitude lets me move things smartly. To make myself fit, I do Yoga in the morning for an hour, and it helps me stay active throughout the day. In simple words, Yoga is the secret to my success. 

#5 What motivates you to do your best?

I want to achieve something big in my life, and that too is a unique field. It motivates me to give my best shot in everything I do. 

Check Out: Use Guest Posting For Effective SEO even after Google Update

#6 As a woman entrepreneur, what are some prejudices you have had to fight to reach where you are today?

Back in those days, women didn’t get recognition for their work in the Blogging field. It was a male-centric world. And people usually have this kind of thought that women are subjected only to cooking or household works. It happened in my family too. 

Many people looked at me like I was some weird person when I told them I would take up this field. They thought I wouldn’t get recognition or I didn’t have that kind of talent. Above all, many didn’t know what Blogging meant back then. But I fought against all odds, and I’m very proud of where I am standing as a women blogger today.

#7 What is your day-to-day work routine? What is your favourite part about working on your blogs?

After finishing the regular works at home, I come online after the clock hit 11 AM. Usually, I work for 5 – 6 hours a day and also whenever I get free time. My favourite parts are content writing, editing, on-page SEO with LSI keywords, and link building to boost search engine rankings. 

#8 How much time do you take from searching for a blog topic to publishing it on your blog? Please share your complete procedure.

I always do keyword research before writing any blog post. Usually, I spend 30 minutes deciding the topic and fix the primary & LSI keywords. Then, I’ll start writing the blog post with on-page SEO touch. I use Grammarly to produce error-free content and premium SEO tools to check the keyword density and ensure that the relevant technical words are present in the content. 

Giving preference to internal linking is one of my best strategies which helps me boost my topical authority. After creating the in-depth content, I publish it and wait for the ranking position. Based on the results, I started building links to improve the SERP of my focussed keyword. 

#9 Out of the blogs you run, which is your favourite?

WPGlossy is my favourite blog; I treat it as my kid J. Of course, it makes a good income than any of my blogs. 

#10 What are some common mistakes that new bloggers make? What is your advice to them?

Most newbies want to make money in the earlier phase of Blogging. As every influencer says – Blogging is not a quick-rich program, and Rome isn’t built overnight. It is very much possible to make a consistent income from Blogging, but patience is essential here. They should not give up in the beginning stage itself. 

#11 Could you please share what revenue models you use to monetize your blogs?

I mainly focus on affiliate marketing as it is a passive income method where we can earn $$$ even while sleeping. My blogs are open to the “Advertise” earning method as well, through which we are making money via paid reviews and paid link insertions.  

#12 Who inspired you for Blogging? Name a few favourite blogs that you follow?

Atish Ranjan of TechTricksWorld is my great inspiration. In the year 2010, he was the one who encouraged me to start a blog in the WordPress niche. I respect him a lot and follow his active tech blog. A few of my favourite blogs are Search Engine Journal, Backlinko, Niche Pursuits, and Diggity Marketing. 

#13 People usually ask, “How can I drive digital traffic to my site immediately?”. What are your thoughts about this?

Driving traffic to a new website is rocket science. However, it can easily be done by selecting a low competition niche. If anyone wants to drive the targeted traffic from search engines, they have to perform keyword research and pick the keywords for which they can be ranked. 

Unfortunately, if they are in a high-competition niche, then they should focus on 

#14 How much time does someone need to invest each month in improving their Google rankings?

It purely depends on the keyword and its competition level. 

Let’s take an example – the Medium-high competition keyword. Then it will take a minimum of 6 months to reach the 1st page of Google. I usually follow these steps to improve keyword ranking. 

One thing to have in mind is when you have a blog with good authority. Then it would be easier to rank the keyword of any competitive level. Here I have written a detailed article on – How to improve keyword ranking results. 

#15 You have a blog dedicated to WordPress, WPGlossy. Do you think WordPress is over-rated & what are some downfalls of using WordPress?

Yeah, many people have this thought that WordPress is over-rated. But I don’t think so. First of all, we should remember that WordPress is the most frequently used Content Management System to date.

There is nothing uncomfortable for me with the latest Gutenberg editor and available blocks. As its functionalities can easily be extended and it’s possible to make a stunning yet professional website with better navigation for a great user experience, I would like to blog with WordPress content publishing medium only. 

#16 What emerging marketing trends have you identified that could affect our industry?

No doubt! Influencer and video marketing trends will undoubtedly affect our industry. Both have the potential to reach a massive audience.

#17 If any of your online campaigns receive negative feedback via social media or any other platform, how do you respond?

I will find out and rectify my mistakes. I will reply to them as soon as possible.

#18 What digital marketing tools do you use? How did you select these tools?

Google Analytics for site performance, Hootsuite for social media management, Trello for project management, and SEMRush & Ahrefs for keyword research. Due to their popularity and their unique features, I started using these tools.

#19 How do you measure the success of your content marketing and digital marketing efforts?

I measure my success by ranking top for the targeted keywords and getting leads and conversions from it.

#20 What is your biggest accomplishment? 

Shaping of my technical skills, Gaining digital knowledge, Dealing with international clients, and of course, financial freedom. These are my most significant accomplishments! 

#21 What has this blogging journey taught you?

Anything is possible with smart work, consistency, and dedication. 

​​#22 What is your goal in blogging at the end of 2021, and what are your future plans for 2022?

I aim to gain more knowledge as a webpreneur and earn five figures every month. I don’t have any big plans as such. However, I would like to grow personal branding to grab a top place in the Blogosphere. 

#23 We would appreciate it if you could share some tips and tactics that you’ve learned while growing your business?

Wrapping Up

Thank you, Nirmala. It was quite an interesting interview. We are glad that you took out the time from your busy schedule for us. We hope that you have a happy and successful life.

You can follow her through her social handles:

• Twitter – https://twitter.com/Wpglossy1
• https://www.facebook.com/nirmalasanthakumar25/

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