It took me 3 leading Interior magazine features, and a hundred “Is it leading anywhere” to turn around and pat my own back. Tell myself that I am doing okay.
No, don’t cringe as yet- I am not being arrogant. I’ve not reached anywhere in the interior world and my place is rather tiny as my apartment. I have a scary long way to go before I can even think of claiming something mountainous as such. But once in a while you need to turn around and look yourself in the face and root for yourself- because no one has seen your dreams like you have. In life’s most strenuous phases where it would have been really easy to give it all up, some didn’t. They winged it and they won. And that is why that “one” should celebrate.
Because I started from the Bottom too. Like Drake yo
Haha, but we are not here yet, thought one must celebrate the journey. Phew, what a ride. Like kimchi in your mouth. What many of you don’t know is back in Siliguri we used to not get BHG. I used to print online images of BHG fromdad’s office and pick up US edition of Better Homes and Gardens from the junk seller- clearly I was reading year old issues and yet! And I think once I started living alone, this collecting old magazines and trying to find indpiration out of them kind of became an obsession. In my andheri home I used to cut pages and stick them on to my desk daydreaming of a day when I will execute some of those ideas and well…ahem..maybe get a place in there. Haha, now imagine the delight when they featured me in their 2017 January issue! To me, that was not just a feature. Trust me I have never chased fame to begin with because it’s a long line out there. But I really wanted to write decor and get my voice out there. So that, right there, was a wee dream turning into reality. I did not think I will live to see this day.
So much can actually happen in 10 years if you are willing to stick to it. Like the brilliant Sunder Pichai said on his visit to IIT Kharagpur- 10 years is a “long time” to change a lot of things. Laugh as you may but I still have a 1969 BHG in my magazine stash.
So when BHG #India s feature editor very kindly told me that she’d send a copy to me, I requested her not to. This issue, I need to buy. I need to buy this and see me in there. Case in point? If you dream hard and you work for it, it will come true. And that gets me to talk about interior blogging.
You know, I get a lot of questions about interior blogging and how one can be a blogger. Like I am remotely eligible to preach. But people have put their trust in me so I have to abide by questions as “how do I get people to read my blog? How can I be featured”. Erm…now while answering I do give them a few tips and tricks for better hygiene- which actually helps- but tell you what? You need to get the base right. This, what you will read now, is the real deal. You might feel that these are generic but believe me you, this is all I have done for 7 long years. Every day.
To begin with, don’t be an interior blogger
Or a blogger for that matter. Be a good writer and tell your interest/experience to the world. When people read you they should connect with you no matter what you are writing about. That alone is 50% of being a blogger let alone an interior blogger.
Second, identify your interests and critically evaluate which interest pulls you the most. How will you figure that out? Ask yourself what will never feel like work? There are days when I have terrible physical conditions and yet at 7 AM in the morning- if you ever happen to turn to my door- you’ll find a camera slung around my neck. I take interior photographs for decor every single day and I can do it another year without being tired at all. Interior, homedecor and photography are my thing. And I do that at 7 because at 9:30 I have to rush to work. Thats the only window for me to get some natural light! You cannot be passionate about something if you do not feel very strongly about it.
Third, be consistent. If you want to be a “blogger” you must be consistent. At least in the initial days of your blogging. You want people to count on you. Think of your as an authoratative figure on a subject that you are good at. So blog regularly. Atleast once a week. And have a voice.
4th, Be honest. To yourself and others. Do not copy paste or simply add photos and credit a blogger to fuel your own space. It’s very prevalent in the interior blogging section. Do share good content but keep original content too. Collaborate, feature and share because the blogger community thrives on good will and good work, but make sure you have something to put on the plate too.
5th, set your priorities right. Keep a good mix of things that will let your readers know you, what you do and your opinions. It is very important that you let your followers and readers into your life a bit because hey its good to know the girl/boy behind a blog/website/shop/organization you like. That establishes a connect because it gives a face and a voice. That’s first. The second is it also makes your blog look good and personal. No one wants to come to a place to read just decor essentials. We have houzz and huffpost for that 😉
Speaking with Kalyan Karmakar {of Finely Chopped fame} and Anaggh Desai {well, you really want me to tell you who he is because he is one of the coolest business coach, marketeer and social influencer that I know of who also spear heads AD Consults. And who was also my judge when i the BlogAdda blog awards and also Social Samosa + Elle Decor awards so you know how chuffed I am} the other day on twitter, I expressed how I feel bogged down sometimes. That I should do maybe stop styling posts, do more personal blogs on this space and not do styling posts at all because last year I barely got time to write things I personally wanted to. Thanks to these wonderful gentlemen that I steered towards balancing.
Fortunately there was a lot of collabs happening in 2016 and at one point I looked at my blog and realized that I haven’t blogged the things I wanted to at all! To be honest, it made me a little sad because this is my refuge. This is where I come to let my hair loose and be at ease with myself. It was great styling interior pieces but I missed out on this heart to heart writing so much! Thanks to Kalyan and Anaggh and a hearty chat that I finally found a mix: For every product post or a collab that I do, I will do one personal blog. That way I’ll write a whole lot more. Trust me, when you blog for years it is quite possible to look back at your blog and feel like you are losing hold of the place. It’s natural. Just turn around and do what’s necessary.
6th, make good connections. Because they help you immensely. Here are two people who wonderfully helped me out that day!
And after you have added a bit of self doubt to yourself {which is important because that means you are working in a competitive environment and with better people} which you will overcome eventually, you’ll be one hell of an interior blogger. Or blogger. Or hey, a great conversationalist. Believe me, there are no shortcuts to walk that line. Im sorry if I disappointed you with the post. But truth remains.
Now ladies and gentlemen, I shall go and have a cup of tea and delve in the fact that I made it to 3 amazing interior magazines this year- might bake me a cake too. This year take a resolution to have no shortcuts.
Cheerio XO