BCIS 2: Interview with Devesh Sharma from WPKube

This weekend I am back with another exciting interview from BCIS (Blogging Cage Interview Series).

If you are my regular reader then you must be aware that last week I started something unique to know more about bloggers. It was my pleasure that in BCIS 1 I got opportunity to interview one of the successful blogger from India, Soumya Pratihari. I got so much personal mails about the appreciation of my series. So I am more committed to provide you best Entrepreneurial stories so that you can take your blogging to next level.

Today Devesh Sharma from WPKube is among us and he is going to share how he started blogging and how he reached here. Devesh is a 18 years old blogger, author, serial entrepreneur and an affiliate marketer. He is also very popular with his bookmarking site BloKube.com.

1. Most Welcome on Blogging Cage Devesh.

Thanks for having me, Kulwant.

2. Tell us about your background and study.

My name is Devesh Sharma, an average guy and founder of a not so popular WordPress blog called WordPress Kube . I have been working online since early 2009 and been making a full time income through web for last 14 months.
I completed my high school last year and currently doing my under-graduation.

3. When you found internet and entered in to blogging?

I have been using internet since 2007 and mostly used it for gaming & other fun purposes. I was an avid gamer before I stepped into the world of blogging. I remember it was 2009 when someone on Orkut posted about “making money online with adsense”. So I started exploring how I could make some good money through the web and after spending a few weeks, I bought a domain and started blogging about blogging & MMO. The site was called Technshare.com, I worked really hard on it.
I did everything I could do to market that site and people used to tell me, Dev you’re everywhere and it worked as a great ego booster. Then I started promoting affiliate products & WordPress services and that’s how I really started making money. Later I sold the site for 4 figures.

4. Who inspired you most? Which blog do you love to read?

The guy who inspired me used to run a technology blog and hasn’t been around for years.
My favorite blogs are quicksprout.com, seomoz.org/blog and Kaiserthesage.com

5. How many blogs you are running and how difficult is to manage them?

I am currently running 2 blogs – WordPress Kube & BlogPreneurs. I don’t think it’s hard to manage 2-3 blogs but I always tend to focus on one project at a time. By focusing on one blog, you can achieve more than you would be able to by focusing on 2 or 3 blogs.
Of course, if you have a business partner or team, than it is easy to manage 2 or more blogs.

6. Which was your first investment online and how it helped you?

My first investment was a theme framework, which I am sure you’re very familiar with – Genesis Theme. It has helped me with one big thing that is design. Genesis allows me to build custom themes without cluttering the front-end with a ton of options.
Both BlogPreneurs & WP Kube are running on Genesis theme framework.

7. How people react when they know you are a blogger?

I have been keeping a low profile and not many people know about what I do online except my family and some close friends.

8. Which methods you are using to drive traffic on your blog?

In the past, I have used many strategies including blog commenting, forum posting, social media sites, etc. But these days, I am only focusing on guest posting and email outreach.

There are ton of strategies to promote a blog or drive traffic, but you need to focus on one method and master it. A good example of it is Danny Inny from Firepole Marketing who has been able to build a successful business with guest posting.

9. Do you love guest posting? And which are your successful guest posts till now.

I do love guest posting for authority sites. It is a powerful way to generate traffic and build connection with other bloggers in your niche. Though, it takes a lot of efforts and time but the benefits are huge.

I haven’t done much guest posting but here are some of the popular ones:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/01/28/social-media-or-social-blogmarking/

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/01/04/how-to-make-your-blog-load-faster-than-problogger/

http://basicblogtips.com/plugins-grow-your-email-list.html

http://wplift.com/author/devesh

http://weblogbetter.com/2011/09/01/5-reasons-why-you-should-start-guest-posting-now/

10. What is your main source of income?

Currently my main source of income is Affiliate marketing and WordPress services, but I am definitely looking to expand the business by launching a new product or may be a new blog in different niche.

11. How difficult is to monetize with Affiliate marketing?

Though, monetizing with affiliate marketing is much harder than putting adsense ads. If you want to make some good money with affiliate marketing, you need to write engaging content & build relationship with your blog readers.

12. How much time you spend daily on your blog?

Around 3-4 hours every day. Most of the time I spent that time on writing content and other times, I use the time to promote the blog.

13. What are your thoughts about Blogging in India?

I am seeing a lot of people are choosing blogging as a full time career in India and it’s a good thing I think people here are more motivated by money than anything else, and so instead of creating something unique or innovative, they just start copying what’s successful. I remember when ShoutMeLoud.com had a simple 2 column thesis design; everyone bluntly copied the design without even modifying a little bit.

In last a year & half, I have seen some great bloggers taking different approach, providing unique content and doing everything to stand out from other blogs and that’s what every blogger needs to do today. FYI, the bloggers I am referring here are Amrik Virdi, Rahul Kuntala & Karan Labra.

14. What are your future plans?

At the moment, I am happy (and busy) building a community around WordPress Kube. I am planning to start a community forum to help new WordPress users and of course, it’s going to be free.
I am also planning on releasing some WordPress goodies – may be a free theme or plugin.
On personal level, I want to become a public speaker. I know I have a long way to go, but at some point I want to be seen speaking at conferences, workshops and events.

15. Message for my readers.

Again, thanks for doing the interview.
1. Start publishing high quality and engaging content and don’t publish just for sake of publishing or making a quick buck. Blogging takes smart & hard work .
2. Start building relationship with other bloggers in your niche. Connect with influencers by helping them amicably.

Finally !!

I am sure that you enjoyed this interview session and learned many new things about his life and got ideas that how you can move ahead in blogging.

Stay tuned for reading next interview on Blogging Cage !!

Happy Weekend !!

PS: Don’t forget to download my book Blogging Domination Guide. By doing this you will be connected with me as well as I will be sending interview notification directly into you Inbox.