TechQuark.com Turns 3 ! Happy B'Day !

It's been just over three years since I started this blog on 22nd August and frankly, I never thought it would take on the life that it has. While I'm not the greatest writer when it comes to sentence structure and as readers have rightly pointed out, I could desperately use an editor, I'm just a one-man operation. Even as a part-time gig, the success of the blog comes from loyal readers, other bloggers who link to me and many sponsors who have supported my efforts with the blog.

It was a wonderful experience to be blogging for the past 3 years. It earned me several good friends and it gave an unique identity for myself in the cyberspace. I used to be so happy when people read my tutorials and email me to clarify their doubts. I hope I responded to all of them usefully. At that time I used to feel like I built something that is *little* useful to other folks. What a time it has been, Thousands of posts, comments, link backs and lot of cash 2 :P.

Also, just a reminder that while I know it's not the norm for most bloggers to do, anyone can mail me at anytime if they have a question. My mail ID is listed in the sidebar of my blog and I answer all mails 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I don't know everything about this industry and I may not always be able to answer your question, but I'll try to help you find someone who can. Most people call me crazy for doing this, taking mails at all hours of the night, from all over the world, but I think it's the least I can do for all of the loyal readers and companies for the support they have given me. Thank you.

We have a cake for you all, join in :)


My Blog Strategy: How I did it

I’ll tell you exactly how I did it, giving you all that I learned so you can improve too. Here’s how I did it:

Created focused content

I focused on the topic of technology, software tips, gadgets and news. It’s important to find something interesting and unique to discuss, avoid echoing techmeme.

Publish frequently

I published nearly every day, in fact atleast one post each day. How’d I find time to do that I slowly work on drafts (I’ve over 100 of them sitting in blogger) and I’d budget my time in the morning to pay myself first. (It’s 430 AM when I write this).

Think of readers first

Make it easy to read. Sure there’s a lot of text, but I organize it in an easy to scan (yes scan) way by indenting, use horizontal rule (lines) bolding and using indent points. I approached this as more of a resource to busy professionals rather than my personal journal (although I occasionally share personal info in the context of posts).

Interact

Join the conversation. Such shallow words that are thrown around now, but it’s true. I link to whatever else readers would want to learn about (knowing the more I helped them, the more they’d come back) answer comments on my own blog, and occasionally leave comments on other blogs (I could work on that more). I self reference to older posts, and that helps to tie everything together as the body of work builds on top of itself.

“Productized” content

Developed some awesome posts some complied and some unique: my digest, the many index lists, and the on the move series. Also have an archive, making it easy for info-hungry folks, and reduce my time to come up with constant new ideas.

Have Passion

I’m so lucky that I get paid to do what I love, I think this is one of the most important things to do in life, sadly, it’s hard to tell when work starts and stops. Many people thought it was really strange when is started this blog, many said it was a fad, and really didn’t look down the line.

So what’s the future to hold? Regarding this blog, I’ve no intentions to stop this pace sharing and learning, thanks for being part of this, it’s a fun adventure and I learn many new things from being part of the conversation, (from your comments and links) every day.

Want to start you own blog, Read This : http://www.techquark.com/2009/06/25-terrible-mistakes-of-blogger.html

Thank you once again. Please let me know what do you feel about my blog and how I can improve from here. Your comments are well appreciated.