Is Blogging a Good Career In India?

I want to be honest here! I’ve been a blogger for the last 10 years now, and I very well know what it all takes to be a blogger in India.

To be blunt Blogging as a career is no cake walk as many of you assume. Well! There is a perception out there that every tom, dick and harry can be a blogger and make huge money overnight.

No that is 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!

Blogging in India

Although blogging has been there since the advent of the Internet in the early 90’s, in India, it really became popular only after 2005.

In 2003, Google Adsense program was launched, and within two years every publisher (or a blogger) started incorporating Adsense ads into their blogs.

You get paid for every click. Bloggers were quick to realize the full potential of this program. Hence, in coming years, the blogosphere expanded so rapidly that every new blogger wanted to integrate Adsense program into his/her blog.  

Earlier most of the bloggers used to write about either “making money online” or technology. These bloggers were usually young men between the age of 21 years and 25 years.

By the end of 2010, across India, the number of bloggers ran in thousands. Today, it is going to be ten times more.

So blogging in India has always followed an upward trajectory.

Top Bloggers in India and Their Income

Before you learn whether to start your career as a blogger or not, you need to know some of the success stories in India first.

  • Amit Aggarwal

Although he doesn’t show his income publicly, we know he is the number one blogger in the country. His technology based blog labno.org received millions of views every month some 2 years back.

  • Harsh Aggarwal

Harsh Aggarwal, a guy from New Delhi, has taken the internet by storm. He publishes his monthly income report every month. He makes 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 a month.

  • Arun Prabhudesai

Arun Prabhudesai of trak.in is also a prolific blogger with an earning of over $10,000/month. He writes about tech and startups in India.

  • Amit Bhawani

Amit Bhawani used to be a top blogger during 2008 to 2013. That time he made over $10,000 a month. Right now he blogs about Android phones on his latest blog Phoneradar.com.

These guys are exceptions, not a norm.

Who Can all Blog?

Before you read any further, you need to know that 9 out of 10 bloggers fail. So every one of you can’t be a blogger unless you are serious about it.

Unless you are committed and have a passion for a thing like technology, music, sports, travelling, cooking etc. you are not going to succeed at blogging.

Blogging is not a jackpot where you will become rich overnight. It is a long process where you have to learn so many things over the course of time.

Ability to write and a decent 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.

Today blogging is altogether a different animal.

Challenges You Will Face in India

Blogging is not a conventional career like engineering, medical, law or accountancy.

Except for individual living in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, New Delhi or Bangalore no one cares about it.

Hence there aren’t any institutes or colleges in the country that can impart the right knowledge about blogging to young aspirants. There is no formal education, and hence you have to learn on your own.

Moreover, society’s attitude towards blogging is not that encouraging. Still, parents and elders don’t consider it as a viable option to a government or a private job.

Unfortunately blogging in India is still not in the mainstream like it should be. So you will find mentally very difficult to get started.  

Career and Future Prospects

Can blogging be a viable career option?

The answer is yes. Blogging is here to stay. In fact, it is going to grow in coming years. Take one 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 read and buy products by clicking on those ads. Google can’t create so much quality content on their own, and hence they need your support.

In return, Google is willing to pay you handsomely through its Adsense program.

So prospects for blogging are great, and you can definitely think of taking a plunge.

How Much Can You Earn?

It depends! Your income will depend upon how good of a blogger you are.

In India, a blogger can earn between $100 and $10,000 monthly. On an average, a typical blogger earns around $300 – $400 a month.

However, if the blogger is more experienced, then he/she can earn up to $3000+ also. Celebrity bloggers in India earn between $20,000 and $30,000 a month.

Most of the bloggers are average bloggers who are earning $500 – $1000.

Only a few bloggers are earning between $5000 and $10,000 a month. And this income is way more than what an average engineer earns in India.

As far as celebrity bloggers are concerned, then they are very rare.

So earning potential from blogging is unlimited.

Starting Your Own Blog

Technically, starting your own blog wouldn’t be that difficult. Just book a domain name then buy hosting for a year and your site is up and running.

But the challenge would be choosing a niche in which you are going to blog. In India, some of the most popular niches are

  1. Blogging
  2. Make Money Online
  3. Technology
  4. Coupons
  5. Cricket and Bollywood
  6. Finance
  7. Politics and News

While choosing a niche always keep one thing in mind, choose a niche that you know, or you can write about. Never choose a niche because it is very popular and highly in demand.

Creating great content would be a key to your success. Objectivity matters!  

Road Ahead

The road ahead is going to be quite difficult.

However, you don’t make money by just starting a new site. You make money only when you bring quality traffic to your site.

To bring quality traffic, you must create great content and 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 would depend upon the quality of visitors you bring onto your site.

If CPC (cost per click) is only 5 to 7 cents, then you will earn only $200 – $300 a month.  But if you want to earn $300+, then your CPC must be around 40 to 50 cents.

This is possible only when you learn something new on a daily basis. A successful blogger has to keep abreast with ever-changing technology.

Blogging is not fire and forget missile!   

Final Words

I will conclude by saying a career in blogging is a wonderful prospect.

However, it is not that easy, and the success rate is just 2% – 3%. Most of the 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 start generating any revenue. For the first six months, you have to work without expecting any earth-shattering returns.

But later over a period, your hard work will pay off.

So be prepared for a long overhaul.

Happy Blogging!