First, let me tell what inspired me to take an interview with India’s top food blogger Aarthi Founder of yummytummyaarthi.com. When I wanted to bake a black forest cake and was looking for recipes my friend shared me Yummy tummy Aarthi facebook page link. From then I am a regular follower of her blog. Her recipes are clear-cut ones.
So when I started my blog I wanted to connect with her personally and thought of asking her tips for newbies like me. In spite of reaching heights, she is so grounded and so sweet. I personally don’t even know her but when I messaged her asking for an interview she immediately agreed and answered all my questions and mailed me within a day. This shows her passion and dedication to her work.
Here flows my list of questions.
Table of Contents
Personal Questions
Tell us about yourself and your online portals
My Name is Aarthi, I blog at Yummy Tummy. Yummy Tummy features recipes all around the world in stepwise pictures which shows the ease of cooking. I have been blogging for over 7 years now. All the recipes from my blog are tried and tested.
Who and what inspired you to do what you are doing now?
I was into cooking from schooling. I used to cook lots of simple recipes at that time. My interest in cooking got over me when I finished college and joined my first job. Everyone started asking for recipes for the dish which I bring to the office. Even some said to start my blog so I can save the recipes there. This was how yummy tummy started.
How do you balance work and family demands?
After marriage, I found that balancing my work and family demands along with maintaining a blog little harder. So I thought of taking a brave decision and I quit my job to focus completely on my blog. But after having kids balancing life was a lot harder than I thought. So I use my time wisely.
- I use my planner to plan my day.
- Stay up in the night to finish editing.
- Using the time when the girl’s nap.
- I get help from my in-laws so I can focus on my career a lot better.
Out of all the methods of cooking, which is your personal favourite?
I especially enjoy baking a lot. There is something about baking which is really my stress buster.
Tell us about an instance when you surprised your family with a really well turned out dish.
There were many such occasions, so I am not sure about which one to mention. But especially this Ferrero Rocher cake was the best one.
Professional Questions
Is there any time you felt like giving up your passion?
No. Not a single second I have thought like that.
What are your plans to take your dream to the next level?
My next plan is to start a cooking class and to write my first-ever cookbook.
Give your top 4 food blogs that inspire you the most
There were many food blogs to mention. But to pick four then it would be my all-time favourites
Sharmi’s passions, Rak’s kitchen, The pioneer woman, Simply scratch
What is your best advice for handling criticism?
If it is something which will help you grow, take it will full heart. But negative comments on purpose can be just neglected and never care.
Tips for Newbies
At the beginning of your journey, you might have made some mistakes, What is your advice for beginners to avoid those mistakes?
I would have started my blog on WordPress instead of the blogger. WordPress would be easier for blogs which you want to turn into a career because you have a lot more control of your blog.
What is your advice for newbies to build some traffic on their blogs?
Active on social media and frequent posting (in fact daily posting) which is great for traffic.
What are the monetization methods you are implementing on your blog? Which worked best for you?
Adsense is a great way to monetize your blog. But you definitely need patience and lots of traffic to earn a few dollars.
What are the blogging tools(hosting/platform/SEO plugins) you used for the success of your blog?
I started my blog in blogger which is a free platform for over 6 years. It is very recently I transferred my blog to WordPress and I am seeing a considerable increase in traffic and SEO.
Last but not Least
Your view about Achi Kaimarunthu and tips for improvement?
Achikaimarunthu is a great blog for tips on home remedies, pregnancy and baby care. I wish there were some pictures included in each post which makes it even more interesting.
So there you have it. Hope this interview could be useful to newbies who want to make blogging as their career. Wanna know about me and some free blogging tips? Check this page. 🙂
In case of any doubt or suggestions, please let me know in the comment section below.