Posts Tagged ‘Blog Content’

Bloggerati of the Fortnight: Anu Vakkalanka

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Vakkalanka_AnuWhen you work as a communications specialist for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, you are bound to be cramped for time for your daily activities, let alone blogging. But that is exactly what Anu Vakkalanka, lady who is of Indian descent, has Dutch roots and is advising the United States very own epicenter does.

While studying for a master’s degree in International Relations at George Washington University, Anu turned her hobby into a profession with her blog Indian Makeup Diva. Today she has become one of the most celebrated makeup advisors on the social media circuit. And, Anu has also been selected amongst 10 most beautiful people in, yes, the Capitol Hill.

Anu is a mixture of professionalism, ardent sports regimen and … girlishness. Her two loves, or true love if you want to say, are nail polish and climbing! In her own words, she loves make-up because it makes the world “a better place, because it’s pretty, and it makes you look pretty in a moment”.

Staying in the western world has not made her grow unaware of what’s happening in her native country, India. A lot of her posts are about the makeup that the leading Indian actresses wear. Also, she has done quite a few round ups of new beauty products that hit the market every now and then.

What is really interesting about her blog post is that quite frequently, she comes up with video posts of her showing people how to get a particular look. One such video blog is a three part series on how to achieve the look that Mallika Arora Khan wore in song for the movie Dabangg.

Quoting her “I’m Indian; I came out of the womb wearing eyeliner,” says Anu. And it is this confidence and her enigmatic charm that makes Anu Vakkalanka, our “Bloggerati of the Fortnight.”

Click here to read more of our Blogger of the Fortnight series.

Food for thought – Content for Blog

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Most number of mails that we get revolve around content for blog. It appears that most bloggers start off writing about a certain subject and then slowly lose way. That happens because they feel that there aren’t many readers on the subject they are writing!! Well, maybe that could be the case if you are writing about very specialized subjects. For most of the others there could be other problems plaguing us.

We have listed out few of them. Check out for yourself if your blog is not party to this.

·         Blogs are fairly unregulated in content. But be careful and sensitive to what you write. A lot of impressions are formed about you as a person while reading your posts. I have read many blogs that talk about ‘sex’ or ‘race and caste discrimination’ but treat the subject with so much maturity that it generates healthy debates and comments.

·         It’s a myth that blogs specializing on humour get more hits. I have read several blogs on gardening or bike repair that consistently get more hits than most arbit funny blogs. What matters is that you are providing something of value to the reader.

·         The average blog post size should be 450 – 550 words. There is no official documentation on this but more about discussion with successful bloggers. Break up your post into series of blog posts if you intend to cross that limit.

·         Write the ‘About Us’ column seriously. I have noticed that most users read that section first after landing on your blog. Guess it’s the innate curiosity to know more about the author. Your About Us page must mention who you are, what you do and what subjects does your blog cover.

·         Give an appropriate title to your blog. Remember you will be mentioning it for creating visibility. It must give users an idea of what they will find when they visit your blog

·         Participate in communities and comment on other blog posts too. Subscribe to feeds to other bloggers – their post could spark of new thought in your mind.

Read our posts on essentials of a blog and how to generate hits for your blog