The article is called, “Career in tech and fashion blogging can pay up to Rs 1 lakh monthly” and I was interviewed for inputs by the author / writer / journalist, Shivangi Chakravorty. You can read the article published on Times Jobs & Careers here. The inputs that I’d shared, are below. Sharing because a. I don’t usually get to write about this stuff even though I think it ALL the time and b. it’s more comprehensive to share the story that was finally published, as well as what I had to say in its entirety. Not that there’s anything that has been misinterpreted – I’m not implying that at all – but it’s also more content for my blog!
How is this particular job profile growing?
It’s not really a “job profile”, more like a “professional profile”. Considering the low barrier to entry, anyone can start in this profession and launch themselves as a blogger and / or influencer. From when I started in 2004 when almost no one in India even knew what a “blog” was, to now in 2018 when client brands email with campaign proposals and budgets, the landscape is unrecognizable. The number of bloggers and social media influencers in India has certainly increased exponentially. Many people want to give it a shot before considering other so-called “more serious” careers. Some are launching multi-blogger platforms to generate as much content as possible and some are going it solo handling everything from photography, invoicing, writing, handling their own social media channels, client servicing, etc. It is still not a structured or organized sector and much work needs to be done on the professionalism, pricing and campaign expectations front.
Which kind of bloggers are in demand? and why? ( like fashion blogger, tech blogger, travel blogger)
This really depends on who is looking and what the goals of the campaign are. While a lifestyle blogger has the ability to cover a wide variety of subjects because of them specializing in a generalized area, a tech blogger would be more sought out for their deep expertise in one particular area.
Fashion and lifestyle bloggers tend to be more in demand because of the glamour factor attached to their profiles. These bloggers and influencers get themselves photographed wearing new ensembles and then showcase these photographs as their “personal style”. Even for a non-fashion brand, it would be easy to slip in a tech product, for example, in a personal style story, and photograph the blogger posing with said product.
It would be harder to slip in a fashion-related product on a tech bloggers content feed unless the fashion product had some element of tech. At the same time, when a reader wants deep technical knowledge, they are more likely to check out a tech blogger’s content than a fashion blogger’s feed. I might learn about a new gadget from the fashion blogger’s feed but if I want to know more, I’m going to look up a tech bloggers detailed review of the same gadget.
There are pros and cons for both cases – one can be a specialist blogger and only deep dive into one particular industry or one can be a generalist blogger and talk about brands from various industries. It helps to have at least one major focus area.
What are the job opportunities if you are a blogger?
If one has been a successful blogger for a few years, one could possibly apply for a job to head the social media department of a brand. Or apply for a job as a social media strategist for an organization that doesn’t otherwise have social media presence and would like to change it.
Apart from that, being a blogger / influencer means that you’re an entrepreneur. You’re running your own small business and if you decide to expand, you could provide job opportunities to others!
How relevant will be this job profile in the changing dynamic of technology?
News hasn’t gone out of fashion and blogging is an extension of the same. Earlier, we used to have limited sources of news and we picked our favourites and stuck with them for years – like newspapers or television channels. Now, we have innumerables options from where we can choose to get our updates. And we can choose what channels to follow these updates on. A blogger isn’t necessarily replacing newspapers and magazines and providing coverage of news from war-torn areas, for example. But the updates that a blogger / influencer makes, are “news” for them and their followers / subscribers / audience can choose to keep tabs on those updates.
I don’t think the function of the profile is going to change. Bloggers / influencers will continue to provide the same function of news / updates but maybe not in the same way. We might not have the same social media platforms ten years down the line. The format of how updates are delivered might change. Newspapers and magazines are still around – they might not be thriving as well as they were twenty years ago and many of them have shut down, but the function still exists and we still need news. But I might not buy a printed copy of a publication anymore – I might subscribe to their online e-paper subscription. Similarly, I don’t think blogging / influencing is going anywhere. India still needs to catch up to the rest of the world and the blogging industry is going to be explode in the next 2-3 years.
Growth in salary structure?
There’s no salary cheque being handed out by the boss here! How much money you make as a blogger / influencer depends on how much you’re willing to work and whether you want to go it solo or hire a team. It’s a business after all and depending on how you strategize your business and the quality of what your produce, within a couple of years, you can be making enough money to live in some of India’s best cities. Consistency and quality are important in this profession. If you have been blogging consistently for 4-5 years, in the current market scenario, you can be looking at earning in the range of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 per month if you average out the entire financial year. Specific monthly revenue can vary depending on the season – when are more product launches happening, more fashion-related events, more weddings, etc. And depending on how much experience you continue to accrue, this revenue can further increase. You can hire a team, partner with an agency to represent you, and be more picky about the kind of projects you say “yes” to.
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