Age No Bar to Succeed in the World of Blogging "Windows is a passion to me and blogging a medium for expression"
By Megha Parikh •
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Anand Khanse is a 55-year old Windows OS blogger with a knowledge at par with Microsoft techies themselves.
The world of blogging is a unique place. There is no restrictions of age, gender or any sort of discrimination. If you can churn out great content, the world will come to your blog and turn you into an Internet celebrity.
Take for instance the success story of Arianna Huffington. She founded The Huffington Post in 2005 at an age when most would be retiring. In another part of the world, another success story is in the making. Meet Anand Khanse, age 55, who runs TheWindowsClub.com, a go-to destination for anything and everything about the Windows OS.
The blog attracts around 10 million pageviews average a month. And that Anand's blog has been such a runaway hit that Microsoft themselves recognized him with the Most Valuable Professional Award for 10 years consecutively.
The Beginning
Anand's beginning as a blogger as incidental. He took upon himself the task of fixing his computer which was written off as good as gone by service professionals. Not wanting to lose his precious data trapped inside the system, Anand took upon himself the task of fixing the computer. He turned to the Internet and found a solution on his own thus igniting a lifelong passion for Windows OS and its functionalities.
Gradually he started participating in tech support forums, and before he realized it, he had moved on from asking questions to answering them. Realizing that the questions being asked were of the same nature, he decided to start a blog and so was born TheWindowsClub.com.
Anand feels that, "Windows is a passion to me and blogging a medium for expression. I never blogged to make money. I blogged to build a reputation, knowing very well that money would follow."
The Birth & The Growth that Followed
TheWindowsClub.com was envisioned as an online source that helped amateur users to fix their Windows systems on their own. With time the blog also started developing and providing freeware for Windows. The Ultimate Windows Tweaker and the FixWin Windows Repair Tool are notable ones that amassed global recognition. TheWindowsClub.com has more than 80 Windows freeware making it the only online source with such a huge collection.
For long did he blog alone - but soon a competent team of Windows enthusiasts joined him and started contributing the article. While he is assisted by a team of writers, managing the website, the backend, the security and fixing it when broken is all handled by him single-handedly - with the helping hand from a friend when required. But it's never work for him - it's all fun he says!
His site also has a support forum. His work has been covered by several media including the Fox News TV. One of his tutorials even has had the distinction of being converted into the First Microsoft MVP Fix it.
It is very satisfying to read the comments when a solution posted on my site helps them get around a problem", he says.
The Business Model
Like every blogger, Anand also started blogging for the pure passion of it. He does the lion share of task like keeping the website live, fast & secure all the time For this one needs a good powerful server as host. TheWindowsClub.com does not ask for donations or sponsorships but finances all the expenses using display advertising and affiliate sales. The blog is search engine optimized helping Anand garner maximum traffic comes through organic traffic search results.
"A large chunk of my traffic comes from the US. They are all Windows users who are not satisfied with the solutions available online for Windows systems. TheWindowsClub helps them solve their issues with straight-forward guidance." added Anand.
The Secret of Success
"There are no secrets no shortcuts really!", exclaims Anand when asked what made him a star blogger. His advice for aspiring bloggers is, "Focus on a niche that excites you and blog consistently, maybe at least 2-3 times a week and give the visitor a great user experience.
If your content is good and well presented for the humans as well as the Search Bots, it would be just a matter of time that your blog ranking picks up.
"Stay sharp, observe, learn from others mistakes, improvise and adapt to changing times." concludes Anand.
The Road Ahead
Anand is on a mission to spread the gospel of blogging. He feels that many are unaware of the massive potential that blogging has a channel for self-expression and income generation. If done right, it can replace a full-time job. Age and such reasons can never be a deterrent.
Anand hopes to pass this message to the world and as a first step he has started with blogging meets in his city where he educates all participants on the art, science & commerce of running a blog successfully.
Blogging offers a great way of life - you do what you enjoy and get paid for it handsomely enough to maintain a good lifestyle. What more can one ask for, he says.
