"Be Unique" Says Mohammad !

Blogger Of The Week: Mohammad Mustafa Ahmedzai (author at MyBloggerTricks)

About the Author:
I am Mohammad Mustafa Ahmedzai, a Computer System Engineering Student and the author of the blog MyBloggerTricks.com
I am an addicted blogger,designer, web enthusiast and a certified SEO. I write first heard tutorials on Blogger tools, resources and their uses with main focus on CSS and HTML.

BS: Welcome to BloggerStop, Mohammad. How long have you been in the Blogosphere? And who/what inspired you to start a blog of your own?
Ans.: Firstly let me thank you Divya Sai for your extreme love, respect and keen interest in knowing about me through this friendly interview. I have no words but to wish you a successful and memorable life online and offline.
Dear I started blogging in August 2008 after completing my A Levels. I came across Blogger while doing a Google search for "What is a Blog?" After watching some videos I signed up for a Blogger Account and started my first blog i.e. Tecfun.co.nr where I share my experiences with my college friends and teachers. Honestly speaking, it were the videos made by Blogger team and commoncraft.com which inspired me to start the blogging career. It was in fact this visual interaction that brought about a dramatic change in my life.

BS: How will you describe your blog in one line/less than 20 words?
Ans.: MBT has the reputation of publishing unique and first heard Blogger tutorials which includes mainly CSS based widgets, Magazine style templates and Social Media icons.

BS: What do you blog about? Is this blog devoted to a single theme or do you have more than one quite unrelated categories in your blog?
Ans.: Well my tutorials are mainly focused on areas like CSS and HTML, Blog Optimization, webmaster tools, Blogger widgets, templates and most importantly Blogging Goodies. By Blogger tricks I generally speak of all blogging platforms and not just Google Blogger. So in short the categories are all related and speak of nothing but weblogs.

BS: Are you the only author in your blog or do you have co-bloggers to manage the blog? In future are you planning to team up with like-minded bloggers?
Ans.: Unfortunately at present I am the only victim who is shedding sweat and tears day and night :((. Blogging really requires a lot of precious time and I am feeling a dire need for a trustful partner who could help me in writing interesting tutorials. For your second question, I will surely join hands with niche blog partners in near future but only after I have stabilized MBT more firmly on Blogosphere.

BS: Do you blog anonymously or your readers know well who you are?
Ans.: My blog is an open Bio of myself in brief. I share everything their with my readers from my home, University till Blogging. Many readers have become so much socialized with me that many wish me on special occasions through chats, emails, blog comments and some even through phone calls. I think by blogging anonymously one can never achieve true appreciation, love and self confidence. It is indeed the true identity of a Blog author that keeps him spiritually comfortable with his online work.

BS: Do you have any specific goals/expectations from your blog? Have you already achieved any of these goals (or would you like to share any milestones that your blog has achieved)?
Ans.: The biggest blogging ambition that I have is to revolutionize the importance and significance of Blogging in my country. Only 6-7% people living in Afghanistan and Pakistan use internet and those who use it, don't even know what a blog is. Since I am a student myself still exploring the ever expanding Blogosphere, I am waiting for the day when I will have a true professional cap on my head with enough confidence to explain the advantages and value of Blogging to young generation living in developing countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The biggest milestone that I achieved is that a shy guy with a blog that is only 10 months old, is now being interviewed by one of India's finest young Blogger i.e. Divya Sai. I think there can be no better milestone than this within my one year of blogging career.

BS: How much time do you devote to your blog? Do you blog on weekends and do you think Blogging is eating too much of your time and is it affecting your day-to-day (offline) life too?
Ans.: Man Blogging is tough! It demands a lot of time, motivation, continuous hard work and plenty of patience. I spend about six hours daily in front of the computer but still I feel as if I am devoting less. My mom and dad often shout at me due to my late night work! :D
Blogging can affect your health also if you don't work carefully. During the recent days I had complains of eye sight issue and backache but as soon as I realized these side effects I started going gym and luckily things have improved a lot. I have now a screen filter on my monitor and a comfortable darling seat to help me blog safely :D To be honest my social background i.e. my friends and family members are not affected at all. I spend day time with my friends and family and night with my readers.

BS: What are your present blog stats, i.e. number of daily visitors, your global reach etc.?
Ans.: Now this is a risky question..! I will try to be more honest with you. Since MBT is only 10 months old, it is receiving 10,500 page views monthly with 230+ subscribers, 229 Facebook followers, 70+ Google friend connect followers and 1100+ twitter followers. The numbers are still increasing MashAllah! The MBT homepage has a PR-2 with some pages with PR-3 and all internal pages with PR-1 to PR-2 . This is what I achieved so far. Hope that was an open answer!

BS: What do you think is a better source of traffic - search engines, traffic exchange sites or social networking sites?
Ans.: I guess traffic from search engines is never constant but it is huge for sure. For me personally as a SEO, driving Traffic through search engines is more interesting, easy and less hectic. Traffic from search engines is everlasting with no doubts. If any of your page hits the first page with a rich keyword then you can enjoy an ever-growing readership through that one keyword for a longer period as long as you keep working hard on that specific keyword. Social networking sites and traffic exchange sites are also good sources of Traffic but this kind of traffic is more hectic. You will receive Traffic only if you actively participate in forums and talks and undoubtedly doing so requires a lot of time and energy.

BS: Do you regularly respond to your readers and do you think it is important for a blogger to always comment back or reply back to his readers?
Ans.: Well I am pretty serious when it comes to reader's queries. I deal it so seriously that most readers receive replies within seconds and minutes or at most within 24 hours. No matter whether the question is relevant, irrelevant, a feedback, suggestion or criticism, I welcome them all with a smile. :>
The true self confidence that an author achieves is when readers leave comments. No doubt the best identity of a good Blogger is his good and friendly attitude towards his readers. I personally hate giving feedback to well established blogs (xyz) just because I feel it morally an insult when your feedback or query is left ignored and not replied.
It takes months and years to build up a good number of subscribers but it takes only a week or a month at most to lose precious loyal readers due to lack of communication on the author's side.

BS: What are your unique strategies to survive and to perform better in your blogs niche against your competitor blogs?
Ans.: My strategy is the word "unique" itself i.e. I believe in offering resources that are never published or shared anywhere else may that be blogger tutorials, templates or blogger goodies. In short the best strategy to survive against your niche competitors is to beat them with unique and first heard content. One should not just blog about what is already shared on famous major blogs rather he should explore and discover his own talent and must come out with his own creative ideas. No doubt God has blessed us all with equal senses.

BS: Other than Blogging what are your other hobbies or what do you do in your leisure time?
Ans.: Unfortunately I don't have any leisure time. I go university early in the morning, teach O Level students in the evening, go gym at night and do blogging late night. Now tell me where goes my leisure time :(

BS: Is blogging for you just a passion or a medium for earning too? Are you earning enough to quit a 9 to 5 day job?
Ans.: I started it with passion but now as I am investing more and more time in it, I must accept the fact that I am trying hard to achieve some revenue in return.
For your second question I would say, no... not at all! I am not a richi rich blogger :D. At present Blogging keeps me happy spiritually but not very much economically.

BS: Do you sell any of your products, work as an affiliate partner or advertisements are the only source of income for you?
Ans.: Since I started blogging just a year ago (i.e. 2008-2009) I rely much on revenue through advertisements. But as days are passing, I am receiving good offers from some niche blog authors to start a niche partnership. I will pay due respect if any offer appears appealing.

BS: Are you planning to employee someone to help you in blogging or outsourcing some of your work like blog-designing, social networking or someone for your PR department?
Ans.: As you know I am an Engineering student and hiring someone one at this stage will not be affordable to me. Though I have plans to offer Guest posting at MBT. The Guest poster will be provided all legal blogging rights like a link in signature, Adsense revenue sharing and many internal links that will help him with rich links, traffic and some good bugs in return :>

BS: Blogs you follow and read regularly…
Ans.: Friendly speaking I follow no blog! Just for the reason that I read all blogs randomly. It is natural that not all posts of one specific blog are entertained. So instead of flooding my inbox with lots of emails I prefer reading a blog relevant to the query I am searching for at that specific moment. But I really don't recommend this style to other bloggers. Indeed subscription helps you keep track of all your favorite blogs and saves a lot of time but I prefer bookmarking a blog.
The blogs that I often visit and read are indeed those of my niche friends which include Bloggerstop.net with no hesitation.

BS: Communities/Forums you have joined (that help you in blogging):
Ans.: Facebook, Youtube and Yahoo Answers are my best friends! Among them Yahoo Answers is the best traffic resource I can recommend with full confidence. Wiki Answers are also as good as Yahoo answers but I have not signed up for an account as yet and will do so shortly.

BS: Have you done any mistakes in your blogging life? And what have you learnt from these mistakes?
Ans.: My first mistake was to create a blog with many topics like Internet, Social Media, Computer, Software and Blogger. But later I realized that I was really getting no good traffic neither were people taking interest in receiving my regular newsletters. Then I focused on one single topic and that was Tutorials on Google Powered Blogger. This was the best decision I ever made. Things have really changed dramatically thereafter. This experience taught me that the success of blogging indeed lies in just one strong Topic!

BS: Has blogging added any special flavor to your life? Would you like to share it with us?
Ans.: Blogging is the best experience one could have. You make new friends everyday. You have a large crowd to read and appreciate your efforts. You socialize with people from different cultural backgrounds and with different tones and colours. You learn everyday for every single day in Blogosphere has a different message to deliver. No matter what some clumsy people may say but Blogging. is for those who want to enjoy the world far different from the real world we live in.
I find peace and satisfaction in blogging and verily I will blog till death! :D

BS: Something you really want to change in your blog or in yourself being a blogger?
Ans.: I want to speedup my publishing process. I really try hard to publish one post per day but since I have uni(versity) in morning and students in evening, no matter how hard I try, I can not make it. This is one main problem I am struggling hard to combat and I am sure in the coming few days I will really knock it down!

BS: Say, you are sponsored to travel to 3 world destinations. Which destinations would you pick up, and why? Would you like to take someone along with you? If yes, whom?
Ans.: I would pick up a wildlife zone especially in South Africa. I have seen and learnt enough of Humans and wish to see with my own eyes how our neighbor species live and survive in their lush greeny Natural Habittes. Wildlife zones are areas where true beauty of planet Earth actually lies. Anyone would love snow capped mountains, dense green forests, volatile rivers, cute little creatures, singing trees and birds and united groups of animals. Wildlife has a lot to offer for the peace and tranquility of our souls.
I would take with me my laptop! :D

BS: Bloggers generally love to read books? Do you agree with this and if yes what you’re your favorite books/novels?
Ans.: Of course I agree. One who writes more actually reads more. I read my field related books like Physics, Further and applied Mathematics and my dearest subject i.e. Chemistry.
You said Novels??..... Oh never!!, I have always scored bad in literature :D

BS: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Ans.: Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). He taught me the purpose of this life and identified to me the Almighty force Who is responsible for balancing the system of the Universe. I know God because I know Mohammad (PBUH). He was the last amongst Prophets after Adam, Solomon, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (May Peace Be Upon Them All).

BS: Which is your favorite television show? & favorite movies and songs?
Ans.: Honestly speaking, no television show or movie did ever impressed me for none offered peace of mind. As far as songs are concerned I love Nasheeds (Arabic Songs) by Ahmed Bukhatir and Zain Bikha. I find peace and a good lovely message in these Nasheeds. They make me cry, laugh and smile. The Nasheed "Last Breath" by Ahmed Bukhatir brought about a turning point in my life.

BS: What’s your favorite food? Any particular dislikes?
Ans.: I love an Afghani Dish called "Kabuli Palow". It is an extremely healthy and tasty dish consisting of rice and beef with a sprinkle of dried grapes on it. One of the most beloved dish in Afghanistan. We serve every guest with Kabuli Palow! :>>

BS: Blogs are replacing personal diaries, magazines, journals and today more than just being a hobby we can see corporate blogs too, so what do you think is the future of blogs?
Ans.: I see blogs as an ever expanding medium for quality education. Blogs have revolutionized the web and have made the Cyberspace a rich source of education and entertainment. Journals, magazines and other classical source of knowledge are dead papers which can only be read but can not be questioned. On contrary Blogs are an open medium for communication between the author and a reader. People ask questions, bring problems and they receive answers and solutions within minutes. After 10 years or more you will find every child saying "Did you read Mr. X's blog? and not "Did you read Mr. X's book?

BS: Any special message you would like to share with our readers as well with everyone else?
Ans.: As a blogger one should think more about the content than the revenue. Many bloggers often underestimate the importance of this beautiful learning experience by turning their blog into a fish-market occupied with ads. I believe that only those bloggers succeed who pay more attention towards providing useful and unique content rather than that content which is already published somewhere else. It is good to spread the voice of one blogger to your readers by sharing his content but try to play your own individual roles in bringing something interesting, inventive and creative to the blogosphere. Every one of you is a genius and it is only a matter of time to realize it. Invest your time and energy for at least one year and then expect a fruitful outcome in terms of revenue. I believe that If you really want to be a really successful blogger then share what is revolving in your mind and dress this idea and present it in a manner so that it may look appealing to your readers. For a desired succesful blogging career do not work harder but smarter! Wishing you all a good luck and success and an ever growing readership. Keep blogging for the generation ahead needs you!

BS: How can we connect with you?
Ans.: At present the best way to contact me is my blog and the secondary is Facebook. It would be an honour to connect with you guys.
Twitter ID: MBT-Twitter
Facebook Profile: Facebook-MBT
Contact Me Page:- Contact Mohd.

Blog Admin : Divya Sai

ProBlogger - Inspiring Others Realize Their Dreams!

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