What is the History and Significance of Blogging in India with Latest Trends?

We are in an era where everyone is fascinated by making money online. One such way is blogging. You may find hundreds and thousands of videos across the Internet showing how every newbie is easily making thousands of dollars per month. But the reality is so much different from those online videos. 

You may now think I am the right person to tell you all this. So, let me tell you that I have been blogging for 3-4 years. In this 3-4 years of experience in this field, I have figured out that the reality of blogging is very different regarding the process. 

In this article, I will discuss my personal blogging experience, the history of blogging in India, its significance, its latest trends, and much more. So stay calm and hold your heartbeats as you explore the real side of blogging. So, let's dive in.

History and Significance of Blogging in India

The Very Beginning of Blogging in India 

The first blog created in the world was in 1994 by Swarthmore College student Justin Hall. From 1994 to 2004, blogging was not mainstream money-making for Indians until a breakthrough came in 2004 when an IIT pass-out man who had a high-profile corporate job quit his job and started blogging. 

Soon, this guy turned into India's first professional blogger. Seeing his success in blogging, even after quitting his high-profile corporate job, many Indian youngsters were inspired by him and started their blogging journey. That man is now known as the father of Indian blogging, Amit Aggarwal. His first blog was "Labnol," accessible at labnol.org. He made his first blog in the technology niche. 

Between 2004 and 2014, many new bloggers emerged across the Indian market. This was the golden era for anyone to start a blog because ranking the blog was easier. Few blogs existed across the Internet, enabling new bloggers to rank easily on SERPs. This was the era of multiniche blogging, where anyone can write about anything on their blog irrespective of their niche.

Between 2004 and 2014, the Internet was minimal across India. Only a few people learned about the opportunity to make money through blogs, and some people believed that online money was a scam. Until this time, blogging was not a saturated market, and any newbie blogger had a very high chance of ranking and making money compared to a new blogger in 2024.

The Rise of Blogging Because of Jio

Every Indian must have remembered that day when "Mukesh Ambani" founder of Jio announced free and unlimited internet data for every Jio user. Jio, launched in 2015, made a breakthrough in India by providing free internet data. Now, let's get to know how Jio gave rise to blogging. When Jio announced its free internet services, nearly every Indian availed of their services from Jio. 

Indian people explored YouTube, Facebook, and many other online platforms. They started consuming online content and gradually learned that content creation can also be monetized. That's how the wind of online earning began to blow in India. Indian audiences learned about different ways of making money online; one such way was blogging. 

You might still have that question about how Jio gave rise to blogging. So, let me explain thoroughly: India is a price-sensitive market. If Internet data was as overpriced as it used to be, there wouldn't be many Internet users in India. 

When Jio announced its free internet services, many Indians availed themselves of their benefits, and because of that, they got exposure to the online world and earned money online. Hence, Jio brought a major breakthrough in blogging in 2015.

The Era of Event blogging, Web stories, and Microniche 

From 2015 to 2019, every blogger made an event blog. An event blog is a type of blog targeting a fixed event. For example, there are blogs on Diwali, IPL, and more. These blogs are made for the short term and are not evergreen. Event blogs were not evergreen but during the actual event of any event blog on any niche. The Event blog used to get an immense amount of traffic during the event, and they used to make yearly AdSense income just during the event.

In 2015, Google launched its web story for the first time, and web stories became trends. Bloggers started working on web stories. Web Stories are like picture books for the Internet. They're big, colourful, and fill up your whole screen. You can move through them by tapping or swiping, like flipping through pages. At this time, the, the blogging industry started to get slowly saturated,, leading to an era of Microniche blogging. A microniche is a more minor topic in a broad category of niches. For example- Smartphone is a niche, but when we talk about Vivo, Oppo, and Samsung, these come under microniche as they are a smaller segment of a broad niche category. 

As I said, blogging started to get saturated. It became much more challenging to rank a blog than it used to be. This is when bloggers brought microniches into the mainstream and started working on them. It was easier to rank a micro niche blog than a multiniche or niche blog.

Dark Era of Blogging

Now, make your hearts stronger by hearing the dark sides of blogging. From my personal experience, the dark phase of blogging began when COVID-19 hit us. Due to this, people started a working-from-home culture. 

Every person became fascinated with making money online and started researching it. Seeing this, some cheap YouTubers started making clickbait videos and teaching money-making online methods. It won't be shocking anymore that one can make more money by teaching blogging than from blogs. 

Before COVID, only experienced and well-known bloggers were used to making blogging videos. However, during COVID, there was a sudden rise in the number of blogging content creators. One more essential thing that I would love to share is that 80% of content creators who teach blogging make more money by teaching blogging than their blogs. I would also like you to share why these bloggers became the culprit. This is because of saturation in the blogging industry. These YouTubers were bloggers who failed to compete with the market competition in blogging. 

To explain more clearly, let me give you an example. For instance, suppose you were a blogger who used to be consistent with your content. But after 6-7 months, you didn't get any results from it. What would you do then? Would you leave blogging and let your skills go in vain? Or would you start teaching blogging on platforms like YouTube and try to monetize your traffic from different sources? 

The second case is what the failed bloggers started doing, and you must have heard the quote that if you want to buy a Rolls Royce, don't take advice from Toyota owners. So, how can

someone teach you blogging who has failed in it? Using clickbait thumbnails, they fool the newbie bloggers by showing them easy money, whereas the reality is far different. 

Blogging has become a significant phenomenon in India, offering a platform for individuals to express themselves, share knowledge, and connect with others online. Blogging is like having your own space on the Internet to write about anything you're passionate about and share it with the world. 

Blogging today is highly significant as it allows you to showcase your skills, regardless of their type, and make some extra cash out of them. It also helps you grow your search and visibility on search engines.

Latest Trends in Blogging

The latest trend in blogging is Microniche blogging. A microniche is a smaller category in a broad niche. It is gaining popularity these days because it is easier to rank in SERPs by targeting microniche.

It is difficult today to rank a niche or multiniche website as the blogging industry has become very saturated. A microniche is easy to rank as it targets a specific topic and targetted audience. Here are some more factors why microniche got in trend- 

~ Less competition: Microniche allows bloggers to target a particular category with less competition. 

~Authority building: Having the authority to rank your site is significant. Microniche will enable bloggers to target a specific category and establish authority in Google. 

~SEO Benefits: Micro-niche blogs can rank higher in search engine results for specific keywords and long-tail phrases. This is because the content is highly relevant and targeted. 

Micro-niche bloggers need to find the right balance. They should pick a specific topic, but not one so narrow that hardly anyone is interested. They should do their homework to find a niche with enough people interested. Also, they need to keep their content interesting and helpful to keep their audience engaged.

How to Start Blogging in 2024

I will not sugarcoat things here. If you want to start blogging in 2024, you need to commit to working very hard and patiently on your blog. This is because blogging is a saturated industry now but is still profitable. So now, let's move on to how someone can start blogging in 2024. 

Choosing a Hosting 

The first step in starting a blog is having a hosting. Hosting is a place on the Internet where your website lives. It is very important to have good hosting to keep your website's performance good. Some of the good hosting to get started are Hostinger, Bluehost, etc.

Niche Selection 

Niche selection is crucial because choosing the wrong niche once will make it impossible for your website to rank. Also, anyone starting a blog in 2024 must go with micro-niche blogging. So choose a microniche. 

Domain Name 

Now, you have to choose a domain name for your blog. The domain name should be related to the niche you will work on. It is better to go for Partial Match domain (PMD). For example, if your niche is car loans, your PMD can sound like carloanadvisor.com, carloanguide.com, etc. 

Set up your Website 

Customize the design of your blog to make it visually appealing and user-friendly. Most blogging platforms offer customizable themes and templates to help you get started. 

Create Content 

Start creating high-quality content that provides value to your audience. Write blog posts and articles or make other types of content such as videos, infographics, or podcasts. 

SEO of the Blog 

Make sure your blog is easy to find on search engines by using words people search for, like the main topics you write about. Also, make your titles and short descriptions catchy and accurate. Get other trustworthy websites to link to your blog. This helps search engines know your blog is reliable and essential. 

Make money from your blog. 

When many people visit your blog, you can make money in different ways, like showing ads, promoting products for companies and earning a commission, writing sponsored posts, or selling your digital stuff like ebooks or courses.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

Is blogging dead in 2024? 

The answer is No. Blogging is still a profitable way to make money, but the competition is increasing. Anyone thinking about blogging must give it time, have patience, and consider it a work or business to succeed. 

Which platform is best to start blogging in 2024? 

From my experience, Hostinger provides the best interface and services to new bloggers. It also offers a drag-and-drop interface and requires no coding, which makes it easy for new bloggers to get started. 

Which skills do one need to learn before blogging? 

Here are some essential skills one must know before starting a blog- Niche research, Keyword research, Content writing, SEO, and Backlink building. 

How does an Indian blogger earn? 

80-90% of people fail in blogging. Yet, to give you an idea, an average Indian blogger makes 10,000 - Rs. 30,000 per month. This varies widely depending on the niche, traffic, and monetization strategies. 

Who is known as the Father of Indian blogging? 

Amit Aggarwal is known as the father of Indian blogging. You can check his blog at labnol.org

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article has given you an overlook of the history of blogging in India. Blogging in India has grown a lot since it started, becoming an essential way for people to express themselves, build communities, and earn money. 

It's helped us discuss important issues, give everyone a chance to speak up, and let people share their experiences and knowledge. As blogging changes, it stays important for talking, making a difference, and bringing people together all over India. 

Any new person starting blogging must have the skill of patience, as blogging is not a quick-rich scheme. It requires effort and consistency. Also, new bloggers should not get fascinated by seeing money on social media and should beware of scammers in the market. It would be best if you chose the perfect mentor for your journey. 

At least, blogging today is not a quick-rich scheme game; it requires patience and consistency. This is where most new bloggers give up, as they take blogging as a quick-rich scheme game. So, before starting to learn blogging, learn to have patience. Stay tuned for more such valuable content.