Leading Silent Cyber Celebrity Anand Khanse talks on Windows and blogging

Today, we have the pleasure and the privilege of interviewing Anand Khanse, who is one of the leading Windows bloggers and a Microsoft MVP (2006-16). Our team sat in a conversation with one of the prominent and veteran IT professional in India who never tries to highlight himself except through his product(s).

Leading Silent Cyber Celebrity Anand Khanse replies on Windows

 1. How long have you been blogging? What’s your blog about? Who reads it?

 Anand Khanse: I started WinVistaClub.com around 7 years back. I then moved on to a new domain after Windows 7 was launched. My blog www.TheWindowsClub.com is all about the Windows operating system, although it does cover another consumer Microsoft software & services too. We primarily focus on discussing Windows features, offering tips, fixes, and troubleshooting Windows. Since we basically cover the Windows OS, folks using Windows computers and interested in knowing more about it or needing help to resolve Windows issues, read it.

  2. What do you offer your readers that no one else does?

Anand Khanse: Apart from the blog posts and tutorials, a support forum, TWC offers over 80 freeware developed for the Windows users. These include Ultimate Windows Tweaker, FixWin, Ultimate Windows Customizer, hotShut, File Association Fixer, Right-Click Extender, Quick Clean, Quick Restore Maker, Windows Screen Capture Tool, PassBox – the list is pretty large! I don’t think any other blog in the world, offers so many freeware for Windows users!

  3. How often do you update your blog and how many Page Views do you have each month?

Anand Khanse: Oh – we have at least 3-4 posts appearing every day. I make it a point to post one. The other posts are by the authors of TWC. TheWindowsClub.com gets around 9 million pages view a month. This includes the Forum as well as the News sub-domain.

  4. Do you have a big email list too?

Anand Khanse: I have no mailing list. :)

  5. How much time or money do you spend on blog design?

Anand Khanse: I normally spend 4-5 hours a day on TWC – spread over the day. But it’s mostly in the evenings or night that I work continuously. My works include publishing a post and editing posts of other authors, scheduling them and visiting the forums to help people with Windows issues. This is apart from the other back-end work which a blogger need to do.

6. What about blog maintenance?

 Anand Khanse: The routine work, I do it myself. But if something out of the ordinary is required, I seek professional help, as I am not very well-acquainted with this matter.

7. How many hours they work and if you hire anyone else to work on your blog?

 Anand Khanse: It depends on the work, and I retain their services on a per-job basis.

  8. Where do most of your readers come from? Google search, Social Media or other sites? 

Anand Khanse: Roughly 1/3rd each comes from Search Engines, direct visitors and external links. My traffic from social sites is somehow still negligible.

  9. Tell us the three most popular blog posts you’ve ever written and why you think they were so popular?

Anand Khanse: Based on Google Analytics data, I can say that the following three blog posts of mine get the most traffic:

• Run sfc /scannow & Analyze its logs in Windows
• Windows 10 Tips and Tricks
• List of free Ransomware Decryptor Tools.

I guess the first is popular because it is a very important and useful feature in Windows which can help solve many issues. The second and is kind of interesting and the third very relevant in today's times.

10. How did you learn to tell stories and how do you choose what to share with your readers? 

Anand Khanse: I don’t tell stories. :) I basically discuss features and post how-tos. Anytime a new Windows versions is launched, I explore it, look around and blog about the new features that it includes. I browse our forums and see what issues Windows users are facing and then write tutorials on how to fix them. If I come across interesting freeware, I review them too occasionally. 

11. How do you build up close of relationships with the big names of blogging? 

Anand Khanse: Unfortunately, I am not very active in that field now. My time these days is spent more on my business, family, and blogging. I am not very active on the social media too. 

12. Do you make a full time living from blogging? 

Anand Khanse: No I don’t. But I could. I had said it earlier, and I say it again, web earnings could allow me to quit a ’9-5 job’ and still live comfortably - but that’s never an option I’d consider. 

13. How exactly do you earn money from your blog? 

Anand Khanse: I use Google AdSense to monetize my website. Affiliate software sales are doing fine too. AdSense is truly amazing. They have helped develop the Internet. Without monetization options, I don’t think the free web as we know it today would have existed. 

14. What’s the best way to get new readers to a blog? 

Anand Khanse: These days, bloggers are lucky as they can make use of the social media to spread their content. It wasn’t this way before. Writing blog posts which are reader-friendly as well as search-engine friendly is the best way to get new readers, via search engines as well as the social media. If your content is interesting, you will have hooked the reader, and he or she will want to return to your site every now and then ....

15. Tell us your best blogging tips for new bloggers 

Anand Khanse: I always say – Don’t blog to make money. Blog to build a reputation. Money and recognition will follow. Blog consistently, maybe at least 2-3 times a week. Use good English. Focus on a niche, use a good blogging platform and a good easy-on-the-eyes theme. Give the visitor a great user experience. It is hard to predict how Google Search will anyway treat your blog in spite of the fact that you may be having great content. Still, the cliché goes and still holds true – Content Rules! If your content is good, it would be just a matter of time that your blog picks up. Post quality comments on related blogs. Participate in forums. Don’t spam your links in the comment or forum post. Let your name link to your blog URL or place your URL in the forum siggy. That’s a good way of getting backlinks and some traffic too. Submit your blog URL to all search engines, including Baidu & Yandex. Do not check your AdSense earnings or stats every day. It could depress you if you find them stagnating. Don’t waste your time reading about how to increase blog traffic or blog earnings. It won’t help much. In the first year develop your blog, build some quality content, some readership and then think of monetizing it. Your blog will do well, only if you enjoy nurturing it. 

16. Please, can you share one final blogging tip or something that would make you want to read a blog? 

Anand Khanse: Interesting, well-written, well-placed content is what make me read a blog post. Break the content in paragraphs of 4-5 lines, use headings and sub-headings. Make the important words Bold, so that even if a person runs his eyes fast over long content, they stop at the bold words and make him read it again. Judicious use of images too, goes a long way in making a blog post better. Towards the end asking questions may stimulate conversation in the comments. 

17. Where can people find out more about you? 

 Anand Khanse: Search for “Anand Khanse” on the internet, and you may be able to see some more mentions of me. 

18. Where do you live? Do you have a family? What do you do for work and play? 

Anand Khanse: I run an advertising business and live in Pune with my family. I enjoy reading, watching movies and traveling to different places. 

19. Is there anything else you’d like to share? 

 Anand Khanse: Blogging is fun, and it pays well too. One of the fastest ways to earn money these days (legitimately of course) is on the Internet. Plan your strategy, be consistent, focus on developing content and then choose the road for monetization. See what works for you. Ads? Or Affiliate sales? If you get the formula right – you could end up laughing all the way to the bank! If you are passionate, your passion will be seen in the way you have developed your blog – just as you can see the love of the gardener in a well-maintained tree. So go all out and enjoy the ride! 

Editor’s Note: I have come in the connection with this legend, via Tony John who is another evangelist of Microsoft and Google. Anand Khanse comes across as a very simple, hardworking and down-to-earth person, and his simplicity can influence thousands of newbies, along with the tech-savvy too.