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The Aha!NOW Chat With Ana Hoffman [Interview]

She’s no self-proclaimed queen of traffic generation. In fact, we all have crowned her because she really deserves…
Image with the aha now chat with Ana Hoffman written
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She’s no self-proclaimed queen of traffic generation. In fact, we all have crowned her because she really deserves the crown!

Yes, I’m talking about Ana Hoffman, who brought her blog in the under-20k Alexa club in less than 6 months.

She didn’t stop there but went on to achieve 12k Alexa rank within 8 months and under 9k Alexa rank in just 1.5 years.

Now, she might not be the only one to do it, but isn’t this a remarkable feat!

Do you agree she deserves the title? Some people also call her a Mad Russian and Tzarina of SEO, and they too have a reason.

SEO seems to be her second nature, and she passionately understands traffic generation like her soul. She’s one of the leading SEO consultant, Internet marketer, and traffic generation strategist of current times.

Of course, she’s a professional blogger and makes a living through her blog.

So, without wasting any time, let’s start the interview with +Ana Hoffman, this month’s special guest on the Aha!NOW Chat.

As with all the interviews in this series, today’s friendly chat too will give a glimpse of Ana’s personal, family, and professional lives and views.

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Interview with Ana Hoffman

photo of Ana Hoffman

Q1: Welcome to Aha!NOW. Ana, or shall I call you the “Queen of Traffic Generation”, I want you to have the honor of introducing yourself and tell my blog readers about what you do. 🙂

Ana:  Thank you for having me, Harleena.

I am the founder of Traffic Generation Café – a blog that talks about different ways to drive free traffic to websites, whether it’s social media, referral traffic from other sites, Google, or any other third-party platforms.

Q2: You’re not alone or the only guru in the field of traffic generation. What makes you different and stand apart from the rest?

Ana:  I value my readers’ time. I only write about things that are practical and don’t take an expert to implement.

Q3: One fact that makes you different is that you were a Russian before you became an American. How was your life and growing up in Russia? I read that you had a tough life there at home and outside too. Will you share your story? I’m sure it’ll inspire those going through rough patches of life and living in the dark corners of the world to believe that it is possible to change your life and your world.

Ana:  Even though my past has shaped who I am today, I prefer not to dwell on it. It’s way too easy for us to start blaming who we are on external circumstances and influences: our upbringing, parents, financial situation, education, etc.

It’d be easy for me to blame my alcoholic parents, abusive childhood, lack of basic necessities of life, like food and shelter, and allow them to keep me back, but that would be like taking rat poison hoping to kill the rat.

We are the product of who we decide to be.

photos of Ana Hoffman's family

Q4: Now that you’re also a mother to a lovely daughter, how do you try to be a good parent? What are your best parenting tips to raise kids?

Ana:  I don’t insist on trivial things that truly don’t matter, like what she’s going to wear, how she wants to decorate her room, whether she wants to have one pony tail or ten. Lol. That gives me more leverage to stand firm on things that are important without resentment on her part.

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I also try to remember what it was like to be her age and apply higher standards to her than I would to myself.

Q5: What is your secret formula for a happy marriage? Like any other relationship, you must have had your share of problems. How do you resolve those? What “strategy” would you suggest to those who undergo relationship problems?

Ana:  God is the glue that holds our marriage together. When things get rough, we know whom to go for help to.

Q6: There aren’t many bloggers as multi-talented as you. You also tried your hands at modeling. Tell me, what do you think makes a person beautiful? What tips would you share to build an impressive personality?

Ana:  Putting others before ourselves. We live in a society that tells us we need to make ourselves happy, yet the only true way to do it is by making others happy. Stop talking and start listening. Pick up that piece of trash on the street. Hold the door open for someone. Giving always has bigger returns than receiving.

photos of Ana Hoffman as a model

Q7: You lived a corporate life, were a model, and now have been blogging for quite some time. Which career fascinated you more and how has your professional journey been? Do you think you might change your career further or have you finally found the purpose of your life?

Ana: I definitely love being a blogger by far. The amount of impact is incredibly greater; the creativity, the originality that goes into running a blog are like nothing I’ve seen in any other profession. The sky is truly the limit, even though it’s a long way to reach the sky.

Q8: You had a rough patch in life when you and your husband were unemployed. How did you deal with those difficult times? I know you tried your hands with Internet marketing and met failures too. What lessons did you learn and what mistakes do you think most Internet marketers make while trying to make big money?

Ana:  When we see others make money online, we only see the end product of their hard work over many years – their success. Thus, our expectations of our own success are very faulty.

When getting into online marketing, whatever the niche, we need to be in it for the long haul; otherwise, we end up quitting right before we start seeing results.

Q9: Circumstances made you learn the proper way to market a business. Please share your marketing tips with the readers of Aha!NOW. What is the best promotional strategy for bloggers and for Internet marketers?

Ana:  The best promotional strategy is the one that works best for you and your business at any given point of time.

What I mean is this: what works for me, might not work for you and there’s no easy formula to figure it out.

However, here’s a tip I can offer to the readers: start working the traffic sources that seem to be working well for your competitors.

Go to Alexa.com and run your competitors’ website stats. You’ll get a general picture of what they are doing to get traffic. The logic behind it is if it works for them, it’s a good traffic source for your niche.

I am not saying that you should do the same thing your competition does. What’s the fun in that, right? But it’s a good starting point.

Also, focus on one traffic source at a time, don’t divert your attention. If you decide to start with Google+, stick with it for a while and give it all you’ve got before you declare “it doesn’t work for me”. Same with any other traffic generation strategy.

Q10: How do you define success? What are your achievements as a successful marketer?

Ana: To me, success is much more intangible than bank account balance.

It comes down to value – how being in blogging business makes me feel at the end of the day, the kind of respect I feel when interacting with others online, the amount of help I can offer to others, etc.

Q11: You say that you’ve devoted your life to Jesus Christ. What made the transformation in your life? Besides being religious, are you spiritual too? Please share your views on life.

Ana: I am neither religious nor spiritual. I love God with all my heart, strength, and understanding, because He loved me first, even when I was pushing him away. He loved me when I couldn’t love myself; so much so that He died to pay for everything I’ve done in my life so that I don’t have to.

Q12: You’re the queen of bringing traffic to blogs, and we can see you do that very well for your blog. But what do you do for bringing happiness into your life. What is your concept of happiness?

Ana: To me, happiness is peace, content, and joy. My ideal afternoon would be sitting with my husband outside on a deck, looking at the tree tops and the ocean, enjoying a glass of full-bodied jammy zin, listening to my daughter sing a silly pop song while on a swing down in the backyard.

photo of Ana Hoffman vacuuming her house

Q13: Your personality reflects in your work. We’re all fascinated by the quality of your posts, the beautifully worked-up images that you use, and the in-depth and extensive information you gather for your marketing skinnies and other posts. How are you able to do it ALL? It must be taking considerable amount of time, so how do you balance your work and family? Are you able to follow a fitness routine to take care of your health?

Ana:  I wake up at 5 am and go to bed late. My idea of working out is vacuuming, which I do every day – I am very much obsessive compulsive about cleanliness.

I think the biggest thing I’ve got working for me is the fact that I absolutely love what I do. When someone asks me what I do for fun, I say I blog. Can’t wait to get to it at night and don’t mind waking up for it early in the morning.

Q14: If you hadn’t taken to Internet marketing and blogging, what would you’ve done? Did you find Internet marketing as the easiest option to earn quick money or was it the last option? How do you make money blogging online now? Why did you drop consulting for affiliate marketing?

Ana:  I knew nothing about online marketing, so I took it as a challenge to learn. Once I got the hang of it, I loved it more and more. I don’t think there was any other option for me.

I make money exclusively from affiliate sales through Traffic Generation Café. I made a lot more doing consulting, but there was one thing I didn’t like about it: dealing with people. There’s a reason I hide behind my computer screen. Lol

Money was never a strong enough driving force for me to do something I strongly dislike, thus I decided to forgo consulting and stick with very passive affiliate marketing. Not nearly as much money, but I am happy.

Q15: What would you recommend – writing a killer post once in a week or ten days that goes viral, or updating your blog twice a week? Do you feel the rank doesn’t suffer or gets better if you write less but provide quality posts? I ask as I see many bloggers put up posts daily or every alternate days, thinking that their PR or Alexa would shoot up!

Ana:  I’ve done it both ways. About two years ago, I decided to post almost daily to see what happens with traffic. Of course, there were in-depth posts by any means; more like quick tips.

My traffic did go up; unfortunately, the quality of that traffic went down. The bounce rate was high, conversions low, and I was exhausted!

Now I can definitely say from experience that sticking with less frequent quality posts is the way to go.

Group photo of Ana Hoffman's family

Q16: Ana, I was really worried when you were missing from the blogosphere for some time, though later got to know it was because you were doing up your new house. How hard was it to take your blog back to the earlier heights in terms of ranks? What strategy and tricks did you use to spring back? Are you back with any new plans and things to offer?

Ana:  That’s the pleasure of working for ourselves – being able to step away when life hits us on the head.

Getting back after an almost 4 month absence wasn’t easy. I was behind on a lot of things, so I took the first couple of weeks to simply catch up and hang out on Google+ listening to the buzz and adding value when I could.

The beauty of building long-term relationships on your blog or elsewhere, like social media, is the fact that you are welcomed back with open arms. That’s exactly what happened. My readers came back, shared my content, and helped me get back on my feet – Traffic Generation Café was back to the same traffic level within a month.

Q17: With your comeback, you’re BIG on Google plus. You highly recommend using it for promotion and engagement. As a blogger, I know it’s difficult to take out time for everything. Would you suggest a blogger like me should put in more time on Google plus at the cost of other social media promotional activities, like Facebook or Twitter?

Ana:  I think the return on G+ is far greater that it is anywhere else as well as the kind of folks that hang out there. Influencers are in great supply there and when they find your content to be of value (shouldn’t be any other way, should it?), they will end up citing it and linking back to you, which might be worth dozens or even hundreds of mentions elsewhere.

Even more importantly, you have a much better shot at becoming an influencer yourself on G+.

Q18: You’re this and you’re that, you’ve done it all, and seen it all! After all these years of knowing and understanding yourself through the ups and downs of life, how would you define Ana in one sentence?

Ana:  Jane of all trades, master of none. 🙂

Q19: Last, but not the least, how do you like my blog Aha!NOW? What strikes you most about it? Now, you don’t have to feel obliged to say good words to please me or my blog community! 🙂 Would you recommend it to others?

Ana: To be honest, I don’t read personal development blogs. Personally, I don’t think anyone can teach you how to be happy.

That aside, I think Aha!NOW could use a better defined direction. I see blog posts about relationship tips, home safety for seniors, prayer, how to be a better parent, and many many more very broad topics.

With such a broad theme, it’s hard to build repeated readership since very few people want to read posts on all those topics.

You can connect with Ana Hoffman on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

Thank you Ana for taking out time from your busy schedule to inform and inspire us with your awesomeness! 🙂

I’ll also take your suggestions and views about my blog with reverence and value them. Aha!NOW was basically a personal development blog, and I recently added the niche “Blogging” into it on popular demand.

I knew I should’ve kept it a focused niche blog, and that’s what I tell other bloggers to do. In fact, I too was surprised when my blog community voted for Aha!NOW to remain multi-niche in a readers’ feedback survey.

I hope you took a few lessons from the life of a professional blogger.

Thanks for being a sport and reading the interview with Ana Hoffman. Wasn’t it enjoyable and lovely?

Okay, I’ve a special announcement. Many companies, entrepreneurs, authors, and bloggers approach me to give or send out free offers of all kinds to the readers of Aha!NOW.

From now on, I’ll be sending all such offers in my newsletters, starting from tomorrow! So, subscribe if you haven’t already, or confirm your subscription, if you’ve already subscribed. 🙂

Over to You –

What fascinates you most about Ana? What did you learn from her? Share in the comments.

Photo Credit: Ana Hoffman

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  1. Loved this interview! Especially the comment about dealing with people– ha!

    Thank you, ladies! 🙂

  2. Hi Harleena,

    We all know about Ana Hoffman. She is the queen of traffic generation. No one can deny her success. She has achieved a lot just in a couple of months. She is having a family, a daughter but still she has time to build a famous blog like trafficgenerationcafe. I am really impressed by her work. I would also remember the rate of her success.

    Though it is not possible to achieve as fast as Ana did but still positive attitude is what need.
    Thanks for inspring me. Make me realize that yes, goal is never away from me if I devote my time.

    ~Ravi

  3. It was seriously a motivating interview. I have seen this name getting mentioned over here so many times before. I have never seen a woman having gone so far technically in blogging world.
    Thanks for the interview.

  4. Hey Harleena,

    What a great interview of Ana Hoffman. I have learned a lot about driving traffic to my blog from her. She is definitely an inspiration to me and many of your top bloggers. On top of that she is very humble which is what I love about her. Although she has a lot of success in the blogosphere doesn’t condescend towards anyone that’s starting out or what may seem like a “stupid” question. She’s there to help those that are serious and not conceited to say that her way is the only way to drive traffic. Thanks for sharing the interview Harleena and you have a fantastic weekend!

  5. Hi Harleena,

    What a wonderful interview of the lovely Ana Hoffman. She truly is inspirational, giving excellent advice on generating traffic to our websites. I have learned so much about Ana over the years but I never learned about Ana until now. I had no idea about her background or other interests in life.

    This was a delightful article about a delightful woman, Harleena. I respectfully disagree with her, though, Harleena. I like your multiple niche articles here. The common theme is that all of the topics are important. Perhaps that’s your niche, Harleena: important topics with helpful advice!

  6. Hello harleena,
    Very nice Interview, I am really fan of Ana Hoffman, her traffic generation blog is really good.. I am also proud read her blog.

    One thing, I wanna ask you, can you which plugin you are using for “Notify me of replies to my comment”….

    Thanks in advance

  7. Hi Harleena,

    Some great tips here from Ana Hoffman, and great interview you’ve created here to pull the best answers out of your guests.

    Great job. Thanks!

  8. This is indeed a great interview by you Harleena mam.

    You indeed made a great and very details interview there.Ana Hoffman is popular name in this online world.Her blog contains full of useful articles,she know a lot about traffic generation,seo,smo etc.I often like to visit her blog for guidance.

    Thanks for letting us know more about her through this wonderful interview by you.I appreciate the great work.

  9. Hi Madam,
    That was a cool interview. I know I have already told it at facebook. But I thought this is the right place to express my views and give a feedback. And, here I am to do exactly that.

    In my entire life, I have never read such an interview. It actually went on all angles – professional and personal , past and present .
    I came to Ana only a month back. It was through a twitter chat I came to about her. She was the expert-cum-guest on that day. I was amazed by her knowledge and the way she replied to each query we shot to her on that day. This interview too reflect that. What a great person she is.

    I was surprised to read the question #19 (the last one) as well as to read her answer. I too had similar thoughts. I had wondered how you to manage build such a huge audience despite the fact that the blog covers a wide range of topics.

    Thanks for this post. A pro interviewed by another pro.

    Have a nice Thursday, Friday followed by a nice weekend.


    Jakes

  10. Hi Harleena,

    I really like the part where Ana said that “I knew nothing about online marketing, so I took it as a challenge to learn”
    The words are very motivating for beginners in online marketing. I also feel motivated read this interview. 🙂

    Thanks for sharing this interview, Harleena.
    I’m sure, this interview will be useful for many people.

    Nanda

  11. Hi Harleena,

    What a wonderful interview.I am so impressed with her background and all she’s accomplished. And I can see why she’d dabble in modeling, she is striking after all.

    I can recall seeing some of her posts shared on Twitter. She is definitely a well-respected blogger and I’m looking forward to reading her posts.

    I love that she is proud of her Faith and puts God first and most importantly gives him the praise He deserves. Her answer to #11 almost had me in tears….that’s exactly how I feel.

    Thank you for introducing us to Anna. Anna, thank you for sharing a little about yourself. All the best ladies!

    ~Cori

  12. Hello Harleena,
    This is one exclusive interview packed with information as well. Who could have thought that Ana did dip her hands into modeling, huh…
    I also do visits her blog and i do get vital information there. She’s indeed the traffic generation queen :). But lately, due to my busy schedule, i have not visited her blog… But her blog is always on my visit list 🙂
    Thanks for entering her life and making us know her more. Do have a blessed week ahead…

  13. Hi Harleena,

    Oh wow, another great interview. You are going all out my friend getting some big names to start your series off with.

    I’ve always been impressed with what Ana has accomplished with her blog. What she shared that she likes best is to give advice that people can take actionable steps to implement without having to literally go to school to learn this stuff. I know I sure appreciate it.

    I enjoyed getting to know her a little more although I knew some of it. I also knew she had been MIA for awhile but later learned she was busy fixing up their home. How fun and exciting.

    I think as far as learning how to drive traffic to your blog that Ana is definitely the queen for that and I LOVE that it’s a woman I go to. You have the title for blog commenting and she’s the queen for traffic so I love that you ladies are showing us how this is done.

    Thank you Ana for taking the time to do this interview with Harleena. I’m sure she’ll take your advice into consideration as this year continues to progress.

    Thank you both and have a great week.

    ~Adrienne

  14. What a lovely interview. Totally agree that money shouldn’t be your primary objective. What’s the point in doing something you hate to make money – you will still be unhappy. When you’re unhappy, your health and your work suffers.

  15. Hi Harleena,

    What a great interview. You really know how to get the details out of people and on such a personal level.

    Ana is indeed a highly regarded blogger and it was really nice to get to know her more. I had thought that she was off the scene for a while, but I presumed she had a great reasons for it. Now we know what that was, and it is also astonishing to see how quickly you can recover from such an absence!

    Thanks again for diving deep into the lives of our idols :>
    have a great week ahead
    asley

    1. Hi Ashley,

      Glad you liked the interview, and yes, I love to go a little deeper than usual as that’s what makes it more personal and worth reading 🙂

      I also thought that, until she mentioned the reason for her absence in one of her posts. Yes, even though she was absent for months, she recovered very well and is back in action.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views with us. Have a nice week ahead as well 🙂

  16. Superb Interview,
    Anna is great and known for traffic generation tips, Her blogs give me many ideas about, how to drive traffic and some tips regarding to that. She is a great and provides many great things through her blog.
    Thank you for sharing her interview Harleena.. 🙂

    1. Hi Nikhil,

      Glad you liked the interview 🙂

      Absolutely! She is an awesome blogger and a wonderful person too. Lots to learn from her blog, especially SEO and how to generate traffic, besides many others.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views with us 🙂

  17. Hi Harleena and Ana,

    What a fantastic interview you have done Harleena!

    Ana, I’ve been following you for a long time and heed all the advice you give. I never got to know the “real you!” I must say I am so delighted to know your perspective on life.

    When you stated “We are the product of who we decide to be” that really hit home for me. We all have a past that can hinder us. We have to make that “decision” as to who we want to be! Everyone has issues to one extent to another, but we cannot allow that to prevent our happiness.

    I didn’t realize you were off line for so long. I can relate to that so well. I recently had an AHA moment when I left for a week! When we have our faithful followers, we just catch up as much as we can, and they are still there. That is the beauty of this business. The people we engage with become friends.

    Putting others first is the key to any business. That’s the only way to success. And success can never be measured by the amount of money, rather the freedom we create and the gratefulness in our hearts that we can!

    Ana, it has been such a pleasure to get to know you here on this post. You are a down to earth, caring person. It is a pleasure to know more about you.

    Blessings,

    -Donna

    1. Hi Donna,

      Glad you liked the interview with Ana Hoffman 🙂

      I wanted the interview to be a little different from the usual we read online, something that touches us about the person and their life, which I hope this one did. Oh yes…I was surely missing Ana’s posts and would often check her blog to see if there was something up, or perhaps I wasn’t getting the newsletters, and then I read her post one day where she’d mentioned about the reason behind her absence. But all of that was sometime back – now she’s back with a bang!

      I know the time you went offline recently too, just as I read your previous post – but our readers welcome us with open arms and are so much around when we return, isn’t it? That’s what loyal readers do as they turn into good friends :

      Ana IS a very down to earth blogger, very unusual for those who reach greater heights. I guess that’s what makes her stand apart from the rest, and she is a real giver too.

      Thanks for stopping by, and have a nice week ahead 🙂

  18. Hello Harleena and Ana;

    I love these interviews because of how in depth they are and because Harleena asks questions most of us would if we had the same level of access. I thought what Ana said about using what your competitors are doing as a jumping off point. One of the things that has helped me get as far as i have in my niche market selling amusement equipment and related items is that my more established competitors put little effort into social media. They also have yet to embrace video as much as I have. so this would help people compete with larger companies that have bigger budgets more staff and a more well known name. thanks for taking the time to share with us. Take care, Max

    1. Hi Max,

      Thank you for your kind words, and yes, I love going in a little deeper than usual as that’s what makes it a little more personal than the other interviews we read online, isn’t it? 🙂

      I agree with you there, something we would never think of, but checking out your competitors makes sense I guess, provided we have the time!

      Yes indeed, that is a huge plus point you have over them, especially with the lovely videos and hangouts you’ve started doing now. Social media is huge plus I’d say and so is your presence on these networks.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences with us 🙂

      1. Hi Harleena,

        A good interviewer not only asks great questions but pushes the subject to give equally good answers. and you don’t know how much you did for my day by calling the videos lovely. I am working on the post for this week’s hangout now and should be sharing the recap shortly. And I’d love to have one of your awesome questions to answer this coming week. Maybe someday you will b interviewing me. smile at least I can imagine it now. That’s a big step as I’m sure you know. thanks again and take care. xoxo Max

        1. Hi Max,

          It’s so kind of you to say that – you made my day a lot brighter with your warm words 🙂

          But I did enjoy your video, though I’m sorry I couldn’t go through the full length. I’d surely try to be around for the next hangout, it’s just that most of the time the time-zones don’t match up, so a recording of the same would be a great idea, if possible, though you do put up the video as you did this time.

          Oh yes…you never know! Very possible indeed because you are an inspiration to a lot of people with all that you’v achieved in life. Thanks once again 🙂

          1. Hi Harleena,

            I just told the truth. I am glad you could watch even a little of the first week. I have written the post with the link to last week’s video, but lorraine has asked me to let her clean up my posts some before they go live. I will send you an email or mention it in a later comment once it is up. I am doing the writing blog hop this week so i got to get that post out by tomorrow. I will be introducing two other blind bloggers for sure and perhaps a third. the last one is a little unsure about the idea of a blog hop. I’m glad I can inspire others. and I can’t wait to find out what comes next. thanks again and take care, Max

            1. It’d surely check it out Max. 🙂

              Awesome! You’re surely doing a great deal and that’s commendable indeed – keep up the good work! Thanks once again 🙂

              1. Hi Harleeena,

                Here is the post about last week’s hangout. I chose the title to show that they are becoming a regular thing. thanks for your support. off to bed now. take care, Max

  19. To be frank I recently subscribed Ana Hoffman’s blog, and success following her because she really share high quality information.

    I didn’t knew she was born in Russia, I see Putin just took Crimeea, small territory of Ukraine. Thank God they didn’t start the war, I’m pretty close, I’m from Romania, live in the East side 😀

    1. Hi Daniel,

      Good to know that you subscribed, and yes, there’s a great deal to learn from her power-packed posts. Aha…nice that you live close by though now she’s very much American I think. I guess it still makes you feel your’re close, isn’t it?

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  20. Harleena, I discovered Ana’s site (TGC) in 2013 shortly after I started blogging. I’ve had a few interactions with her since then. She’s awesome, and very smart!

    What I liked most about this interview is that some of her personal life was revealed. It’s nice to get to know a bit about the blogger behind the site. 🙂

    1. Hi Lorraine,

      Agree with you there, she IS smart and an awesome blogger, besides being a very giving person as much as I know of her 🙂

      Absolutely! That’s the main reason behind having these interviews, to have a friendly chat with the blogger and get to know them better on a personal level, unlike the other interviews one reads.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts 🙂

  21. Super interview Harleena!

    I’ve always admired Ann’s knowledge, direct style and love for her audience. She went through a tough patch and I dig that too. People see me as the world traveling guy. It was NOT always this way. I had 4 cents to my name once, was 50K in debt and had to sell everything – my car, apartment, etc – to make this happen. I have grown through these moments and it’s created a fire in me I’d never have felt if I were comfortable 😉

    Thanks Harleena! Tweeted through Triberr 😉

    1. Hi Ryan,

      Glad you liked the interview and could relate to it 🙂

      Absolutely! She’s one of her kind and truly inspires so many of us, isn’t it? I think tough times come in all our lives, but what matters most is how we overcome those trying times. Moments of desperateness and necessity is what drives you and makes you to do things that you didn’t even think of. If you’re comfortable, you don’t make any efforts. That’s why even the worst times are there for good, to help us create and reach our best times. There’s always something good He has in store for us later on – we just need to keep the faith and carry on.

      Thanks for stopping by and the share as well – much appreciated 🙂

  22. What a great interview of Ana.

    We all know who she is and this interview presents the other side of Ana. I did not know that she was Russian although I did think she had a different accent compared to the American one. Great interview of Ana with a different angle.

    1. Hi Shalu,

      Glad you liked the interview, and yes, who doesn’t know Ana, though those who don’t would also perhaps know her through this interview now 🙂

      I wanted to make this interview, just like the others on this blog, a little different and more personal than the usual ones we read. Every blogger has a life and how they achieved so far, different from their usual online life, a glimpse of which I wanted to share with my readers. Yes, she is Russian, though I think more of American now 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views with us 🙂

  23. Hi.

    That’s indeed something inspiring. Getting under 9k alexa rank within a year or so is marvelous. I am now looking forward to Ana Hoffman blog and Thank you Harleena for introducing your readers to her. Thank you.

    1. Welcome to the blog Ambarish!

      Absolutely! We can only dream of such a rank, while she’s been there, done that already – commendable, isn’t it? Hope you connect with Ana and learn from her blog as well.

      Thanks for stopping by, and glad you liked the interview. 🙂

  24. Ana is new to me but not Harleena. However, the way you conducted the interview revealed another side of Harleena to me. You were just brilliant and articulate. I thank you for the link to Ana’s Traffic Generation Cafe. I think I will have to spend the next 7 days on her blog to grab and retain at least 10% of her ideas and suggestions.

    1. Welcome to the blog Kidambi – good to see you here 🙂

      Ah…thanks for your kind words of appreciation. I’m sure you’d learn a lot from Ana once you visit her blog too. Lol….yes indeed, her posts are awesome, and you would surely need that much of time if not more, to grasp things there.

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  25. Hi Mam,

    It’s really a great interview. I like the tactics of “How to do SEO” in her blog. I didn’t heard about this kind of tips and tricks before. Then also i want to mention about the traffic conversion. Traffic is the main thing for every blogger, you know. She taught that well.

    It’s great to see that, after 4 months she is back. interesting interview. Nice share mam.

    Have a nice day.

    1. Hi Nirmal,

      Glad you liked the interview 🙂

      Oh yes…being an expert in SEO and traffic generation, she knows all about it and shares it with all of us too, isn’t it? I too marvel at the way her comeback has been and everyone accepted her with open arms, knowing that it was a temporary phase.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views with us 🙂

  26. Well done Harleena,
    I just opened my reader now and discovered this article and, i decided to rush here immediately despite my small time because, Ana is a darling :).

    She happened to be my very first female favourite blogger. I got to know about her via Yaro Starak about 3 years ago when she wrote a guest post on his blog Entrepreneur-Journey and since then, I’ve remained her fan till date.

    Though, i don’t always visit her blog as i used to because of time but, i still values her and her opinions a lot.

    Some of her posts that really caught me was when she wrote about Empower network,and when she mentioned that her blog is not making enough money as it’s supposed to. Those posts really created some waves in the blogosphere.

    Overall, you did a nice job to have Ana Hoffman here, thanks for sharing and you both have a great weekend.

    BTW: I really missed you guys, how are you doing?

    1. Hi Theodore – nice to have you back 🙂

      Yes indeed, she is, and I’m glad you found time to stop by here today.

      Ah… nice to know how you got to know more about her. I haven’t read that guest post on Yaro’s blog – I guess I lessened visiting his blog after his mother was ill long time back when he’d stopped blogging to take care of her, if I’m not mistaken.

      I agree with you there – all of her posts are always full of value, and that’s why they are shared and appreciated by all her readers and followers.

      We all are doing well Theodore, though how are you, and what’s keeping you busy – exam time again, is it? If so, then we wish you all the best, and hoping to see you back in the Blogosphere soon too.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences with us. Have a nice weekend 🙂

      1. Thanks Harleena,
        Yea, i remembered when Yaro’s mum was ill and he stopped blogging. I’ve also not been visiting his blog as i normally do since then,.

        Yea, my exam is around the corner though, its not the only thing holding me, there is a little project I’m working on which i will tell you about later.

        I just need to give it my full attention.

        Thanks for asking :).

        1. Yes, I think most bloggers understood all that he was going through that time, though he’s back with a bang now 🙂

          No worries at all – I could make that out. So, wishing you the best for your exams and your projects as well. Do well! Thanks once again 🙂

  27. Hi Harleena,

    Very intelligent questions you put forward and very intelligently Ana answered it. I like the way you presented this post. Indeed the title “Queen of Traffic Generation” very aptly suit to Ana. she is no doubt a Queen of Traffic!!

    Wha!! AhaNow is going to present some new gifts to your readers!! 🙂 that is indeed a welcome note and step, this will surely boost your traffic 🙂 🙂 🙂 The general trend is that People want free gifts, and free gifts!!! oh you got it you present it that is lovely too,

    Your concluding question and Ana’s answer about your blog is indeed a surprising one!!! yes, we need such people to say things face to face not on an eye wash!! but of course i can’t fully agree with Ana, on this: “I don’t think anyone can teach you how to be happy.” but a kind of counselling, or some advise and moral support will surely make some changes in individual and that leads him or her to be better or happy person!! I think Harleena’s personal development blogs are playing such a role in this regard, that is what I understood.

    Ana’s faith in Jesus Christ is surely worth mention.As Ana said: “God is the glue that holds our marriage together. When things get rough, we know whom to go for help to.” That is indeed a great way to go forward!! Keep up the good work Ana,

    And here comes a BIG Thank you to Harleena for this thought provoking and intelligent interview with lovely snaps of Ana and fly. especially the cute little one’s, sad to note you or Ana did not mentioned her name anywhere of course her hus’s name is already there with her name LOL Hey, what is that cuty’s name? 🙂 God Bless this lovely family 🙂

    Keep Going!
    May you both have a wonderful and blessed weekend.
    Good Wishes
    Phil

    1. Hi Phil,

      Nice to know that you liked the chat this time with Ana, and yes, she is the Queen of Traffic Generation, isn’t she with those amazing stats? 🙂

      Well, I’ve been getting a lot of such requests where bloggers, writers, and many others are wanting their eBooks and other such things promoted. I just thought that it would be a nice way to give something special to my readers, those who subscribe of course as I cannot possible cannot write about it all here. Hope they like it.

      Yes, perhaps a little surprising but I respect and value her honest opinion. If not probloggers like her, who else will guide us, though as I mentioned, this was something on my mind too, but it was the feedback survey I had that made me carry on with a multi-niche blog, which I feel people like. At least my blog readers, who’s opinion I value a great deal – after all this blog is their’s more than mine 🙂 Not to mention that most of those who visit are repeat visitors with new ones joining in daily, so it’s working well so far, or perhaps they like the variety of topics on this blog.

      Happiness is actually a state of mind. We can be as happy we want to be, anytime, or vice-versa. Perhaps she meant that by those lines. We all eventually have to find our own share of happiness and Ana’s found hers I guess too 🙂

      I agree with you there – her faith in the Almighty is very strong, just as it should be, and she is a real giver in the real sense too.

      I enjoyed those pictures too and I’m glad Ana sent them all over so that I could share them with everyone. Her daughter is indeed cute, and her name is Emma if I’m not mistaken. I read about it in one of Ana’s blog posts I think.

      Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your kind words as well. Have a nice weekend 🙂

  28. Great interview, Harleena.

    Thank you for sharing Ana’s words here to inspire us bloggers. I’m impressed with her go get ’em attitude and make no excuses approach. I’m interested in her advice on G+. I haven’t quite figured that space out but I try to share lots of stuff there. Maybe I’m spending too much time on facebook, promoting my book page and sharing tips over there. The facebook exposure seems limited unless you pay. I have 275 book page followers but my status updates only get viewed by between 15-30. I was happy to hear her advice to blog less per week but make each one quality. That’s what I’ve been doing because I don’t think people can keep up with multiple posts, not to mention I would be over worked. LOL

    1. Hi Lisa,

      Yes indeed, Ana’s interview is for inspiring all of us 🙂

      I agree with you there, and that’s what makes her stand far apart from others, achieving success in all forms. Not everyone has that go-getter attitude, isn’t it?

      You must have a look at her G+ profile and the way she shares her posts there – each one is worded so well, and lots of variations are used where you have to bold or italicize the text – makes it all the more interesting to read.

      Yes, we often spend time on one of the social media networks and find it tough to cope with the rest. But G+ IS the place, and better as compared to Facebook I’d say. Things have taken a backseat on Facebook due to the recent changes, unless you pay, as you mentioned, and I think a lot of people are preferring G+ now, which is a much better platform presently. Give it a try – I’m sure you’d love it – just a matter of getting used to it.

      Overworked is the right word! I marvel at those who manage to post almost daily, though I wonder if they really provide real quality posts that people like to read and share. Also, they must be missing out on a lot of comments and interaction a blog should have, isn’t it?

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences with us 🙂

  29. Hi Harleena,

    I liked reading about Ana…her life is quite inspiring and the way she has answered your well crafted questions really bowled me over! I have never seen her blog, I must check it out right now.

    I have taken one tip, which I liked very much…quality posts are more important! I have been toying with the idea of adding more posts but when I look at some posts which have hardly anything to say…then I stick to my self made rule of posting less but concentrate on the idea and the words.

    One thing that surprises me is her disinterest in personal development blogs…it is good that one should try to find one’s happiness in his/her own way…I believe personality development is an important aspect and interaction with the world and different minded people have their own role.

    On the whole, this is a well conducted chat…another feather in your cap! Have a nice day!

    1. Hi Balroop,

      Glad you liked the interview, and yes, she’s certainly gone through a lot, and her hard work has paid. I’m sure you’d love visiting her blog and learning lots from there 🙂

      Absolutely! More so, she’s been through it all so it’s her voice of many years of experience that made her say that – nothing works best than giving quality to your readers. I too am pretty happy with the frequency of my posts presently, and if at all, I might reduce them further, but will never post more often. I wonder how people manage to do that, or perhaps they just post for updating their blog for the rank, and when you read the post, it’s got nothing much in it.

      I agree with you there about personal development, because that caters to a lot of areas of our lives. I guess she might not be having that kind of time to visit such blogs, and whatever little time one does have is gone writing, sharing, reading things that matter more perhaps 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words as well. Have a nice weekend 🙂

  30. Hi Harleena,

    Wow! What an incredible interview you’ve published! I’ve learnt so many things about SEO from Anna’s posts over the years and I tell you, I am amazed to learn things about her that I didn’t know from before.

    You really do a great job every time you bring an interview with a blogger celebrity! Great job!

    Speaking of what I liked the most, well, I love everything about this interview. Her habit of getting up at 5 AM is something I have been working on since last several months and I have been able to bring it down to 5:30 AM so far 🙂

    Then, her idea that when you start something, stay the course, is awesome and it’s the secret ingredient of success!

    Enjoyed being here and I appreciate you for doing this!

    Regards,
    Kumar

    1. Hi Kumar,

      Nice to know that you enjoyed the interview with Ana Hoffman 🙂

      I agree with you there, she’s got lots to learn from and her tips are always so useful. But I guess I wanted to share things about her that perhaps many don’t know or haven’t read earlier, to add a little more personal touch rather than the usual interview questions.

      Getting up early is the best thing you can do, not to mention the free time you have all to yourself to work in peace. I get up around 5.30 too and sleep late, just as Ana mentioned, though I sleep off for an hour in the afternoon to catch up. That’s the time the mind is so fresh, and without any interruptions, you can get so much written, isn’t it?

      Yes indeed, start something and complete it till it’s over – that’s the best thing to achieve success. With so many distractions, this one is a tough one, but if you remain focused, you can get a lot more done within a limited time period.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. Have a nice weekend 🙂

  31. Wonderful job for interviewing Ana Hoffman!!!

    Harleena, you should be on CNN or ABC and be a professional Reporter besides being a professional Writer. I think you are that one yourself – Jack of all trade, master of everything! How’s that for a change? 😀

    I didn’t know that Ana Hoffman was a model then. Being a model isn’t an easy job. But I’m glad she found enjoyment on blogging vs. Affiliate Marketing Consultant. Dealing with people isn’t easy. That’s prolly why majority of us prefers “passive income”. Even me, I prefer passive income myself but I haven’t made any money in that area. Yet.

    You know I’m almost at my 100th post this year. And been online now for a year, and yet I’m disappointed on my affiliate marketing because I haven’t even reach that first $100. However, I see other people took 3-4 years before they start making (passive income) money online, so I’ll give myself a break. The only tangible money I made so far are based from referrals via engagement online. And so, you can say, I prefer my referral traffic over organic search in an instant.

    One thing I can say to Ana Hoffman is, I’m glad to hear that you’re a Christian. I’ve been married now for 22-years and if it wasn’t because of God, I wouldn’t last this long. So, I thank God for everything. Talk about being religious and spiritual, I am more spiritual than following all kinda of methods as far as being closed to God is concerned. Being religious is different from being spiritual. And so, I don’t understand when you said you are neither religious or spiritual. Religious people are into methods, that’s why they have this religion called the Methodist. However, spirituality is far more BEYOND it is having a personal relationship with your Higher Power. So I’m confused when you said you’re not spiritual yet you believe in God, kinda controversial. Please enlighten my mind.

    Back to you, Harleena, thank you for sharing this wondeful interview with us. Oh by the way…

    May I ask you a request? I would like to see Lisa Irby being interviewed here sometime. She’s one of the greatest Authority & Influencer I admired the most, she’s been online since 1998. I know you’re busy but perhaps you can keep her in mind. Thank you in advance.

    Again, you’ve done a great job interviewing famous bloggers.

    Have a blessed weekend.

    xoxo
    Angela

    1. Hi Angela,

      Wow! That’s a lovely comment indeed, and I’m glad you liked the interview too 🙂

      Lol…CNN or BBC! OMG! I take that as a compliment, though I know I could’ve done much better, but I also think of the person being interviewed. Busy people don’t have much of time in hand to write long I guess, time is precious to them, so I kept the questions very limited.

      Oh yes..she was, something I learnt sometime back reading about her life on her blog itself. The way she’s risen to where she is now, her overall journey, is commendable.

      Don’t worry, we sail in the same boat about the income part. But I’m glad we have such probloggers to guide us as they are always teaching us something new, isn’t it?

      I am not into affiliate marketing, but I do know that more traffic and subscribers help in this regard, which would slowly build up. Yes, things take time, so give it another year or two, and in the meantime just concentrate on building your blog and writing posts that help your readers. I don’t know how Ana does it, I guess we need to ask her, her secrets 😉

      I’d leave the religious and spiritual part to Ana to answer, hoping she finds a little time away from her busy schedule to visit us. I agree with you about God and His presence in our lives – I wonder where I’d be too had He not been with me. I always remember that near-to-death accident I had 2 years back, though I am here with you all now, because there was a stronger force that pulled me right through. With a head injury and being unconscious for several hours, you know anything could have happened, but it didn’t – my purpose on this Earth wasn’t yet accomplished I guess, so here I am back to what I was, and it’s certainly all thanks to Him.

      I am noting down all your requests dear friend, and don’t worry – I’d soon be having all those wonderful bloggers on Aha!NOW, including Lisa. I am so glad you enjoyed the interview and could learn something new about Ana and her life.

      Thanks for stopping by and adding value to the post. Have a nice weekend 🙂

  32. Hey Ana and Harleena!!

    I really loved this interview with Ana! I stumbled upon Ana’s site a few months ago and absolutely love it. I enjoy reading her Marketing Skinnies and always find something that I can implement in a short amount of time.

    But, I appreciated this very personal look into Ana’s life! Her outlook on life is very inspiring. It’s great to get to know someone outside of their niche blog!! Thank you so much!

    1. Hi Jennifer,

      Glad to see you back after a long time and am happy that you liked the interview. I agree, Ana’s site as well as skinnies are resources of tremendous help.

      I always try to find the real face behind the mask of blogging in my interviews, and the discoveries are interesting. Ana is a great person and I too her perspectives on life and family.

      Thanks for taking time out to visit and comment. Do have a great weekend ahead! 🙂

  33. Hi Harleena and Ana,

    I’m amazed that Ana is a model as well as a blogger and has a young child. It amazes how much she does. I also find it amazing that she could take 4 months off and get right back into it and have her readers back following instantly. I know I read her informative posts every Saturday.
    Interesting that Ana found posting less frequently to work for her. I like how Ana explains what works for her might not work for us too. Blogging success comes from testing and analytical trial and error along the way.

    Ana really sets the bar for many of us. Great interview Harleena and nice to know more about you Ana!

    1. Hi Lisa,

      Well, I don’t think Ana undertakes modelling projects presently, but she did had a short stint as a model before she took up blogging. In spite of that, she does a lot, you can make out from the time and effort she puts in her skinnies, isn’t it?

      Yes, that’s really amazing how she could take up from where she left even after such a long time gap. She could’ve possibly maintained high traffic due to strong SEO in her absence from active blogging. And she also shows how important blogging relationships are.

      I’ve observed some people rising in Alexa rank at a fast pace with too frequent posts, but then they reach a saturation level as definitely the quality goes down. I’ve even seen people fall as fast as they had risen in terms of Alexa ranks. I guess it’s better to go slow and steady to win the race!

      I agree with you, we test ourselves and our blog strategies with trials and errors to see what works best for us. Some are lucky to find the best way early and get ahead. It’s good that Ana sets the bar so we’ve a visible target to achieve, isn’t it?

      I’m glad you like the interview. Thanks for visiting and do have a great weekend ahead! 🙂

  34. Hi Ana,

    Welcome to Aha!NOW and I’m so thrilled to have you as this month’s interviewee on my blog!

    You’re such an inspiration to all bloggers, new or old as well, like me. Your blogging journey, as well as life journey has been remarkable. With the kind of success you’ve had on your blog, you’re truly the queen, and I’m sure you’re going to outdo your performance this second time.

    I can feel the passion you’ve for your job, and blogging is really a second nature to you, isn’t it? You’re a great person, I know because it’s so easy to approach you, unlike other pro bloggers.

    I love your parenting tip and your devotion to God. Not only are you multi-talented, but you’re beautiful inside out. I like your views about life, akin to something that I too write about on my blog.

    However, I differ a bit from your views about teaching how to be happy. You’re right in a way that one can be happy only by self efforts, but if shown the right path, the journey becomes easier, isn’t it?

    I salute your spirit, courage, and wisdom that you carry with yourself. To me, and probably for many others, you’re an icon. Not just because you’re a top-notch pro blogger and popular, but for what you truly are.

    Thank you for sharing your blog promotion and internet marketing tips. Also, your suggestion for my blog is important, and though I’ve written my views in the post, I’m thinking on the lines of your suggestion.

    Thanks again and I wish you all the success in your endeavors and life. 🙂

    1. I am truly very touched by your words, Harleena; speechless would be another word right about now. 🙂

      It was my pleasure doing this interview for you; made me take a long look back on certain things, as well as think about what’s in store for me and my family.

      I think you’ve proven that plenty of people want to learn about making their lives fuller, richer (as in ‘enriched’), and happier – you’ve built an incredible reader based over the years; people who want to learn from you, share with you, and support you.

      Again, thanks for this opportunity to share my story with you and your readers. I look forward to seeing you around the blogosphere!

      1. Wonderful interview Harleena and Ana. thank you for sharing with all of us.
        I agree do what you love and help as many people as you can. The more we help others the more we learn ourselves.

        I have thought of taking a few months off to regroup and get a few things done around home that need to be done, but I’m not sure I could do it completely.

        Guess I’ll have to give that a little more thought. Thanks again ladies. I really appreciate your input and wisdom.
        Hugs to you both,
        Debbie

        1. Hi Debbie,

          Glad you liked the interview, and yes – if we can’t help others, I think we aren’t serving the purpose of being bloggers, isn’t it? Exactly! The more you help, the more you learn, and the more you give, the more you receive 🙂

          If things need to be done, taking a break to get it all done always helps, and don’t worry – everything remains just the same and comes back to where it was in no time. I’m sure Ana would vouch for that too, having gone through the same.

          Thanks for stopping by – we appreciate it a great deal 🙂

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