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9 Lessons From 4 Years of Blogging (Blogiversary Post)

Table of Contents Lessons Learned From 4 Years Of Blogging#1 Make Your Blog User-Centric#2 Switch To WordPress And…
Aha!NOW 4th Anniversary Poster About Lessons of Blogging
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Can you believe this is the 4th blogiversary that I am celebrating?

Yes, my blog turned 4 years old recently and I dedicate this feat to YOU!

Thank you for your love and support, and for making Aha!NOW what it is today. 🙂

What started as a hobby has become a habit, which I have now taken as my career.

In this post, I am going to reveal nine things I did and lessons I learned to survive this long haul of blogging.

These made my blog interesting. It made blogging easier and kept the blog readers happy.

Though my blog has made it to the milestone of “four years”, I feel happier that I was able to make it “for you” this year. Read on to know more about it.

This post is about your contributions, rather than my celebrations. It is about your care, support, and the community.

Life is a carnival that is full of fun and joy, ups and downs, shocks and surprises, meetings and partings.

So is blogging.

Today, I want to share my views with you about blogging, Aha!NOW, and life. It is my blogging story that has some lessons and tips for you.

You can never regret anything you do in life. You kind of have to learn the lesson from whatever the experience is and take it with you on your journey forward. ~ Aubrey O’Day

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Lessons Learned From 4 Years Of Blogging

If you also plan to keep blogging for as long as I have, then I guess you will be interested in knowing how my blog evolved.

Those who are associated with Aha!NOW for a long time, already know the story. However, for many who are either new to Aha!NOW or blogging, this may be a new learning experience.

As I talk about how Aha!NOW evolved, at the end I will be highlighting my tips and the things I did that directly or indirectly helped me to keep blogging, successfully.

To start with, Aha!NOW had a humble beginning as a family blog. The first categories I included in the blog were family, parenting, and relationship.

Very soon, I also included love and health niches as I started getting a positive response from my readers.

Later with time, I added about a dozen more categories. But all of this was very gradual, once I knew my audience liked what I shared.

In the future too, I might be adding more niches like the food and travel, etc.

I know some of you would love to have them on Aha!NOW, wouldn’t you?

#1 Make Your Blog User-Centric

Write what users want to read. I started the various categories based on what the readers directly or indirectly expressed their interest in. So, always write for your readers, not only for yourself. Of course, you need to be knowledgeable and experienced about what you write, if not an expert.

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I had no idea whether to start or not with a multi-niche blog, when I started blogging. In fact, I was clueless about blogging.

My first post was on 25th December, 2010. Though I lost that first post somehow, you can check the earliest Aha!NOW posts in the Archives.

It was by October, 2011 that I realized WordPress was better for blogging, so I migrated to it from the Blogger platform.

That time, I used the Genesis Framework. It was then that I also started using CommentLuv Premium. It is all mentioned in this post.

I would recommend CommentLuv Premium, especially for new blogs as it brings in a lot of comments, and you get to meet many bloggers too.

Are you also using WordPress and the CommentLuv plugin?

#2 Switch To WordPress And Use CommentLuv

Self-hosted WordPress gives you more flexibility and freedom; I realized that when I switched from the free Blogger platform to WordPress. I used CommentLuv Premium for 3 years, and it was only recently that I stopped using it as I do not need it anymore.

I lost some blog comments due to the transition from Blogger to WordPress, but still there were hardly many comments on the posts during the initial phase of blogging.

I was not consistent in blogging and was busy with my writing assignments.

Due to this reason, in the first half of 2011, I only posted once or twice a month, or even skipped some months altogether.

It was by August, 2011 that I became serious about blogging and for the first time broke the 20-comments-in-a-post barrier, starting with this relationship post.

How many comments do you get on average in a blog post?

#3 Blog Consistently And Responsibly

Follow a blogging schedule, and be regular. I started to blog consistently – once a week as I had two blogs to manage then, and later increased to twice a week posts, concentrating only on this blog. By being regular in publishing posts, it is like publicly expressing your intention to continue blogging. Also, I took breaks only with prior intimation.

My first blogiversary post was more of a wish list and resolution post than an anniversary post. You can read it here.

The year 2012 was a wonderful year for me as a blogger.

I called Aha!NOW as an SELFhelp blog, where SELF stood for Self-Development and Enrichment of Life and Family.

I created many posts that were appreciated and culminated the year with this second anniversary post.

In 2013, I started the Top Bloggers for Aha!NOW awards for men and women. Some of the posts that went viral then, still bring regular traffic!

Aha!NOW also received many small and big awards, several mentions and honors in all these years, for which I remain ever so grateful. You can read them here.

Do you also celebrate your blog, bloggers, and visitors in your blog posts?

#4 Create Anniversary and Award Posts

Bond and bring bloggers to your blog. Anniversary and award posts also help you thank your readers and well-wishers. You gain recognition and respect that will motivate you to keep blogging. Of course, the list posts are a good option too, but not every post should be a mention, expert roundup, or list post.

In 2013, I started the “Blogging” category on Aha!NOW. This was again, added on popular demand as surfaced in the first blog survey that was conducted in the 3rd blog anniversary post.

Also, in January 2013, I changed the WordPress theme of Aha!NOW to the present ThemeForest theme.

That’s because I wanted a new magazine kind of look and a responsive theme for my blog.

Blogging Report of Aha!NOW in 2014

My first post of 2014 was about creating a life plan. This is when I seriously sat down and planned for Aha!NOW.

Did you make any blogging plan for your blog?

Not to mention that, Aha!NOW was included in the Top 10 Personal Development blogs of the world of 2014.

It was the biggest public recognition that Aha!NOW got, and till date that award post brings daily traffic to the blog.

In the first half of 2014, I interviewed some probloggers and entrepreneurs, and invited few regular visitors to do a guest post on Aha!NOW. You can see all of them below. 🙂

The interviewee and guest blogger of Aha!NOW photos  2014

How many probloggers have you interviewed?

#5 Have Guest Posts And Interviews

Invite and introduce other bloggers, probloggers, and successful personalities to your blog. It earns your blog reputation and popularity. Besides, your readers gain so much from others. Once you and your blog become renowned, you will want to continue blogging.

I took a one-month Summer Break in June 2014 and returned in July with a new addition to Aha!NOW – the Aha!NOW Blog Community (ABC).

Meanwhile, Vinay, my better half, joined hands with me and wrote his first post on Aha!NOW on Father’s Day, titled “The Best Gift You Can Give Your Dad On Father’s Day.”

The year 2014 has been good for me.

The biggest achievement is the birth of the ABC – the Aha!NOW Blog Community. This is what I meant by making the blog “for you”, when I mentioned it at the beginning of this post.

Now, Aha!NOW is not only my blog, but even YOU can contribute to it as a member of the ABC.

That’s the specialty of a community – it makes your blog go dynamic!

How much engagement and interaction do you have on your blog?

#6 Be Creative And Innovative. Create a Community

Develop relationships via blog commenting, social media promotions and guest posting. Cement these relationships by caring for them and creating your clan. I developed a community and later gave it a structure in the form of the ABC. Blogging became more interesting than before.

Let me share a little about the community at my blog. 🙂

The ABC is the activity and forum-based membership community of Aha!NOW. It was started in July 2014 and has now become the heart of Aha!NOW.

“The beauty and specialty of the ABC is its quality interaction and real engagement.”

It is the heart of Aha!NOW that keep beating, working, and living 24×7. It is full of gems from all over the world and people from all walks of life.

You can experience the ABC for FREE by registering for it here.

If you need to know more about the ABC from the existing members themselves, you can read their voluntary testimonials here.

The members of the ABC are called Ahaians, and they actively participate in the community activities without any boundaries of country, community, color, or creed.

I started the GEMS of Aha!NOW series from October 2014, where I honor the most gregarious and engaging members of the community, and reward them.

I also had my first big giveaway of the Ergotron Sit-Stand Workstation worth up to $600. Ahaian Ravi Chahar was lucky to win it.

Do you also have giveaways on your blog?

#7 Give Incentives And Motivate Your Blog Readers

Celebrate your visitors by rewarding them. This may not be always in the form of big or costly giveaways. Even mentions are powerful and a good way of expressing your gratefulness. Make your blog readers feel valuable, and I am sure they would love to visit your blog again and again.

If you want to build your community, then joining the ABC will help you a lot.

You’ll be able to make new contacts, friends, forge relationships, collaborate, and also promote your posts!

To keep blogging, you will also need to make your blog worthy.

Make your blog a place that shares useful information, meaningful content and consists of a helpful community.

Besides, you also need to make it prestigious enough for others to want to contribute to it.

I had a rafflecopter giveaway of guest posts on Aha!NOW. You can see below a few lucky ones who got to guest post through a lucky draw, while the rest earned it through their efforts and skills.

The guest bloggers at the ABC

Aha!NOW is a blog where only the community members are allowed to guest post.

The ones who are the toppers of the community leaderboard, win the prestigious guest post opportunitiy by earning the maximum AhaPoints.

What do you do to motivate your blog readers?

#8 Create A Value Proposition Of Your Blog And Its Activities

When you successfully blog for a long time, you can invite selective people on it and create a value around that invitation. Give a royal treatment to your guests and make them feel good and happy. Promote and help them. Be a giver, in all ways. Simply go ALL out – don’t stop yourself, for it is in giving that you receive. 🙂

In 2014, I started with giveaway and paid reviews.

The first giveaway was that of the Ergotron Sit-Stand Workstation, and the other was the Grammarly review.

Aha!NOW is open to paid reviews, sponsored posts, and paid posts now. The first paid post on Aha!NOW was on happiness.

[I am offering 50% discount on all advertising on Aha!NOW till New Year’s Eve.]

If you are into a long haul of blogging, then remember that blogging will take most of your time.

Since time is money, I realized a bit late that I have to monetize my blog in order to survive while blogging.

That is because I’ve slowly become more of a blogger than a writer, as I was earlier.

Therefore I had to sacrifice my revenue through writing, which had to be earned back through the blogging activities.

How do you earn from your blog?

#9 Make Your Blog A Source Of Your Earning

Have advertisement slots for Ad banners on the blog, if you are not solely into affiliate marketing. Reviews and sponsored posts are good too. You need to get creative and devise new earning sources or ways on or through the blog if you want to keep blogging for many years. You can even create your own product whether it is an eBook, a course, a program, a plugin or anything that helps others.

Talking of reviews and sponsored posts, I want you to know that I rejected many attractive offers because they did not go with my ethics and the ethos of the blog.

It’s not only about money. You need to first think about your readers and reputation.

There you have it, my journey into blogging so far! I hope you liked and learned from my blogging experiences, though there is a lot more you can add to this list.

I wish you take the tips and implement them on your own blog as and what suits you.

“Knowledge without application is simply knowledge. Applying the knowledge to one’s life is wisdom — and that is the ultimate virtue” ~ Kasi Kaye Iliopoulos

The ABC As A Platform

The ABC has been the most rewarding experience for me in my 4 years of blogging.

Aha!NOW has grown from being a blog into a platform, thanks to the ABC and its wonderful members.

Presently, you can use this platform to do three things:

Make Friends, Discuss Topics, and Promote Your Blog. It is all FREE!

I define the ABC as a blog community because it is more than merely a blogging community that is used to promote your blog posts.

The ABC is a place where bloggers and non-bloggers meet, become friends, and discuss topics related to various aspects of life, including that of blogging.

It also has discussion groups, where like-minded people can discuss issues related to their interest.

As of now, we have three groups on the ABC managed by the Ahaians:

Family Life Network – Group Admin Ahaian Yvonne I. Wilson of EmpowermentMomentsBlog, Moderated by Vernon Layne of StartsAndEndsWithYou.

Tech Tricks – Group Admin Ahaian Rohan Chaubey of RohanChaubey.

Be An Inspiration – Group Admin Ahaian Ikechi Awazie of AwazieIkechi.

In the New Year, you will see more groups from experts and famous personalities.

We are going to start a few new features on the ABC that will enhance its ability to act as a platform for all bloggers and non-bloggers for their activities of interest.

The Special Christmas Giveaways

As announced earlier, here are the winners of the Grammarly Review post’s best commenter and the ABC giveaways in this Christmas-cum-blogiversary post.

The lucky commenter who wins the one-month premium subscription of Grammarly worth $30 is Brenda Lee from United States.

Photo of Ahaian Brenda Lee

Congratulations Brenda and I wish you make the best use of your Christmas gift from Aha!NOW and Grammarly, and have a great New year.

The Ahaian who topped the leaderboard in this month of December is Abrar Mohi Shafee from Bangladesh.

Photo of Ahaian Abrar Mohi Shafee

Congratulations Abrar, you have won the one-year premium subscription of Grammarly worth $140 from the ABC and Grammarly.

I wish you have a great year ahead and go on to win the guest post next month in the New Year!

The Mega award for the Ahaian who has scored the most AhaPoints overall, to date, is Yvonne I. Wilson from British Virgin Islands.

Even though Yvonne was not able to be regular this month due to her professional engagements,  we recognize and appreciate her efforts in the past 4 months on the ABC. Moreover, she still tops the leaderboard!

Photo of Ahaian Yvonne Wilson

Congratulations Yvonne for winning the $140 one-year Grammarly premium subscription from the ABC and Grammarly.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Look forward to having you back on the ABC in January 2015. 🙂

The ABC Santa has one more gift left in his magic bag!

It is a guest post for Nathaniel Kidd of United States for being the runners-up on the community leaderboard. His interaction and comments on the ABC have been so impressive!

Photo of Ahaian Nathaniel Kidd

Congratulations Nathaniel, we look forward to a guest post from you in January 2015!

I also congratulate this month’s ABC gems – Larry Frank, Sivaramakrishnan, and Navneet Teotia. More about them in the next GEMS post in January 2015.

Happy Holidays

Dear readers, this is the last post of this year at Aha!NOW. The next post will be on January 12, 2015.

We expect to start “Season 5” at Aha!NOW with a bang, but you all are free to visit the ABC even during this winter break.

Yes, the ABC will be open and active – there are no holidays for the Ahaians! They can have fun round the year. 😉

Since I will also be active on the ABC and will work along with Vinay at the backend making changes and improvisations, I might not be able to visit your blogs and be as active on the social media.

Please excuse me for that because I need to spend time doing up the blog and ABC, and that takes time! I’d be back again, with more surprises for all of you.

So, though I’d be home and taking a little break to be with my kids and family – I will be working alongside too.

Thus, if you want to be a part of the engagements and interactions at the ABC in the winter holidays, register yourself here.

And a special note for all the ABC members – during this last week of the year, there will be no reward points for the community activities.

However, the activities will be as usual and  you can communicate, share your posts, and be with each other as always.

But No points, No leaderboard, till 1st Jan., when the new leaderboard starts again. Till then, just enjoy the fun! 🙂

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Over To You –

What lessons do you take home from my 4 years of blogging experiences? Have you made any plans or strategies for long-term blogging? If you’ve been successfully blogging for many years, then what are your blogging lessons or secrets? Share in the comments.

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos

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  1. Such an excellent Post as always and you have a great post and i like it Thank you for sharing.

  2. Nice One Harleena!

    Congratulations on the blogiversary. You would’ve celebrated even the 5th blogiversary. One thing you are using great to promote your blog is you share your old posts. And this one is an example as i came here from your twitter profile where you recently shared it. Most of the time we write great posts but never share them once we share them the first time. I had a good experience from this now.

    Cheers,
    Waleed Khan

  3. Hello
    Thanks for your this great article. I was just checking your Facebook Page and got your this article. Really Good one indeed. By reading your this article just learn the points to many thing for my blog. I am going to open my new brand blog. I will lunch soon. I will follow your these tips for my brand blog.

    Happy Blogging. Have a Good Week End

  4. Harleena – great article.

    You mentioned that you had been using Comment Luv Premium for years. I wonder if you see drop in return traffics once you stop using it. What’s the biggest benefit, if you don’t mind sharing, you see in the paid version (beside getting more comments)?

    Cheers, Jerry Low

    1. Welcome to the blog Jerry – good to have you over 🙂

      Glad you liked the post!

      To answer your question, I did not see any drop in site traffic and the number of comments on the blog posts after I stopped using CommentLuv Premium. Now, there can be various reasons for that, primarily that I had already established myself and my blog before I stopped using it.

      I’ve never used the free version of CommentLuv and had straightaway got on to the premium version. I did get more options of promoting my other posts on the blogs where I commented, beside the latest one, thanks to the paid version- besides a few more plugins as part of the premium pack on my blog. The “Reply Me” and “GASP” addons were really helpful.

      I hope this helps. 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views 🙂

  5. Hello Harleena, Thanks for share the story with us . Really You made the best Bloggers community i have ever seen. And I am totally agree with your all points that you mention. Specially “#6 Be Creative And Innovative. Create a Community” this one. In Our Country Bangladesh, there don’t have any blogger community and that’s why we can not meet with our bloggers. But i am thinking to build up a Blogger Community for our Bangladesh bloggers. But i know it will hard for me. But i would like to accept challenge. Believe me by reading your this article i get motive myself and From Today I will do the hardest work to build up community for our local area. There a lot’s of Bloggers in our Country and be honest we don’t know, we can not find each other caz, there don’t have a single community.

  6. I read the full post and its interesting to read the success story of any blogger. And no one can write the post like this. Way to write the post is so unique and it engages the user till the last word.

  7. I don’t think that one can write like this post. It is detailed and in-depth and one can use ideas and implement in their blogs if want to succeed like Aha-now.com

    I have share this post with my friends to read and understand the basics of blogging. I did this because I am not so good in English writing. But still I am a blogger and trying something new with my blog as per my blogging experience or technical knowledge of how tos while blogging.

    Thanks Harleena for sharing such a lovely and inspiring post.

    Mohinder Paul
    BloggingFunda – A Community of Bloggers

  8. Building relationships I have found to be the MOST IMPORTANT thing if you want to be successful at blogging!! Some of my best friends I have met through blogging!

  9. Hi Harleena,

    Such a wonderful post. Four years of a successful blogging career is worth celebrating. By the way am having problems signing up for the ahanow community. I signed up few months ago but i guess my account was deactivated or something, am trying to sign up again but am having issues with the captcha.

  10. I would like to thank you for giving us a motivational tips on how not to quit blogging. Your post is very useful. Congratulations and happy blogging 4th anniversary.

  11. Hi Harleena Mam,

    Glad to read this article, you covered valuable points or I say lessons here. I must say these lessons are very informative and valuable to newbies and understand what are the basics of become a successful blogger.

    Thanks for sharing 🙂

  12. After reading this post my confidence level has increased to work on my website.

  13. Great post Harleena

    I am also blogging from last 6 years but change my idea every 1 or 2 year because no one comes to read my blogs. But now i come to know what i have to do after reading your post.

    Thanks

  14. Hi Mam,
    I forgot to read this post actually.
    Spellbound post as always and happy birthday Aha-Now.
    You gave some valuable tips.
    Yeah, Mam a blog should be user centric. I am working hard to make my blog also user centric.
    WordPress is the best blogging platform so far, due to additional features and controls it offers (pardon me myblogspot friends).
    Thank you so much for pointing out the error of commentluv on my blog Mam. I reinstalled it.
    Everyone loves backlink. So commentluv is a great addition to our blog as it offers a link to their latest article.
    I am suffering with consistency Mam. I have a very slow internet connection. Most of the times it is not sufficient for loading visual editor. So I can’t post. Will get one speedy connection soon.
    I personally love anniversary post Mam. Surely there are many people like me. Hence anniversary post go viral.
    As my blog is a brand new one, I neither posted anniversary posts nor invited anyone to guest post. But will do all that in near future. Thinking of conducting my first interview in the first week of February.
    Happy to say Mam, my latest post broke the 20 comments barrier. It got adound 26 comments all because of you Mam.
    ABC is an awesome platform. It is more than just a blogging community but it is a social network. Thank you so much Harleena Mam and Vinay sir.
    I didn’t start monetizing my blog. I want more exposure Mam. Will think about it after getting it.
    Thank you so much for this awesome post.
    Regards,
    Rahul

  15. Hi Harleena,
    First of all congrats for this 4th blogiversary and for your success 😛
    It was superb experience while exploring your blog for any kind of stuff. Thanks for this wonderful blog.

    1. Welcome to the blog Pranay! 🙂

      Thanks for your kind wishes and I am glad you liked the blog and all that’s shared here. 🙂

      Hope to see more of you around as well. Thanks for your visit.

      BTW – Do add your Gravatar or profile image so that we can see who we are talking to! Just a friendly suggestion- as I do see your picture used on your blog and Facebook too, so use that! 🙂

      1. Thanks Harleena, I added the image. Actually while commenting I added different email ID that was auto filled, now added gravatar on this too 😛

  16. Congrats Harleena,

    You have sure been busy!

    Congrats on all your success and future success!

    You are an inspiration for sure.

    I hope the beginning of 2015 has started out fantastic!

    Ill be in touch!

    Steve

    1. Hi Steven,

      Thanks so much, and yes, busy as always 🙂

      I appreciate your kind feedback and visit as well. Yes indeed, we’d be in touch, and wishing you every success and happiness in this year as well.

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  17. Harleena,

    I have reached late here but my all the good wishes are with AHA-NOW team. I wish it grows more in this year.

    I loved the way you crafted this post while sharing what you have learnt over these 4 years.

    Keep it up.

    1. Hi Atish,

      You are always welcome, anytime – never late! I am late in replying to you too…lol… 🙂

      Yes, I tried sharing all that I learnt in this post, though there is lots more than meets the eye. I guess I just shared a little with the hope to help others.

      Thanks for your kind wishes, and wishing you every success and happiness in this year too 🙂

  18. Hi Harleena,

    And congratulations on your “Blogiversary.” I think the most important thing I take from this post is that if you keep at something, it will work for you. I’ve often wondered about a multi-niche blog but until now (visiting your blog), I don’t think I’ve seen one that has been successful.

    Congratulations again and many more great years to come.

    1. Hi Monna,

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes 🙂

      Absolutely! You DO need to be consistent, at anything you try, and eventually it works for you. This wasn’t really a multi-niche post when I started it, but as I kept blogging and getting my readers feedback, I kept adding more niches, though very gradually, after tapping my readers demands, and it worked.

      Thanks once again, and wishing you every success and happiness in this year as well 🙂

  19. Hi,
    It me Blessed the guy from howbacklink.com that asked the question on link building. congratulation on the 4th anniversary of aha – now.

    To be sincere, your blog has been a source of inspiration to me.
    Once again congrats

    1. Hi Blessed,

      I love your name, and yes, I’ve been to your blog 🙂

      Good to know that my blog inspires you in some way. Thanks so much for your kind wishes as well 🙂

  20. Hi Harleena,

    Well, as I told you, I had already commented on this post, but apparently something happened and after I clicked on post comment, I’ve got a blank screen and never knew if it went through or not.

    You’ve certainly did a lot with your blog since you’ve started, so this anniversary is well deserved.

    I know some people with have great looking blog, but are still using platforms such as Blogger, and that always surprises me. I think that it’s a must that we use professional platforms such as WordPress.org.

    Posting regularly is a must if we want to be taken seriously and want our reader number to grow.

    I’ve never used rewards yet, but in time that might be something I want to integrate.

    Congratulations on your blog anniversary, even a bit late.

    1. Hi Sylviane,

      Sorry about that, and this happens sometimes with many of us. So, I usually copy the comment before pressing the publish or reply button. I guess if it doesn’t get through the first time, I have it copied to paste it again 🙂

      I agree that WordPress is any day more professional. However. I think the blogging platform is a personal choice, and yes, some great bloggers still prefer Blogger’s, while there are some who are on WordPress, but their niche blogs are all on Blogger’s as they are earning from those.

      Absolutely! Nothing works better than being consistent with your posts, which even Google likes.

      Rewards are just a way of giving back to the readers and those who give to you I guess. I got a lot many when I was on Blogger’s, which gave me this idea.

      Thanks for your kind wishes, and you are never late! Lol…see how late I am with my comment, but glad I made it. Happy weekend 🙂

  21. So different facts are there to get the informations about. Just a perfect article with lots of varieties. Thank u for the share.

    1. Hi Shreya,

      Glad you liked this post and all the blogging lessons shared within it too. Yes, all different facts, with the purpose of helping others.

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

      BTW – Do add your Gravatar or profile picture, so that we all can see who we are talking to! Just a friendly suggestion 🙂

  22. Hello Harleena,

    Congratulation for your success. Your blogging journey is an inspirational guide. I have joined Aha!Now from last month and I am a big fan of this blog. I often follow your blog and get useful information. From this post I have got to know how you work for your blog. I have got an idea to work for my blog. Thanks for sharing your 4 years blogging journey.

    Thanks & Regards,

    Moumita Ghosh

    1. Hi Moumita,

      Thanks so much for your wishes, and I am glad my blogging journey could inspire you in some way 🙂

      Yes indeed, I am glad you joined, and I encourage you to come over and share your posts in the ABC and see the interactions and friendships that develop from this platform.

      It makes me happy if you could take away something from this post and my blogging experiences, serves the purpose of writing it!

      Thanks for stopping by, and wishing you every success and happiness in this year as well 🙂

  23. Hi Harleena,

    *Celebrations* 😉

    Congratulations on your 4th blogiversary and that’s been a one long journey, eh? 🙂 Wow… I remember it’s like a few weeks back that you had your 3rd anniversary. Isn’t it? Your story is very inspiring as you put all those years together and I’m sure it keeps getting better when you join your hands with your soul mate 🙂

    I’m glad you took your time on featuring your awesome readers and their contributions as well dear. That’s very kind of you, as always 🙂 Congratulations to all of ’em who made the list here and for their accomplishments. Plus, I believe many bloggers will find this post is enriched with wonderful blogging advises for whom wanna reach the heights as you did 🙂 Bravo!

    I couldn’t believe all this happened in last year. Your blog has grown and progressed so much and I wish you all the best for the upcoming Season 5, Harleena 🙂 No matter what, you kindness always nourish your blog and the hearts of its readers.

    Have an awesome 2015, and may all your dreams come true in this year! 🙂

    Cheers…

    1. Hi Mayura,

      Thank you for your kind wishes, and so good to have you back into the blogosphere too 🙂

      Lol…yes indeed, time passes so quickly, doesn’t it? You are right, now with my better half joining hands, we hope to take this blog to another level, to make it more worth the while. However, there is LOTS still to be done, and we are always working behind the scenes to do it all up.

      You know we always love to give back to our readers and well wishers, and this is just a small way to honor the ABC active members who keep the blog going, and others too. Ah…just a few tips I learned along the way, though it can’t be all summed up in a single post you know.

      I just have people to thank, and of course the ABC and the very active forum there, which has helped this blog to grow and reach greater heights.

      Thanks once again for your heartfelt comment, and wishing you every success in this year as well 🙂

  24. Hi Harleena,

    Happy New Year. Definitely, congrats are in order for your 4 year anniversary. Very awesome!

    I have to say that I like the ‘blog consistently.’ I’ve written about this at various times but it is one I think is paramount and one that is particularly hard for me to keep up with. Working on it because I know that is the key to success.

    Numbers 8 and 9 are what I am working on now. I mean really working on it as I knew it, just didn’t know how to implement.

    Great post for the end of the year to help people like me who is making a changes to have a successful blog.

    Hope all is well and talk to you soon.

    Barbara

    1. Hi Barbara,

      Belated Happy New Year to you as well, and thanks for your kind wishes 🙂

      Yes indeed, it’s not easy to blog consistently, especially if you have your own businesses or other work to take care of as well. Ask me! It can become tough for me as well at times, especially with clients, this blog, and then the family/kids/home front to manage – not to mention the ABC too now!! But you give yourself that push, and move out of your comfort zone and just get down to it! I know you’ve started this year with a bang, as I am seeing you blog regularly now- so anytime is a good time to start I would say 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views with us. I know this is going to be an awesome year for all of us, so let’s keep giving! Happy weekend as well 🙂

  25. Hey Harleena,

    Merry Belated Christmas and Happy Belated New Year! Also Congratulations on your 4 year anniversary of your blog!

    I do have to say that I’m proud to have witness part of your journey and growth since 2013. Yes you made a couple of changes, but for the better. You definitely was an inspiration to me.

    Speaking of inspiration, I have to say I like the #7 on incentives and motivation. I haven’t given any incentives out, but I believe I have motivated a lot of people. How? By talking about my mistakes and showing how I fixed them. Some of my readers have, or are making some of those same mistakes and possibly have lot motivation. Then I give them the solution that work for me, and like the name of your blog, they get that “Aha” moment!

    But i like to give incentives. This will definitely motivate them to write and open them up to receive more traffic through my blog. It’s all a part of the law of reciprocity, but I do focus on everyone’s success. I know how hard it can be to keep pushing forward when you’re face with a lot of obstacles!

    Thanks for sharing with us what you learned through your journey! I hope you had a great New Years! Take Care!

    1. Hi Sherman,

      Belated seasons greetings to you and yours too, and thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      I appreciate you too, and it’s been a pleasure knowing and learning from you as well. I guess that’s what keeps us all going in the blogosphere, isn’t it?

      Your posts are wonderful as you write them based on your experiences, and people connect best to them that ways. They learn through them in a better way as they can relate. Lol…yes, the ‘Aha-moment’ 🙂

      Yes indeed, when you inspire and motivate others, you yourself are inspired and learn to overcome the obstacles of life. Blogging should always be more about giving back to others I’ve felt, just as we are trying to do through the ABC and forum now, which does take a lot of my time though, but still all worth it if it can help others.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. Have a lovely year as well 🙂

  26. Hi Harleena,

    Congratulations on your 4-years anniversary! Reading along how you evolved from when you first started was motivating. I know it takes time but with perseverance it can be done and you have proven that! But was I do like was how you gradually took on other niches.

    I still don’t get anywhere near the comments you do but I did some evaluating and my goal is to increase the number of comments I get which means I need to commit to leaving more comments myself and your next bullet about consistency goes hand in hand. 🙂

    It never occured to me to do an anniversary post. I’ve put it down on my calendar to do one. I actually had to think about that for a moment. Sad, right? This year will make four years too counting my time with Work from Home Concepts. Wow!

    This year I’m kicking off a new series that includes a monthly interview with a special guest and I was so excited to land my first interview. I can’t wait to share it with you all!

    Yes your community is definitley one of a kind Harleena. It takes a special person to be an Ahaian :).

    Congratulations on all your successes Harleena and thank you for sharing these 9 tips with us! You are definitely someone I have learned from along my blogging journey and I’m so thankful we connected and became friends :).

    Wishing you and your family a prosperous 2015!

    Sorry for my late reply. I’m just getting back to my normal routine after having been off for the holidays :).

    Cori

    1. Hi Corina,

      Thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      Glad this post could motivate you, and yes, blogging is a process that takes time. It’s like a journey that one needs to enjoy, taking baby steps I would say.

      Yes, I added those niches slowly, once I knew my readers were ready to accept them, thanks to the one survey I’d conducted. That made me add the ‘Blogging’ and ‘ Writing’ categories, besides the few others, and I might add some more in the coming future.

      Ah…the comments are never ending and sometime become too much for me to handle, especially now with the ABC and very active forum here that also needs full attention now, it takes me time, just as you can see the late replies on this post…lol…

      Yes, reciprocation is what works in the blogosphere mainly. You comment, and the others do the same when they visit your blog, at least in most of the cases. I guess what’s worked for this blog is the various niches, and thus the readers who are from a whole lot of niches too. I rarely get time to make my return visits to ALL of their blogs. Just do that as and when I get time now 🙂

      Wow! Is it four years for your blog too? That would be wonderful, and I am sure you’d celebrate your blogiversary hereon! Always good to keep adding new things to your blog, and I love your super-consistent blog posts, nearly everyday! Just don’t know how you manage to put them all up daily 🙂

      Aww…I appreciate your kind words, and it’s a free place for anyone to join in and get more comments and traffic to their blogs, besides make new friends, and learn from each other, having fun! You know we always wanted such a free platform for people, one way to help them, and glad it’s taking shape gradually now, though lots to be done on it as yet.

      I am fortunate to have connected with you too, my dear friend, and I know the coming years are going to be good for all of us.

      Don’t worry about the delay, you are welcome anytime…lol…see my late reply to yours!

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a heartfelt comment, and enjoy your weekend as well 🙂

  27. Thank you very much harleena for this share it is really motivating reading this post and. The comment’s.. Happy new year

    1. Welcome to the blog Ebubejude! 🙂

      Glad you liked this post and found it motivating as well. Wishing you a very Happy New Year too!

      Thanks for stopping by. It would be nice if you add your Gravatar or profile picture, so that we can all see you – just a friendly suggestion! 🙂

  28. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I’ve just launched my newest blog this morning and, although I previously blogged regularly for about five years, there are always new things to learn! Specifically, I’ve never tried the CommentLuv plugin, so I’ll go check that out. 🙂

    1. Welcome to the blog Mark! 🙂

      You are most welcome, and congratulations on your new blog too, which I just visited and left you a comment on your latest post.

      Yes indeed, there is always something new to learn in the blogosphere, and good to know you’ve been blogging for five long years, which is wonderful indeed!

      I didn’t see CommentLuv installed on your blog as yet, though that isn’t necessary also, but it does bring in a few comments. Or else, you could join the ABC at our blog, which is another platform that would bring you visitors. 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  29. Hi Harleena,
    Here comes a bit belated Greetings in this happy occasion!
    A BIG CONGRATS to you for successfully completing 4 years of adventure! 🙂
    Adventure, yes I said, it’s indeed an adventurous journey!
    You presented the 4 years journey in nutshell. So many activities, so many participants and so many relationships! What a Wonderful Journey it is!
    Many Giveaways and applauds in this journey you passed on to many followers here. I appreciate you and Vinay for the latest addition The ABC in this list. I Wish All the members and followers a great time here.
    Keep up the good work Harleena and Vinay.
    Keep inform.
    ~ Philip

    1. Hi Philip,

      No worries at all – here comes an even later reply to your kind wishes…lol… 🙂

      Thanks so much, and yes, it’s been 4 long years and still going strong, which is all due to wonderful friend’s like you and so many others.

      These are just my little blogging tips, though there are so many more that one cannot possible fit into one post. I guess anything one experiences and shares with others, might help them in more ways than one.

      Yes indeed, the addition of the ABC is the best thing that could have happened to this blog, though there is a lot still that needs to be done in this regard and we are working at it all the time!

      Thanks for stopping by and your kind wishes, once again 🙂

  30. Hey Harleena,

    Hope you had a great holidays and I wish you all the best in the New Year.

    Amazing that it’s four years for you and your awesome blog. You certainly have a lot of amazing things and lessons to share with many of us that you’ve learned along the way.

    The one I really like is the one about motivating readers and those in your community. This is something I’ve yet to do but it;s something that’s truly important to me. I know how much doing things to motivate and inspire and involve those in your community can help you so that’s really a great takeaway.

    Congrats on your 4 years, Harleena. May your blog be about for 44 more.

    Have a great rest of your time off.

    – Andrew

    1. Hi Andrew,

      Thank you for your kind wishes, and yes, though we were on holiday, we were working behind the scene at the ABC and the blog. But managed to get a few days off too 🙂

      Yes indeed, it doesn’t seem that long – but it has been four long years coming to think of it now. I just shared a few things from the many I have learned, with the hope to help others who are on a similar journey, though each one of us have to experience it ourselves. I guess a little help is always welcome.

      Inspiring your readers and those in your community is very important I feel as it keeps them going, and is a way to give back to those who are with you or have been with you for long. I know it works wonders at the ABC too, as you already might have seen, being a part of it now.

      Thanks for stopping by…lol…44 more! Oh my…appreciate the number for sure! Have a nice weekend 🙂

  31. A very informative post that gives awesome tips about the blogging journey. Wish you a belated Happy New Year.

    1. Welcome to the blog Fayaz! 🙂

      Glad you liked the post and the tips shared, which are just my views about my blogging journey, with an aim to help others.

      Thanks for stopping by, and wish you a good year ahead as well 🙂

    1. Hi Moses,

      You are most welcome, and I am glad you liked these little lessons in blogging as shared in this post. Hope they help you too 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  32. Hello, Harleena,

    Happy Blogiversary!!! Wow – four years! You started only a little after me – that’s so cool.

    You have built an awesome site for folks to enjoy, and that credit belongs to you and your diligent work helping others, commenting on others’ sites and just plain being the wonderful lady you are!

    Your points are all excellent, and I agree with them all, except about CommentLuv. I used it until about a year ago and honestly wish I had not even started with it, but that’s my experience only, and I know a lot of folks who like it and are an affiliate for it too because they stand behind it. 🙂

    Your combination of the words “consistently” and “responsibly” is awesome – so many bloggers go about things haphazardly and just go by their feelings and whims. Not a way to attract a regular audience, that’s for sure.

    You know – I created my very first ‘award’ post back in 2011 because I learned about the pigeon trophy method. It definitely worked, and I was able to build relationships with folks and get traffic, and help a whole lot more people as a result.

    Wonderful post, Harleena, and I wish you another wonderful four years and more as we move into this brand new year.

    I’m looking forward to Nate’s guest post in January.

    Happy New Year and Congratulations!!
    ˜Carol

    1. Hi Carol,

      Sorry for being late in my replies to this post – it’s just that I managed to get time away now. Better late than never, as they say 🙂

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes, and yes, I haven’t been working online as long as you have, but whatever time it’s been, it has been a learning curve for me.

      Aww…your words make me reach seventh heaven! Honestly speaking, I never knew the right or wrong ways when I started blogging. It was only after I was blogging for a year after that I picked up things, as I started visiting more blogs and learning the way things work, and there’s been no looking back.

      I understand what you mean, and because I installed it as soon as it came up to generate more comments, as it was told it does, and it did, especially for new bloggers like me (that time!), it wasn’t an easy decision to remove it either. I lost a few commenters, but I knew their purpose, which was just to link drop and not build relationships. The time I used CommentLuv, I never wrote about it as an affiliate, as that time it wasn’t something I was out to do, but yes, those who use it, do write about it and are good affiliates 🙂

      I never knew about rewards online, till I was given a lot many when I started blogging 4 years back. That time I was still on the Blogger platform, and I understood how these worked, but it took me time to think different and have awards for Aha!NOW.

      Thanks so much for your heartfelt comment and wishes once again. Yes, another year is upon us now and I am sure it’s going to only get better for all of us. Happy weekend 🙂

  33. Hello Harleena Ma’am,
    Congratulations!!!on your 4th blogiversary and Happy new Year. All the 9 points are very important for me and I will try to follow these points to make my blog better.

    1. Hi Gurvi,

      Thanks so much for your wishes, and I am glad you liked all that I shared in this post – just my little experiences with an aim to help others. Hope they help you too 🙂

      Wishing you a Happy New Year, and thanks for visiting. 🙂

      BTW – What happened to your profile picture? I know you had a different one earlier 🙂

  34. Hello Harleena Mam,

    Hearty congratulation to you for the successful 4th Blogiversary. Thanks for creating such beautiful community and sharing your experiences with us.

    As you know, you are a big inspiration for me and I moved further into blogging after reading your blog ad few others too.

    Having a user-centric blog is very important to grab more visitors and turn them into regular visitor or engage the for log time. This is an awesome reading your all previous blogiversary post.

    Posting expert’s guest posts and interviews are really helpful to gain some more traffic and popularity into blogosphere. It also helps to closely connect with those top notch bloggers.

    You are really doing wonderful with your community and awarding with great prizes to your community members and readers. I am so grateful to see myself listed at one of the guest bloggers of Aha Now.

    Hearty congratulations to all winners of “Grammerly” giveaway. Hope, I could have win this. Anyways, I would surely try for next time.

    Wishing you a great Holiday with your family. HAPPY NEW Year!
    Enjoy! 🙂

    1. Hi Nisha,

      Thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      You know the ABC and this community is all thanks to wonderful people like yourself and so many others who make it what it is today – so I should be thanking all of YOU instead!

      You are surely doing well for yourself, and even with a young child, you are blogging and achieving success, so that in itself is an achievement I would say. I am so glad I inspire you in some way, and I appreciate you for saying that 🙂

      Yes indeed, such a blog will bring in regular readership and more engagement. If you provide valuable content that your readers like, they will always come back for more. That’s true, interviews and guest posts always help, and they also teach you so much from the experience of others, isn’t it?

      I wish I could do more for my readers and the Ahaians, and we are presently working behind the scenes to do up the ABC for a better user experience. Your guest post was a wonderful one, and I am so glad you are part of the ABC too.

      The giveaways keep taking place off and on, and I am sure you’d win the ones we’d come up with in this year, so, stay tuned 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views. Ah…no holidays for us, we are working round the clock, though just not visiting blogs regularly as we need time for tweaking the blog and ABC, as mentioned in this post. Happy New Year to you and yours as well 🙂

  35. Congratulations on your 4 year mark, Harleena!

    Well done 🙂

    They say that a smart person learns from his own mistakes, and a very smart person learns from other peoples` mistakes.

    Thanks Harleena, for helping us being a very smart person 😉

    Keep up the good work.

    I wish you even more success in 2015.

    Tor Refsland

    1. Welcome to my blog Tor – good to have you over! 🙂

      Thank you for your kind wishes, and you are right about that saying – certainly makes sense to learn from the mistakes of others. That’s called working the smart way! You are most welcome, and I hope my little lessons could help you in some way too, though you are already smart 😉

      Thanks for stopping by, and wishing you a successful Happy New Year as well 🙂

  36. Hi Harleena,

    Many Congratulations for completing four years journey in blogging world!! It’s a wonderful accomplishment! 🙂

    New bloggers can take notes from all the lessons you have shared with us in your post. I’m taking notes as there are things you have mentioned (like moving my blogs to self-hosted) that I need to do. 🙂

    I’m So glad that I found you and your blog and thanks to you have met some new wonderful people as well.

    It’s always a pleasure, landing here on your blog.

    Wishing you Lots of Success in 2015!

    Wishing you and your family joyous and prosperous New Year!:)

    1. Hi Priya,

      Thanks so much for your heartfelt wishes, and yes, an accomplishment indeed to have carried on this long 🙂

      Yet, there are so many others who have been blogging much longer, so they inspire and remind me that there’s still SO much to do. Learning never stops, isn’t it?

      I’d be happy if my little lessons could help someone in some way. Yes indeed, moving your blog would be a wise decision, and if there is anything I can help you with, just let me know, though you also have the ABC now to seek all the advice from the Ahaians there 🙂

      I should say the same for you – it’s a pleasure meeting you and I know we’d make it an awesome New Year, with more blogging friend’s joining us, here and at the ABC too. So stay tuned!

      Thanks once again for your lovely wishes, and lots of success and happiness for you and yours in this year as well 🙂

  37. Hi Harleena,

    Congratulations on completing four years blogging!! Happy 4th Anniversary.

    Reading through your post and all the 9 lessons, I can say you have done great my friend. Look at your community right now. You really work hard and your efforts shows on the type of content you write and the support you provide for your community.

    Also reading through this post revealed to me that there is a long way for me to reach what I want with my blog. As you said, it is time consuming and blogging is not all what I do. I am a mother of 3 teens and I have a business to build too but thank GOD I have come a long way and I am glad to learn from you and Adrienne how to build a community via blogging.

    Thanks Harleena for the valuable lessons which will definitely help me through my blogging journey. Once again Happy 4th Blogiversary and wish you more and more success in 2015.

    Happy New Year for you and your family.

    Be Blessed,

    Neamat

    1. Hi Neamat,

      Thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      Yes indeed, it’s ALL been a great learning experience, and if one looks back to how I started, it sure has been a gradual growth. I just have all of you wonderful friend’s, and now the ABC to thank and make it all happen.

      There is no substitute for hard work, and I think most of us who blog consistently, know that, isn’t it? Sometimes I do wish I had more hours in the day to help more people, especially the newbies, but we all have limitations and can do what we can fit into the hours we have in hand.

      Blogging IS time consuming, and a full-time job! In fact, if you take it as a profession and wish to earn through it, there is just no time to do anything else. It becomes like your business, and you must remain fully focused on it.

      You are just like me there, Neamat! You have 3 teens, like Carolyn, while I have 2, and let me tell you – juggling between our families, blogs, and other tasks in hand is certainly not easy! I wonder how Carolyn still manages to blog thrice a week! She’s a real superwoman! Lol.. 🙂

      Yes indeed, the blogosphere is a wonderful place for us to learn from each other. Not to mention the knowledge we gain when we visit each others blogs, isn’t it?

      Thanks for wishes once again, and wishing you every success and happiness in this New Year as well. 🙂

  38. Congratulation Harleena Mam to complete your 4 years of blogging career. Wish you a very good luck and may coming year 2015 brings you more achievements.
    No more words to says, Just want to say you are awesome.
    Thanks to make a good track for us.
    Wish you a very Happy New year 2015 !!

    1. Hi Naveen,

      Thank you for your lovely wishes 🙂

      Aww…kind of you to say that, but I think ALL of you Ahaians are awesome, and I am loving all your contributions made to the ABC. Not to mention the good friendships you all are making – way to go!

      Thanks for stopping by, and wishing you a very Happy & Prosperous New Year too 🙂

  39. Interesting article. I have been blogging for just a few months, have learnt so much in the process. Lots of good tips here. Happy birthday to your blog! 🙂

    1. Welcome to my blog Brighton Mama! 🙂

      Glad you liked the article, and good to know more about your blogging experience too. Yes, it is a slow process, but if you remain committed and consistent, there is a lot you can achieve and learn. Wishing you many years of continued success, and if there is anything I can help you with, do let me know.

      Thanks for your kind wishes, and hoping to see more of you here now. Happy New Year. 🙂

      BTW – Do add your Gravatar or profile picture so that we can all see who we are talking to! Just a friendly suggestion 🙂

  40. Hi Harleena,

    Congratulations to you for completing 4yrs. I must say that you are an awesome blogger which inspires me so much. your tips are very interesting and valuable.i will try to follow all those tips you mentioned.

    Thank you so much and waiting for more inspiring blogs.

    Regards,
    Radha

    1. Welcome to my blog Radha! 🙂

      Thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      Sweet of you to say that, though there are many inspirational bloggers all over, if we just look around. I am glad you learned something from my experiences and I hope they help you in more ways than one.

      Thanks for stopping by, and hoping to see you here more often now. Happy New Year as well 🙂

  41. Hello Mrs. Harleena,

    First of all Congratulations for completing 4 years. That’s an awesome achievement indeed.
    In true sense, you are a blog Guru. You have such simple yet amazing ideas to keep your readers and also fellow bloggers involved at the same time. All the suggestions made by you in this particular summed up blog are just outstanding and few also innovative. I will try and follow as many of them as possible.

    Also I am really inspired by your own blogging history. Even I am not very regular and consistent in writing blogs, one because of time crunch and second as I have so few readers, I am not motivated enough to write regularly.
    But today after reading your blog I have decided not to give up and believe in myself. Hoping for the best in the coming years.

    keep on motivating inspiring and guiding new bloggers. Have a very Happy New Year

    Regards

    1. Hi Arpita,

      Thank you for your kind wishes, and yes, an achievement indeed – though there’s is still so much to do yet 🙂

      Oh no…I am no Guru as there are many who have achieved so much more and have been blogging much longer than me. I know you are comparatively new to blogging, so perhaps haven’t met as many bloggers yet, but when you do, you’d know.

      I am glad you liked the blogging lessons shared in this post, which was a small way to give back to my readers – my experiences in a condensed form. But this is not all, as blogging is a journey, a process – and it’s tough to pen down all that you have learnt and know in a few words. Nevertheless, it’s good enough I guess for those who want to move ahead, and I hope some of them work for you too! 🙂

      Being a doctor, it’s certainly not easy to manage a blog. Just the fact that you have started blogging is commendable. And don’t worry about the readers, you know we have the ABC and the friendly Ahaians, where each one helps each other and is there to visit each others posts – so it’s a good place to start off and build relationships.

      Other than that, building your own community of readers will take time. It took me time too, so don’t worry! You know you are ALL so much better off than what I was when I started! I didn’t have any readers, no comments, just nothing….so if I can come this far, I know you all can too – just keep the faith, and keep moving 🙂

      Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Wishing you and yours a very Happy and Prosperous New Year as well 🙂

  42. Hello Harleena,
    I am really excited to comment on a blogiversary post on aha-now but I found that your site is very slow at the moment. What happened?

    1. Welcome to my blog Munna! 🙂

      Thanks for your feedback and wishes on the anniversary post.

      Well, the site speed varies and depends on various factors. You might experience different site speeds on different times of the day, on different days. I am sure it would be working well presently.

      Thanks for stopping by, and hoping to see more of you around 🙂

  43. WOW Harleena!

    Congratulations to you and Aha!NOW on your 4th anniversary. It’s 1 a.m. and I am here at work..been going non stock around at work for the past days as we prepare our final move into the new hospital. We are less than 5 hours away from moving in our 1st patient in. It has been an incredible experience, a memorable one even thought it was such hard work with the planning and the moving.

    I just thought to take a moment to stop by here and realized all the wonderful things that’s been going on. Your blog is a model and I personally recognize you for all the hard work and effort that you have put into it. Thank you for your sharing and caring spirit that you have exhibited through your writing and the comments you have left on all of our blogs. You are indeed our role model and I cannot imagine anyone who would not want to learn from your skills and expertise in this area.

    I congratulate everyone who have done a guest post, those you have interviewed and all the winners. Ahaians you are special – great to be in fellowship with everyone. Have a happy New Year 2015. 🙂 I must get back to work now. 🙂

    1. Hi Yvonne,

      Thanks so much for your lovely wishes 🙂

      I am grateful that you took out time from your busy schedule to visit and leave a heartfelt comment. I know it’s been so busy for you, especially with all the shifting to the new hospital, which takes a lot of time.

      Yes, planning the move and finally moving the patient’s has to be done with utmost care, and it does need your undivided attention. I am so glad you are there to handle it all, no one could have done a better job and take the care that you’d be taking I am sure 🙂

      You are most welcome, and that’s the least one can do with the limited time in hand. I wish I had more hours in the day to visit and comment on more blogs- and help more people. But now with the ABC and all the new members that are joining in, it becomes tough to be all over. I guess one can do what we can, isn’t it?

      We have each other to learn from I would say, and so many of our other blogging and non-blogging friend’s. Each one inspires us in more ways than one, which is the beauty of this blogosphere.

      Thank you for stopping by, and I hope we get to see you this month on, as you are such a precious GEM of the ABC – and you know that! Wishing you and yours a very Happy & Prosperous New Year as well 🙂

  44. Hi Harleena

    Congratulations on making it to 4 years, and thanks for sharing your “journey” along the way.

    It’s tempting for us “newer” bloggers to imagine that your blog was “born” as the polished article that we see today. So it’s encouraging to know that you have had changes and gaps along the route to where you are now.

    My 2014 hasn’t been easy work and blog-wise, for various reasons, but at least I’m blogging regularly now and can see an improvement from my start here a couple of years ago. Lots of improvements still needed, but at least I have some good examples to follow now.

    Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year, Joy

    1. Hi Joy,

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes 🙂

      This time I thought to share my blogging journey with the hope to inspire others – if I can, so can they! Not to mention that I honestly had no direction, and what started as a hobby, is now turning to a full-time job and profession for me.

      Oh yes, there have been a lot of changes made along the way, which happens as one keeps learning and growing, which I am sure you too are experiencing- seeing the way your blog is coming up so well now.

      I know things aren’t easy for most of us, as we have our families and other affairs to take care of too. But as I say so often, anytime is a good time to start and resume from where you left of – the blogosphere is one place that receives all of us with open arms. I know you’d do very well now that you are back with a bang!

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views with us. Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year as well. 🙂

  45. Hi Harleena,

    Congratulation on your fourth year anniversary, maintaining a blog for four solid years is not an easy task, and what’s more important is going strong each year with this blog is a very big task.

    I congratulate you and wish you many more fruitful years to come.

    However, I can sense that it took you so long to turn the attention Aha-now has gathered over the years into real money making funnel, why?

    Though, everyone has his or her reasons for doing what they do, but going by some points you made in the post….blogging is time consuming and there is no substitute or replacement for time.

    I think your monetization of Aha-now didn’t happen as early as the blog is gaining attraction.

    Thanks for all the supports and encouragement throughout the year 2014, and I wish you happy new year.

    1. Hi Shamsudeen,

      Thanks for your wishes. 🙂

      You’re right that it’s not been easy to bring the blog to this level and keep it growing, and it’s going to be an uphill task ahead too. But we are upbeat with the support of our community, and that’s our main strength.

      To be honest, I never really thought or planned to make Aha!NOW as one of our primary earning resources – that was never on our mind. All we thought of was to have the Google Adense and a few affiliate banners, that’s all. It’s of late that when the blog consumed more of our time and we lost on our other earning opportunities that we changed our mind and decided to make the blog the main vehicle of our earning drive.

      Having said that, we are far off from making real money from the blog and that will be one of the prime focus this year. But foremost will remain to help people and to create an unparalleled platform for bloggers and non-bloggers.

      Blogging is indeed time consuming if you try to go by the book and try to do everything that it takes to have a successful blog. So, it has to be a source of revenue, else you would fail in your blogging, if you take it as a profession and want to earn from it. We didn’t monetize the blog early on as our focus was mainly on the revenue from other freelance writing jobs.

      We are going to start the New Year with full hopes and plans, and I wish you the same. Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts and have a wonderful New year! 🙂

  46. Congratulations Harleena and everyone else who has been supportive, kind, and in the spirit of building community which keeps us all coming back for more. There’s so much helpful information, and a lifting of spirits going on because Harleena has always cared enough to really connect with her readership, which is something that is on it’s way out with many other blogs, comments don’t get read and people just feel like it’s more of a forum where you can speak, but nobody reads it. This site is incredible, and you’ve done a wonderful thing here.

    1. Welcome to my blog Alison! 🙂

      Thank you for your lovely wishes, and I am glad you like this little blog community.

      You are absolutely right there – I DO care a lot for my readers and they are foremost on my mind when I write my posts as well. Anything to help others is what we believe in strongly and I am glad we are following this even at our forum, and the ABC now.

      That’ true, and though I might take a little time getting back to replying to the comments because I have a forum to manage, besides my family and other tasks in hand, I do come back! Each comment is so precious to me and I take time to read and reply to each one of them 🙂

      Thanks for taking the time to stop by here, and hoping to see you more often now. Happy New Year to you and yours as well 🙂

  47. Hi Harleena.

    Congratulations on your achievements over the past four years. it has been truly amazing to see what you and your community have built.

    Your 9 lessons are all very good, because they emphasise the personal side and give something back to your contributers.

    Wishing you an even more successful 2015.

    Nathan.

    1. Hi Nathan,

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes 🙂

      Glad you liked the little blog community built, as well as the very vibrant forum we have at the blog now as well.

      Yes indeed, those are just the lessons I learnt, though there’s a lot more to blogging, which one cannot possibly put down in words. But it’s been an interesting learning experience for sure, and aren’t we always learning something new from each other? That’s what makes the blogosphere such a lovely place to be in 🙂

      Wishing you and yours a very Happy and Prosperous New Year as well. Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  48. Hi Harleena,

    Congratulations on making it four years and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebration as well with your family. Lot’s of celebrating going on this week!

    So many people never make it this far but you’ve shared your journey with us and I for one appreciate that. I know people are told to map out your goals before you dive in but sometimes as we dive in our directions end up changing. I mean you started your blog as a hobby but look at it now. That’s what I mean!

    I’ve changed directions myself at least three times. I was just never really happy with what I was writing about or where that was taking me. I had to accidentally fall into what I’m doing now before I finally woke up. I love blogging now, I love making those connections and I’m so very fortunate that you were one of my earlier connections as well.

    I wish you many more years blogging and I can’t wait to see what 2015 will bring. I look forward to diving into the Aha!Now community and meeting everyone else who has already been there and been enjoying meeting others. It will be fun.

    Hope you’re enjoying some time off as well as your weekend. Let me be sure to wish you a very Happy New Year and stay safe as you ring in the new year.

    ~Adrienne

    1. Hi Adrienne,

      Thank you for your lovely wishes 🙂

      Oh yes…the celebrations were wonderful and we are enjoying our little break, though working alongside to make the ABC and blog a little better.

      That’s true, and just as I mentioned to Babanature above, it all seems like yesterday when I started blogging – time flies SO fast in the blogosphere, doesn’t it? Look at yourself, you’ve been blogging longer than me I think, so you are an inspiration to so many of us, my friend!

      I don’t think many of us were really told what direction to take when we started blogging. Most of us learned things by experiencing it ourselves, making mistakes and learning from them. Yes, what started as a hobby for me, is turning out to be a profession now, though there’s a lot more to be done as yet. So, learning never really stops 🙂

      I know all about your journey too, as you’ve mentioned it in your posts, and that’s exactly what motivates so many people to carry on and make it in the blogosphere. If we could make it this far, when we had no direction as such, those who have it all right from the start, are so much better off, isn’t it?

      I am so glad you decided to join the ABC, and though I know we all remain busy and it’s tough to be here, except when you have the time at hand, we’d love to have you share your expertise with us, as and when possible. Yes, those are here, do have a lot of fun, just being friend’s interacting, and learning from each other – no strings attached!

      Wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year as well, and I hope you too are having a nice break, spending quality time with your Mom and family. See you next week, when we both would resume blogging once again 🙂

  49. Hello Harleena,
    Looks like you’ve been in the blogging world for quite awhile now and I must say, congratulation for holding on for such a long time.

    You are a nice person anda great blogger any body would be happy to have as a friend 🙂

    Let’s make 2015 a rocking year and more successful.
    Have a bless weekend and a sweet holiday. Merry Christmas to you.

    1. Hi Babanature,

      Yes indeed, it’s been quite a while when I sit back and think, but time’s just flown SO fast! It seems all so fresh in my mind when I started the journey, and to think it’s all been 4 years since I’ve been blogging now! 🙂

      Aww…sweet of you to say that dear friend, and it’s been such a pleasure knowing and learning from you as well. Look at all that you too have achieved from the time you started – so, as long as we make progress slowly, it’s all good, isn’t it?

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes. Happy New Year to you and yours as well 🙂

  50. Mam, First of All Congratulation and Merry christmas…
    .
    Lessons you have learnt… amazing
    Now every blogger should consider about above points…
    .
    The point i loved is: switch to wordpress and use commentluv.
    .
    finally thanks for sharing

    1. Hi Satya,

      Thanks for your kind wishes 🙂

      Well, these are some of the lessons I learnt, though there’s a lot more to blogging than meets the eye! But yes, if someone can benefit from all that I learnt and achieve their goals faster, I’d be only too happy.

      I know I did that myself, and both the things, switching to WP and using CommentLuv, did help me get a lot of readers, comments, and thus traffic.

      Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

      BTW – DO use your Gravatar or profile picture, as I see your G+ profile has a nice image of yours, so add that up here! It’s always good to see who we are talking to, isn’t it? 🙂

  51. Hi Harleena and congratulations on your 4-year blogiversary!

    This is such an accomplishment and you have built a wonderful community here on Aha!NOW, where you present really informative posts and where we can find interesting people as well.

    I am very glad that I have found ABC and even though I don’t always comment, I come regularly to see what’s new on your site and I always find something interesting to read. I especially love your advices on blogging and I have learn a lot from your posts.

    So congratulations again and I wish you many more years of blogging. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2015. 🙂

    1. Hi Nataly,

      Thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      Glad you like the ABC and community as such, though there is a lot yet to be done. Thus, we are taking this little break and sorting things out to make it all better for the Ahaians!

      It gives me immense happiness to know that you are liking the posts shared as well as the close network of interesting members, each one of them being so precious to us. I know it can be tough to visit regularly, but as long as you are reading and coming in whenever you find time, it’s absolutely alright and we value that.

      Thanks so much for saying that, and all I know I always share with my readers, with a hope that they learn it well before the time I took to learn it all. Wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year too. Shall visit your blog soon, once I am back blogging 🙂

  52. Hi Ma’am Herlenna,
    Congratulations and celeberations on your 4th blogiversary 🙂 you’ve gone through this for four years, it really takes courage, and trust me, it’s an achievement.

    You’ve shared with us 9 lessons that we all should pick a thing from to start next year with. I guess I inline with most of what your lessons conclude.

    Since I started building a community for my blog, I think my blog readers changed, so had to change what I write to sommething that my new readers will love, though in similar manner with what my previous readers like.

    Yes commentluv get’s to give you a lot of comments, and builds relationship to, but I think it doesn’t suit my blog, I might install it when I start a personal blog, and I guess it’s gonna be nice 🙂

    I found my blog having at least 20 comments on a post, that’s un-like blogs in my niche, only a little of them have such comments, and I’ll say I’m greatful to ABC for that, I really appreciate your work here along side with Sir Vinay.

    I starting this interview thing this december, and it’s a “how to build your blog” interview series, where I’m teaching aspirants what blogging is all about, teaching them the basics of blogging, and how to monitize their blogs, though it’s a part of my giveaway for this december so I think this december blogging just tends to be a win-win situation.

    Happy Blogiversary once more, and a Merry Xmas. Enjoy your break too 🙂

    1. Hi Larry,

      Thanks so much for your wishes – we appreciate them 🙂

      Yes indeed, it is an achievement to continue blogging for this long, and I am glad I am surrounded by bloggers who also blog consistently, just like yourself! So, there is inspiration ALL around us, provided we look around, isn’t it?

      Glad you liked these lessons shared, and I hope they can help you in some way too.

      That is exactly how it works – you take your readers along with you and make them part of your blog, and they become a part of your blog community. It makes sense to change things according to what works for them, and you’d see a positive change in your blog too.

      CommentLuv did help me gain a lot of new blogging friend’s and comments, when I installed it, because I hardly knew any bloggers when I started. But last year I dropped it because of the huge number of spam etc. and I see no difference in the comments and quality of comments. I guess to each his/her own. You don’t have to install it if things are working well for you without it!

      That is wonderful for the kind of niche you have I would say, and that’s thanks to the wonderful Ahaians and the ABC! But it’s also because of the way you interact, respond, visit and comment on other blogs, which we have seen at the ABC. Nothing works better than reciprocation in the blogosphere I would say, and I think you’ve seen good results thanks to that, isn’t it?

      Yes indeed, starting the interview and how-series to your blog was a good move, giving more variety to your readers. Keep going…you are doing very well for yourself!

      Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year too. Yes, we need this break to work on the blog and make the ABC better for all of you, so shall visit your blog once I am back now 🙂

  53. Many Many Congratulations for completing 4 years of blogging in the Blog sphere. I don’t have words to congratulate you!!! 🙂
    Wishing Aha Now all the very best from the core of my heart and looking for some awesome work in the upcoming years.
    Congratulations Maam.

    1. Hi Piyush,

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes 🙂

      We do need all the wishes we can gather for years to come! So glad you are part of the ABC now, and we hope to see more of you there in the coming year!

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us 🙂

  54. Hi Harleena and Happy Blogiversary! 4 years is huge imo and a great accomplishment! Many congrats!

    Aha!NOW is such a fabulous Community of people. I may not always comment but I’m always reading and sharing Aha’s inspiration. I’d like to personally thank Aha!NOW for the 1 months subscription to Grammarly. Since trying the trial, I know now Grammarly is a tool I cannot do without. It has helped me with my short stories, my blogs, and believe it or not, I’m using it at works as well. I very helpful tool that, like I said, I cannot do without. So thanks so much for the extra month!

    Congratulations to the other winners as well! I hope they find Grammarly a very important tool to their everyday life or writing.

    I look forward to see what bigger and better things you and Vinay come up with in 2015! Congrats again!

    1. Hi Bren,

      Thank you for your wishes, and yes, completing four years IS an accomplishment, though there is still SO much to learn and do 🙂

      I can understand how busy life can get, and with the full time job you have, I just wonder how you manage to take out time for your blog and books! Not to mention the new blogs you started – commendable indeed.

      You are most welcome about the Grammarly subscription, and I am sure you’d love the premium version being an author and blogger. Even at work! That’s wonderful indeed 🙂

      Oh yes, we are taking this little break to sit, decide, and plan things for the coming year – for the blog and the ABC, thus no blog visits and comments for a few days at least!

      Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, and wishing you a very Happy New Year as well 🙂

  55. Hello,

    I am glad to know that you have completed four years of blogging and liked your knowledge sharing as well! I am also a freelancer and earn my living via freelancing.

    I never thought that blogging can be source of income but yes after reading your nine lesson, it seems like yes i can also do it!

    Regards
    Shantanu

    1. Welcome to my blog Shantanu! 🙂

      Yes indeed, it’s been four years and a wonderful journey so far, which I wanted to share with my readers with the hope of helping those who are on their path. Good to know more about you, as I can see from your site link.

      Oh yes, many bloggers earn a lot more and have made blogging their livelihood now, so sky is the limit and you too can surely do a lot from your blog. More so, being a freelancer, you have many more options.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us. Hope to see more of you in the coming year 🙂

      BTW – Do add your Gravatar or profile picture (I saw you didn’t have one on your site too), so that we can know who we are talking to. Just a friendly suggestion 🙂

  56. Hello Harleena! I love this word blogiversary! Congrats my friend and thank you for sharing the past 4 years with us here.

    I started my blogging journey in Feb 2014 and cannot believe everything that I have learned from you as well as other bloggers and looking forward to my blogiversary as you say!

    I am also looking forward to becoming more active in the ABC Community here on Aha-Now!

    Thanks for all you do and Happy New Year My Friend.. Chery :))

    1. Hi Chery,

      Yes indeed – I love this word too – so apt, isn’t it? Thanks so much for your kind wishes 🙂

      I wanted to share something different this time and thought what better gift to my readers than sharing my blogging journey with them, if it can help someone.

      Is that so? I seem to have known you since ages, and you look like an experienced blogger who’s been blogging for years! I guess you’d be celebrating your first Blogiversary in 2 months time too and must be looking forward to it.

      We’d love to see more of you at the ABC, especially sharing your posts, so that more can learn from you and vice-versa. There is never any end to learning, isn’t it?

      Thanks for sharing your views with us, and wishing you and yours a very Happy and Prosperous New Year as well 🙂

      ((Happy Birthday dear friend – we are celebrating it at the ABC!!))

  57. Hi Harleena mam,

    First of all a BIG CONGRATULATION to YOU for the WONDERFUL JOURNEY 🙂

    You’ve been amazing these days and among the top bloggers in the world. I know this was not easy but your continuous hard work and helping nature has made this possible and you really deserve this position.

    I’m not much old in blogging. Just about to complete 3 month but you’re among the few wonderful people whom i interacted in these days. No matter how busy you’re, if i have sent any message, got the prompt response. This clearly shows how much you care of others.

    Coming to ABC community, i earlier also told i have not seen any such community in the internet like ABC. All the people here are too supportive and nice. Congratulations to all the winners and members of Aha Now family !!

    You’re a true ROCK STAR Harleena mam 🙂

    Best Regards,
    Ashutosh

    1. Hi Ashutosh,

      Thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      Aww…your words make me reach cloud 9! I am no top blogger, but it does feel good (I won’t lie about that!) to be mentioned as one of the top ones, for which I have people to thank.

      Yes, there is NO compromise to hard work and putting in more than your 100%, at least initially. And if we can help each other out, through our posts and even otherwise, we lose nothing, isn’t it?

      You surely are coming up very well for a newbie I would say, as compared to where I was when my blog was very much on a Blogger platform, four years back when I started.

      Yes, I like helping newbies and in-fact anyone who I know seeks my help, blogger or non-blogger, alike. You know I remember my earlier days as a blogger and how lost I was because being from the writing field, I had writer friend’s. I didn’t know any blogger that time to even ask for help or guidance. So, I always feel for the new bloggers and those who are still finding their way about, and glad we have the ABC also now to guide them.

      That’s very nice of you, and yes, we appreciate you saying that even in your Testimonial you wrote about the ABC. You are right, the Ahaians ARE awesome, caring, and supportive of each other, which perhaps makes it different from other communities.

      Thanks so much for your words of appreciation, and wishing you every success and happiness in the coming year as well 🙂

  58. Woww! What a way to celebrate an anniversary! I was visualizing the scenes while reading your journey. It was a good idea to elaborate the post to help us get a clear picture of your journey.

    I always find something useful in all your posts and this post is not an exception to this. Here I have learnt the importance of award posts and inviting guests to write for your own blog.

    However I have a request. It would be a boon to us if you can write a detailed post on ‘How to frame an award post’ and ‘how to approach guests to write for your own blog’ It will be better if you write the posts from an amateur’s point of view.

    Thank you, Harleena…May you celebrate upcoming anniversaries with an exponential growth of AHA-Now..

    1. Hi Tuhin,

      Glad you liked the post and journey as such – just all that one’s gone through is what I shared here, with the hope that it helps people 🙂

      Thank you for saying that, which brings me immense happiness and it’s the purpose of my blog – to help others through my posts. Oh yes, inviting guests, writing award posts, or even interviews are a great way to get more variety to your blog, and that helps your readers too as they get to read and learn from a lot of other sources as well.

      I’ve noted down your request, Tuhin, and would surely cover them up in one of my posts in the future, though there are many bloggers who have already covered these topics. I guess if you Google them up, you might find them too.

      Thanks for your kind wishes – we appreciate them. I am so glad you joined the ABC too, and here’s wishing you every success and happiness in the coming year as well 🙂

  59. Thank you @swadhin, @ikman for the mention. I am glad you are being frugal @swadhin. I got a real laugh out of that comment. Have a wonderful day.

  60. Hi Harleena

    Many congratulations on completion of four years and obviously sky is the limit for every successful journey as you are making the one.

    It is not so easy to put four years experiences in one post but you did it and never left anything uncovered.

    It is a big lesson for those who believe blogging does not have as much money making potential as it used to have in the past.

    After reading your last lesson I can believe now “finally one earns money with her blog sooner or later” just consistency and quality is required to achieve this benchmark.

    It also helped me learn that every successful journey does not necessarily begin with a purpose and sets its direction after becoming used to travel in a right direction.

    From hobby blogging to professional blogging the most dominant part is self learning as you also experienced it and that is acquired with the passage of time.

    This is a very important point that to offer change to blog visitors the best way is to accept the guest posts. It made me think to invited guest posts at my blog.

    Sometime I get much surprised to see the power of personal factor in blogging. As the ABC does not have as much techie support and foundation as other fully-fledged communities have but still it is doing great and this is because of you and obviously you have paid its price by consistently commenting and caring your readers without any lengthy break.

    Thanks a lot for sharing your success story that is a huge inspiration for me.

    1. Hi Mi Muba,

      Thanks for your best wishes. I’d be needing more of these in the times to come. 🙂

      I wanted this post to have some value and be a source of learning for the newbies rather than just a typical anniversary post with all the stats. So, I tried the best I could to highlight the major experiences and the lessons learned there of. However, all the experiences and lessons could not be contained in this single post because it’s a journey, a process.

      Blogging does have potential to make money, its just that the ways have changed a bit. However, most bloggers try to portray themselves as experts as soon as they start blogging, and expect to start making money. So I guess, that’s where things go wrong.

      Oh yes, one can always reset the course of their blogging and take it in the right direction, even if they did not start like that. Though, it’s good to start with a purpose and in the right way under the guidance of a mentor.

      I did learn a lot while blogging like so many other bloggers, but the new bloggers now have more resources to help them with blogging than we had when we started blogging. Though experience is valuable, but if you want quick success, you need to take heart from the experiences of successful bloggers.

      Yes, guest posts and interviews are a welcome change even to the blog audience. I’m sure that will also help you in many more ways.

      You’re right that we do not have a technical background, yet we are able to successfully manage the community because of our personal involvement and the strong foundation of values and rules of the community. More so, the ABC is successful because of its highly cooperative and supportive members.

      We love helping and taking care of the community and its members. We believe there will be a time when the community members will themselves take care of the community. We are getting down to make more plans for the ABC, thus taking a little break from blogs and comments for a few days, so stay tuned!

      Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts, I really appreciate it. I wish you have a great New Year ahead!

  61. Congrats Harleena mam for completing the blogging journey of 4 years. It is really nice to know the 9 lessons which you have learnt still now. According to me, this is the just the start. What I mean is that I expect Aha!Now to grow much more in the coming years.

    I really liked the thing that you rejected some very attractive paid post opportunities as it didn’t suited with your blog. I am saying so because of the reason that many bloggers don’t like to give up on an opportunity to earn money.

    Harleena mam many people may think that blogging is an easy thing, but it is not. It is just because of your efforts that Aha!Now has been able to complete 4 years and it has keep on growing. I wish you luck for the future and Happy New Year in advance.

    1. Hi Mohit,

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes 🙂

      Kind of you to say that, and you are right – this is just the start and there is certainly lots more to do and achieve. I guess we take it one step at a time, isn’t it?

      Oh yes…we keep getting a lot of paid offers, but if they don’t go with our ethos, and we ourselves know our readers will not like it, we just don’t accept it! After all, there are lot of things more important that money 🙂

      I agree with you there, blogging certainly isn’t easy – it’s much more than a full time job. It’s like your baby, where you need to give it more than yourself – to nurture and bring it up the way you want it, and it certainly involves a lot of hard work and effort. Yes, the efforts have been there, and of course now we have the ABC, so I should mention our Ahaians too, who make it what it is today.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, and wishing you and yours a very happy and prosperous New Year as well 🙂

  62. Hello Harleena maam,
    Wow! So four amazing years! Huge round of applause from my end. Its real four years and I have been the part of it only since the beginning of this year.
    What a royal ride it has been, so many awesome personalities interviewed and so many other bloggers being a part of this. What is even more commendable is the relationship that this blog makes with the non-bloggers through its life touching posts. When I had read this blog for the first time, it was from a small screen mobile phone and the post was “what the living have to do with the dead”.
    I was so amazed by the post (a complete non internet guy I was the!) I thought I would like to see the site on the laptop. (See how frugally we spent our bandwidth too @frugal1 lol). And from then Aha!NOW just mesmerized me and took me as a member in its journey. Always giving and always kind. Being generous is the other name of this blog. I have said this every time and can say this a 1000 times more.

    From this blog I clicked on the comments and the top commenters widget it then had to dive into this world of bloggers. So Aha!NOW has been my window to the world of blogging.

    I was so intrigued with your top 10 best personal development blogs of 2014 that I had the image downloaded and saved to my Google drive, I wanted to get one for myself. Such is the impact of this life changing blog.

    I congratulate all the winners of the giveaway and thank the interviewees for giving insights to their expertise and motivating us.
    Thank you @admin, @vinzen and other Ahaians 🙂

    1. Hi Swadhin,

      Thanks so much for your warm words and the applause 🙂

      Yes, even though you’ve been a part of the blog the past year, it seems the association has been a since long time now – that is the power of building relationships, which makes the Blogosphere such a wonderful place to be in, isn’t it?

      I agree with you there, the journey has been SO worthwhile, where we have interviewed some awesome bloggers and known personalities, and had a huge variety of posts covered by our guests. You are right, surprisingly, we do get a lot of non-bloggers as visitors of this blog who love the various posts, so we have so many people to be grateful to!

      Lol…I remember that post, and I’m glad you read and liked it too. And later you were among the first ones to join the ABC, and have been such an important part of it – always sharing the posts and spreading a good words on the various social media platforms – we do appreciate it a great deal 🙂

      Aww…so kind of you to say that Swadhin. But you know we believe in giving, and whatever we have gained – we haven’t just kept with us, whether it’s the giveaways or the information and knowledge we gained. I guess by giving and sharing it with others, you receive so much more and it brings you so much of happiness.

      You are right, because of the vast niches this blog covers, you do get a variety of comments from bloggers and non-bloggers, alike. So, those who wish to build relationships, can easily click on the links to reach out and connect with others.

      That’s sweet! To download the personal development blog image, and I’d say we were so thrilled ourselves to be recognized by someone who was a total stranger to us too.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us – we appreciate it. Wishing you and yours a very happy and prosperous New Year as well 🙂

  63. Congratulations Harleena!

    We only can keep what we have by giving it away so thank you for sharing your experience with us because most people only see the rewards of your labor.

    Aha!NOW offers its readers a special meal which I’m blessed and thankful for. They can come here and get a well balanced full course meal of inspiration and hope.

    You have laid the foundation for those who has the willingness to follow. I will take your suggestions and I hope that others will do the same.

    I will like to also congratulate all the winners here. Brenda, Abrar, Yvonne, Nathaniel and the interviewee. When I read their posts and comments I know their not doing it for rewards and mentions. They’re doing it to help others. They’re doing it because they care.

    I can’t wait to experience the New Year here. Aha!NOW community is a blogger’s dream!

    1. Hi Vernon,

      Thank you for your wishes and kind words 🙂

      Yes indeed, I only have my experiences to share with all of you, and hope it helps someone, somewhere, to excel and accomplish their journey, perhaps in a shorter time than I did.

      Lol…I liked your comparison of the ABC with a balanced full course meal of hope and inspiration, and that’s just the way we wanted it to be for the Ahaians.

      To each their own, but if you can take the cues and move ahead, nothing would bring me more happiness.

      You are absolutely right, all the ones who have won, did so not because of the points, but because they were self-driven to help and share all that they knew. I would just say that they did a little more than the rest of the Ahaians, which made them win – if we count the points, though every Ahaian is a winner in our eyes.

      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us. Yes, we are working to make the ABC much better now, so stay tuned! Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year as well 🙂

  64. Wow! 4 years of blogging deserves a BIG APPLAUSE. Congratulations to @Yvonne, @Frugal1, @Abrar and Bathaniel. You guys are awesome and deserve to be celebrated.

    Looking at this post, I am inspired to keep blogging. In a career where people give up in their blogs in the very first year, you kept on going and today AHA Now is 4 years. Your blogging experience is great and I have learnt a lot from reading this post.

    I want to say a big thank you to Harleena and Vinay for inspiring everyone in this blog. Your guys are God sent, Angels and a blessing to us all.

    I also like to say a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all Ahaians. ABC is now my Google and you guys are so wonderful. Thank you for 2014 and excited to see us all triumph in 2015. Happy a Swell Holiday.

    1. Hi Ikechi,

      Thank you for your kind wishes 🙂

      Yes indeed, ALL the Ahaians need to be celebrated, and that includes you too, for being such a wonderful part of the ABC!

      It’s not easy to keep blogging year after year, and you are right, many give up or slow down their pace after the first year itself. But if you give yourself that push to strive harder and make it through all odds, you can easily make it. I’d say it’s the journey, the learning experience that we need to enjoy, more than the end result. I am glad this post and my blogging journey could help you in some way 🙂

      Aww…thank you for those lovely words, ABC as Google – I love that 😀 – but you know without all of you and your support, the ABC wouldn’t be there. So we thank all our real GEMS for being a part of this crown.

      Thanks so much for your heartfelt words. We wish you every success and happiness in the coming year too. Happy New Year to you and yours 🙂

  65. This is so beautiful and i am so impressed, encouraged! I can’t believe that aha-now is just 4years? And the Blog as been so impactful as if it is actually 10 to 15years..! Wow! I can foresee a greater year of success extra-ordinary here.

    Congratulations!

    1. Hi Tolulope,

      I am glad you are encouraged through this post and my journey 🙂

      Yes indeed, it’s just four years as yet, and there still is a long way to go. I guess taking small but sure steps is what we believe in, so we proceed gradually.

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes, and wishing you every success and happiness in the coming year as well 🙂

  66. Congratulations guys 🙂 You have built this from scratch and your efforts are truly paying off! I want to thank you for creating this wonderful community and encouraging scores of Bloggers from the world over!!

    Good Luck and looking forward to all the exciting future events and posts 😀
    -Nikshep

    1. Hi Nik,

      Thank you for your warm wishes, and yes, it’s been a lovely journey and a learning experience for us so far 🙂

      You are most welcome and we are so glad you are part of the ABC. Without you Ahaians, it wouldn’t exist, so I hope you ALL know how precious you are to us too!

      Oh yes…there is a lot more coming up in bits and pieces in the coming year, so stay tuned!

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, and wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year ahead 🙂

  67. Congratulations “Ahaleena” – always love calling you this.
    To me, this is more than a celebration of life. More than ahaversaryor whichever name is out there.
    This community has been more than a we’ll of inspiration from which I draw. It has been helping me to set the pace for my own community too. Thanks Ahaleena for being a part of blessing to me.
    I love you (Pls don’t let Vinay hear this!)
    And to your better half, Uncle Vinay, I celebrate you for being more than a better-half ahahously.

    Also wishing all ahahians merry Christmas and happy new year in advance.

    1. Hi Adegoke,

      Aha!.. that’s a great word – Ahaleena. Thank you so much for coining it! I remember Ahacious too. 🙂

      That’s anniversary, but you seem to be bent upon converting every word to Aha!. Lol…

      It’s great to hear that you’re benefiting from the ABC, and that it has been helping you create your own community. I wish you all the best for that.

      Thank you for expressing your feelings, and I believe as Ahaians we all love each other and support each other as well. The ABC was built on the foundation of love, care, help, sharing and supporting – and I’m happy that it’s effect is beginning to show. (Vinay doesn’t mind it and takes it in the community spirit 🙂 He thanks you for addressing to him as well. 🙂

      Thanks for visiting and expressing your thoughts and feelings. I appreciate that and wish you too a very happy and successful New Year. 🙂

  68. Hi Harleena,

    Congrats to 4th anniversary of Aha!Now and we all Ahians are glad to be part of it. 🙂

    Thanks for sharing some awesome lessons here. We can see how Aha!Now implemented them to achieve a big success in the past 4 years. No doubt, 2015 will be another fantastic year.

    Aha!Now is more than a community as I always think. So we all are winners for participating. Though a big congratulation to all of them who won the giveaways. And specially thanks for honoring me with a giveaway.

    A new year, a new experience. We will be intended to do some new things that rule all over. Looking forward to Aha!Now for some upcoming surprises as always. Wish you all a Merry Christmas. 🙂

    1. Hi Abrar,

      Thanks for your kind wishes:)

      Congratulations to you too for winning the Grammarly giveaway by topping the leaderboard this month!

      I agree with you and what Nate mentioned above, that Aha!NOW is more than a community and all of you are responsible for making it what it is today, so we remain grateful to all of you. You ALL are winners for being a part of the ABC, and yes, surprises are always in store for the Ahaians, and we are planning things out for the coming year in full swing now.

      Thanks for stopping by, and wishing you every success and happiness in the coming year 🙂

  69. Thanks for sharing..! Actually, I start blogging almost 4 years and I think that it is the same to you. However, I could make a bit achieve such as what you did for your blog.

    You know..? the first time I start my blog, I go with affiliate marketing and I have less knowledge about that. I feel suck and then I quite my blog (LOL). I think that it is the common mistakes for newbie right..?

    I start again my on 2012 which it is my currently blog. You know..? I am not getting much traffic for my own, but how I start learnt about blogging. I you know..? I did not make much money from that blog, but how I could monetize my blog same to other blogger.

    I ready make my first thousand dollar online, but it is not came from my own blog. I learnt something mistakes this year, and I am going to apply the new ways after christmas day.

    thanks for sharing your own, and congrats for your 4 years success. Marry Christmas..! 🙂

    1. Hi Kimsea,

      Nice to know that you too started about 4 years back like me.:)

      I believe there are many criterias of success, and there is something that we learn better than the others. You have learned the art of monetizing the blog that I haven’t. So, that’s your big achievement!

      You’re right, that is mostly what happens with the newbie bloggers. You can earn with blogging, but then there is a way to go about that, and it definitely is not an instant process.

      It’s good to know that you started making big money online, and I’m sure you’re going to go big on that! I wish you all the best for your monetizing success.

      Thank you for visiting and sharing your thoughts. Have a great New Year ahead as well 🙂

      1. I hope my sister..!

        You know..? Some mistakes are the most amazing thing in life. I did a lot of mistakes the both blogging and online life.

        Sometime, those make me regret and think about the past, but I learnt from those mistakes.

        Without those, I will never here..!

        1. I agree with you, Kimsea. All mistakes are not bad and failures are stepping stones to success. However, if you don’t learn from your mistakes, then they really turn bad. But I’m glad you did the right thing and made good use of your experience.

          Thanks for your comment once again 🙂

  70. Hi Harleena ma’am,

    Firstly a BIG Congratulations for successfully completing 4 years with this wonderful blog. 🙂

    I am so glad to be a part of this community.

    Congratulations to @Frugal1 sir, Brenda and @Abrar. Everyone is supportive and caring towards each other and this is what makes this community a success.

    Constant efforts of Harleena ma’am and Vinay sir keeps this community interesting and engaging. 🙂

    I will look and strive to follow the lessons stated above as I am completely new to blogging world.

    Thank you so much. And I am excited to see what new features you guys are bringing in. And we don’t mind your short break. 🙂

    I hope 2015 will be a great success for all of us.

    – Rohan Chaubey.

    1. Hi Rohan,

      Thank you so much for your heartfelt wishes 🙂

      You know you are such an important part, and I appreciate all that you do, in your own way, which we always notice.

      Absolutely! I guess that is what makes the ABC perhaps better and different from the other communities, though I haven’t visited or been a part of others similar to ours.

      Aww..thank you for saying that, but it’s not just the both of us – it’s all of us who make this community what it is today, so the credit goes to ALL of you, for which we must thank YOU, dear Ahaians 🙂

      I know you are comparatively new to blogging, but you’re already doing so well for yourself and moving in the right direction. So, just keep going, and keep learning from ALL the possible sources – sky is the limit for youngsters like you!

      Yes, we do need this break, though we are right here, working and tweaking on the blog and forum to make it all better for all of you in the coming year. So, if we slow down on visiting your blogs, updates, groups etc – hope you all would understand why!?

      Thank you for being a part – we appreciate you. Wishing you every success and happiness in the coming year, and Happy New Year to you and yours as well 🙂

  71. Hi Harleena! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    4 years! That’s epic!

    Thank you for sharing all the lessons. Ill need all the tips I can get to get better at this 😀

    I hope Ill be able to contribute here as well some day 🙂

    Happy Holidays!

    *To ’40 more years to come* Cheers! 😀

    1. Hi Dennis,

      Thank you for your wishes 🙂

      Yes indeed, it surely is, though there are so many others who have achieved such greater numbers! You have all the tips, right here for you – I do believe in being transparent and open about them, with nothing to hide, hoping it helps others learn something and become better in their blogging journey.

      Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Holidays to you and yours as well. 40 more!! Lol…I hope I survive that long to keep blogging 😉

  72. Hi Harleena,

    Congratulations and Celebrations! Hope they are going in full swing…this is such an awesome moment for you! I can feel the pride and the humility that is intertwined in your post. You have been such a successful blogger but I can see from all the tips that you have shared, how much work you have put into this blog.

    You have also made a mark in blogosphere with your presence as a ‘Comment Superstar’, always the first one to engage in a meaningful manner and your tweets are omnipresent…they inspire us to move and work harder. The recognition and the respect you have earned is well deserved.

    You have always helped others with very candid suggestions, revealing all and that is what makes you such an endearing person. The language and the smiles reveal your personality and your presence around us. Thank you for being such a benevolent and loving friend.

    I would like to wish you greater success in the coming year and all that you plan for 2015. I know it would be another step forward, becoming another leap, like the previous ones! Thanks for the support and love. I look forward to that in 2015. Happy New Year!

    1. Hi Balroop,

      Thank you for your lovely wishes 🙂

      Yes indeed, they were in full swing…lol…that being the reason I took so long to reply!

      A little pride yes, and I am sorry for the ‘I’ and ‘my’ words I used a lot in this post, but I felt it was required as I had to let my readers know how my blogging journey has been so far, so that perhaps they could learn something worthwhile from it. I wouldn’t say I am successful yet, as I’m still a learner and there is a long way to go, Balroop. Yes, hard work and efforts are 200% I would say, and both of us work round the clock to help others and make this blog and the ABC a better place for our readers 🙂

      Aww…that’s so sweet of you and people have been kind enough to give me that title, though there are so many more deserving. I do appreciate and humbly thank everyone for all the respect they show each time, through their comments, shares, and mentions each time. It means a lot to me.

      You know I’ve always loved helping people, something perhaps I picked up from my Mom when I was a little girl, though nothing as compared to her. Your words make me reach seventh heaven Balroop, and you forget to mention yourself and the wonderful person that YOU are! Always writing such beautiful posts, one tends to gets lost in your words and I’ve so often felt so connected somehow or perhaps related to your posts – takes me down memory lane every once in a while too.

      Thank you for your heart-felt wishes and for being a part of my journey – I appreciate you and our friendship. Wishing you and yours a very Happy and Prosperous New Year as well. 🙂

  73. What a great share, Harleena! Your blog has been such a big success that your tips are well appreciated. I try to provide quality content first, then variety. Variety is the spice of life (without wavering from my overall theme). I love the community engagement at my blog but I do hope to improve in some areas in the New Year and ongoing. I really like the abc community here and find that it has taken a little time to get familiar. It’s like joining a new club. Thanks for all your great tips and advice, shares and support. Happy Holidays to you and your family and we’ll see you in 2015.

    1. Hi Lisa,

      Thank you for your kind words of appreciation 🙂

      I agree with you there, quality content is essential, and that’s what keeps bringing your readers back, asking for more. Once you manage that, then comes the variety, to spice it all up!

      You do have a lovely blog, and have built your own community so well, though I know we could always make things better. There is always scope for improvement, isn’t it?

      Lol…yes, the ABC has become the heartbeat of Aha!NOW I guess, as there is a lot of interaction and engagement that goes on there, besides the learning because of the various posts shared. It does take a while to know your way about, but once you do, you’d love it I am sure. I am glad you joined as well.

      Thanks so much for stopping by, and wishing you and yours Happy Holidays – see you next year as well 🙂

  74. Hi Harleena madam and Vinay sir,

    Congratulations on the 4th blogiversary of Aha-Now! Merry Christmas to both of you and wish you celebrate more and more blogiversaries with us.

    I would like to congratulate all the winners of the monthly leaderboards, guest post chance grabbers and giveaway snatchers. I’m glad that I was one of those GEMS of October and titled a ‘new GEM’ in the community which inspired and motivated me to move forward with redefined strategies of blogging and relationship building.

    I have learnt the ways to improve my methods of blogging and promotions and ABC is my best Wikipedia so far in this regard. I have some wonderful friends and i’ll be ever grateful for the community for introducing me to such a great people.

    I agree with Nathaniel Kidd @frugal1 that we all are winners by taking part in this community and we feel its our pleasure to be a part of it.

    Thank you Harleena madam and Vinay sir, thank you so much the rest of the ABC family! Happy blogging anniversary to all of you and a very happy happy new year!

    1. Hi Sasidhar,

      Thank you for your lovely wishes, we appreciate them 🙂

      Yes indeed, the winners of the leaderboards have done a tremendous job I would say, though as Nate mentioned above, each one is a winner for being such an important part of the ABC and striving hard in the blogosphere. That includes you too for the informative blog you have.

      Yes, you are our precious GEM of October, and we are so glad you were inspired and have connected SO well with the rest of the Ahaians. I guess that’s one reason they always flock around your blog and have so much to learn from you all the time! That is the power of building relationships, which I am sure you’ve experienced now, and are loving it too.

      Lol…ABC and Wikipedia! Loved that comparison, though I know there’s a lot more we need to do up in the forum and community. Thus, the little break we are taking to just do nothing else, but work on things. And I am glad if the posts and relationships built could teach you how to get better as a blogger – nothing could be better.

      Thank you for your kind wishes, and for being a part of the ABC – we appreciate it. Wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year as well 🙂

  75. Hi Harleena, Congratulations!

    I am so thrilled that you are celebrating four years of Aha!NOW! So many bloggers have gone by the wayside but you have grown this into an empire, Harleena.

    Thank you for sharing your lessons from four years of blogging. The common theme is that you always put readers first which is so clear from your writing.

    But you go beyond your writing in helping others, Harleena. You are the Queen of Commenting and Sharing, always being the first to comment everywhere and sharing others’ articles widely.

    If everyone followed your lead, Harleena, the blogosphere would be a much better place.

    Much love and best wishes for many more successful years. I will be right beside you on your Journey! 🙂

    1. Hi Carolyn,

      Thank you so much for your lovely wishes 🙂

      Yes indeed, so many bloggers don’t make it beyond a year, but those who do, I guess they are good to go. That speaks for yourself too, Carolyn! You too would be celebrating your Blogiversary shortly and have come so far. You ARE an inspiration to so many, including me!

      You are right about that – I do put my readers before myself, and also their blogs and my visits to their posts! I guess that’s why I make sure I comment on their posts before taking up my own. I guess Mom was always right, it’s always about others before yourself 🙂

      That’s just a name people have been kind enough to bestow on me, but the real commenting Queen is Adrienne because she is SO quick and regular with her comments, visits, and replies. Oh yes, I do believe in sharing the love and doing it on all platforms, and why not – if it can help someone, somewhere, somehow – just DO it! It might take a few seconds more, but it gives me immense happiness to have helped spread a good word and help someone.

      Aww…thank you so much for saying that – you know I treasure your words so much and am blessed to have wonderful friends like you in the Blogosphere. Without you, my journey wouldn’t be what it is, I hope you know that, dear friend 🙂

      Thank you SO much for being a part – I appreciate you. Have a wonderful year ahead, and wishing you every success and happiness – always 🙂

  76. Harleena,

    Merry Christmas to you and all of the Ahaians! WOW – 4 years is such an awesome accomplishment. You have impacted so many lives in that time I am sure. I can speak for myself and say that you surely have had a profound impact on me as a blogger and a person.

    I want to first congratulate all of the winners, runner-ups, and honorable mentions. In my mind we are all winners here just by being able to take part is such an awesome community.

    I am definitely serious about blogging long term so I am very interested in reading the history of AhaNOW! What an awesome journey you have been on. I am very thankful you are a multi-niche blog and of course I am hoping to see a personal finance category one of these days 🙂

    Just to see how you have evolved since 2010 gives me so much motivation. You have taken us by the hand and given us a blueprint of how we can be successful bloggers also by sharing your journey with us.

    I am so thankful you came back from your vacation and added the AhaNOW! Blogging Community. It truly gave me a home and a platform to learn from the very best! I am sure I speak for many Ahaians when I say we are forever in your debt.

    Your Guest Bloggers and Interviews have taught me so much about blogging and life in general. Your blog and community is the first I have seen that has everything we need all in one location. Then you turn around and offer such incentives to the community, as if you are not already giving us SO much – Your dedication to your members is something truly special!

    Harleena and Vinay I look forward to 2015 and what you guys have in store for us. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

    1. Hi Nate,

      Thanks so much for your kind wishes 🙂

      Yes indeed, the journey so far has been a wonderful one, and getting to know so many other bloggers, who have become more of friend’s now, is the icing on the cake – and that includes you too!

      Absolutely! Each one is a winner in his or her own way, and though we highlight the leaderboard toppers at the ABC, we know each one is doing a tremendous job at their blogs, isn’t it?

      I can make out your seriousness about blogging Nate, because I’ve seen you right from the time we first met and really interacted, perhaps at Blogengage, to the time now. Look at all that you have achieved, and you are getting better by the day!

      Well, we do plan to add a few more niches to the blog, and you never know, we might just add a personal finance one too, one fine day – so stay tuned!

      I wouldn’t say I am a successful blogger as yet, but I sure am a keen learner, so that is half the battle won 😀 Yes, this has been my blogging journey so far, and if anyone can take cues from it or it helps and inspires others, I’d just feel so happy about it.

      Creating such a community, like the ABC, was on our mind since a long time, though I knew it was tough for me to handle things alone. I am just glad we gave it all shape and the results are in-front of all of you. However, we are taking this little break now to work behind the scenes and make the forum much better, thus you’d be seeing less of me on your blog, or anyone else’s for that matter, till a few weeks. I guess we’d have new things lined up to welcome all of you in the New Year, once we start blogging again 🙂

      We love having guests over, and even doing the interviews. I think they give a variety to the blog, and give a chance to others to learn from wonderful bloggers. You know we believe so much in giving, and wish we could offer much more. But I think whatever we have got, we have also shared and given away free with the deserving Ahaians – after all, why not?

      Thanks so much for your heart-felt comment, Nate. Wishing you a very Happy and Successful New Year as well, and we appreciate you being a part of us 🙂

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