Ms. Goyal is one of the early and successful bloggers in India. As per “Shoutabout.org” her blog is one of the top 30 book review blogs in the world. Initially starting with book reviews in 2004 she has since started a travel blog too, which she works on full time now. She has written over 500 reviews across genres and interviewed several authors as well. All the books reviewed have created her own personal library in her house. Ms. Goyal kindly agreed to have a quick chat about her book blog “AnuReviews – Book reviews by Anuradha Goyal”.
Before stepping into the blogger pool full time she was working with a corporate organization. In 2004, when AnuReviews was started, she was still experimenting; there was no visibility how it would pick up or be received. The book blog is her personal expression, her playing space, where she can take the liberty to write her mind. She does not charge for the book reviews that are requested. The book blog was a hobby that grew with time and still is, as compared to her travel blog, which has become her vocation and is more commercial. In 2007 Ms. Goyal left the corporate world to manage her blogs full time. She has also authored a book “The Mouse Charmers” on digital pioneers of India.
Starting out early had its advantages, as it was way before social media could play a role in it, the pre-commercialization era gave her blog a loyal following and readership. Ms. Goyal writes what comes straight from her experience. She has not used any of the contemporary tricks to generate traffic giving her a more faithful following.
As per Ms. Goyal, since the book industry in itself is not generally a profitable business so there is very little it can offer back, in terms of growing a bookish blog to a business level. As paralleled with the tech or travel blogs, where you can earn with a thriving blog in those industries, a book blog may not have that large a market. Having said that a blog space is still a great platform to connect with readers and authors and to discover new books.
As her travel blog is keeping her busy and traveling, AnuReviews does not offer any extra services and is more organic in its ways.
Few books read recently that stayed with Ms. Goyal :
A Gujarati classic translated to English - A Glory of Patan by KM Munshi
Volga se Ganga by Rahul Sankrityayan
How I became a tree by Sumana Roy
Aghori – A Biographical Novel by Manoj Thakkar, Jayesh Rajpal & Nupur Agrawal
It was great pleasure talking with her about her blogs and how the blogging industry has grown and changed over the years. They have become a platform to meet and connect with like minded people trying to find a niche in their respective industries. For the blog readers out there don’t forget to check out her blogs below.
Book Blog: AnuReviews: https://www.anureviews.com
Travel Blog: Inditales: https://www.inditales.com