FAQs

FAQs

desi blogger

I’m incredibly, insanely, massively grateful for all the interest in the blog and for some of the more commonly asked questions, here are some answers.

PERSONAL

Where do you live?
Living in Sydney, Australia right now and loving it.

Where are you originally from?
I was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan.

Who lives with you?
My multiple personalities and one husband.

How did you and your husband, Nabeel meet?
We met at work when both of us used to live in Karachi šŸ™‚

How long have you been married?
7 years now. If you’d like, you can check out a Q&A we once did at the time of one of our anniversaries.

Do you have children?
I’m pretty sure I don’t but if you have conflicting information on this, please contact me urgently.

What does ‘Desi’ mean?
It’s a word popularly used to indicate anything South-Asian. So desi food, desi clothes, desi people, desi wonder woman. It’s pronounced as ‘day-see’.

Why the blog name?
I started this blog for fun with an entirely different objective in mind. Gradually it evolved into what it is today. By the time I realized that it feels like I’m calling myself a wonder woman (too pompous for my personal taste), it felt too late to change it, and so itā€™s been this way since. In retrospect, I wouldā€™ve picked a different name but now Iā€™m attached to it, so here we are.

How long have you been blogging?
5 years now!

Do you have any other job?
I’m a full-time blogger. And a professional napper, part-time.

What visa are you in Australia on?
We are on a Skilled Independent visa and my husband is the primary applicant.

Can you decorate our home for us?
Unfortunately, my brain is able to processes home decor related things only for my own place and it’s not really something that I enjoy doing for anyone else šŸ™‚ But I do appreciate you considering me talented enough to want to trust your home with *multiple heart emojis*
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TECHNICAL

Who takes your photographs?
The ones Iā€™m not in, I take myself. The rest are sometimes courtesy a tripod, other times courtesy husband.

What kind of camera do you use?
Iā€™ve recently switched to a Fujifilm XT100 and really enjoy using it. 95% of the pictures on my blog will be with this camera. For Instastories and the remaining 5% of images, I use my phone which is a Samsung S9+.

What other equipment do you use for taking photographs?
Sometimes I use a Manfrotto tripod when Iā€™ve eaten too much, canā€™t hold myself together and require artificial balance.

What software do you use for photo editing?
Photoshop for general edits. VSCO for color presets.

What platform is your blog on?
I’m on WordPress now but for the first three years of my blogging career I was on Blogger.

Who did your website design?
The design of my blog for the first two years was done by me. Over time, my husband took over and is now an unpaid employee providing website design and maintenance services for the blog.
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ADVERTISING

How can I advertise on your blog?
Mail me at [email protected] and we can always talk.

How do you charge for blog ads?
I have flat rates for ad spaces. I can share with you my ad kit. Email me at [email protected].

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PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

Whatā€™s your policy on working with brands?
Strictly the stuff I like/love/would-tell-my-friends-about and would personally use myself. Tell me what you have in mind and if I love it, I’ll be super excited to work together.

How can I contact you for a collaboration?
Email at [email protected]. Here are some blog stats you might like to take a look at before you do that.

What are your charges for sponsored content?
Iā€™ve got a media kit that should answer all your questions so mail me about your product with all details at [email protected] and Iā€™ll send it your way.

Will you share a press release with your readers if I mail it to you?
No (unless itā€™s information thatā€™s so exciting that the universe will self-destruct without it).

How can I send you samples of my product?
I love getting blogger mail whether it’s my favorite products or something life-changing to discover! Email me at [email protected] and Iā€™ll send across my product contribution policy and shipment details.

If I send you free samples of my product, will you definitely feature them?
Email me at [email protected] and you can have a look at my product contribution policy to get an idea of the terms.

If you donā€™t like my free samples and/or are not going to feature them, will you return them?
Refer to the question above.
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BLOGGING

How do you make money through your blog?
There are multiple channels through which you can make an income while blogging. The ones I currently use are sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links, ad placements and giveaways.

How do you decide what to post? Can you tell me what I should write about?
I maintain an editorial calendar that I plan out for 1-2 months. I decide what posts to write based on whatever is interesting me at the moment – a product I’m loving, what’s happening at home, a personal milestone, anything that’s on my mind, and so on. If it makes me excited about developing, I make sure it’s part of my posting schedule. As far as tips on what to write about, you have to go back to why you’re thinking of doing this: If you don’t know what you want to write about but just want to have a blog, you may want to reconsider having a blog at all. No one can advise you on your content, it has to come from you.

Do you have tips for me to get started on my own blog?
I don’t like to complicate things so I don’t have too many rules for this. There are just three things you really need to do to get started: 1) Find your voice and what you want to say. 2) Write honestly and from your heart. 3) Be patient and consistent. For more tips, Google is your friend – there is so much content on this online, you only need to have the initiative and truly be ready to commit to doing it.

How can I grow my followers?
I have never followed any formulae for growing follower numbers. If you want to know my approach, it’s exactly the same as the answer above. If you want more technical advice, again, trust Google to supply you with tons of articles on this topic, if you’re ready to invest the time into it.

Can you please give my blog a shoutout?
I would love to but unfortunately at this point I get multiple requests for this everyday and it would be unfair to my readers to share so much on this all the time. I have a commitment to my readers about always sharing the best and since I cannot review each blog personally, it wouldn’t be the correct thing to do.

Can you please give check my blog and give me feedback?
Please refer to the question above šŸ™

How can I read any tips that you have regarding blogging?
I have often talked about the blogging tricks I trust and believe in, in the various interviews I’ve done. You can always check them out in the Press section right here.

Will you guest blog for us?
Tell me what you have in mind and let us talk. If you promise to not edit me to the point of no recognition, we can be friends.

Can I guest blog for you?
I have a particular writing style preference and I donā€™t want to edit you down and kill your spirit so no for now šŸ™ But if I ever start requesting contributors, feel free to get in touch!

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SHARING

Can I use your content on my blog/website?Ā 
Of course. But please remember to link back to the post and blog. If you donā€™t, that would be kind of nasty and you know your mama raised you better.

If youā€™ve got more questions, you should just check the ā€˜Contactā€™ page and weā€™ll sort it all out.

 

4 Comments

  1. how do you earn a living through blogging? this concept escapes me completely… I love the fact that one can sit at home, write about stuff and earn to boost! So enlighten me šŸ™‚

  2. plz a post about earning money online via blogging pleaseeeeeeee

  3. Something I always wanted to know too…how does one make money through blogging.Blog on that , pleaseeee!Love the fact that you will only promote stuff that you are comfortable with and have some worth in your everyday life. Keep it up!

  4. Hey Shehzeen,
    I just spent my time after sehri going through alot of your posts. Love your writing style and attitude towards life in general. You’re a true wonder woman and an inspiration for me for sure.

    I recently started to blog on WordPress and google is a lot of help , no doubt. but I would really to know how exactly do you get collaborations and decide rates. If you can guide a little, I’d have some direction.

    Love everything about this blog.

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