Wanna know how to become a rich and famous celebrity blogger? Well then THIS is the blog for you!
1. Don’t do it for the money.
Seriously don’t.
The moment you start out thinking “ok, so I’ll start this blog and then presto, I’ll be RICH!” it’s all over. There’s just one thing I tell everyone who asks me how to become a successful ANYTHING and it’s this;
Think about the one thing you would love to do for the rest of your life EVEN if nobody paid you to do it and then make that your career.
I guarantee you’ll be satisfied AND successful. The universe will make it so.
2. The blog never sleeps, and neither will you.
Unlike print media, which gets put to “bed” at around 6pm everyday, you need to be ready to rumble at all hours of the night. If a story breaks at 4am you better believe you’ll be popping open your laptop and wishing you hadn’t stayed up all night watching Game of Thrones. Why? Because this is the primary advantage of the medium and you’d be well served to remember that always! The blogs that go viral are the ones that caught the kahani first!
3. It’s never too late to say sorry! (Thanks, Justin Bieber.)
If you make a mistake in you reportage, or hurt someone’s feelings, admit it. Everybody’s human and even the celebrities are willing to forgive and forget (if you’re not being repeatedly and unnecessarily malicious that is). Back in 2011 I remember an adorable encounter where Ranveer Singh was a little mad at us for doing a story making fun of his rap skills but warmed up eventually after our chat. Check it out! LOL.
4. You’re spammed if you do, damned if you don’t!
It’s pretty important to develop a layer of thick skin if you’re easily hurt. Internet trolls (and Bollywood celebrity rival fan clubs) will seek you out and leave some pretty terrible comments on your blog – more often than not, for no reason at all. Try to channel the “sticks and stones” mentality and stay above the fray. Definitely don’t start a word war with someone who clearly has way too much time on their hands. However, if you have a mom like mine, applaud her epic smackdown of my haters every chance she gets! In response to a comment on my Facebook page that said, “MissMalini you are looking so old.” She replied, “So what about you? Are you getting younger everyday? Then you’ll turn into a baby and then what?” Bam. An epic Benjamin Button smackdown because my mom is AWESOME.
5. You HAVE to geek out.
People might think all you do for a living is go to parties and take selfies with the stars. (Ha! You wish.) Shmoozing with B-Town is only a very small part of the package. Prepare to spend endless unglamorous hours writing, Photoshopping, video editing, crafting the perfect tweets and stressing over your Instagram filters. To be honest, when I started, I probably spent 6 days a week on my sofa (which WAS my office at the time) in PJs and no makeup, blogging up a storm. Because you’re really only as relevant as your last post. FYI, the most successful celebrity bloggers publish posts at least 15-30 times a day!
6. You have to be YOU.
The #1 gap in entertainment reporting tends to be the absence of a unique voice – aside from the fabulous Madame “M” that Stardust used to carry – and no that was not me! It is really important to add your own sense of humour, snarkiness and personality to your writing to make it memorable. Why else would someone choose to read your blog over the countless others talking about the same Shahid Kapoor selfie?!
7. Don’t blog like a boron.
Yup, I just invented a word – boron: (not to be confused with the element Boron). A boron is someone who blogs like a moron. Being a good celebrity blogger is just as much about good content as it is about perseverance. Be regular, be real and be honest with yourself. Every time you write a post, read it again and ask yourself; Would I read this? Would I like this? If the answer is no, CTRL-Z and start over. Remember, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
8. Don’t just pretend to listen. Actually Listen!
It can be really frazzling interviewing big celebrities and its easy to get so distracted asking them questions that you forget to pay attention to their answers! The best interviews are those that sound like a genuine conversation. This is a piece of advice Karan Johar once gave me about interviewing people. He said always go prepared with your set of questions but don’t get stuck asking them if the conversation goes somewhere else. That way you’re more likely to get an interesting, awesome interview that will be the talk of B-Town! Tips from the original king of the couch himself! #Winning
Listen. Make your next question the result of what the person has said. When you come with a sheet and twenty things on it, even if you don’t make it through three of those its fine, as long as your conversation has been engaging. Listen. That’s the only thing I would say. Listen. Don’t speak. Listen. – Karan Johar
9. Cupcakes.
It’s almost eerie how cupcakes will become an integral part of your existence. If you don’t believe me just visit the Team MissMalini HQ sometime!
10. If you blog it, they will come.
And finally just have fun with it. Lets admit, it neither you or I are here on a mission to save the world. You’re getting a chance to write about the things you love for the people who love them too. Enjoy it, relish and pass me a cupcake!