At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the entrepreneurship world. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate influencer – Ashita Agrawal for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Blogger, SEO Expert, and Influencer. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey, background and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ashita:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I am an Engineer by education and a Search Engine Optimiser(SEO) by Profession. I started my journey of blogging through food and slowly drove my interest and audience towards my passion for Tea.
Through my blogs and influence, I hope to drive more people towards tea and inspire them to explore more, learn about it, and keep passing their passion to others.”
Through Instagram, I write brand reviews, share with people which tea I love drinking, while on my blog, I post recipes of basic teas that can be brewed through easily available ingredients, recipes with tea, and also give advice on which tea to buy, etc.
What made you passionate about Tea Blogging?
I believe that every passion grows with curiosity, strong analytical skills, right tasting sense and hard work. I have been passionate about Tea since childhood.
My love for tea started from the time my parents gave me Tea instead of milk, because like every other kid, I even threw milk in the bathroom sink! While I hadn’t tasted tisane/tea till I turned 20, I had tasted many different versions of Chai.”
Every region, every household has its own way of making chai, and that made me curious.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Well, the challenges are difficult to overcome at times. Juggling between work, blogging, family and friends is tough, but this makes me realise how productive a person can be! Every time, I share a new piece of content, the love I get from the brand(if a branded post), audience and my family is just too heart touching. This always helps me stay motivated.
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
Getting great feedback on the content I post, the way I click photographs and the way I write my reviews from those who have been inspired through my social media content, amps up my energy to deliver more value to them.
When someone tells me that we tried the tea recipe you shared or we bought tea from the brand you suggested, it makes me way too happy!”
More recently, I received the Indian Food Blogger Awards(IFBA) that was hosted by the Food Bloggers Association of India (FBAI) and sponsored by Godrej.
The photos of your tea are one of the highlights of your blog. What are the elements that go into each photo?
I am a self-taught photographer. I take my inspiration from food photographers across the globe. With photography, I feel I can share the style of plating and enhance the eating and drinking experience through my eyes. Because a human first taste the food/beverage through their eyes. I try using elements that match the mood and colours of the particular beverage. I guess this helps my pictures look eye appealing.
Out of all the teas available, which is your personal favourite?
Well choosing one particular tea would be very difficult. My audience says Ashita likes all the tea she tastes. My personal preference is floral teas. These teas are simply soothing and calming.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned while Tea Blogging?
I’ve learned that one shouldn’t compare the work with other influencers and bloggers. Each one has its own style of writing, expressing and showcasing talent.
Good Things take time. It took me 1.5 years to reach this level of blogging and influencing.”
I have also learnt how important it is to adapt to changes in life. From not knowing anything about photography to one fine day picking up a DSLR and shooting pictures was a drastic change for me.
Did you ever think that you would be so successful at blogging when you started?
I had no clue this would go a long way! People are more passionate about coffee than tea.
When people started coming to me for tea recipes and tea brand suggestions, I was surprised.
What advice would you give to someone starting out, particularly to aspiring bloggers/vloggers/entrepreneurs?
The only advice I would give to all the aspiring bloggers and influencers is to be very patient as things take time and be unique with what you have. Select a particular niche in the food and excel in it.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
