ShoutMeLoud’s 8th Anniversary: Messages From The ShoutDreams Team

Today is a very special day. It’s the anniversary of ShoutDreams’s first and most popular blog- ShoutMeLoud. Eight years ago today, 1st December 2008, I borrowed my friend’s credit card so that I could buy a domain name and a hosting account.

Little did I know that ShoutMeLoud would transform into a powerhouse in the internet marketing niche.

In the past 8 years, ShoutMeLoud has:

• Won the Drivers of Digital best blog award in 2013 & 2016 (among several other awards).
• Been featured in WordCamp, Affiliate Summit, India Affiliate Summit, IBM Event, Socilathon, and more.
• Formed an LLC in India.
• Incorporated a company in the USA
• …and many other things.

You can read the full list and the official SML announcement over here.

I didn’t really know what I was doing back then, but after 8 years of building one of the most successful internet marketing blogs in the world, I can safely say I’ve learned a few things.

This experience has been nothing short of wonderful. From building this blog, I’ve learned so much about myself and others. I’ve learned how to reach out to and connect with my audience. I’ve learned how to innovate and be bold. And I’ve learned how to build an enterprise.

But it hasn’t just been me. I’ve also learned how to create and manage a team. During these past 8 years, I’ve worked with some incredibly talented individuals. Together, we’ve seen the rise of ShoutMeLoud. I couldn’t have done any of this without them.

In honor of our 8 years of existence, I’ve asked our team members to share a little bit about their experiences.

Sharat Nik

Hey Shouters, this is Sharat Nik and I’m from New Delhi. First of all, congratulations to each one of you and our team members on completing 8 years. I’m a proud part of ShoutMeLoud where I do everything that a normal blogger does, but then there is a lot more that is added up, minus the pressure because I enjoy doing this. I take care of most of the graphics at ShoutMeLoud. I create those featured images that you see in the blog posts. I take care of several projects at ShoutDreams, manage a team of developers, and take care of several technical parts. I also handle the execution of plans made during our brainstorming sessions.

I also try crazy stuff for the love of trying something new, and being in this online independent business allows me to do that. It’s not a desk thing that limits me, in fact, it fuels my creativity. I have completed 3 years with ShoutMeLoud and it’s been a wonderful experience working with Harsh so far. He is a great mentor who motivates me and many others to do more. He inspires me a lot. The best part about ShoutMeLoud is its transparency. Whatever I know, everyone knows.

The most challenging and fun thing we did at ShoutMeLoud was “ShoutMeet”, and there are many such crazy things which we keep on doing.

Once we suddenly thought to go to a random public place and interview people. So, we went to Connaught Place and interviewed people asking them things like what they know about blogging, what do they like about blogging as a platform, what they think about bloggers, and several other questions.

I remember that last minute call of going to Baroda for WordCamp by driving the whole night instead of a comfortable flight. I loved that because that gave me more energy to hit the road, and after that I did many road trips. Even the idea of doing ShoutMeet via the road popped up from the Baroda road trip.

Apart from that, we also did ShoutUp, a bloggers paid event in Delhi and Bangalore. And there’s been a lot more.

I love working online, and this is what enhances my interest in my work. If you don’t love what you are doing, then it’s not worth it. Make sure your work is your passion because that will boost your growth. I have been in offline businesses like home services startups (OnYourDuty.com), event management, clubbing, PVC pipes manufacturing, and even started my own hosting company back in 2008. I have also traded forex for more than a year. I have been active in online spaces since 2006. I guess the only mistake I made was leaving my field every time I made some money to do something big in another field. Then I decided to come back to this online business which I completely left in early 2012. I joined Harsh in 2013 and then things became more organized. Now I have realized that consistency is the key. You need to be consistent.

Once again, congratulations to all the readers and all the team members for the completion of eight years of ShoutMeLoud. I will try to give my best to the community, more beautiful images, videos, ideas, and a lot more energy. Thank you.

Eric

Hey, I’m Eric.

I’m an editor and proofreader here at ShoutMeLoud. The editing process is a bit like a refinery. Words come out from an author in a raw form, and I make them shiny and polished. A lot of times, authors can’t separate themselves from the emotion that goes into their writing process. As an editor, it’s important to look at the work logically to counteract the author’s emotions. It’s a checks and balances system to make sure that everything is being said correctly, coherently, and in the best possible way.

If there’s one thing that I’d like to tell readers here at SML, it’s to make sure that everything you do is done in the way that it should be done. If you are trying to pound a nail, use a hammer, don’t use a shoe. There’s no substitute for professionalism in business. If you’re building a brand to rival Coca-Cola but your catchphrase doesn’t make sense, or you only spent 20 minutes brainstorming a name because the first one was “good enough”, you will 100% fail.

Business is mostly psychology. People want to know that you can take care of them. If it looks like you’re not even trying, they won’t trust you. Focus on the needs of the customer and forget the desire to profit. Money will come if your service is good (part of good service is being professional). Business exists because there are customers, not because there is money. Always remember this mantra: I am doing this for my consumer; whatever they need right now is what I will give them.

Shallu

Hi everyone,

I am Shallu Agrawal, and I have been associated with ShoutMeLoud for the past one and a half years. At ShoutMeLoud, I manage different areas of interest: Comment moderating, email sorting, organizing, and maintaining the process flow within the company. Recently, I have started taking care of the finance department and have also written a few articles for ShoutMeLoud. Apart from ShoutMeLoud, I also manage ShoutMeHindi.

Why do I do what I do?

Before working at ShoutMeLoud, I was a business development executive at a solar company where I had to bring in clients for my company. However, the role was very limited with nothing new to learn.

At ShoutMeLoud, I got an opportunity to work in any area I like. Managing the tiny aspects or the nitty gritty of a blog gives me a sense of fulfillment and makes me appreciate the small things in life which are very important.

When I joined SML, it was a challenge for me to slide out of my comfort zone and do something which I have never imagined before. Earlier, a task which I had no prior knowledge about would make me feel restless. But over time, with Harsh being my mentor, I learned to enjoy taking up new projects and challenges. It has widened my horizon of knowledge, improved my observational skills, and has cultivated self-discipline.

It also gives me freedom to work from anywhere, anytime, and on things that I enjoy doing.

People think that a blog is all about writing. But it is way more than that. Managing a blog is equally important. And it should be considered as serious business.

There was a point in my life where I was not sure what I wanted to do. Finding what I really loved doing seemed impossible. The advice that worked for me was: “Try doing different things and see what you like. Work towards the area which you like and then find what you really love.”

So, I would like to give you the same advice. It’s ok if you don’t know what you want to do. Just keep doing different things, and you will discover your passion.

Chatty

I’m Chatty Sharma and I’m from Chandigarh, India. I’ve been working with ShoutMeLoud for the past few months now. I started as YouTuber and used to make tutorial videos for ShoutMeLoud’s YouTube Channel. Now, I do conversion optimization & email marketing. So, all the opt-in forms you see and all the emails you get that come from me, and later proofread by Eric and Harsh.

I love to work for online businesses because I can work from anywhere, anytime. Yes, that means if I don’t get time the whole day but get time at 2AM, I can still do my work. They don’t make us sit at one place at a specific time like a boring 9-5 job. So, this way I’m not only doing my college studies, but also working, learning, and making money in my free time.

It’s a great experience to learn & analyze how people are reacting to the emails and opt-in forms that I create. We are trying many new things at ShoutMeLoud like free courses (e.g. – Pro Affiliate Marketing Course), flash sales, etc. Some things are working well and others are good learnings which are enabling the whole company to grow.

To all the Shouters, I would like to say, online work is one of the best kinds of jobs in the world (but you should love what you are doing), and it’s not very difficult to earn money sitting at home. You can create a website, or if that doesn’t work for you, then you can use your skills to grow other people’s businesses. You can still make good money with the same Laptop Lifestyle!

Nikhil

I am Nikhil Ganotra. I have been managing the ShoutMeLoud forum since the last few months, and it has been a great opportunity for me to grab new skills and interact with an amazing community. Everyone is so helpful out there to help out users with any blogging related query.

I have a short line message for SML readers: If you blog with heart, it will certainly pay off. You can also join the SML forum to get any help regarding starting a new blog, how to make money from your existing blog, or anything else.

We will be glad to help you out.

Gurmeet

Hi! I am Gurmeet, and I joined ShoutMeLoud on 27th June 2015, and it was something I didn’t ever expect. It was also a proud moment for me as at that time I was completely new to blogging. I used to visit ShoutMeLoud to learn all about the things related to blogging and earning money online. I was quite inspired by Harsh and his income reports that just surprised me!

Then, Harsh launched ShoutMeHindi to help Hindi bloggers. Just by chance, I proposed to Harsh to publish my Hindi article on ShoutMeHindi (I had never talked to him before), and that was the time when my connection with the ShoutDreams network started. And as of now, I am proudly saying that it was Harsh sir’s nobility to trust a 16-year old boy to handle such a trusted online brand in the blogging industry.

Currently, I am enjoying the company of such an awesome team. ShoutMeLoud is something that has made my presence on the internet. I received lots of messages today from various people who are somehow related to the internet field, and the credit goes to ShoutMeLoud.

Let me quickly tell you that what I do for the ShoutDreams network.

As of now, I am managing ShoutMeHindi as the Senior Editor, and I wrote most of the posts published at ShoutMeHindi. More than this, I make videos for ShoutMeHindi’s YouTube channel, and you can also find videos of mine at Harsh’s channel as well. I have contributed content in Hindi as well as in English.

It gives me immense pleasure to work with ShoutMeLoud, and the working experience is amazing. I never needed to worry about anything (digital products) which I couldn’t buy, because I just needed to ask Harsh sir for them. Moreover, as a member of the ShoutDreams network, work has never become a burden for me. This is the best part as I am pursuing Engineering in Information Technology.

Here’s a message to readers:

Thanks for supporting me this much, and it’s all because of you people that we as a team are growing day by day. Soon, we are coming out with lots of new content, videos, and other amazing stuff. So I request all readers to stay connected with us. Hindi bloggers could become a majority in the Indian blogging industry, and let’s just see how I can help in making it so.

In the end, I want to say that it’s all because of this team that I am financially independent. Now I have at least that much to spend on the things of my likings without any hesitations. Big thanks to the ShoutDreams network, and I pledge to keep contributing with joy!

Kishen Sreehari

I’m a content guy at SML. I come up with a bunch of words which, if put together, hopefully make sense and enrich readers’ lives. I enjoy writing. It’s a form of expression, and this is the best way I can express. Words have always intrigued me and I believe it’s the easiest and fastest way to impact peoples’ lives (apart from giving them money directly).

All the people in this community are go-getters. I love busy people- people who are always working on something interesting and improving their lives. The SML community is the epitome of this. Thanks for reading our words. We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.

Theodore Nwangene

My name is Theodore Nwangene. I’m a blogger, designer, author, and freelance writer.

I’ve been working with ShoutMeLoud for a while, and I’m enjoying it. At ShoutMeLoud, I create blog posts, design infographics, write short reports, etc.

I’m doing these tasks because I love doing them. SML is a big name in the internet marketing industry and I’m happy being among the team.

For people that are still struggling to make it in this business, I urge you to keep firing on. It’s never going to be easy, but you have to keep trying smartly and soon, you’ll break the jinx.

Believe in yourself, mingle with the influencers in your niche, don’t read and learn alone, but instead always endeavor to apply and implement whatever you learn because nothing will work out if you don’t try.

As for making money via the internet, I’ll tell you that nothing can be truer than that same advice. The internet has produced, and is still producing, many billionaires around the world. You just have to carve out a niche for yourself and stand out among the crowd.

Remember, those who win are those who think they can.

Long live ShoutMeLoud.
Long live the Team.
Long live the Internet.

Happy 8 year anniversary to SML.

Thank you.

Jimit Bagadiya

Hi, I am Jimit Bagadiya. I am the CEO of Creative Glance Technologies and Co-Founder of SocialPilot.co. I am based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. For a long time, I have been a regular reader of ShoutMeLoud’s blog, but never connected with the person behind it. Two years back, I got in touch with Harsh via Twitter and our professional relationship began, which has now been converted into a good friendship.

Currently, my team and I are involved in the Android and iOS apps development work of ShoutMeLoud. We are constantly working on the app to make it more useful and user-friendly. We keep this app updated with the latest tech trends and are adding more features over time.

My first interaction with Harsh was a professional relationship. Harsh shared his requirement about his app and we agreed on its development cost. As a CEO of an IT company, my first objective was to get a project from Harsh and earn some money. We started the development of the mobile app last year. During the development of the app, I got many opportunities to talk with Harsh and to know more about his blog and his future vision for ShoutMeLoud and his community of users. He also helped me with cool suggestions about my startup SocialPilot.co to make it better and really useful to end users. Our professional relationship has transformed and we are now very good friends.

Now, the aim of getting professional fees about the development of mobile app becomes the secondary objective, and the primary objective is the relationship with him. We enjoy working on the ShoutMeLoud mobile apps and are very happy to be a part of Harsh’s future vision.

The only message to the readers is to keep showing your love to ShoutMeLoud by pointing out any bugs or suggestion about the apps to make them more user-friendly and useful to you.

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I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to the team for helping turn ShoutMeLoud into the best blog on the internet!

We’ve been here for 8 years, and we’re not going anywhere.

I don’t know what the next 8 years will look like, but we’ll sure have fun figuring it out.

So happy birthday ShoutMeLoud, and thank you to the team that made this journey possible.

And of course, thank you to all the dedicated readers who rely on the ShoutDreams network. We couldn’t do it without you, and I look forward to supplying you with great quality blogs for a long time.

Here’s to another 8 years…!

-Harsh Agrawal