LINDA IKEJI
Unarguably the no 1 blogger in the country, linda ikeji, a graduate of the University of lagos, is one remarkable lady who turned her passion for writing, into a multimillion naira career. Before her venture in media, linda was a model and owned her own modeling and events company up until 2010. since launching her blog in 2006, it has become one of the leading go-to sites for celebrity news, gossip and entertainment garnering over millions of hits a month. the success of her blog has encouraged a lot of young people to tap into the online space and equally make a living out of it. in this interview with KONYE CHELSEA NWABOGOR, she talks about her advent into blogging and also her plans for expanding the linda ikeji brand even further..
How did you get into the world of blogging?
I received a call from a friend of mine who read a story about me on the internet and sent me the link. I opened the blog on BellaNaija, read the story and liked it; I also read the comments and liked them too. And I started to read BellaNaija from then onward. I also discovered Perez hilton whose style I emulated when I started my own blog. growing up, I wanted to be a journalist and I felt blogging was the next best thing because it provides a platform to express yourself, share news, share information, where people can interact with each other, get educated, get entertained and all of that. It’s been almost eleven years and it has been amazing.
At the beginning it obviously wasn’t financially lucrative. What were the deciding factors that made you stick to it?
I was very passionate about it and initially didn’t think about making a living out of it. I wanted to be the one giving people information of what was happening in Nigeria and around the world. Blogging was like living my dream because my dream was to be in media. I blogged dedicatedly for four years before anyone asked to pay me for my platform. I didn’t even think it was possible to make money from it.
Were there times you felt like giving up?
It never crossed my mind. When you love what you do, you never think of giving up. Seeing how my platform was impacting lives and how many people relied on it to be entertained, informed and educated brought me so much joy.
Please share with us some of the best and worst moment you have had so far in your blogging journey?
There have been so many incredible moments. I have raised millions of naira for people with my platform; sick people and those who need education. Many people have said they have been blessed through my blog, they have met other people through my blog, and they have become popular through my blog. There are people who told me that when they were depressed and they read my blog, it uplifted their spirit. They go to my blog repeatedly to run away from all their problems.
The worst moments would be when I post something and later realize is not true. either because I was misled by a source or somebody posted something on the internet that I picked up and later found out not to be true. Plus I have had some bad internet fights with some celebrities over the years. So those moments have been crazy or sometimes I trend on twitter and people insult the hell out of me. Those are the people who don’t agree with my methods but the worst moment really, if I want to recall, would be when my blog was shut down for about a day and half in 2014 after some people accused me of plagiarism but it was later found to be false and the blog was restored. In those 36 hours of shutdown, I realized my inner strength because I dealt with it in the best way. I was the only one who was not panicking and laughing but everyone else around me was; my friends, my family, my staff were all going out of their minds. I remained calm because I knew that god had me; I knew that it was just a phase meant to make me stronger and it did make me stronger. After the blog went down, I became an underdog. There were a lot of haters - people who were happy that my blog went down but there were also people who were rooting for me, and were extremely happy for me when the blog came back up. I got solid support against those trying to bring a good woman down. All this made my blog even more popular as it became the biggest trending topic of 2014 which doubled my income as my blog got more views so it was actually a blessing in disguise!
Your site draws millions of readers daily, and the repeat traffic numbers are amazing. What have you learned about sustaining audience loyalty?
There are people who come to my blog because they like me personally and there those who don’t like me but can’t resist coming to my blog. This is because I try to be the first to bring the news, get exclusive news and put up stories that people want to read. The audience would keep coming back if you have a good product. I don’t take it for granted. I don’t rest on my oars as I understand how fickle attention span can be. If you don’t give them what they want, they would find somewhere else to get it. So I make my blog as interesting as possible to keep people coming back. even though I have made a lot of money from it and I could relax and employ more people which I have, I blog from 4:00am-11:00pm.
Looking back, were they ever times where you felt, “i shouldn’t have posted that?”
I have posted things in the past that I regret and have taken down.
Do you see any difference in the approach towards blogging today as compared to when you started out?
When I started out it was more of personal blogs and a lot of people used their real names. There weren’t a lot of aliases. Blogging was personal stuff but then I wanted to do a bit more so I started to include gossip and that caught on like wildfire.
Back then there were only one or two entertainment blogs that weren’t really popular. I noticed that anytime I posted something on entertainment, a lot of people would come to the blog and read. So I decided to concentrate on entertainment as Nigerians in the diaspora wanted to know what was going on back home.
Right now, the difference is that those personal blogs have become extinct. There aren’t that many around these days. There are more of entertainment and political blogs now.
How would you define the power of blogging and what is the overall message you aim to impart through your blog?
The online space has taken over. That’s the fastest way to get news and information right now, it’s no longer via television or radio. It’s social media and blogs, and that’s because it’s real time. If someone is an eye witness to something right now, the first place they will share the info is on social media, twitter, Instagram facebook and we the bloggers are very quick to pick up the story, before the Tv and radio people are even aware of it. Most of the breaking stories in this country in the last five years have been broken through online platforms and not traditional media outlets. Another thing that makes it powerful is that you get real time reactions from people. People would share opinions about the situation. you get instant feedback; you know what people are thinking of the story because they have a platform to share their views.
There is really no overall message in blogging, just for people to be more aware of what is going on in their world, in their community, to understand their power, for people who are depressed to get a laugh, the comments on LIB are mostly hilarious. Also for people to learn, share in other people’s joy, laughter and experiences.
How are you coping with competition from upcoming bloggers who hinging on your success story have suddenly not only become more aggressive, but have also begun to gain grounds in terms of followership?
The sky is big enough for everyone. I have absolutely no issues about it. I welcome anybody that wants to come on board. I have stayed the longest. I think I am number one. Although people are trying, I don’t think that spot has been taken. It’s hard to beat me because I am extremely dedicated to this job. But I can’t be the only blogger in Nigeria. That would be too much burden. Advertisers should have more platforms to put their products or services out there for people to see.
What kind of changes are you expecting in the blogging industry in the next five years?
I don’t want any drastic change because what we have right now is working for us. I am not looking for anything drastic. I just hope that there are more readers online and more people tune in to blogs, more people get involved in the process. I hope that the government
If you don’t give them what they want, they would find somewhere else to get it. So I make my blog as interesting as possible to keep people coming back. Even though I have made a lot of money from it and I could relax and employ more people which I have, I blog from 4:00am 11:00pm.
would not try to get involved and censor us because that is the best medium we have right now to really express ourselves online without any censorship. That would be sad if they do that. We have about 40 million Nigerians online right now and hopefully someday soon it would be 60-70 million so that we can have more people who read our stories.
social media and cyber bullying is a scary combination which many people feel the brunt of today. as a blogger you have been constantly accused of supporting cyber bullying via some of your blog posts and approved comments, what’s your take on this ?
Social media has its ups and downs. you must understand that first and foremost, I am a blogger and I don’t support or approve of the views of my readers. People should feel free to express themselves the way they want. you should also know that sometimes the comments allowed are just the bad ones. There are actually evil ones we see and take out.
Social media like every other thing in life has its negatives and positives. It depends on how you let it affect you. When people try to bully you, you should resist it or stay away from them. Leave groups that are abusive. If people speak derogatorily about you on social media, block them and also don’t let people who make you feel bad about yourself into your space. Bullying has been going on for ages and I don’t think it would ever stop as long as social media exists. There are just bad, frustrated people in the world who enjoy inflicting pain on others to make themselves feel better. don’t be a victim, don’t allow them get you depressed or extremely sad.
Social media has more positives than negatives. you just have to decide on how you want it and not allow the other social media users affect you. These days we have seen a lot of suicides being live-streamed on facebook. facebook created live videos for us to have chats with our family and friends and post good things that happen in our lives for other people to see but others misuse it and post horrific acts. We can’t blame facebook for this though, it’s how people chose to misuse the platform.
in terms of relationships with colleagues and friends, you obviously have sacrificed a lot to live the life you have. how does that make you feel?
I don’t think I have sacrificed anything. I’m living the life that I wanted to live on my own terms and my own way. The friends I have today are people who have been my friends for at least 10 years, some as long as 20, long before I found success. There was a time that I stayed indoors a lot for years because I was blogging from home, so I hardly went out. I can say I sacrificed a bit because I didn’t spend much time with my friends. But generally, the life I have now is the life I prayed for. There’s only one thing remaining.
the world is always watching and judging. how has the public scrutiny you’ve had to endure affected your life?
It hasn’t affected my life in a negative way. I am not famous like actors and actresses and musicians. My name is probably bigger than my face so most times when I walk around, only a few people recognize me. People of course have an opinion about me because I am in the public eye, but I don’t let those kinds of things affect my life. I don’t give people that kind of power. They have a right to have an opinion and I reserve my right not to care. People are always watching, waiting for your next move, waiting for when you will fail, make a mistake, overstep your boundary etc. I just live my life and don’t pay attention.
Tell us about your other pet project?
I have a pet project called “I’d rather be self-made” and that’s basically two things: one is to mentor young girls; help them realize their potential and share my experiences with them and hope that it inspires them to go out there and make something of themselves. The second part is to help young girls start their own businesses, so I give them capital to start small scale businesses because I am very passionate about young women succeeding on their own terms and not men tossing them about and taking away their dignity.
So in any way I can help a young woman, I do so as a lot of women are doing things that they don’t want to do but think they have no choice. I am trying to show women that they have a choice and patience is one of those choices. you have to be patient and let god do his will in your life. Be patient and work hard for yourself, it might take longer for you to be successful but succeeding on your own terms is more dignifying than lying on your back for some man to sleep with you and give you money. There is absolutely no pride, dignity or prestige in that and that is what I tell young girls. god will eventually bless the work of your hands.
I used to be a model and witnessed a lot of things models were subjected to. I also saw what beauty queens were subjected to and I vowed never to be part of it. It was sad to watch. As a student, I told god if he ever blessed me with success and money, I would help as many young women as it’s possible to help. I told myself I would use my platform, my voice, my money to change as many lives as I can by guiding them and helping to establish them. It’s not enough to talk and inspire, at the end of the day, people need money to start a business.
I tell girls who use poverty as an excuse to go into prostitution that I am not from a rich home and this is where god has brought me so far because I worked hard to get to where I am. What any a man can give you is nothing compared to what god can give you. find something that you want to do, something that you’re good at and work hard at it, give it time and god will eventually bless you. With this Self-Made project, I’m hoping I can reduce prostitution by at least 5%. When I did a conference in April, over 2,500 girls showed up to get inspiration from other successful young women and the participants said they were truly blessed.
That’s why I give a N10million grant every year to young girls. I believe that women should have their own money so that they can have a bit more freedom and not be dependent on men 100%. That’s the one project that is very close to my heart.
Who has made the most impact your life?
everyone says their mum is truly special but mine is very much so. She went through a lot as a woman herself with seven children. I got my strength from her and how strong she is. even when she is going through problems or issues, her children will not notice it. I got my strength from her. She always tells me we all have our own flaws and except you are flawless, you cannot judge anyone.
How are you leveraging on the linda ikeji brand in terms of expansion?
I am really expanding now right. I am working on Tv content because I am going on satellite. Linda Ikeji Tv is going to debut in a couple of months. It’s going to be a 24hours channel on DSTV. I also have Linda Ikeji Tv network online.
There is also my social networking site, lindaikeji-social which is still active and running but we recently encountered some issues with our developers. They are sorting everything out right now so in the next couple of weeks it would be working perfectly.
I hope that in the next five years I would be one of the top players in the Nigerian media space with lindai-kejitv, lindaikejisocial and of course lindaikejiblog. My goal is to be one of the biggest players in the Nigerian media space.
any advice for bloggers trying to make a career?
Be sure that you love blogging and not because Linda Ikeji or someone else is making money from it. Be sure that it’s something you are passionate about. And if it’s possible, carve a niche for yourself and put a lot of your time into it and be consistent and patient for it to grow. People are so much in a hurry these days. just wait for your time to shine. It’s coming!
I tell girls who use poverty as an excuse to go into prostitution that I am not from a rich home and this is where God has brought me so far because I worked hard to get to where I am. What any a man can give you is nothing compared to what God can give you. Find something that you want to do, something that you’re good at and work hard at it, give it time and God will eventually bless you.