Fabien From SmallFishBigMoney – The Next Star In Town

I thought, as I am a starting blogger, let’s talk to a guy that I have met some time back. Fabien from SmallFishBigMoney is a 16-year old guy.. Well, let him do the talking. Let’s start!

1. Hello my friend! Can you introduce yourself to the crowd a bit?

I’m Fabien, I run SmallFishBigMoney, a blog that is broadly focused on business, blogging and entrepreneurship and delves into many other branches of the topic. I am 16 years old and I go to high school, I am therefore a part time blogger; and it can sometimes take its toll on me as a result. Thanks for having me here at www.DivitoDesign.com Stefan!

2. When did you start blogging and what was your motivation to begin SmallFishBigMoney.com?

SmallFishBigMoney.Com launched in October 2007, I went through several design changes and had varying levels of content. I like to say that it has truly been a 360 degree roller coaster ride for me, because it has been. My readers have been with me ever since I started (I’m very grateful for that); and I’m happy to say that we’ve picked up many new passengers along the way.

I had always been interested in the internet; and the incredible potential I knew it had. Since the age of thirteen or so I had been dabbling in HTML, making sites which used table based layouts, then I discovered CSS and it made my web-designing life a whole lot easier. As I continued to progress over time I developed over six trial sites to really refine my skills as a designer and web developer.

At the age of 15, I became more active online and the whole ’social media’ bubble was in its prime. I think I’ve entered at a great time and I regret not starting even earlier…I had been to sites like ProBlogger and I had stumbled on his site a few times when I was Google searching. Then I bumped into John Chow’s site, I read about his online ‘money-making’ ventures and I was quite interested. I have always had a keen eye for business and this was an opportunity for me.

I learned that he blogged and he made his money via affiliate marketing, private ad sales and various other methods. It was the opportunity for me to make a living online, a way to channel my thoughts and be heard online that really motivated me to get my own site and start blogging.

3. How do you manage to combine blogging with your daily routine? Do you have writing schedules or something like that?

At first, I have to say I was writing and delivering ‘okay’ content on a day to day basis, there was a month where I almost never missed a post. Amazingly, I don’t have any kind of ‘writing schedule’ or ‘posting regimen’, most of the time I manage my time in my head and think carefully about what I am going to write about and publish.

You’ll find that many bloggers don’t have a fully planned out blogging schedule, it’s just one of those things that you do when you have a couple of hours to spare; or between going to school and doing homework in my case. My best advice is to plan out your day in your head or on paper, it doesn’t have to be heavily detailed, just list the tasks you need to complete and prioritize them. Once you’ve done this the day will feel a little bit more flexible.

4. You’ve written some entrepreneurship and business posts in the past. You are just 16 years old, how did you get that information and knowledge?

I have to admit that I am only now starting to discover my true writing ability, 2008 marked the beginning of a new frontier with the SmallFishBigMoney Quality Matters Campaign 2008 I began earlier this year. When I first started out (2007), I was writing a lot of quantity but very little quality or noteworthy content.

In 2008, things have gotten much better, quality is on the rise and I try to expose my readership to as much new content as I can. I try and break the mould so they don’t get stuck in this vicious cycle of re-hashed content that is circulated around excessively. I provide posts that don’t always support a popular opinion, and I credit this style of writing to an extensive history of competitive debating and public speaking.

100 or more posts have been deleted since I started SmallFishBigMoney…Now I know some of you may think that’s plain insane, but I care about increasing quality at SmallFishBigMoney and sometimes drastic measures need to be taken, there are no two ways about it. I’m happier now than I was when I had the extra 100 posts, because I know when someone searches for content, there’s a higher likelihood they’ll find something interesting and subscribe.

5. You use WordPress on your blog. Do you follow some WordPress-related blogs to improve your blog’s performance?

I don’t follow as many as I would like to, but I do find some great sites when I’m blog surfing. I find that I learn most about WordPress when I’m designing a new theme, searching for plug-ins recommended by people etc…The most updates I get are from the WordPress Admin Panel updates.

6. Do you use social media sites to promote your content? Which one gives you the best results?

Social media is an integral part of SmallFishBigMoney’s marketing tactic, a combination of quite a few types of social media sites have all contributed equally well to growing SmallFishBigMoney.Com from a small unknown blog to one gaining traction and buzz in the sphere. I find that sites like StumbleUpon and Mixx are particularly effective in sending traffic to my blog, especially when they’ve been supported or voted for many times.

7. What are your goals for your blog in say, six months?

SmallFishBigMoney is only now beginning to flourish, in six months time, I look forward to attaining new subscribers and subsequently a more active community. I’m in the process of developing a new theme which will include a new logo, a consistent tagline, more content, less fluff and drastically reduced load-time. ((That was during the time this interview took place. The new theme is live and rocking!))

I’m actively increasing RSS feed subscribers, so I’d encourage you to subscribe to SmallFishBigMoney via RSS, I have some competitions coming up in the near future to coincide with my blog’s first birthday and I’ll be offering many prizes, a lot of which people will be highly interested in.

8. Do you have a fellow-blogger you would like to see interviewed?

You. I’ll be sending some questions your way very soon! Hehe! Thanks for having me at DivitoDesign.com Stefan! I look forward to doing business again soon.

That’s it!

I hope you all enjoyed reading what this guy has to say and you should visit his writings over at SmallFishBigMoney. Thanks Fabien for your time and answers!