Shashank Shekhar started blogging in 2009 to build his brand. Today, he’s a bestselling author who is quoted by The Washington Post and Financial Times
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Shashank Shekhar is a master of media, with three books to his name, including a number one Amazon bestseller that positioned him as the go-to expert on first-time homebuying. But the $170-million originator is quick to stress that his success started modestly with a blog he launched in 2009 to try to generate leads for his business, San Jose-based Arcus Lending.
At the time, Shekhar was struggling. A native of India, Shekhar landed in California in 2006 without any connections and didn’t find much luck at networking events. Rather than fruitlessly pound the pavement for customers, he decided to write blog posts that would bring them directly to him.
Today, Shekhar’s latest book, My First Home, is topping Amazon’s bestseller list, and major media outlets like The Washington Post, Financial Times and CBS regularly seek out his expertise.
Here’s how he did it.
Power Originator: You have had incredible success with your writing. How did you get going?
Shashank Shekhar: I started Arcus Lending in 2008 and very quickly, I realized I had probably made a huge mistake. People weren’t really buying or refinancing, and I was new to the country. After a year of struggling, I knew I had to change something dramatically or leave the business. In 2009, I decided to build a platform to get people to come to me. I started with writing, and it wasn’t really my expertise, but social media and blogging seemed like a new platform I wanted to try, so launched a blog and wrote for it every week.
PO: Did the blog take off quickly?
SS: It did not take off at all. It wasn’t until the sixth month of writing a post every week that someone called me and said, ‘I found you on the web.’ After that, I got a call from an editor or reporter who was working on an article for Yahoo News. He said he was working on something about mortgages and Googled and saw my name. Once he interviewed me, he connected me to other reporters who needed to talk to people for quotes. One thing I’ve found about media is that they don’t want to do too much of a search. They would rather go back to someone they like again and again.
PO: It sounds like you really had to persevere in those early months of blogging.
SS: Yes, it did come through a lot of perseverance and failing. At the same time, I started teaching and speaking about how to create a blog from the ground up. Most people from my class would come back after a month or so and say, ‘This doesn’t work.’ That shows the difference between their approach to blogging and mine. I knew once I created this content, I could use it for years to come. It is there forever.
PO: So how did you move on to books from the blog?
SS: For me, it was always about how do you push the envelope on credibility and exposure. One of my friends suggested I write a book. I didn’t know how to write a book, but with everything, I just do the research myself. I figured out everything about how to self-publish. It was 2010, and there were more first-time homebuyers, so I decided to position myself as the first-time homebuying expert. The book was really all about building a brand with realtors and customers. Some people suggested I write an e-book, but that isn’t something you can hand over physically to someone.
