Linda Ikeji: Success Story of a Blogger

This Month's Profiling Nigerians takes me to my friend and blog partner Linda Ikeji. A look at her success story as a blogger and how she made it to the Top 10 bloggers in Nigeria
                                       
Entrepenueur Linda Ikeji, was born in 1980 in Imo State, Nigeria. She began to show interest in writing as early as 10 years old. She pursued her passion through the university to study Mass Communication. She began working at the age of 17 as a waitress and model to support her early university expenses Linda recalls, “I’d leave lectures, go to a hotel and sell beer from 1pm till 10pm. I did this for a few months. It wasn’t easy but I had to survive”.

After completing her degree at the university she launched her media company, Blackdove Communications, a modelling agency and events management outfit. She also started what she describes in her first ever blog post as her “true passion”, her magazine called, FM & B. The first issue was released in 2006 and after discovering how capital-intensive and time-consuming magazine publishing was, only two more editions made it to print.

Through blogging innovation, passion driven strategy, and controversial gossipy stuff she became Africa's most popular blogger. Using the free blogger platform lindaikeji.blogspot.com has become a household name in Nigeria and the diaspora. In the process she became one of the richest blogger in Africa. When asked on her road to success 7 years later, Linda said “You have to love blogging. You can’t say I want to blog because I want to make money. It takes a stepping stone to get there. There are over a thousand blogs, but what will make people enjoy visiting your blog depends on the efforts you put into it. So, be passionate about it, be consistent, don’t blog once or twice in a week, blog everyday if you can, enjoy it, and love it.”
                               

Linda Ikeji

The blogger turned Author gave an insight about her first book It Takes You, Linda said “I hope more than anything else that everyone who reads this book learns something from it. I hope it changes their perception of some things and more than anything else I hope it inspires them to go out there and make something of themselves”.

Linda has become a motivational speaker, role model and fund raiser to many under privileged.