Malawi Bloggers to Follow in 2018 (A List of 16 Malawian Bloggers)

Malawi bloggers where are you? I cannot see you on Google.

Malawian bloggers are not as popular as counterparts in other parts of Africa like in Nigeria and Kenya. Many people who search for Malawi bloggers on the internet would agree with me that there are very few active Malawian bloggers. As a matter of fact there are only a handful of Malawian blogs on the web.   This is the case despite the fact that there are over 4.4 billion blogs on the web and that there are over 2 million blog posts created every day. According to internetlivestarts.com there  is a steady rise in the number of interment users in Malawi. For instance, in 2015 internet penetration of the Malawi population was 6.3% while the following year internet penetration in Malawi increased to 6.5%. Normally, one would expects the increase in number of internet users should correspond to increase in number of bloggers in Malawi

Why most Malawian Bloggers are not popular? 

Don’t they have the required skills to excel in the blogging industry?

In my four years experience as blogger in Malawi I would acknowledge that there are several problems that affect blogging industry in our country.

Most of the problems in the blogging industry come due to the poor economy and high illiterate levels among the potential bloggers. Below is a list of some specific challenges Malawian bloggers face.

• High cost of internet data

As you may be aware blogging is an online activity. Success in blogging requires that a person has access to good internet connection mainly through a PC. Commonly people access computer internet through USB modems, cable, internet café’ and Wi-Fi.

However, the sad truth is that none of these is affordable for the average Malawian blogger. Data for internet is too expensive for many people in the country.

• High illiteracy levels    

Current report by National Statistical Offices has it that literacy levels are now at 73%. This tells us that the 23% of the population is not able to read and write. But, among the population who are literate some of them are less knowledgeable about ICT related information. Consequently, because of lack of information about things like, blogging, web hosting, domain registration, and AdSense they fail to make an impact on blogging despite that they have the skills to do so.

• Lack of desire to share experience and want to make a difference

There are many reasons people start blogs as indicated on How to Start a Successful Blog in Malawi. Some people are into blogging to share experiences so that they can help others get succeeds.  In fact there are many bloggers who exist with an aim to make a difference in the world. They want to leave a legacy. Unfortunately, some people with rich experiences in Malawi do not have the heart to share.

• High cost of hosting websites in Malawi

Hosting websites is too expensive for most would be bloggers. No wonder people opt to run away from this infant industry. Hosting and buying registering names is far high than the standard prices on the international scale. However, if this was your problem then you now have the solution.

Read: Low Cost Web Hosting Services

Investing in web hosting is the first step to useful blogging. With poor hosting no one can succeed online as a blogger. You can now buy the hosting from international companies (preferably American) who offer world-class web hosting at affordable prices for the Malawian bloggers. I would recommend you buy hosting from Hostinger where you buy hosting for as $3.33 (about K2 500) per month $47.88 (about K 34 000 per year).  And you can register domain names for K 7 100 per year with one of the best known domain name registrar NAMECHEAP.

• Hunger for Instant Gain

Blogging is not about instant gains. Many people fall into the trap thinking that blogging is a passive and instant way to make money. As such some new bloggers want the fruits of blogging within few weeks. And when the money is not coming let’s say after six months or a year, they quit. Anyway no one blames such people. The problem is that they were misinformed about the issue. Truth is it takes time to start making much money blogging.

• Poor SEO Techniques and Love for Free Things

Like I have already pointed out, success as a blogger depends on several factors not only on quality of web hosting but also search engine optimization (SEO). What every Malawi blogger needs to know is that blogging success highly depends on traffic. Traffic is the amount of people who visit blog. More target traffic equals success.

It looks simple right? Getting consistent traffic is not simple unless one knows something about SEO. When your articles SEO friendly they will appear on Google first page and other search engines if a person search for your keyword. Hence, chances that a person will be directed to your blog are high. But if your posts are not SEO friendly it will be very difficult for people to find your site.

It is recommended that every blogger to know a little bit of search engine optimization techniques or hire someone who is familiar to optimize you blog content.

After trying several keywords I observed that most Malawian blogs are not ranking on first Google first page. And this is the result of poor SEO strategies.

• Love of free Things (Worpress.com instead of WordPress.org)

There are many free things such as love and oxygen which though free they are more valuable. But the fact remains that most free things are limited in both performance and efficiency. The same applies to web hosting and domain names.

As you will see on the list below, most blogs are on either wordpress.com or blogspot.com where they are hosted for free.  Consequently the blog owners have limited control over their blogs and that affects blog quality as well.

In order to look professional, bloggers need to use wordpress.org instead of wordpress.com and buy reliable web hosting from reputable web and top level domain. You can buy cheap quality web hosting from Hostinger and you can buy top level domain from Namecheap.

Additionally, professional bloggers need to use premium themes like the one I am using on this blog. One of the reputable theme store is Mythemeshop. I like their themes because they are SEO friendly, mobile friendly and AdSense ready hence they increase income earning potential of my blogs.

As explained above there are several challenges that affect blogging industry in Malawi. However, the good thing is that once you find a way to go above these obstacles success is next door.

Regardless of the many challenges that exist in the Malawian bloggsphere there are others who seem to fly above the winds. These are women and men who upon looking at their works I would think of nothing but appreciate what they are doing.

Read also: Get Google Ad sense Approval for Your Blog Easily

List of Malawian Blogs to follow in 2018 and beyond

I have already wasted much of your time, right? Lets go to the list

1. www.katsonga.com

Blog Owner        : Heather Katsonga W

Blog Purpose     : To help ambitious people to live the life they want

Comment            : This is an ideal example of how a professional blog looks like. It has a premium theme, has a top level domain, good SEO, and is as self-hosted blog.

2. www.zachimalawi.com

Blog Owner        : Richard Chirombo (Journalist/Researcher)

Blog Niche           : More about happenings in Malawi

Awards                 :  MISA blog of the year 2015

3. mkhutchewonderful.wordpress.com

Blog Author       : Wonder Mkhutche (  speech writer, a political scientist and a manuscript editor and developer)

Niche                 : Malawi’s number one music blog

4. www.judithmsonthi.com

Blog Owner        : Judith Msonthi (Journalist/Media personality)

Blog purpose     : To help and change livelihood of children and youth living in Malawi

5. www.agnesmizere80.wordpress.com

Blog Owner        : Agnes Mizere (Citizen Journalist)

Blog purpose     : Tell stories through words and pictures

Awards                 : MISA Blog of the Year Award 2016

Comment            : High quality content and images

6. www.mlauzi.blogspot.com

Blog Owner        : Steve Sharra (Educationist)

Blog purpose     :  He blogs about Pan-Africanism, Umunthu, peace and social justice in education

Comment            :  Has several detailed posts and one of few Malawi blogs that are up-to-date

7. mawila.com (formerly www.malawischolar.com)

Blog Owner: Chimwemwe Nuka (Educationist,Blog and SEO Consultant)

Blog Purpose: To help make useful information about Malawi easily accessible on the web

8. www.vincentkumwenda.blogsport.com

Blog Owner        : Vincent Kumwenda

Blog Purpose     : To make a difference

9. www.gregorygondwe.wordpress.com

Blog Owner        : Gregory Gondwe

Blog purpose     : About Music Artists

Award                 : MISA Blogger of the Year 2014

Comment            : The blog has very nice posts and is constantly updated.

10. blog.austinmadinga.com

Blog Owner        : Austin Madinga (Marketer/Designer/story-teller)

Comment            : Blog is constantly updated

11. www.denissiman.webly.com

Blog Owner: Deniss Imaan (Tourism specialist)

Blog purpose:  Loves to share his life experiences and lessons with others

12. www.gloriamasula.blogspot.com

Blog Owner: Gloria Masula

Blog purpose: To share her experience in youth work and volunteerism

13. www.munthali.com

Author: Kondwani Munthali (

Award: MISA Malawi Best Blogger 2012

14. www.joenowblogs.blogspot.com

Blog Owner        :

Blog Interests    :  Human rights, ICT, Sports and Christian Activities

15. www.soyapi.blogsport.com

Blog Owner        : Soyapi

Blog purpose     : Technology in Malawi and beyond

16. www.kondwanikamiyala.blogspot.com

Blog Owner        : Kondwani Kamiyala

Blog purpose     : Happenings in Malawi

17. lusungukalanga.wordpress.com

Author: Lusungu Kalanga (Malawian feminist and pan-Africanist)

Purpose:  Women’s empowerment, girl child education and social justice.

18. nthambazale.com

Author: Clement Nyirenda (computer engineer)

Blog Niche: Technology and its use in fight against poverty

19. ndagha.blogspot.com

Author: Victor Kaonga

20. lilongwewriters.blogspot.com

Niche: Aggregate site for Malawi blogs

Summary

The blogs on this post are not ranked in any order. I have thus numbered the blogs for convenience sake. I would love to make this a comprehensive list of all active blogs in Malawi so that they can easily be found online. If you are a blogger but your blog is not listed here or you know any other Malawian blog  which you would want to appear on this list please let me know through the comment section below or contact me through email. Over to You!! 

P/S: To all who want to start or improve their blogs feel free to contact me for any help. I will answer all your questions and help you to buy good web hosting from a reliable and cheap hosting company suitable for Malawians.