INTERVIEW: Cristian China-Birta - Blogging, Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing

I first discovered Cristian China-Birta around 2013, when I started exploring the Digital Marketing industry in Romania. An entrepreneur, consultant, blogger – www.cristianchinabirta.ro – and author, Cristian, also known as Chinezu, was the first blogger who came to mind when I decided to conduct an interview about blogging and Digital Marketing.

I contacted him, he agreed to answer my questions, and here is our conversation!

1. Hello, Cristian! Thank you for accepting my invitation to this interview. Could you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?

Thank you for paying attention to an old blogger who is occasionally quite likeable! 😀

In a nutshell, I am a devoted family man – and that always comes first for me – an entrepreneur for 25 years (including 10 years with Kooperativa 2.0), a blogger for 15 years, a rugby and rock and blues music fan, and an avid reader.

As for the longer version, I could probably write an entire novel!

2. When did you become a blogger, and what inspired you to start?

For me, it was quite straightforward. Given my entrepreneurial background, I entered the blogging world knowing that I wanted to turn it into a business. And that is exactly what happened.

Of course, it took me around two years to establish myself in the market. But anyone who has started a business, whatever its nature, knows that it takes time before you begin to see the benefits.

When I started blogging, I certainly could not have imagined that I would eventually become a partner in an integrated communications agency with 35 colleagues.

But that is life, and that is what makes it beautiful!

3. Who is your target audience, and which blogging platform do you use?

My target audience consists of people who want to live better lives. That is something I have also been trying to achieve for many years.

That is the broader, almost philosophical perspective.

If you are asking about demographics, my audience is split fairly equally between men and women, primarily aged between 35 and 50.

As for the platform, I have always used a customised version of WordPress – ever since the days when it was nowhere near the powerful platform it has become today.

4. How do you choose the topics you write about? What inspires your blog content?

I like to believe that most of the articles on my blog offer readers ideas, inspiration, solutions and other useful things that can help them improve their lives.

That is where my inspiration comes from: finding ways to help people live better, including through the paid campaigns I work on.

Even when some things seem simple, life is ultimately made up of many simple things.

5. How often do you publish new blog posts?

My editorial strategy has been based on evergreen content for many years. In other words, my articles are intended to remain relevant and useful long after their publication date.

I do not follow a fixed publishing schedule. I write when I feel inspired or when other challenges come along, such as campaigns, current circumstances or other motivations.

However, I never let more than a week go by without publishing a new article.

6. Do you have contributors who help you manage your blog?

Not anymore.

I have experimented with having contributors, but my blog is a personal project, and I believe it should remain that way.

Some bloggers have found that working with contributors is the right solution for them. In my case, it simply does not work.

7. What types of blog posts have been the most successful, and how has your content evolved over time?

The idea of writing for people who want to improve their lives, both personally and professionally, came from observing that my most-read articles over time belonged to this category.

For example, one of my most successful articles was the one in which I recommended the #Dupa18FaraWeekend programme, which encouraged people to stop communicating about work after 6 p.m. and during weekends.

Another popular article was one in which I encouraged parents to stop constantly investing in their children.

8. I noticed that you have a Podcast section on your blog. When did you launch it, and how does a podcast compare with a blog article in terms of impact?

I launched my podcast in 2019. You could call it a side business.

I do not think it makes sense to compare a podcast with a blog because they are fundamentally different formats. They attract different audiences, and people’s consumption habits are different.

What I can say, fortunately, is that the podcast has helped me reach an audience I was not really reaching through my blog: young people who – once again – want to live better lives.

9. How important do you think Digital Marketing is for promoting a blog?

A blog is a product, and every product needs a market.

To reach the audience in that market, you need marketing. It does not necessarily have to be online marketing. For example, whenever I speak at an offline event, I attract new readers to my blog.

What matters is choosing the type of marketing that fits what you want to promote through your blog.

Many excellent blogs have disappeared because their owners failed to understand that a blog is ultimately a product and should be marketed accordingly.

So, in short, marketing is often essential to a blog’s success in the medium and long term.

10. How long did it take you to start making money from blogging?

I earned my first money a little over a year after launching my blog.

But those were different times, with a different industry and different monetisation methods.

Today, theoretically, you can start making money from blogging much faster. The ecosystem has become more professional, and it is easier to reach potential sources of revenue.

At the same time, competition is intense, and you absolutely need to stand out.

That is where marketing comes in – and you need a lot of it!

11. What methods and tools do you use to monetise your blog?

I use two main monetisation methods: sponsored articles and special projects.

Sponsored articles are straightforward: a company provides me with a product or service, and I write about it.

Special projects are different. I approach a brand and propose an activation, a campaign, an event or a series of activations based on my own concept.

Of course, this requires an entrepreneurial and proactive mindset.

Speaking of which, this brings me to my next book, Influprenorii. Despre influencerii – antreprenori (Influpreneurs: About Entrepreneurial Influencers).

12. Which SEO techniques do you think are essential for a successful blog?

We are entering a technical area here, which many bloggers and aspiring bloggers find rather boring.

However, this is one of the mistakes they make. A blog is a technical tool. Its foundation is technical.

If you do not take care of that foundation, you are essentially building a house on unstable ground.

A simple Google search on how to optimise your blog for SEO will provide plenty of useful tips, so there is no need for us to go into all the technical details here.

13. Which plugins and tools do you use on your blog?

Very few. I try to keep my blog as simple as possible.

Of course, you still need some plugins to make sure everything works properly. For example, I use Insta Images, which gives me access to a database of royalty-free photographs.

14. What does a successful blog in Romania look like in terms of numbers?

I have no idea!

In other words, you cannot answer that question without knowing the reference market.

For example, imagine you have a blog about petunias, and the entire community of petunia enthusiasts in Romania consists of 5,000 people. If 4,322 of them read your blog, then you clearly have a highly successful blog!

A blog’s success must be measured against the market it serves.

If we are talking about a general-interest blog covering a wide range of topics, most specialists agree that you need at least 10,000 unique visitors per month to be considered reasonably representative.

But, as I said, these figures depend on the market you are measuring against.

15. Which social media platforms do you use? What other tools do you rely on for online and offline communication and promotion?

My main platforms are Facebook (page and personal profile) and LinkedIn (profile).

My presence on the other social networks is, as I would put it, limited to a bare minimum.

16. I know you published the book What Are We Going to Do with These Influencers? this year. What role do you think influencer marketing plays in blogging?

I could say that influencers – who were simply bloggers when I first started – played a decisive role in promoting my blog during its early years.

Whenever they mentioned or linked to my content, they helped me not only with brand awareness and traffic but also with SEO.

Over time, my blog became more established and started growing on its own.

Today, influencers help me more with my personal brand, which is also extremely important.

You can find the book Ce ne facem, dom’le, cu influencerii ăștia? here.

17. What are your future plans for blogging, and where do you think it is heading as other forms of digital communication, particularly video, continue to evolve?

I have been a blogger for 15 years, and I have been earning money from blogging for 13 of those years.

Throughout this time, my blog income has remained consistent.

Blogs will always exist. There will simply be fewer of them, and they will become more professional.

My plan is to remain a recognised reference in professional blogging in Romania and to continue building my personal brand on the foundation of my blog.

18. What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out as a blogger?

Over the years, I have written many helpful articles for people who are just starting their blogging journey.

Here are a few of them that might be useful. I wish everyone the best of luck!

About Cristian China-Birta

Cristian China-Birta, also known as Chinezu, is a Romanian entrepreneur, blogger, consultant and author with extensive experience in blogging, communication and Digital Marketing. He is a co-founder and partner at Kooperativa 2.0, an integrated communications agency, and has been active in professional blogging for more than 15 years.

Through his blog, podcast, special projects and books, he shares insights into entrepreneurship, content creation, influencer marketing, personal branding and the Romanian online business environment.

Photo: Facebook Cristian China-Birta

Nicoleta-Ion-AI-Visibility-Ai-Seacrh-Consultant-AEO-GEO-Digital-Marketing.

Nicoleta Ion – AI Visibility, AEO & GEO Consultant with 10+ years of experience in Communication, Digital Marketing and SEO. I work with professionals and brands that want to be easier to discover, understand and recommend in AI Search, from ChatGPT and Gemini to Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. I continuously research how search is evolving and test what influences visibility in AI-generated results.

My latest study – Professional AI Visibility Index Romania 2026: How AI Sees and Recommends Professionals

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