I think I'll crack open a beer. We've made some great progress since our first progress report in the beginning of January. I don't have any huge milestones to write about, but the progress I've made the past few weeks is certainly worthy of a can of Miller Lite at least. I've made a few new friends; seen a good increase in the number of visitors; I have some regular readers (hey...a few is a good start!); and I've even been fortunate to benefit from the illustrious "Digg Effect". Most importantly, however, I think my blog is starting to develop its persona. I am finding my voice, my message is becoming clear, and my readers are starting to learn why my blog is a lot more than your typical "Make Money Online" blog. Now, if I can only figure out a way to make that immediately clear to first time visitors. More about that later. For now, how about some stats?
In only a few weeks I have jumped from 284 to 1,159 page views. The number of unique visitors to my site has jumped from 25 to over one hundred (101 to be exact). In the last two weeks especially, the number of visitors to my blog has averaged between 40 and 80 people a day. While these numbers are not huge, it is a big improvement over last time. Even more encouraging is the fact that my Google Analytics graphs continue to rise. I even earned a few bucks - $9.34 to be exact. But I have also learned a valuable lesson on monetizing which I will talk about later. I have 13 subscribers to my feed, which I am a little bummed about, but I know I need to market that a little harder. I am seeing slow but steady growth and as long as that continues to happen I will be happy.
What I did Well
The most important thing that I did over the past few weeks was make an effort to network with other bloggers. I have mentioned it before, and I will say it again - meeting people online and befriending other bloggers is pivotal to the success of your blog. Through those efforts I was able to publish a couple of guest posts over at JasonBoom.com and SocialMediaWorld.com. If you have an opportunity to guest post on another blog - do it! It is a great way to generate some awesome traffic, especially if the site has a lot of readers. I am still seeing some good traffic from EntreCard as well, but I am definitely not using it to its full potential. Sometimes its tough to find the time to do anything more than drop a few cards here and there. Luckily, you still see some nice traffic just by doing that. Finally, I routinely visit other blogs in my "niche" and participate in the discussion by leaving comments and providing feedback. This is a great way for other bloggers to get to know you. Just FYI...I have found Google Reader extremely helpful in organizing all of my favorite blog feeds.
What I need to Improve
I had a great email conversation the other day with Tina over at thinksimplenow.com. I was describing to her my motivation for starting this blog and she pointed out "I really like the idea. I would make my blog such that your unique idea about your blog is obvious to the visitor who doesn't have the privilege like me to have it explained to me." This caused me to go back and look at my blog with a new perspective. Oh my God! She is so right! To the first time visitor, my site appears to be nothing more than another damn "Make Money Online" site. How do I make it immediately clear to new readers that the goal for my blog is to create an interactive community where fellow bloggers can learn and discuss ways to improve their blog? That I am learning as I go, writing about my successes and failures along the way. This is something I really need to work on. Perhaps a new tag line? What else? I could really use your help on this. Drop me a comment if you have any good ideas.
Important Lessons I Learned
By far, the most important lesson I learned over the past few weeks is the right way to reach out to other people. Be sincere. Sending someone a message that says nothing more than "Nice blog. Will you add me to your blogroll" will probably guarantee that you'll never hear another word from that person - ever. Start with a few relevant comments on their blog. If they are to the point, the person will notice you and remember you. Then it will be easier to reach out to them when the time is right. If you email them, do it for a good reason ("hey I have an idea...", "I could really use some help...", etc.). If you email someone because you want to meet them, then just say so! ("hi there. I just wanted to introduce myself..."). Just be real, friendly, and if possible a helpful person. Do this and you should have no problem making friends with other bloggers.
I also learned a valuable lesson about Google AdSense. I will talk about it in much more detail in my next post. But for now, I have removed my Google Ads. They just took up too much room and I really didn't like the way it looked. What's the point if it only earns $0.32 anyway? I am going to just worry about building my audience before I even think about making any money.
Goals for Next Progress Report
How can you measure your success if you don't set goals? By the end of February, my goal is to receive over 100 visitors each day every day. I would also like to have at least 50 people subscribed to my feed. These are pretty modest goals and I think they are definitely achievable. If I make the effort to clarify my message, as I described above, I hope to keep more first time visitors. I also want to get to know my readers much better. Seriously - give me a shout down in the comments and let me know who you are! I will also be introducing a few new features this month to promote the community feel of Buzz My Blog. So please stay tuned and check back often.
Cheers!
Jeff
