My blog progress thread

[Guest24480]

About a week ago I started a blog and I've been working really hard on it as much as I can before summer comes to a close. I'd like to set some goals here, track some progress and get advice from the more seasoned bloggers on the site.

GOALS: My main goal right now is to reach 100k unique visitors per month a year from now. I feel like it's lofty but doable. This month I have a whopping 34 unique visitors so far. By the end of the month I want to reach 1,000.

My process so far:

So far I have set up the site and formatted it so it looks the way I want. I wanted to do this first so I could focus on delivering quality content and establishing a reader base. I used a theme that I had bought a few months ago for a different blog, but it went well with the premise of my new site so it was perfect. I think the site looks unique and well put together (in my opinion).

I made a (possibly temporary) logo/header for the header of the site in GIMP (used to do some graphic art).

I put out my first post on July 28 and my second on August 1 to get some content onto the site.

I set up a few different accounts for the site: Twitter, Soundclould (I plan on podcasting in the future), and Youtube (I plan on making videos).

This is what I'm doing to help drive visitors to the site: Commenting on other blogs in my niche, making forum accounts on forums in my niche and posting (with my link in the signature). What else should I do to drive traffic? I'm pretty new at this. And are the things I'm doing now a waste of time? They seem to be driving some traffic to the site (mostly the blog postings).

No subscribers or comments so far. One person did try to comment but emailed me saying that my comments weren't working (I fixed this immediately). So I should have 1 comment technically.

I set up some affiliate links on one page (amazon), made a page with must watch videos in my niche, and did the about page and stuff like that.

I think that's about it. Any advice or criticism is appreciated. If you want to see the actual site I can post it as well.

 

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[MayaMagpie]

Sounds good so far!
Here's a list of stuff you can do: http://www.quicksprout.com/double-your-traffic-in-30-days/
Maybe some of it helps.

 

[DeletedUser8]

I've got similar goals with regards to blog progression as you, maybe we can help grow each other's blogs with guests posts.

 

[Guest24480]

I run a blog too, you can check mine out at www.ryanomalley.net.
I've got similar goals with regards to blog progression as you, maybe we can help grow each other's blogs with guests posts.

I like the premise of your posts. If you would like to check out mine at www.youngspartan.com you can. Feel free to shoot me an email on my contact page to inquire about a guest post. Also, I subscribed to your blog.

 

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[DeletedUser8]

I like the premise of your posts. If you would like to check out mine at www.youngspartan.com you can. Feel free to shoot me an email on my contact page to inquire about a guest post. Also, I subscribed to your blog.

Your posts are on point! I'll be sure to check up on your blog frequently, we'll definitely set up some guest posts in the near future. Keep grinding, good luck!

Btw, your subscription didn't go through. Try entering your email again

 

[Guest24480]

Your posts are on point! I'll be sure to check up on your blog frequently, we'll definitely set up some guest posts in the near future. Keep grinding, good luck!

Btw, your subscription didn't go through. Try entering your email again

Did it go through now? It says it was confirmed. Thanks for the sub as well

 

[DeletedUser8]

Did it go through now? It says it was confirmed. Thanks for the sub as well

Yes sir! Welcome

 

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[ventio]

Good luck, im working on a similar project as well. I would recommend email subscription boxes in articles and in the sidebar for more submits

 

[Davor]

I like the premise of your posts. If you would like to check out mine at www.youngspartan.com you can. Feel free to shoot me an email on my contact page to inquire about a guest post. Also, I subscribed to your blog.

Did you think about new theme? The one victor from boldanddeterminated use is one of the best for blog type site

 

[Guest24480]

Did you think about new theme? The one victor from boldanddeterminated use is one of the best for blog type site

I don't want to copy Victor, that's not the goal here. Although I am emulating some of his strategies, my site isn't a copy of his. I chose my theme because it goes with the whole "spartan" approach and because it's unique. I want to put a unique spin of my own on this. Thanks for the advice/opinion though.

 

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[Jacquesvh]

Whatsup @RyanOMalley & @holmzee

What happened to crushing your blogging goals? See both of your last updates on the site were in August. Not going to reach your one year goals if you aren't going to be networking and putting out quality content.

Give us a update!

Cheers,
Jacquesvh

 

[Guest24480]

I'm currently pursuing other ventures and have been for quite a while.

I realized a few things and learned from my mistakes:

I was playing wantrepreneur

My thought process was this:

Sweet, I've got a website up and running. I can't wait to make money through this!

I saw this as an event rather than a process. This blinded me to the fact that I wasn't actually providing any real value. Sure, some of the advice I gave was okay. And sure it was applicable to people's lives.

But I'm just not cut out to run a blog yet- I'm not knowledgeable enough in one subject to do so and frankly it's a waste of time if you're not an expert in your "field".

Ask yourself this: Can you provide unique value on your blog that someone can't easily Google? If the answer is no, take a step back and rethink your decision to start a blog.

I was taking the easy way out

If you know what you're doing, you can set up a blog in a few hours. This was the easiest event-based way to make myself "seem" like an entrepreneur.

Oh, I have a blog now. I'll be making money in no time. Oh yeah I'm an entrepreneur!

Haha what a joke.

I don't regret doing it, however. I learned a lot about Wordpress, basic coding, and blogging which could come in handy later.

What now?

I'm currently refocusing and tackling a product-based venture. I won't be on the forum much because I'm really busy with school, business, fitness, and my personal goals.

I'll be lurking in the INSIDERS's forum as it has helped me tremendously. It's the greatest bang for a buck I've ever spent. There's so much valuable knowledge to apply.

I hope at least one person learns from my mistake and rethinks starting a useless blog. It's great for some who know what they're doing, but I wouldn't suggest it for a first venture. Get your feet wet somewhere else and learn to provide some real value instead of feeding your wantrepreneurial ego.

Until next time,

Holmzee

 

[DeletedUser8]

Whatsup @RyanOMalley & @holmzee

What happened to crushing your blogging goals? See both of your last updates on the site were in August. Not going to reach your one year goals if you aren't going to be networking and putting out quality content.

Give us a update!

Cheers,
Jacquesvh

Thanks for asking, my blogging was never intended for monetization purposes. In fact, I've recognized that when I really want to understand a business concept or study a particular company I find it easier to learn while writing about it.
SeekingAlpha, an investment website with over a million users reached out to me hoping to feature my content on their sure which I happily obliged. Though there's potential to monetize the content, that's not the model I have intended. I enjoy writing and learning but my blog posts on my website have been halted for the meantime while I dive deeper into my studies on Finance/Entrepreneurship.

I'll be at an investment conference in New Orleans next month, expect some new content

 

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