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Traffic Report 2nd Month Blogging. The Rising Damsel #blog #blogger #girlboss #diy #wahThroughout all of my blogging research, I most enjoy reading blogger’s income and traffic reports as a part of their monthly updates. They keep me motivated and I hope to do the same for you.

The birth of my blog was exciting and scary, in a most welcoming way. A little back story; I cut and ran from a blog I had worked on for six years. It was my longest relationship ever. Over time, my interests evolved and I found it increasingly difficult to produce quality content that I felt proud of. I wasn’t monetized, and I was spinning my wheels with stress and no reward. I knew that it was time to change direction and break free from my old blogging ball & chain. That’s when The Rising Damsel was conceptualized. It was a huge detour, however, the cost of liberating myself was minimal and the gain well worth it.

If you’re looking to make money off of your site, adding widgets, offering any services, or freelancing, self-hosting is a must. For $3.95 a month you can own your site and all its content through Bluehost. Run your own advertisements, sign up for affiliate networks, and start pulling in money for views you are already getting. Use my helpful guide to get set up with WordPress and Bluehost Start Your Own Blog with Bluehost

As a professional, I have found that I enjoy helping people and that working in a corporate setting is not for me. I am adjusting my life accordingly and this is the path I have chosen. I’m publishing my traffic reports to keep myself on track and accountable. Documenting the progress and time it takes for a little blog to ‘make it’ should give a realistic example of my blogging journey. Hopefully, my tricks and mistakes will save you time and make you a more efficient blogger. We can all succeed together.

Blog Cost

When I signed up for hosting through Bluehost I opted for a 3-year plan. It’s a good idea to do the same as you can get a refund at any point. You will find that paying upfront for most monthly services will save you considerably. I also chose a yearly plan with Tailwind, which netted me a free month. At this point, my blog costs can be estimated at $14.00 per month.

What Got Accomplished in May? 

Facebook

My 2nd Month Blogging 1,300+ Views Traffic Report. The Rising Damsel #girlboss #blogger #blog #career #wah #start #trafficreport I joined multiple facebook groups which have been AMAZING. Groups have been an invaluable source of information as well as a great support system. I created a facebook page and a facebook group for The Rising Damsel. Set up your WordPress to automatically publish to your site’s Facebook Page. Your group board should be a community where you invite others to promote their blog etc. *When you are first starting out, I would focus on contributing to other boards. Usually facebook groups are full of ‘share4share’ opportunities to really grow your reach. As time goes by, your page and group will naturally grow too.

Printables

Creating printables has been a wonderful creative outlet for me. If you haven’t looked into creating printables, I highly suggest doing it. There are so many different places to sell and promote this sort of business, especially online. The cost is zero and the investment is time. Thank goodness I can keep my site clean and concise. All my ‘artistic’ endeavors are saved on Picmonkey and Canva. As soon as I figure out some formatting requirements, I will be sharing them.

Affiliate Research

Research on affiliates should be an ongoing process. I signed up for Flexoffers which is an affiliate network that hosts many retailers and travel companies. My favorites so far are TD Ameritrade and Nordstrom. I suggest you check them out for your own affiliate needs. Their company’s list is ever-growing and their interface is really simple to use. 

Chitika Is my choice as an alternative to Google Adsense. I was notified on WordPress that Google Adsense was frozen and the plugin was potentially going away when I tried to change an ad. I haven’t heard anyone else talking about this on any forums though. In an effort to be proactive I looked for alternatives. If you’re a newer blogger and looking for alternatives to Adsense, I highly suggest Chitika. Chitika pays out at $10.00. Sites like Mediavine are wonderful but you need the traffic to support your application in order to get approved. There are no catches with Chitika and the ads are really easy to place. *I don’t currently make much money on my ads as a new blogger, however many successful bloggers preferred their test studies done with Chitika vs Adsense and made the switch to strengthen profits.

Tailwind Utilization / Pinterest Follower Increase

Pinterest has sorta been my baby since the start of monetizing my blog. Using Tailwind’s analytics and Tribes, I have increased my follower count by more than 400 in 3 months. Automated pinning has been a lifesaver. Your time is worth it, use Tailwind to take pinning by the horns.

Increased Interaction         

This blogging community is going to be the backbone of our success. It’s important to gain trust and make an effort to help people succeed as well. Commenting and being more interactive on other blogs has been awesome! As an engaged reader you retain more, I promise. I highly suggest taking at least 30 minutes a day to click on other blogs and show them, love. It will be reciprocated, my view count and referrals reflected it immediately.

Blogging Posts

Blogging Goals For May – How Did I do?

  • Share 8 blog posts.  FAIL. Of course, I’m proud of the 4 posts, but it’s definitely not 8.
  • Increase follower count from 304 to 400 on Pinterest.  Accomplished! 
  • Increase Page Views.  Accomplished! I tripled my page views this month despite posting less than last month. Thank you, guys.
  • Get Ahead of Posts.  FAIL. My mind is brimming with ideas, but I need to focus on writing posts at night and interacting during the day.
  • Utilize Group Boards on Pinterest.  Accomplished! Looking for a Group Board? Use my board Connect and Share to boost your blog and get more views. You can follow me on Pinterest here. To help when looking for a Group Board search your interests and add ‘board’, for instance ‘craft group board’  just too simple right?
  • Be more Involved.  Accomplished!  Commenting on other blogs and interacting with other bloggers has been so eye-opening. Every day it’s a breath of determination to read how others are succeeding.
  • Research and Add Affiliates.  Accomplished! Flexoffers and Chitika have been great additions to my affiliate networks.
  • Create Printables. Accomplished! Right now these are my favorite thing to do, however until I figure out a way for them to benefit my readers… they’re sitting in a file.
  • Grow Subscriber List.  FAIL.  A subscriber list is the most important part of monetization, I know. This will be more of a focus when I get my Convertkit in place.

April / May

Total Views: 364 (previously quoted incorrect number)  / 1,333
Best Ever Day: 72  / 141

Followers
Pinterest: 304  / 435  + 131 Goal = 600
Instagram: 70 / 93 + 23 Goal = 115
Twitter: 25 / 44 +19 Goal = 70
Blog Subscribers: 3 / 3
Facebook: 0 / 11 page likes
Connect and Share Facebook Group Board: Brand New

Referrer Views
Stumbleupon: 302 / 305
Pinterest: 83 / 104
Facebook: 25 / 100
New Twitter Engagements: 72

Search Engines: 4 / 4

Blog Goals For June

  • Share 6 blog posts.  
  • Get Ahead of Posting.  Work and blogging has been a stretch. Honestly, I could spend all day on Pinterest and Facebook doing promotions. Fill up all my extra time just clicking around and never even think about a post. Not good. It’s true, you’re supposed to spend about 60% of your time promoting, but I would like to have some more posts in my back pocket when I’m doing that.
  • Increase Follower Count.  My follower count goals are above. I hope that I get to 600 for Pinterest. When you first start to blog it’s a good idea to set up small goals to keep yourself motivated. My pinterest number has definitely provided that for me.
  • Use Tailwind More Efficiently.  Scheduling a month in advance would be a dream come true.
  • Begin to Create My First Freebie.  I plan to invest in Convertkit within the next month or two. Before I do, it’s important for me to have an offer for my readers to sign up for.
  • Narrow Down and Focus.  There are about a million blog ideas bouncing around that have nothing to do with posting. The most important priority needs to be creating a freebie and posting.
  • Increase Page Views.

What’s the Plan?

Organization will be the name of the game this month. Being consistent on a day-to-day basis has been difficult. Being proactive would reduce a lot of that stress. Pre-scheduling pins on Tailwind has been great, except I am only scheduling about 5 days at a time. My plan is to carve out certain time frames to work on pre-selected objectives throughout the day to keep myself on task.

This has been such a great adventure. I can’t even stress how happy I am that I left my old blog in the dust. I know that this business will work for my family. Every day I’m excited to sign on and keep going. We can take control of our lives, we can make a decent living, we will continue to thrive in this crazy world.

Ready to make your life better? These posts will help you live a fulfilled life.

Ready to start your own blog? These posts will get you on track!

When you Subscribe to The Rising Damsel, you will get access to The Rising Damsel’s Library and the exclusive Social Media Scorecard! It’s the only one of it’s kind to help you track all your social media in one place. Learn more about it in this post: Skyrocket Your Traffic Using The Ultimate Social Media Scorecard. Take all the mystery and struggle away when you share enough! 

What have you done that has gotten you tons of traffic to your site? Use these tips to make sure that you are including what you need to make your post go viral every time! 

Be sure and find The Rising Damsel on Pinterest! You can also subscribe for future free printables, and exclusive content using the ‘Subscribe’ button in the right column. Join my Facebook Group Connect and Share for Success. I’d love to help spread your content. If you are looking for a free Tailwind Tribe try The Rising Damsel’s brand new one: Promote Your Blog – A Rising Damsel Tribe. Much Love!! Together we will be great! 

Questions and comments are always welcome. I really hope this post inspired you. 

My Go-To Resources

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing to earn money blogging. There are tons of ways to make money on your blog. If you want to make money by promoting an affiliate, you need Michelle’s course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. It was an invaluable resource to me despite 1,000+ hours of research on how to earn. The money didn’t actually start coming in till I took this course. Save yourself from frustration, Michelle has it figured out for us.

Ebates Coupons deals and cash back. When you’re shopping online if you aren’t stacking your savings, you’re losing serious money. Get rebates from 1%-20%+ on thousands of stores and get $10.00 for signing up. I won’t shop without Ebates. 

Swagbucks Use my link to get $5.00 just for signing up. With Swagbucks you can browse the app, watch videos, take surveys, and play games. Swagbucks pays out in gift cards which makes it really easy to collect your earnings. *Protip* Best way to spend your Swagbucks is on a $5.00 Amazon gift cards they are only 450 points, and cheaper in comparison to other offers. (Personal savings and a great affiliate program).

Ibotta! I save on all my staples from eggs, to paper towels, to coffee and even uber rides!. With Ibotta you just snap a picture of your shopping receipt and match it with current deals available online. Get $10 just for signing up through The Rising Damsel. Redeem your first $10 by verifying a purchase from any of their stores. It’s an obsession.

My Second Blog Traffic Report – The Rising Damsel
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4 thoughts on “My Second Blog Traffic Report – The Rising Damsel

  • June 5, 2017 at 4:38 pm
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    I am a blogger too. Found your suggestions super awesome. Thanks

    Reply
    • June 14, 2017 at 4:16 pm
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      I am so glad that you found them helpful. Where are you blogging? I would love to check it out. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  • June 17, 2017 at 12:20 pm
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    As a new blogger myself, this post was awesome. Thank you so much for sharing! I am definitely going to check out Chitika too.

    Reply
    • June 20, 2017 at 1:56 pm
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      I am so happy to hear that. Definitely check Chitika out. The analytics are straight forward too.

      Reply

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