I am really starting to enjoy posting these monthly blog reports. It will be a great way for me to track my progress as well as to see which blog posts have the most impact on my readers!
I am very proud at my tenacity when it comes to this blog. Working a full 40-50 hour work week and then blogging and creating recipes for another 20 hours a week makes for a busy week! I can honestly say, that as of yet, there has not been a single day when I have wanted to give up!
Sure, I have had my fair share of doubts and frustrations with respect to growing this blog, but NEVER has it felt like a chore to write a post.
On to the monthly report!
February 2019:
FAILURES:
- I am still trying to iron out the bugs with my email subscription. I have 3 different email addresses myself which I have entered and am still not getting my latest posts sent to me. I have tried to "unsubscribe" and then "resubscribe" but nothing seems to work. I even checked my spam account and did not find any email posts in there either. With that being said, I apologize to anyone who did sign up and has not been getting my posts. Hopefully, next month I will have better news.
- My web design is coming along but I am still needing to tweak it along the way.
- I burned my arm 3 times and my knuckle once!
SUCCESSES:
- I finally signed up with an instagram account. I have no clue how to use it but my new younger work partner does, so hopefully I will have it up and running by next month.
- My food photography is slowly improving and thanks to a tip from a patient about using the "vignette" feature, my photograph are "popping" much better.
- I signed up with tailwind and joined 5 tribes...we'll see how that improves the statistics in March.
- I posted a total of 16 recipes this month.
STATISTICS
TOP 5 RECIPES
Here is a list of my most popular recipes this month and the "shares" associated with each recipe.
- Cauliflower Rice Patties (Whole30, Low Carb) - 106 "Shares"
- Simple Vegan Tzatziki Sauce (Whole30, Low Carb, Keto) - 110 "Shares"
- "Must Try" Baked Ribs - 123 "Shares"
- January 2019 Monthly Blog Report - 138 "Shares"
- Spaghetti Squash Crust Taco Pie (Whole30, Low Carb, Dairy Free, Gluten Free) - 148 "Shares"
For whatever reason, I did not have any pins that did remarkably well like last months No Bake Carrot Cake Bars that managed to get 363 "Shares" last month. I thought maybe it was the "No Bake" part that got people excited, but when I posted a No Bake Red Velvet Cake Bar recipe, it only got 90 "Shares". I was also pretty surprised at how many "shares" I received for my January 2019 Monthly Blog Report. I write these posts for my own curiosity and am surprised that they were passed on to others.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
January - 1400 page views
February - 2800 page views with 1400 new users
I only got the google analytics set up after the first week in January so I am unsure of how realistic this comparison truly is...I guess next month will really be a true measure to see if this site is actually growing.
INCOME ANALYSIS
EXPENSES:
- My free trial with the Blogpros.com ended and therefore my first monthly subscription was payed - $39
- I joined Tailwind to see if it will help to grow my blog. It costs $9.99/ month but since I payed it all up front they gave me a $15 credit so the total was - $104.88
- I LOVE using the Canva website for my blog post pictures. Once again, I had received a free month but that had ended and therefore I had to pay - $119.40
INCOME:
- I did not receive anything from amazon this month so there weren't any profits this month. Also, I received an email from amazon letting me know that if I did not sell 2 more items in the next month, that they were going to cancel my "affiliate" account! Can you believe those guys? I mean seriously, what harm/expense is it for them to keep me on as an affiliate? Hopefully one day, when I am super popular, they will be wishing they hadn't let me go!
FEBRUARY 2019 PROFIT/LOSS REPORT : -$605.50 (last months balance) + -$263.28 = -$868.78
Although this month clearly cost me quite a bit, most of the costs were for an entire year of services and therefore will not be recurring (THANK GOODNESS!!!!!)
FINAL THOUGHTS
Now that I have had the "Blogpros" company helping me get my blog posts out there for 2 months, I can see that they generate approximately 60-80 of my "shares" for each post. This month, I will be adding in the Tailwind app for scheduling on Pinterest and possibly on Instagram to see how much this added feature contributes to the growth of my blog. After 2 months of using Tailwind, I am then going to try adding Google Ads for the following 2 months. If I keep posting regularly, I should be able to monitor which features are worth their price and which ones aren't!
Happy Blogging!
♥ Cat
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