Monthly Blogging Report - April 2019

I have officially hit the 6-month mark of my blog. I can honestly say that it has taken this long before I have truly felt that I have gotten into a good rhythm and groove. I create recipes Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Those same days, I write 1-2 new posts and work on getting my post out on Pinterest.

Since this marks the 6-month point, I decided to sum up some stats to see how far this blog has grown since its inception.

Here are my 6-month stats:

Number of Posts Total: 112

Number of Pinterest Followers: 83

Number of Instagram Followers: 10 (I only just started working on my Instagram account)

Top Pinterest Recipes over 6 months:

Chocolate Souffle (Low Carb, Keto, GF) - 68,079 views
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free) - 30,340 views
Easy Lasagna With Homemade Low Carb Noodles (Keto, Gluten Free) - 19,013 views

Monthly Stats:

Monthly Pinterest Viewers: 245 100

Monthly Pageviews from Google Analytics: 5500

Monthly New Users from Google Analytics: 3100

Top 3 Recipes:

Easter Menu Ideas - 103 Pins
Easy Lasagna With Homemade Low Carb Noodles (Keto, Gluten Free) - 138 Pins
The Only Pie, Tart or Bar Crust You Will Ever Need! (Gluten Free, Keto) - 407 Pins

FAILURES

For whatever reason, I can not seem to get my Facebook counts on my website. I don't think it is anything I did and honestly, I am not sure that it really matters except that I can not accurately compare my monthly counts.
I still did not get my Instagram account up and running.
I became slightly obsessed with Google Analytics and was checking them several times a day. This truly was not what I consider to be "healthy" behaviour:-)
Overall, all my monthly stats were down from April. However, several blogs that I have read have stated that you can not compare month to month. Most blogs recommend comparing months for each year (ie. April 2018 vs. April 2019)

SUCCESSES

I have finally gotten into a good rhythm with regards to posting recipes.
I have started to figure out the Tailwinapp and have finally been accepted into 5 different "tribes".
I have gained 4 new followers on Pinterest and had 15 new people email sign-ups.

Income and Expenses

Income - I did not generate any income this month...I am keeping my chin up and hoping that by the end of the year, I will have enough monthly page views to sign up with Ad Thrive. In order for them to work with me, they require a minimum of 100,000 monthly page views. (Please help my sharing my blog with anyone and everyone you know!)
Expenses - My only monthly expense was with the company BlogPros. They help to promote my posts on Pinterest and Facebook at a monthly cost of $39.

Profit/Loss

Beginning Balance: -$907.78

Income in April: $0

Expenses in April: -$39

Total Profit/Loss: -$946.78

Final Thoughts

I feel like this month, I became a little too obsessed with my Google Analytics. See, for me, I am a very driven individual. I like to challenge myself and work hard to accomplish whatever goals I set out to achieve. Blogging is a different beast. You are limited to how much you can control your destiny.

With that in mind, I set out to see if I could hire a company to help me promote my website. I reached out to a company called Southern Web to help me. After several emails back and forth, they told me that my small website and budget were really not really their type of clientele. However, Ryan Sullivan sent me the kindest and encouraging email. Here is what he wrote:

Hey Cat,

I don't believe we have services to fit what you are looking for but the goal you have is certainly achievable. I once personally grew a blog on a similar trajectory and never really spent any money on marketing.

You're posting really regularly, which is great. And you have great content, which is super important too. The thing that I found ultimately set me apart was to be 100% honest with people and to go deeper than anyone else was willing to go. In other words, if I had a curiosity about any one thing, I'd do research and learn everything I could about that thing and then share it with people. Chances are if you don't know what something is, or don't have a super deep understanding of it, there's a whole audience that's in the same situation.

Then your articles will start to be shared which is rocket fuel for getting your website ranking better in search engines. Do the best you can to build a community of readers by staying true to your voice, and you'll start seeing things really come together.

And lastly, make sure you have an email list that you own. Nothing will be more valuable as you grow readership and potentially pivot to new topics.

This article has a lot of great practical tips: https://bloggingwizard.com/grow-your-audience/

You're onto something already. Save your money and keep your head down and you'll start seeing results.

If there's anything else I can help out with down the road don't hesitate to reach out!

Ryan Sullivan, Founder - WP Site Care
Southern Web | Direct 406.578.4160

This really sums up what type of people the blogging world is full of. This email from Ryan made me realize that there is no "quick fix" and sometimes, you can get so caught up in the end goal that you forget to enjoy the ride.

So, thanks to Ryan Sullivan and Southern Web, from now on, I am going to focus more on creating content for which my website stands. I will continue to create healthy recipes along with attempting different fasting adventures in order to define Optimal Health!

PS - If you like these types of reports, here are the links to older posts