My first month blogging: August 2017 blog report

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It’s been one month!

Okay, so I actually started slightly before August 1st, but that was just to wrangle with WordPress, domain names and hosting (I manage my own hosting).  I’m counting my actual first month from August 1st.

Blogging reports aren’t the main focus of this blog, but I have always found it interesting to read other people’s reports. And, I think it might be useful for some aspiring bloggers to see the numbers from someone who isn’t writing about how to make money blogging.

My first month blogging: the context

First, some context. I work 4 days a week, and I also went away for two weekends out of the four. Nonetheless I spent pretty much every evening and some mornings working on the blog. I would hesitate to say how much time I spent on it, but probably at least 10-12 hours a week.

I do not have children. I feel like I have to say this, because I accidentally joined a Facebook group called Mamapreneur without quite twigging what the ‘Mama’ part of that name meant. I’m now part of a group of awesome, inspiring and helpful ‘Mommy Bloggers’, in which I feel a little bit like a fraud because I am not a ‘Mommy Blogger’ (unless you count my wonderful goddaughter, who is only slightly older than this blog).

In the past I was a freelance web designer and developer, and in my day job I work in Digital Operations. So I have some technical knowhow and experience that has been incredibly useful.

I am also not new to blogging. I have written for two successful blogs before, one called ‘Write the Game’ and one called ‘Girls Don’t Game’. The latter was particularly successful, with my posts reaching tens of thousands of people.

But… blogging is different now

Despite all that experience, blogging is very different now. It’s no longer enough to just write a reasonably decent list post and wait for the traffic. Social Media is a complicated behemoth of tactics and additional services like Tailwind and Boardbooster and HootSuite and who-only-know-what.

It apparently takes up to six months for Google to notice or care about your tiny new site.

There is. so. much. content. I read about content shock, and promptly felt sad about my decision to develop a new blog.

Yet, equally, there are thousands of bloggers out there making an income from their blog and gaining tons of readers. So, it can be done.

My first month blogging: why blog at all?

I wanted to write a blog ‘for fun and profit’.

I wanted to write about ‘adulting’, aka personal development for millennials. I love writing, I enjoy creating graphics, I like photography. Blogging felt like a great mash-up of all my favourite things.

I also wanted to develop an income stream that was separate from day job. In the past I have done freelance work, which has been incredibly useful during times when I’ve been unemployed. Diversifying your income stream is a smart choice, but I wound down my freelance business last year because of changes in the way websites are built and managed. Blogging seemed like a good replacement, with the potential for the holy grail of passive income down the line.

My first month blogging: the goals

I started at 0 for everything except Pinterest, where I started with 50 followers on my personal account that I converted into a blog account.

I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of growth or page views so I had no firm goals except to try different things and learn as I went.

My first month blogging: the stats

Here’s what you came for!

• Page views: 774 (+774)
• Twitter followers: 76 (+76)
• Pinterest followers: 52 (+2)
• Instagram followers: 28 (+28)
• Email subscribers: 7 (+7)
• Blog expenses: £84.34 (Domain, theme, Photoshop)
• Blog income: £0

The majority of my traffic came from Facebook, with Twitter and Pinterest trailing behind. I think this is mainly from posting in blogging groups and is probably not that useful or sustainable.

I wrote three guest posts and published two, with the third coming in mid-October.

I wrote and published twelve blog posts, with the most popular being:

• The best online fitness programs
• The evolution of my planning system
• How clean eating fed my depression

I wish I had cracked 1,000 page views, but overall I am not unhappy with these results.

Why? After all, this is hardly an overnight success story!

And the answer is, because I enjoyed it. Yes, I spent too much time in Facebook blogger groups, but I got some guest posting opportunities. Yes, it took me a while to figure out Tailwind and I applied to a ton of Pinterest Group Boards without getting anywhere… but now I’m a member of some active Tribes, and I finally got invited to join my first two Group Boards on Pinterest.

I fully believe I am building a foundation for a blog that I can continue to work on and enjoy for years to come.

Goals for next month

Here’s what I hope to achieve in my second month of blogging:

• Page views: 1,000+
• Twitter followers: 100+
• Pinterest followers: 60+
• Instagram followers: 50+
• Email subscribers: 10+

I would also like to publish at least one guest post, as well as at least ten blog posts.

I am not expecting to earn any income for (at least) the first three months.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll update again next month!