From 100 To 10K: My Blogger Journey (September 2021)
This blogging journey update is long overdue. My last check-in took place in the summer.
What I Learned Since Summer
Over the past few months, I discovered a thing seasoned bloggers already know. The best way to spend a fixed amount of work time? On writing new blog posts.
Publishing and marketing new articles is the number one traffic generator to a blog. Everything else is gravy.
Table Of Contents
Over the past few months, I discovered a thing seasoned bloggers already know. The best way to spend a fixed amount of work time? On writing new blog posts.
What else did I learn this summer? These four things:
1. To better manage social media. Social media is a blessing and a curse. It works wonders as a powerful and free traffic driver to my website. And it is a drag for being a big distraction.
Creating photos and videos for feeds is fun. And the instant reward of likes, followers, and comments is addictive.
I found early on I spent too much time on my social channels. I pretended I was getting valuable work done when I wasn’t. So, now at my most productive writing times of the day, I force myself to stay off it.
2. SEO (search engine optimization) and keyword research are critically important for growing blog traffic. Working toward higher Google rankings, I learned to incorporate SEO best practices and keyword research into everything I write.
3. Marketing a post is as essential as writing it. Publish and ignore it does not work. I learned to use all my social channels to market posts. I discovered Twitter and Facebook groups help amplify articles best.
Publish and ignore it does not work. I learned to use all my social channels to market posts.
For each article I write, I take the time to tag businesses and organizations most likely to find the content valuable for their audiences.
4. Patience. There are no shortcuts to meaningful and sustainable growth.
Let's Skip August
August was quiet. I had fewer than 100 people on the site. For five months into a new blog, this is typical. However, it is still disappointing.
Though, confession time. I only have myself to blame. I published one blog post for the entire month and did not send a newsletter. So, low blog traffic is my reward.
We did take a trip.
The trip was a big multi-generational one with my extended family to Vail, Colorado. See photo highlights below. As the resident travel expert in the family, I was the organizer. So, a fair amount of August time did get dedicated to the trip planning and execution.
Once we returned home, our kids started school – full-day in-person for the first time in 1.5 years for both! My older child entered high school, and my younger one went back to middle school. With everyone settled, I got back to work.
September Rocked!
With more time and my hands to do what I love, September rocked.
In September, I had 1,600 website visitors. This increase is massive. It is 2000+% over August.
How to explain the growth? Three key activities.
- Regular (almost) weekly blog posts. Including a guest post exchange with a San Diego hiking blog.
- Comprehensive promotion on every social channel for each blog post.
- Use of keyword research to shape all writing topics and article titles.
Two blog posts accounted for nearly 50% of my September traffic. “The Best Books To Read Before A Hawaii Trip” drove 4% of the visitors. Even though this number is modest, it is significant. This Hawaii post is my first to generate organic search traffic from Google.
Generating organic-search traffic is the #1 goal for most blogs. I hope to create more articles that rank on the first page of Google like this one.
After the Hawaii book article, my biggest September traffic generator?
My article about Saugatuck, Michigan – “Fall Trip: 10 Wonderful Family Things To Do In Saugatuck,” drove a whopping 44% of traffic. How did people find this post? With marketing and amplification.
The Saugatuck/Douglas Visitor’s Bureau saw my tweet about the article and shared it to their Twitter feed and Facebook page. And I posted a link to the article on a Chicago-based family Facebook group with 46k members and got a great response.
Tracking Monthly Data
When I first launched this blog, I began tracking key data metrics weekly. Then I dropped the ball in July. I am now picking it back up and committing to a more manageable monthly schedule.
Click the spreadsheet above to view the metrics I am tracking. The data below the line shows my last weekly number capture. See monthly data above this line.
Monetizing The Blog
My ultimate goal is to monetize my blog. Of course, I also want to do what I love and share it with others. And be a thoughtful voice about the learning, joy, and stewardship that can accompany travel. However, making money will be nice too.
The first two paths (to revenue) I plan to take to make money are affiliate links and advertising.
The routes to revenue generation on a blog are plenty. The first two paths I plan to take are affiliate link building and advertising.
When I saw my blog traffic increase exponentially in September, I took the time to set up my first two affiliate accounts.
First, I created an affiliate bookshop on indie-bookseller Booskhop.org. Next, I applied and got approved for Amazon.com’s affiliate partner program.
I am now “live” with both sellers. Revenue updates (hopefully!) will begin in October.
For advertising, I eventually hope to be approved by Mediavine, the top player in the blogging advertising space. They only accept new accounts with 50k+ monthly views. In September, I had nearly 2,200 – I have a ways to go.
What Tools Helped Me Grow The Most?
Two resources helped me grow over the past months.
The first and my favorite is Neil Patel’s SEO and keyword search tool, Ubersuggest. The tool analyzes the SEO performance of my website and helps to generate keyword research.
Although there are several more expensive and established SEO tools, I gravitated toward Ubersuggest because I heard Neil on a podcast and liked what he had to say. Plus, he offers a free, no-frills, no-strings-attached, limited access account to Ubersuggest. Signing up for it was a no-brainer.
After a few weeks of using the free version and receiving Neil’s automated e-mails packed with tips on how to fine-tuning my blogging, I splurged for the more robust monthly subscription.
Buying the subscription was a big decision even with its affordable price tag. Not counting my work hours, I am keeping my blog business costs close to zero. I launched and ran a business in the 2000s and overspent, and learned my lesson. Now, I only buy a product or service if I am 100% certain it will yield results.
In addition to running keyword searches on Ubersuggest, I have been listening to The Blogging Millionaire podcast, produced by Brandon Gaille.
The podcast is short, typically, ten minutes or less. On it, Brandon details pro-blogging techniques designed “to grow traffic and monetize blogs.” His suggestions – down to which font size I should be using in my posts – are uniformly excellent.
What’s Next?
In October, my goal is to drive more traffic to the website.
My plan to accomplish this includes writing a new blog post every week and sending at least one e-newsletter. I will employ SEO best writing practices in both.
I am looking forward to sharing the results.
Find all new monthly updates on “My Blogger Journey From 100 to 10K,” here.
Don’t want to miss a monthly update? Then signup to receive my Discovery e-newsletter. I will send you a free trip budget calculator as a thank you.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use, and the income goes to keeping the site community-supported and ads minimal.
Hi, I am Janice and and I run the Gather and Go Travel blog. I am a travel writer, blogger, and bookhound, specializing in family and group travel. I have traveled extensively domestically and internationally to 40+ countries. I am fascinated by other cultures, religions, and languages—and love to share what I have learned in my writing. For more on my background, read my bio, our story, and how to work with me.
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2 Responses
Thanks, Geoffrey! I appreciate the support! I can always use recommendations for where to learn more. I will check it out! Right now I’ve been consuming a lot of free content from Yoast SEO and Neil Patel on SEO and writing best practices. Keep me posted on other recs. And good luck to you too!
You’ve made some great progress! So inspiring to see someone achieving some of their goals. I have a small travel blog and I’m trying to get it going. I found the ProBlogger four-part course helpful, but you might be beyond that. Keep up the good work!