Hello ladies and welcome to my July blogging report.
I just want to start by saying “Happy 6 months blog anniversary to me“!
It was a very busy and very productive month. And so were the last 6 months.
Those 6 months were full of new beginnings, hope, tears of happiness and worry. I gave birth to my lovely second daughter, my oldest one hit the notorious 2 years mark. I started the blog I wanted for so long…
It’s been a rollercoaster and I love it!
What I’ve learned for 6 months blogging
Blogging is a long term game
This is by far the most important thing I’ve learned for those 6 months.
Forget about the “How I’ve made $1000000 in three days blogging” posts you’ll find all over Pinterest! Blogging requires hard work, persistence, and a lot of love for what you do.
Done is better than perfect
That’s a phrase I heard recently and it is so true it is almost unbelievable.
I used to strive for perfection with everything I do. And you know what? All it leads to is procrastination. Eventually, you will still want to update, improve, and tinker with it in so many ways.
And even if you love it now, in 6 months you’ll find something else to change. So whether it’s a post, a product, or your whole blog, just get it out there and it will find its tribe.
Short term goals will get you nowhere
If you’re in it for the long game, what you need are strategy and long term goals.
In my day job we always had yearly goals, broken down into quarterly goals, broken down to weekly tasks. For some reason, however, I took a different approach with my blog setting tons of short-term goals.
Why?
Who knows. Maybe because I was thinking of it as more of a hobby.
But now that I’ve finally decided that my blog will become a business I’m setting things right.
July Blogging Report
Business focus
This month I stumbled upon a random free blogging summit online. And it was an eye-opening experience. It helped me decide that I do want my blog to become a business and helped me turn on the right path.
So now that I know what I’m aiming for, I truly believe it will be a lot easier to achieve it.
Step 1 was to determine my ultimate goal. Given my busy mom schedule, other bloggers’ experience and according to my rough estimates, I would need about 3 years to achieve it. It could be achieved faster but I’d rather enjoy life in the meantime instead of stressing over deadlines.
Step 2 was to break it down. Knowing what I’m aiming for and how long I have made this part a no-brainer. Especially given that I used to be (and still consider myself) a business analyst.
Last but not least, Step 3 was getting an accountability partner, courtesy of the same blogging summit. She is this inspiring travel blogger and I truly believe that together we’ll grow stronger than apart.
Posts
July was a long month and I’m happy to say I managed to publish all 5 posts I planned (blogging report excluded). Here’s what’s new on Mom’s Daily Diary this past month:
Stats
This past month I got my blog reviewed and I was advised that sharing stats before my blog “makes it” may be bad for my reputation.
I’ve taught about it and I decided to make a compromise. So for now, instead of the exact numbers, I’ll leave the percentages only.
- Sessions: +100%
- Site visitors: +63%
- Organic traffic: same
- Average position on Google: 5 spots up
- Facebook page: likes +15% and follower +34%
- Pinterest page: impressions +120%, followers +35% and engagements +255%
Goals
July
- Publish all 6 posts I’ve planned (it will be a busy month!). Nailed it!
- Continue posting 1 new pin every day. Also done.
- Improve stats.
- Research Instagram (that’s right, I’ve never had an Instagram before but I see people are using it for brand awareness, so…). Pass for now, I’ve decided that I want to master SEO, Pinterest, and Facebook first before expanding.
- Update some old posts. Finally done. I started updating my older posts one by one.
August
As I mentioned, no more short term goals. Thus, here are the tasks I need to complete in August.
- Create and promote a Resource library.
- Compile and start following a social media marketing strategy.
Congrats on your growth! You are doing an amazing job. You nailed your goals, that is awesome. I agree with your strategy to pass on Instagram for now. I use it for brand awareness, but it doesn’t convert for me, I much prefer to spend time on Facebook because that’s where my audience hangs out.
Thank you for the kind words.
That is fantastic growth! Good points about blogging being a long-term game. Keep it up and thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Tim! Blogging does take a lot of effort but it’s so worth it when you see your stats growing!
Done is better than perfect! Absolutely agree 🙂