When you are new to blogging it’s hard to measure progress. How often should I post? How many readers should I expect? If no one comments, how do I know if they like what they read? How do I know if they are even reading?
It’s tough turning out fresh content day after day when faced with a black hole of feedback. That’s why I publish my monthly blog report. I began this blog from scratch 8 months ago dedicated to giving you a transparent month-by-month snapshot of what works, what doesn’t and what results can you realistically expect.
Photo Credit: Victor1558
While every blog and readership is different, it is my prayer that these reports will give you a benchmark from which to gauge your progress and make better blog building decisions.
If you are new to this report, I invite you to join us and blog-along.
What I Learned This Month
Since one of the purposes of this blog is to serve as a public laboratory, I’m always open to trying new things.
This month, I changed the way posts are displayed on my main blog page. Previously, that page showed the full text of the 5 most recent blogs posts. With some help from my wonderful web hosts at http://www.camna.com, I revamped that format to now display a partial text of 10 posts each followed by a “continue reading” link.
My hope is that people might browse and click through to more posts when they can see up front what that post is about. Interestingly, in January the number of posts read went up by more than 1,000 over the number read in December. (Of course, this could also be due to people’s busyness over the holidays.) I plan to keep this new format for now, and I will continue to track the results.
How about you? Do you prefer seeing the full text of 5 posts or the partial text of 10?
8th Monthly Report ~ January, 2013
(This does not include statistics or strategies used for the rest of the Kim Avery Coaching website.)
Subscribers: 75 (last month 76)
- Email = 37 (last month 37)
- RSS feed = 38 (last month 39)
- Number of Posts: 17 (last month 15)
Number of Post Views: 3842 (last month 2150)
Traffic Sources: (how people find my blog)
- Direct (Typing in or a direct link) = 26%
- Referral (Mostly from Facebook) = 43%
- Search = 24%
- Other = 7%
Reader Interaction:
- Comments = 56 (last month 19)
Strategies Used This Month:
- Changed the way blogs are displayed on the main blog page
- Bless-A-Blogger Week
- Featured one blog post in my monthly newsletter
- Removed the “Opt-in Skin” that offered an incentive for people to subscribe to the blog (See October Monthly Report)
What I Learned in January
After putting the blog in remote control over the holidays, it’s been fun to start thinking about it again. I’ve spent some time researching what top bloggers are doing and that’s what gave me the idea to revamp my blog page.
Possible Applications for You:
What changes could you make to your blog format to make it more readable or more enjoyable?
That’s my eighth monthly report.
How is your blog going? What’s working and what isn’t? How can I help?
Let me know in the comment section so we can continue to publish blogs that change the world.
Kim, I’m curious if you have 75 new subscribers this month or 75 total on your list.
Hi Lisa – I wish I had 75 new subscribers this month
. That is 75 total. I’ll try to adjust that section so that is clearer. As always, I really appreciate your input.
Great insights. I’m always looking for ways to test my blog/website to see if I need to make adjustments. Thanks for sharing with us.
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for commenting. I would love to hear what’s working well on your blog when you get a chance to share.
Kim I know I post the same comment every time you share the blog report but thank you again for your openness and willingness to share your blogging journey.
Hi Summer – You can post that same comment every time
. It’s just nice of you to stop by and check in.
Thanks Kim! Just trying to figure out what’s realistic so this is all helpful. I hear of all these people who grow their lists so quickly and who say you should get at least 500-1000 ASAP, but mine is only has about 125 in 4 months. I have to admit though, I still haven’t done anything with the people on my list other than give them my free book since I haven’t figured out what’s the next best step yet for my niche and my time. I’ve grown to realize that one size doesn’t fit all and all niches are different when it comes to these things.
Hi Lisa -
I think there is some confusion here. When I post my statistics each month those are only reporting on people who subscribe to the blog. That isn’t the same as a list.
“A list” is a group of people who have opted-in to receive your newsletter and other communications in their email. For example, those who choose to receive my free ebook, Top Ten Marketing Mistakes NOT to Make, are also then signed up for my monthly newsletter and special announcements. That is a MUCH larger number then the blog statistics I post each month. Newsletter readers are typically easier to get because you can offer this everywhere you go – on a speaking engagement, networking meetings or to someone over the phone. If they want to be on your list, you can come home and add them.
Blog readers need to sign up themselves on the blog – they don’t necessarily get the newsletter – just the blog.
For marketing, it is much more important to focus on the newsletter list as they have given you permission to stay in touch with them – as you did with your free book. This allows you to touch base on a regular basis and continue to add value to their lives.
A blog is dependent on people remembering to read it and doesn’t offer any way for you to proactively get in touch with them.
When people come to my website, I would prefer them to download my free ebook and opt-in to my newsletter list more than subscribe to the blog.
Does that make sense?
Let me know what questions you have. This is a great topic.
I like the way you really track what’s working and not working!! Thanks for sharing what’s working!
I have to say that I really like the new blog format with the partial text and the featured image. I especially like scanning down through the images – I think they attract my attention first, before the words. Nice work!
You said: “When people come to my website, I would prefer them to download my free ebook and opt-in to my newsletter list more than subscribe to the blog.
Does that make sense?”
That makes PERFECT sense, Kim. And I don’t know why I am so “slow” that I truly need to hear that over and over again. I keep forgetting that VERY important fact. So please keep reminding me.