My Fourth Blog Traffic Report – The Rising Damsel

I’m so happy to see you here! It shows that you’re ready to make a positive impact on your life! If you’re ready to break away from a job that just doesn’t suit you, my tutorial will guide you and make it super easy to start a blog for just $3.95 per month. I also created some amazing printables that will help you skyrocket your growth and lead you to financial independence.

My mission with this blog is to get you on an awesome career path, while getting you past the fear of blogging so that you can form your very own blogging empire. No matter what stage of life you are in, you can make changes in order to have a better tomorrow. I’m going to tell you how I went about gaining followers, earning a small profit and how you can get on track to do it too.

I’m working my way up to full-time income as a blogger. Before I was laid off, I specialized in hiring practices and recruitment (my division got bought out and our HR department got cut). Blogging gives me the ability to reveal my HR secrets, but I’m also passionate to share the rewards of starting your own blog.

As a blogger, I want to share the beginning stages of my blog growth and income reports because it gives me accountability. I hope that it inspires you to start your own blog and take the steps towards achieving a full-time, work from home income.

This month I am going to shake up the order of my income report. Let’s kick it off.

What Was Accomplished in July

Total Views:  1,180
Total Blog Views: 4,788

Blog Posts

This month I was able to publish 3 blog posts and 1 page.

• How the Ultimate Social Media Scorecard Can Skyrocket Your Traffic
• You’ve Been Nominated for a Liebster Award
• What to do Before You Freak Out and Quit Your Job
• Resources (Informational Page)

My resource page is filled with a growing list of companies that I trust and that are treating me right. Check mine out above, and use it to create your own!

Took Control of My Subscriber List

GROW YOUR LIST, YOU HAVE TO GROW YOUR LIST! Who hasn’t heard that? Well I signed up for Convertkit. Signing up to Convertkit is something that I had considered for quite some time. Pulling the trigger on the program felt great. I am excited to work with a company that is not plagued by rumors of emails being sent straight to spam. I launched my subscriber list, also my ‘The Social Media Scorecard’ which helps you prioritize and take control of your social media accounts! Investing in Convertkit assures that my readers receive posts that benefit their personal lives and career.

When you’re ready for an email marketing platform, the peace of mind that Convertkit offers is worth every penny. Your email subscriber list is the BLOOD of your blog, the sooner you start your list the better it will be for you. I would be honored if you would subscribe 🙂 you can do so in the right scroll bar.

Click here to create your own Convertkit account!

Created Pins for A/B Testing

Quality pinterest images is what will bring on more repins and visits to your blog. I began creating new images for my past posts to see the results. To my surprise, I received even more repins than the initial time. That just proved it for me! Don’t forget to renew and share your old content to continuously get it on people’s radar. You’re  constantly adding new followers and an old pin might strike a new fancy.

Upped Instagram Presence 

I love taking pictures. Instagram requires work just as pinterest does. Thankfully like pinterest, people just want love and acknowledgement. If you show some love in the form of a heart or a follow, people will often reciprocate. My facebook groups have been a great source of inspiration for posting instagram photos, and I truly appreciate that. Some companies will base your affiliate pay rate on followers, and some are specific to account type. Make sure and cover all your bases. There are plenty of option opportunities in instagram accounts that don’t revolve around makeup and food, so don’t let that stop you like it did me. Your random pictures or your tailored stock photos have a place to call home. Instagram is a fantastic community for growth and support, don’t ignore it like I had. If you’re struggling with Instagram, check out my profile here, I always follow back.

Continued to Pinterest Group Board 

I love my group board! Looking to join one? Just click here: Connect and Share. If you are the owner of a group board, make sure that you tend to your followers. “What do you mean“ you might ask? What I mean is that you need to make sure that you are sharing their content on your boards, clicking their images, engaging and repinning. If you want YOUR group board to rank higher in THEIR analytics, you need to make sure and show it in your actions. If someone sees continued growth and action in your group board, they will continue to pin there. BOOM, you got growth.

Social Media Goals:

• Pinterest Goal 820. Accomplished! From 676 to 917 followers! Smashed this one again using my own printables. I guess I better up the goal and try to hit 1,100 by the end of August. Can we do it? I think so!
• Instagram Goal 283. Failed! I went from 183 to 273 lovely followers on Instagram. I still consider this a win despite not hitting my goal. I’m trying to up my Instagram game and take more photos, but I refuse to ever post for the sake of posting. This month I hope to get  my count up to 350.
• Twitter. Goal 140. Accomplished! I went from 98 to 148 followers. Twitter has been a great source of traffic, and a reshare can be worth it’s weight in gold. My goal will be to hit 200 for August.
• Blog Subscribers. Accomplished! From 5 to 30 subscribers. Honestly, I had no expectations for building my list this first month (I love you guys thank you for joining me on this journey). I created a printable that fellow bloggers have found useful, and it has converted really well, I am so pleased to say. You can check out the post here: How The Social Media Scorecard can Skyrocket Your Traffic. When you subscribe, you will receive the same printable that blasted my pinterest! I would love to get up to 70 subscribers for August.
• Facebook Page Follows. Accomplished! From 75 to 98 follows. I also didn’t have a goal for this one just yet, but am so pleased with the results. Looking for 125 for August.

Referrer Views:

Pinterest: 83 / 104 /289 / 302

Stumbleupon: 302 / 305 / 215 / 246

Facebook: 25 / 100 / 134 / 204

I put the most effort in scheduling and interacting with the 3 social networks above. There are other sources for referrers, but keeping an eye on this helps me track which of my strategies are working in long term, so that I can share them with you! My numbers are steadily increasing over time which is all anyone can hope for!

July’s Goals- How did I do?

• Get Convertkit.  Accomplished! Convertkit is the ultimate mailing platform, and I’m glad I chose to work with them.
• Share 6 blog posts.  FAIL! I’m not sure how traveling bloggers do it. I need to work on how to blog even when I’m not ‘in the zone at home’. I was on vacation and nonstop sightseeing kept me busy.I did share 3 posts and 1 page.
• Get Ahead of Posting. FAIL! Thankfully I have a ton of post ideas, I just need to get ahead of the writing game.
• Increase Pinterest Follower Count.  Accomplished! I had another smashingly successful month on Pinterest. I created a detailed post for you here: Skyrocket Your Traffic Using the Ultimate Social Media Scorecard plus free printables that will give you that BOOST you want. My new method of social media sharing has created a lot more free time and less anxiety.
• Use Tailwind More Efficiently.  Accomplished! Tailwind saves my sanity when it comes to pinning. Using their auto scheduler allows me to pin more than 50 times a day with ease. With 900 pins currently scheduled, I can worry about other things, and the peace of mind is worth the price for such a comprehensive scheduler. The analytics allow you to see what pins and boards are performing well with extraordinary detail, and I have been able to offer my readers more of the pins that benefit their lives. My engagement continues to grow steadily, I just love em can you tell?
• Narrow Down and Focus. Accomplished! This is sort of an ‘accomplished-ish’. I definitely focused on everything that I needed to focus on this month, but I still need to work on my posting schedule.
• Increase Page Views. FAIL! Definitely my fault. As I mentioned… really no clue how traveling bloggers do it! My mind is in a million different places when I’m away from my desk. I posted less than I wanted to this month, and I let 2 weeks go by without a peep. As a result my page views grew slightly stagnant.

Results

Here’s our earnings for the month of July.

Chitika – $.98  (4,635 Impressions, CPM $.2018)

Shareasale – $.50 from a Tailwind lead.

Awin.com– $.50 from TrustedHouseSitters. Awin is a fantastic affiliate program! If you haven’t heard of it, I highly suggest you investigate. You can also sign up for Fiverr, and Swagbucks among many other lucrative affiliate programs.

Drum Roll Please! We made a total of $1.98 for July!

You might wonder why I would post an income report of less than $2.00. But I’ll tell you, I blogged for 5 years without making 1 single cent. We all have to start somewhere, and when I decided to start blogging seriously, I cut ties with my old blog. The point is, no matter where you are in your income journey, you can make a decision to start earning in a new totally fulfilling way. My goal is to make a full-time income within a year, which is totally possible if I’m consistent.

Blog Goals For August

• Set Up Convertkit. Using a new program is always daunting, I’m so thankful that Convertkit has been extremely easy to get comfortable with. My goal is to create a workable form and use Convertkit solely.
• Create 5 day freebie.  The Social Media Scorecard has done so well that I would really like to expand on that in the form of a boot camp. With Convertkit, I can create a sequence of emails that will be sent out over the course of a few day. Social Media doesn’t have to be a mystery and I love helping with this issue.
• Share 5 blog posts.  I have been sticking to around 4-5 posts a month. That is definitely okay with me. I would rather write constructive helpful posts that focus on new tips to help you, rather than short posts riddled with boring over blogged suggestions. I feel like blogging daily would decrease the quality of work I produce.
• Create More Free Lead Magnets. Creating printables is something I find relaxing and enjoyable. Getting to share them through my blog is just a bonus. (Try to create a freebie around something that you enjoy doing so that it never becomes a chore).
• Increase Pinterest and Social Media Follower Counts. While my blog is growing, I absolutely adore checking in on my social media stats. Use this as your own confidence booster! We might not always get the most page views, but seeing a new follower just makes it all worthwhile.
• Research Guest Posting Opportunities.  I’m trying to be strategic in my efforts. With a working subscriber list, I can now gather emails from folks who might come to my blog based on an article that I write for another site. It was really important for me to do this in order to not miss out on followers. Remember this tip in your own efforts. Before launching anything, ensure that your subscriber lists are active and working.
• Engage With My Tailwind Tribe. SCREAMING FROM THE RAFTERS! Tailwind is the reason I still pin. I credit at least 75% of my success on Pinterest to Tailwind. Tailwind tribes are a free place for you to post your pins. A ‘tribe’ is very similar to a group board. Tribes are part of Tailwind, but this feature is 100% FREE! It’s an amazing source for collaboration. I currently spend a lot of time on Tailwind scheduling, and need to concentrate on sharing more content to and from the Tribes. Much like Pinterest, sharing other people’s content is what will get you noticed! If you would like a place to share your content please drop some pins on my tribe board here: Promote Your Blog- Tribe. Tribes will always be free, but if you do join Tailwind you will get a free month through my link.
• Increase Page Views. The vacations have been had. I no longer will abandon my blog halfway through the month. Pinterest and Facebook can really save your bacon if your posting game is light. I’m excited to see what a full month of blogging will bring!

Why is Social Media so Important?

Your social media sharing strategy is what will direct people to your blog. SEO is important, of course it can’t be ignored, but an engaged reader has great benefits as well. Ultimately, engaged readers are what will get you closer to a full time income, treat them well and nurse other’s growth to see results in your own.

Leads That Worked:

The Ultimate Social Media Scorecard was created to make it easy and fun to track ALL of your social media accounts. Organize yourself, track your score, challenge yourself to achieve a higher score and watch the followers flock. It’s tried and true. I was sick of pulling my hair out, trying to manage all my accounts, use this tracker to save your sanity. For a more detailed account of what and when to post, see my post:Skyrocket Your Traffic Using the Ultimate Social Media Scorecard you will be blown away by how your proactiveness will affect your numbers! I gained 241 pinterest followers in less than a month by supporting fellow bloggers, and by using the strategies and printables in the post.

If you’re new to blogging and affiliate marketing, I highly suggest you read my article Ultimate Tips and Widgets for Monetization to get you on track to creating a financially stable situation for your family! I take all the stress and questions away so that you can focus on building your business! There’s no reason to feel overwhelmed, so many people already have it figured it out! I can get you there too.

Ready to become more savvy when it comes to your life and finances? You’ll love these!

Writing my traffic updates is therapeutic. If you’re uncomfortable posting your results, I highly recommend you take the time to think about them and contemplate the future of your business in your own productive way.

What have you accomplished lately? Every step is a step towards financial independence and we are all worth it. Please subscribe! I would love to share my future helpful tips with you. Together we will be great.

Remember when you Subscribe to The Rising Damsel, you will get access to tons of daily discounts from all of my favorite affiliates located in the The Rising Damsel’s Library!

You will also have access to the exclusive Social Media Scorecard! It’s the only one of it’s kind to help you track all your social media in one place. Learn more about it in this post: Skyrocket Your Traffic Using The Ultimate Social Media Scorecard. 

Find The Rising Damsel on Pinterest!

Join my Facebook Group Connect and Share for Success. I’d love to help spread your content.

If you are looking for a free Tailwind Tribe try The Rising Damsel’s: Promote Your Blog – A Rising Damsel Tribe. Much Love!! Together we will be great!

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Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing to earn money blogging. There are tons of ways to make money on your blog. If you want to make money by promoting an affiliate, you need Michelle’s course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. It was an invaluable resource to me despite 1,000+ hours of research on how to earn. The money didn’t actually start coming in till I took this course. Save yourself from frustration, Michelle has it figured out for us!