I wish I had a project to share today, but I've been spending most of my work time lately on projects that will be published down the road. I am going to pick up the slipcover tutorial series in the next few days and I have some new sign creations and furniture makeovers waiting to happen, so stay tuned.
Until then, I recently passed the two million page impressions mark, so I've had numbers on the brain.
I have to confess that I am a competitive person and I like numbers. I like measuring progress, growth, change, earnings. Anything. This interest in stats can be a good thing and a bad thing when it comes to the blog world. It's good business to know your numbers and how to interpret them, but it can be a bad thing when you get too competitive and your blog becomes all about the numbers. So, after blogging for about a year and a half, these are my thoughts on numbers.
Everyone Starts Somewhere
It is true of every blog, from Pioneer Woman to the one that just started today, that we all started with one follower. And that first follower is usually yourself, your spouse or your mom. Don't get discouraged in the beginning if you feel like you're talking to yourself. It takes time and a lot of attention to grow a blog, so just be patient. You can't put an acorn in the ground and expect to harvest mature oak the next day.
Know Your Numbers
Don't obsess about your numbers, but it's good to know where you are. It's also a lot of fun to watch your blog grow, learn who your readers are, know which posts are most popular, and find out who your biggest referrers are, etc. The best place to learn your numbers is with Google Analytics.
Now What?
Now that you know your numbers, what do you do with them? Well, it depends on your goals for your blog. If you just blog for fun, it's nice to know who is reading. If your blog is a business, numbers help you know who your "customers" are and you have information when pitching yourself and your blog to sponsors, advertisers and companies. For example, when Donna presented her book idea to a publisher, she also shared her blog stats and demographics. The publishers had information to work off of to know if Donna was a good investment or not. (They signed her on, by the way!)
You May Be Surprised
My demographics were a real surprise to me. I figured my readers were just like me...young 30's, toddlers, etc. I found out that most of my readers are closer to my mom's age! Is that why all of you are telling me to get some rest? I don't just have followers...I have about 4000 additional moms! Actually, a lot of my readers are in my stage of life, but knowing that the bulk of my engaged demographic are women like my mom makes me think twice about what kind of giveaways I host and what topics I tackle.
You Are You
I know it's so tempting to compare and I admit I do it sometimes. "Why are her numbers there and my numbers are here?" Well, we're women and that's just how we work. Don't let it control you, though. If you're obsessed with competition and numbers, it will show in your blog. You should focus on your content, photography, uniqueness and your numbers. Because your numbers aren't just numbers, they're people. Focus on the people who read and love your blog and more will come. Unless you're Google, there is always going to be a URL out there with better numbers.
Growing Your Numbers
I'm asked often how I grew/grow my blog. Well, I'm sure it's a number of things, but I did really work at it. I linked up to parties right when they were posted to be at the top of the link list. I left A LOT of comments on blogs I liked. I posted often...sometimes two and three times a day. I teamed up with other bloggers (like Donna) to generate some cross traffic. Now, we can't get rid of each other! (Just kidding. She's my BBFF - Blog Best Friend Forever.) There were a lot of really nice people who featured me and linked to me as well. To boil it down: post good content, take good pictures, be original, be social and be nice.
Why Bigger is Better
As your blog (and audience) grows, you do start to get some attention. I never dreamed I would be featured in and writing for magazines. I never knew it was possible for someone like me to write tutorials for HGTV.com. I never knew I could make a good income from my blog. I just started a blog one day with no strategy or goal. I just thought it would be fun and it took off. Now, I get all kinds of offers to try free things, attend events, get featured, etc. Having a blog can really expand your horizons.
When Bigger isn't Better
You don't only get positive attention. There are some people who will leave nasty comments and there are even cases of people starting blogs simply for the purpose of picking on another blogger who rubs them the wrong way. You also get a lot of offers from people who just want to use you and your numbers for their own good. They don't care about your content, your integrity or your readers. You have to protect yourself and your readers from those kinds of offers.
Numbers Aren't Everything
Low numbers don't mean that your blog stinks. It may mean that you just started, the word hasn't spread, yet, or your content is not very broad. My dad has recently been writing a wonderful blog about the history of our family. He only has two followers...me and my mom, but what he's writing about, though fascinating, is so specific. On the flip side, high numbers can be artificially inflated and are not necessarily an indicator of a great blog. Just take it all with a grain of salt. Write and relax.
Those are my two cents on numbers.
Ha! After writing this post, feeding the kids, and running an errand, the sunshine is gone and now it's snowing again!
Those are my two cents on numbers.
Ha! After writing this post, feeding the kids, and running an errand, the sunshine is gone and now it's snowing again!
