It’s been a month since I started this blog. I’d wanted to create a blog for years but was never consistent with it. I had so many ideas, but no follow-through. Flash forward to 2021: now I’m 1 month into this blog. With 30 days behind me, I wanted to take the time to write up some new blog traffic analysis.
Why I started this Blog
As cliche as it is, in the new year I wanted to give something a shot. So, I looked to blogging. This time I went in more equipped with a theme for the blog as well as research on how to succeed. My goal for this blog is to provide free resources for people to help them in their everyday life and to monetize it so that I can have more passive income.
After working in a corporate job for 6 years, I realized that I don’t want to be chained to a desk. I’m too creative to live the same day twice. I want the flexibility to live life on my terms. Also thinking about the future, my husband and I want to start a family. It would be great to build an income online where I can work from home. I also want to supplement my Etsy store.
So, I set about on a journey to see if I can make some money blogging and how long it would take.
I want to document my blogging journey for myself as well as others to show realistic new blog traffic analytics.
New Blog Traffic Analysis: Month 1
I started this blog in January 2021 with my first blog post on Jan 9 (How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies in 10 minutes).
As someone who loves arts and crafts and living a healthy, non-toxic lifestyle I decided to focus my blog around the theme of mind, body, and soul. I want to provide creative tutorials, positive guidance for self-improvement, and healthy DIY recipes.
Everything I read said to narrow down a niche. But, I just can’t limit myself to one thing. Thinking long term, I am genuinely interested in bettering myself on all three fronts so I’m going to make that my theme and write around that.
This may turn out to be too big of a playing field, but time will tell.
How to Start a Blog Research
I was/am relatively new to the blogging game so I decided to read as much as I can. I devoured articles on the following topics:
- How to Start a Blog
- How Many Blog Posts to Write
- How to Market Blogs
- How Long Does it Take to see Blog Traffic
- How to Monetize Blogs
I dove right in and set up an Amazon Affiliate account, even though I had zero page views. I also submitted for Google AdSense but was rejected. After more research, it looks like Google Adsense prefers websites that are over 3 months old and have proven traffic.
Looks like I jumped the gun there. For any new bloggers out there, I suggest doing research on Google Adsense eligibility before submitting. There are a lot of good resources out there, such as this one.
I quickly learned that blogging is a long-term project. To see traffic and ad revenue, you need at least 50-70 posts. So, I set about writing daily.
Month 1 Review:
I wrote 7 blog posts my first month. I didn’t hit my goal of writing a post every day, but I also got married, so I’m giving myself some slack there!
These 7 posts break down as follows:
January 9 2021: How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies
January 15, 2021: Using Non-Toxic Remedies for Cold Sores
January 25, 2021: Top 10 Self-Care Ideas for a Happier Life
January 26, 2021: How to Make Confetti Hearts with Cricut
January 28, 2021: Cook and Workout: 5 Minute Veggie Quesadilla Workout (With Recipe)
January 31, 2021: 50 Journal Prompts for Success
February 4, 2021: 5 DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipes with Essential Oils
There was one week where I wrote 4 blog posts. That momentum felt great, but it was hard to keep it going when I spent 2 weeks of the month traveling for my wedding. I found that writing every day is a tough goal and I want to now aim for 3-4 posts a week.
The hard part about blogging is staying consistent and the #1 reason why new blogs fail is giving up. I want to make sure I maintain consistency without burning out.
Month 1 New Blog Traffic Analysis
Now for the nitty-gritty numbers. They are pretty dismal as I am just gearing up. I’m only using Pinterest to market my posts. I may add a Twitter to supplement the marketing down the road.
Here is the overview from Jan 9 – Feb 9.
As you can see, the spikes correlate to consistent blogging. The week where I posted 4 blog posts was my most viewed week. This is good to know for the future.
Here is a summary of page views by the article:
Here is a summary of page views for the month:
A total of 28 users visited my blog with 270 monthly views. This roughly breaks down to 9 visits per day. I have a long way to go to reach my goal of 100 views per day.
Page Views and Blog Post Word Counts
In my blog research, I came across a lot of advice suggesting to write 1,500 to 2,000 words for blog posts. Longer blog posts have a better chance of appearing higher in Google searches because the posts are better optimized. I did aim for higher word counts, but I was not able to hit a 2k word post this month.
Here are the word counts for my 7 blog posts for January 2021:
How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies(643 words)
Using Non-Toxic Remedies for Cold Sores (420 words)
Top 10 Self-Care Ideas for a Happier Life (1126 words)
How to Make Confetti Hearts with Cricut (486 words)
Cook and Workout: 5 Minute Veggie Quesadilla Workout (With Recipe) (1032 words)
50 Journal Prompts for Success (541 words)
5 DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipes with Essential Oils (1385 words)
I had 3 articles over 1k words and 4 that were under. My highest views article was 5 DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipes with Essential Oils at 36 page views. This was also the article with the most words.
Looks like high wordcount blog posts do result in more page views.
Blog Revenue and Monthly Cost Breakdown:
In month 1 of my blog, I made $0 in revenue. This is okay as I wasn’t expecting to make anything the first month since I need to build the foundation. Right now I’m aiming for some revenue within 3-6 months. As long as I hit the target, I’ll be on track!
Here are my costs to run the blog:
- Dreamhost (including Domain registration) $14.95
- Adobe Stock Photos ($29.99)
Total: $44.94
What’s next for this blog?
Based on month 1 new blog traffic analysis, I have learned some things that I want to implement for month 2.
Month 2 Goals:
- Post 3-4 times a week
- Have minimum 11 posts for the month
- Stay consistent with marketing on Pinterest
- Write at least one 2k word blog post
I’m excited to see what month 2 has in store for me! Have any tips or guidance for a new blogger? Comment below!
