goals, By Bindi

We are now into month 2 of this blog! I’m proud of my consistency and growing this site. With 60 days behind me, I wanted to take the time to write up some new blog traffic analysis.

Creating this blog has been a long dream in the making. I just tend to get excited at the beginning of new goals and then it fizzes away. So many ideas sit untouched or discarded. This blog is different. So far I’ve made it to 2 months! This is the most consistent I’ve been with any of the blogs I’ve created in the past. I’m really enjoying this process.

New Blog Traffic Analysis: Month 2

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).

I created this blog to comprise everything mind, body, and soul. This is a place for creative tutorials, positive guidance for self-improvement, and healthy DIY recipes.

After the first-month learning curve, there are things I have done to help build this blog and key learnings I came across to improve my goals. You can take a peek at my 1 month blog review here.

Let’s take a look at my month two analytics.

Things I Have Learned in 2 Months of Blogging

Blog Research

It’s important to stay updated on blog research. I continued to read more about improving on-page SEO and how to create a better user experience.

blog research with laptop and coffee

Here are some great articles and websites that I found useful this month.

Answer the Public

I stumbled upon this site recently. This site aggregates what people search for online to help you find keywords for your articles. For example, let’s say my keyword is crochet pattern. I type it into their search box and it gives me different questions such as “How to read a crochet pattern.” I can then use this specific topic for my next blog article as I know people want answers to these questions. This site is super helpful, though you do need to sign up for their premium package if you want more than 3 searches a day. I have not done this yet, but might in the future.

How to Add Table of Contents to WordPress

As I focus on quality blog posts that are more in depth, adding a table of contents to help users navigate the page has been on my to do list. This article from Hubspot details how to add a table of contents to your WordPress either manually or through plugins. I have not used any plugins on the list, but I will try Easy Table of Contents plugin and see how that works.

The Definitive Guide to On-Page SEO

This on page SEO guide from Backlinko has 7 chapters that walk you through optimization processes and tips.

Website Updates:

In creating a better user experience, I aimed to make sure my site looked clean and was organized properly. I also added social media buttons through Sassy Social Share Word Press plugin to further my blog post marketing. Now it’s super easy for my readers to share my content!

I also added Yoast SEO plugin to improve my keyword optimization. I’m still learning about the best practices, but I do like working at it until the SEO icon turns green! It feels like quite an accomplishment.

I am considering updating my blog theme to something else next month. I am a little vary of overhauling the blog as I’m worried about errors, but this would be a good time to do it. My blog is still new.

Month 2 Review

I wrote 7 blog posts my first month.

In month 2, my goals were to write more posts (at least 11) and to write longer-worded blog posts. I wrote 11 blog posts this month – I hit my goal! I also kept a consistent publishing goal of one blog post per theme (mind, body, soul) a week so that I would have at least 3 posts within my niche every week.

These 11 blog posts break down as follows:

February 15, 2021: Beginner’s Guide to Crocheting: How to Make a Slipknot

February 16, 2021: Easy Beginner’s Crochet Washcloth Pattern

February 18, 2021: 17 Inspirational Self-Love Quotes for Mental Clarity

February 20, 2021: How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off

February 23, 2021: New Blog Traffic Analysis: 1 Month Review

February 24, 2021: How to Make Personalized Vinyl Decals With Cricut

February 25, 2021: Dealing with Long Term Grief

March 2, 2021: Want Long, Thick and Luxurious Hair? Try these Indian recipes

March 4, 2021: How to Single Crochet for Beginners

March 5, 2021: Micro-Goals are the Key to Success

March 9, 2021: Best Natural Acne Remedies that Actually Work

Aside from the 10 days that I took off at the beginning of February for my wedding, I wrote 3-4 posts a week. I took off on the weekends.

I’ve always had a hard time staying consistent with my goals and I know the #1 reason why new blogs fail is giving up. I want to keep a consistent schedule without being overwhelmed.

Month 2 New Blog Traffic Analysis

This month, I saw a rise in traffic from my last month’s numbers. This is mainly due to some marketing tactics I undertook.

blog traffic analysis

The number one reason for the improved traffic is social media and blog engagement groups. I joined a small group on Facebook that helps provide views, comments, and marketing strategies. Because the group is on the smaller side, it is genuine and like-minded individuals.

If you’re just starting a blog, I suggest looking into these Facebook groups for blog engagement. You will start to receive global views in a short amount of time. It’s a great way to jumpstart traffic to your blog.

Here is the overview from Jan 9 – Feb 9 (Month 1)

28 first time visitors
270 monthly page views
130 user engagement events

Here are my Month 2 Stats (Feb 9 – March 9)

83 first time visitors – 196% increase
1.2k monthly page views – 344% increase
617 user engagement events – 374% increase

It’s exciting to see this upward increase! Baby steps will lead to great things.

I am trying to get up to a goal of 100 page views per day, or approximately 3,000 page views a month. In my second month of blogging, I’m at 1/3 of my goal. I may be able to reach this milestone hopefully in month 5 or 6.

Page Views and Blog Post Word Counts

Last month, I discussed how I came across a lot of advice suggesting to write 1,500 to 2,000 words for blog posts. And Neil Patel suggests 2,500 to 3,000 words ! Longer blog posts have a better chance of appearing higher in Google searches because the posts are better optimized and give the user all they need in one place.

This also increases the time spent on your site!

blog page views

Knowing this information, I went into month two with the mindset of aiming for at least 1k words and 1 post that is over 2k. While not every post met these requirements, I did a pretty good job overall.

Here are the word counts for my 11 blog posts for February 2021:

Beginner’s Guide to Crocheting: How to Make a Slipknot (428 words)

Easy Beginner’s Crochet Washcloth Pattern (650 words)

17 Inspirational Self-Love Quotes for Mental Clarity (1,339 words)

How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off (2,484 words)

New Blog Traffic Analysis: 1 Month Review (1,254 words)

How to Make Personalized Vinyl Decals With Cricut (1,114 words)

Dealing with Long Term Grief (1,316 words)

Want Long, Thick and Luxurious Hair? Try these Indian recipes (1,239 words)

How to Single Crochet for Beginners (452 words)

Micro-Goals are the Key to Success (1,044 words)

Best Natural Acne Remedies that Actually Work (1,598 words)

Blog Posts under 1Kwords: 3/11 (27%) | Blog Posts Over 1k words: 7/11 (64%) | Blog Posts Over 2k words: 1/11 (9%)

My most viewed article in month 2 was Want Long, Thick and Luxurious Hair? Try These Indian recipes with 91 monthly views. Previously my most viewed post was 5 DIY Lip Scrubs with Essential Oils with 36 monthly views.

It will still some time to see how on-page SEO and long-word posts help drive traffic. I believe I should have more data on this after six months of consistent blogging.

Blog Revenue and Monthly Cost Breakdown

new blog traffic analysis

In month 1 of my blog, I made $0 in revenue. Month 2, I still have not made any revenue. Since this blog is still new, I don’t expect to be able to monetize until 3-6 months. Probably closer to 6 months.

Here are my monthly costs to run the blog:

Dreamhost $7.99
Adobe Stock Photos ($29.99)

Total for Month 2: $37.98

Overall Total for 2 months: $81.98

I want to keep track of how much I spend each month so once I am able to monetize I have a better picture of where I stand.

Blog Marketing Breakdown

As I got more comfortable with my blog, I branched out and looked at different ways to market this blog.

Here are some things I added to my marketing plan:

By Bindi Youtube channel (post videos directly related to blog posts at least once a week)
Started using Twitter to promote the blog within writing communities.
Joined a blog engagement group on Facebook.

My goal for Youtube is to post 1-2 videos a week that directly correlate to my blog posts. Then I can cross-promote these videos within blog posts as well as Pinterest. Plus videos are great additions to my creative tutorials.

Here are the videos I created in month 2 along with stats. Nothing to rave home about yet. It’ll be interesting to see when/if traffic goes up with this channel.

31 views

9 views

13 views

20 views

33 views

What’s next for this blog?

Based on month 2 new blog traffic analysis, I have learned some things that I want to implement for month 3.

Month 3 Goals:

Continue to post 3-4 times a week (Try adding Sunday to the mix)
Have minimum 11 posts for the month
Stay consistent with marketing on Pinterest, Twitter and Youtube.
Write a 3k word blog post (this may be a reach, but I want to continue to push myself)

I’m excited to see what month 3 has in store for me! Have any tips or guidance for a new blogger? Comment below!

I’ve always had lofty goals. I dream big and put too many things on my plate. I’m great at to-do lists and not so much at completing them. For a long time, I never finished anything because I was setting myself up for failure. No one told me that micro-goals are the key to success.

And I’m not alone. According to a study by the University of Scranton, 92% of people quit their goals. That means only 8% of people are succeeding!

We all have long-term goals: buying a home, writing a book, and losing weight. When we break down what it takes to achieve these goals, we get bombarded and overwhelmed.

I need 90k for a downpayment
I don’t have time to write with a full workday
Losing 50 pounds will take months

The sheer weight of our goals drains us.

Motivation always burns bright at the start of our goals. Think New Year’s resolutions. We want to change so much. We join the gym, overhaul our diet, and start reading too many books.

And then we quit.

We quit because we’ve taken on too much, and our goals seem unachievable. We tell ourselves we’ll never finish anything, so what’s the point?

Because Rome wasn’t built in a day.

rome wasn't built in a day

Micro-Goals are the Key to Success

WHAT IS A MICRO GOAL?

A micro goal is exactly as the name suggests: a small goal that will ultimately lead to your long-term goal.

For example, if you want to write a book, a micro goal could be finishing a character outline or writing a page a day.

These micro goals are essential as they are building blocks to something bigger. Everything starts on a small scale.

We were once only a pile of cells. The pyramid was built one brick at a time. Google started in a garage with two people.

Micro goals are the key to success. Let’s breakdown why.

MICRO-GOALS CREATE A DETAILED PLAN

weekly planner, micro-goals for success

When I was trying to lose weight, I was inundated by so much information. Eat this, do this workout, sleep at this time, fast for this many hours. It drove me nuts.

It was during this time I stumbled onto micro-goals. The first step is to look at your goal in pieces.

I broke down my journey into two categories: food and fitness.

Within these two categories, I further detailed how I would get to the finish line.

For Food: Eat in a deficit of 500 calories a day.
For Fitness: Workout 3 times a week and walk 10k steps daily.

This was a clear plan. Each day that I worked out, I achieved a micro goal. Each day I ate in a deficit, I also met a micro-goal.

These micro goals led to a weekly loss of 1–2 pounds, which in turn brought me to my ultimate goal of losing 25 pounds in about four months.

Be specific with your micro-goals for maximum success rate.

MICRO-GOALS INCREASE MOTIVATION

turn ideas into reality

One reason why people quit their goals is that they don’t see progress. We live in a world of instant everything, and we want to see results now.

With micro-goals, you will see faster results because the tasks are smaller and more comfortable to tackle. As you see progress, you will be more likely to continue, and the motivation increases.

Writing 50k words for a novel seems impossible. But, writing 500 a day is manageable.

John Grisham aimed to write one page a day while juggling a law career with family time. A year later, he had his first novel, A Time to Kill.

Manageable is the key to not quitting.

MICRO-GOALS LEAD TO MORE HAPPINESS

micro goals are the key to happiness

Before I started blogging, I was in a writing slump for almost two years. I wrote things here and there but could never finish a project. I was depressed and had severe writer’s block.

In January, I set a goal to write consistently on this blog. And I have.

I don’t necessarily publish every day. Some days, I jot down headlines. Others, I work on two articles a day. The point is, I made my goal simple. To write something every day. This freed me up from constraints, and I ended up writing more than usual.

As my progress grew, so did my happiness. I was doing what I loved and saw results.

As you conquer your mini-goals, you’ll have more reasons to smile. Some studies show you can rewire your brain to produce more dopamine, the feel-good chemical, by setting micro-goals.

The dopamine release increases your happiness, and as you tick off your micro-goals, you’ll have a steady supply.

One of the main reasons we quit our goals is a lack of self-esteem. We attach negative thoughts to our objectives.

I can’t do it. It’s too hard. It’ll never get done.

Flip the narrative. If you are happy and seeing results, you’ll be more likely to continue to the finish line.

MICRO-GOALS PROVIDE LESS CHANCE FOR FAILURE

micro-goals are the key to success

My aunt and uncle worked a minimum wage job for years. It took them almost 20 years to buy a house. They did it by saving a small amount every month.

They were not well off, but they made sure to budget around their goal. With time and effort, they got there.

All because they set aside money every month. Small, consistent effort.

There is less chance for failure because micro-goals are simple. It takes away the long-term stress. If my aunt and uncle had focused on 20 years, they might have quit early on under sheer pressure.

Small goals give you more control. If something doesn’t work, it is effortless to switch gears and try something else. You’ve wasted less time and thus improved your efficiency.

You've got this!

If you’re tired of having goals that you can never finish, try incorporating micro-goals into your routine. It is possible to accomplish the things you’ve dreamed of.

The beauty of micro-goals is they can be applied to virtually anything: personal goals such as reading a book a month to professional endeavors such as writing a novel. The opportunities to maximize your goals are endless.

Micro-Goals are the key to success and one step at a time, you too can achieve your dreams!

Want more tips for success? Try these 50 Journal Prompts to jumpstart your journey.

Tag: goals

New Blog Traffic Analysis: 2 Month Review (Feb-Mar 2021)