Blog Statistics Update June – July 2012

This is my one-month update on how EPF is doing based on our June 16 – July 15 data.

 

Statistics

 

People who listen to us, as of July 15, 2012:

RSS subscribers: 69 (+3)

Twitter followers: 57 (+6)

Facebook fans: 16 (+3)

 

Pretty minimal progress this month!  I actually saw our RSS subscriptions as high as 84 at one point – I’m not sure why that number is so volatile.  I don’t subscribe to and unsubscribe from other blogs so capriciously; maybe there are glitches with the tracking. 🙂

 

Rankings

 

Alexa: 134,511 (+13,719)

Google PR: 2 (no change)

MozRank: 3.85 (+0.76)

 

Again my Alexa ranking increased, which I guess means that fewer people with the Alexa toolbar are reading EPF.  This doesn’t bother me too much as long as my Google PR and MozRank are increasing or staying the same.

 

Some Google Analytics statistics:

 

 

Popular Posts

 

Most viewed posts:

 

1) Does Your Class Match Your Income?

2) Average Clothes Spending and Pattern

3) How Do You Decide What to Spend on a Wedding Gift?

4) Obligations on Your Side Hustle Money

5) Earned Income: The Bane of the Grad Student’s Roth IRA

 

Most Commented Posts:

 

1) Does Your Class Match Your Income?

2) Average Clothes Spending and Pattern

3) Strategies for Paying for Vacations

 

May – June Goals review

 

1) Comment on at least four blog posts each weekday and leave at least 25 comments total per week. – I totally succeeded in this in one week and came close two other weeks (the fourth one was our vacation week).

2) Find and comment on at least one new-to-me blog per week. – Two out of four.

3) Write at least two high-quality comments on “big” blogs per week. – Two out of four.

4) Write and submit one guest post to another blog. – Nope!  I have the post subject and blog in mind, but I didn’t write or submit it.

5) Promote three blog posts (not ours) per week through Twitter. – One and two-thirds weeks successful.

6) Ask two questions designed to generate discussion/responses on Facebook. – Um, I totally forgot about this.

 

I actually think I came up with a pretty good set of goals so I’m just going to tweak them slightly for the next month period.

 

1) Comment on at least two blog posts each weekday and leave at least 25 comments total per week. (I’m reducing the per-day number of comments because Tuesdays and Thursdays are really slow Reader days in comparison with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.)

2) Find and comment on at least one new-to-me blog per week.

3) Write at least two high-quality comments on “big” blogs per week.

4) Write and submit one guest post to another blog.

5) Promote three blog posts (not ours) per week through Twitter.

 

I’ve been having more ideas that are suitable for guest post submission recently so I’ll probably feel a little more comfortable contacting other bloggers about guest posting.

 

In other news, we were contacted by our first legit/non-spammy advertiser so I hope to start a partnership with them soon!  I don’t want to do any sponsored posts at the moment because I find them annoying, so we’re going to stick with banner advertising and maybe affiliate linking.  I had some questions about affiliate linking in NC but we seemed to have been cleared.

 

Any tips for getting more involved on Twitter (I don’t seem to be taking to the medium very readily)?  How do you usually approach bloggers about guest posting?

 

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Filed under: blogging, month in review

11 Responses to "Blog Statistics Update June – July 2012"

  1. jefferson says:

    Emily, I think you are on the right path, as far as your social marketing. Commenting can certainly be a giant time eater, but it pays off big time in your Alexa and even RSS Numbers.

    I make it a point to always be on the lookout for new blogs as well. Some of my old favorites have been dying off lately, which leaves a few empty slots.

    Have you ever looked into one of those programs that automatically shares your own posts on Twitter and Facebook?
    jefferson recently posted..Six Ways To Listen to Music Online For Free

    1. Emily says:

      I really enjoy commenting. I read far more posts than I comment on so my commenting goal is to just leave a comment at a higher percentage of the posts I read.

      No, I haven’t looked into one of those programs. I’d rather get more involved than step back and use one of those services. I want more of a personal presence.

  2. Jason says:

    My RSS subscribers fluctuates as well. I’ve always heard/read that the higher number is typically the more accurate one.

    Twitter isn’t bad. I don’t really read everything the people I follow post. I just look for a few bloggers particularly and interact with them. I use Twitter more of tweeting out other bloggers posts though.

    Keep up the great work! It looks like you’re headed in the right direction.
    Jason recently posted..The China Study Diet and 8-Week Fitness Challenge – Part 1

    1. Emily says:

      I’m glad I’m not the only one seeing those weird fluctuations!

  3. Michelle says:

    I think you’re doing good. Like you said, I wouldn’t focus too much on Alexa, it’s really not that important.
    Michelle recently posted..Volunteer Ideas

    1. Emily says:

      Alexa was fun for a while, but after it dropped below 200,000 I was happy and don’t really care much now.

  4. Modest Money says:

    Nice work Emily. I think to stay sane you just have to happy with steady improvement. In previous months I was way too aggressive with chasing stats and it really wears you out. RSS subscriber counts do jump around, but I have no idea why. I’ve heard it might depend on whether lots of people are opening your post in their rss reader.

    As for twitter, get on hootsuite or tweetdeck. Then add all your closest blogger friends in a separate list. From there try to share a lot more than just 3 posts per week. Auto-share all your own and try to share lots from your closest contacts.

    Overall your goals sound solid though. If you want to increase stats further, just try to find more time to comment and network.
    Modest Money recently posted..July 20th 2012 Blog Update

    1. Emily says:

      I’ll just keep doin’ what I’m doin’ then! Thanks for the encouragement.

  5. You can guest post on mine! If you want. 🙂
    Kathleen @ Frugal Portland recently posted..Reframing the issue

    1. Emily says:

      Thanks for the offer! Usually I think of a post and then a blog that will match the topic… I’ll try to think of something that will go with your blog’s themes.

  6. Daniel says:

    Congrats on the success, and keep focusing on the content because that will keep you getting noticed by others! Don’t worry about small changes in Alexa ranking as they’re not too reliable, but an increase in MozRank is awesome!
    Daniel recently posted..How Often Should You Check Your Investment Accounts?

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