A few things I’ve learned this past year…
People will
always and forever love to read about organizing things.
Finding a
problem that people are having and then telling them how to solve it is the
best kind of post to write to generate traffic for your blog. Write the post, create a pretty image to include
in your post, and upload it to Pinterest the day the post goes live. Watch it take off over the next few
weeks/months.
Affiliate
marketing and ad revenue are my favorite ways to monetize.
Collaborations
are my least favorite way to monetize. I
like to have full creative license when creating content and sometimes I find
it tough to conform to the visions and rules that some of the brands have. If they don’t jive with my brand then it’s an
easy no for me.
Brands
frequently try to get as much as they can for as little as possible. I’ve turned down countless collaborations
this past year simply because the compensation wasn’t worth the time it would
take to fulfill their crazy requirements.
I still haven’t
made the time to work on my email list and I have zero desire to.
Amazon is
life.
Mediavine is
also life and I’m so grateful to be a part of their family.
And Twitter will
always suck.
A few accomplishments this year…
I had a few
more blog posts go viral on Pinterest.
The main two
blog posts that have been driving the majority of my pageviews are still
generating traffic after all these years.
My pageviews
increased overall for the year.
I renewed my two
weekly link-ups with blogging friends for another year.
I hit an
all-time high for ad revenue in December of last year.
I had my most
lucrative year to date!
Stats
I know a lot of
people don’t like to share their stats, but I like to keep track of them for
myself so I can keep track of how I’ve grown throughout the years. Some of these categories aren’t really even relevant
anymore (Google Friend Connect), but I’m continuing to include them since they
are still growing, albeit slowly.
A couple of
notes before we begin… I had steady growth in all categories – yay! And I finally decided to remove Twitter from
my stats because I literally never use it.
Monthly Pageviews: 11,134 24,715
18,054 42,419, 52,159 (Dec 2019 stats)
Active Subscribers: 18 50 69
93 126
Google Friend Connect Followers: 28
42 61 67 74
Bloglovin’ Followers: 34 218
317 430 529
Instagram Followers: 1,005 4,055
5,945 7,236 9,210
Facebook Followers: 12 138
293 345 395
Pinterest Followers: 351 1,248
1,381 4,176 5,862
Most Popular Post of All Time: How to
Organize Your Child’s School Papers in Just One Box with 195,774 261,450
views
Second Most Popular Post of All Time:
Olivia Cate’s Pink & Gold First Birthday with 22,984 111,748 146,997
156,577 166,247 views
Third Most Popular Post of All Time: How
I Grew My Instagram Following by 2K in 2 Months (Without Following and
Unfollowing) with 84,386 views
Finally, the
same words I reiterate in every blog anniversary post:
The sole purpose for starting this baby
of mine was to start keeping a journal again – to have a place where I could
jot down my feelings and document the fleeting moments of motherhood. A place to discuss my fears and my
insecurities. A place to discuss my
shortcomings and a place to celebrate my accomplishments. A place to share the things that I love. I kept a journal from the ages of 6 to 21 –
that’s almost half of my life in old diaries, notebooks, and binders all
carefully lining the bookshelves in my office – and I thought that it was high
time to come back to what I love after a decade-long hiatus. I feel like I have found my passion and I
feel like I am home. I feel like I was
meant to be a blogger. My only regret is
not starting sooner.
To all of you
who read day in and day out, purchase through my links, like and comment on my
Instagram posts, watch my Instagram stories, pin my Pinterest images, comment
on my blog, and engage with me in other ways, THANK YOU. I am truly humbled that so many of you
continue coming back day after day and I’m so, so grateful for your
support. It’s because of you that I am
able to stay home with our kids while also providing for our family.
Cheers to five
years!
Don't forget to link up with us below!
Time for a link party! Blogging friends, share your post below and meet your hosts!
Brittany https://www.
Mary Leigh https://www.
Happy 5 years!!! I think most of us started to blog as a way to digitally scrapbook and it's turned into so much more! Such great friendships made!
ReplyDeleteSarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts
Yes, cheers to 5 years!!! So, so very glad to have found you in this blogging world.
ReplyDeleteHappy 5 years!!! I am a faithful reader but terrible commenter haha!!
ReplyDeleteHappy 5 year blogiversary!! I have to say those viral posts are amazing! xo, Biana BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteHappy five years my love! I cannot believe that our anniversary for the blogs are only a week apart, mine was March 1. These five years have flown by in a way but then again it seems so long and we’ve grown so much! I’m so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteHappy Five Years! I think I found you via your school paper organization pin, which I have started for my own kiddos. Thanks for the great organizing ideas, and for sharing your world with us!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I think a lot of people found me that way! I need to work on more organization posts!
DeleteWohoo! Cheers to 5 years, Lindsay! I'm so happy for you and this little space of yours. Keep it going, girl!
ReplyDeleteThanks, lady!!
DeleteCongrats! You're almost at the ultimate Instagram follower number - wow!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary, friend! Such a great accomplishment to hit that milestone and so many wonderful things you have done along the way. I completely agree with collaborations and the crazy requests that half of these businesses think they can require. I'm still baffled when I see others take them for peanuts. I guess to each their own, but there has to be a substantial ROI or it's not worth it. You are killing it with affiliate marketing and ads which is great!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 5 years! And you're about to hit that magical 10k IG mark! :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You've accomplished so much! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteCongratulations! You have accomplished so much! This made me realize I will hit 5 years in July. I wish I would have made smarter decisions in the beginning (not putting a curse word in the name being #1) so I could monetize it like you. I am so happy that has allowed you to spend more time with your kiddos. Keep up the organization posts, that is what brought me here!
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogiversary! YES to Amazon and all the organization posts <3
ReplyDeleteGreen Fashionista
Congratulations on 5 years and all you have accomplished!
ReplyDeleteThanks, lady!
DeleteCongrats on 5 years! I started mine 5.7 years ago for the same reasons you did. I haven't blogged much over the last year, but not giving up yet!
ReplyDeleteDon't give up! You just do you! Work at your own pace and only do it when you love it. I know so many people who have gotten burned out and it's just not worth it for that!
DeleteWow, well done friend!! I need to work more on figuring out affiliate marketing. I too have zero desire to do email. I started one, but it was just too much. Also... off to re-read your IG one since I really am trying to work on that. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt really is just so much work! And good luck with IG! It's a beast!
DeleteCongrats on 5 years!! and YAY to almost 10K on IG! So thankful we have "met" :)
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!! 5 years! Congrats lady!
ReplyDelete