Happy 2012 everyone! December was a good month for me and the blog – it’s always a nice feeling looking back at what you’ve achieved for the year and giving yourself a big pat on the back. Thankfully I had some free time over the Christmas break to catch up on things I’d been putting off, so I went into this year feeling on top of my goals and my ‘to do’ list pretty much all crossed off.
Goals Achieved
Getting back on twitter more often was my goal for December, and I definitely achieved it – my social networking definitely fell by the wayside when I got busy in the last half of 2011, but I’m now back using it daily and trying to spend time interacting with others, reading blogs and retweeting things I like. I really love that aspect of blogging, so I’m feeling good about doing it more often, and it’s been pushed up my priority list!
December also saw a lot of people reach out to me for advice on becoming location independent and travel – I love being contacted, so its been great to share what I’ve learnt and hopefully inspire some [people to get out there and live the dream. Mentoring and guest speaking is something I’ve always been passionate about, so I’ve made it one of my goals this year to get more involved in this aspect and to try to speak at some events throughout the year. If you know of any, let me know as Id be happy to help in any way I can!
Month 8 Stats
Traffic – 4,831 visits (Same as last month!)
Link Building – Free time over Christmas allowed me to get back on the link building horse, and start getting my blog out there. I’ve decided that it’s just not realistic to be able to do this every day, so I’m going to set myself the goal of building 5 links per week, which I think isn’t too intimidating!
Content – Loving my more relaxed posting schedule and getting out at least two posts a week (sometimes three!). I feel more engaged in the blog than ever, which is only a good thing, so looking forward to writing some cool new articles this year and currently looking at plans of writing an in-depth e-book.
Twitter Followers – 1,950 (Up 150 since last month)
Facebook Fans – 552 (up 40 since last month)
RSS Subscribers – 200 (up 30 since last month)
Alexa Ranking – 281, 989
Income – Couldn’t top last month, but still very happy at earning $625 for the month. This was from link ads and banner ads, including my Living in London site.
About My Monthly Blog Updates
I wanted to start these monthly updates to hopefully help other bloggers out there just starting out or wanting some support in starting to monetize their site or growing it in some way. I certainly don’t claim to know it all, but I’m hoping that the lessons that I learn will be helpful and inspirational to others looking to make a living from blogging.
So, I think it’s fitting to put the question out there and see what you would find helpful to read about in these monthly updates – I will do my best to include it each month, so please let me know!
Previous Post – Interview With Location Independent Entrepreneur Will Peach From My Spanish Adventure
Next Post – Photo Of The Week – Cairo From Above
Well done on sticking to your New Years Resolutions Nicole! Some great ideas in there, especially in terms of Social Media, it’s easy to fall out of using it every day but if you have the chance it’s a great way of connecting with people! Looking forward to more of your posts.
Thanks Matthew! : )