Yakezie.com - Topic: Would you start over?

LaTisha @YoungFinances on Would you start over?

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:00:39 +0000

If I knoew what I know now, I would be so much further in terms of traffic and growth but I am fortunate for finding Yakezie in the first few months of my blogs birth.

What I know now I am applying to other sites I am starting and they are getting going much faster but spreading over more than one site can be difficult.

20s Finances on Would you start over?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:05:06 +0000

Yeah, I hear ya... I am just now focusing in on my site's niche. Oh, we'll. Lessened learned.

I would start again in a heart-beat. There are so many elements I chose for FC that could b much better targeted and allow for more rapid growth.

Dave @ DebtBlackHole on Would you start over?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:02:57 +0000

I did start over. From the ashes of a pitiful, failed first attempt...the Debt Black Hole was reborn in fire like a Phoenix (well, more like a Big Bang, I guess).

I registered my domain & had the first version of the blog in place in 2008 for about a month. I didn't like the way it looked (other than my logo) or the tone/topics of my writing so I just stopped posting. After another month I just put the site in maintenance mode.

I'm embarrassed about the fact I let my site just sit there for three years in maintenance mode without a single update or post. I knew I wanted to do something cool with my concept- but it just wasn't clicking yet.

Two months ago my passion was reignited when I started reading more and more PF blogs and learned about the Yakezie site. So many great writers, an incredible number of topics and a powerful network of like-minded people to keep me motivated and build relationships. During my free time over the Thanksgiving Holiday this year I managed to redesign the website, spend a couple of mornings creating new graphics, map out a writing/posting schedule (currently Monday, Wednesday & Thursday), write a few starter posts and launched it, fairly quietly, on Black Friday.

The rest, as they say, is history (albeit brief so far). I'm glad I started over. If I had just started where I left off the first time, I don't think I would have been excited about the project.

The Happy Homeowner on Would you start over?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:19:32 +0000

I've had a very slow start to blogging, but I'm happy with how my blog has evolved. It's in it's biggest transition to date with the new domain, and it's growing little by little each week. I look forward to learning more and seeing how it changes.

This is a hobby for me, so I probably won't be raking in the $$ (ever), but I find great satisfaction in staying financially transparent and connecting with my readers and other bloggers.

Hunter @financiallyc on Would you start over?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:53:05 +0000

I would start again in a heart-beat. There are so many elements I chose for FC that could b much better targeted and allow for more rapid growth.

Jeffrey Trull on Would you start over?

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 07:44:37 +0000

I think I would start over and pick a more descriptive blog title and URL. There are a lot of different permutations of the same money words and phrases in Yakezie and the blogging world, so it's hard to stick out without something memorable. I feel like I didn't do a great job of overcoming that (although I'm not saying it's easy to come up with a good, unique name for a blog, either).

I also wish that I had a clearer focus from the start. Money Spruce has always been about my general story and it's not really focused in a particular area. In general, it would be a lot easier to be successful in any niche if you getting really specific with your topic and execute well on that. That's my goal for my next blog launch on a new site.

Jackie on Would you start over?

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:39:01 +0000

20sFinances said:

If you don't mind me asking, do you mean with the Debt Myth? Or is the Money Crush a start over? Or something else?

Jackie said:

I did start over, so yes :)

MoneyCrush is my "start over". I blogged anonymously for years on my first personal finance blog before starting MoneyCrush, which has a similar focus but not quite the same since it is somewhat more goals oriented. The Debt Myth is just a new blog :)

PK @ DQYDJ on Would you start over?

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:49:04 +0000

Absolutely - and put a little bit more into the networking, haha! Google traffic is great - but it's sterile, cold, and doesn't comment (and leaves you with a high bounce rate).

I'll take the interaction!

Eric - PersonalProfitability.com on Would you start over?

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 08:39:19 +0000

My style has evolved over time (improved I think) and the way I treat the blog and interact with others has changed dramatically. I would not trash my old posts, but if I started a new site today the zero to sixty would be a lot faster.

20s Finances on Would you start over?

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:48:16 +0000

If you don't mind me asking, do you mean with the Debt Myth? Or is the Money Crush a start over? Or something else?

Jackie said:

I did start over, so yes :)

Jackie on Would you start over?

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:01:08 +0000

I did start over, so yes :)

Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter on Would you start over?

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:48:56 +0000

Jeff @ Sustainable Life Blog said:

I wouldnt change what I write about - i'm a fairly boring person on a good day, so no one would want to read if I wrote about anything else. I'd probably handle a few things differently now though - like my transition to wordpress.

Me too. I would have made some technical changes and worked on building readership sooner but otherwise I have been pretty happy.

Money Reasons on Would you start over?

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:50:16 +0000

Yes I would. Money Reasons seemed like a good name, but really it has a bad vibe out it as in "He did it for money reasons, etc"...

Then for the first few months I just blogged and did nothing to promote it, waiting from google to recognize me (which of course the didn't). Then there is the theme that I have... it's a beta version, and recently I've discovered some bad SEO stuff within.

So yes, I would like to start over, but it's my flagship blog. So I will slowly fix what is wrong and hope for the best...

Dominique Brown on Would you start over?

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:09:38 +0000

Hmm good plan.. If I start a new website I will definitely use the guest posting approach to build links. But, when I started YFS I didn't know anyone. It took me about a month to establish the little relationships I have I still have a lot of networking to do

20s Finances on Would you start over?

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:11:39 +0000

Nice! I usually try to "jump start" a site with lots of guest posts towards the beginning and then will usually write a couple a month to keep links coming in. We'll see if it works across the board.

YourFinancesSimplified said:

20sFinances said:

People have had huge success on niche sites, but I enjoy the blog myself.

5 guest posts? not bad. haha. ;)

YourFinancesSimplified said:

If I could go back to October lol.. I would definitely have 5 guest posts running a month on other blogs. I would also probably make my site a niche site rather than a broad personal finance site. My next blog will definitely be a niche site.

I'm trying this out for the month of December/January. We talked about this.. instead of writing 7x a week.. I will write 5x and give 5-8 posts aways for guest posts/staff writing.