What am I doing wrong??? | Bloggers Lair | Yakezie Forums

Not much wrong really.

2 months is a drop in the bucket.  Many bloggers (even via Yakezie) are lucky to get 50 uniques a day after 2 months.

I think readership comes with consistency and longevity.  Once you have built trust with those who read your site (trust in your style, content, that you're not going anywhere) more and more people will visit, revisit and subscribe.

One thing I find helpful – and trust me it isn't easy to do – is finding under-covered topics (or sometimes even topics covered heavily) and put a unique spin on the subject.  The PF blog realm has increasing numbers of writers and a somewhat limited number of viable topic areas.  Just think about how many Black Friday articles were out last week, or, looking forward, how to be frugal with Christmas: gifts/parties/meals etc posts we'll see this month.  Find a way to spice these topics up and folks will appreciate it!

We had a bit of an email exchange on one of my cranky nights.  My message didn't get across quite right, but I think i've worded it better just now.  Examples of what ** I ** get a kick out of are included in the 14 article monthly roundup I do.  But those are topics/styles/articles I like – they won't be everyone's cup'o'tea.

http://sustainablepersonalfina…..n-edition/

http://sustainablepersonalfina…..-it-short/

http://sustainablepersonalfina…..canadians/

Lastly, you ask in your post what we think you should do.  Advice is great and all, but, I think you need to do what YOU want to do.  Be yourself, write as yourself as frequently or using whatever mediums as you desire – whatever makes you happy.  Readers will notice.

I agree with both SPF and Justin. You are doing great. You just need to let it ride so to speak for a bit. Growth takes time. It took me almost a year before I had any real success in readership etc.

Thank you all for the suggestions.  I'm definitely not going to change my blog 180 degree based off any recommendations.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

For example.  Guest post more, submit your blogs to this social media.. etc etc

SPF:  I love this suggestion:  One thing I find helpful – and trust me it isn't easy to do – is finding
under-covered topics (or sometimes even topics covered heavily) and put
a unique spin on the subject.

I'm fairly new here so I'm still trying to learn the best writing style to capture users.  In the next coming weeks I will write a bit more about my personal situation and over extremely unique content.  I'm trying to do that now without Mrs. YFS killing me. :-)

 

2 months is a drop in the bucket.  Many bloggers (even via Yakezie) are lucky to get 50 uniques a day after 2 months.

Hmm, I guess I'm not doing that bad.  I had over 4k visitors in my 2nd month.  75% of those visitors are unique. It just felt like I was missing something.

Stick with what you are doing, and if you want advice, come back several
months down the road for advice…but I think you are just fine right
now.

Will do.

Lacking patience.  I say that with a smile, because I'm super impatient. 

I'm the kind of person who thinks "Rome wasn't built in a day" to mean that it was built in an hour.  As with anything, blogging is all about consistency.  I think the major reason that online marketers/bloggers get discouraged is that they spend way more time looking for ways for someone else to show them how to do something better.  Spend that time doing what you want to do better and you'll accomplish far more.  There's a reason why execution beats strategy.  Those that execute are already doing what the strategists have only planned to do.

Keep it up.  I haven't been blogging for very long.  So, take my advice to be about as valuable as what you paid for it. 

20sFinances said:

YFS,

 

I agree with everyone else that it takes time. I would also emphasize that people love the personal stuff. I remember in a comment on my blog that you wrote some pretty cool goals. If you write about your progress in those crazy high goals, I think people will flock to your site faster than… (well, I can't think of a great analogy, but FAST). Keep doing what you are doing and I think you will see success.

 

Also make sure that you don't kill yourself. A lot of people have said that it is a marathon, not a sprint. I have a theory that you can overdo your time investment in a blog… meaning this: That you can work X amount of hours per week to build up a site and see decent results. If you put in X + 3 hours per week, you will probably see better results. But, there is a point that you reach where your extra time is not worth as much. Putting in more time/guest posts NOW doesn't always equate with results in readership like length of a blog and reputation does. After all, You can't go from nothing to GRS in a month or even a year.

 

Anyways, that's just my personal thought on the matter. :)

Corey people really do love the personal stuff but, my story doesn't suit my audience or the personal finance audience in general.  I can never be as personal as other personal bloggers for 2 reasons.

1.  My wife would kill me. All of our friends and co-workers read my blog

2.  Nobody wants to hear about my non-financial struggles. 

I can write about my progress on those crazy high goals but, I feel as though it will alienate me from my intended audience and I will come off as an elitist or a person who is out of touch. 

From my experience, people like people who they can relate to. 

Not too many people can relate to making 6 figures at 23 and my wife exceeding 6 figures at 25.  So, when I talk/preach about living off 1 income.  My readers will say.. "Yea, you can live off 1 income because you make 150k from just 1 job" 

This is why I write more from a educational perspective instead of a personal financial perspective.

As far as working hard.  It's not work when you love it. I eat, sleep, breathe personal finance.  You have to when you make a lot of money at a young age or you will end up broke.  Besides, I only sleep about 3-4 hours a day anyway.  If I'm going to be up.  I might as well write. 

I am thankful for everyone's responses.  Good to know I'm not missing much aside from patience and adding a bit more of a personal perspective. 

OneCentAtatime said:

YFS you don't have to ask any one further SPF had it all answered already.

Now analyse your GA and trackbacks closely. On which articles people spent time most? which articles were selected for roundups? which articles were chosen as editor's pick in carnivals? which articles have lower bounce rate? which social media/site gave you traffic?…Get these answers and you'll solve the problem.

 

 

Funny you say that.. my most viewed articles have been all how-to's or motivational.  The self help articles aka my "Motivational Saturday's" really draw in the self-improvement crowd.  But, great suggestions on how to identify content your readers enjoy.

Funancials said:

In 2 months, you have developed quicker than most. You asking "what am I doing wrong" is like a 2 week old baby turning to his mother and saying "hey ma! why am I not walking yet?"

bahaha..well played sir.. well played

You are doing great! Just keep writing good content, interacting with people as much as possible, and having fun. If you focus on the stats you'll probably burn out, or if you don't burn out, you'll just never be satisfied with your progress. 

Try checking your stats only once a week or so, and focus on content and building relationships.

Try to continue improving your writing skills and work on building connections. 

Guest post, help promote other bloggers (try to pick those a little bigger than you and those a little smaller) and comment on blogs you most want to be like when you grow up.  Develop a relationship with those aspirational blogs.  Being humble is always better, but I know that's tough when you're twenty something and making 6 figures, but try… :)