My blogging journey….

 

So last month I mentioned  to you in my post, “My blog is going worldwide” that I was on a mission to increase my blog traffic.  I am happy to report, that it has been working, but somehow I am making less money.  Humm, so confused?   Nevertheless, I think I have figured out why this is happening. 

Many of my friends know that if they click the ads from Google I make money, so they do this for me because they love me and want to help support me.  Well, all the new readers I have been getting are mostly bloggers.  I have been blog hopping at least an hour each day, stalking other bloggers and getting them to visit my site.   I have recently learned most bloggers, or rather your average mommy blogger, doesn’t make any money from Google, because it is so difficult to get that many readers or get people to click the ads.  As a result when the new bloggers visit, they just follow me via twitter, facebook or google + and don’t click the ads.  I recently ran across a blog post where everyone was listing how much they made a month from Google and the numbers were dismal.  Like only a few dollars a month, wherein last month I made $224.00, Yeah!!!   So I am very lucky, but I have decided I need to expand my earning potential and copy the process most other bloggers use to make money.

 

They sell advertising space on their blog to make money instead of depending on Google.  Well, I have been contemplating this idea for a while but last week I was approached by an ad agency requesting my prices for advertising for an online company.  Ohh, so exciting!  That was the moment I finally got my booty in gear and tried to determine how the whole process worked.  I found an app, called Passionfruit, which basically helps you set up and sell advertising really easy.  Of course it still took me all of Saturday off and on to get it right, but I think my sponsor page is currently presentable for public consumption.  The reason I had been waiting to set up a sponsor page and start sell advertising is because in order to do that you need to present advertisers with “your numbers”.  Your Facebook page likes, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, RSS, and email followers.  I know, it is daunting and a never ending social media chase.  Rather addicting though.

I finally got where I felt my numbers were not totally horrifying and something so exciting and shocking happened.  I woke up Sunday morning and checked my email on my phone.  I had all these new followers and friend requests on my blogger profile.  Blogger.com is a site for bloggers all over the world to connect.  I had set up a profile, but had only 15 friends, and a few followers because I didn’t even understand how the whole thing worked.   Just another place to spend more time I don’t have, trying to get my blog out in blogosphere.  Humm, why are all these people looking at my profile?

I then saw an email from Bloggers.com telling me I was chosen as a featured blog of the day.  I quickly went to the home page and there on the top of the page, was my picture and my blog link with a description of me and my blog.  I couldn’t believe it.  I hadn’t even contemplated this as an option or a goal.  Plus, they only pick 3 each day, and mine was at the very top.

By the end of Sunday, I had gained 80 new friends, a bunch of followers and  I was ecstatic.  I was so happy I felt like I had gone on a power walk, had a manicure and pedicure and spent the day lounging around.  None of those things really happened, but I was still so thrilled and so excited.  In addition, last week I was listed on a top 100 site for pregnancy and parenting by the onlineultrasoundschool.com, and my rankings on Topmommyblogs.com have really increased because of your votes and support. 

So, I am feeling really happy with my blogging journey and so grateful to all of my readers.  I usually hate summer and am so depressed by the end of August because everyone is vacationing and having fun and I am stuck at home with Tiara, doing none of those things.  But because of my blog, my readers comments of support, my friends and my family this summer has been pretty good.

THANK YOU AND LOVE TO YOU ALL…..

tiffani