Hey!!
I’ve gotten into the habit of only updating this blog section at the end of each month to show where I am with my goals, earnings, and other miscellaneous challenges I’ve faced over the previous month.
I’ve been having some hefty website challenges plus some mental resets and I think getting this all out of my brain and onto the blog has really helped me in the past.
This is my personal space for venting and I’m so thankful I have it.
So please allow me to let it all out.
The Wesbsite
OMG I caused myself some MAJOR challenges.
First of all, I’ve said before how I hated the fact that the date was in my URL on each page I write. I know it makes my pages the opposite of evergreen.
So I changed everything in one day. I switched all of my pages to having no date.
This caused two problems.
First, search engines have punished me. I went from 64 search clicks from the day before I changed to 1 the day after. 😭
It’s been a couple of weeks now and I’m still only getting 1-2 per day. I don’t know how long I’m going to be punished for this.
Problem two – I was in bed last night being kinda sad about the lack of search result clicks when I realized something that could be confusing the search engines.
All of my pages are linking to the old URL. Which is kinda ok because I am using a redirect to get to the new URL.
But it isn’t ok when search engines are trying to crawl my pages. I’m sure I’m confusing the heck out of them.
So I’ve gone through about 50 pages and I have maybe 70 left to go. I am changing all the links to the new pages. This is exhausting….
So when will I stop being punished by search engines? Who knows….
I don’t regret doing it. I wish I had done it months ago but I’m super glad I sucked it up and did it now.
Social Media Updates
I’ve received 16 Facebook followers!!! Mostly thanks to the couple of people who have shared my articles. It means the world to me that I have you in my corner.
Pinterest is up to 45 Followers!!! I never had Pinterest before this website and I love it. I spend much more time pinning than I do posting on FB so it’s no wonder I have more followers on Pinterest. I’m still learning some tricks.
Back to Facebook…something is going on and I’m trying to share my recent article but FB keeps saying my website doesn’t exist. Which is kind of scary…. I’ve tried a few times now. Not going to stress about this and I’ll try again later today.
Writing
Writing articles is so therapeutic. In the beginning, I had so much trouble finding 1,000 words. Now it’s so easy to put out 2,000.
I’m still finding my way.
While I’m having to go through my old articles and change links, I’ve noticed I’ve gotten so much better at this website thing. This is truly what I want to keep doing.
I want to keep writing articles about stuff I think is cool. Stuff that I am excited to write about. I love how I have this power to share whatever I want to write about.
Sometimes I overthink the topics too much. I’m working on that.
When I first started the website, I read so much on having a niche and zoning in on that.
Am I suffering some because I write about multiple things? Eh, yeah, but I don’t care at this moment in my life. I’m going to write about things that are fun for me to write about and I hope it adds value for others.
I’m at peace with my latest articles. I’m going to keep doing me and not worry about pleasing others. The niche of this website is my mind and what I want to write about.
Sorry, website experts. I’m going rogue and I am completely happy about that decision.
I’m writing what I feel passionate about.
Goals
I’m keeping my goals and adding another one. I’ve come to understand and appreciate that blogging (for most people) is not a quick side hustle. However, for those that truly enjoy it, it’s easy to stick with it without making anything. I’m actually in the red if you count all the dollars I’ve spent.
The original goal was for this to be something I like doing that turns into a side hustle.
I hope it does one day. I’ve got a few roadblocks. I’ve also got time.
In 17 years I plan to retire. I’ll be (almost) 60.
In 12 years, I want to earn $250,000 from this website. Is that crazy? Nah. That’s almost $21,000 per year.
However, I know 2024 (and probably) 2025 are going to be not so great years so some of the later years will need to be better.
What I’m counting on is me utilizing this tool I’ve created to propel me towards something else. I don’t know what that something else is just yet.
$21,000 per year is $1,750 per month or $403 per week.
Like I said, I don’t see getting anywhere close to that anytime soon. What I’m banking on is getting a little better every year and not giving up. I’m not a quitter.
Final Thoughts…
Blogging is tough! It’s tough when you have a full time job and kids you’re trying to spend as much time with as you can. I don’t let the website ever come between spending time with my family.
Squeezing in the website is difficult at times. My youngest will graduate in 3 years and then I see me having more time to dedicate to writing.
In the meantime, one article a week is my minimum goal!
My new goal at the end of 2036 is $250,000 earned from this website. I have a special account just for website money. Any expenses aren’t coming out of this account. Expenses are all on me.
Last year I made $118.67. 😊
Only $249,881.33 left to go!!! Let’s go!!
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