I began publishing blog traffic posts again in May and haven’t stopped since.
In short, I publish blog traffic reports because I enjoy them from a marketing perspective.
In the interest of keeping the report brief and on point, let’s get into the numbers.
[bctt tweet=”Page Views increased by 76% | July 2018 Blog Traffic” username=”reversethecrush”]7 Blog Posts Published in July 2018
7 blog posts in total were published in July 2018, which is up 2 over the previous month.
At the time of writing this post, there are 102 posts published and 153 posts in draft mode.
Here are the 7 new blog posts that were published in July 2018:
- 677% YOY Growth | Dividend Income Update #13 – June 2018
- Blog Schedule, Dividend Targets, and Savings Rate | Goal-setting for July 2018
- Forward Dividend Income Projection #7 | $404.07
- Blogging by the Numbers | Social Media & Email Subscriber Growth for July 2018
- Setting the Scene for Blogging | Blog Traffic & Website Marketing Diary
- F–K the haters! Pursuing FI by Blogging & Dividend Investing is a Fool Proof Plan
- Smart Goals for Website Marketing & Dividend Investing
The 7 blog posts published drove the majority of website traffic to the blog as shown below:
Blog Traffic in July 2018
All time page views on Reverse The Crush: 67,625
Page views in July 2018: 2,418
Overall the momentum took a step in the right direction in July. Page views increased by 1,046 compared to last month, and numbers improved across the board.
Aside from the page view statistics, which are actually not the most important number, I was happy with the bounce rate dropping by 10%. That’s a sign that new readers are staying on the site instead of leaving after finding it on various channels. It was also promising to see users improve by 17.27%, as that number matters more than page views.
Another figure that stood out is that 503 new users found the blog in July. As mentioned in the introduction, I’m interested in the marketing aspect of blogging, so this number is of particular interest. It’s nice to see new users because that indicates more eyeballs are finding RTC.
Blog Traffic Comparison (July 2018 compared to June 2018)
As shown above, blog traffic improved in every conceivable way compared to June 2018. In addition, page views increased considerably over July 2017.
Ultimately, this was a result of increased effort and appreciation for blogging. The increased effort led to more blog posts being published, and there were also a handful of drafts that were quietly republished.
Why page views increased by 76%
There are several factors that led to the bump in traffic:
Instagram account.
I started an Instagram account for Reverse The Crush to share original photos from posts. From a marketing sense, it’s another channel to engage with the audience, and it’s another place for the RTC brand to be seen. Furthermore, Instagram is an entirely different audience than Twitter and Pinterest. I’m still learning how to utilize the platform best for RTC, but it has already started to drive additional traffic. I am looking forward to analyzing the impact of Instagram after having the account for a full month.
Facebook icon added to the social share options.
In addition to adding an Instagram account, I added the Facebook share option to the social share icons. While Facebook is not a focal point, it has already led to additional page views. Again, the full impact remains to be seen.
Going deep into relationship building.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many interesting bloggers over the past 2 years. Instead of looking to acquire more followers and readers, I have been focused on going deeper in existing relationships. I mean, there are more than 2,000 Twitter accounts that I follow. Rather than spending time acquiring new traffic, I can sift through and engage with people I already know from the FI community. Through reconnecting with bloggers I’ve come across before, I find new social media accounts to follow, new content to read, and I can strengthen those relationships. Even if it’s small, you can always find a way to give back.
Switched to a more recognizable logo.
Since this is an anonymous blog, I decided to switch away from the shadowy image I was running with. Although I personally liked the image, it was not the best option to attract new readers. For those that don’t know, I used to have an “RTC” logo with a palm tree above it over a year ago. I decided to switch back to an updated version of that original logo. It’s easy to recognize on social media, it has the blog colours, it’s minimal, and it represents Reverse The Crush well. Overall, I’ve become interested in the challenge of marketing and branding RTC. This shift has occurred mostly because it has become more clear what the blog is about. Now that I’m aware of the purpose of the blog, it becomes so much easier to build out from there.
Improved blog post titles.
I have been focussed on less boring blog post titles. For example, instead of “blog report for July 2018” I chose “Page Views increased by 76%.” I published one recently titled, “F–K the haters! FI through blogging and dividend investing is a fool proof plan,” and it ended up doing quite well. Based on what I’ve learned about blogging, a good blog post title highlights the main point of the post.
Publish easy-to-read content with a purpose.
Even with this very post you’re reading, I am focussed on simplicity. I’ve published blog traffic reports before that were over 2,000 words long. Of course, it’s easy to accomplish because there are so many statistics to discuss. But just like in real life, all that matters is the bottom line. Highlight the main point and make it exciting. More and more blog posts are being viewed through mobile devices now. In turn, readers have shorter attention spans because of competing information. For the most part, most people aren’t coming to blogs for award winning writing anyways—it’s to learn something, be motivated, laugh, or observe progress. With all this in mind, I have started writing shorter blog posts, I use more subheadings, and I try my best not to go off topic. Most important of all, I aim to publish easy-to-read content with a purpose.
Consistent and staying on a schedule.
After republishing old content recently, and when considering the growth of my dividend income, I realized that I’m in a pretty damn good spot. After 14 months of publishing dividend income updates, and after nearly 3 years of writing on this blog, it’s more likely than ever that I could one day blog and invest full-time. Based on my age, my growing dividend income, my experience with blogging, and the small spot that RTC has carved out online, my dream is very possible. The key to making this happen now is consistency over a 10 year time frame. As such, I have committed to publishing at least 1 blog post per week and 1 dividend income update monthly.
Concluding Thoughts
July 2018 was a positive step forward for the blog and for RTC Board of Directors (BoD).
Page views increased by 76%, and the website started to acquire blog traffic through new channels.
This forward momentum has carried over in August, which is setting itself up to be one of the best months for blog traffic ever.
In the near term, the BoD is aiming to average a minimum of 100 page views per day.
With new channels bringing in traffic, more savvy tactics, more recognizable branding, and with a strong desire to improve, the RTC marketing team will be working hard to increase awareness and build relationships in the coming months.
Feel free to add to the conversation about blog traffic and website marketing below:
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
RTC Chief Marketing Officer
637% YOY Percent Change & New Dividend Income Record | DIU # 14
