If you are thinking about starting a blog, or if you have already begun the blogging journey, it helps to hear from other bloggers just like you! By reading about someone else’s experiences, you can learn what to reasonably expect. It can give you motivation and encouragement to stick to your plan. However, it is not often that bloggers will share their failures with you. A lot of people will only share their blogging journey once they find success. This post, however, will show you what it looks like to be a blogging beginner in their second month of blogging (no income, no followers). Read on for encouragement and an authentic reflection on blogging.
My second month blogging has been an exciting one! It has been particularly challenging on a personal level, and I am looking forward to sharing that with you.
Before we jump in, though, I wanted to quickly mention that this is my second blog post so far about my blogging journey. If you want to know how my first month went in detail, you can check out this blog post first!
Blogging Secrets: Know What the Second Month Looks Like
This page contains affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission, at zero extra cost to you, if you choose to make a purchase through my links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, see my disclaimer.
Who I Am and Why I Started a Blog
In my previous report, I gave a brief summary of me and my blog, but I thought I’d give a quick intro just in case you are new here.
My name is Genesis, and I love to teach and write. Up until now, I had been teaching in elementary schools around the globe. However, I have had a growing desire to make writing a bigger part of my life. I felt that I wasn’t getting enough of that within school systems.
And so, when my last teaching contract was up, I went in search of something to do that would allow me to engage in both my love of teaching AND my love of writing. After 40 days of thought, blogging entered the scene as a viable solution.
I was nervous (and still am), but I decided to take the risk to do something that I knew I would love. And now I blog with the hope of helping others create a life that is authentically theirs.
And here we are, two months in and still working towards that dream!
Why Am I Sharing My Progress?
I’m not a blog about blogging, so why share my progress? Just because I don’t exclusively teach blogging on my site doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t share what it’s like for those who would like to know. I have three main reasons to share my blogging experience with others:
If my blog is about authenticity, then I need to be as open and authentic as possible myself.
At In Its Season, I want to encourage other people to be who they truly are, faults and all! I feel deeply for a generation of people who are growing up believing that they’re not good enough because all they see are the seemingly perfect lives that people share on social media. My dream is to one day help people feel that they are enough.
I don’t want to advocate for authenticity and not be willing to share my own personal hangups and struggles. Even when the blogging journey is messy and difficult, I want to share it honestly. I want people to see how my journey is going regardless of its success (or lack of it).
I want to encourage others to be comfortable with their failures and their successes.
As you will see very soon, I failed pretty hard in some of the areas that I was hoping to improve. But I can totally laugh about my way-too-high expectations and try again next month. I hope that, by showing my own mistakes, others won’t be ashamed by their own personal setbacks. Instead, I want to motivate people to brush themselves off and try again!
I want to show how progress still happens even when it doesn’t feel like it.
Sometimes, it seems like nothing is moving forward. But when you take time to really look at your progress, you will see all of the little things that have been improving below the surface. A lot of my own blogging progress works that way. I want to show that so that people can notice the same thing in their own lives.
On a more selfish note, it is also for me to look back at on days where I feel like I’m getting nowhere. These posts can be good motivation for myself on those days.
My Setbacks and Successes This Month
SETBACK: I got denied a Google Adsense Account
I had applied the month before to get a Google Adsense account, but was denied after a week of waiting. It said that something was wrong with my site. But of course, I wasn’t told what that something was. It could have been one of many problems, and there is no way of knowing. This was a pretty rough way to start the month. It left me automatically feeling like I was not good enough to do a blog. But after crying about it, I picked myself up and took another step forward. I still don’t know what I did wrong, but I will just continue to build my blog without it.
SUCCESS: I discovered Google Analytics
I know, it was a rookie mistake to not start with Google Analytics. But hey, I am a rookie, so I guess I’m allowed this error! I was pretty happy when I realized all of the information I could get from this site.
SUCCESS: I took my first course!
I learned last month just how important Pinterest was going to be as a driver to my site. However, after a month of trying it all out myself, I felt like I had reached the limits of what I could learn on my own. I decided to fork out a little bit of money to take a course on Pinterest practices. It was extremely helpful, and I am really glad I decided to buy the course.
SETBACK AND SUCCESS: I lost Pinterest traction in order to establish a better foundation on the platform.
Given what I had just learned about Pinterest practices, I realized that there were some things I was doing on my own Pinterest account that just wasn’t going to go anywhere over time. I had to delete a lot of things and rearrange what I had in order to establish a firm foundation for my account. Initially, I lost a lot of viewers. But after a week of fixing up my bad Pinterest habits, I could already see improvements in traffic to my site. The initial setback led to greater success over time.
SUCCESS: I developed my title-making skills.
In the middle of the month, WordPress added a feature that gives suggestions for improving your titles to your site’s posts. I learned a lot from it (and from additional research). Afterwards, I went back and fixed all of my past blog titles. I felt really proud of the progress I’ve made in this area since my first week blogging.
SETBACK: I have been struggling with my ‘About Me’ page.
I know in my head what I want In Its Season to be all about. Unfortunately, I am having A LOT of trouble putting it into words. I’ve set aside a lot of time to look at other people’s sites for ideas. Additionally, I researched how to do ‘about me’ pages and made up multiple drafts of what I might put on the page. But I feel like I keep returning to it and wanting to change it. I’m sure that, as time goes on, I will feel more certain of what I want, but right now? Mmmm, not so much.
SUCCESS: I went to my first online workshop and learned about Landing Pages.
I was really proud of myself for taking my blogging goals seriously enough to attend a live workshop on Zoom! It taught me a lot about some things I had been wondering about for a while now. If I get the opportunity to do more workshops, I’ll definitely do it again!
The Results
You can see that I’ve got a pretty even mix of improvements and road blocks this month. Now we will take a look at what the numbers say about the progress of my site.
Traffic Report
The sessions and pageviews both increased over the course of this month, but that is not what I was most excited about. I was pleased to see that the average session duration had increased from a measly 9 seconds to a whole minute! The bounce rate also decreased significantly. This means that even though close to the same amount of people are showing up on the site, significantly more people are staying and looking around! My site is growing more engaging, and that is an exciting prospect! I hope that next month I will continue to see things progress in the same way.
Top Referrals
My referrals were no surprise, though I was happy to see that I was still getting referrals from other blogs and not just from Pinterest!
Top 5 Posts
I was happy to see what my top 5 posts were, because they happened to be the posts I had the most fun writing, too! Seeing my top posts continues to help me see what people find valuable, which will help me brainstorm this next month of topics.
#1- Morning Brainwash: How to Start your Day Right (37 pageviews)
#2- How to Use your Phone with Intention and Purpose (30 pageviews)
#3- Morning Pages: How to Clear Your Mind for a Better Day (15 pageviews)
#4- 12 Ways to Drink More Water-Even if you Hate It (10 pageviews)
#5- Tody: The Free App that will Change the way you Clean (10 pageviews)
Income
Nothing has changed in this area, yet. Last month, I had really been hoping that I could make a dollar by the end of my second month. However, midway through the month, I kind of just stopped thinking about it. I have been really enjoying establishing the site itself, and I am seeing progress in so many other areas that this one didn’t feel like a disappointment. I am still an affiliate to Amazon and Kartra, though Google Adsense fell through.
Expenses
This area was kind of nice this month! Most of the expenses are front-loaded, so there’s not much I have to pay for on a month-by-month basis.
Full Disclosure: the money I spent on these items is not a guarantee that this is their current cost.
I spent $57 on a Pinterest Course.
That’s actually it for this month! It was a great purchase and actually saved me money later on, because it taught me how to do manual pinning. I don’t need to spend money on a scheduled pinning site because I have learned the skills to do it on my own. If you are interested in learning your own Pinterest tricks, check out this course (I’m not an affiliate, I’m just happy to share the information)! Buy the one called “Pinteresting Strategies”. It’s super helpful!
Expense Total: $57
Where the Blog is Headed
Just like last month, things seem to be leaning towards personal growth and organizing, but I’m noticing that I write within the lens of minimalism. I don’t identify as a minimalist, but I definitely see the value of simplifying wherever possible. My love for simplicity does seem to leak through into my other topics, which makes me happy! I’ve also noticed that people seem to enjoy posts that involve morning routines, which is awesome, because I’ve got a lot to say about routines in general. So it looks like that’s where we’re going with the blog this month. I plan on doubling down on some of these topics to (hopefully) give people what they need most.
My Thoughts About My Second Month Blogging
This month was definitely MUCH harder than the last one. I experienced a lot of doubt in myself, and I was scared to share this part of my life with other people. Most times, I didn’t know what to say to people when they asked what I was doing for work, and I was uncomfortable talking about my blog with anyone but my husband.
I spent a great portion of this month burnt out and struggling to stay motivated.
It wasn’t until I started opening myself up a bit more that I started getting my resolve back. I made a note to practice giving more information when people asked about my life. As I did, I got more and more committed to my new role as a blogger.
By the end of the month, I was back to feeling good about my decision to dive into this venture head-first, and my passion for the project is back full force!
I learned that what you imagine people will think is always worse than it actually is.
When I had resolved to tell people about my decision to blog full-time, I thought I would get a lot of people telling me it was a bad idea. I figured everyone would get uncomfortable and try to convince me to get a real job, one that doesn’t have any risks.
I was AMAZED at the responses I got instead.
The first person I told didn’t skip a beat before telling me that it sounds like something I’d be good at. The next person I told was downright excited about the possibilities blogging would hold for me. And yet another actually told me that he himself was considering doing something like that with some of his writing.
It was as if they could feel my passion for it and felt no need to fight that. Maybe that is a thing we all have innately built into our being; that we love to cheer for people who chase their dreams. Maybe I’m wrong, but it is a lovely thought nonetheless…
My Personal Goals
When I took a look at what my goals were last month, I just had to laugh! At the time, I thought my goals were so reasonable.
Boy, was I wrong!
Now, to be fair, a lot of the setbacks occurred because I had learned new information about Pinterest that forced me to take a few steps back. However, now that I have a better (I hope) understanding of how my blog is growing over time, I think I have some more reasonable goals for this month.
Pinterest Goals: See an increase in the amount of clicks that bring people to my site (This month, my total number of link clicks was 117).
Traffic Goals: See an increase in the amount of visitors to my site and to the length of time they spend on the site.
Income Goals: Create a list of concrete ideas on how you can earn an income with your blog. No need to act on any of it until next month.
Product Goals: Launch my first landing page with one piece of downloadable content
My last big goal for this month is to be ready to officially share my blog with people I know. By the end of this month, I plan to make an announcement to friends and family to check out my blog. It is a scary prospect to me, but I have a whole month to prepare, so I think I will be ready!
Blogging resources I would recommend
You can see that I’m not a blogging expert, yet. I’m still in the baby stages of learning how to do it. But there are a few resources that I have tested out and found to be extremely helpful! I want to share the ones that have helped me a lot in my blogging journey so that you don’t have to waste time trying to find the best resources alone.
(Please note that I am an affiliate for these three programs, so I do make a small commission on purchases you make through these links. However, I want to make it clear that I would never recommend something that I don’t use and appreciate myself. I truly love these three resources and believe that you would benefit from using them, as well!)
Resource #1: ConvertKit
I would recommend ConvertKit to anyone looking to build a mailing list. Not only is it easier to use, but the support offered to you as a creator is just so helpful! They offer weekly workshops to help you grow as a creator, concerts and inspirational stories to watch, free templates, community networking, and one-on-one support. Honestly, I have nothing but good things to say about them!
If you’re looking to grow a mailing list, you should sign up for ConvertKit.
Resource #2: Legal Pages Bundle
After quite a bit of research, it was clear to me that Amira’s Legal Bundle was the most cost-effective way to protect myself fully on my blog. Within one day, I had purchased the bundle, customized it, and placed it on my site.
Amira’s bundle makes me feel so much safer about my blog, and I want you to have the same thing!
If you are a freelancer or a blogger, then don’t hesitate to buy Amira’s Legal Bundle. It is the best use of your money and time to get her help!
Related Post: Where to get the Best Legal Bundle for your Blog
Resource #3: Divi WordPress theme
I opted for Divi because it promised a lot of customization without having to know all of the coding lingo.
Now, I want to be candid with you and explain that, for me, the learning curve was still really tough. Additionally, a lot of the customization I wanted ended up slowing down my site enough that I had to sacrifice beauty for functionality.
I might not recommend this theme to everyone, but I would recommend it to beginner bloggers like me.
I really appreciate the personal support I get from them and that is the main reason why I would recommend their product for you. Though my more experienced future self might move on to a new theme eventually, I couldn’t have asked for a better beginner theme!
If you want to try Divi out for yourself, you can check out their products here!
Conclusion
I hope that this post was able to show you what you wanted to know today! It is always motivating to me when I see how other people are progressing in their blog journey. Let this information remind you that life progresses slowly, and we need patience to confidently walk in the direction of our dreams. Don’t get discouraged when things don’t work out immediately. Give it time, and trust that you are moving forward.
What about you? Are you working on something right now that feels like it’s going nowhere? How do you stay motivated to keep going? Tell me about it in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
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