August 2016 Report & Goals for September

August was a great month for me. Every month I'm learning so much more, and it feels like a lifetime ago that I started my site in its current direction, not a mere matter of weeks.

I've been seeing consistent traffic this month. Even without fierce promotion efforts. This is definitely a win. I also made my first affiliate sale (outside of WA program).

Oh. And I reached 100 subscribers! I started the month with about 30. Now I've got 110. :)

Other things I did this month - I discovered a blogger who's ripping off pretty much every other blog I've ever read. I let a couple of them know, so they can hopefully take action.

How'd I go? August Goals

1. Increase Traffic
2. Increase Email Subscriber List
3. Increase Income

Increase Traffic

• Guest Posting - I have 5 sites in mind that I will pitch to, 1 per week. Only pitched (and was accepted) for 1. This ended up being a good thing as I made my debut on video for it and that took a while.
• Commenting on Niche Blogs - I've set aside an hour a day to hit as many blogs as possible and leave meaningful comments. I didn't quite manage to be consistent with this - I noted down in my diary that I don't seem to be getting much benefit from commenting, this requires exploring.
• Facebook Groups - I created the ultimate list of Facebook Promo Groups and now I just need to use them. There are a total of ~400,000 people in these groups. Not bad, right? I've been using Facebook Groups somewhat inconsistently, but I've started whittling my list down to the best of the best. Also, I've found that what I like in a Facebook Group has changed over time. I used to like share for share with strict reciprocation rules, but now I prefer ones that don't require such a commitment.
• Pinterest Power Up - interesting thing talked about in the Uncork Your Dork Facebook Group - creating 5 headlines for each article and a new (different) pin style for each. You are effectively getting 5x the exposure for one article (and you'll also find out what style is most effective). I've done this for a couple of posts and yes, it has increased my traffic for the post.

Increase Email Subscriber List

• Webinar - I need to do at least one webinar to practice before my joint one. I'm thinking it will be late this month. I chickened out of this one... but it's on the agenda for this month (I thought I should maybe get started with non-live video first)
• Landing pages - for content upgrades, library and WA sales funnel. I've made a couple of landing pages for my content upgrades. I didn't go ahead with the WA sales funnel yet. Though the 100 sales to Vegas thing is tempting...
• Lead magnet - I need a lead magnet. Considering either Schmoozing 101 or Pinterest.. I'm partway through completing my lead magnet e-course about Pinterest.

Increase Income

• WA Sales Funnel + ads - I have some credit left from a trial of Bing Ads and will hopefully have some from Adwords too. I didn't do this. Maybe in September. I actually made a bit more income through Upwork, freelance editing and affiliate sales.

Goals for September 2016

1. Increase Traffic
2. Increase Email Subscriber List
3. Increase Income

Increase Traffic

• Guest Posting - pitch and write at least 2 guest posts.
• Commenting on Niche Blogs - cut comment time down to 30 minutes a day and monitor how effective it is.
• Instagram - post daily on Instagram and be active for 15 minutes a day.
  
• Facebook Groups - be active in 5 Facebook groups a day.
• Pinterest Power Up - schedule an hour a week to creating new pins for my blog posts.

Increase Email Subscriber List

• Webinar - 29 September, 4am (my time). Write it in your calendars :) I have no idea how I'm going to do it now that Google Hangouts have changed the rules, but I'll have to work it out.
• Landing pages - improve my current landing pages. Create more for guest posts, webinars, e-courses, etc.
• Lead magnet - complete my lead magnet by 8 September.

Increase Income

• WA Sales Funnel + ads - rewrite my WA review and send paid traffic to it.
• write more affiliate blog posts - on the agenda: more Tailwind, MailChimp, Elegant Themes, Social Warfare...
• pitch for freelance work from job boards.