Super Affiliate Challenge Update May 2018
Hi Everyone!
Just wanted to give you an update about how I am trekking, and a few things I've learnt the last month.
I started this year focusing on the Super Affiliate Challenge, but quickly found myself burnt out. I started a new site — the bootcamp site, which I'd been wanting to do for a while.
But trying to keep up with the posting schedule, the tasks, and maintaining my first website, I definitely burnt out. Too much the busy bee I am, I am... then...
What I've Learnt This Past Month:
Only take on what I can really handle. Be realistic, or the "failures" hit a bit too hard on my sensitive self. Still aim high...but just be a little more realistic.
Time and Patience really are the key. My niche site, which I let sit in the background while plodding along with the Super Affiliate training has since reached 12 months old. This happened back in February. And now, when I look back at the analytics I can see an increase jump in growth (organic search) at that point.
I kind of missed this at the time though — being distracted by SWAG, and probably needed the last few months on the graph to really see the change and growth overall.
Have a look what I mean:
You can see that at about 12 months in, the site's traffic started to grow with a steady, consistent increase. And this is despite having been super slack maintaining my 1-2 posts a week schedule since starting SWAG.
In fact, since starting SWAG in Feb, I've only posted 7 real articles on thebusywritersnotebook (so that's 7 articles in 3.5 months - oh dear...)
But my traffic is still increasing...
It just goes to show that the training here works, and you just have to be patient.
I know that if I had stuck to the 2 posts a week schedule throughout my first 6 months, I may have reached this point now, back then, but I didn't, and probably only averaged about 1 post a week throughout the whole year of 2017.
You can also see how I had very little traffic in the first 6 months but it started suddenly about the 6-7 month mark. This is pretty consistent with what we are taught here to expect.
If I'd taken the SWAG, and others advice and wrote 3 posts a week on this niche site — I could have seen tremendous growth quite quickly, I believe.
I'm not regretting what happened last year, and my lack of work. I'm juggling a lot at home, and need to be nice to myself, but I hope I'm giving others a sense of how long things can take, or COULD take, with the different amounts of effort you put in.
Another Key Realization:
Using the KGR for your keywords — this helps tremendously at getting you to spot 1 on Google and increasing your traffic. I really wish I'd found this little tip earlier. KGR stands for the Keyword Golden Ratio, which is a data-based research method to finding the best keywords with low competition. The best KGR is under 0.25.
Check out Doug Cunnington's website (NicheSiteProject) and videos about how to work out this key golden ratio for finding great keywords.
I had an article written for a KGR keyword, published it February 25th and first realized that it was ranking at 1 in Google on the April 17th. There is a correlating BIG increase in my traffic from that date (17th April) which you can see in the same graph:
Now, it's just a pity that this particular article isn't a little better - I'll need to update it, as I had it written for me. But it just goes to show how powerful it is when you rank at that top number 1 spot in Google, and how you can use KGR keywords to help you get there.
My Advice (for myself and you) going forward:
- Follow the training. Start again if you need to.
- Stick with ONE site — until it's awesome, until you have the traffic and have the money flowing in.
- Try to post 2 or 3 times a week if you want to see fast results. Or more. IveTriedThat says the key to his success was posting 4/5 times a week consistently (sorry I can't find the reference for this — but I'm sure it was from Steve/IveTriedThat)
- Use KGR keywords to help increase your traffic.
- Make sure you follow these awesome guys from Wealthy Affiliate: DomW, IveTriedThat, and Boomergp08.
- Here's some great training from IveTriedThat: https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/if-i-were-to-start-...
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. I'd love to get your feedback and if you've ever tried using the KGR keyword method.
Happy Writing!
Erica
Recent Comments
7
Hi Erica.
Thank you for sharing. We all get burnt out at one time or onother. We are all on a journey where we know where we would like to go but we are not sure how to get there; meaning that we will be learning as we go along and sometimes we have to accept to go a few steps back to correct the mistakes. There is no straight road to success otherwise everybody would be successful.
Thanks heaps for sharing, I have learnt so much from your blog and the various links. Such great ongoing training here at WA!
Wow Erica. Just Wow!
You really did stay with your Time and Patience and the end of the 12 month mark, the traffic turning point is simply just amazing and AWE...SOME!
Thanks for updating the your progress and your valuable advice.
Keep rocking. Keep rolling.
Let's rock and roll with Wealthy Affiliate Woohoo!
Thank you for sharing Erica! I can totally relate. Also thank you for sharing about KGR. I do not know. I shall check this out and test it out on my blogs. THANKS!!!
Erica Congrats, and nice going, just take it one day at a time, because the route is not always straight. I have felt the burnout emotion as well. Best to your success.
Congratulations Erica, I experienced a little burn out too, as a result, I am not where I would like to be either but definitely growing from the monthly challenges. I also see your special gift there with you.
Excllent advice Erica. :)
~Mark :)