September was an amazing month in my business. While I didn’t really blog that much, I continued to focus on a lot of the backend stuff. Which seems to be my norm lately. And I even attended an in-person retreat with my mastermind sisters!
It was such an amazing experience. I got to meet these ladies for the first time in person and give them each big hugs. It was like having a big slummer party with girls I’ve known forever. And there was some business activities thrown in too!
Definitely an experience of a lifetime.
With that being said, it is time for another blog traffic report.
Blog Me Lovely originally launched in March 2015. I was not that active nor did I put much focus on the blog and growing it. So my highest traffic month between March 2015 and September 2015 was only about 300 pageviews, with an average of about 175 pageviews a month. In October I took a step back to focus on Peace Love Sequins so it is no surprise that my traffic plummeted!
I am sharing this because when I re-launched the blog in June 2016, I was basically receiving only 15 to 20 pageviews a month, essentially starting from scratch. I am going to share with you my traffic stats, social media counts, post overview, what I learned and my goals for the upcoming month.
September 2017 Traffic Report
September Traffic
- Pageviews: 2,462 (-6.49%)
- Sessions: 1,912 (+8.22%)
- Users: 1,256 (-4.49%)
- Pages / Session: 1.28 (-13.51%)
- Average Session Duration: 4:00 (-34.07%)
- Adjusted Bounce Rate: 11.76% (+13.51%)
- New Sessions: 59.26% (-11.41%)
- Highest Traffic Day: September 6 with 391 pageviews
No surprise here with an overall traffic dip. But once again nothing too drastic. While I have clearly set a great foundation, I don’t think it is something I can bank on much longer without getting back into posting regular blog posts. Otherwise, I see a huge dip in the future.
September Traffic Sources
- Social: 72.48%
- Facebook: 52.69%
- Pinterest: 36.61%
- Twitter: 4.67%
- StumbleUpon: 4.09%
- Instagram: 1.94%
- Referral: 6.50%
- Direct: 15.14%
- Organic Search: 5.88%
The thing I am most happy about is a slight increase in organic search traffic. There is also a larger division of social traffic. Facebook still sits at 50% but Pinterest is increasing and so is Twitter and Instagram. I would love to see a little wider breakdown, because if Facebook were to close down tomorrow – I would be screwed in terms of blog traffic!
Social Media Report
September Social Media Stats
- Facebook: 804 fans (+0.75%)
- Facebook Group (The Lovely Entrepreneur Society): 1,128 members (+24.37%)
- Twitter: 1,766 followers (0.00%)
- Pinterest: 1,121 followers (+2.66%)
- Instagram: 955 followers (+1.06%)
- Bloglovin’: 179 followers (0.00%)
- Google+: 52 followers (0.00%)
- Email Subscribers: 873 subscribers (+28.76%)
I STILL haven’t done anything on the social media front. Well, I actually posted a few times on Instagram because I participate in two challenges and I did see a tiny increase in followers and engagement. My main focus has still been on my Facebook group, The Lovely Entrepreneur Society. It is still steadily growing and what is even more important, the engagement has been pretty awesome!
My email list also saw some growth which I am happy about because I started to send more regular emails and some included offers so I expected a decent amount of unsubscribes. I also plan on purging my list a bit because I would rather have a smaller, engaged list than a list with little to no engagement.
Blog Post Report
Post Frequency
- Number of New Posts: 2
- Total Posts: 67
- Post Frequency: Twice a month
Top Five Posts
- How to Start a Blog in 2017
- How to Increase Likes on Your Facebook Page (on the list the last eight months)
- 10 Beautiful & Responsive WordPress Themes from Creative Market
- 30+ Free Stock Photography Sites
- Introducing Week of Code: A 7 Day Coding Bootcamp for Bloggers Free Email Course
September Goals – Check In
- Traffic Goals – Not quite there!
- Reach 3,000 pageviews
- Reach 2,250 sessions
- Reach 1,500 users
- Social Media Goals – While I saw growth on all three channels I didn’t meet my goals
- Reach 1,300 Facebook Group (The Lovely Entrepreneur Society) members
- Reach 1,300 Pinterest followers
- Reach 950 email subscribers
- Post at least once a week – Another month where my focus was not on blogging but rather on the back end of the business.
Launch Photoshop Masterclass on Creating Your Own Social Media Templates (name to be determined)– I officially finished the recording of this, but haven’t launched to the public yet. So if you want to get it for 50% off before it launches, you can buy it here. I’m not sure how long that price will last, so if you are interested I would snatch it up!Launch Content Creation Workbook (name to be determined)– I launched Conquer Your Content: The Ultimate Blog Content Planner and you can snag it here for only $17.- Update graphic design packages (SUPER excited for this one), add testimonials and update portfolio – I really should have got these done last month but it is a top priority this month!
Write email welcome sequence– DONE!!! *tosses confetti* This has been on my list forever and I FINALLY got it done!- Email my list (at least) once a week – Not quite but I did set up some funnels and welcome sequences so some subscribers did get that.
- Get branding course completely outlined and slides ready to be recorded – Not quite there but hoping to finish this month
- Traffic Goals – Not quite there!
What I Learned
- While I was at the mastermind retreat, we talked about our relationship paths and where we believed our domino effect was. I originally thought it was my email list and using email marketing, but I actually discovered that it is my packages, portfolio and testimonials. I have been putting off updating them for so long, and I don’t even know why!
- Meeting your business besties in person is the best. And meeting the people you talk to online consistently in real life just deepens the bond and relationship.
- The things that make you the most uncomfortable and that you are procrastinating on are probably the things you need to get done. For me, it is updating my packages, portfolio and adding testimonials to my site.
October Goals
- Traffic Goals
- Reach 3,000 pageviews
- Reach 2,250 sessions
- Reach 1,500 users
- Social Media Goals
- Reach 1,300 Facebook Group (The Lovely Entrepreneur Society) members
- Reach 1,300 Pinterest followers
- Reach 950 email subscribers
- Post at least once a week
- Update graphic design packages and sales pages
- Update portfolio and add in testimonials
- Officially launch Photoshop Masterclass
- Finish Brand Me Lovely – a DIY branding course
Final Thoughts
October is going to be a game changer month for me. I am going to update my packages and portfolio and I know once that is done that it will have a domino effect. Plus it is the start of Q4 and I can’t wait to see how I end this year.
What is one goal you have for October? Let me know in the comments below!
