Unlucky 13? Not For This Blog
Thirteen months of blogging.
I feel like one of those parents that I chastise for saying their baby is 30 months old - once you pass the one year mark, certainly the two year mark, you should stop referencing by months.
As much as people might say that the number thirteen is unlucky, I don’t buy into any of that and experienced quite a thirteenth month of blogging. There have been contests, blog upgrades, new monetization tools, and more - hopefully you have enjoyed it all as much as I have.
Looking At The Numbers
Over the last month, I have to be honest and tell you that I really did not check the stats much at all. The one number that I did reference was the RSS subscriber count but even that only received the occasional check.
It has been a busy month to say the least, so I was happy to see a nice increase in general traffic although I would have liked to see the RSS numbers increase a little more.
- RSS Subscribers :: The goal of reaching 200 RSS subscribers has still eluded me, as the count has been fluctuating around between the 170’s and 190’s for the last few weeks. The count currently rests at 175 RSS subscribers which is a modest increase from the last update. Be sure to subscribe now and help me reach my goal.
- Traffic :: While the RSS numbers have been holding steady, there has been a nice increase in the overall traffic. Part of that is likely due to features such as the opportunity to win free advertising, which you can still enter if you haven’t already. For the month, Google Analytics indicates there were 3,629 unique visits and 6,183 pageviews. There was a considerable increase in organic search traffic as there have been a few recent posts that continue to bring in a steady stream of traffic.
- Technorati & Alexa :: I’ve decided that I will no longer include the Technorati and Alexa rankings in my regular updates. At one time these numbers were checked on a regular basis but for the last few months the only time that I have looked is while writing these recap posts. In my opinion, these two rankings don’t hold much significance in terms of monitoring the success and growth of a blog.
Recycle That Aluminum
Every month brings new challenges and new opportunities, which is what makes blogging so much fun for me. There are things like the experimentation on how to better monetize a blog or what kind of new contest to offer as a reward to the readers.
I’ve registered for my first blogging conference - which is coming up in a few weeks - and am looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead after learning new things.
Don’t forget that you can always track me down via a variety of social media resources, including my most recent addition of twitter.
Thank you to everyone for yet another fun and exciting month. Please don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions or if there is anything that I can do to help you out.
Photo credit: procsilas
I have a question: what does this have to do with aluminum?
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Don’t you remember science class? What is the atomic number of aluminum?
Touche! I hesitated to answer!
That’s Great Derek, I hope you can soon reach your goal of 200 subscriber. And I do not believe in unlucky 13. Atomic number of aluminum is 13!
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Thanks, I know that I will make it and believe it will be within the next month or two.
Subscribed to your feed. So you can add one more towards 200 and may your blog move steadily from Aluminium to Iridium.
Thanks for subscribing! Lol, I like the reference to Iridium and will continue trying to add a goofy numeric reference in each monthly recap until I get there.
Congrats on your 13th month and I don’t believe in unlucky 13 either. I celebrate 13 instead of fearing it. It’s the whole law of attraction thing, I guess..
Glad to hear you don’t place too much significance on Alexa either. I think more people are starting to realise it actually means squad, when you’re able to manipulate your own rank just by browsing yor own site with the Alexa toolbar installed. I also subscribed to your feed, so this brings you 1 closer to 200.
Absolutely, we embrace 13 in our home as well and actually look forward to those rare instances where we are lucky enough to get a Friday the 13th, lol.
Yeah, Alexa has been nice to look at from time to time but I just cannot put any weight in the numbers due to the manipulation factor.
Thanks for subscribing!
Congrats Derek, 3,600 unique visits in a month would be something I would be proud of. What would you realistic target be for a further 13 months down the line from here?
That is a great question, I’d like to say that a realistic target can be a minimum of double the visits but my goal is to see 10,000 uniques by then.
Well done Derek, thats a great achievement to keep things going for so long, a lot of people can give up too soon.
I’m sure you will see your readership grow over the next year and smash new levels.
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Sure glad the number 13 is working for you. I am also one of your happy subscribers.
The 13th is such a lucky number in my mind as February, Friday 13th, 2004 was the day my heart exploded. I am still here so I guess it was too unlucky.
I am really not superstitious but that day sucked.
BTW: I wouldn’t have gotten the Aluminum reference. Good one.
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Wow…I am sure at the time it was difficult to feel that 13 was anything but unlucky but your perspective now seems right on.
I’m very glad that you came out of that situation and are still here with everyone today!
Great numbers Derek, congrats.
Good for you Derek, we are all cheering you on. Actually thirteen has never been unlucky for me and i believe that any number can be lucky for anyone, if you believe in yourself.
Happy Blogiversary!!Happy Blogiversary to youuuu Dear Derek Happpy Blogiversary to youuuu!
Congrats Derek. Keep going. Persistent and your blog stats will improve further.
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@GC :: Thanks for the encouragement. I’m certainly in this for the long haul and plan to continue doing my best to provide content that is of value to all of you.
@Matt :: Thanks, appreciate that!
@FS :: Absolutely, I believe in myself and will not let anything stand in my way.
@Digital :: Thanks, where’s the cake?
@Asia’h :: Thanks, I’ll keep plugging along and will continue to provide updates along the way.
Congrats Derek. Hope you reach your goals sooner than later.
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I would not have gotten the aluminum reference, but thank goodness for the comment section. I too have been considering the stoppage of watching my Technorati and Alexa numbers, but I guess some habits just die hard.
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Many think that 13 is an unlucky number but its just a superstition.
If you depend on link or site selling as a form of monetization you will definitely want to increase your Alexa rank, because it will increase your bargaining power when it comes to ad pricing.
You should watch the movie “The Number 23″ with Jim Carrey