Is There Anybody Out There, Part 2

It's been just over a month since I wrote Is There Anybody Out There.  When I sat down to write about my first month blogging, I was desperately hoping to reach an audience of bloggers like myself.  I needed some sign, any sign that there was somebody out there.   I wanted to know that I was not alone in my thoughts.  At that point, I needed to find a community of newer bloggers to connect with, learn from and grow alongside like I needed air.  To date, Is There Anybody Out There has been my most viewed post at 80 pageviews and 5 heartfelt genuine comments.

You might think it's weird that I'm sharing numbers like pageviews and comments, but I think it's important for a few reasons.

1. Vague references don't do any of us any good.

2. I want to truly document what being a newbie looks like.  I understand that all blogs grow at their own rate, but I'd hate for a fellow newbie to be discouraged because their month old post "only" had 80 pageviews.   

So part 2, aka, month 2.  Let's talk about it.

Personally and professionally the last several weeks have tied me up and forced me to find the balance I was struggling with a month ago.  It's funny how that happens isn't it?  I'm still completely enamored with my blog, but family commitments and a busy work schedule have taken precedence. Oddly enough, I'm still here and the posts are still going out.

With that said, some of the posts I've put out have been pretty cringe worthy (here, here, here, here and here).  Okay there were more than I thought :).  If I was a reader looking for new blogs to follow and I came across my blog on a day I had launched one of the above posts, I'd go running for the hills.  

 My struggle to find balance has worked itself out, but it left me with a tough pill to swallow.  Nobody wants to put out bad content, but that's what I've been doing because I haven't accepted the fact that there may WILL be times when I don't have time to put out a quality post.  Instead of being okay with not posting, I've been slapping together crap just so something goes out.
 
A few of the posts had potential like Not In The Budget, Best In Beauty, For A Non-Makeup Girl and Halloween Costumes, Work And Play, but they were launched prematurely with bad images because I didn't have the time to make them pretty.  Instead of waiting a day to get it right, I hit publish and posted material I'm not proud of.

Staying Fit, Or At Least Trying and Love It, Or Leave It, The Dropped Waist Edition share the same problem, only I managed to bring it down a notch by posting about something I couldn't care less about because it was easy.  These posts feel fake and unauthentic because they're generic and they mean nothing to me.

As important as it is to put out regular material, I have to chose quality over quantity going forward.

My 30 Bloglovin and 8 Google readers deserve better.  That's right folks my readers have more than doubled this last month.  A HUGE thank you to all 38 of you!!!  I have no clue how it's happened but I'm incredibly grateful for each and every one of you.

On that note, I've yet to get a grasp on how marketing my blog works.  When I spend time finding new blogs to follow, leaving comments on other blogs and sending e-mails to fellow bloggers,  I definitely see increased traffic.  Like the difference between 30 pageviews and 100 pageviews, but for the most part my readers aren't the bloggers I've reached out to?  How are people finding my blog?

I have a million other questions at this point like:  

1. What in the heck are SEO's?
2. How do I linkup?
3. How do I partner on a giveaway?
4. How do I know if I'm posting affiliate links?

5. Why has monetizing my blog become such a motivating factor?
6. Does sponsoring another blogger really help your blog?

I swear somebody needs to write Blogging for Dummies.  Maybe such a thing already exists.

I'm sure month 3 will present new challenges, questions and hopefully some more insight into the inner workings of this bloggy blog world.   Thanks for sticking it out through month 2.  Let me hear what you think, PLEASE, and if you have any helpful tips or information on any of my many questions, let me have em :).