Blogging Report: [Oct 2022]: Slow Progress

This site may be paid a small commission when you purchase via links. For more see Terms Disclosure.

I’ve gotten a little better…

Better at tracking my time and not overdoing things!

Adam Enfroy repeats a saying throughout his “Blog Growth Engine” course. I decided to tape Adam’s words to the computer monitor as a reminder:

“Good enough, move on, come back…”

I’ll be honest:

It’s been a hard adjustment to make!

But the training videos say if you want to succeed you have to:

• Let go of old habits that don’t serve you…
• Use repeated practices to “build new muscles”…
• Regularly move outside your comfort zone…

So here I am!

I want to be as honest as possible with you… transparent if you will… to help you see the EXACT things I’ve done (and not done).

This is a “no bullshit” view I promise…

I’m starting to make some great progress:

• Estimating my time on tasks…
• Regularly prioritizing goals…
• Knowing when something is good enough…

Yes, I’ve committed to learn when something’s “good enough”…

And when to keep moving on…

1.0 Why I Created This

Everyone has to invest in themselves… 🌈

Not just money but time and effort.

(I know, that sucks! Isn’t there an “easy button” to success David?)

No.

That’s why I’ve decided to invest in the “Blog Growth Engine” course by Adam Enfroy and his co-presenter Colin!

They’ve continually hammered home the importance of adopting a “startup mindset” and of creating a “minimum viable” site…

It’s been quite the journey so far, and it’s only the beginning.

I’m determined to continue investing in myself and developing my skills for the long term… 💪 and as Adam and Colin said:

“Good enough, move on, come back…”

I’m ready to keep swimming in the deep end with their guidance!

And I want you to look over my shoulder and see exactly what I’m doing… how you can build a successful money-making blog too! 💵

Let’s do this…

2.0 Income

I still haven’t gone live yet…

Yet the mantra has been to go live as fast as possible.

Another “teachable moment” for me… ✔️

As a result, there’s not much to report. Besides the ten bucks that I’m paying myself for web hosting, I haven’t generated any other income…

Pretty sad.

I need to constantly remind myself this is a business… NOT a hobby.

Income is key!

3.0 Expenses

It was tedious…

But I’ve reviewed my expense spreadsheet and was able to identify wasteful spending on tools.

This self-reflection exercise (aka “financial anal probe”)” wasn’t fun…

But it IS necessary for a business owner!

On the one hand, I didn’t REALLY need to do this exercise because most of the items were relatively small…

But when looked at them all as an aggregate?

I came to realize a harsh and painful truth: All those little items add up!

Lesson learned. 👍

Eliminating unneeded expenses translates into more time to make my project work…

(And NOT doing this cost-cutting exercise increases my chances of being forced to quit before my results can be fully realized!)

I was able to make much of the wasted money disappear!

4.0 Traffic

I still haven’t indexed the site… zero traffic.

Maybe it’s fear… or perfectionism… or something else? 👿

Regardless, without indexing, the search engines don’t know a site exists and as a result, potential viewers won’t see me…

Bottom line?

I need to bite the bullet and follow Adam’s advice… just index the site as fast as possible!

The worst that could happen?

Nobody comes. Well… that’s what’s happening right now.

Come on David! You can do this…

5.0 Subscribers

None.

(I DID begin connecting my WordPress website with my email program but the process is incomplete, so it doesn’t count.)

Next on the menu…

6.0 Referring Domains

Like I said last month…

No indexing means zero referrals and therefore zero referring domains.

Right now my site isn’t indexed.

Shit… 💩

7.0 Site Health

How fast your site is matters (a lot)…

Google has been VERY plain for years they use speed as a major factor in website rankings…

You need to take this seriously.

I selected a web host known for fast servers, used a lean WordPress theme and resisted the urge to install every plugin under the sun.

Speed optimization keeps Google happy (users too)!

(This is all covered in Adam’s blogging course. There are tons of real-world examples of EXACTLY what use to make this happen.)

So how do I measure the results?

I decided to use GTMetrix to measure site performance…

Their free version is all most people need…

GTMetrix also has a paid version if you’d like to keep records of old runs and do all that’s possible to ensure your site runs as efficiently and fast as possible.

Bottom line?

Serious business owners can’t ignore site speed!

Years ago Google made it clear they pay attention to this… and if they care?

You should care too!

8.0 Completed Tasks

Finally, I’ve really begun to get traction…

By tracking my efforts and with practice I’m wasting less time… discovering what’s most important…

The advice in “Blog Growth Engine” has been invaluable:

• I watched more BGE video training…
• Continued the Jasper training (I already had an account pre-BGE)…
• Started to create my first SEO content posts…
• Implemented those three disclaimer pages…
• Created a GDocs time tracker…
• Downloaded the BGE “Job Ad Template”…
• Tested my WP site’s pages with GTMetrics…
• Got an Ahrefs SEO subscription…
• Signed up for a monthly ShortPixel account…
• I used VanceAI for image manipulation (graphics are my jam)…
• Invested in the Kadence Full Bundle (but Adam said free would work)…
• Already had a Rank Math SEO Pro account…
• Got Otter to auto-magically convert voice to text…
• Continued the “My Story” post (I HAVE TO wrap this up)…

9.0 Build The Online Biz You Desire!

Ready to take your blog to the next level?

Adam Enfoy’s “Blog Growth Engine” course is the perfect way for you to do just that!

In this comprehensive training program, you’ll get access to over 10 hours of video content and downloadable resources and templates you can use to boost the engagement and traffic of your blog…

Plus, you’ll be able to ask questions directly and get help with implementing what you’ve learned!

So do it now…

Sign up for the “Blog Growth Engine” course today and start your journey to a more successful blog!

10.0 Summary

That’s all for October 2022…

More progress and results in next month’s report.

Until then, see you in the water! 🤙

P.S. Xxxxx

P.P.S. Xxxxx