Postcards from the Funny Farm

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A therapist told me, “The thirties are a time when you grow into your own skin.” and that was healing to me at the time. I had just turned 30 and was seeing her for depression and cognitive issues I was having. (people are saying … eeek, Damien is finally revealing things, well don’t get too excited, that wasn’t the half of it ;) Maybe hearing that explains the title of my blog a bit more.

At any rate, I love therapy and I have been in many therapists’ offices through the years. Words I have received from therapists have been some of the best advices I’ve ever received, even more than parents and loved ones. I know a lot of you reading this now even could benefit from a therapy session or two. If you want to discuss it further, leave your question/interest in the comments and maybe I can point you in the right direction. But back to my point: this woman told me that about the thirties and I remember thinking it was so hopeful. I felt like such a failure through my twenties about a few key things so it was like a chance to do things right: a birth so-to-speak.

Well folks, I will tell you that all I did was turn my now balding head and 39 candles were on my birthday cake. It goes fast so make it count. Being unsure of your career doesn’t go on a medical id bracelets. If you are not sure of where you are going, consider therapy … IGNORE THE STIGMA. What do you think about growing into your own skin? Are the thirties the time?

This post is another (I hope the last) rant about Google so feel free to jump ship before you go one. I don’t usually like to whine about stuff, I like to change things or shut up generally. After this post I plan to pretty much shut up about Google PageRank but I will respond to comments of course ;)

I’ve been setting goals for my blog and recording them here since December of 2007. It has been gratifying in almost every respect but I still am not where I’d like to be in other ranking systems such as Google and Technorati. Instead of getting frustrated or trying to game the system, I’ve decided to make my own ranking system based on the things that I value in my blog. I’m calling it the CAN. system My hope is that you, the regular reader, and anyone else who wants to will follow my progress and learn that serious writers can make legitimate money on their blogs without PageRank. My goal since December of 2006 has been to create, innovate, and intergrate quality content. I haven’t lost this goal, I’ve simply defined it more clearly and added “money” as a goal element. This blog does NOT deserve to have a zero PageRank.

Google seems to be highly puritanical when it comes to paid-links on a blog. It’s actually worse than “highly puritanical ” it’s near obscenely puritanical … it makes no rational sense. Who are they serving really? Do you care if a helpful blog post was paid or not? I know I don’t.

I have examined Google’s criteria for PageRank and frankly, I don’t think they even know what they are doing with it. Nonetheless, we have to suck it up as bloggers. It’s the industry guideline that advertisers and publishers use when hiring and taking blogs seriously. Thank goodness many influential bloggers are starting to come out against Google. IZEA is leading an effort against PageRank “.... As for me, watch for my first CAN. update in August. You can see my goals for July here. Maybe it will give you something you’ll find engaging to read by your espresso machines.

One thing, I will give away right now as I close: To make my logo and button for the CAN, Rank System was to use a tutorial for Photoshop. If you’d like to try something similar, it’s a lot of fun. The Google logo itself contains a font that costs $99. But this tutorial shows you how to make it with Ti.... It is cool. There are also tutorials there for companies like Hooters and O’Reilly … a lot more fun stuff. Enjoy and remember in whatever it is you blog about you CAN.

How did I do in June of 2008?

Didn’t quite meet my goals in traffic and money, but publishing was a slam dunk. I think Social Media will save me in July.
Traffic
Goal: Traffic: 3,000 uniques
Actual: 2,554 uniques

I spent time playing and exploring ways “outside the box” to blog and you see the consequences here. At the same time, I feel my exploration was worth it. You’ll notice I now have all my top referring social media sites linked in my layout. I am investing more in them: ie; Chawlk, Blog Catalog, etc. We’ll see how that works for July’s numbers. I invite you to join my community at MyBlogLog and some of the other sites through the links at the top and in the sidebar. Networking is cool because the increased traffic works both ways!

Publishing
Goal: 3
Actual: 4

• Create Through Necessity a guest blog at Katelynjane’s Notebook.
• The Upside of Recession: Consciousness published at Blogcritics Magazine.
• Love Homework a guest blog at It Might be Love
• Playing through Diffucult Times a guest blog at Be Playful (Scheduled for an early July publishing)

Money
Goal: 200 bucks.
Actual: 115 bucks.

Due to not having PR, IZEA doesn’t give me the options I used to have as a PR4. This is very ironic since doing paid posts is likely why my PR was taken away, but I am not complaining. I feel like PR is going to change it’s ranking algorithm eventually and I intend to keep writing for hire when it makes sense. I’ll never publish what I consider a boring post. You have my word on that. And hey … 115 bucks is a lot of money! Incidentally, I just thought I’d throw in here that despite the recession, if you live in the area, the Boston jobs are flourishing. Thought I’d send the site out if anyone needs it.

Goals for July 2008 are:
Traffic: 2700 uniques
Publishing: 3
Money: 200 bucks

Final thought:

This month you will see me a lot in social media. I intend to use that more to try and meet my July goal of 2700 uniques. I think it is an untapped resource here at the Farm. I will report the results of this strategy next month. Maybe I’ll see you at the social media sites?

Thanks for following this series! Watch how I do in July 2008. -Damien

Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed spotting the fake in a picture. Whether it was looking for “Where’s Waldo” or better yet an optical illusion. For example, does anyone remember those MAD Magazine “Fold-In” features on the back cover? They were so awesome. When you looked at the picture it looked like something normal and harmless like the Statue of liberty, but after you followed the “fold-in” directions, you were shocked to see something different altogether.

Well, that’s what this post is about: looking at traffic on your blog in a whole new way. Since
analyzing data is a big part of what I do for a living, I am an elementary school teacher, I have a lot of experience with averages, means, outliers, irrelevant data, and anomalies (note that word, it is verrrrrry important to blog analysis). What I set out to do here is show the stuff that counts in your stats and not just high numbers. It has been said that higher numbers will get your ads clicked more … in my experience? No. (I have had stretches where my blog was averaging 800 visits a day and still only minimal clicks on Adsense). And, from the people I talk to, I am not alone in this knowledge. SO … what does it all mean and how can I use my traffic stats to help me earn money and real, “staying,” subscribers? These things take time like muscle growth for the body. After more than a year at this stuff, here’s my fifty cents (scroll past the computer):

1. Pamphlet services only drive-by, or click-by, traffic. Let me explain. A real estate agent is new to a neighborhood. He has no leads because no one knows him. He makes pamphlets with his best picture, offers free stuff, and he follows up. Is there anyone who hasn’t received this stuff on her/his doorstep? This creates interest and what I call “pamphlet traffic.” Nonetheless, the potential client will not be hooked in unless he/she makes a positive connection and like the person. Put this in the perspective of “pamphlet traffic” generating services like Entrecard … etc. These are not good or bad for a blog but they will only produce a lasting reader if the reader does more than click on the Entrecard E. Because this sort of marketing takes a long time, is it your best time spent looking for subscribers? and/or readers? The 20-30 minutes (or even hours sometimes) I have spent dropping Entrecards could have been better spent I think. Let me go on to show how.
2. Knowing your stats is helpful. Watching your analytics helps you gauge your progress as a blogger. Get a good stats provider and set monthly goals for your blog. The can be as big as or as small as you hope to achieve. You can get progress meters to show off your goals publicly and you can do periodic series to share with your readers what is working for you. Through time, I have narrowed my three priorities for Postcards from the Funny Farm down to:
   a. Traffic
   b. Publishing -and-
   c. money. Every month you’ll find me reflecting on my goals and setting new ones.
3. Spend the most time of your day on your own blog, but THEN Bloghopping. Use your own favorites and blogroll to get out there and really read with a cup of coffee. Dialog between blogger is what makes it an amazing viral writing phenomena. If people like your writing they will return but if they like your writing AND they feel a connection to you as the writer, they will never leave!

On a very reduced scale, I have become famous and “hit it big” with my blog finally. I set a gaol last month to make $100 and I surpassed it (it is still surpassing). I set a goal for a certain amount of visitors and so far I am set to surpass it. I set a goal to guest blog on 5 blogs this month and I have surpassed it. So, … in my eyes, the only eyes that can matter to a serious blogger, I am the big time baby! Of course I am being glib, but you should be excited when you meet your own goals, otherwise you’ll never know what to measure success by! Last: remember that a lot of traffic or rank doesn’t always mean people are reading and retunring. That is what it takes to make money. Kep that in the back of your mind when you have a really high traffic day … or DESOLATELY LOW ONE! On those days just imagine that each of your “80″ for example uniques could end up being your subscriber/reader for life ;)

Any questions? I promise to answer them all.

I made more money in March than I have made blogging to-date. In this post I show how. So, without any further ado, lets get to my March 2008 goals and results.

In February’s post, I broke down my March goals into three categories. This worked so well that I will be doing the same for April. You may recall the three categories are:

1. Traffic Goals,
2. My Web Publishing Goals, and
3. Monetization Goals.

First, let’s look at last month’s stats:

March 2008

1. Traffic Goals:
   3,532 Visits: Goal exceeded! (was 3500)
   114 Visit/Day avg.: Goal of 100 visits/day exceeded!
2. My Web Publishing Goals:
   Just to reiterate: One of my main goals with my blog is to establish more of a name and an online presence through multiple online locations. These also help with backlinks, Google PageRank and Technorati authority. I went on a publishing field-day to put it mildly! I hope to do even more next month.
   
3. Monetization Goals:
   Feeling a little jaded after Google smacked my page rank from a PR4 to a PR2 because I used IZEA, I decided to set my PayPerPost goal low in March at $30. I exceeded that goal with an income of $65 from PayPerPost in March. Also, I was able to make $20 from Loud Launch and an incredible first month of $70 with PayU2Blog. The PayPal payment just went into my bank account an hour ago. Can you say Sarah and I go to Chili’s for lunch today??? ;) Oh, one more money item: I gained 2 125×125 paying advertisers this month. It is a pleasure having them and I plan to do all I can to keep them happy.

Okay, now it is time to list my future goals for April:

1. Traffic:
   3750 Visits.
   175 Visits/Day (I know it is almost doubling last month’s goal, but I am networking through 9Rules and BlogCatalog much more as well as some sources I’m choosing to wait to mention in case they don’t work).
2. My Web Publishing Goals (10 published articles in April): Publish on …
   BlogCritics (2)
   Associated Content (1)
   FuelmyBlog (2)
   GuestBlogging as the coveted offers come in. I would anticipate a minimum of 5 offers, but we’ll see. If I don’t get that many, I may approach YOU! ;)
3. Monetization Goals: I’m making a goal to make $100 minmum on PayPerPost and PayU2Blog. We’ll see what the ads bring in as well but I am not setting an ads goal at this time.

Think I can pull it off? I am confident I can. You might consider subscribing to my feed so you don’t miss an update! This month should be an exciting month of meeting these new goals. Oh, and if you are interested in getting traffic from this blog, I would like to do a guestblog or interview for you on your blog. Let’s talk! Thanks for reading Postcards from the Funny Farm.

What a week! I had five articles published outside my blog! Most were guestblogs (which I hold in very high respect, thanks to all who hosted me last week). As my friends know, this is a serious goal for me right now. In between all that, and having a family of 5 and a full time job as a teacher, the jeep attacked a lot of rock mountains on the weekly Blog Safari. I dug into Blog Catalog discussions more than I ever have (see sidebar widget). Also, I started back into 9Rules which is amazing. Between that and my regular RSS reads, I found some amazing stuff and I’ll serve it up to you here. If you have an article you’d like to see featured here some week, please drop me a line and I will check it out. As always, the articles below all received a well-deserved Stumble. Enjoy the Safari this week!

Hand holding is so… yesterday
A short but great article about how a simple touch and a bit of extra effort can improve your love life and your sex life.

Lord Likely has Some Trouble with The Brown Mist
Speaking of sex, Lord Likely is at it again. His ridiculous shenanigans get him into all kinds of laugh-a-minute situations. Read this post and may it be the one that hooks you on this very entertaining columnist.

Fuelmyblog and other social networking sites, Walking the Stacks
I really like this blog. He’s written about stuff I am currently doing a series on: social networkin.... Check out this cool article and learn as I did from it.

Twitter: what are you doing right now?
I found Tyme’s blog through 9Rules. It’s a great piece of writing. I often wonder why the hell I am on Twitter. Is it ridiculous? Read her article and see what you think.

Got Traffic Blues? Remember Balance
Kimberly is my newest sponsor here at Postcards from the Funny Farm. I will be doing a full review of her site this month as well and linking her to you where I think her services can help. Watch for that, it will be valuable to your piggy bank. This article is an example of the kind of patient and yet effective money coach she is to people who want to make money online. She shows the many ways to make it: not just through ads or clicking. I endorse her stuff heartily. Go check it out, I think you will be both surprised and impressed.

Reaching Your Goals
My main man Derek wrote a great little post on reaching goals. This is like a staple to any form of success in my life. Derek is also one of my ads featured in the right hand upper area of the fold. As a side note, through using principles he has virtually learned through trial and error and through mentors, Derek manages to bring in a sizable chuck of change every month through blogging. Check out what he has to say about goals.

38 TV Themes Recorded by the Actors Themselves
Malcolm … I need to high five you for this one!!! Folks, go look at the pictures and imagine the songs he lists in this post. Creative, hard work, labor of love went into this post … that is undeniable. This is another must for every blogroll.

Scared Silly by the Faeries
My writing and academic colleague 1/2 way across the world in Scotland wrote an entry for Shelly Tucker’s contest (which I happen to be judging). This is a great story and it really gives you an idea what Shelly is looking for in the contest. I am the judge. How did I attain this lofty position you ask? Good God I have no freakin’ idea. Maybe it’s because I never write “sex” or “freagin” in my posts ;) Seriously though, if you have a scary story and a blog go to her details post through the button below and get your post done before the submission deadline!

Tiny Url: rurl.org/kpm

BoozeCruise
Jessica the Rock Chick is one of the coolest people I know. She is able to admit when her angelic guitar player from Bon Jovi make s a huge boo boo. Get a fans rant at this post. Also, I just want to say as I have in the past that you really need to be reading Jessica’s blog, it makes me a cooler person (and God knows I have miles to go there).

Things I’m Learning from Blogging
The master .. mistress? well … Shelly anyway :) This lady has been a reader of mine for a long time and we have sort of a reciprocal love of storytelling. One of these days I’ll get to see her live (she does it for a living!) Suffice it to say, if this lady has a post about blogging and what she is learning, boy I’ll tell ya what … I’m there ;)

Easily Organize Post Categories
Katy is a very astute, prolific blogger who offers very practical and helpful information to her readers regarding blogging. This is one of those posts! I would add that “Batch Categories” is another very helpful and easy to use plugin to add to the one she lists in her article.

It’s the end of the month and time again to see how I did with my blogging goals. Setting goals is an effective way to improve a blog and feel a sense of accomplishment when you meet them. This month I will be placing less of an emphasis on money but I feel strongly this will only be a temporary change. The non-monetary goals I am focusing mostly on will translate into more income but it will probably take 2-3 months I predict. Developing an online voice and presence is a surefire way to gain an audience. And everyone knows that audience translates into advertising success. By summer I will hopefully be talking about money as the main thrust of this series, but first things first. I broke down my goals into three categories:

1. Traffic Goals,
2. My Web Publishing Goals, and
3. Monetization Goals.

First, let’s look at last month’s stats:

Feb 2008

1. Traffic Goals:
   3,028 Visits: Goal exceeded by over 1,000 visits!
   93 Visits/Day avg.: Goal of 70 visits/Day exceeded by 23/Day!
2. My Web Publishing Goals:
   One of my main goals with my blog is to establish more of a name and an online presence through multiple online locations. I set goals to guestblog, write for BlogCritics, and always be open to writing for other blogs and websites. Below are the external articles I had published. These also help with backlinks and Technorati authority.
   *Guest Blog at Dad Balance
   *Guest Blog at The Outboard Brain of a Geek
   *BlogCritics Review
3. Monetization Goals:
   PayPerPost $69
   Total earnings for February: $69. Exceeded goal by $39
   In every category I exceeded my goals in February! That is a great feeling. Now, my goals for March:

March 2008

1. Traffic Goals:
   3,500 Visits
   100 Visits/Day avg.
2. My Web Publishing Goals:
   *2 articles for BlogCritics
   *1 guestblog post. (HINT HINT, I am available!)
3. Monetization Goals:
   PayPerPost $30

Think I can pull it off? I am very confident I can. You might consider subscribing to my feed so you don’t miss an update! March should be an exciting month of meeting these new goals. Oh, and if you are interested in getting traffic from this blog, I would like to do a guestblog or interview for you on your blog. Let’s talk! Thanks for reading Postcards from the Funny Farm.

What do you think of these 3 blogging goals?