Even though I consider myself a successful blogger, someone who is literally making a career from this site you’re looking at, I’m learning that blogging as a business can be a pain-in-the-ass sometimes.
I don’t want to count how many followers I have on Pinterest.
I don’t want to do all this SEO every time I write a post. I don’t want to write for search engines versus people.
I don’t want to be at the whim of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook engineers who decide how many people will see my work that day.
I don’t want to be obsessed with my pageviews, to the point where I’m checking them multiple times a day. I don’t want to be focused on numbers.
So I stopped. I stopped checking my pageviews and will only log into my Google Analytics account if a client asks for it.
I don’t care how many fans I have on Facebook – I just want them to read and feel supported.
I don’t care if my stats go up from month to month. Yes, that would be great but I’m not stressing about it anymore.
For a long time, I was stuck on 10,000 readers a month. And all I cared about was getting to 11,000 readers a month. I would do everything to try to get there, but month after month, I stayed at 10,000.
What I wasn’t even realizing is that 10,000 is a lot of people. It’s not a million, but it’s a lot. My reach is global. One of my favorite stories about YML is the day I received an email from a 14-year-old new “mum” from the UK and a 25-year-old South African woman, both asking for advice.
That’s something you can’t capture in numbers. You know how many emails I’ve gotten from women who want advice on whether they should keep their babies? (My default response is always, “I can’t make that decision for you.”) These are woman who honestly feel lost and don’t have anyone in their “real life” they can go to with these types of questions. I feel honored that they would value my opinion that much, but I realize you can’t capture that in numbers.
I still work with clients and they want to know my reach and how many people stop by here each month. So I tell them. But what the numbers can’t tell you is how many of my readers are like sisters to me. I care about each of you and whether you’re having a great day, week, month, life. The numbers don’t tell you that!
So if you’re blogging (and you took my advice from my recent webinar) remember that numbers aren’t everything. You can have an amazing site. It might not be the biggest, but it’s amazing. And that is okay.
Be authentic. Respond to comments. Learn about your readers – what do they fear, who are they when they’re alone, what do they want most out of life. And deliver something of value.
That’s the key to being a successful blogger. Do that instead of chasing numbers.
Ditto. I think I’ve said this to you several times. I really don’t care about numbers and how many page views I get each month. I check it every once in a while. Also, I share the number freely because I feel like I have a nice, tight-nit community and that I am reaching and inspiring people. That’s why I started to blog. That’s what I’ll continue to do. And it’s glorious!
Good for you! Like I have said, even if you are reaching one or two people, those are one or two people more whose life you are positively impacting. Kudos, and good luck on your continued success!
I hate analytics soooo much. I can’t stand altering my blog post for SEO. I hardly ever check my stats and I don’t even know hom many people are subscribed to my site or follow me on Pinterest. I just want to continue making real and authentic connections with people. I love the messages I get from folks about my site. They make me feel like I’m doing something worthy.
I really liked this post – I’m constantly depressed at the “state of my stats”. Ironically, I’ve never felt prouder of my blog than of late, yet my numbers are depressingly low. A “throw together” post I did in December went through the roof and continues to generate traffic via Pinterest. Yet I put the least amount of effort into it. Ugh. Thank you so much for these encouraging words!
So very true! It’s funny because my publisher asked recently what my unique visitors were and I had NO idea. He’s always so surprised I don’t review my page views, unique visitors or stats in general. But I find it makes me feel better not to do that and to just focus on providing great content.
Beautiful advice. Especially to a newbie like me. I have to admit I’m a bit obsessed and overwhelmed by it all. But people like you and the consistent 20-30 people who visit every day remind me why I started it all in the first place.
I really enjoyed this post. I remember when I started using WordPress and I used to check my numbers everyday & it was driving me crazy! One thing I’ve learned there is nothing wrong with starting small and most importantly impacting your viewers even if it’s only one. That one person can make a difference by sharing it with others.
I agree! When you write with your true purpose and passion driving you, you are free. I think the writing is more connecting when a writer isn’t wrapped up in numbers.
You’re absolutely right! This year I decided to become a full time blogger. The business side of blogging is a bit tricky, and it’s a little discouraging when potential clients want numbers, but it feels so liberating not checking my stats every time I post. I thought I was the only one who went through this conflict. Lol 😉
Thank you for this post…and for keeping me free to simply enjoy blogging, enjoy my blog, and be blessed to reach those I’m reaching!
I’m not ready to stop checking mine as I have so much room to grow. I do agree that numbers are not whats most important.
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