Site down! How a prolonged server outage affected our site
One of our largest websites was down for four days earlier this month. Here's what happened.
How to increase RPM rates (and the March 2021 Report)
Here's what I do to get higher RPM's for our blogs, along with the March 2021 traffic and revenue report.
Should writers be Americans-only? [& February Mini Report]
We currently hire only American writers. Is that wise? Here's what I think at this point (along with a quick report on February).
The Survivor Bias in Web Publishing (and the January Revenue Report)
Are web publishing success stories true? And do they apply to you? (And also, our January revenue report)
2020 Traffic and Revenue Report
It’s finally 2021 and a good time to look back at 2020 and what it’s been like for our business. If you’ve been following my blog, you probably already know what our reports used to looked like throughout the year.…
Here’s How long it takes Google to index and rank our posts
If you rely mostly on Google for traffic, getting posts to show up in the search results is key. You could have the best content out there, but if Google doesn’t put it in front of their users, you won’t…
9 Lessons about blogging and hiking (And a quick update on our blogs)
Sharing lessons that I learned along the year about how to deal with long-term projects like building this business or hiking for long distances. Also, a quick report on November's numbers.
Should you allow blog comments? [And quick status report on our sites]
Should you allow blog comments on your blog? Here's a discussion of the pros and cons and how we handle commenting on our sites. (And also a quick update on our traffic and revenue over the last few weeks!)
How to make your blog posts long enough (tips and tricks for increasing the word count)
How do you write long posts and reach your target word count without resorting to fluff and repetition? In this post, I want to share my tips and insights on how to do just that.
September 2020 Traffic & Revenue report (Last one for a while)
September was yet another crazy month here. Lots of work, and an overall increase in revenue by 13% to over $27K! Read the full report here, and also see why this is probably the last report for a while.
August 2020 Traffic & Revenue report
In terms of revenue, August has been a "steady as she goes" month here. With some of the sites affected by seasonality, we've seen only little growth in overall traffic, but at the same time, an increase of 8% in revenue. Here's the detailed report.
10 Things That Could Bring Down A Niche Site or Blog [This is a Risky business!]
As we work on expanding our investment in content to $20,000 a month, I wanted to stop and take a look at the risks involved. Here's a list of 10 things that can go horribly wrong and bring our business to a halt.
July 2020 Traffic & Revenue report
July has been another great month for our business. Traffic increased by 20%, while revenue shot up by almost 40%! This report brings you the breakdown in our monthly stats, as well as our plans for the next few months (they're exciting!)
What happens to your sites when you can’t work on them? [Here’s what happens to mine]
I spent most of July in bed, recovering from a bad back episode. And yet my business kept chugging along, with traffic and revenue reaching record highs. Here's how I make sure my websites keep growing even when I'm away from my desk.
Blogging Successfully When English isn’t your first language [Lessons Learned]
If you want to get into blogging, but English isn't your first language, then this post is for you. I'm not a native speaker, and here's what helped me build a web publishing business in English.
June 2020 Traffic & Revenue Report
June was good. Overall, traffic was growing for most sites and our total revenue grew by an additional 20%. Time to take a closer look at what happened last month.
Should you choose a niche that you love?
If you're new to web publishing, you may have already heard that you should blog about what you love. But is that really the case? Choosing a niche that you're passionate about has its advantages, but it can be risky too. Here's why.
How to set up a new niche site in 20 Steps [My Checklist]
Sharing my checklist for launching a new website. A detailed list with 20 steps that cover everything - from finding the right niche to publishing posts.
Why was there so much traffic in May? [And will that continue in June too?]
A few days ago, I posted our report for May. Both traffic and revenue grew by over 50% compared to April. But was that sustainable growth or just a fluke? Will traffic keep growing at the same rate during June?…
May 2020 Traffic & Revenue Report
What an exciting month this was! I’ve been eager to write the report for May and share the good news! The bottom line is – Traffic increased by 52% Revenue increased by 54% We’re in profit! If you’re already familiar…
How I Monetize Video Content [Via Mediavine and not YouTube]
I've increased my revenue by more than 15% on some sites by monetizing video content with Mediavine. I'm sharing what I've learned so far in this post, including tips and ideas on how to easily and quickly produce lots of quality video content.
9 Things That Help Increase My Productivity
Like many entrepreneurs, I too deal with ADD. In my case, it’s official. Several years ago, my kids were diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. When the doctor talked to us and explained the test results, too many things “clicked” for me. It just sounded a lot like my own experiences. So, I went ahead and took the tests myself. And guess what? I too have ADD! All those years of priding myself on my ability to multi-task? That was just my unique type of attention. I do very well with noticing a lot of interesting things around me. Focusing on a single…
April 2020 Traffic & Revenue Report
Spoiler: It’s been a great month! Despite the coronavirus and Amazon’s commission slash, this has been our best month so far, on all fronts. Highest ever traffic, record revenue numbers, and the best bottom line to date! If you’re already…
The Amazon Commision Slash – What to do?
Like most website owners, Amazon revenue makes a significant part of my income. The recent cuts in commissions hurt. A lot. There are a lot of blog posts out there about this “slasher movie” Amazon produced. I wasn’t sure if…
How I use Clickup to run my sites [Platform Review]
I currently manage 9 niche websites. Put together, the sites have a total of over 2,600 posts. Along with a team of 4 VA’s, two editors and dozens of freelance writers, I publish over 150 new posts every month. You…
Operation Site Backups: How and why I now have two backup systems in place
Back in 2008, I was running a successful site that had two and a half million pageviews a month. That site was based on user-generated-content, so new content was being created daily. One day, the site crashed. We had to…
March 2020 Traffic & Revenue Report
Wasn’t March the longest month ever? It sure felt like that to me. So much has changed in the world; I find it hard to wrap my mind around it all. But hey, even the longest month in our lives…
How to write effective content outlines when outsourcing blog posts
If you’re going after search engine traffic, the key to a successful niche site or blog is this Figure out the user intent behind a Google query and provide the user with the best possible answer. If you’re just starting…
6 Diversification Strategies for Reducing Risk to My Web Publishing Business
The month of March 2020 was supposed to be dedicated to our family trip to Florida. I just checked our itinerary and today we were supposed to visit Blue Springs State Park. Fortunately, we decided to cancel that trip in…
February 2020 Traffic & Revenue Report
I began writing this post on March 1st. This was the original intro I had in mind – February had 29 days this year – being a leap year – but it still felt short. With the month finally over,…