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Blogging Tips

Analyze Your Site

If you build it, they will come.

analytics3Nah, I’m just kidding. That won’t happen by itself. Your site is going to need some help in getting noticed. You can’t just build a web site and expect everyone to simply show up to your site. Even if they do show up, how do you know what’s going on? That’s when Analytics comes it, and you can apply Analytics to your website for free. SAY WHAT?!? I know, you love it when i say free, but I said it. And I’ll say it again. For free. You simply need to sign up for it, and if you have a gmail account it’s easy to do. Even if you don’t have a gmail account, all you need to to is simply register with Google Analytics, and you’re on your way. But what does Analytics do?

Google Analytics Shows Your Websites Traffic

I’ve taught a number if classes for a long time, and I would often run across people who had web sites but no analytics on the site. And after helping them apply Analytics, the shock of knowing they have next to no one visiting the was too much to bear. But others were pleasantly surprised. Analytics will show you how much traffic your website has received since the day you first apply the analytics code. That’s hot! Not only will it show you how much overall traffic your site has received, it will also show you the popularity of each page in your site. Why’s that important? Most people think the most popular page of a web site is the homepage. That may not be entirely true. It really depends on what page your website visitors find is most interesting about your site. It could be a well written web post about whatever that’s drawn the interest of your readers that completely bypasses homepage. Whatever it is, you can track it with Analytics.

Google Analytics Shows Who Comes to Your Website

Who are these people looking at your content? And where did they come from? And what were they looking for when they came to your site? I don’t know! But you would if you had Google Analytics installed on your site. With Analytics, you can determine where your users are (country, state or city), what type of browser they use, what type of device they use (mobile, computer, tablet), what operating system, what keywords they used to get to your site, and how they got to your site overall (facebook, directly, email, tweet, whatever). Good stuff. Still not convinced you need Analytics?

Google Analytics Can Show You What Pages Make You The Most Money

If you have Google Analytics AND a Google Adsense account, you can link the two accounts together and find out what pages on your site are making you the most money through your Adsense account. What the bleep is Adsense? Well, there’s an ad program you can sign up with on Google (yes, it’s free again) and Google pays you to advertise banners on your site. The more traffic you have, the more money you can make. And money’s good, right?

So, you know what you have to do, right? Sign up for Google Analytics and get your code on.

Make money while losing weight (no, I’m not kidding)

moneyI’m sure you’ve heard stories about people getting rich off the internet. Perhaps insanely rich. Well, I’m here to tell you can can get paid, but insanely rich is another story. But, you never know. That is one of the purposes of this website… it’s to provide you with the tools for building a website for yourself and, in turn, teaching you how to make a little spare cash on the way.

So, why blog? There are many reasons why during your weight loss journey (or any type of thing you may want to document) that you may want to blog your progress. You may just want to know how much you’ve changed from one day to the next. Or you may want to compile all of your information and potentially write a book. You may also want to gain exposure about your weight loss journey in hopes of writing articles or doing interviews as an expert in weight loss. Whatever the reason, if you have ANY type of web presence, be it a facebook fan page, a twitter account, a pintrest site, or an instagram account, you can really only make good money if you have a website to promote your interest. My girlfriend has a fan page with over 200,000 followers, but she really only makes her money through her website.

The important thing to remember is not to get too ahead of yourself when it comes to making money online. And understand, you will have to spend a little money in order to make money. So, my first bit of advice is to set realistic goals. Do not think you’ll just start up a web page and money will just start flowing in. Be realistic. So, here’s how I approach monetary goals related to my site.

Goal 1. Make enough money to pay for your web expenses

If I’m paying 80/yr for web hosting, and 30-100 for a template (usually a one time fee, or maybe you got free template that works for you), and about 10/yr for a web address, you should want to be able to at least break even for your expenses in a month’s time. That’s a good goal to start with.

Goal 2. Make enough money to for a little extra cash each month

Ok, you broke even, now what? How about a little extra cash on the side? Set a goal of maybe $100-$500 month extra. You might say “what!?! woah?!? $100-$500 a month? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Actually, that’s not a lot, and it’s a attainable goal, believe it or not. You could probably make that much on advertising revenue alone. And that’s just advertising. You’ll be making money a number of different ways in order to reach this level. Advertising is just the tip of the iceberg.

Goal 3. Make enough money to quit your job

The blog’s going well, you have an awesome social media presence with thousands of followers who are into everything you say, you have a great slew of advertisers willing to pay top dollar to be a part of your site, you’re selling a number of products related to your weight loss via affiliate programs, and you’re not even working as hard as you used to. Your job has gotten easier and you start to weigh the possibility of quitting your real job because, well, you’re making just as much or more even than your current job. And you’re actually enjoying it more. So, what to do? That’s up to you, but this is a great goal to have in mind. Some people stop at this level of achievement… but wait, there’s more.

Goal 4. Your an online personal brand… move over Oprah!

The blog is blowing up!!! You’ve lost a tremendous amount of weight and you’re sharing your techniques and insight with everyone, and your website has attracted the attention of other people in other media circles… magazines, tv and radio personalities have started to notice and you’re starting to do interviews. Perhaps you’re even making television appearances. You’ve written your own e-book or two and because of all of your exposure, it sells like hotcakes! Other people are making sales of your e-book via affiliate program, so you’re making money without lifting a finger. You also have a small clothing line with inspirational messages that’s also selling well. You’ve become an inspiration to thousands, perhaps millions. You’re living a dream… and it’s possible, but you’re going to have put a good amount of work into to make it happen.

And the information you’ll find on this site can help you achieve your goals.