One month ago I wrote about how I wanted to bring this blog to the next level. My action plans were:
- Put sponsored posts on hold
- Less focus on making money
- Writing more about work
- Post more often
- Re-do my other blog (The KL Driver blog)
Here’s a report card on what I have done:
1. Put sponsored posts on hold.
I have tried staying away from PPP, Blogsvertise and LoudLaunch posts for the past one month. I hope you readers were satisfied to see the results. I have to confess that I slipped in one sponsored post last Saturday (I thought nobody was looking).
Grade: B
2. Less focus on making money
For the past month I have removed some of the larger ads from my side bar. I have not obsessed so much about my AdSense earnings. However, I joined NuffNang, which means one more ad on my side bar.
I also put up some links to my Amazon Associates account, which means there were some book ads at the end of some posts. I made my first Amazon sale this month.
Grade: F
3. Writing more about work
I wrote exactly one post about work this month.
Grade: F
4. Post more often
I posted every single week day and had posts for every weekend.
Grade: A
5. Re-do my other blog
I have redone the template and deleted all the dumb posts, and the site is leaner and meaner now. However I am thinking of killing the blog soon. I definitely don’t have as much interest in KL driving as I thought. Anyone want to take over the domain?
Grade: D
My final grade for this month is C-, but what a difference I see in this blog!
Before this, my average visitor count was under 15, but nowadays I average 70 plus visitors. The day I wrote about hitting my wife I got a crazy 400 visitor count! I know 70 plus readers is nothing for some of you.. but I’m so happy it’s my 70 plus!
The three main referrers are:
- StumbleUpon
- Thoof
- PetalingStreet Pinger (PPS)
That’s not the best part. The best part is I have you readers now! You know who you are… it is great meeting so many new people from all walks of life.
I think I can safely say that my blog has levelled up! *cue Final Fantasy level up song*
What’s next? I’m going to take a break from blogging this month!
Just kidding.
Here’s my plan:
1. Sponsored posts on weekends only
Don’t worry that you will see too many sponsored posts. On weekends I’m mostly asleep.
2. No additional ads
I won’t put up any more ads in the side bar or anywhere this month. I will continue with the Amazon thingy though.
3. One email a day
This one was suggested by ProBlogger si fu Darren. Starting from next week I will email one old reader a day. Or… I will go visit their blog. Old reader here doesn’t mean ah kung or ah poh. It’s those people who just comment and never came back.
4. Improve my writing skills
My blogger tai kor BengBeng mentioned that my writing needs to have more substance… so I will be trying to improve in this area. More thoughtful posts, and less rubbish posts. More attention to grammar and spelling miskates 
. I might also consider adding some colour to my text.
I have also been thinking about a new idea. I don’t think any blogger has ever done it before. I don’t know if I will do that in a new blog or implement that here. There could be copyright issues as well as legal issues (ISA), so I might probably have to blog anonymously (be a sniper). It’s not political but more of a news commentary with a twist.
P/S: Proton just placed an advertisement on my MSN asking me to “take a peek at their new sedan”. Hello? I still dont care!
Technorati Tags: Blogging
August 10, 2007 at 11:14
Just be yourself. People get attracted to your blog because you are you. I think you write well and have injected humour at the right places. Traffic will take time to develop. Be patient.
Adino: I have yet to master the skill of patience
Thanks for your advice! I consider you a pro-blogger 
August 10, 2007 at 13:22
blog stats…really so important wan meh… :blur:
Adino: It’s not really about the stats, it’s about the visitors and readers. Sometimes I feel bad to think that nobody is reading. It’s a very lonely feeling
August 10, 2007 at 16:48
Hello, me again, no worries, I’m reading! Cheers man!
Adino:
welcome back!
August 10, 2007 at 21:15
Nolah i didn’t mean it like that. I meant more search generated visits can increase traffic if you write more on issues. You write exceptionally well. You don’t need to improve at all
Adino: I see… anyway nothing wrong with trying to improve
August 11, 2007 at 09:32
I’ve been trying to improve Forever 17 lately as well, but basically all I’m trying is to post more often and to write less about depressing subjects. About the advertising, I don’t think it does any damage.
Adino: Yeah, I guess posting more often is the best thing to do. However it would be interesting to write on interesting subjects once in a while. The popularity of reality shows on TV tells us that people are interested in knowing about other people’s lives.