My Second Month with a New Midlife Blog

Last Updated on March 16, 2023 by Erin

Welcome to my second update on my journey with a new midlife blog! It’s been an exciting and challenging month as I continue to navigate the world of blogging. In this post, I’ll share my progress, challenges, and lessons learned in the past month.

From growing my website traffic to experimenting with new content and monetization strategies, I’ve been working hard to build a successful blog. My hope with these monthly posts is to help keep me accountable and have a record of where I started. So, let’s dive in!

**This post contains affiliate links. This means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). Please see my full disclosure policy for details.**

Overview of My Second Month

Recap of Month One

I had 185 total page views and was getting anywhere from 2-50 visits a day. I had 17K views on Pinterest and 8 followers. No email subscribers and two freebie opt-ins that weren’t successful yet. I signed up to become an affiliate with Amazon, Share-A-Sale, and Flex Offers. I was getting Ezoic ads set up, but it was still incomplete. A few email workflows had been made in MailerLite and I was getting comfortable designing pins and worksheets in Canva.

I had made no income in month one and only one commission sale at 58 cents.

My goals were to get ads up and running, get a better pinning strategy, build my email list, create better opt-ins, get approved for more affiliates, and get at least 50 page views a day.

Goal Progress in Month Two

So, how did I do on my goals?

Get Ezoic ads up and running

Goal met! I have earned a whopping 66 cents BUT I know there is potential here if I can get more website traffic. There were originally way too many ads on the site but I figured out how to reduce the number in order to optimize user experience. I have had a great experience with Ezoic and they are great for bloggers both new AND experienced. Their customer service is fantastic.

Better Pinterest strategy

Goal met! I’ve started creating 3-4 new pins each day and pinning/re-pinning during optimal times. It seems to be between 10-10:30 am, 2-4 pm, and 8-10 pm. I’m still working full-time, so I make use of the Pinterest scheduler. I did a free trial of Tailwind, but I’m not sold just yet. I’m going to keep using a manual strategy for now because it seems to be working better than when I tried Tailwind.

Here’s a look at my growth on Pinterest in outbound clicks. I’m only interested in outbound clicks right now, because that’s how I get traffic! You can see it was unpredictable for a while but in the last week or so I’ve improved my pin designs and the clicks are steadily rising. I also have about 24K monthly views on my Pinterest account now.

My pin designs have really improved. Look at the difference! I’ve learned how to use better fonts and brighter colors.

Build an Email List

I have a few email subscribers! It means the world to me knowing I am making content that a few people are interested in. In my previous blog update I had mentioned that “Even if only one reader comes to my blog and leaves with something helpful or inspirational, I would consider that a success.”

Create Better Opt-Ins

Last month I had two opt-ins: guiding questions for a vision board and Google Keep headers. THIS month I went big. I made a gratitude challenge and two very hefty freebies including a low buy year companion and a workbook for women considering a midlife career change.

I want my readers to know I genuinely want my blog to be a helpful resource for them!

Get Approved for More Affiliates

I have added a few more that I am truly happy to promote. I think it’s extremely important to stick with affiliate products that you actually use and love. Obviously, I never want to come off like I’m just trying to make a buck. There is still zero income from ads or affiliates, but that’s ok! If that comes down the road, great. If not, I’m having fun learning and helping other midlife women.

Increase Pageviews

My goal was to get to 50 page views a day but I’m still not there yet. I still look at it as growth because my trendline is steadily rising.

Improve SEO

This wasn’t even a goal of mine, but I’ve really started working on SEO (search engine optimization). It was something I definitely neglected starting out, but I’ve been doing some research and figuring out how to optimize posts for SEO. I’ve even started ranking in the top 10-15 in Google searches, which is incredible!

My Blogging Schedule

I think it’s really important, especially at first, to stick with it and get content out as much as you can. I work 7:30-3:30 and take care of three kids, so I have to work on the blog early in the morning and after the kids go to bed. When I get home from work, right before I start dinner, I update a few pin designs and get them scheduled for that evening or the next day. I’ve become extremely efficient now that I have a better idea of what I’m doing. Google Keep also keeps me on track with all of my to-do lists.

Challenges and Setbacks

I’ve had to do a lot of chatting with customer service to figure some things out. One evening my blog completely disappeared and I had full-blown panic. Turns out it was a server issue, but I was totally lost there for a while.

I also made a huge error with one of my opt-in forms. I forgot to set up the email automation so the individuals who had tried to sign up, never got what they asked for. (If that was you, I sincerely apologize.) That made me feel terrible, so once I figured out what had happened, I made sure to personally email the document instead of using an automated email.

Goals for Next Month

Overall, I feel really good about the progress I’ve made with my new midlife blog. I love writing and creating so it’s the perfect hobby for me. Here’s what I hope to accomplish in the next month:

1. Grow my email list
2. Gain more Pinterest followers
3. Create a blog homepage
4. Make affiliate sales
5. Increase blog traffic

Final Thoughts on My New Midlife Blog

I still have lots of growing to do, but I think blogging is always going to be a learning process. Things constantly change in the online world and strategies will have to adapt along with it. I’m not at all embarrassed by the numbers so far. I’ve only been at it for a few months and the amount of knowledge I’ve gained in such a short period of time is astonishing. I’m very proud of myself.

Over to you- have you thought about starting a new midlife blog? We need more out there, especially those of us millennials who are earlier in the midlife game. Let me know if you have any feedback or questions in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Or if you’re already a midlife blogger, let me know where I can find you!

Sincerely,
Erin