Here’s One for Working Smarter
As most of you know, I’m a statistics junkie (there, I admitted it). I’ve cut back on the amount of statistics I track because I found that stat tracking could be a full time job.
That being said, I inadvertently ran an experiment. The experiment solidified my belief that it’s so much better to work smarter than harder.
Back in April of 2006 I created a website. It’s a true website and not a blog. The pages are static pages that are not interactive. No comments allowed.
A few years later in January of 2009 I created another website. Well, it’s not really a website, it’s a blog. On this blog I did not enable comments because I wanted to try to re-create the website feeling without having to go through all of the website coding. This blog is also static as it does not allow reader interaction.
Here’s what I discovered about the first 10 months after each site went live.
| Site #1 (created in 2006) |
Site #2 (created in 2009) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Number of Pages | Over 250 | 23 |
| Number of Page Views | 127,224 | 8,438 |
| Amount of Promotion | Digg, Reddit, Mixx and just about every other social media I could think of. | Very little |
| Revenue in 10 months | $37.95 | $165.21 |
There are a lot of variables here. When I created the site in 2006 I didn’t know very much about writing for the web. However, the one thing I did realize was that Google AdSense was a powerful earning tool so I tried to get as much content on the site as quickly as I could.
I did manage to populate the site, but it’s quite obvious from the above numbers that I should have taken my time to pick and choose my content more carefully. As time went on and I learned more, I made changes to the site, but I think the initial damage was done.
Don’t get me wrong, it still earns a steady income, but imagine how much more site #1 could have earned if I had used similar tactics to the ones I used with site #2 above.
What I learned:
- Bigger is not always better
- Traffic does not always translate into dollars
- A small niche site can be more profitable than a larger multi topic site
- Working smarter is much better than working harder
- Slow and steady beats a wheel spinning frenzy any day
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Comment by Crystal on 29 October 2009:
That’s quite a difference in earnings, Felicia. How’s the old site doing now?
Crystal´s last blog ..Make an Easy, Luxurious Tied Quilt for Someone Special
Comment by Felicia on 29 October 2009:
The old site is doing well, sort of. It brings in a few hundred dollars each month, but I bet if I had been more focused when I created the site, it would have been a goldmine.
Comment by prerna on 30 October 2009:
Wow.. That is insightful. Your love for stats is so inspiring. I have to get started on tracking performance and revenue earned in greater detail. Thanks for sharing this:-)
prerna´s last blog ..Being a Writer : Awards and Appreciation.. And an Interview!
Comment by Kidgas on 5 November 2009:
Wow,
Those are impressive stats. I am shocked by the difference in page views. To think that that the second site probably took less time as well and is earning that much.
Kidgas´s last blog ..Strategy for Work at Home Moms
Comment by Lisa on 8 November 2009:
I’m a stat-junkie, too. it’s nice to know what works, so we’re not wasting time, isn’t it:)
Comment by Wendy on 10 November 2009:
Hey Felicia!
This is so interesting! Okay, so can I surmise what you did with site #2 is make sure that every page was SEO friendly…is that too private? What *did* you do, exactly, to make it that much smarter?
Wendy´s last blog ..Feeling A Little Scattered : P
Comment by Felicia on 10 November 2009:
Wendy, I’ve been trying to track what I did so differently with site number 2.
I believe there were a host of things I did differently and will try to write about it in depth in a later post.
The fact that site #2 was focused on one topic instead of 13 sub topics was a big help. Additionally, I used a WordPress template instead of coding it by hand this time.
SEO did help, but I’m no SEO expert. Well, I guess any SEO is better than none (you need a magnifying glass to find any SEO on site #1).
Personally, I think the big kicker was that I wasn’t in a rush this time. I took it slow, wrote a little, forgot about the site and then wrote a little more. Now that it seems to be earning consistently, I think I’ll put a bit more effort into it.
I’m still analyzing what I did to see if I can wash, rinse and repeat it.
Comment by Drew Taylor on 24 June 2010:
Hi Felicia,
I’m a new business owner who, after being on the cusp of greatness with a small manufacturing business must close. My partner fell ill and I made a decision to continue working for myself as a writer online.
I came upon your blog while searching for some related information and was greatly impressed. I am male, a former U.S. veteran
(Army & Navy) honorably discharged both times, and also a person of color. I appreciate the wit and candor of your blog.
You have inspired me and just thought you should know that you made a difference today. Thank you so much! And for the record– I like statistics. Keep up the fantastic work. You made my day.
Comment by Felicia on 25 June 2010:
Hi Drew and welcome to NJFM.
I’m glad that I was able to be of help to you.
It’s funny, my mother-in-law is with me for a while and I tried to explain to her what I do. I’m not so sure she truly understands it, but once I read your comment to her she now thinks what I do is worth while. Thanks for helping me out.