Does your blog statistics matter to you?
For an ‘aged’ blogger like myself (and by ‘aged’, I mean one who has been blogging for yonks) and many others, seeing our traffic count rise up steadily throughout the years has always been a thrilling experience. I have to admit when my blog first reached the 100 unique visitors daily mark, I would log in to Statcounter every hour or so just to make sure the numbers would add up.
That, would be what I call obsessed and that, my dear readers, is very, very unhealthy. Besides taking up so much of my time, I became crazily attached to the numbers - “Oh no! Not a hundred! Why? What happened?“, reason being I loved the fact that 100+ people cared enough to read what I have to rant about and a dip in it hurt my ego real bad.
As weeks passed, the excitement gradually faded off when I realized that thousands of other blogs have the same number of readership, and for many, even reaching thousands. What I achieved is well… nothing. Until, the day Online Advertising came into my life, all exciting and enticing, like a whole new world to be explored.
The equation is simple. Advertorials + More readership = More money! Since I was introduced into the world of making money online, I started seeking help from online money making gurus like Uncle Sha and Cheekui to seek ways to hike up my statistics.
From performing Search Engine Optimisation, creating key words and attracting viewership by going comment-crazy, I once again became number crazy. Checking my statistics late into the night, calculating my paltry revenues, analysing data and whatnot were just a few of the things I did.
And with so much time spent on all these, I started to view blogging as a potential money-making tool, where all that matters is the statistics and the money I earn. Good content, I think, began to dip as I had pumped in my resources into other venues. Weeks passed and I found my passion for blogging had disappeared for a moment as I had been doing it for all the wrong reasons.
Thus, to save one of my biggest loves, I disciplined myself to no longer do it for the cash and instead, rediscover the wonderful chemistry Blogging and I once shared.
Today, I would be lying if I said the numbers don’t matter to me because they do, but just not as much as before. I have come to a point where I feel the numbers give me a sense of accomplishment; increasing statistics would mean that I’m blogging in the right direction, and dipping would mean I’m losing my ability to write well so I should do something about it.
It is no longer and obsession, but just an indication and that makes a BIG difference to how I feel towards blogging :)
How about you? Does your blog statistics matter a lot to you and does it affect your blogging?
The question I’ve been wanting to ask is, do you actually make money?? :D I’m always so skeptical… Once someone showed me his cheque for 1 cent from Netscape :P Oh well, at least he tried.
I DO! hahahahha… my second cheque from advertlets should be reaching somewhere soon I think :)
Well, I would be lying if I said that the numbers didn’t matter to me. I used to just blog about what ever that pops into my mind but then as the years go by, I started to see everything as potential blogging material. Then I discovered ways to increase blog traffic and that definitely changed the way I write. Some people might say that I need to get out more, get off the Net more but well, if it makes me happy, just leave it be right?
Hahah I agree. I guess the definition of fun differ from person to person so if blogging rocks our boat, why not kan? haha.. Anyway share la tips how to increase blog traffic :P
Making money from the net is definitely exciting. Like what I’m doing now, fiddling here and there, but I decided to finally settle down with just normal blogging. Just gunning the keyboard and express myself about stuff close to the heart. To be able to earn money while writing things close to you is definitely a bonus.
Anw Faddy, your blog’s cool. I like your piccas.
Oh ya, what happened to wacky singapore eh yat? Hmm.. anyway, yup, for me when i concentrate more on the money side, it depletes the fun i get out of blogging. So i’ve decided to focus more on blogging and take the money as a bonus, like you said. And, thanks yat! :)
haha.. i think i dah very tak kuasa about numbers, seeing how VERY INTERESTING NAK MAMPOS my entries are. that was sarcastic by the way!
but YOU, you SHOULD care cos well your blog does have a life! nice pix, interesting posts, very interactive…et ceteraaa
Eh actually hor you write damn well and I KNOW YOU KNOW IT. so your blog ada potential… I mean even if now your entries are, I quote “VERY INTERESTING NAK MAMPOS”, you’re still in my favourites. SO imagine if you put in a weeeeeeeee bit more effort ey ey ey :P And hehehe thansk Liz! *blush2*
i think it will be very fake if i told you,
NO i dont care abt my stats..
wahahahaha..
last time, yes, i do mind when i received too many visits in my page…
but ever since i became more public, i dont quite care how much stats i acquired… the more, the merrier..
if it drops, i dont really ponder or ask..
WHY?!??!
wahahahahhahahah
PLEASE la Eddy hahaha I know damn well you care about your stats hehehe… Anyway yup, good for you. Sometimes I feel I shouldnt be caring too much if my stats drop but I just feel that I’m getting more boring when they do. Kekekek… can’t help it. Must…. change…..