We are officially into the month of June and once again it is time for our month in review! So, without further adieu, here it is.
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Looking back over the month of May, it’s been helpful to identify how we’ve moved closer to some of our 2012 goals. One of those was to grow my music lesson business which saw a growth of 20%. Another goal was to grow our blog. Here are some nitty-gritty details that show what that growth looked like.
On our blog:
- We had an 8% growth of unique visitors
- Total page views held steady last month
- Average time on site went from 4:03 in April to 3:48 in May
- Web search traffic was up 8%
Most viewed posts:
- The Lighter Side: Start!
- Never Thought I Would Be Addicted
- Chris Guillebeau’s $100 Startup Book Tour
- Conducting Inventory
- Month In Review For April 2012
- Are You Born With It?
- The Good Life
- Why I Don’t Listen To News Radio
- Fever And Poop
- The Lighter Side: Doing Nothing
Top Monthly Commenters
- Ryan Ash (51)
- Joe Lalonde (46)
- Michael Wright (43)
- Ann J Musico (38)
- Rob Clinton (29)
- Cindy Hirch (28)
- Kent Julian (19)
- Crystal Good (12)
- Donna Yates (12)
- Chris Peek (11)
Thanks to everyone who adds value by leaving comments!
On a more personal note, some highlights for me were meeting Chris Guillebeau in NYC at the $100 Startup book tour and watching our son, Jude, start to crawl!
Lastly, we received multiple letters from rise365 readers around the world who encouraged us and shared their own inspiring stories of passion and purpose with us! This was especially thrilling for us. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement!
We are so excited to continue on this journey of encouraging one another to be more, do more, and live life to its fullest!
Question: What was one highlight from May 2012 for you? If you blog, what was your top post (please include a link!)?
Glad to hear your music business is growing Michael. That is awesome!
One of the highlights of May was doing my first interview with another leader, Skip Prichard. He took the time out of his busy day and answered a couple of questions for my readers.
My top post for the month was What Can 20 Seconds of Insane Courage Do For You? – http://www.jmlalonde.com/what-can-twenty-seconds-of-insane-courage-do-for-you/
It’s brought in a ton of Google traffic and everyone seems to really enjoy it.
Joe,
I remember your interview with Skip. Love what you’re doing over on your site. Keep it up!
Wasn’t that your top post for some other months as well?
Thanks Michael. This month I should have an interview with Dan Miller. Can’t wait to hear what he says! Any questions you would like me to ask?
You’re correct. It’s been the top post three months running. And while the month is young, it’s holding steady once again. I’m interested to see how long it will hold the top spot.
That is similar to our Lighter Side: Start post (http://wholeheartedhuman.com/the-lighter-side-start/). It’s been holding steady at the top as well.
Dan mentions the 3 legs of the stool (passion, talent, and economic model) to turn your gifts into a vocation. I’m wondering his thoughts on how to balance these.
I sometimes see folks put too much emphasis of passion and not the other two and they end up frustrated. I’ve also tried projects that I wasn’t really passionate about but had talent and an economic model then lose the drive to keep working on it.
I’d be interested in hearing him dive into this a little deeper.
So glad you’re business is doing well Michael. Sounds like you are on the right track. My May saw me putting my house on the market for sale. Had alot of lookers but no takers yet. Patience is what God’s trying to teach me I know! Also working on my etsy shops and formulating a plan to move to Beaufort, NC as soon as possible this year! Thanks for your inspiration.
Donna,
Congrats for getting the house on the market!
Any new developments with finding a job in NC?
Not yet Michael. Trying to focus on selling the house first. Since the market is depressed, I am trying to decide exactyly what I have to have out of the house-my bottom line and then maybe reduce the house to sell.
Sounds like you’re focussing on one thing at a time. Good idea!
Keep an eye out for tomorrow’s post. You helped me tweak what I had in mind.
Glad I gave you something to use!! Can’t wait to read tomorrow’s post.
Michael, great progress on your goals. It’s awesome that you guys are really tracking it carefully. That’s really the only way to know how much progress you’re making. I’m sure those letters are precious – I really enjoy writing and receiving a handwritten letter or note. So much better than email.
My May highlight was getting down to a size 36 pants for the first time in a long time! Just checked my Jetpack stats – oddly enough, this post was viewed 3 times more than the 2nd highest ranking post… http://www.fatherofone.com/easy-vs-better/
Michael,
Congrats on the slimmer pant size! Must be Ann Musico’s great healthy lifestyle plan.
Great post! Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations on your steady progress toward achieving your goals – and I love the short video of Jude – how exciting! He’s growing up. May has been a pretty challenging month and if I just looked at the surface it might seem pretty bad to most – but I have to say through it all God is so faithful and gracious to us and the highlight for me is seeing His hand clearly at work in ways I didn’t expect.
Way to keep things in perspective, Ann.
Michael, thanks for sharing this insight into your blog. It’s helpful to see others experiencing the slow steady growth too, as it provides us with a realistic, long-term view of success.
For me, May highlights included celebrating our nine year wedding anniversary and hearing/meeting Chris Guillebeau in-person. Ironically enough, my top post incorporated our wedding anniversary, as I shared “One Way to Increase Marital Fulfillment”: http://www.trailreflections.com/2012/05/24/on-our-ninth-anniversary-one-way-to-increase-marital-fulfillment/
Great post, Chris. Thanks for sharing!
Nine years. Congrats! Claudia and I will too be celebrating nine years later this years.
Glad to hear you’re seeing growth on you blog as well!
Thank for the congrats Michael. Glad we were able to spend time talking tonight, and congrats on your nearly nine years of marriage!
I made #7. Wow! Wasn’t even trying…just commenting on your good content 🙂
Hey, thanks, Kent! And thank you for your input.