Today marks 1 year of blogging – and boy, has it been crazy!
I could pat myself on the back, but really, the credit belongs to you, my readers. I started Retired by 40! to hold myself accountable to my budget, to my debt goals, and to my plan to retire by 40 (duh)! And it’s working! I fully expected only 3 people to read my blog my entire first year, so imagine my surprise when my stats started taking off. More importantly though, I’ve found that community of personal finance bloggers (and avid readers, of course) is amazing! Supportive, helpful, and has provided me with tons of constructive criticism!
A few things I’ve learned:
- There’s a reason ya’ll are bloggers – you know your stuff and you know how to share it without being rude. I SO appreciate this! I’ve gotten so much awesome advice either through comments or reading other blogs!
- HTML is tough….I made my site crash not just once – I did it TWICE. Will be hiring some stuff out soon…any takers?
- Delegation is amazing! The Big Guy (who you will soon meet) has started handling some of the day-to-day for me, and I think that transition has been going well. He’s an awesome sport about it :-)
- You CAN bring in massive traffic from Pinterest – even as a Personal Finance Blogger! Should I do a post on this, seeing as 60% of my traffic comes from pinterest?
- Write From the Heart…..My Elopement Story, The Bill Schedule, and Going Back to my Roots – all were written pretty emotionally, and all are in my top 10 articles
- 121 posts isn’t really that much…..on some level I can’t believe I’ve written that much stuff, but at the same time it’s flown by!
And now, some fun facts:
Most popular posts:
- Feed Your Family on $300 a Month – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
- Why You Should Create a Bill Schedule
- Find Money in a Too-Tight Budget
Most Searched Terms: (no surprises here :-)
- retired by 40
- retire by 40
- retire at 40
Weirdest Search Terms:
- how to buy a house in day (hint: only if you have cash and it’s a private sale…and probably not even then)
- automated thinking of you cards (huh?)
- kelli seagers (anyone know who this is?)
Of course the blog has made awesome strides, but I’m not going to share those here, yet. Would anyone be interested in me posting my stats each month? (BTW, you can see several of them on my Advertise Page, if you’re interested) I track tons and tons of stats (because of my love affair with numbers) and I would be even willing to disclose earnings from the blog, but would anyone even want to read them?
Food for thought….
At any rate, thank you for such an awesome year, and all of the solid advice you’ve given me!
Will ya’ll stick around for year 2?
*This Post May Contain Affiliate Links
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Congrats on the anniversary! I would love to see a post about how to bring in traffic through Pinterest. I have one VERY popular post that gets pinned on Pinterest pretty much daily (and has been for over a year now), but in general I suck at Pinterest. I would love some tips on how to make good graphics for posts as well (such as the one on this post). I suck at that too.
thank you! Sometimes, one popular post is all you need, but Pinterest traffic is a force to be reckoned with! I’ll definitely be doing a post on Pinterest in the near future!
Congratulations on one year! Here’s to year two being just as good! I’d love a post on how you get traffic through pinterest :) I have no idea how pinterest works – it’s on my to do list :)
Thank you! I’ll definitely be doing a Pinterest post – everyone seems so interested!
Yes, I would LOVE to hear about your pinterest traffic. I typically only get 4 or 5 views a day from pinterest. Admittedly, I don’t spend any time on it though.
Well, I’ll definitely have to do a post then! I’m maybe a bit obsessed with pinterst…..it may be a bit unhealthy
Happy Blogiversary! I think a Pinterest post is a great idea.
Thanks! I’m definitely going to do a Pinterest post because theres been such an overwhelming response to the idea…stay tuned!
Congrats! Your blog is very professional for only a year old! You’ve got a great topic. I’d love to retire by 40. Who wouldn’t! I would love to see a post on how you drive traffic from Pinterest.
Thank you! Retiring by 40 will be awesome, but it will definitely take a lot of work!
Happy 1 year blogging!!! It’s good to know that about Pinterest. I’ve been trying to use it more!
Congratulations Gretchen, to many more years!
Thanks Pauline!
Congrats and nice share :)!
thank you!
Congrats on one year. I think year one is certainly the hardest. After that it’s just part of what you do. I would also love to know more about Pinterest. I have an account, but that’s about as much as I’ve done with that platform.
Thank you! It’s definitely become a part of who I am! I have a system now, and I think it’s working :-)…and I’ll definitely be doing a post on Pinterest….stay tuned!
Congratulations on 1 year!
Thanks!
YES, YES, and YES! I want to hear about all of those things you mentioned! Very interesting to follow you and see how you are doing. I’m rooting for you!
Thank you! I’ll be sure to start posting about it all :-)
Congrats on the one year mark Gretchen! That is a huge achievement for any blogger. If you need help with your site, please let me know. I work with many of the PF bloggers and others helping them with their sites and when issues arise. It is one of my passions.
I would also love a post on Pinterest traffic. I don’t utilize the site much, but I should. I would be interested to see how long those visitors stay on the site and how many pages they view. I love numbers as well, so these are the things that keep me interested!
I’ll definitely keep you in mind for some stuff – I’ve heard nothing but good things :-) I also will have a pinterest post coming (it might be a downloadable pdf though, as long as its getting :-)
Congratulations on the anniversary. The blog looks great just after 1 year. Discovered your website recently and really enjoying all the posts.
Thank you!
Happy Blogiversary! You’ve got a good looking site. Good luck with year 2.
Thank you!
Congrats on your 1 year blog anniversary and the success of your blog. Would love read about pinterest. I have been working it without any success. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you! I’m working on a Pinterest Guide right so hopefully it will be out within a week or two!
Congrats on the one-year anniversary, Gretchen. You should do a post on the traffic from Pinterest.
Heres to another year of success!
Best wishes
R2R
Thank you!
HI, Congrats on your 1st year! I’m celebrating mine this week too, what a crazy, fun year it’s been.
Good luck for year 2!
Happy Anniversary Gretchen!
Just found you via Serenity Saturday and love the purpose of your blog.
I’ve also added you on G+.
I invite you to come by and visit me and link up with my NO RULES Weekend Blog Party. I definitely think your blog is one to grab attention!
Congrats again and I’ll definitely be back to visit :)
Congratulations on 1 year. You have accomplished a lot. Gotta go read the $300 grocery budget now.
Congratations on the blogiversary!! Very exciting.
I’d love to see a post about the traffic from pinterest (I’m entirely obsessed!) :)
Looking forward to year 2!
Well I know you’re almost at year 2 as I read this, but Congratulations!!! I came across your blog in researching what I want to include in my own blogversary post. I can see I will be spending some quality time on your site, because I’m so impressed you made money in your first year and I need pinterest help so badly!
Haha, thanks Ashley!