Happy Six Months to Frugal Rules!

Posted on March 11, 2013 by
six month anniversary

Happy Monday everyone! I am going to let you off easy today with a non-finance or frugality-related post. Why, you ask? Today is my six month Blogiversary! It’s hard to believe that Frugal Rules went live six months ago. What I thought was going to be something that would take up just a little of my free time has shown me what happens when you make assumptions about things.

To say that I underestimated the time that would be needed to write, promote and share in blogging would be putting it very lightly. What I have also learned is that it is possible to be part of a community of like-minded individuals who strive to make wise decisions with their finances so they can better themselves for the future, whatever that future is. We all make mistakes, some of us too many (like me), and I find that those mistakes can be great teaching tools to see how we can improve our approach in life. Towards that end, I’d like to share some things I have learned plus some numbers.

What I’ve Learned in Six Months of Blogging:

You do not need to be Bill Gates to run a blog. As long as you have a computer and minimal skills it can be done.

Write what you like and believe in and the rest will come. There is ongoing debate on SEO vs. good content. While SEO has its place, good content is king…in my humble opinion.

Share, share, and then share some more. The first six months need to be filled with networking and meeting other bloggers. Let’s face it, no one is perfect and by sharing others’ thoughts the goodwill returns in spades.

There are a lot of great people out there who run their own blogs and that I have developed some good relationships with even though I have never “met” them.

This is not a get rich quick scheme. If you’re in blogging to make the fast buck, let me tell you, it’s not there. While it is possible to make a little off it, if that’s your desire, don’t expect to become Scrooge McDuck anytime soon.

I’ve also learned that readers LOVE giveaways! In light of that, I am doing a $100 cash giveaway as a thank you to all of my readers. It’s payable in either PayPal cash or Amazon gift card, which ever you prefer. It will run for the next two weeks, ending on March 23rd. Enter by following the Rafflecopter instructions at the bottom of the post.

 

What About the Numbers?

To be honest, when I installed the Alexa bar I was somewhere north of 15,000,000. Today I am fluctuating around the 43-44k mark.

My Page Rank went from 0 to 4.

I went from 733 unique visitors and 2,450 page views during the month of September to 14,856 unique visitors and 28, 080 page views in February.

I have also had the honor to be mentioned by such sites as The Simple Dollar and Kiplinger.

 

Thanks to everyone who’s made the past six months a great ride. I look forward to many, many more months. To that end, if you’d like to see me cover a particular topic, have post suggestions, or if there’s anything you’d like to see me change please let me know in the comments below. Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Photo courtesy of: Crayolamom

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About the author:

I'm the founder of Frugal Rules, a Dad, husband and veteran of the financial services industry. I'm passionate about helping people learn from my mistakes so that they can enjoy the freedom that comes from living frugally. Follow him on Twitter / Facebook.

103 comments on “Happy Six Months to Frugal Rules!”

    • Thanks MMD! Nope, only been blogging for six months. I had several months before that where I was working on theme and getting the site built, but only live for 6 months.

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    • Thanks Thad! I can relate to being busy…we’ve been running around like our hair is on fire busy the last few months. But, with running our own business that is very good problem to have. :)

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    • Thanks sir! I agree that content is king, though there is a balance between that and SEO in my opinion. I’ll always go for the content, but some SEO can only help out.

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    • Thanks Joe! Thank you for the kind words as well. Having the kids do commenting…why didn’t I think of that earlier?! I’ll have them get right on that after they finish Tweeting everything. ;)

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    • Thanks Grayson! I am glad to have been able to connect with you as well. I don’t know that I comment on every article on the web, but if I follow Joe’s suggestion of having the kids help out, then you never know. ;)

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    • Lol! Yes, I do sleep…although not enough these days. :) To be fair, last month was a little skewed due to some search traffic, though I am still happy with the numbers.

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  20. I thought you’ve been around for much longer! Wow your blog is doing so great with the numbers, but I totally agree I’d rather have better content and not worry about all the SEO stuff. If I don’t make money from the blog, so be it…it’s not why I started it in the first place. It’s just the icing on the cake. Good luck to you for the next six months. I’m almost to a year!!
    Budget & the Beach recently posted..Fear of Not Having Enough MoneyMy Profile

    Reply ↓

    • Nope, just the six months. I agree, when it comes down to it, content is essential Without it, people will not return. I agree that money is icing, though it’s still pretty nice. :)

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  23. Congrats on all the success John. I think you nailed it when you said it’s not all about SEO. I think SEO can help you rank better and even drive more traffic to your site but going to the point to manipulate the search engines is a bit over the top. Just as you’ve said and countless other PF bloggers have pointed out, it’s all about the relationships that you have because they will stand the test of time.

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    • Thanks Chris! I agree, the traffic is nice to get, but at the end of the day it comes down to the content. You’re right on, it is about the relationships…otherwise I’d be talking to myself…how boring. :)

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  29. Congratulations, John!! Your blog is doing so well and it’s just getting started! Your content may bring people to the blog, but I believe our graciousness as the host of FrugalRules and support of the PF community, is what brings people back again and again. I agree that quality content trumps SEO (in part because I’m still such a SEO novice!) but I can tell when an article seems more about keywords than content. Here’s to many more years!
    Shannon Ryan @ The Heavy Purse recently posted..Money Conversations: Shopping with TaylorMy Profile

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks so much for the kind words Shannon! My desire is to be supportive and point others to well written and thoughtful content. I hardly know everything, thus my desire to do so. I agree that quality content does trump SEO. I am still learning SEO myself, and it does have its place, but should not be the focus. Posts that are so heavily SEO driven can just be too clunky to read in the long run I think.

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    • Thanks so much for the kind words Laurie! That was the main goal behind starting Frugal Rules was to be able to help others make wise decisions with their finances.

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  33. Great job, I love your blog. I am very impressed with how quickly you have grown. I just finished my first month and I had nowhere near the 733 unique visitors and 2,450 page views that you had; like not even in the same universe let alone ballpark. :) Thanks for being inspiring and keep up the good work!
    Nick @ ayoungpro.com recently posted..Blog Roundup #4My Profile

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  39. Congrats on the milestone John. With the business, writing killer posts and guest posts, and all of the commenting you do I don’t know how you find the time. it’s like you a have a secret team of ninjas helping you out. Seriously though, great job.

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    • Thanks for the kind words CR! I don’t know that I am looking for a mentee, but if you have any questions shoot them my way and I’d be more than happy to help out.

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