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How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies in 10 Minutes

How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies in 10 minutes (Beginner Friendly Crochet Pattern)

Reusable face scrubbies are a big trend these days. It makes sense to ditch disposable face wipes and cotton rounds that plug up our landfills and switch to the more economical eco-friendly makeup remover. Just look on Etsy, and you’ll see tons of options for homemade scrubbies. They’re much cheaper, last longer, and are easy to maintain with laundry or handwash. 

Over the past couple of years, I started to ditch commercial one-use products for more economical reusable ones. They’re better for the environment and your body. Recently, my obsession is face scrubbies. I love these things and have made loads of them. They exfoliate my skin so well and leaves it super soft. I noticed with patterns I came across that the scrubby tends to get too “holey” when it’s dampened in water. This makes it a little hard to wash your face when the stitches don’t hold up against face wash and water. Due to this, I experimented with making a pattern with two yarn strands and was pleasantly surprised by how sturdy and still soft they were!

If you’re like me and love DIY projects, you’ll enjoy these crochet face scrubbies. They work up very fast. I can have one done in less than 10 minutes. And, they’re super cheap, costing around 50 cents for one. These scrubbies are also sturdier due to the two yarn design, plus it gives the scrubbies a cool two-tone look! This crochet pattern is beginner-friendly. The only stitch you’ll need to know is half double-crochet.

If you’re super brand new to crocheting, I would recommend a crochet kit. The one I have comes with a good range of hook sizes, stitch markers, and weaving needles. And, it comes in a handy bag so you won’t lose anything!

You are welcome to sell any creations you make using this project. I would appreciate credit if you do so. Since these work up fast, they’d be great for craft fairs, bath spa gifts, and to sell online. You are not allowed to sell this crochet pattern as your own. 

Let’s get started!

Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies Pattern

Materials: 

  • 2 skeins medium weight (4) 100% cotton yarn (I used I Love This Cotton yarn in White and Rosey)*
  • I-9 hook
  • Stitch marker
  • Needle to weave ends

*Feel free to experiment with different colors. You can also make the pattern in one color; just use 2 skeins of the same color. 

Size: 

The approximate finished diameter will be 3 inches. 

Stitches: 

  • Half Double Crochet (HDC): Yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, and pull through loop. Yarn over and pull through all loops. 
  • Slip Stich (sl st): Insert hook into next stitch, yarn over, and pull through a loop. 

Notes: 

  • Chain 1 at the start of rows does not count as a stitch. 
  • Always slip stitch into the first stitch of the row, not chain 1. 
  • Working with two strands of yarn can be a little difficult if it is your first time doing so. Make sure to keep your tension loose so you can easily insert hook into stitches. Keep skeins separate to keep yarn from getting tangled as you work. Always make sure you have both colors on your hook. 

Directions: 

Foundation Row: Chain 3 and sl st into chain one. This will create a circle. 

Row 1: Chain 1 (does not count as stitch).  9 HDC into the circle. Sl st. (9 stitches)

Row 2: Chain 1. **2 HDC in same stitch**. Repeat from * to * in the next 8 stitches. Sl st. (18 stitches)

Row 3: Chain 1. **1 HDC in the same stitch. 2 HDC in next stitch**. Repeat from ** to ** 5 more times. Sl st (27 stitches)

Finish off and weave in ends. 

And that’s all there is to it! If you make this pattern, be sure to comment below and tag @Paintingsbybindi in photos! I would love to see what you create. 

– ByBindi

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New Blog Analytics: 3 Month Review (Mar-April 2021)

new blog traffic analytics, computer with statistics

We are now into month 3 of this blog! I’m proud of my consistency and growing this site. As someone who usually starts a project hot and then gives up, sticking with this blog is all the more rewarding.  With 90 days behind me, I wanted to take the time to write up some new blog analytics

Before I delve into my month 3 stats, I just wanted to give a little background this past month. I spent 2.5 weeks on the east coast to prep for my upcoming wedding. With the traveling and preparations, I didn’t have as much time to write this month.

It is something I am disappointed in. But that is life. I have to give myself some slack. Wedding planning is tough work, and I am happy with how that’s coming together. 

There will be consistency sometimes, and sometimes you’ll fail. How you keep going will separate you from those who quit. I have every intention of catching back up in month 4 with this blog!

New Blog Analytics: Month 3

 If you are new here, I started this blog in January 2021 with my first blog post on Jan 9 (How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies in 10 minutes).


Crochet Face Scrubbies

I created this blog to comprise everything mind, body, and soul. This is a place for creative tutorials, positive guidance for self-improvement, and healthy DIY recipes. I found myself creating separate Instagram accounts and Etsy stores for things I enjoyed, and I wanted to funnel it all into one place. Hence By Bindi was born!

After the first-month learning curve, I have done things to help build this blog and key learnings I came across to improve my goals. You can take a peek at my 1 month blog review here

Let’s take a look at my new blog analytics for month 3. 

Things I Have Learned in 3 Months of Blogging

Blog Research

As I navigate this new blogging world, I am continuing to research how to blog successfully. This means something different for everyone.

For me, making this blog, success looks like seeing good and engaged traffic and being able to share what I love to a community of like-minded people. 

How to implement SEO to blog posts has been a huge focus area for me. I want to learn all I can about SEO as everything I read says that investing time up front will pay off down the road. It is definitely a slow burn, but I’m hopeful all the effort will pay off by 6 months. 

Another big area I focused on was Keyword Research. Previously, I was writing about things I enjoyed and had only done the minimal keyword research. I realized that longtail keywords really are the jackpot. 

blog research with laptop and coffee

Here are some great articles and websites that I found useful this month. 

Keyword Reserach Guide

I found this beginner’s guide to keyword research by ahrefs.com pretty helpful this month. I do use their research tool, though I have not paid for the premium. It does help to see what users are searching for and what keywords are difficult to rank for. While I believe you should write things you want to write, if you are trying to rank, you have to be strategic about it.  

How to Create a Round-Up Blog Post

I love round-up posts and wanted to write one for a while. Creating a round-up post is on my to-do list for month 4. Round-up posts can increase traffic when done well and also are a great way to promote yourself without being spammy. I’m going to try my hand at it and see how it goes!

Website Updates: 

One major change I made this month is implementing the Easy Table of Contents plugin. This plugin is super easy to use and has helped me tailor my posts in a more digestible way. I’m always looking to improve my writing, and have a table of contents was a great addition. 

Month 3 Review

Let’s break down the new blog analytics. Last month I made a goal to aim for 11 blog posts a month. I was on track the first half of the month. However, I got too busy with wedding planning in the last two weeks of the month. I traveled to the east coast, and while I accomplished a lot for the upcoming wedding (got all my outfits, yay!), I didn’t have as much time to write. 

I wrote 7 blog posts my first month and 11 in my second month. 

In my third month, I wrote. 6 blog posts. I am disappointed with my number. But, next month, I’m aiming for 11 again. 

While I did not meet my goal, I did try to continue to hit higher word count posts and have been doing well. I still need to write a post that is 3k words. This is more of a long-term goal at the moment. Hoping to hit this in the next couple of months. 

These 6 blog posts break down as follows: 

March 11, 2021: New Blog Traffic Analysis: 2 Month Review

March 15, 2021: Striped Crochet Wash Cloth Pattern

March 19, 2021: Powerful Daily Affirmations for Self Love

March 24, 2021: DIY Lavender Vanilla Lip Balm Sticks (Non-Toxic Recipe)

March 31, 2021: Bertello Pizza Oven Review (With Recipes and Photos)

April 11, 2021: Easy Textured Crochet Dish Scrubbies Pattern (Reusable)

Despite my uneven publishing schedule, I did get a post out at least once a week. This is the bare minimum I want for my blog. I am definitely hitting that point where I tend to quit due to other priorities. But, I want to keep pushing through, so I need to keep myself on track. 

Month 3 New Blog Traffic Analysis

My blog traffic is growing consistently, and that does motivate me to keep going. As long as my traffic grows, I know I’m doing something right!

increasing blog traffic

This was the first month I decided to share an article on my personal Facebook page. I usually only use Instagram and Pinterest to promote the blog under a specific business account. I feel weird spamming my friends on my personal pages. However, the post I did share (The Pizza Oven Review) was a huge hit! It was really well received and shared. This brought a lot of traffic to my blog. 

I even got a writing gig out of it. Win!

So what did my 3-month blog traffic look like? 

Here is the overview of blog traffic from Jan 9 – Feb 9 (Month 1)

  • 28 first time visitors
  • 270 monthly page views
  • 130 user engagement events

Here are my Month 2 Stats (Feb 9 – March 9)

  • 83 first time visitors – 196% increase 
  • 1.2k monthly page views – 344% increase 
  • 617 user engagement events – 374% increase

Here are my Month 2 Stats (Mar 9 – April 9)

  • 231 first time visitors – 56% increase 
  • 3.4k monthly page views – 54% increase 
  • 1.9k user engagement events – 48% increase

Month 3 didn’t have the dramatic increase between months 1-2, but that’s okay! I am still on an upward trajectory, and I’m happy with that. Last month I mentioned my goal was to hit 3,000 page views a month or 100 page views a day. I thought it would take me 5-6 months to hit that number, but I accomplished it in 3 months. 

I am happy with how that turned out. 

Page Views and Blog Post Word Counts

I’m always interested in seeing how word counts correlate to page views. Last month I mentioned that longer blog posts rank higher on Google as you are covering more information. I love data, so I’ve been tracking my word counts monthly, and it’s a good one to track for new blog analytics. 

This month I managed to write one article over 2k, which I’m really proud of. This article was a super fun one to write. 

blog page views

Here are the word counts for my 6 blog posts for March 2021: 

New Blog Traffic Analysis: 2 Month Review(1,765 words)

Striped Crochet Washcloth Pattern (461 words)

Powerful Daily Affirmations for Self Love (1,058 words)

DIY Lavender Vanilla Sticks (non-toxic recipe) (1,298 words)

Bertello Pizza Oven Review (with recipes and photos) (2,116 words)

Easy Textured Crochet Dish Scrubbies Pattern (Reusable) (769 words)

Blog Posts under 1Kwords: 2/6 (33%) | Blog Posts Over 1k words: 4/6 (66%) | Blog Posts Over 2k words: 1/6 (16%)

My most viewed article in month 2 was Daily Affirmations for Self Love with 288 monthly views. Previously my most viewed post was Want Long, Thick and Luxurious Hair? Try these Natural Indian Hair Masks! with 91 monthly views. 

It will still some time to see how on-page SEO and long-word posts help drive traffic. I should have more data on this after six months of consistent blogging. 

Blog Revenue and Monthly Cost Breakdown

blog cost and revenue breakdown

Cost and revenue are a big part of new blog analytics. In month 1-2 of my blog, I made $0 in revenue. In month 3, I am starting to make money, but it is pennies.  Since this blog is still new, I don’t expect to monetize until 3-6 months. Probably closer to 6 months. 

In month 3, I joined two ad networks: 

Skimlinks:

Skimlinks is an affiliate marketing network that adds code to your site to turn links you write into affiliate links. It’s a good way for beginners to start making money as you don’t have to apply to individual affiliate networks. However, you do need to have some traffic as you make money with clicks. 

I did not make any money using Skimlinks this month. 

Infolinks:

Infolinks is an ad platform that is easy to access for beginner bloggers. I was able to get accepted within a day of applying on their site. 

With Infolinks, I made a whopping $0.86. It’s not much, but it’s a start! I’m curious how the next month will look. 

Here are my monthly costs to run the blog: 

Total cost for Month 3: $37.98

Overall Total cost for 3 months: $119.96 

Revenue Month 3: $0.86

Profit/Loss: $119.10

I want to keep track of how much I spend each month, so once I can monetize, I have a better picture of where I stand. 

Blog Marketing Breakdown

My goal for this blog is to use synergistic platforms to promote my posts. Right now, my two big marketing platforms are Pinterest and Youtube. 

This month I made one Youtube video to go with my post: 

What’s next for this blog?

Based on my new blog analytics, I have learned some things that I want to implement for month 4. 

Month 4 Goals: 

  • Post 3-4 times a week (Try adding Sunday to the mix)
  • Have a minimum of 11 posts for the month
  • Stay consistent with marketing on Pinterest, Twitter, and Youtube. 
  • Write a 3k word blog post (this may be a reach, but I want to continue to push myself)

I’m excited to see what month 4 has in store for me! Have any tips or guidance for a new blogger? Comment below!

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Striped Crochet Washcloth Pattern (Beginner Friendly)

I absolutely love crocheting bath and spa items. And, adding fun colors to these projects is such a joy! This striped crochet washcloth pattern features a modern minimalist look. They are easy to make and great for beginners and advanced crocheters. 

This crochet pattern comes together very fast. You can whip these babies up in a couple of hours, making these washcloths great for gifting or selling online. This washcloth is perfect for self-care time as it’s super soft. Made from 100% cotton, it is great for sensitive skin. 

I wanted to create a washcloth that had an elegant look without being too much work. I love when projects come together fast and I can get it done while binging my Netflix shows. (Made this one while catching up on Manifest!)

This striped crochet washcloth features 3 colors and 2 stitches: single crochet (sc) and half double crochet (hdc). Stitches crocheted in the back loops create the lovely texture in this washcloth. 

You are welcome to sell any items you make from this pattern and I always appreciate pattern credit.  You are not allowed to sell this pattern as your own. 

Let’s get started!

This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. Thanks!

Striped Crochet Washcloth Pattern

Striped crochet washcloth pattern

Supplies List: 

100% Cotton Yarn (I used white, mint, and dove)

I9 crochet hook

Stitch Markers

Scissors

Needles to weave in ends

Stitches: 

Single crochet (sc): Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, and pull through stitch (2 loops on hook). Yarn over and pull through both loops. 

Half double crochet (hdc): Yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull through 1 loop (3 loops on hook). Yarn over and pull through all loops. 

Pattern Notes: 

  • chain 1 at the beginning of each row does not count as a stitch. Start in the first stitch. 
  • Weave in ends as you change colors. This will make it easy for you so you don’t have to weave everything all at once when you finish. 

Directions: 

Foundation: Chain 34 (Dove yarn)

Crochet foundation chain

Row 1: Hdc in 2nd from hook. Hdc in remaining stitches. Chain 1 and turn. (33 stitches)

How to make crochet washcloth

Row 2: Sc in the back loop of the first stitch. Sc in the back loop until 2nd to the last stitch. Sc in both loops in the last stitch.

Single crochet back loop

Row 3-4: Repeat row 1 and 2

Change Color – Mint

Crochet washcloth Color change

Row 5-8: Repeat row 1-4

Change Color – White

Row 9-12: Repeat row 1-4

Row 13-24: Repeat rows 1-12

Fasten off and weave in ends. 

Striped crochet washcloth

Did you make this pattern? Comment below! Tag @by.bindi on IG. I’d love to see your creations. 

Want more free crochet patterns? Try these crochet face scrubbies or single crochet washcloth

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New Blog Traffic Analysis: 2 Month Review (Feb-Mar 2021)

We are now into month 2 of this blog! I’m proud of my consistency and growing this site. With 60 days behind me, I wanted to take the time to write up some new blog traffic analysis

Creating this blog has been a long dream in the making. I just tend to get excited at the beginning of new goals and then it fizzes away. So many ideas sit untouched or discarded. This blog is different. So far I’ve made it to 2 months! This is the most consistent I’ve been with any of the blogs I’ve created in the past. I’m really enjoying this process.

New Blog Traffic Analysis: Month 2

I started this blog in January 2021 with my first blog post on Jan 9 (How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies in 10 minutes).


I created this blog to comprise everything mind, body, and soul. This is a place for creative tutorials, positive guidance for self-improvement, and healthy DIY recipes. 

After the first-month learning curve, there are things I have done to help build this blog and key learnings I came across to improve my goals. You can take a peek at my 1 month blog review here

Let’s take a look at my month two analytics. 

Things I Have Learned in 2 Months of Blogging

Blog Research

It’s important to stay updated on blog research. I continued to read more about improving on-page SEO and how to create a better user experience. 

blog research with laptop and coffee

Here are some great articles and websites that I found useful this month. 

Answer the Public

I stumbled upon this site recently. This site aggregates what people search for online to help you find keywords for your articles. For example, let’s say my keyword is crochet pattern. I type it into their search box and it gives me different questions such as “How to read a crochet pattern.” I can then use this specific topic for my next blog article as I know people want answers to these questions. This site is super helpful, though you do need to sign up for their premium package if you want more than 3 searches a day. I have not done this yet, but might in the future. 

How to Add Table of Contents to WordPress

As I focus on quality blog posts that are more in depth, adding a table of contents to help users navigate the page has been on my to do list. This article from Hubspot details how to add a table of contents to your WordPress either manually or through plugins. I have not used any plugins on the list, but I will try Easy Table of Contents plugin and see how that works. 

The Definitive Guide to On-Page SEO

This on page SEO guide from Backlinko has 7 chapters that walk you through optimization processes and tips. 

Website Updates: 

In creating a better user experience, I aimed to make sure my site looked clean and was organized properly. I also added social media buttons through Sassy Social Share Word Press plugin to further my blog post marketing. Now it’s super easy for my readers to share my content!

I also added Yoast SEO plugin to improve my keyword optimization. I’m still learning about the best practices, but I do like working at it until the SEO icon turns green! It feels like quite an accomplishment. 

I am considering updating my blog theme to something else next month. I am a little vary of overhauling the blog as I’m worried about errors, but this would be a good time to do it. My blog is still new. 

Month 2 Review

I wrote 7 blog posts my first month. 

In month 2, my goals were to write more posts (at least 11) and to write longer-worded blog posts. I wrote 11 blog posts this month –  I hit my goal! I also kept a consistent publishing goal of one blog post per theme (mind, body, soul) a week so that I would have at least 3 posts within my niche every week. 

These 11 blog posts break down as follows: 

February 15, 2021: Beginner’s Guide to Crocheting: How to Make a Slipknot

February 16, 2021: Easy Beginner’s Crochet Washcloth Pattern

February 18, 2021: 17  Inspirational Self-Love Quotes for Mental Clarity

February 20, 2021: How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off

February 23, 2021: New Blog Traffic Analysis: 1 Month Review

February 24, 2021: How to Make Personalized Vinyl Decals With Cricut

February 25, 2021: Dealing with Long Term Grief

March 2, 2021: Want Long, Thick and Luxurious Hair? Try these Indian recipes

March 4, 2021: How to Single Crochet for Beginners

March 5, 2021: Micro-Goals are the Key to Success

March 9, 2021: Best Natural Acne Remedies that Actually Work

Aside from the 10 days that I took off at the beginning of February for my wedding, I wrote 3-4 posts a week. I took off on the weekends. 

I’ve always had a hard time staying consistent with my goals and I know the #1 reason why new blogs fail is giving up. I want to keep a consistent schedule without being overwhelmed. 

Month 2 New Blog Traffic Analysis

This month, I saw a rise in traffic from my last month’s numbers. This is mainly due to some marketing tactics I undertook.  

blog traffic analysis

The number one reason for the improved traffic is social media and blog engagement groups. I joined a small group on Facebook that helps provide views, comments, and marketing strategies. Because the group is on the smaller side, it is genuine and like-minded individuals. 

If you’re just starting a blog, I suggest looking into these Facebook groups for blog engagement. You will start to receive global views in a short amount of time. It’s a great way to jumpstart traffic to your blog. 

Here is the overview from Jan 9 – Feb 9 (Month 1)

  • 28 first time visitors
  • 270 monthly page views
  • 130 user engagement events

Here are my Month 2 Stats (Feb 9 – March 9)

  • 83 first time visitors – 196% increase 
  • 1.2k monthly page views – 344% increase 
  • 617 user engagement events – 374% increase

It’s exciting to see this upward increase! Baby steps will lead to great things. 

I am trying to get up to a goal of 100 page views per day, or approximately 3,000 page views a month. In my second month of blogging, I’m at 1/3 of my goal. I may be able to reach this milestone hopefully in month 5 or 6.

Page Views and Blog Post Word Counts

Last month, I discussed how  I came across a lot of advice suggesting to write 1,500 to 2,000 words for blog posts. And Neil Patel suggests 2,500 to 3,000 words ! Longer blog posts have a better chance of appearing higher in Google searches because the posts are better optimized and give the user all they need in one place. 

This also increases the time spent on your site!

blog page views

Knowing this information, I went into month two with the mindset of aiming for at least 1k words and 1 post that is over 2k. While not every post met these requirements, I did a pretty good job overall.

Here are the word counts for my 11 blog posts for February 2021: 

Beginner’s Guide to Crocheting: How to Make a Slipknot  (428 words)

Easy Beginner’s Crochet Washcloth Pattern (650 words)

17  Inspirational Self-Love Quotes for Mental Clarity (1,339 words)

How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off (2,484 words)

New Blog Traffic Analysis: 1 Month Review (1,254 words)

How to Make Personalized Vinyl Decals With Cricut (1,114 words)

Dealing with Long Term Grief (1,316 words)

Want Long, Thick and Luxurious Hair? Try these Indian recipes (1,239 words)

How to Single Crochet for Beginners (452 words)

Micro-Goals are the Key to Success (1,044 words)

Best Natural Acne Remedies that Actually Work (1,598 words)

 

Blog Posts under 1Kwords: 3/11 (27%) | Blog Posts Over 1k words: 7/11 (64%) | Blog Posts Over 2k words: 1/11 (9%)

My most viewed article in month 2 was Want Long, Thick and Luxurious Hair? Try These Indian recipes with 91 monthly views. Previously my most viewed post was 5 DIY Lip Scrubs with Essential Oils with 36 monthly views. 

It will still some time to see how on-page SEO and long-word posts help drive traffic. I believe I should have more data on this after six months of consistent blogging. 

Blog Revenue and Monthly Cost Breakdown

new blog traffic analysis

In month 1 of my blog, I made $0 in revenue. Month 2, I still have not made any revenue. Since this blog is still new, I don’t expect to be able to monetize until 3-6 months. Probably closer to 6 months. 

Here are my monthly costs to run the blog: 

Total for Month 2: $37.98

Overall Total for 2 months: $81.98

I want to keep track of how much I spend each month so once I am able to monetize I have a better picture of where I stand. 

Blog Marketing Breakdown

As I got more comfortable with my blog, I branched out and looked at different ways to market this blog. 

Here are some things I added to my marketing plan: 

  • By Bindi Youtube channel (post videos directly related to blog posts at least once a week)
  • Started using Twitter to promote the blog within writing communities. 
  • Joined a blog engagement group on Facebook. 

My goal for Youtube is to post 1-2 videos a week that directly correlate to my blog posts. Then I can cross-promote these videos within blog posts as well as Pinterest. Plus videos are great additions to my creative tutorials. 

Here are the videos I created in month 2 along with stats. Nothing to rave home about yet. It’ll be interesting to see when/if traffic goes up with this channel. 

31 views

9 views

13 views

20 views

33 views

What’s next for this blog?

Based on month 2 new blog traffic analysis, I have learned some things that I want to implement for month 3. 

Month 3 Goals: 

  • Continue to post 3-4 times a week (Try adding Sunday to the mix)
  • Have minimum 11 posts for the month
  • Stay consistent with marketing on Pinterest, Twitter and Youtube. 
  • Write a 3k word blog post (this may be a reach, but I want to continue to push myself)

I’m excited to see what month 3 has in store for me! Have any tips or guidance for a new blogger? Comment below!

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New Blog Traffic Analysis: 1 Month Review (Jan 2021- Feb 2021)

new blog traffic analysis

It’s been a month since I started this blog. I’d wanted to create a blog for years but was never consistent with it. I had so many ideas, but no follow-through. Flash forward to 2021: now I’m 1 month into this blog. With 30 days behind me, I wanted to take the time to write up some new blog traffic analysis

Why I started this Blog

As cliche as it is, in the new year I wanted to give something a shot. So, I looked to blogging. This time I went in more equipped with a theme for the blog as well as research on how to succeed. My goal for this blog is to provide free resources for people to help them in their everyday life and to monetize it so that I can have more passive income. 

new blog traffic analysis

After working in a corporate job for 6 years, I realized that I don’t want to be chained to a desk. I’m too creative to live the same day twice. I want the flexibility to live life on my terms. Also thinking about the future, my husband and I want to start a family. It would be great to build an income online where I can work from home. I also want to supplement my Etsy store. 

So, I set about on a journey to see if I can make some money blogging and how long it would take. 

I want to document my blogging journey for myself as well as others to show realistic new blog traffic analytics. 

New Blog Traffic Analysis: Month 1

I started this blog in January 2021 with my first blog post on Jan 9 (How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies in 10 minutes).

As someone who loves arts and crafts and living a healthy, non-toxic lifestyle I decided to focus my blog around the theme of mind, body, and soul. I want to provide creative tutorials, positive guidance for self-improvement, and healthy DIY recipes. 

Everything I read said to narrow down a niche. But, I just can’t limit myself to one thing. Thinking long term, I am genuinely interested in bettering myself on all three fronts so I’m going to make that my theme and write around that. 

This may turn out to be too big of a playing field, but time will tell. 

How to Start a Blog Research

I was/am relatively new to the blogging game so I decided to read as much as I can. I devoured articles on the following topics: 

I dove right in and set up an Amazon Affiliate account, even though I had zero page views. I also submitted for Google AdSense but was rejected. After more research, it looks like Google Adsense prefers websites that are over 3 months old and have proven traffic. 

Looks like I jumped the gun there. For any new bloggers out there, I suggest doing research on Google Adsense eligibility before submitting. There are a lot of good resources out there, such as this one.

new blog traffic analysis

I quickly learned that blogging is a long-term project. To see traffic and ad revenue, you need at least 50-70 posts. So, I set about writing daily. 

Month 1 Review: 

I wrote 7 blog posts my first month. I didn’t hit my goal of writing a post every day, but I also got married, so I’m giving myself some slack there! 

These 7 posts break down as follows: 

January 9 2021: How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies

January 15, 2021: Using Non-Toxic Remedies for Cold Sores

January 25, 2021: Top 10 Self-Care Ideas for a Happier Life

January 26, 2021: How to Make Confetti Hearts with Cricut

January 28, 2021: Cook and Workout: 5 Minute Veggie Quesadilla Workout (With Recipe)

January 31, 2021: 50 Journal Prompts for Success

February 4, 2021: 5 DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipes with Essential Oils

There was one week where I wrote 4 blog posts. That momentum felt great, but it was hard to keep it going when I spent 2 weeks of the month traveling for my wedding. I found that writing every day is a tough goal and I want to now aim for 3-4 posts a week. 

The hard part about blogging is staying consistent and the #1 reason why new blogs fail is giving up. I want to make sure I maintain consistency without burning out. 

new blog traffic analysis

Month 1 New Blog Traffic Analysis

Now for the nitty-gritty numbers. They are pretty dismal as I am just gearing up. I’m only using Pinterest to market my posts. I may add a Twitter to supplement the marketing down the road. 

Here is the overview from Jan 9 – Feb 9. 

New blog traffic analysis

As you can see, the spikes correlate to consistent blogging. The week where I posted 4 blog posts was my most viewed week. This is good to know for the future. 

Here is a summary of page views by the article: 

New blog traffic analysis

Here is a summary of page views for the month: 

New blog traffic analysis

A total of 28 users visited my blog with 270 monthly views. This roughly breaks down to 9 visits per day. I have a long way to go to reach my goal of 100 views per day. 

Page Views and Blog Post Word Counts

In my blog research, I came across a lot of advice suggesting to write 1,500 to 2,000 words for blog posts. Longer blog posts have a better chance of appearing higher in Google searches because the posts are better optimized. I did aim for higher word counts, but I was not able to hit a 2k word post this month. 

Here are the word counts for my 7 blog posts for January 2021: 

How to Make Reusable Crochet Face Scrubbies(643 words)

Using Non-Toxic Remedies for Cold Sores (420 words)

Top 10 Self-Care Ideas for a Happier Life  (1126 words)

How to Make Confetti Hearts with Cricut (486 words)

Cook and Workout: 5 Minute Veggie Quesadilla Workout (With Recipe) (1032 words)

50 Journal Prompts for Success (541 words)

5 DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipes with Essential Oils (1385 words)

I had 3 articles over 1k words and 4 that were under. My highest views article was 5 DIY Natural Lip Scrub Recipes with Essential Oils at 36 page views. This was also the article with the most words.

Looks like high wordcount blog posts do result in more page views. 

Blog Revenue and Monthly Cost Breakdown: 

new blog traffic analysis

In month 1 of my blog, I made $0 in revenue. This is okay as I wasn’t expecting to make anything the first month since I need to build the foundation. Right now I’m aiming for some revenue within 3-6 months. As long as I hit the target, I’ll be on track!

Here are my costs to run the blog: 

Total: $44.94

What’s next for this blog?

Based on month 1 new blog traffic analysis, I have learned some things that I want to implement for month 2. 

Month 2 Goals: 

  • Post 3-4 times a week
  • Have minimum 11 posts for the month
  • Stay consistent with marketing on Pinterest
  • Write at least one 2k word blog post

I’m excited to see what month 2 has in store for me! Have any tips or guidance for a new blogger? Comment below!