Today marks the official one-year anniversary since the inception of this blog. To say that I am surprised is an understatement as 95% of blogs are abandoned according to Technorati, a search engine for blogs. Which as of writing this has also abandoned.
So, to make it past the year mark with a blog that is more of a passion project than a revenue producer is a success in my mind. And as I have learned, as long as I am happy with the blogs growth, nothing else really matters at this time.
Blog Growth
I truly did not see this blog developing in the way that it has, and I am very happy with my growth towards my financial goals which I plan to report on in the new year. I also was very happy with my growth as a writer.
To commemorate my year mark, I read my first few blog posts again and yikes… I was a horrible writer. Not to claim I am a profound writer now but the development over the last year has been large to say the least. With plenty more to go in the future.
Some people do go back and edit their initial blog posts for this very reason, but I enjoy what they represent in terms of my growth. So, I plan to keep them in their raw form for all the world to see and to help me to continue to document my growth through the years.
However, I do plan to update any traveling healthcare information as this can change from time to time and I want to make sure this is up to date for all my fellow travelers or potential travelers.
Blog Growth by the Numbers
As I plan to continue to grow this blog, I know it’s important to begin documenting the success or lack-there-of success of the blog.
As I have no metric to determine the success of outreach on my blog, I plan to only use my own blog as a litmus test for itself. Meaning I am going to use this year’s numbers to create goals for next year’s numbers which I will break down further in my 2020 goals post. So, let’s check out the stats:
- Page Views: 4,554
- Visitors: 1,879
- Subscribers: 19
- Published Posts: 54
- Blog Revenue (pre-tax): $2,000
As mentioned, the blog primarily was started as a passion project for myself, so to make money and have any views in the first year without ads or marketing was definitely a pleasant surprise.
I realize that I likely spend around 6-8 hours per week on the different aspects of the blog. Some weeks spending significantly more time and others significantly less. So on the high end, it equates to around 432 hours this year, making my hourly rate around $4.62/hr (pre-tax).
It looks very sad when written out like this, but I am extremely proud of the progress and it creates a nice starting metric to compare to in the future.
Personal Growth
At the time of starting this blog, I knew I wanted to share my own personal stories with money and as a traveler to help better connect to my readers rather than strictly writing about the objective ways to reach financial independence or enter the traveling healthcare field (which I also do love to nerd out over).
However, the math and the objective information is something you can find and read in many places online. I obviously have my own opinions on the best strategies which I highlight in this blog, but the information is out there if you know how to find it.
What I am hoping though, is that through my blog, I am able to put all of this information together in one easy to find place, helping to bridge the life of a traveling healthcare professional with that of someone seeking financial independence. As they can go hand in hand very nicely when applied appropriately.
I also hope that through these personal stories, I can continue to make the often-confusing topic of finances that much more relatable and digestible. While also showing my mistakes and growth along the way so that others can hope to avoid it or better navigate it as I too initially had a very unhealthy relationship with money and start to my FI journey.
An Unexpected Outcome
An unexpected result of documenting this year long journey has been the positive effects I have noticed on my own personal growth as a friend, family member, and significant other. This was not something that I expected to be an outcome, but it has been pointed out to me numerous times by many of my family and friends.
The writing I have done on this blog has helped me to better open up about my own relationship with money and how my financial views were negatively affecting my relationships. I now feel more in touch with myself and have found a continued motivation to use my story to help others who are possibly dealing with the same thing.
Finances are a very tough subject to talk about with others but even more so to talk about with yourself. The anxiety, depression, and stress money can cause is very real so it’s important to find a safe place to discuss it, especially with how taboo of a subject it is in social settings.
So, my email is always available to anyone who may be dealing with this as I’ve found that talking or journaling about it to be a very healthy practice in my own life.
I didn’t anticipate the direction of the blog to head this way after a year, but I plan to continue to provide the information that has best helped my social, physical, and fiscal well-being, even when it is difficult to post publicly.
Here’s to another year of SUCCESS!
As always, feel free to comment below or reach out with any personal questions or concerns here!
