Hoping for a Little Help From My Friends

I just happened to be on the Yakezie forums on Sunday morning and joined a team that is looking to help each other with generating traffic and commenting on one another's blogs.  There are 15 members so it will definitely be noticeable in my statistics since my traffic isn't all that great to begin with.  We just started this yesterday and should the numbers remain consistent through the end of the year, I think this will help me succeed in the Yakezie Challenge of getting the Alexa Rank for Cash Flow Mantra below the 200,000 by the New Year.

I would hate to think that publishing 3 times per week and spending lots of time working on commenting would not produce some results over the next month and a half.  I know the process can be slow at times, but I would like to see some steady growth.  This is why I am optimistic.  I think that I will be able to see progress and am looking forward to it.

I must say that it is encouraging to have a group that is looking out for one another and offering to assist each other.  It certainly is a big motivator to know that someone has your back.  Blogging can be quite the lonely venture with many hours sitting in front of a blank screen.  I was wanting to write a post for CFM tonight but just couldn't come up with any decent ideas.  Wouldn't you know that when I have a little extra time, I have nothing percolating in my head.  I will have some time over the next few days so I will probably be lacking for any good material.  Arrgh!  Isn't that just my luck.

Maybe after a good night's sleep an idea will pop into my head.  I did get one post written today to schedule for this Friday so I am good for the rest of the week.  I am hoping to stay one week ahead so would need to get 3 posts together by the weekend.  Wait, I just had an idea.  I need to wrap this up so I can go write it down.  Will catch you all later.  Wish me luck.

Thanks to My Blogging Friends!

Over the past year, I have spent several posts reviewing statistics and goals.  One of those goals for 2010 was to end up in the top 500,000 websites according to Alexa traffic rank.  Well, I am pleased to report that I am getting very close.  Although I am still over 600,000 for the 3 month rank, for the last few days I have been below 500,000 on the 1 month ranking.

I decided to take a look at the Google Analytic statistics and found that there are several sites that have referred traffic to this blog over the last 30 days.  It made me realize the importance of being connected to the blogging community.  Granted, I don't think this helps directly in terms of income.  But it does provide me with a great measure of satisfaction and comfort knowing that there are those who care enough to take time reading this blog and sharing their comments and experiences.

This has been one of the greatest things for me over the past year, enjoying the acceptance and encouragement from other bloggers, many of whom are online professionals.  Being embraced by the blogging community has meant a lot to me as a part-timer.  I want to take this opportunity to thank those who have allowed me to be part of their community, who have referred traffic, and have commented consistently.

Starting in the order of appearance on Google Analytics:

1. Ruth at webcareergirl.com.  I especially want to thank Ruth for sending an average of 1 visitor each day.  She placed a link to my blog on her very aesthetically pleasing site.  Thank you so much for that!  Ruth is working on the web for a living.  She is kind and professional.  I view her as a web friend and a mentor.
2. Brian at blogengage.com.  Brian runs a wonderful site for fellow bloggers to interact and post their articles.  Blogengage has helped to deliver traffic and followers to this blog and is responsible for a fair amount of referral traffic.  I want to thank Brian for developing and running such a wonderful site.
3. Michelle at passiveincomeonlineblog.com.  I just recently ran across Michelle's blog and was so impressed that I placed it on my blog roll the first day I found it.  Michelle is a single mom working hard to make a living online.  Her tenacity and spirit are admirable.  She also provided me the honor of adding me to her blog roll.  She is a frequent commenter on my blog.  If you ever need to look at anyone for inspiration, Michelle is the one.
4. Felicia at nojobformom.com.  Felicia is in a class all by herself.  She made the transition from working at a traditional job to working on the internet.  She is incredibly professional and it shows on her site and in her writing.  Even though she doesn't have a blog roll, I still get a fair amount of traffic simply from commenting on her blog.  She also comments frequently on mine.  I view Felicia as one of my first web friends who has encouraged me many times along the way this past year.  For that I will be forever grateful.
5. Kelly at kjflemming.com.  Kelly is one of my newest friends in the blogging world.  She is trying the internet marketing thing and trying to get to $15,000 per month with her sites.  I wish her the best of luck and am so thankful and pleased that she decided to add me to her blog roll.  I just happened across her site clicking on a comment one day and saw that I was there.  I was honored to be sure!
6. Deanna at Write Moms.  Deanna is a published author and in a class all by herself.  She has been a long time friend of this blog and has included me in her blog roll.  I have gotten lots of traffic from her site over the past year.  In fact, hers is the leading referral site for 2010.  Deanna has been incredibly encouraging when I have been down and not feeling like writing.  Thank you so much, Deanna!

There are also several friends who have been around for quite awhile, reading and following this blog and commenting from time to time.  I want to acknowledge these individuals as well since I truly appreciate them.

• bestmommy is a writer on many of the same sites on which I have articles.  She is one of my friends on all of them.  She has several blogs as well including momsonlinemoneymakers.com.  She has been a friend for almost my entire first year of writing.
• bristolboy is a great Hubber on HubPages and follows this blog on a regular basis as well as comments frequently.  He is a great source of advice and encouragement.  Thanks, BB!
• David Guion writes the All-Purpose Guru blog.  David is a part-timer like me and has been following me since the early days.  I appreciate his comments and continued support.
• prerna is a frequent commenter I met at Blogengage.  Thank you so much for all your comments.

Finally, I want to make a special mention of Nelle Hoxie at HubPages.  She is a very busy internet marketer who makes quite a bit of money with the Amazon affiliate program.  She is a big source of support and encouragement at HubPages and follows this blog regularly.  Thanks, Nelle!  I am amazed at your ability to produce product pages and make money in that fashion.  I may try to do this someday but not yet.  Amazon just doesn't work for me yet.

If I never make my goal of $3000 per month online in the next 8 years, that will be OK with me.  I know that I will be farther along than I am now thanks to the support and encouragement of all my current and future blogging friends.  And I will surely be richer for the experience as well.  Here is to another year of developing friendships!