The Mindset of a Rookie Blogger

I have to admit I am new to this blogging thing although I did blog a bit on friendster back in 2005; but it was mostly about personal stuff. I deleted most of the posts because it’s too personal and I haven’t written anything since.

I started blogging again last month. But instead of blogging, I spent a lot of time finding out how my blog is doing. I guess most rookies did that when they started out. I will just list all the things I did in the past month that has ‘Rookie Mindset’ written all over it.

1. Checking Stats

I can’t tell you how many times a day I check my stats. See how many people were visiting. Where they are from. What page they looked at. Checking Google Analytics at midnight just to see how my traffic is doing the previous day.

2. Checking Adsense Earning

Granted my earning is still pretty low but that hasn’t stopped me from checking my Adsense earning every chance I get. And this habit is not exclusive only to Adsense. I check all my other publisher accounts on a regular basis. Like a few cents here and there going to make a big of a difference in my life.

3. Google My Site

I didn’t use my personal name on my domain. Come to think about it, I wish I did. But joefiro is a close second since it’s a nickname I’ve used since I started using the internet. Every day I google joefiro and Joey Rosario to see where I am in Google ranking. I don’t know what I accomplish my google-ing my name daily. I am an idiot.

4. Checking Alexa Ranking

Here’s another one. Alexa ranking. What does it achieve really? Bragging? To who? All the established bloggers out there? It’s nice to see my ranking jumped from 8 millions to 1 million in a month but honestly 1 million still doesn’t mean jack. I even took a screen print whenever my Alexa ranking changed. I am delusional. I need a life.

5. Changing Ads Placement

I am sure some of my friends who visited my site are pretty annoyed right now. The layout changes all the time. I move the ads around a lot. From the top of the sidebar to the bottom of the sidebar, from the top of the post to the bottom of the post, from adsense to bidversiter, from kontera to adbrite, from Amazon to tex-link-ads, from 200×200 to 300×250, from right to left and back to right, from text to banner to half banner, from skyscraper to button. I need to stop.

6. Checking Technorati

Well, I didn’t do this a whole lot because my ranking in Technorati just plain sucks. But I still go there from time to time to see what’s going on and to ping my blog when it’s updated.

7. Find Other Ways To Make Money

I read other blogs a lot just to see how everyone is doing. Yes, John Chow did say to be a successful blogger, you need to read other blogs. But he is already successful and me? I am NOT even close. I spent way too much time reading and finding ways to monetize my site. I think my time would be better off spent writing.

8. Using Google Webmaster Tools

Yes, it is a good tools. And yes, everyone should use it. But definitely not a few times a day like me. I am not even established yet. Did I think Google will somehow index my site better if I keep tweaking it?

Enough ranting. This is what I’ll do from now on.

1. I will NOT do the following for the next 3 months. I won’t check my stats, I won’t look at my earnings, I won’t check my rankings, I won’t change my layout (I really don’t like the layout right now), I won’t google myself (sounds dirty, doesn’t it?), I won’t sign up for another publisher or referral programs, I won’t waste my time optimizing my site for rankings.

2. I will just write and network from now on and focusing on why I have this blog in the first place. Sure I will miss some opportunities but in the long run, it will work itself out.

P.S. I am so fed up with myself, I won’t even put any affiliate links on this article. In-text links don’t count since I have no control over that unless I remove it which will violate Pledge #1.