Blogging Update

While thinking about what to write this week I realised that it is 6 months since I made my first foray into the new world of Blogging. What good time to say "thank you" to everyone who has helped me in this new adventure and let you know what I've achieved.

And what exactly is that?

• I have managed to write 18 posts in the last 6 months. This is less than my intended 1 post a week, but still pretty good going I think.
• I have on average 13 people who follow this post either via a Reader or email subscription. The majority of the people are my friends and family and I thank them for their continued support. 27 May was an amazing day for me - I got my first subscriber who wasn't friend or family. It's not that I don't appreciate the support of my friends and family - I do, but this was the start of conquering the rest of the world.
  
• I have about 10 visitors a day to my site. This spiked to an incredible 69 visits last week when one of my posts "Zanzibar - The Spice Island" was stumbled in StumbleUpon (thank you PlanetD). It hasn't been sustained, and I know I need to start making more effective use of these tools in order to expand my reach.
• I have been included in a number of Blog Carnivals, most recently in Sharing Experience's July Inspiring Travel Carnival which has helped to spread the word.
• My visitors have come from 41 different countries on all 6 continents - you'll hear when I get a reader in Antartica! More than 50% of my visitors come from Singapore and the US.
• I have made 3c in ad revenue in 6 months, which has disabused me of the notion of quitting my job and blogging full time! Since advertising revenue hasn't worked I'm hoping that I'll be "discovered" and paid vast quantities of money to travel (along with every other aspiring travel writer on the web)
• 1 spam comment has been left on my blog. I am happy to let it be for the moment, so you can continue to comment without the dreaded verification phrase.
  

Getting your blog out there and known is hard work. It doesn't just happen. You've got to spend hours trawling through other people's blogs and leaving comments in the hope that they'll take pity on you and return the favour. The good news is that I have found some gems:

• Sharing Experiences by Andy Hayes - a blog on all things travel and picturesque
  
• Laura Reviews by Laura Cococcia - Interviews, book reviews. My cultural input.
  
• Joyful Days by Daphne Lim - a guide on how to life
  
• Rachel's Ramblings by Rachel Cotterill - A different view of everyday life through her pictures.
  
• A Little Adrift by Shannon - the stories of a girl around the world. I don't know how I'm going to survive now that her trip is at its en
  
• Not Exactly Rocket Science by Ed Yong - the latest scientific research translated into English for normal people (usually). The latest article is on research that shows how cats manipulate their human owners!

When I started the blog I thought that the most difficult thing to do would be to do the writing. Fortunately I have found it reasonably easy (and managed to scrounge some stuff I'd written previously when the dreaded block hit me). I am feeling challenged by the technical aspects of a website. Although I am using an "idot proof" blogging program, I want to do more with the site and now I need to invest some serious time into working out how and setting it up right.

So the question is where to from now... A Measure of All Things seems to have taken on a life of its own as a travel blog. The problem with that is that I'm a bit stuck for material when I'm not traveling. I also have other non-travel related items that I would like to write about, but in order to keep the brand "pure" I'll probably start another blog for those. I have been invited to do a guest post by another blogger and will have one or two visiting me. I probably have enough material to keep me busy until my next trip in August.

This has been an amazing adventure so far and I really appreciate your support along the way. Lets see what the next 6 months has to bring. And I don't even have a map (which is less than the residents of Hondeklip Bay have!)