Image from Family Guy
There’s a famous juggler, well known for his dazzling performances, who once said “Your first 100 shows don’t count.” Meaning that while 100 shows sounds like a lot, it really takes that many just to warm up and start to find your way.
I think that’s how I feel, reflecting on my blog as I write this 100th post. A lot has certainly happened, but in many ways I feel like I’m just getting started.
First, let’s look at some things that have happened along the way.
It didn’t feel like I was off to such a great start when I had only 3 subscribers after my first month, and only 13 subscribers after my second. Now I’m up to about 300 subscribers (Feedburner admits that it’s not perfect at counting subscribers, but it showed a peak of 303 recently). It’s not very many in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a lot more than the 0 we all have to start with!
Likewise, I’m not making much money from this blog, but it’s moving in the right direction. It costs a few dollars a month to pay for the domain and hosting, and I also paid for a custom banner. I also paid for (e)books that I’ve reviewed here, if you want to count those. And if you include the cost of my time (even assuming minimum wage), this is a ridiculously expensive endeavor. But some money is trickling in now, mainly from AdSense ads, and I’ve also started making some affiliate sales recently.
I’ve written two ebooks so far: The Zen of Blogging and Memoirs of a Gaijin. The first was an absolute breeze to write once the idea struck me, while the second took way, way too long. And both were free, which was kind of nice for getting started, but it doesn’t exactly pay the bills either. I do think ebooks will be an important thing for me to focus on going forward, and I’m currently doing research in preparation for my next one. It’s gonna be good!
As for publicity, I received links from the following blogs with thousands of subscribers:
As a result of appearing in “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch, I’ve been getting searches on different variations of my tagline:
how to stop sucking and live a life of abundance
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sucking abundance life
Apparently, a lot of people aren’t so good at typing what they read into a search engine. I’m sure there’s an SEO lesson in that.
Other amusing search terms that people used to find me:
10 reasons why indians should visit united states of america
I really think we’re open to people of all nationalities.
7 unique reasons why indians should visit japan
Hmmm, same guy, different country? And make sure the reasons are unique. No fair using any of them twice!
is japan a good place to live or is new york better
Or maybe Kansas, or Iceland, or North Korea? You know, these are very different places! Are you really that flexible about where to live?
i need a gaijin
I think you’ll get kicked out of Japan for saying that!
making money with hunter
Let’s do it!
how i won the lottery
Well, I did win $3, but I can’t really tell you how I did it.
what does amazon affiliate link look like
Are you on a scavenger hunt or something?
you can not make a living on adsense 2008
Yes, please give me the latest and greatest information on how to not make money with AdSense!
create residual income little effort
Well, I have an email from this guy in Saudi Arabia who wants to wire me $25 million and just needs $3,000 for a transfer processing fee…
reasons how people gain overnight success
#1: Work on having gooder grammar.
how to be a confident woman
Um, you’ve come to the wrong blog.
how to be the other woman
Do you really want to be the other woman?
a woman now
Yeah, I think you’re looking for a different kind of site.
pretending to be a woman for phone sex
Are you looking for a how-to guide?
men don’t like a woman to be wrong
Thank you for telling me that; I didn’t know.
how long does it take for a man to realize he wants to marry a woman
Stop googling and just ask him!
how to be a good housewife
Vered, do you want to have a talk with her?
how to be a gurl that guys like
Let’s start by working on your spelling.
how to refrain from being sexist
Is it really that difficult for you?
i’d prefer to be a woman
I really don’t think I’m the one you should be talking to.
borders backgrounds whips chains
What exactly are you looking for?
acceptable reasons for leaving a job
You really don’t need anyone’s permission.
got sick at work and need to go home
Please, be my guest.
automatic blog posts
Sad but true. There’s actually demand for my automatic blog post rehasher.
can hunter be dodged
Never!
can we really dodge bullets
Of course you can dodge bullets.
i dont dodge bullets
That’s OK too. Do you wear a bulletproof vest, or do you just not have people shooting at you?
can’t stop the awesomeness
No doubt!
dc26e349e19c21aec3bb896e0cc7d56d03b551b8415546e6
Wow, my efforts to dominate the Google rankings for “dc26e349e19c21aec3bb896e0cc7d56d03b551b8415546e6″ have finally paid off, thanks to SEO School!
definition of people skills
Well, if you have to ask, you probably don’t have them.
difference between dream world & real world
I’m not sure there is a difference between the dream world and the real world.
do other people shape us or do we shape ourselves?
I think it’s a little of both.
ebook hunter share
Well, my first two ebooks are freely available!
2008 critical comments about steve pavlina
What kind of person searches for hot off the press critical comments about someone?
erin pavlina psychic fraud
Awww…poor Erin!
how to be a mail order psychic
Gee, that sounds reputable!
juggling to improve martial arts
Why don’t you work on martial arts to improve your martial arts?
favourite interview question and answer
I guess that would be “Why?” and “Why not?”
why introversion
Why not?
introverts and claims examiners
They go together like a horse and carriage, don’t they?
are introverts disturbing?
No.
people think introverts are dumb
They do?
why are they trying to label introversion as a disease?
Because they’re dumb (the labelers).
poor introverts how are we suppose to live yahoo answers
Oh, come on! It’s great to be an introvert!
personal life sucking
That’s a pretty broad problem. Why don’t we take it one step at a time?
what is you dream for the world
That’s a nice thing to be searching on. I guess world peace would be a good start.
finding enjoyable blogs to read
You can start with this one!
Perhaps most importantly, I’ve met a lot of wonderful people online that I never would have met if I hadn’t become a blogger. Blogging in a vacuum isn’t much fun, so it’s great to have kindred spirits to share your thoughts with. Here are my top 10 commenters over the past 30 days, ranked by number of comments:
#1 (tie): Barbara Swafford, Blogging Without A Blog
Where, oh where, would I be without Barbara? True to her blog’s name, she was encouraging me even before I started blogging. A wonderfully loyal commenter, she would have held the #1 spot outright if she weren’t taking a break from blogging to attend her neighborhood garage sale (the great risks of garage sales are overlooked by bloggers all too often). In the time I’ve known her, her comments section has exploded, and yet she still takes the time to respond to every single one.
#1 (tie): Catherine Lawson, Bold Advice for Business Success
Catherine started following me early on, and I started following her at the same time. She uses her years of business experience and her uncommon sense to help people avoid costly mistakes. She recently said she’s moving away from bold advice for business success in favor of a better work/life balance, so we’ll have to see what happens. But whatever she blogs about, I don’t think Catherine knows how to not be bold, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
#3: Marelisa, Abundance Blog at Marelisa-Online
I came across Marelisa pretty recently, and became hooked on her eclectic mix of topics related to abundance. She backs up her ideas by stuffing her posts full of research data that comes from all the books she reads. I guess reading a lot is typical for an ex-lawyer (yes, she was a lawyer, but a nice one).
#4: Vered, MomGrind – a Mommyblogger Wannabe
Another nice former lawyer (yup, there are at least two of them in the world), the very thin but NOT medically underweight Vered runs a mommy blog that is not really a mommy blog. She also writes about finance, feminism, happiness, and blogging, among other things. She always has interesting ideas, and I always look forward to her Wordless Wednesdays.
#5: Evelyn Lim, Attraction Mind Map
Evelyn has all kinds of training and certifications in things I barely understand. She combines knowledge with inspiration to help people tune in to greater abundance in all areas of life. Very honest and sincere, she shares both her successes and her struggles in walking the path to peace and prosperity. (Hmmm, don’t there seem to be a lot of women in this list? Nothing wrong with that, I’m just saying…)
#6: Akemi, Yes to Me
Akemi has shown plenty of courage in leaving her native Japan for the U.S., getting married and divorced, moving across the country, and starting a coaching and Akashic record reading business. Through her business and her blog, she helps people live their life purpose and achieve spiritual growth.
#7: rld, Taekwondo Happiness
This tiny woman can throw a man three times her size and keep him on the floor indefinitely. Cool, huh? She writes about martial arts, exercise, nutrition, meditation, and so forth, and she has a knack for having insight into lessons learned from cool cheesy movies. (Where are all these women coming from? As soon as I can, I’m writing a post about Scarface to restore a little balance.)
#8 (tie): Al – 7P Productions – Dedicated to Achieving Goals and Dreams
Al’s humble site is about making dreams come true. He has a bunch of interesting, creative, and entertaining stuff on his blog, and he leaves very thoughtful comments. I won’t give it away, but you can visit his about page to find out what the 7 Ps are. (Finally, we have a guy on the list!)
#8 (tie): Shilpan – Success Soul – Abundance and Simplicity for Mind, Body, and Soul
An ambitious, purpose-driven guy, Shilpan believes that success is the result of positive thinking followed by action. He also believes that every one of us can achieve abundance through belief and hard work. Although his blog is fairly new, it’s done incredibly well on Digg, with his latest post currently showing 1,887 diggs.
And now we get to the point where I would normally list #10 and be on my merry way, but as it turns out, we have a 7-way tie for the 10th spot. Seven? Anyway, I’ve got to run soon, so I’ll just list the seven bloggers, and you can feel free to write your own bio in the comments.
#10 (tie): Avani Mehta, Food For Mind
#10 (tie): Dave Navarro, Rock Your Day
#10 (tie): Hayden Tompkins, Persistent Illusion
#10 (tie): Jamie Harrop, Young Entrepreneur
#10 (tie): Mary Jaksch, Goodlife Zen
#10 (tie): Matt H., The Freewheeler
#10 (tie): XiongShui, Teehaus – Stammtisch
What does the future hold?
If we knew that, then life wouldn’t be much fun, would it? But I can say that plenty of new posts are on the way, including a new series that I should be starting soon. I’m also going to be having some contests, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out on your chance to win a prize!
You may have noticed that I’ve been posting more often than usual lately. It’s mainly because I’ve had a lot of book/ebook/product reviews to write. And while I don’t want to hijack my blog with reviews, I still have six more to do (and I don’t review everything I read). I also have one ebook I bought almost a month ago that I haven’t even read yet. Ironically, it’s Dave Navarro’s “What’s Holding You Back?” Hmmm, time management, methinks?
I’m going to try to slow down a bit with my posting, because I don’t want subscribing to my blog to be too big a time commitment for you guys. I’ve also found it a bit too hard to keep up with my favorite blogs, gather fresh material for my posts, work on my ebook, and enjoy this supposed life that exists outside of work. It’s just hard to slow down because so much is happening, you know?
That’s all for now. Thanks to everyone for making it a fun journey. Now, on to the next 100 posts…
