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Intentional Fortune is four months old! I wrote 10 blog posts in June.
My goal for writing is to write at least 2 blog posts a week (shooting for Wednesday’s and Saturday’s for now) and a minimum of 10 blog posts a month. This will keep me on track to reach my yearly goal of 100+ blog posts by the end of 2019.
June was just an average month for goals. I set a goal of 10 blog posts and just made 10 blog posts for the month. I continue to make small strides each month, but continue to progress slower than I’d like.
It was an uneventful month for social media as Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook followers remained the same. I did, however, pick up a subscriber to the blog.
Table of Contents
Posts Written in June 2019
How to Watch Your Favorite Premium Shows Using Free Trials
Robinhood Review – Is Robinhood Legit?
Does Driving Slower Save Gas? (and Money?)
Which Debt Should You Pay Off First?
Is It Best to Pay Off Debt or Save?
Reasons Why it is Important to Start Saving Money
Benefits of Managing Your Budget Effectively
How to Ask Your Boss for a Pay Raise
When Should You Ask for a Pay Raise at Work?
Search Engine Rankings
Rankings for certain search terms and impressions have improved slightly since May. Several blog posts are routinely in the top 20 search results for targeted keywords. None have ranked lower than 5 and traffic is still only 2-4 organic search referrals per day, but the trend continues to be encouraging.
I know that Google doesn’t acknowledge a “sandbox”, but I’m hoping that the closer I get to six months and the older this blog gets, the more trust they will have in it. This should translate to higher ranking for search terms for select posts.
Advertising
I’m still experimenting with some Facebook ads. I stopped doing them again near the end of May, but received a promotional credit from Facebook for $20, so have started them up again (at least until the credit is exhausted).
Revenue
As of this writing, I have not generated any significant revenue (<$10) from Intentional Fortune. I expect this with so little traffic. I will continue to work on writing blogs, generating traffic, and affiliate marketing. I will also continue to track performance and make changes as necessary.
2019 Goals Progress – June Update
Personal Goals for 2019 – June Update
Receive Approvals for Promotion to Senior Engineer
I have taken on more responsibility and am working toward completing performance goals as assigned. Will revisit with supervisor in July/August (during budget season).
Pay off wife’s car
Paid required monthly payment plus an extra $50.
Pay off $6,000 of wife’s student loan debt
Paid required minimum plus a little extra. Received bonus and tax returns, but holding onto cash for now. Currently tracking toward paying off $3,600. Hoping to increase monthly payments as other debt is paid down. I’d like to wait until after first semester of tuition is paid for before revisiting paying off debt any faster.
Average less than $800.00/month in food expenses
Failed again in June 2019. Paid ~$1,100 for food in June 2019. This is better than May, but it still exceeds our food goals. I plan to be more diligent cooking and eating less expensive meals this month (rice, beans, chicken, eggs, etc.) knowing that there is July 4 and other get-together’s planned with family that will most likely cost more than an average meal.
Start MBA program and complete first semester
On track to start in August. Was given the ok to register for classes. Still need to follow up on immunization records.
Intentional Fortune Goals for 2019 – June Update
Write 100+ Quality Blog Posts
Wrote 10 blog posts in June. If I continue on this track, will reach 100+ quality blog posts by end of 2019.
Setup Email Marketing and Start Creating a List
Created a free MailChimp account that will work for up to 2,000 subscribers. One subscriber signed up this month! Expect this to increase once more organic traffic starts visiting the site.
Have 100+ Followers Between Pinterest and Twitter
Currently have 8 followers on Pinterest and 0 followers on Twitter. If followers increase at the rate for June (0), I will not meet my goal. I’ve started learning how best to setup and use Pinterest for Intentional Fortune. Also, Pinterest has been a great resource for post ideas.
I need to spend more time on social media and add more value to my Pinterest and Twitter accounts. Plan to create new pins for all of my existing posts to increase awareness and have more opportunities for reaching people.
Make $500/Month by the End of 2019
Made very little revenue in June, but didn’t expect to without more organic traffic. Will continue to work on lead indicators like creating quality blog posts, creating activity on social media, etc.
Will track lag indicators such as daily visitors to the site, organic search impressions, and bounce rate. Not anticipating any significant revenue until I can start attracting more organic traffic to the site.
Write 10+ Guest Posts
Still haven’t started this yet. Need to reach out to similar blogs and see if there is any interest.
As I mentioned in my Goals for 2019 post, I am writing these goal updates to hold myself accountable and ensure that I continue tracking towards achieving them in 2019.
Some are ambitious for 2019 and a little outside of my control (see $500/month, guest posts, and followers), but as long as I keep moving towards the goals, good things will happen along the way.
In my experience, fortune favors those who are willing to follow their ambitions and fight until they achieve them.
Intentional Fortune Goals I Set for June 2019
Write 10 Blog Posts in June.
I just met the goal for June. Was hoping to write more because I know once the MBA program starts my writing frequency will probably slow down.
Goals for July 2019
Write 10 blog posts in July. Create 10 additional pins for existing blog posts.
I still think content creation should be highest priority. With work ramping up and the MBA program around the corner, I will focus on creating the highest quality content I can and work on marketing and list building as time permits.
Added the 10 additional pins this month to better focus on utilizing Pinterest.
Conclusion
That’s all I have for June 2019. For me, it was another disappointing month with the high food spending, but unlike last month, I was able to complete my goal of writing 10 blog posts for the month. I hope to push myself this month creating content and being more active on Pinterest.
I feel like Intentional Fortune is slowly making progress towards reaching and helping a broader audience.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing you all next month and sharing how we’re doing!
Do you have any blog post topics you would like me to write about?
Do you have any suggestions for how I can improve these updates or the blog as a whole?