My Blogs first 90 Days

Monday, March 10th was the 90-day anniversary of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money. I was originally planning to post this Monday night, but then my computer died so it has been hit or miss time-wise. I really want to write this post to the person starting out (which I still am!) who is thinking about starting their own blog or just started and might be frustrated.

I started the blog for a couple of reasons. One, We were just starting to get serious about getting our finances in order and the advice and stories of others from the Blogsphere was very helpful in showing us we weren't alone in the good fight. Second, I have always enjoyed writing and wondered if it was something I could do as a wider shared project.

A couple key things that I learned so far, for those starting out (otherwise known as things I wish I knew when starting!):

• It is way harder then it looks! - Knocking out approximately 50,000 words over 90-days is like writing a book in that amount of time...albeit with a horrible plot and ever changing characters!
• You never know what post are going to click - I have written posts that I thought would get people talking and...crickets! Others like the Restaurant Guide took off (due to someone featuring it). So don't toss any idea. It could be the thing that takes you to another traffic plateau!
• Don't get wrapped too deep in the numbers - Visitors at first have a very interesting traffic pattern. Stare at the numbers too much and you'll lose sight of what you are doing for the long term.
• Learning to accept some folks just don't like you - I have pretty thick skin, but I saw myself getting wound-up over something someone would say...even though I don't know them, they don't know me, and we probably never will. It just doesn't matter.
• You get to meet more great people then you could imagine! - Some people have bent over backwards to provide tips, information and links to expose this blog to their readers. It is very kind and the top thing that I am enjoying about doing this!

Top People to Thank:

• Brightside of Debt - Great conversational writer that was one of the first that I read!
• Madame X - My Open Wallet - First Googled "Personal Finance Blog" and found her first! She provided linking to her blogrole to a very new blog which really help people find LLPM.
• ShoeMoney and John Chow - Two great blogs about the business of blogging and how to structure your site. Both have provided link back here through there comment sections which has really helped traffic.
• Fiscal Musings - Great writer that puts out nothing but top-level work and a great cross-promotional friend
• Mrs M and Catherine L - Both showing how important it is to go out and comment on others blogs and get the post rolling! (Even though they don't link to me in their blogroll :) )

Cool Milestones from the first 90-days:

• Over 10,000 Visitors! (Half of them this week from The Consumerist!)
• 3,872 Visitors in One Day!
• Over 18,000 Page Views
• Over 50 Subscribers
• 3 Mentions on msn MoneyBlog
• 1 Feature on msn MoneyBlog
• 1 Mention on WSJ.online
• 1 Mention on Reuters Online
• Featured on The Consumerist

I truly never thought I would get that many readers ever, much less nearly 4,000 in one day. The milestones aren't there to brag, but to let you know you can do it to. I can be frustrating when you first have those days with 5 or 10 visitors, it will pick up! Just keep writing.

You have all been so kind in sharing so many great comments over the last 168 posts! I look forward to the next 90 days and beyond. Thank you all so much!