If you aren’t looking at statistics at all, how do you know if your online marketing efforts are paying off? You don’t need to have a complex Google Analytics set-up to keep an eye on trends. Yes, hard numbers are good to know but trends give you strategic information.
Anita Kirkbride and I used a similar chart to the one above when we presented at BlogJam 2015 – back then the top line was 9,000 pageviews per month instead of 20,000. I can tell you exactly what I changed at key points (at Anita’s urging) which had a direct effect on my blog readership:
- June 2011 – I started using social media.
- September 2012 – I started blogging more and sharing posts more frequently on Twitter, in particular; results were obvious by December.
- December 2013 – I started posting daily enewsletter tips on Twitter and LinkedIn.
- 2nd half of 2016 – I started posting daily newsletter tips on Google+.
I’ve tried lots of other tactics, too – some have contributed in little ways, others have gone by the wayside as ineffective. The thing is, I would not have known what worked unless I was watching the trend line. This same thing holds true for your website and your newsletter statistics, too.
Is what you’re doing working for you? How do you know?