I don’t want nobody, I don’t want nobody baby but you! There’s something ’bout that body, i don’t want nobody baby but you!”
This song is one of my favourites lately and it’s been on repeat in my head for weeks. I’ve even conditioned my 19-month-old daughter to dance to it. I sing it a lot (well, only the chorus) and sometimes we watch the YouTube video.
My friend used to be obsessed with a Dr Malinga number a few years ago when her firstborn was my child’s age then. He would dance (hopping up and down) when their particular song came up on TV.
Why do we programme our children with THAT one song? There are other songs I play for us like Meghan Trainor’s “Feel better when I’m dancing” and lots of old school numbers, but my child’s face pains if she isn’t feeling a song. Like the Michael Jackson selection I’ve played, she’s not keen on it yet. I know she’ll love the King’s music some day.
Really sometimes she cries when she doesn’t want to hear a particular song I play – I think it’s also got to do with the kiddies songs she knows we have on the computer.
Dancing and listening to music at night is one of the best things of being a mom. Plus it winds me down after a long day of being a working mom. [Folks, I only dance in front of my kid. #ShyGirl]
Anyway, in this post I will share:
- My blog traffic statistics
- Interesting blog posts about business and blogging
- Lessons learned in business
- How being a working mom is challenging
My blog traffic statistics
By end of May: 822 views
By end of June: 856 views
By July 25th: 1007 views
Confession: For May, I promoted my blog posts heavily but in June it was the opposite. In May I didn’t have much blog posts and in June I tried to have a minimum of three blog posts a week.
Lesson: promote the hell out of your blog posts – I’ve heard that the creation of a blog post should be 20% and 80% should go to promoting it. My goal for June and July was to show up, be consistent. I think that’s why I slacked in promotion. In July I promoted whenever I remembered lol. I aim to do more scheduled promotion next month.
My popular blog posts were:
- “My mentor taught me to work on my business, not in it”
- Lessons learned as a blogger
- How fear is holding me back
- Reviewing my goals for 2017
- Having a mentor changed how i did things
Lesson: my audience enjoy reading others’ journeys especially the lessons learned.
I found these interesting blog posts about business and blogging:
I also thought these were interesting blog posts from local bloggers:
- How to Discuss Money in Your Romantic Relationship
- The book fairy campaign– because she has hundreds of books
- Dear Black Parents: Mental illness Is A Thing
Lessons learned in business
Don’t assume. Set up a brief to clarify what is expected from the client. Also add the information that the client has given you.
Don’t be in a hurry to make a decision especially when you’re emotional. Remember, you are providing a service – meaning, you’re trying to help someone the best you can.
If you mess up, it’s okay because you’re learning. Apologise. Try your best not to fail again. If you fail again, “dust yourself off and try again, try again'” as Aaliyah sang in that movie.
Being a working mom
As I am writing this blog post I felt it was therapeutic to have a cooking pot on the stove with my husband and daughter sleeping in the room next to me.
My problem: it’s 6pm which means Princess will wake up later and go to bed late – we don’t have a sleeping routine. I should wake her up now but it feels good to relax with a cup of tea after a long day at work (and in traffic).
This month we’ve also tried to implement the potty training process. Princess pulls off her pants if her nappy is to wet or when she did a number 2. So we reckon she’s ready for the potty. I realise that I have to adapt to her ways. Right now she’s not as ready as I thought she is. She hardly sits more than five seconds on the potty. We got a new potty but she’s using it as a toy at the moment. Story for another day…
Lesson: Your strategy (plan) changes in life. So go with the flow.
Cute update: Last night my daughter tried on my wedding shoes. Well, she tried and got frustrated that she couldn’t stand in it. Another cute moment is when she brings me one (or two) book of hers to read for her. I love that she loves books.
Otherwise, life is good. Mens moenie kla nie sê hulle (one shouldn’t complain they say). As ek kla skinder ek oor myself (if I complain I gossip about myself).
For now, that’s a glimpse of my life. What lessons have you learned during this month?
Thank you for sharing. Iv also learnt no one will read a post if o don’t actively promote the crack oiut of it. I like the structure of this post. Would it be plagiarism 😊if I copied this Life update structure (updated to be relevant to me ofcourse). It’s so useful.🙌🏼
Potty training in winter is generally not a good idea. Maybe give it a month or so when the weather is a little less cold.
P.S. I love dancing with my boys. Best!
Alet, my mother says I should wait until summer time too – for potty training! I don’t think my child feels the cold; she doesn’t seem to like wearing warm clothes. Barefeet every day and likes to take off jackets and pants.
Cherralle, I got this idea from many other bloggers who do “life updates” or “income reports” or “Currently” updates. Most of our ideas are not completely original – you just tweak it and make it your own.
This has to be my favourite post so far. I love that it’s sharing many parts of who you are and the lessons you have learned along the way.
curated content. agree.
Great post! Thanks for including so many helpful links. I have saved them already 🙂
Great post! Promoting your posts is a full time job, but so worth it.
I always find other people’s goal setting so interesting but I find it difficult to impose on myself. I wonder why?
girl, getting that traffic up is hard work. yho. and then Mr Pr will come wanting to pay you with exposure. Yho.
lovely post tho. most def learned a thing or two from the links here,
Mvumikazi | Urban Mnguni
“If I complain I gossip about myself.”
I’ve never heard this phrase before, but I like it. I’ve never thought about it like that before.
I really enjoy posts like these…getting to see into another blogger’s process + progress and learn new tips and tricks for growing my own blog.
I’ve recently stepped up my game with promoting this month a lot on Twitter, and I think I’ve had a fair amount of success with it! I schedule out tweets for my newest posts using Hootsuite which helps a lot.
I can’t say I promote posts often, but I am getting back into more regular posts.. and since I’m posting more often I am e-mailed and asked why I have not posted LOL
Thank you for the link back to my blog. That was pretty awesome!
I get a chunk of traffic from subscribers, and another chunk from Facebook – which is where I find your posts.
Way back when I began blogging someone said – if you stand on your soapbox and shout, they will stay away in droves, we do need to engage and promote after we have written.
July has been a busy month for you! I am also learning that promotion is key to driving traffic to my blog. But it is way more time consuming than I had anticipated! My plan for August is to only publish one post per week instead of two and spend the extra time promoting. I also learned that going at my daughter’s pace for potty training was the way to go. She had all the signs, but was not ready when I thought she was. Your daughter in your wedding shoes is the cutest image. I hope you took pictures!
Thanks for sharing the insights on your blog. I’ve not had the mental time to publish any of my own post’s this week, but have been diligent on the FB side lol.
I’m so bad at promoting my posts. I’ve always had Buffer but only started using it consistently lately and I honestly don’t know why I haven’t made more use of it! I too love reading ‘life lessons’ posts because it’s motivational so keep ’em coming!
I need to get better at promoting my content. Thanks for the reminder to do that!
The one place I want to start promoting is Pinterest – I’ve never been on there but I love seeing the graphics on Google, so I know I’ll like it. It looks like all of us can relate to promotion being a huge challenge 🙂 Thanks everyone.
Brittany I feel like I’m seeing signs that my daughter is ready, but she doesn’t seem ready. She’s so playful. But she pulls off her nappy when it’s wet or she had pooped.
The numbers just give me a headache, I will be doing the 80% promoting . Ahhh so cute , they are so cute at that age. Thanks for the update
Hey, growth is growth either way! Keep at it! Happy almost August! haha
Keep up the good work! It’s definitely not easy blogging while trying to be mom and wife. Perseverance is key. Proud of you.
Good post. Maybe give it a month or so when the weather is a little less cold.
Good luck with the potty training – we’re in the same boat at the moment! x