I’m a big fan of tracking important stats (sales, ecourse subscribers, stuff that matters). I’ve mentioned before, but by tracking stats you find out where to focus your time because you know which of your efforts are paying off. When you can focus your efforts on only things that work guess what happens? You save time and work a little less. ;) With things like Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer tracking stats is not only easy, but free!
And with that …
June was a record month by every imaginable metric! It’s my first month of more than 100k pageviews (I don’t include StumbleUpon traffic in this number), which is more than double May’s pageviews. Much more importantly, the total RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com readership doubled as well. I put more focus on gaining Freedom Fighters than RSS, but each went up by 4 figures. Woohoo!
The reason for this massive increase is simple: I launched How To Live Anywhere and with it came lots of new traffic (hi!).
While I did orchestrate a small launch, it wasn’t that much work. I realized on the Saturday before launch that sending more e-mails to people who don’t know me would be a waste of time. Annoying people who do know me with launch e-mails would be a waste of time as well. I let things happen as they would and the results were fantastic.
Thank you for making the 12th month of this blog amazing. :)
Affiliates!
Affiliates did a fantastic job selling How To Live Anywhere last month.
Here are the top 5 (in terms of how much $ they made) for June:
- $1,514.40
- $1,488.65
- $511.45
- $379.50
- $379.50
All told there were 14 affiliates who made at least 1 sale and affiliate revenue was about 70% of total revenue.
Thank you if you linked to HTLA last month. You rock!
Super Mega Tangents
Everybody in Poland uses the words super and mega. e.g. “Mega zajebiste!”
Benny tells me it’s rooted in Latin. But I don’t know Latin. I know Polish and my English is at a 4th grade level according to my perfect marks in 4th grade English when I was in 4th grade. If you read it 4 times it makes sense.
(EDIT: My bad, I don’t listen well. Benny told me “super” was rooted in Latin, but “mega” is Greek. It’s all in the comments below if you care. ;) )
How about I take a tangent from the tangent so I can get to the links? Super mega idea Karol!
Tangent that has exactly nothing to do with the above but everything to do with my life: If you’re ever in Berlin go to Dolores Burrito on Rosa Luxemburg Str and get the Dolores Vegan. Holy wow, it may be the best burrito this side of Freebirds (Austin, TX).
Bonus tangent: If you’re ever in Berlin you probably don’t need to get the standard fare AB zone U / S-bahn tickets for 2.30 EUR. For just 1.30 EUR you can get a Short Trip ticket that allows up to 3 transfers on one trip within AB zone. I didn’t discover this until 12 hours before leaving Berlin. :)
Triple bonus bonus bonus bonus bonus tangent: Before heading to the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) in Berlin make sure you actually figure out how to get there first. Because, you know, that helps. And it saves you an expensive Taxi ride to make your train back to Poland. ;) (The Taxi cost almost as much as the train from Berlin > Wroclaw. haha!)
Now for some sweet link lurve:
How DJ Sean Gallagher Went From Broke To Surfing Mexico Thanks To His “How To DJ” Online Business by Yaro Starak
I’m a sucker for these kinds of stories. :) (This is a downloadable MP3.)
My 2 Bucks on Pricing by Chris Ashworth
This article could also be called “How To Make As Much In 3 Days As I Used To Make In 1 Month.” Love it. This is a must-read article if you ever plan on releasing a product of your own. And especially if you plan to make your prices low. The psychology behind pricing is fascinating and there are multiple reasons why I priced How To Live Anywhere at $110 as least one of which is touched upon in this article. :)
Small Volume High Price vs Large Volume Low Price by Brian Evans
If we’re going to talk about pricing, let’s talk about pricing! Brian provides really great insights into pricing. If you’re at all interested in marketing you really should be reading Brian’s blog.
Take Action by Kyle Durand
I’ve said it a million times, and I’ve linked to at least a few articles on this topic. I will keep linking to them. Taking focused action is important. So important that if you write an article about it I’ll probably link to you as well. :)
Validation Is Overrated by Seth Godin
Alright, I know it’s trendy to link to Seth Godin. But he is impossible not to link to. His work is good day in and day out. This article, in particular, stood out for me. Validation has gotten a lot of people into a lot of messes. Student loan debt. Banking debt. Credit card debt. And other debts. The root cause for all of them is seeking validation. Although Mr. Godin didn’t touch on any of those points, they’re still valid. ;) (Do I even need to point out what I did there? Wait, I just did. Dammit!)
I assume I’m below average by Derek Sivers
I don’t do this nearly often enough. It’s not that I think I’m great. I’m just a regular dude. It’s that I’m not afraid to give myself credit if I’m good at something. I like this approach to self improvement as long as it’s not taken from a negative stance. e.g. “I suck at this!” If we all took this advice the world would be a better place. :)
The Karol Gajda Weight Loss Method (Results Guaranteed) by Karol Gajda
This got a lot of @ replies on Twitter when I posted it a few days ago so I’m sharing it here with you as well. :)
That’s it for this week. Let’s hang soon, OK? How about Monday? Mega zajebiste, it’s a date!
Questions/comments/wanna have a zombie staring contest? You know what to do …