Written By Nicholas Cardot64 Comments
Looking Back on the First 4 Months
News and Updates at Site Sketch 101
Yesterday marked the 4th month from the grand opening of Site Sketch 101.
I been working hard to promote this site through Twitter and throughout the blogosphere and I feel like my efforts have been paying off.
Our fourth month saw this site racing forward. RSS and email subscribers have grown steadily. Comments have accelerated reaching to a couple thousand comments this past month. And the income has continued to grow.
Rapid Growth of Email & RSS Subscribers
At the end of our third month, I had right at 448 subscribers. I now have close to 600 subscribers. Hopefully we’ll cross over 600 very shortly and begin pushing toward my next major goal of 750. Thank you to all of you who have subscribed.
Site Sketch 101 just keeps getting more popular!
Last month I bragged about my Alexa being 93,200.
It’s been my goal since the inception of this website to get it into the top 100,000 sites as ranked by Alexa. I’ve passed that milestone a long time ago and now I’m setting new goals every month.
I’m averaging between 15,000 and 30,000 daily Alexa rank and I’m steadily seeing growth in those numbers. I’m determined to get and stay above the Alexa top 20,000 this coming month.
Drastic Growth in Feedback & Comments
On the first of September, I announced a contest whereby you could win $75 dollars if you left more comments on the site than anyone else at the end of this month. This contest propelled the comments to go through the roof. I received a mad rush of conversations taking place all over the site. It was great!
Last month this site had over 
3,100 comments. We now have over 6,200. That’s over 3,100 comments in the past 30 days. The comments doubled in one month.
I’ve also added a top commentators box in the bottom of the sidebar. So if you are one of the top commentators each month you can have a do-follow link back to your website listed on my homepage.
A Great Increase Advertising Income
It seems lately that every blogger’s dream is to make big money on their site. That’s certainly one of my dreams. I want to make as much as I can and I want to help those around me to make as much as they can. It’s fun and it’s a great reward.
As you can clearly see, I sell ads around the site. I have some in the sidebar and I have one banner ad right below the main article. Let me share will you how much I’ve made from each one in the past 30 days.
- $26.09 – Google Adsense
- $80.00 – Buy Sell Ads Marketplace
- $50.00 – Paid Product Review (which will be published this coming Sunday)
- $30.00 – Elegant Themes
- $6.00 – Theme Forest
- $189.09 – Total
I want to thank everyone who has sponsored Site Sketch 101. Thanks for making this site so much fun to operate.
Conclusion: Let me end the same way that I did the last two months: As a blogger, I want to make it to the top. I want to achieve the traffic and income that men like Darren Rowse and John Chow have achieved. I know those are lofty goals but that is the direction that I’m headed.
The best part? I want to take as many people with me as I possibly can as I climb the ladder.
You wanna join me on the climb? Ask me any question you have about blogging. Subscribe to my RSS or Email updates. Follow great bloggers. And together let’s keep on having a great time!
Nicholas Cardot
Nick uses his blog Site Sketch 101 to express his passion for helping bloggers and webmasters connect with real people through brilliant designs, unique content, and genuine creativity. Nicholas Cardot has 186 post(s) at Site Sketch 101
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Wayne Attwell said:
Hey Nick
It’s inspiring to read of success in the blogosphere, especially for such a new blog. Mine’s been going for about 4 months and i know how much work goes into building a decent blog.
I enjoy your tips and appreciate your generous ‘do follow’ approach.
Cheers
Wayne
Nicholas Cardot said:
Wayne Attwell –> Thanks. I think that generosity is so key to building the valuable connections that we need to thrive. Why be selfish? It doesn’t cost me anything to share my link love with the people who contribute so much value to this community.
elmot said:
Wow, this is great news for your blogging despite blogging for only four months.
That is quite a feat already.
Subscribed via reader on your blog
Nicholas Cardot said:
elmot –> Thanks. I don’t think that you’ll be disappointed. I’ll be sure to bring the best possible quality to your RSS readers each day.
Klaus @ TechPatio said:
That’s some really great numbers – but even more amazing that you’ve done it in just around 4 months. I can’t even begin to imagine where you’ll be at when you reach the 12 month mark
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Klaus @ TechPatio –> I can’t imagine where I’ll be either and I’m a really big dreamer. I have huge dreams for this site. I’ve got plans…product ideas…and things that I want to accomplish. I’m very excited here. Thanks so much for the words of encouragement.
InternetHowBlog said:
You are certainly heading that way. You are a great example to those who keeps asking, how to be a better blogging. All they need to do is go through your blog and follow the steps that you followed. Frequent posting, competitions, and good interaction with your readers.
well done
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Nicholas Cardot said:
InternetHowBlog –> Thanks so much. It’s an exciting and fun journey. And the trip to success can be made by anyone. You just have to employ the right principles and they will take you there.
Roschelle said:
Congrat! Those are great stats for just 4 months in. I’ve got a strong feeling you’ll be on top in no time.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Roschelle –> Thanks so much. I hope so. I just keep setting new goals, working hard and smart, and then hoping for the best.
Dana@Online Knowledge said:
You surely alredy did great work with this blog. I hope that my blog can grow to this level.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Dana@Online Knowledge –> I hope that your blog can grow like this also and I’ll certainly do whatever I can to help you with it.
Greg said:
Very nice numbers. I’ve only recently started exploring monetizing in a more serious way, so would love to learn more about your thoughts on this subject.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Greg –> Okay. I’ll be sure to start putting together some more information on the subject.
Bruce Teague said:
Glad to see you continue to have strong growth on your site Nick. You’ve earned it.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Bruce Teague –> Thanks, Bruce. That’s much appreciated.
King Sidharth said:
Woah! Nick you keep inspiring me to be the best of me. Here is what is inspired by you and I’ve mentioned it: http://www.meditationrocks.us/about
Nicholas Cardot said:
King Sidharth –> Thanks! That’s awesome. Good luck with it.
Andrew said:
Hey Nick, that’s awesome bud! You’ve got some fantastic results there.
You certainly are an inspiration to many people. Keep up the good work.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Andrew –> Thanks, Andrew. I hope that people are inspired to study and grow their own sites to new heights.
Randall G. Leighton said:
Only 4 months?! Congratulations. You have some great results for such a short period of time. If someone wanted proof you know what you are talking, er, uh, blogging about you’ve just provided it.
Of course, my masculinity is feeling seriously challenged. So, I’m going to go back and read all your old posts and see if I can beat your results.
Thanks for putting so much time and effort into this great blog.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Randall G. Leighton –> I love that. Just know that I’m here to do whatever you need to help you beat my results. Be sure to ask me anything you have a question about. I want to help you to be the best.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com said:
Gratz! Those are some great numbers for just hittin gyour four month mark!
Keep up the excellent work and I can’t wait to see where you are at your one year anniversary!
Nicholas Cardot said:
Gabe | freebloghelp.com –> Thanks. I can’t wait to see what happens by next June. Hopefully all of us will be better and stronger on that day!
Andy Allsop said:
Onwards and upwards!
Nice progress in such a short time. And good to see you have high dreams/aims!
Nicholas Cardot said:
Andy Allsop –> I believe in dreams and goals. We need to dream and plan and work.
Judith said:
Good job, Nick!
You definitely have the right attitude and are embracing with gusto all you need to succeed! I think you are a great resource for onliners who are just starting out with their own Blog and have linked to you in my Blogroll.
While many don’t realize how much work it is to do this gig — it is fun when you truly enjoy what you are doing, right?
Here’s to your future success!
At your service,
Judith
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Judith –> Thanks for the link and for the kind words. I sure do appreciate you. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Evan Kline said:
That’s really inspiring, Nick. Those are some great numbers for only 4 months in, and well deserved. Congratulations!
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Evan Kline –> Thanks Evan.
Teen Blogger said:
Great read.
It’s quite inspiring to see where you are now after 4 months of blogging. Also your doing quite well traffic wise for a 4 month old blog. is most of your traffic organic or refferel traffic?
My blog is 1 and a half months old and i’m already having a hard time getting more then 50 a dag to my blog. I’m getting around 30 at the moment.
I hope you have even more success and make even more money in the future.
Keep up the good work.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Teen Blogger –> My traffic is a mix of both. Actually I probably have more referred from links on other sites and from twitter and social media.
David | ilcantone.com said:
Amazing stats Nicholas.
I’m really impressed with your blog’s stats, specially with the incredible amount of comments yo received last month. Just awesome. Your blog is growing exponentialy.
It’s the first time I visit your blog but looks great, with a very creative design and fresh ideas.
Thanks Nicholas for sharing this.
Regards
Nicholas Cardot said:
David | ilcantone.com –> Thanks so much. I’m really glad that you found the blog here and I hope that you’ll contact me if you need anything. If you have questions or anything just let me know.
Blake @ Props Blog Reviews said:
Grats on the massive growth bro. I love seeing that you’re making progress and moving forward with this. I can’t wait to see how this upcoming month goes.
I’ll be surprised if you don’t break 20,000 on Alexa!
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Blake @ Props Blog Reviews –> I sure hope so. I’m breaking past 20,000 on the daily ranks a few days each week and I sure do hope to pass it up for good.
Eric Bannatyne said:
It’s great that your site has been so successful! I can’t wait to see where this goes over the next few months.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Eric Bannatyne –> Thanks Eric. I look forward to seeing that as well.
ZXT said:
Great stuff Nick. I can see more and more new faces here. And for sure these new faces will be regulars.
Just 4 months and you are already in the top 20k for Alexa. I’d say excellent achievement Nick!
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Nicholas Cardot said:
ZXT –> Thanks. I hope that I can get it up and keep it above 20,000. I sure would love that.
Casey Brazeal (North and Clark) said:
Congrats on your metoric rise my man. I am just finishing up another post for you, and I can’t believe 15,000 people will see it.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Casey Brazeal (North and Clark) –> You know that I always love publishing your stuff. I don’t know about 15,000, but I’m sure a lot will see it.
George Serradinho said:
Wow, you have done well with the total subscribers as well as comments. Seems your hard work is paying off and it should be no time and your site will have alexa rank of less than 15,000.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
George Serradinho –> I hope so. I’m loving every minute of the journey and I can’t wait to see numbers like that!
ZXT said:
I really think you already beat ProBlogger and John Chow for achieving this traffic this fast.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
ZXT –> Thanks. I hope that I’ll be able to catch up with them also.
Ron Boracay said:
Hi Nick, your site is really accelerating its way up!. Congratulations to you. I am not surprised that your stats and earnings goes up. You always have great ideas as well as the blogging passion that makes you and SS101 a hit.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Ron Boracay –> Thanks. I’m glad to hear that. I hope that I can continue to live up to your praise!
King Sidharth said:
I could really use some solid advise on monetizing.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
King Sidharth –> I’m going to work on posting some more about that, but it’s nearly impossible to successfully monetize a site until you build up followers. Once you have followers and readers then you can begin to profit from it.
Anne said:
Nick:
I am impressed at all you have done in just four months! Actually, when I saw the tweet on this, I was really surprised.
I haven’t read all your articles but I’ve read quite a few and re-tweeted many of them. We follow each other on Twitter (I am @alivenkickin) and I plan to keep reading and learning. Keep up the good work!
Nicholas Cardot said:
Anne –> Thanks…and thank you for all the retweets. Please let me know when you have questions or ideas.
Sat Chen said:
Really nice job. To be in the top 50 thousand in 4 months really impressive.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Sat Chen –> Thanks. Anyone can do it if they put their mind to it.
David | ilcantone.com said:
Nicholas, what is really impressive is that you answer every comment on your blog. That’s great! and it says a lot about your commitment and consideration to your readers. You build a sense of community for your blog and that makes it exceptionally comfortable.
Congrats!
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King Sidharth said:
Totally Dude! I mean he inspires by his action and that’s just awesome!
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Nicholas Cardot said:
King Sidharth –> Thanks. I appreciate it and I do what I can.
Nicholas Cardot said:
David | ilcantone.com –> That’s great. Thanks. I believe that blogs are separated from books only by the fact that on a blog the author is able to directly communicate back and forth with the readers. I want people to ask me question and share their own personal experiences. I also want people to feel comfortable answering each other and asking each other questions. I love the community feel and I hope that it continues to grow more and more comfortable. Welcome to the community here and I hope that you’ll continue to feel comfortable diving in and sharing your opinion.
Casey Brazeal (North and Clark) said:
D’OH! I said 15,000 but that was me writing your alexa rank and not your # of subscribers. A very impressive 600+.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Casey Brazeal (North and Clark) –> Yeah. I had a couple people let me know that it was phrased in such a way as to make it look like I was talking about pageviews, so I added some clarity to the article. I don’t want it to look like I’m bragging about more visitors than I’m actually getting. Thanks!
Coop said:
Great post and very impressive stats so far. I recently discovered your site and have already found it incredibly helpful. Thanks so much.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Coop –> You’re welcome and thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback here.
scheng1 said:
Nice recap of 4 months of hard work. I guess you dream of blogging every night!
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Self Improvement said:
Wow, this was a wonderful post to read. You must be really proud of what you’ve accomplished with Site Sketch 101. It really inspires me to do the same with my blog. Reading through your posts has given me so much more confidence. You are great.
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