Thinking About Starting Your OWN Blog? If YOU'D like to learn how to make money blogging with affiliate marketing like I do, feel free to read my Free Blogging 101 E-Course here.
Help For Bloggers | Get Daily Pinterest Tips
Get Free Training, TWO Free Blogs, and Free Tools
So, Blogging Results Suck in the Summer? True or False?
I want to show you something that is the best “visual” I have to get a real picture in YOUR mind of what the whole “summer slump” thing is for bloggers.
No doubt, you have heard many bloggers complain/mention that their traffic and sales are down during the summer months, but is the ‘Summer Slump’ a REAL thing?
Let’s talk about that AND something new and exciting for bloggers from the Amazon affiliate program (Amazon Associates)
Whenever I see a blogger mention (or lament, whine, complain, throw a tantrum…lol) on Facebook that their traffic is down from Pinterest or overall during the summer months, it is inevitably met with at least one response like this:
“oh, it’s summer – that’s normal“
IS it really “normal” for ALL blog traffic to be down in the summer months?
It sure sounds like it makes sense, right?
Kids are out of school, people are outside and vacationing – they simply aren’t online as much during these months as any other time of year.
That makes perfect sense to me.
Heck, *I’m* online much less in the summer months than any other time of year – and I WORK online lol!
YES, there is a LOT less browsing around the internet going on during the summer months.
please notice my emphasis on the word “browsing”
And if your earnings are almost 100% dependent on Pinterest traffic that leads to ad view revenue….
Well, yep, this time of year could certainly suck a little –
but then again, you KNOW better than to be almost 100% dependent on that, right?
you KNOW you should learn how to SEO your blog posts to diversify your traffic sources, right? (please say “yes, I know that!”)
You simply can’t MAKE people be online, right?
But something really magical DOES happen this time of year – that also carries on throughout the REST of the year.
Buyer INTENT goes UP.
I was poking through my Amazon affiliate stats (as I do in a weird, compulsive way because I am addicted to better post conversions and earnings)
And I happened to compare my last year’s January through June to last year’s stats.
Again, I saw something that seems to be true of all my online things every single year.
I’m going to show you a graph of last years stats inside my Amazon affiliate account.
No, I’m not showing earnings numbers, but I want you to REALLY notice is much more important than how much *I* earn.
Every year my stats look like this.
The RED line is clicks on my Amazon affiliate links.
The ORANGE line is number of products ordered.
The GREEN bar is earnings for that month.
Got that?
Ok, now REALLY look…
Notice the red line for clicks vs the orange line for orders (sales).
Do you see what happens between May and June?
Clicks go down, but orders go UP.
And that continues for the REST OF THE YEAR.
Every year my stats look like that.
Every. Single. Year.
Even when I add new sites, in a new “niche”, that sell totally different things – it always looks like that.
(and I’ve been an Amazon affiliate since 2007)
You might also notice that July and August are GREAT months for SALES – but my clicks are much lower.
Do you know what that MEANS?
And what that means to YOU?
Yes, there’s less traffic to my posts during the summer…
BUT, that traffic is MUCH more INTENT on BUYING.
And that trend – that buying trend continues through December.
Yes, for the next SIX MONTHS =)
“But that’s just AMAZON…”
“Just” Amazon, you say? Amazon is THE online retailer that converts visitors to SALES probably better than ANY other website.
If this is a true trend for Amazon – it’s a THING… a very real THING.
Less traffic – less clicks – but WAY better conversions.
Less traffic, more sales…
ie, less WORK to make the monies =)
So, Summer Slump – is it a REAL thing?
Yes, of course it is – especially for U.S. bloggers.
BUT, the traffic you DO get is on a mission – they’re ready to BUY.
My best advice:
Stop worrying about the traffic numbers, and learn how to convert the traffic you DO get to sales –
It will serve you well for the rest of the year.
– Last half of the year – lots of BUYERS (IF you set your posts up to convert!)
If you really think about it, it makes perfect sense.
“It’s summer. If I’m online looking for a certain something, I want to find it, buy it and be done so I can get back to summer.”
BE that solution for your visitors!
That’s where the money is =)
Moral of the story:
LOVE your summer traffic.
&
Other Exciting News for Amazon Affiliates
I opened up my Amazon Associates account today to see I’ve been invited to test a new “beta” reporting option for Amazon affiliates.
THIS has me SUPER excited!
– Have you ever wished you could know WHICH post is making you those Amazon sales?
– Have you ever wished you could KNOW how much EACH blog post actually makes in Amazon commissions?
Well Amazon is going to tell us!
I go to a LOT of effort to ensure my posts convert REALLY well – and apparently, Amazon is going to make this a bit easier for me – and for YOU!
YAY!
Just yesterday, the Amazon Associates program opened up a reporting option called “Content Insights” for a few affiliates.
Short version:
We will be able to see a list of our blog posts AND how many clicks, how much in earnings, AND what products were purchased from each POST.
Oh, AND Amazon will be giving us Content SUGGESTIONS of OTHER blog post topics we could/should write that will resonate with our buying traffic.
Cool, right!
I sure think so!
If you’re been invited to test the Beta of these new reports, you should see this inside your Amazon Associate’s dashboard:
You’ll need to have Amazon’s “OneLink” tracking code installed in the footer of your site – and then they say it can take up to 48 hours to get your first report.
That’s what I’m waiting on – and I can NOT wait!
I L-O-V-E useful stats that help me make MORE sales =)
Here’s a quick overview video the Amazon Associates program put out on YouTube:
If you’re a conversions “geek” like I am, I’m sure you’re excited about this too!
It’s a magical thing when you can make MORE sales from the SAME traffic (or from LESS traffic)!
It’s about time Amazon offered us something MORE to work with – something truly useful – and these new Content Insights are just what we need.
Once I get my reports, see how it all works, etc, I’ll post about it here to keep you updated.
&
I Need To...
- Learn How To SEO My Blog Posts
- Learn How To FIX My Pinterest Results
- Learn How To Track My Blog Posts for Better Results
- Learn How To Earn MORE From My Blog Posts
- Learn What Works NOW for Bloggers
- Learn How To START Blogging for Money
- Join PotPieGirl's Affiliate Program
- See What Tools PotPieGirl Uses
&
&
Thank you for this Jennifer (Yep another Jennifer here too 🙂 Yeah, I always figured that if your niche involved weddings or beach gear you probably wouldn’t be in a slump…but this is something haven’t thought of….I will definitely have to check my email to see if I got that notice about the new report.
I live in middle Georgia and the weather is crazy raining cats and dogs…definitely not thinking about the beach LOL.
Thank you as always for the heads up and the great tips!