Swollen Pickles

Seven months down already. That's just crazy. Anyway, straight into it...

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

Effort + Output = Reward. That is probably why I am making very little progress on this goal. $141.03, yeah it's up slightly from $105.98 in June, but it's still less than half way toward the $350 target.

Goal Number Two: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that receives 35,000 unique visits per month.

Snuck over the target with 35,518 unique visits in July, down from 42,793 unique visits in June.

What I found most interesting about the traffic statistics for July was that 9.52% of traffic to Swollen Pickles came from Bing.

Goal Number Three: Exercise a minimum of three times per week (30 plus minutes per session).

I managed to maintain this goal for the month of July. I'm on a roll.

Goal Number Four: Achieve a Body Mass Index (BMI) within the "Normal" range (from 18.5 to 25).

Getting closer!! I started the year with a hefty BMI of 29, at the end of June it was down to 26.5 by the end of July my BMI was 25.7. My short term goal for the next month is to get the BMI below 25.

Goal Number Five: Reduce my waist measurement to below 94cm.

When I set my goals at the start of the year, I never expected it to take me this long to get hold of a tape measure. In any case, I have no idea what I started at, and I don't really have an accurate measure of where I'm at now. I can say, that I now fit in to pants with a 97cm waist and I need a belt.

And in other news...

Motivation is a funny thing. Some days I have it, some days I don't. I'm not even particularly sure what motivates me 97% of the time. One thing I'm starting to learn is that I can't do everything. I'm not Superman. There's clearly a correlation between time spent on working toward a goal and the amount of success I have toward achieving that goal. It's a balancing act. The more time I spend on one goal, the less time I have to spend on another, meaning that when one goal is going well, the others suffer. Take a look at the results for June 2009 and you may get a clearer picture of what I'm getting at.

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

The year has sucked big time this year in terms of revenue, with the site generating a modest $105.98 in June, down again from $137.54 in May.

Goal Number Two: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that receives 35,000 unique visits per month.

Smashed the previous months visitor numbers, with 42,793 unique visits in June, compared to 39,084 unique visits in May. If only I could figure out a way to consistently translate those numbers into dollars.

Goal Number Three: Exercise a minimum of three times per week (30 plus minutes per session).

I was doing great until the last two weeks of June. I got the flu and was out of action for a week, and was then a little slow to ramp things up again. I maintained decent eating habits though, so it didn't have a huge impact on the overall weight loss...

Goal Number Four: Achieve a Body Mass Index (BMI) within the "Normal" range (from 18.5 to 25).

Good signs here as I inch closer to achieving this goal the next challenge will be maintaining it! I started the year with a hefty BMI of 29. At the end of June, my BMI was 26.5, down from 27.8 in May. As a micro goal, I'm hoping to be at or below 25.5 by the end of

Goal Number Five: Reduce my waist measurement to below 94cm.

I haven't brought myself to a trip to Spotlight for a measuring tape yet. Progress on this goal is difficult to report.

May has run it's course so it's time once again for the goal update. I was slack throughout May. Very slack. So slack that I didn't actually do an update for April. The last couple of months have been hectic and I feel kind of like a circus clown juggling 80 chainsaws.

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

May was the best month in the history of Swollen Pickles. In total the site brought in $137.54, down slightly from the $143.59 that it scored in April. Perhaps Swollen Pickles is not recession proof?

Goal Number Two: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that receives 35,000 unique visits per month.

In May the number of unique visitors to Swollen Pickles passed my target, with 39,084 unique visits. This compares to 34,308 in April. Nice.

Goal Number Three: Exercise a minimum of three times per week (30 plus minutes per session).

I'm glad to report that I have, for the most part, been able to stick to this target. There have been a couple of weeks where I've had trouble getting in to the gym, but I've tried to make up for that through healthier eating and a bit extra walking.

Goal Number Four: Achieve a Body Mass Index (BMI) within the "Normal" range (from 18.5 to 25).

I'm really happy with my progress on this one. I started the year at 29, and by the end of May I was down to 27.8. Still a lot of work to go but progress is progress!

Goal Number Five: Reduce my waist measurement to below 94cm.

I really should ditch this goal since I have no base from which to start, and haven't got hold of a tape. Maybe I should change this goal to "go to a sewing shop and buy a measuring tape".

In other news... go check out Banalytics. I like it cos it's banal... and cos it's Blankshootings. Here's a taste, and commentary on Social Media. Ahhh... funny cos it's true.

March flew by quicker than Superman during sexy time. This months goal update is fairly brief seeing as though I struggled to get it done on schedule, so here t'is.

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

Slight improvement here in relation to the past couple of months. The site brought in $164.20US in March, up from $138.24 in February and $112.77 in January.

Goal Number Two: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that receives 35,000 unique visits per month.

March was a good month traffic wise with Swollen Pickles nudging past the target mark. There were 36,657 unique visitors in March, up from 32,627 in February.

Goal Number Three: Exercise a minimum of three times per week (30 plus minutes per session).

I missed one session in March due to an unforeseen commitment I unwittingly became committed to.

Goal Number Four: Achieve a Body Mass Index (BMI) within the "Normal" range (from 18.5 to 25).

I'm slowly getting closer to my goal. In February I was 28.6, at the end of March I was 28.5. I started the year at 29.

Goal Number Five: Reduce my waist measurement to below 94cm.

I've still too lazy to source a large enough tape measure. My bad.

When February rolls around it always occurs to me that there is a flaw in my goal tracking. Obviously February is the shortest month of the year, in 2009 February had three fewer days than January. Therefore, it doesn't quite seem fair to compare February's results with those of January. None the less, that's what I'm going to do...

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

To be blunt, Swollen Pickles is still under performing. In January, the site brought in $112.77, with February seeing this figure increasing to $138.24. The big performers continue to be the eBay partner network, thanks to phpBayPro and InfoLinks.

Incidentally, March may be a good time fore you to check out Chitika, as I've just learned that throughout March they are running with their "Stimulus Package Match" program. My basic understanding is that throughout March, whatever you earn with Chitika, Chitika will match it, up to $50. There new premium ad units are worth a look as they only display to US/Canadian traffic that arrives at your site via a search engine.
(more...)

January 2009 has flown by and has had a bit of everything. Holidays, movies, extreme record breaking heat. That's summer for you. Now, walk with me, as we take a look at how I'm traveling in my goal project.

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

A relatively disappointing month in January revenue wise, with Swollen Pickles raising a grand total of $112.77, well under the target. It's becoming increasingly clear that I'm going to have to make some significant changes if I'm going to consistently crack the target. I'm currently considering a redesign. I've sketched a couple of layouts but I can't make up my mind.

Goal Number Two: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that receives 35,000 unique visits per month.

I almost reached the target in the first month, with 34,032 unique visitors rolling in during January, up on the 27,048 unique visitors from December 2008.

Goal Number Three: Exercise a minimum of three times per week (30 plus minutes per session).

I managed to maintain three 30 minute min. sessions per week throughout January with the exception of the final week when temperatures were well over 40 degrees for a few days in a row. Bottom line, it was bloody hot, and the advice in the press suggested strenuous exercise should be avoided. Hence, I avoided it.

Goal Number Four: Achieve a Body Mass Index (BMI) within the "Normal" range (from 18.5 to 25).

At the start of 2009 my BMI was 29. At the end of January it was 28.7. I'm starting out small but at least I'm starting to move in the right direction!

Goal Number Five: Reduce my waist measurement to below 94cm.

So I've encountered a problem with this goal. I still don't have a tape measure that could be used to measure the waist. It's a problem because I have no real benchmark to start from. I am guessing that I'm still above 94cm by a decent amount.So there are my goals for 2009.

1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom Cherry Sunburst Vintage

US $3,495.00

15m

GIBSON WIRING HARNESS 1976 LES PAUL CUSTOM SG STANDARD

2 Bids

US $61.00

24m

When I sat down to contemplate what goals I'd set for the 2009 calendar year, I realised that I'd been going with the goal setting thing for two years now. I've read that when you are setting goals, well balanced goals equal a well balanced life. Where as in previous years I've spread my focus across a few web projects, this year I'm going to set some 'life' goals as well. By the same token I'm going to try and keep things a lot simpler!

Goal Number One: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that can generate $350US per month.

I'm keeping this goal on the list, as it's one I did not manage to achieve last year, but one that I think is within reach. I have to say, that after 2007, I had high hopes for SwollenPickles.com. In many respects though, 2008 turned out to be a disappointment. While I got close to averaging 30,000 a month, SwollenPickles.com did not generate nearly as much revenue as I would have hoped, or expected, given the traffic numbers.

Goal Number Two: Develop Swollen Pickles into a website that receives 35,000 unique visits per month.

I'm increasing the target by an additional 5,000. To achieve goal number one that'd mean the site would have an eCPM of $10, which is perhaps a little optimistic, but I like to aim high.

Goal Number Three: Exercise a minimum of three times per week (30 plus minutes per session).

While I generally walk most places on a daily basis, I wouldn't describe it as strenuous exercise. In order to achieve goal number four, I'm going to have to step it up. With my other commitments, three sessions a week is achievable, if I can maintain the motivation.

Wonderslim Diet Weightloss Cheesecake Pudding Shake Mix

0 Bid

US $9.99

16m

WEIGHT LOSS PEDOMETER STEP WATCHERS COUNTERS LEASH

US $12.95

18m

Rather than just focus on weight this year, I'm going to focus on my BMI. As an indication though, and although I have accurately measured myself, I've just roughly calculated my current BMI as being 29.

Goal Number Five: Reduce my waist measurement to below 94cm.

Based on what I've read, there seems to be some disagreement as to what is more important in terms of good health, BMI or waist measurement. Just to cover both bases, I'm going to set my goal waste measurement to be below 94cm. I have no idea what my current measurement is, so I'm going to need to buy a tape measure.

If you're interested, here's some information from Taste.com.au:

The risk of health problems is increased if the waist measurement (taken at the belly button) is more than 94cm for men and 80cm for women, and substantially increased if it's more than 102cm for men and 88cm for women.

So there are my goals for 2009.