By the Numbers

It is hard to believe I am already at the two-year blog report. Time goes fast when you’re having fun! The past two years has seen 33 states, Ontario, snowstorms, navigational blunders, and COVID-19 restrictions. It has been challenging but rewarding. Well, maybe not the COVID part.

There is good and not as good to report with the blog, but overall, it has been nothing short of amazing. October 8th was the two-year mark and there are no plans to cease anytime soon.  As of that date I have had a total of 4,212 views and 2,382 visitors to Outerrealmz. Albeit there are highly successful blogs that achieve these numbers in weeks. This gives me plenty of room to grow, but I also have reason to celebrate.

The numbers are rising. In 2020 I have had, thus far, a total of 1,932 views as compared to 1,496 in 2019; and there are still nearly three months left in 2020. Likewise, visitors have risen from 910 to 1,234 in the same time frame. Click here to view the one-year blog report. https://outerrealmz.com/one-year-blog-report/

I attribute this increase of traffic at Outerrealmz to my increasing knowledge and practice of SEO tactics, and to longevity. Google tends to be more hospitable to a site that hangs in there. Not that two years is huge swath of time, but it is something when considered how many sites come and go in a few months. At the same time, perfecting the SEO game helps to get better google page rankings.

With a total of 45 posts and a growing number of positive comments, a certain momentum has developed that I feel will only continue to build.

 

 Come and Gone

There was some talk over the past year about exciting additions to Outerrealmz.  This included Outerrealmz shirts, a drone, and a YouTube channel. I will take this one by one.

Shirts. The plan was to open a store, of sorts, on the site, featuring shirts, hats, and maybe bumper stickers. The hats and stickers never materialized, but there were plenty of medium, large, and X-large shirts made. The store was never formed, nor any shirts sold via the site. This is because I ended up giving most of the shirts away. Instead of making a few dollars a shirt, I was more interested in Outerrealmz being advertised as much as possible. Therefore, I gave the shirts away to family, friends, and acquaintances, with a promise they would wear it in public.

Drone. We got the drone! It never worked right! Reoccurring calibration issues caused enough headache and frustration to keep the Outerrealmz Arial Department grounded. A better, more expensive, more durable drone is in the future works. Look forward to an announcement in the coming months.

You Tube Channel. This too indeed happened, well, sort of. An Outerrealmz You Tube channel does, in fact, exist.  (Look it up!) The problem is you will find only one video therein. Several videos were made in locations like Kentucky, New Orleans, and California. But only one, a short vid in Tombstone in which we were photobombed by Doc Holiday, made the cut. Due to lack of better words, I am no good on camera. Perhaps, when that better drone comes along, I will have some overhead video to contribute to the YouTube Channel.

Don’t get me wrong. There have been no failures at Outerreamz, only a slow learning curve, which is being hammered out day and night. I very well may have learned more, blog wise, during this last year than at any other time.

I lost my technical advisor, navigator, proofreader, traveling partner and babysitter. Trish is off on her own adventures now, and I wish her the best. For the first time, Outerrealmz is a solo venture.

 

Futuristic Outlook

It has been said, by multiple sources, that it takes up to two years to make a blog profitable. At the two-year mark, I am seeing, with eyes anew, the potential of growth and reach of Outerrealmz. As the audience continues to grow during the next year, I will be ever closer to establishing some form of affiliate marketing and/or advertising.

Now, for the finest part of all; the traveling. I have just returned from a trip. Interesting and colorful places were scoured over in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and elsewhere. Look for posts in the coming weeks. These posts will cover topics which will include “A Road to Weirdness”, “Bishop’s Castle”, “Carhenge”, and probably something to do with an enchanted Highway in a far-off land. I have probably visited and studied enough places to keep the blog posts coming into the winter.

Likewise, a trip is planned for late winter, to the south, and very possibly a trip to the east coast via Canada later in 2021. Where I am to go will depend on the COVID situation when this, rather insane, 2020 is behind us.

When trips become few and far in-between, I am lucky enough to have a reserve of places much closer. Northern Nevada holds hundreds of gems to be explored or reexplored that I can write about or expand upon.

I continue to serve as a history columnist for the local paper, and still freelance a little bit on the side as well. Just when I think I have not a spare moment left; I start to think about a book. I have committed myself to writing three books in the next six years. One of these books is going to include blog posts, narratives, and other stories I have written over the years of exploring near and far.

The future looks remarkably busy and possibly borderline chaotic. But that is often the self-imposed state we writers put ourselves in.  And we would have it no other way.

Remember to watch for the coming posts. I am going to jump out on a limb and suggest the first blog post from this trip I have just returned from will be put up in one week. As this bizarre year draws near its end, Outerrealmz will be ripe with plenty of activity. Stay adventurous and stay tuned.