My Blog’s Stats After Adding A Co-Blogger

My previous two posts about co-bloggers covered the potential positives and negatives of having a co-blogger. Today I’ll share some results.

Background:

The blog I’ve been discussing in the last two posts is Tree Hugging Family. It launched in August 2007, so it’s somewhat new. Being a green family blog, it’s in a smaller niche, then say, pop stars or tech. Being in a smaller niche was one reason I was worried about getting a co-blogger; I wasn’t sure a co-blogger would reap large enough traffic benefits to make a difference.

I blogged at THF solo for about 5.5 months and then decided to find a co-blogger. Peggy has been co-blogging with me since February.

Stats:

THF is a network blog, so I won’t be giving away exact stats, since it doesn’t belong to me. That said, I figured the best way to illustrate the difference between me blogging solo vs. the co-blogger addition was to create a graph. I only included unique visitors and page views to keep it tidy.

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Positives of Having A Co-Blogger

Yesterday we looked at cons of co-bloggers. Today; the potential positives of having a really good co-blogger. In case you missed it, I’d read yesterday’s post first, or you may start wondering who Peggy is.

You finally… FINALLY can take a sick day: Since Peggy came on it’s not like I’ve taken days off – maybe one or two. What I like, is that the option is there now. The same goes for posting amount though. If I can only write one post a day for a couple of days because my son is sick, traffic won’t slow, because I know Peggy posted at least once as well. It’s really nice to have an extra blogger on bad days.

Chores are split: Tasks like blogroll upkeep, moderating comments, contests, and other blah tasks you need to do to keep a blog rolling, are split up. My most favorite thing to do is send Peggy sponsor emails! Now I’m not alone in dealing with them. It’s a huge relief.

You can sign off topics: At Tree Hugging Family, it would be nice to have a post about animals once in a while. Animals are actually a big green issue – one that bores me to write about. Animals are so not my thing. They are however Peggy’s thing. If you have a co-blogger there’s a good chance their knowledge base is different than your knowledge base and it can really round out your blog.

You don’t get stuck anymore: I love green issues. It’s rare I get suck on what or how to write about a topic. However, we all have an off day. When I do, I can email Peggy for advice. Since I know she knows the topics, I trust her judgment.

You know more people: When you start a blog, and you’re already an established blogger, one big perk is many of your readers will follow you to your new blog. Get two bloggers you’ve got 2 sets of readers. It’s not just old school readers either. There may have been people reading Tree Hugging Family who just plain didn’t like me – but, they might like Peggy. Sponsors and other bloggers also relate to each of you differently. You could end up with a wider range of pals, readers, and sponsors.

Your post amount, traffic, and pay can soar upwards:  I’ll leave my actual examples for my post tomorrow, but I will say that two bloggers make for much better traffic than one blogger alone. It’s insane the difference Tree Hugging Family has seen.

It’s fun: This was not a perk I expected. However, having the right co-blogger is a lot of fun. We can laugh about the anti tree-hugger emails and chat about green issues and other stuff. For me talking to any blogger is fun – but having another green blogger to talk to is super keen.

It’s supportive: It’s really cool to have someone around who gets the blog like you get the blog. You can discuss ways to pump traffic, rant about mean emails from the loony folks who love global warming, and vent when no one comments on your (assumed) brilliant post.

What are some pros you’ve seen related to co-bloggers?  

Co-Bloggers – One Cure for the Lazy Blogger

Deb’s last post was a good one. Did you miss it? Well, here it is – Why I’m a Lazy Blogger – And How I Can Improve.

Deb noted issues with the blogroll, minimum post schedule, and time to visit other blogs. I’m big time into blogrolls so no issues there. However, I totally get her deal with scheduling to increase posting quotas and finding the time to visit other blogs. Most network or client bloggers I know do have time issues; as in there’s never enough time, not ever. There’s always something you can do to improve your blog, and often it comes down to you vs. the clock. Sadly, the clock tends to win, especially when life gets fun and tosses you a sick kid, your network shuts down due to technical issues, or a storm kicks off your power.

One thing that can help is a co-blogger. Co-bloggers don’t relieve you of all your duties, but having an extra set of typing hands can help. A co-blogger is an especially efficient way to pump up post quotas.

Recently I took on a co-blogger myself at a network blog, Tree Hugging Family. My new co-blogger was, well is, Peggy. Based on this experience, I can give you some actual examples of how this has improved my blog, along with some pros and cons you may encounter. This is a longish topic. So, first in this post I’ll cover co-blogger cons. Then in my next few posts we’ll look at pros of co-bloggers, how to find a good co-blogger, and example results of having one.

Hopefully this co-blogger series as a whole will help you decide if a co-blogger is right for you.

Negatives of taking on a co-blogger:

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