Each month I review a variety of metrics for my business, including website analytics, conversion rates, book sales, newsletter signups, and social network connections. This analysis helps me to track the progress of my business, see where my website traffic is coming from, and determine what is going well and where I could make improvements.
I am very pleased to see that my website traffic in March was up 17% from the previous month and that my site has its highest ever Alexa ranking: 199,360 globally and 46,694 in the United States! That’s up from 351,249 globally and 113,826 in the U.S. this time last year.
If you’re not familiar with Alexa, sites are ranked by popularity and a lower number is better. Currently Google is ranked #1 and Facebook has surpassed YouTube for the #2 spot. Find your site's ranking here. Thank you to all of my readers for visiting this site, and please share The Savvy Book Marketer with other authors that you know. Stay tuned for more book marketing tips and resources, including upcoming guest posts from two publishing industry experts, Sue Collier and Joel Friedlander.
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Crunching The Numbers
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Dana Lynn Smith, author of the Savvy Book Marketer Guides, has a degree in marketing and 17 years of publishing experience. Learn more on her media page.
Praise for The Savvy Book Marketer
"My business book recently had the good fortune to land on the best seller lists. You are one of the people I've followed over the previous year to learn about book promotion . . . obviously it works!"
— Kevin Kruse, author of We: How to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full Engagement
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— Christine Bode, Social Media Manager at Scully Love Promo
"You are such a treasure, a wonderful asset to all of us who write . . . thank you again for all you do."
— Maureen McDermott Gill, author of January Moon
"Your site is so packed with good information I've been absorbed with it most of the day. Thanks!"
— Mystery Author Billie A. Williams
"You are one of the few true, knowledgeable book marketing experts online or probably anywhere else!"
— Juli Schatz, Author! Author! Book & Author Marketing Network
"Special thanks to Dana Smith, who is an angel in disguise for new authors, sharing her valuable resources and excellent tips."
—dedication page from Take a Peep Inside Our Lives by Roberta Blango
"Words can’t express my gratitude toward you! You are the best at marketing and helping authors promote themselves."
—Bridgette L. Collins, author of Imagine Living Healthier: Mind, Body and Soul
"Like all great teachers, Dana’s step-by-step approach shows how big projects become manageable when broken down into individual tasks."
—Roger C. Parker, Published and Profitable
"I took a seminar on marketing with social media today. Dana Lynn Smith filled up the hour with excellent information."
—Joy DeKok, author coach
"Dana, you give such amazing, detailed content. It's great to know that there are still people online who are willing to give like you do."
—Erin A. Kurt, author of Juggling Family Life: A Step-by-Step Guide to Stress-Free Parenting
“During the year before publication, we used Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual as a primary reference book. As much contact as I had with Poynter's book, the information on your website is equally valuable to me!"
—Pat Garrison, for Dr. Gayle Rozantine, author of At Ease, Soldier!
"I shared your website with a number of my writer/author Facebook friends . . . every comment included the word AWESOME."
— Wanda Winters-Gutierrez, author of The Search for Peace
"Dana Lynn Smith is a multi-talented book marketing consultant."
—Rabbi Ed Weinsberg, author of Conquer Prostate Cancer
"All of Smith’s books are easy reads and exhibit her ability to use creativity in a practical way in book marketing. Following her marketing advice is sure to boost your sales."
—MaAnna Stephenson, author of BlogAid and The Sage Age
"My book sales have increased since I put into practice the things I learned . . . You are a great help to newbie authors as well as those who have been marketing books online for a while."
—Yvonne Perry, author of Whose Stuff Is This?
"I highly recommend Dana as a speaker and resource for authors."
—Shelley Hitz, Self-Publishing-Coach.com
"I have one word to sum up my feelings about Boost Your Book Sales with Social Networking teleseminar — Fantastic!"
— Jennifer Aderhold, writer
"If you want to get up to speed with using Facebook as a promotional tool, I highly recommend Facebook Guide for Authors. It's definitely going to be my "bible" where Facebook is concerned from now on."
—Nick Daws, author of 80 books
"Finding the Savvy Book Marketer website has been a blessing. Dana's clever tips and informative ebooks have been a great way for me to extend my knowledge of how to market myself."
— Debi Slinger, author of Poppy Pretzel - Passage into Puberty
"Dana, what a wonderful tool you have created for authors!"
—Tony Eldridge, Marketing Tips for Authors blog
“You are fast becoming my only go-to place for book marketing guidance!”
—Frances S. Ponick, author of Only Angels Can Wing It
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— Sharon Williams
"This is a great new ebook from Dana Lynn Smith on maximizing your sales on Amazon. Her ebooks are so easy to understand and implement!"
— Barbara Techel, author of the Frankie the Walk 'N Roll Dog books
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—Carole London, Lifetime Chronicle Press
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—Carol Schultz-Weil, author of In The Trenches: Financial Survival During Times of Hardship
"The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing is absolutely amazing."
—Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of The Frugal Book Promoter and the Sharing With Writers blog
"After you read The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Selling Your Book to Libraries, you'll be able to tap into this valuable market with ease. Highly recommended."
—Lynne Klippel, Managing Partner, Love Your Life Publishing
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—Jenni James, author of Northanger Alibi
"This is one of the most helpful marketing websites out there for debut authors (such as myself). Great advice, timely as well. Keep it up!”
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"I enjoy your newsletters. I must say, they're the only ones from various book marketing 'gurus' that I actually read, because there's usually something very practical I can use."
—Timothy James Dean, author of TEETH - The Epic Novel With Bite
"Thank you SO MUCH for sharing the Savvy Book Marketing Secrets ebook. I used some of your hints the first day I read the book and they helped so much! I recommend it for every writer BEFORE they publish their first novel!"
—Carol Morgan, novelist
“I have learned so much from your writing and I feel truly indebted to you for your generosity.”
—Marcie Lovett, author of The Clutter Book
"I enjoyed reading your article, The 7 Deadly Sins of Online Networking. As always, a great article with specific advice!"
— Marsha Toy Engstrom, The Book Club Cheerleader
"Thanks for your work helping budding authors, please keep it up!"
— Heather Woods, author of Finding Anna
"You continue to be one of the few marketing bloggers and consultants I consistently read."
— Babette Donaldson, author of The Emma Lea Books and Family Tea Time
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— Pat W. Kirk, author of Escape from the Prison System: Finding the Narrow Door
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— S. Thomas Bailey, author of The Gauntlet Runner: A Tale from the French and Indian War
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Delighted to see that your site is ranking so well, but not surprised. You always have such great info. And thanks for the Alexa link. I noticed that it reports the top search phrases, which is very helpful. Noticed on my site report that those phrases are different from what Google Analytics reports. Interesting!
Posted by: MaAnna Stephenson | April 02, 2011 at 08:22 PM
Thanks MaAnna. I use two different analytic tools to track website performance (StatCounter and Google Analytics) and I've noticed that they don't always match up exactly either. I guess it depends on the tools they use for measuring.
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | April 02, 2011 at 09:05 PM
Congratulations on your success! Your blog is definitely part of my daily read. Your content and actionable advice make it a perennial resource.
Posted by: Tony Eldridge | April 04, 2011 at 10:44 AM
Thanks so much Tony!
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | April 04, 2011 at 10:51 AM
By the way, I followed your advice on categories and re-tagged all my posts. I rolled out a new template for my blog and placed the categories at the top as menu options. The two options I really wanted to make available to readers was an easy way to find a list of guest authors and a list of my Tips Around The Net. Categories made that possible. Thanks for your help.
Posted by: Tony Eldridge | April 04, 2011 at 03:21 PM
Tony, congrats on the new blog format - it looks great!
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | April 04, 2011 at 08:44 PM
Dana, that's terrific. I'm getting a much higher ranking for you on Alexa, though, of 155,692 which is substantially better than the screen shot you've got here. Kudos on creating a site with so much great content!
Posted by: Joel Friedlander | April 22, 2011 at 06:02 PM
Thanks so much Joel! Actually the ranking has gone up (or rather down) to 155,692 global and 29,692 US in the three weeks since I wrote this story, which is very exciting.
Dana
Posted by: Dana Lynn Smith | April 22, 2011 at 07:12 PM
Congratulations! Its really nice to have hard data on your hands. That way, you can quickly check if your marketing strategy is going well. Keep it up and good luck!
Posted by: Macey Prange | September 01, 2011 at 09:50 AM