Hello!

Welcome to the monthly update for the Insights, Innovation, and Economics blog. This is where I’ll discuss the current progress of running a blog plus some goals and initiatives for next month, ending with a sneak peek at the next blog post.

Blogging is about Nuance

Merriam-Webster defines nuance as “having or characterized by subtle and often appealingly complex qualities, aspects, or distinctions.”

When it comes to blogging, nuance is incredibly important.

Most bloggers know quite a lot about the basics of the topics they write about. So, nuance is important as it encourages us to get into the finer details–the details that set our content apart from others. This nuance allows us to explore different perspectives, acknowledge unknowns and gray areas, and present information in a balanced and well-rounded manner.

But nuance serves other purposes too.

Blogs are a platform for personal expression, and nuance allows bloggers to convey their unique voice and tone effectively. A nuanced writing style can help establish rapport with readers and make the content more engaging and relatable.

Nuance allows for the exploration of subtleties, exceptions, and counterarguments, which can lead to a more thoughtful and well-reasoned discussion. Nuance often sparks thoughtful discussions and encourages reader engagement.

Ultimately, nuance is super important when it comes to blogging.

I’m a big quote person, so here’s a good one to wrap up this section (and continue our Kardashian+friends theme):

“I take, like, 500 selfies to get one I like.”

- Kylie Jenner

What’s Happened This Month

Continuation.

Building on the Reddit success from last month, I built out many different types of analytics to watch and monitor what is working and what isn’t and how I can improve performance over time.

Besides that, it’s been mostly the same old same old. I’m continuing to do things that work and experimenting with things that aren’t. I haven’t found much success yet, but that isn’t from a lack of trying.

There’s always more to be done in relation to the blog, but I’ve been aggressively busy with other things this month so the blog has taken a little bit of a backseat. Fortunately, my schedule is lighter this month so there should be more progress this month.

Stats This Month

After last month’s stellar performance, these numbers are pretty great. Views went down a bit but interactions increased, which is good for creating conversation and further interactions. In addition, these numbers don’t account for the large increase in blog views–which I’ll detail below.

Twitter stats were significantly down this month. That’s partially my fault because I missed optimal times to post content. Hopefully this month gets back to normal, potentially even pushing one or two people to the blog.

The blog continues to reach new heights in viewership. So exciting! Reddit drove most of this traffic and a couple of subscribers, which is great. Amazing performance this month, and I only hope it continues to exponentially grow.

For the three subscribers that joined us this month, thank you!

Progress on Last Month’s Goals

This segment is where I discuss the goals I set for this month (in last month’s monthly update) and what progress (or not) I’ve made:

1. Continue having fun writing blog posts and running the blog

Don’t worry, this one happened (and hopefully will always continue to happen). It’s been another fantastic month running the blog.

2. Figure out how to play the Twitter game for my content

This goal continues to be relatively stagnant. I’m starting to think no matter what I do Twitter will not work like I want it to. I also am starting to come to the grips that Twitter may not be the platform it used to be and that it may not be a true driver of subscribers to the blog.

3. Continue diving deeply into interesting topics (new and old)

I’ve found some fun new topics to write about and explore this month (you’ll see them coming soon). It’s my goal that this continues to happen every single month as it’ll keep the content fresh and exciting for both you and me.

4. Continue to produce high-quality blog content

This month you can start to see the efforts that I’ve put forward to better the content I produce. Hopefully you enjoyed it and thought it was high-quality.

Overall, it was a good month for achieving blog goals (like an 8/10), but there are always things to improve:

Goals for Next Month

This month has seen a continuation of success, and I plan to continue building on this momentum. So, here are the goals for the month:

1. Continue having fun writing blog posts and running the blog

This will continue to be the first goal every month. It’s a good reminder that this blog is purely for enjoyment and education, not to make money or grow a following (become an influencer). If I can make someone’s week a little bit better by reading my blog that week, that's a successful week for me.

2. Continue to try to figure out the Reddit game

Reddit has been a success but I think it can continue to be a valuable resource. Now that I know how the platform works for content creators, I feel better about my chances for success. This involves some trial and error, so I’ll be playing around with different strategies, but overall I’m very excited to see where this goes from here.

3. Continue diving deeply into interesting topics (new and old)

This goal has persisted since last month. As I continue to write about and explore these topics and areas I’m interested in, I always want to take it one layer deeper. A couple of reasons for this: A) It provides a unique lens on content that entices viewers and engagement; B) It keeps it interesting for me to learn and write about, providing a newer perspective on an area that I may not have considered before.

4. Continue to produce high-quality blog content

This goal has persisted since last month. I hope that throughout this process of blogging, I continue to teach you, the reader, about these areas that interest me as effectively and efficiently as possible.

A Little Thank You

Thank you for sticking around. For anyone new here: thank you too. I’m excited to see what happens this next month! This project continues to grow and develop, astounding me every month. Like always, this is purely for fun, and so far it’s been great.

As a little thank you, here’s a tease for the next post:

“This combination of environmental, economic, and technical innovation is driving more countries to embrace wind energy as a major pillar of their national renewable energy plans and future commitments.”

Anywho, that’s all for today.

-Drew Jackson