Imagination of Ryan Simmons

When writing a paper in college, I’d type as much as I could before double spacing. Seeing the page total jump significantly closer to the required amount was a great feeling. Last month, I kind of did the same thing with my blog. In 2012, I wanted to increase the traffic coming into my site. Instead of compulsively checking totals, I decided I’d just post as much content as possible then look at the WordPress site stats at the end of the month. How did this work out? I doubled my traffic.

Now before I tell you how I succeeded in this endeavor, let me offer two disclaimers. One, I’m not a professional blogger or SEO expert. I’m just a young guy who really likes the internet, creating and sharing. Disclaimer two, the acts of paying no attention to hits and placing the premium on content are not exactly intrinsically linked. Obviously the latter is quite important. The benefit of the former is simply psychological. See, I’d sometimes become discouraged when I realized only 13 people read something. Ignoring that allowed me to shift my measure of success from how much incoming traffic I received to how much outgoing content I posted, at least for the time being. So how’d it happen?

Creativity

Your blog shouldn’t be an extension of your personal journal. Well it can be, but if it is, your audience may be limited. You need to offer things that are applicable to someone’s life or invites them to get involved. I posted two ‘How To’ pieces in January. Skipping the self-indulgent-here-is-what-I-think post made my blog a lot more interesting and accessible. People were coming to my site to learn then coming to my Facebook page to ask questions.

Outside of how-to stuff, I held a simple contest for creative Facebook cover photos, offered a suggestion and review for a Netflix film, spread the word about an artist opportunity and documented my own creative process in a series of random/confusing videos. Those are the things my friends and readers want to check out. You may say, ‘Ry, I have an automotive blog, creativity isn’t a focal point of that industry.’ To that I say, it’s not about posting on topics centered around creativity, it’s about being creative in the topics you post. Post something that your readers may have never seen, thought about or tried had they not seen your page.

Consistency

It’s easy if you’re someone like a tech blogger, you probably deal with Apple or Facebook news every day. If you’re an artist or a writer who enjoys tackling a variety of topics, you may struggle with what to post. Creating reoccurring features worked wonders for me. I introduced The Other Ryan Simmons series and weekly SJSL Dodgeball recaps. The people following my page came to expect those on Thursdays. I also created a routine for myself behind the scenes. I knew I’d post Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday no matter what. Then, after some research, I figured out when my audience was present on the social networks and I posted accordingly.

Community

This is a no-brainer: you need social media. 46% of all my traffic came from Facebook. 18% from Google searches. 13% from Reddit. 9% from Twitter. 5% from Pinterest. 3% from Google+. That means only 6% of hits came from people typing ‘imaginationsimmons.com’ into their browser. Now if you look at the math of my Facebook Insights or bit.ly clicks via Twitter, you’ll see that only 40% of my total traffic came from my personal outlets. This means everything else came from people who reposted my links on their own pages. If possible, keep an eye on who is sharing your stuff on Facebook or Twitter and return the favor or offer a thank you! You appreciate their support and they’ll surely appreciate your gratitude.

Finally, and this kind of ties together everything mentioned here, be sure you are thinking of your audience. Hits aren’t numbers, they’re people taking time out of their day to see what you have to offer. Make sure you are giving them something that is worth their time. Try to make your work beneficial, insightful and honest. Respect and appreciate them. If you’re only getting 100 hits a month, realize that you have the attention of 100 people which is pretty awesome. Enjoy yourself and be grateful. Good luck!

5. The Opposite Sex

Turned on?

There are two types of people who are negatively affected by the opposite sex. The first one is the guy or girl who chronically falls in love. Every other month they have a new fling who they immediately <3. They do the same things they’ve done with all their previous exes and it ends the same way. The other is the guy or girl who plays the field…forever. They spend a lot of time and most of their money trying to bed a guy or girl they’ve recently met at a bar or party. Once they’ve done that, they move on and the cycle continues. Sadly for these people this achievement is viewed as the lowest hanging fruit on the tree of tangible accomplishments. Finding the right person is beyond difficult but wasting time on the wrong person is downright stupid.

Why I Might Be Wrong: The love between a man and woman or man and man or woman and woman is truly one of the greatest discoveries and most enjoyable journeys we embark on in life. Sometimes, finding that special someone is the missing piece in our lives and helps propel us to new levels of success and happiness.

4. Pipedreams and Circumstantial Happiness

Cats must eat every day...

Tomorrow’s to-do list is infinitely long for some people. The funny thing about tomorrow is the fact that it never comes. Today becomes yesterday, tomorrow is then today and tomorrow remains a hypothetical destination. Lots of us fall into this trap in which we’re waiting for a few things to change or happen and then we’ll allow ourselves to live up to our full potential or fulfill our obligations. Truth is, today is too valuable to waste. Happiness, success and prosperity begin with the actions we take right now. The joy in our lives can’t be intrinsically linked with situations with which we have little control or no intention of ever dealing with. We are the drivers of our destiny.

Why I Might Be Wrong: Dreams and goals for tomorrow can serve as a roadmap for our future. Sometimes the best things in life require a wait or take time. What’s important to remember is that the swell of pride that comes with an achievement is made all the more sweet when you’ve actively worked towards it. When you have the desire to wait, chose to work instead.

3. Weed

Engineering degree at work?

Jim Morrison named his band after the book The Doors of Perception because he believed that drugs blazed a path to heightened levels of creativity. Well I hate to break it to you, you’re not Jim Morrison and until you sell 100 million albums and have a grave featuring your bust in France, you won’t be. Marijuana enthusiasts come armed with an array of facts regarding the benefits of the occasional toke. Some are quite valid, I’m sure. But if your brushes with weed consistently result in a night on the couch, eating a bag of potato chips and spending endless hours watching Netflix…then you might want to reevaluate the relationship you have with your pipe.

Why I Might Be Wrong: I have a Grateful Dead tattoo on my left forearm. This means I’m no stranger to dope-loving hippies. For every 10 people who fit the aforementioned description, I know one person who smokes pot regularly but continues to be a functioning and contributing member of society. Now it’s just a matter of realizing whether you are one of the ten or if you are Jim Morrison.

2. Your Social Circle

Great time last night!

There is an old adage (or maybe it’s just a Hallmark card) that proclaims ‘Friends are the family you chose’. The sentiment is quite wonderful and quite true. So it’s important to examine the relationships we’ve forged with the family we’ve chosen. Are they people with whom we have a deep-seeded visceral connection or are they interchangeable parts on the bar stool next to us? It’s hard to scrutinize the people around us to such a harsh degree but friends dictate how we spend our time and money. More importantly, our friends shape our outlook and path in life. If you’re not where you want to be in life, there’s a decent chance that you’ve surrounded yourself with people who aren’t challenging you to be better or chase your dreams.

Why I Might Be Wrong: Life is boring journey without a circle buddies to share it with. If you’ve found the right people to spend your time with, you’ve struck gold. You have a shoulder to cry on in moments of despair, a body to embrace in moments of triumph and a full squad of cheerleaders to support your every endeavor! (Figuratively of course. Depending on your friends, imagining them in cheerleader outfits might be scary!)

1. The Internet

Awkward...

Do I really need to explain this? Only you know how and how much time you spend on the internet. If you’re using it to cyberstalk your old high school fling, grow virtual crops or look at adorable pets, you might be holding yourself back. Why not ask that fling out to lunch, plant a real garden outside or volunteer at an animal shelter. No matter how you spend your time online, there is probably an excellent way to translate it into real life. I promise it’ll be more rewarding than the pixelated, wifi-fueled version. One second, why are you reading this? Leave this site, go outside and never come back! Live your life!

Why I Might Be Wrong: I’m not (You know I’m not)

Tonight’s meeting of the minds has been a dream of mine for quite sometime. In an effort to share with you my expectations, here is a brain dump of things I’m hoping to accomplish.

I’ll have 2 laptops there, one of which will be hooked up to a larger monitor. I’ve also purchased a case of water, 2 cases of soda, some adult beverages, a cheese platter, popcorn, fruit tray and candy! Please feel free to contact me on Facebook or via email Rysimmons@gmail.com or on Twitter @IONRyan

Event begins at 7 at Who’s On First in Ocean City, NJ (1st and Asbury)