State of the Union… I Mean SavePointDad

I don’t write these very often. You’re here for the dad chaos, the constant attempt to stay in shape, and trying to squeeze in some video games without a guilt trip. That’s what this has mostly been about.

But I also know there are a few of you who always ask about the other side of this. The “content creator”/ “influencer” side of things. Even typing that out makes me roll my eyes and honestly just makes me feel embarrassed for myself. I get why people are curious, I sure as hell was before I started this. It’s been a while since I’ve talked about it, last time was back in December, so this felt like a good time to check in.

Let’s call this shit our State of the Union. Just a lot less official and actually honest.

Why I Started SavePointDad

This whole thing started because I was bored and wanted to see if I could create my own little space on the internet. I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t have some big ass vision of building a brand, and I definitely didn’t think about growth. Random dad moments, gaming, and what feels like the slowest fitness progress of all time. That was it.

I didn’t expect anyone to read it. I didn’t expect anyone to care.  I mean don’t get me wrong, I wanted people to read it and care but I did not assume anyone would. But some of you did, and that shit is wild to me. There’s something weird about putting your thoughts out there and realizing they connect with people you’ve never met. I’ve mentioned it before, but I have seen a lot of cool Dad pages start, post like 5x a day, then disappear. Some of them were actually really good and had a strong message.

Where SavePointDad is Right Now

Right now, SavePointDad is in a comfortable space. It’s not brand new, but it’s definitely not big either. I’ve got close to 7,000 followers on Instagram, which honestly feels kind of crazy when I stop and think about it. I laugh thinking about when I was at 489 followers and I would check every hour to see if I finally hit 500. When I made it at 500, I felt like I had won social media.

At the same time, the email subscriber side of things is a completely different story. I have doubled my subscriber count since December but it’s a very slow process. Some weeks I get 0 and other weeks I have had over 20 new subscribers. Only a small percentage of Instagram followers actually subscribe to the blog, and that’s been one of the harder realities to accept. Following someone is easy. It takes a second. Subscribing is different. It means someone actually wants more than just a quick scroll. It means they like the content enough to give you their email and everyone assumes giving up their email means they will get a shit load of spam. I want to make it clear that will never happen when you subscribe to SavePointDad.com because I don’t know how to send spam.

Consistency Is Hard as a Content Creator

I mean to be fair it’s hard with anything. Consistency is easily the hardest part of all of this. People make it sound simple. Just show up, keep posting, stay consistent.

Some days I don’t feel like writing. Some weeks I don’t feel like posting anything at all. I think I have only missed one week of not posting a new blog since I started. As far as social media I try to post every other day. To be honest though, I have gone over a week without posting lol. It’s not like anything holds you accountable to it. Life gets busy, work piles up, the kids need you, and by the time you have a second to yourself, the last thing you want to do is sit down and spend time on social media.

The other reality is that when you take a break from posting, you see it fast as hell. Engagement drops, reach drops, and it feels like everything kind of slows down for a while. I honestly do think it’s the social media’s algorithm way of punishing you. “You did not break up with us; we are breaking up with you” type of shit.  Then when you come back, you’re trying to get that momentum again. Guys I am telling you it happens fast, like legit only after a few days of not posting.

Learning SEO and Growing Through Google

I bet a majority read that and thought, wtf is SEO. Well, my friends that stands for search engine optimization. It’s writing in a way that matches what people search for on Google so it will direct them towards your page.

I realized that if I wanted the blog to grow, I couldn’t just rely on social media. I mean seriously how many people go on social media to find blogs. I sure don’t. That’s when I started paying attention to how people actually find content through SEO.

Now, a good portion of subscribers come from Google search instead of Instagram. That’s why this is all broken up into sections with subtitles that can be Google search phrases. It helps SEO. Someone will search for it and it will match what my title is so it directs them to my page.

The Unexpected Part: Real Connections Online

The part I didn’t expect at all was the connection.

I’ve had conversations with people I never would have met otherwise. Real conversations about life, kids, work, all the same things most of us are trying to figure out.

There are people I genuinely look forward to hearing from now, and that’s probably one of the coolest parts of this whole thing. Like just yesterday I responded to an email from some dude in Spain, and the week before that, to a someone in Philippines. That is just cool.

Damn man, Subscribe Already

If you’ve been reading, commenting, or just quietly following along, I appreciate it more than you probably realize. This works because people connect with it. If you haven’t subscribed yet, well, subscribe wtf. I don’t want another week of 0 subscribers; I would like to break my record of 28 new subscribers in a week. Send everyone you know this link. Tell them, "This dumbass won’t ever send you spam because he doesn’t know how."

And if you’re starting something of your own, keep that shit going. Even when it feels slow, even if it feels like no one is paying attention, just keep putting it out there. Engagement is cumulative, meaning it starts slow but picks up overtime. Everyday Google sends more and more people to my page and everyday I get more followers on Instagram even when I do not post. Google sent me an email about 8 weeks ago saying it will now begin showing my page in search results. I was like, “You asshole, you are barely going to start doing that!” Apparently, Google only tests your content for a few months before making it official.

I started this on a random day because I was bored and wanted to see if any of my thoughts would land. They seem to have landed well …. for the most part. My wife gets angry from time to time, like last week lol. She’s planning to write a rebuttal to several of my blogs. When it’s done, I will probably just email blast it out to her and her friends only and they’ll never know lol.

Appreciate you being here. Let me know where you want me to take this next.