Tracking Happiness
About the Company
Tracking Happiness is an online platform dedicated to mental health, publishing content on happiness, journaling, and related topics. Hugo Huijer, who initially worked in offshore engineering, founded the company in April 2017. The website operates on a self-hosted WordPress installation and has grown steadily by focusing on high-quality content and building authority in the mental health niche. The company primarily earns through display ads, with a recent push towards creating digital courses for additional income.
Idea Behind Company
The concept of Tracking Happiness originated from Hugo’s personal habit of daily journaling and tracking his happiness levels. Over time, he realized the significant impact that self-awareness and understanding of subconscious factors had on his well-being. This led him to create a platform where he could share the benefits of these practices with others. Despite having no background in web development, Hugo was driven by his passion for positive content, teaching himself the necessary skills through online resources like Google, Reddit, and YouTube.
Creating the Company
Hugo launched Tracking Happiness on April 1, 2017, without much technical knowledge. He used a free WordPress theme and began writing about topics he found interesting. The initial phase was challenging, as his content was not optimized for search engines, resulting in low traffic. A turning point came when some of his essays gained traction on Reddit, motivating him to continue. Eventually, he learned SEO basics and started focusing on keyword research, which transformed the blog from a hobby into a viable business.
Launching the Business
The launch of Tracking Happiness was straightforward, with Hugo starting the website after a simple Google search on how to create a blog. While setting up the website was easy, finding an audience proved to be a much harder task. For over a year, Hugo wrote and published content without significant traffic. It wasn’t until he understood the importance of targeted content and keyword research that the blog began to attract visitors. This realization marked the beginning of Tracking Happiness as a serious business venture.
Earnings
Today, Tracking Happiness generates about $3,000 in monthly revenue, with 80% being gross income. The business reinvests about half of this revenue into content creation to sustain future growth. Despite its success, Hugo emphasizes that the company’s primary goal is not profit but positively impacting its readers. The focus on brand building, rather than just content production, is seen as crucial for long-term success, especially in an increasingly competitive online landscape.
