It’s been a great year on the blog! I’ve loved compiling all of this info and some of my favorite posts. I look forward to the next year of blogging!
Statistics
- 37,000 page views this year. This is up from last year!
- 18,000 users in total.
- 46% female users, and 54% male users. WTF?! My mind is blown, especially considering that 100% of my survey respondents were female.
- 25-34 was the most popular age bracket, with 34% of users.
- 87% of users were from the US.
- 139 posts this year (including this one and one for tomorrow), but a good chunk of them were book reviews, including a few guest reviews from my mom.
Blog Series
Below are the blog series I’ve done this year. Most of them were new, but some were older. Please let me know in the comments which ones you enjoy the most and would like to see more of next year!
- Five on Friday: an oldie but goodie that I’ve been doing for years. Five things from my week.
- Thankful Thursday: little things I’m grateful for that week.
- Get Sh*t Done List: monthly goals!
- The Debt Diaries: progress on our debt payments and journey on the road to financial freedom.
- Financial Fridays: other financial topics I want to discuss.
- Confession Session: this only happened a couple of times this year, but included a few small “confessions” I had.
- Book Hauls: hauls of new books! I am trying not to buy many new books next year, but might do something similar where I feature older books from my collection. Thoughts?
- Weekend Recap: another one where I didn’t do a ton of, but I recap my weekend and share some pictures.
Most Popular Posts of the Year
The top ten most visited posts of the year were almost all older posts, except for one. I narrowed it down and found the top ten most visited posts that were published this year. Also, at least half of them were book reviews, which I chose to leave out simply because a lot of traffic gets sent here from the book tour company. Here are my most popular personal posts, in order of most page views:
- My D&C and Ectopic Pregnancy Experience: a timeline of my Ectopic Pregnancy and what the D&C was like. I think this gets a lot of views because people are using it as a resource when they find themselves in the same boat. I hope it helps them!
- Before I Knew You: another post about the Ecptopic.
- The Debt Diaries (1): Introduction: the first post introducing my new series (which is returning in 2018)!
- The Strength Was Always Mine: we finally canceled our gym membership, and this is how I felt about it.
- Four Years, Forever Ago: my 10 year reunion was this year and here’s why I didn’t go.
- Librarians Don’t Read All Day (and Other Misconceptions): An Ode to My Profession: breaking down a lot of the myths about my profession.
- I Loved You Then: a post about my growing boy!
- Goodbyes and See Ya Soons: when my father in law died and Jerry went to Cali for the funeral.
- Confession Session (1): my first of only two Confession Sessions. Should I bring this back?!
- Five on Friday (28): a random Five on Friday post!
Just for fun, my most popular book reviews of 2017 were: A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell and My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach.
My number two most visited posts this year (which were old posts) were: Review: Butter by Erin Jade Lange (I think high school kids must be looking for some essay tips!) and How I Lost 112 Pounds (and Counting).
My Favorite Posts of the Year
Some of these are repeats of the most popular posts, but here are my notable and personal favorite posts of the year, in chronological order.
- Why I (Probably) Won’t Go To Your Party: reflections on my social anxiety and introversion. Update: I’m actually really improving on this and have been putting myself out there a lot more!
- 28 in 28: 28 accomplishments for my 28th birthday!
- What I Talk About When I Don’t Talk About Motherhood: reflecting on who I am outside of being a mother.
- Librarians Don’t Read All Day (and Other Misconceptions): An Ode to My Profession: talking about my profession and what exactly it is that I do!
- Before I Knew You: this was painful, cathartic, and beautiful for me to write, all at one time. Here, I talk about losing our baby to the ectopic.
- Where I Began: talking about planting roots here in my home city, and the fact that I’ve never left.
- Spring Has Sprung: short and sweet post about spring!
- Sometimes, He Needs Me: talking about my growing boy and how he sometimes still needs me.
- I Loved You Then: all the phases of Caleb, and how I’ve loved him through them all.
- What You Can, Where You Are: learning that it’s okay to do what you can, even when it doesn’t seem like enough.
- The Here and Now: learning to be happy with where I am, right now.
- I Hate Swimming (but I’m Diving In): learning to do hard and scary things (like swimming!) for my son.
- Four Years, Forever Ago: high school was fine and well, but I still skipped the reunion.
- I'm Not Just Fat — I'm Everything Else Too : all the things that are good about me that people don’t always see because I’m fat.
- Pinterest Mom, I Am Not: I am NOT a Pinterest mother, but I’m still a good mother!
- Where the Leaves Fall, I Begin Again: why I love the fall and the new start it brings.
- Back Up Again: back on the fitness wagon, even if I’ve failed time and time again.
- Financial Fridays: Motivation on Our Journey: what motivates me to get debt free.
- The Strength Was Always Mine: why we canceled our gym membership, and how I’m learning to let go of the past.
- From City Lights to Porch Nights: my dreams of our future farmhouse and country lifestyle.
- Good, Not Perfect: losing weight without being perfect.
- More Than a Book Club: making new friends as an adult, by starting a book club!
- Yeses and Nos: On Striking a Balance: learning to balance out “me” time and friend time with motherhood.
Holy crap, that was a lot. I guess I’m a big fan of myself and my writing. HA! Clap, clap.
2018 Blog Goals
Here are a few goals and plans I have for the blog in 2018.
- Blog two times a week.
- Review one book a month, or participate in the monthly book link up.
- Continue monthly “Get Sh*t Done” goal posts and “Debt Diaries.”
- Continue some of my series and daily life posts.
- Focus on my creative pieces / reflective personal essays, since those are my favorite to write and higher quality.
And that’s it! I don’t really set statistics goals because it is what it is, and I just like to glance at them at the end of the year. I try to be low-pressure with my blog, and I plan on keeping it that way!
What were some of your favorite posts of mine this year? What would you like to see in 2018?
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