It’s been a great year for my blog!
I did really well with my blog goals, saw an increase in traffic, made some new friends, started some new series, and wrote some posts that I really loved! I’m excited to see what 2019 brings, in life, reading, and blogging.
Statistics
While statistics are cool and fun, I generally don’t care too much about them, and mostly just check them at the end of the year for these posts. Regardless, I’m still glad to see that traffic has been increasing each year. Here are the stats for 2018:
- 42,500 page views this year. This is up from last year again – good news!
- 19,135 users in total. Up from last year a bit, too – yay!
- 112 posts this year (including this one), which averages out to slightly over two a week – pretty good!
Most Popular Posts of the Year
The top ten most visited posts of the year were all older posts and reviews, so I narrowed it down and found the top ten most visited posts that were published this year, excluding reviews. Here are my most popular personal posts of 2018, in order of most page views:
- The Things She Gave Me: my aunt is one of my best friends, and I wrote this in honor of her birthday. She’s a popular gal, and all her friends who came by to read it made it my most viewed post that I published this year! I loved thinking about all the ways my aunt shaped my life and who I am.
- Boys, Boys, Boys! Boy Moms on What It’s Like (Part 1): this two part series (read part 2 here) was a huge endeavor and labor of love for me, and a series I am so proud of! I spent so much time gathering the opinions and feelings of fellow boy moms once we discovered that Holden was a boy! I am forever grateful for all the moms who contributed to this series and I think (and hope) that it’s an invaluable resource for all the boy moms out there. I’m thrilled that it had a lot of views.
- The Only One: I’m glad this post was so popular because it’s probably my favorite thing I’ve ever written (or close to it). This post came about when I was reflecting on having a second child, and thinking about how Caleb would no longer be our only one. It also made me think of my relationship with MY brother, and how HE’S the only one who understands certain aspects of who I am because we grew up together.
- Baby #2 Bumpdate: 9 Weeks: my first Bumpdate with Holden!
- A Little Secret: our announcement that we were pregnant with Holden.
- Holden’s Birth Story: so special to me… the story of Holden’s birth. I will always cherish my birth stories for my boys.
- Baby #2 Bumpdate: 10 Weeks: my second bumpdate with Holden. I know, they get pretty boring after awhile, but the first couple are interesting to people apparently. I wasn’t planning on doing bumpdates this time, but I wanted to remember my pregnancy.
- Why I Got Rid of Facebook (and How it’s Improving My Life): I’m glad this post was popular, because deleting Facebook for a few weeks had a really positive impact on my mindset and attitude.
- The Boy I Didn't Know I Needed (Until I Did): I’m happy to be a mom of boys, and I’m glad that people enjoyed this post about why I don’t need any sympathy!
Thoughts on these top ten posts:
- Most of these pertain to Holden and my pregnancy with him. Aww. It was definitely the year of Holden Lee. <3
- Funny enough, most of these didn’t make it into my own personal favorite posts of the year (see below).
- Review: Butter by Erin Jade Lange: AGAIN! This was posted in 2013 and has been one of my most popular posts for years… I’m thinking kids must be reading this for school?! 2,400+ views this year.
- My D&C and Ectopic Pregnancy Experience: This was written in 2017 but still gets a lot of visits, and I’ve also received several emails from women experiencing similar things. I’m glad it’s been a resource for people. 2,300+ views this year.
- Review: A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell: This was also written in 2017, but the movie came out this year which is why I think a lot of people have found my review. 1,900+ views this year.
My Favorite Posts of the Year
Below are my most notable and personal favorite posts of the year, in chronological order of when they were published:
- The Kids of Christmas: When Traditions Change
- Do It Anyway
- The Only One
- Suddenly, The Sun
- In This House
- Better Moms Than Me
- Read Between the Lifelines
- Why I Got Rid of Facebook
- For The Last Time
Recap of 2018 Goals
- Blog two times a week: DONE.
- Review one book a month: FAIL!
- Continue “Get Sh*t Done” and “Debt Diaries”: DONE (until Holden).
- Keep up with blog series / daily life posts: DONE.
- Focus on reflective/creative pieces: DONE.
New 2019 Blog Goals
- Blog at least 52 times: Once a week minimum, with flexibility as I adjust to life with two babies!
- Post “Get Sh*t Done” every month: I missed some months in 2018 but hope to hit every month this year.
- Reboot “Debt Diaries” by the end of the year: Likely in November after some financial cleanup. Will no longer include mortgage.
- Launch “From My Shelves” series (at least 4 times): I miss chatting about books in a low-pressure way. This is my attempt to return to that.
I don’t want to get too specific on other series and things I post because I tend to go with the flow and just post whatever I feel like at that particular time. I feel like by setting just a few goals for the blog, I will have the freedom I enjoy to post whatever, whenever.
Thank you for reading StephTheBookworm this year! I have so many incredible friendships that I’ve made solely through blogging and I am so happy to have you all in my life.
If you have any feedback for me on things you’d like to see on the blog next year, I’d love to hear it, so feel free to comment below.
Here’s to an amazing 2019!
No comments