Looking back over the last five years
Every blogger I know is aware of how well our posts are doing. How many people visit? What are people reading? Do people comment? Is anyone out there? After all, most of us spend a lot of time and effort writing something that we think others will find interesting enough to read and hopefully share with others. If we have commercial aspirations, numbers translate to income. If we are writing just to share ideas with others, we still want to know if people find our writing helpful. Programs exist that show us how many clicks an article receives, whether the entire article is read—or just the opening paragraph. Some programs are able to clock the amount of time on each page. Even when a blogger attempts to stay true to her mission and intentions, the numbers are difficult to ignore.
Okay, so I’ll admit that I’m not immune to gauging what I think people seem to read the most here on SMART Living 365. When a post does well it tells me that I’ve achieved some of my intentions. What are they? To share ideas that will help inspire us to live a more happy, healthy and meaningful life. I’m also deeply committed to challenging us all to think and be as conscious as possible about the things we say and do. Positive Aging certainly fits within all those topics. And as I’ve said before, I hope to continually “comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable!” So rather than deny I care about who is reading my blog, here are some of the stats from the last five and a half years to show you what I’ve discovered.
Most Read SMART Posts During The Las Five Years
Clearly what all of you enjoy reading is as eclectic as what I enjoy writing about. I was asked recently how I decide what to write about on any given week. That’s easy—it’s whatever I found most interesting, inspiring or compelling during the last seven days. Of course, it’s easier when I’ve read a good book, learned something new or allowed my curiosity to explore different ideas. One thing is certain, I never write about anything that I don’t believe is interesting and useful for myself or others.
With that in mind, I went through all of my stats looking at articles that didn’t get much attention in the last five years. Here are ten of those posts that I believe deserve a second look. Most of these were written in the first couple of years I began writing here on SMART Living 365, so they are likely new to many of you. Take a look and if inspired, let me know if you agree that sometimes numbers mislead. In other words, timing, title, and a person’s current situation often decide whether a post gets read.
Least Read SMART Posts That Are Worthy Of A Second Look
Another way of gauging whether people are responding to what I write is by the comments I receive. Here is a list of some of the posts that have received the greatest number of comments during the last five years. Again, the variety of what appeals to readers is interesting to observe.
Posts With The Most Comments
Even though statistics are a sometimes interesting look at what is going on for any particular blog, like the numbers that make up our lives, they usually only mean what we think they mean. In other words, they are never the whole picture of what is going on in any situation. On reflection, I think that is a good way to close out 2016. Some people are convinced that the last year is best forgotten as quickly as possible. On the flip side, there are probably just as many who think the opposite. As always, it’s SMART to keep in mind that our perception is the largest determining factor over our individual happiness and peace of mind. Don’t like what you are seeing? Accept it, work to change it, or let it go. Just remember the choice really is up to us.
Okay, your turn. While I always love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below, here is a short poll that lets me know a bit about your reading habits in a very easy way. And as always, thank you for following and reading my blog. I do my best to keep you all in mind while writing and fulfill my intentions as shared above. May 2017 be a SMART year for us all, filled with greater sustainability (S), Meaning (M), Awareness (A), Responsibility (R) and Thankfulness (T.)
[polldaddy poll=9622213]
I would have loved to pick two or three but I picked the most relevant to my life right now. I am finally back up to speed and feeling good again. Hopefully, things will stay this way!
Thanks for responding to my poll Rena! I thought about picking multiple choices but this way I can see what people REALLY think is the most important. And glad to hear you feeling better and back up to “speed” 😉 Self care is critical! Happy New Year! ~Kathy
I wanted to click at least three of the options in the survey Kathy – but it looks like I picked the most popular one anyway 🙂 A really interesting round up of your post and I was surprised to find so many on Happiness were in the least popular pile – you’d think everyone would be looking to be happy – but the results say that we’re more interested in eternity and I think that’s really something we should be extrapolating – do we live with an eternal mindset?
Hey Leanne! Happy New Year to you and your side of the planet! Yes, isn’t it interesting that the focus on Happiness wasn’t necessarily in the top 10? And I’m consistently amazed that the post about “heaven” or life after death continues to do so well. I wrote that over three years ago but every single month it still pulls in a lot of readers on the search engines. I think it proves how important meaning is to feeling happy and content in life. And yes, maybe that is an element of an eternal mindset. Lots to think about there huh? I look forward to reading anything you come up with! ~Kathy
Interesting data on your posts. Maybe I should, but I never pay attention to statistics about my posts (I’m not even sure how to get to them). Sometimes I’ll post something that I worked hard on (translation: tortured writing) and really like, but it doesn’t get the attention I thought it would. Other times, I’ll just post something more easy and “fun” and it will generate a lot of comments. Who knows? Anyway, I always enjoy reading what you write. I don’t read self-help books so your overviews are a nice way to get the information. And, I like your positive outlook… we need more of that!
Have a joyful New Year!
Hi Janis! Happy New Year! And good for you for not getting sucked into the numbers game. We all have enough to deal with without that! And yes, I agree that it is always interesting what people respond to the most. I appreciate that you like my page EVEN WITH all the focus on self-helpish that I throw in there a lot. 🙂 All I know is that the more I do my best to stay positive, the more happy and peaceful I find myself. I just hope it helps others as well. ~Kathy
Hi, Kathy – Once again your post was very timely for me. As I celebrate my own 1 year blogiversary tomorrow (yes, my blog was a New Year’s Resolution), your blog stats review was of great interest to me. I also greatly appreciated you listing some of your most popular, as well as your less-read posts. I have been making my way through them with great interest. Congratulations on your 5.5 years of blogging. Wishing you many more to come!
Hi Donna! Happy New Year and Happy Blogiversary! What a great time of year to start because you can tie it in with all sorts of motivations to do better! That first year is always challenging but what I find is that the 2nd and 3rd can be equally hard if you don’t allow yourself LOTS of time and patience for crafting your blog. My advice would be for you to focus on all the OTHER reasons (besides numbers and quantity!) to keep writing and then no matter what, you will stick with it. It’s S0-O-O-O worth it to me for so many reasons. I wish the same for you. ~Kathy
A great analysis! This looks like a good approach…I do like measurable outcomes. Time is such a factor for me, but I will be back to read some of the posts with the most comments. Comments are frequently an indication about how relevant a post is, at least I think so!
Hi Diane! Yes it really is a fascinating study–at least for those of us who write. And I know through the years that I’ve gotten different feedback from different perspectives. Whatever helps to keep us motivated and writing is good in my opinion. I’ve known far too many really good writers just stop because they needed more feedback than they were getting. Staying persistence is critical with or without the numbers. Happy New Year! And may 2017 bring you the best numbers possible. ~Kathy
It certainly is amazing how certain blog posts perform better than others. Funny that when I blog about leisure, the focus of my blog, I get great comments and utilize these concepts with my photography posts. But when I write a blogging “how-to” post? Fuggedaboudit…those always do much better. Therefore, I consider blogging leisure 🙂 I just read your old post: The New Year—A Blank Piece of Paper Awaiting Inspiration, and “flipped” it onto my Flipboard account. Great round-up and congrats on 5.5 years!
Hi Terri! Isn’t that the best? I love when you say, “I consider blogging leisure!” Wasn’t it Confucious that said something like, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life?’ It sounds like you’ve found your love and it doesn’t get much better than that. Thanks for sharing my work around and Happy 2017! ~Kathy
This was an interesting slice of metrics! I went back and read your hornworms post, mostly because I wanted to find out what hornworms were and why they rated being in a blog post title. And then all the points you listed turned out to be so relevant and timely. That’s the thing I like about your blog the most. It seems whenever I read it, the timing of what you’re saying and what I’m going through or needing to hear are perfectly aligned. I don’t know how that happens, but I’m happy it works that way. 🙂 🙂 xo
Hi Laura! Thank you. I do think most of us share a lot when it comes to emotions, challenges and choices on a regular basis. I don’t think all of us choose to face them the same way, but for those of us who do, we learn, grow and cope together. Thanks for being one of those. Yes–to a good 2017 where more of that synchronicity happens. ~Kathy
Your posts are always thoughtful and often well researched. I can count on you for meaningful content where most often I learn something. Have a great 2017 and a great writing year, Beth
Hi Beth! Thank you. You are one of the most supportive bloggers I know and a wonderful example of how to be in the world. Happy New Year! ~Kathy
Keep writing we are out here reading!
Ahhhhh….thanks Kathleen. 🙂
I’ve enjoyed many of your posts. It looks to me like the most read are those with a more positive spin on the title (Heaven, Self-esteem, Rewards, Awesome Benefits) and the least read have a negative vibe (Wash Dishes, Failing Forward, Don’t Let). But maybe that’s just me . . . I’d rather get awesome benefits than wash dishes!
Hi Tom! And Happy New Year! And thank you for your observation about the post titles. It does appear that the more optimistic ones are the most read…but then every single one of those least read came from the first two years of writing so that did play a part. Of course, it is also a good reminder for me to stay focused on the positive, no matter what! ~Kathy
My 2 cents, I like reading your blog because I don’t read self help books or quotes. By reading your blog I am able to educate myself on these 2 fields. I also like reading your blogs because I appreciate your research and thoroughness you do in composing every posting.
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!
Hi Haralee! For someone who doesn’t read self-help you certainly get your fill with SMART Living! While I obviously do like them, and quotes too, I am drawn to those that seem the most practical and helpful so I hope that helps. 😉 I so appreciate your checking in with me and sharing your thoughts because I think that always helps to keep my perspective in check, don’t you think? And when I read your blog I hope that I am able to do the same for you. I know that we bloggers have so many choices when it comes to who to read and who to follow so I LOVE it when I click with other bloggers and they with me. Even when we don’t write about the same types of things, it helps offer new ways of looking at things and I find that VERY valuable. And yes to a happy and healthy new year for us all! ~Kathy
What a great list of articles! I will be sure to check into some of the titles that seem interesting to me. Congrats on 5.5 years of blogging. Keep up the good work!
Hi Angela! Thank you. I really have a hard time believing that it’s been 5 and a half years. As they say, time flies when you are doing something you love. Thanks for your feedback. It is always appreciated! ~Kathy