Best of 2019 | Blogging Stats

Happy last Monday of 2019! For today’s “Best of 2019” post, I wanted to take a dive through some of my blogging stats and favorite posts from the year. I don’t really pay attention to my blogging stats throughout the year because that’s not the reason I blog – I’m doing this purely as a hobby and because I love to write and connect with people. But it is interesting to take a look back at the end of the year and see how many people were looking at my blog and reading my words. (It blows my mind that some of my posts get hundreds of views!)

The Stats

Here are some of the stats I pulled from Jetpack:

• Number of views: 35,528 (this is nearly identical to how many views I got in 2018 – crazy!)
• Number of visitors: 14,552 (-1,500 from last year)
• Number of posts: 142 (+34 from last year)
• Number of words: 134,461 with an average of 967 words per post
• Number of subscribers: 150 between Feedly, email subscribers, and WordPress.com subscribers

The Most Popular Posts from 2019

1. My Experience with Catered Fit, a Meal Delivery Service – I really loved using Catered Fit, which sent me two fully cooked meals once a day and meant I could eat healthy and not have to cook. Unfortunately, it was pretty expensive and I never felt like the food was very filling so I quit after three weeks.
2. To Have or Not to Have Kids – I was terrified to publish this post, but I shouldn’t have worried. The response was lovely and kind.
3. My Reverse Bucket List – I’m surprised this post was my third most popular from this year, as it is one I kinda slapped together at the last minute when I was low on blog ideas, haha. But it was fun to write and I loved the response I got from it!
4. All About Sleep (Part I) – How we sleep and our sleeping behaviors are always so interesting to me, so I loved talking about my own sleeping patterns and needs in this post. (Part II got a little less engagement, but I figure I should link it here if you’re interested!)
5. One Month with Eloise – In early January, I wrote about my experience being a cat mom to my sweet Ellie. We had just crossed the one-month mark and things were going incredibly well.

The Most Popular Posts of All-Time

1. I’m 27 and Scared to Move Out – I still get emails from people who found this blog post during a time when they are preparing to move out and anxious about it, and want to talk about it with me. I’m so grateful this post has been helpful to them!
2. On Being a Socially Anxious Introvert – Another blog post that people are still responding to, even years later. <3
3. Rules for Living with a Dachshund – This one was so fun to write! Anyone who has had dachshunds knows they are stubborn and crazy and so much fun. This post gets a lot of love.
4. “What is meant for me is already mine.” – This post was actually my most-visited from 2019, which is shocking to me! I found this saying on a friend’s Instagram post a long time ago and it spoke to me so deeply. It’s my favorite quote and something I think about often.
5. 10 Things I Like About Myself – I wrote this post in 2014 and all of those things still ring true for the woman I am today. It’s funny how we can change so much but our core selves tend to stay the same.

Other Favorite Posts from 2019

1. How I Find Books to Read – I loved putting together this post. I know one of the biggest struggles for people who are new to reading or trying to read more is finding books. I have a few specific sources I draw from that I outline in this post.
2. Seventy-Eight – My sweet Pops would have turned 78 this year and I wrote this post about him, my grieving process, and how badly I wish he was still here with us.
3. How I Set Boundaries with Technology – I like to think I’m pretty good at maintaining boundaries. I think that’s one of the strengths of being an Enneagram 9 (and just knowing my limits in general). I’ve developed a few specific technology boundaries for myself that I talk about in this post.
4. And Then There Were Three – Lila’s adoption story!
5. What’s a Silent Reading Event? – A few people asked me to talk about the silent reading event I attended in the spring and I was happy to oblige!

Blogging Goals for 2020

I’ve never really set any blogging goals because, again, this blog is purely for fun and pleasure. I place no stress on it – I don’t care about numbers or sponsorships or any of that. All I care about is being able to write my story and connect with other people. I care about you, the people who are reading this little blog of mine. Your comments lift my spirits, every single one of them! Alas, though, I am going to set some little goals for this year:

1. Get a new blog design – Every few years, I like to change up my blog design. Etsy has lots of simple, affordable designs that are easy to install. I think I’m ready for a change!
2. Publicize my blog more – The only social media I use these days is Instagram, so I’d like to start posting to my Stories about new blog posts. Nothing major, but just to publicize my blog a bit more than I do right now.
3. Write one personal essay every month – I love writing personal essays and I want to continue doing them in 2020.
4. Do “A Week in the Life” again – I love this series where I just take you through a typical week in my life in a story format. I haven’t done it in a few years and I think it’s time to bring it back.
5. Find at least 10 new personal blogs to read – I’d love recommendations! I don’t think I’ve really added too many new bloggers to Feedly in a while so I’d like to find some new blogs to follow.