I launched Counting My Chickens on July 24, just over 5 months ago, and as 2014 draws to a close, it’s time to review what I’ve accomplished so far and to plan for the year ahead. And that’s the subject of today’s blog post.
As far as what I’ve accomplished, while my original plans for posting two to three times a week may have been overly ambitious, I now have a grand total of 20 published blog posts under my belt. And I’ve managed to publish at least one post in each of the seven topic categories I initially established. I also have several more posts in various stages of drafting and planning. But I still have a huge learning curve in front of me in terms of what it takes to create and maintain a successful blog and provide valuable content to my readers.
Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an “annual report” from Jetpack, a WordPress plugin that I installed on the recommendation of several other bloggers. The report gave me all sorts of interesting statistics about my blog and readership. Did you know that I have readers in 47 different countries? Or that I published more blog posts on Tuesdays than any other day of the week? Neither did I, but it’s kind of cool to know these things.
One piece of information that I think will be particularly useful in my planning for 2015 is the list of my top five blog posts for 2014 – those posts that had the most views among the 19 that I published prior to today. Knowing what posts were most popular with my readers will help me make the blog better and give you more of what you enjoy reading and sharing with others.
Here’s the list, in case you missed any of them:
- Ideas for a Handcrafted Christmas: Five Do-It-Yourself Gift Ideas
- Recipe: My (now-famous) Swiss Chard Risotto (and a magazine photo shoot)
- Five Reasons to Grow Your Own
- Meet the Girls (and learn about three backyard chicken breeds)
- How to Make Perfect Hash Browns
Now I want to hear from you. Did your favorite post make the cut? If not, what was it? What topics did you most enjoy? What topics do you want more of? Please provide your feedback in the comments section below.
I look forward to taking Counting My Chickens into 2015 and giving you more of the information and inspiration you need to unleash your inner farmer.
Happy New Year!