Christmas and New Year are a big time for reflection and looking back on the years happenings. We settle in with family we haven't seen in months and share our experiences, our highs and our lows, our big news and our heartbreak and it's what brings us together, as family, as friends, as fellow bloggers, and that's so so important.
Looking back on your achievements is also something I love to do at the end of the year. Not only does this enable me to end the year on a high, but it brightens up my darker, more negative moods by remembering what I did right, what other people loved, and it motivates me to keep going when my inner demons say to throw in the towel. Today, I want to share with you the posts you loved this year, and sneak in some of my favourite posts since settling in with Nellie.
The best thing about doing follow-up posts, especially one with a lot of response, good and bad, is that there's always more to say and more that people will want to know. When I wrote my 7 Reasons I Get Put Off Your Blog, as discussed below, response was heavy and I knew I had even more reasons, and interestingly, this follow-up post did rather well all by itself, so it goes to show, if you can follow-up a post, do it.
When I think about it, my Blog Planner has done an awesome job at hitting the pageviews it has and coming in within the top ten posts, considering it's only been available for 5 days. The Planner itself probably took me around 10 days to create, and I've got a whole host of upcoming additional pages that will become available throughout the year to make blogging and everything that comes with it, much much easier. I've already seen a large number of downloads, and had some really nice things said about it. If you're super lucky, I might even create one next year, or maybe more..
This idea behind this post steamed from three things. One, I just really wanted to give some loving to blogs I seriously enjoy and love reading from. Two, I was asked in my blog survey (which you can take here, and you should!) what blogs I like to read, so I wanted to answer that question for that reader. Finally, I wanted to see what sort of impact sharing and linking to other people and their blogs and the science behind shares and social media, and I was really intrigued to find out, it works. Share who you love people!
I was inspired to by Ashley's post on Wordpress slugs when it came to this post, and knowing that there must have been a way to change the equivalent on Blogger, I found myself wondering how. Low and behold, accidently, I found it, and it wa permalinks. I knew I had to share it, not only because I know a lot of bloggers on the Blogspot host who want to look more professional, and also because the information is just lacking a lot on Google, I had to put the answer out there more clearly.
I loved writing this post, and I really enjoyed making my first infographic for it too, it was an experience, and all done with Picmonkey, my saving grace. The advice in this post was super close to my heart, because as somebody who loves changing things about a design, I know it's hard to ever develop a 'name' for yourself if you're always changing, but changing the small things can make a huge difference, and I plan on doing some changing myself with the New Year arriving, so it'll be fun and exciting to see if I can follow my own advice.
I was super ashamed when I confessed I hadn't been using Google Analytics from the start of my blogging journey, what a mistake that was, but I was really pleased to have brought the reason behind needing Google Analytics to people's attention. Blogger is great for free blogging, but it has it's issues, trust me, I know them well, but installing Google Analytics was the best thing I've ever done for my blog. Not only do I have the truth behind my blog statistics, but I have a better idea of the content you all love, and what I should write more of. In fact, if not for Google Analytics, I wouldn't have been able to cobble this post together like I have, so it's clearly a must.
I never really started creating blog graphics until March/April this year, and wow, what a mistake that was. I never really understood why you needed a separate graphic for every post, because nobody has time for that, right? Wrong. Blog graphics have not only helped bring my design together in ways I never thought it could, they're much more sharable, much more appreciate and allow me to add personality and fun to every post. Canva, in comparison to Picmonkey, is much easier to use and is great for people starting out, so it's not surprise really that this post is as year up in the ranks as it is. I've also learnt a new thing or two about Canva, and plan on delving deeper in Canva on it's other fabulous uses that can open doors to a world of possibility, and once again, prove that Adobe is not a must for bloggers.
I remember feeling really rather frightened before I posted this, and I still look back on that post and think 'wow, that was a risky one' because sure, controversial subjects can prove to be great content choices, actually talking about things I don't like on other blogs, knowing that somebody reading could be doing or have exactly that, it's a really odd feeling to shake. I'm really pleased the post got the responses it did - not everyone agreed with me, and that's a good thing, and not everyone was happy or pleased, and believe it or not, that's good thing too, because you're not always going to please everyone, and not everyone is going to like what you said, but if you're honest and stand by your decisions, people will respect you more for it, and respect is always a good thing.
Picmonkey graphics aren't the easiest to create when you compare them them to Canva, alas, they're the first graphics I created, and therefore the first I wanted to share with others. This post became my most popular tutorial in the history of my blogging journey, and it was probably the most eye opening too. I received so many thanks for sharing my process, and a few bloggers even attempted their own graphics after checking out the tutorial, and that's one of the highest compliments I've received.
Changing anything in relation to your blog or how you blog can be frightening, and taking the leap into co-blogging is no different. Leaving that co-blog behind to start all over again somewhere new again was just - crazy really, and yet it was the best thing I've ever done. I'd known plenty of bloggers who shared their leap into co-blogging, and yet I'd never seen somebody do the opposite, so sharing my story, what I went through, my experiences, my fears and what triggered the process was important to me. I wanted other bloggers to know they can fly the nest and do what's best for them, and it turns out, that's just what you wanted to know. That post was close to my heart, and the response was lovely, so thank you.
I'm really rather impressed and pleased with how well these posts have gone down, and I'm super pleased to see they've helped a lot of people, either in terms of advice or tutorials, so thank you for being here and being interested. Here's to even more awesome posts next year.
Looking back on your achievements is also something I love to do at the end of the year. Not only does this enable me to end the year on a high, but it brightens up my darker, more negative moods by remembering what I did right, what other people loved, and it motivates me to keep going when my inner demons say to throw in the towel. Today, I want to share with you the posts you loved this year, and sneak in some of my favourite posts since settling in with Nellie.
10. 5 More Reasons I Get Put Off Your Blog
The best thing about doing follow-up posts, especially one with a lot of response, good and bad, is that there's always more to say and more that people will want to know. When I wrote my 7 Reasons I Get Put Off Your Blog, as discussed below, response was heavy and I knew I had even more reasons, and interestingly, this follow-up post did rather well all by itself, so it goes to show, if you can follow-up a post, do it.
9. Introducing Nellie and Co's 2016 Blog Planner!
When I think about it, my Blog Planner has done an awesome job at hitting the pageviews it has and coming in within the top ten posts, considering it's only been available for 5 days. The Planner itself probably took me around 10 days to create, and I've got a whole host of upcoming additional pages that will become available throughout the year to make blogging and everything that comes with it, much much easier. I've already seen a large number of downloads, and had some really nice things said about it. If you're super lucky, I might even create one next year, or maybe more..
8. 12 Awesome Blogs and Why You Should Follow Them
This idea behind this post steamed from three things. One, I just really wanted to give some loving to blogs I seriously enjoy and love reading from. Two, I was asked in my blog survey (which you can take here, and you should!) what blogs I like to read, so I wanted to answer that question for that reader. Finally, I wanted to see what sort of impact sharing and linking to other people and their blogs and the science behind shares and social media, and I was really intrigued to find out, it works. Share who you love people!
7. Change Blog Post Permalinks (Blogger Only)
I was inspired to by Ashley's post on Wordpress slugs when it came to this post, and knowing that there must have been a way to change the equivalent on Blogger, I found myself wondering how. Low and behold, accidently, I found it, and it wa permalinks. I knew I had to share it, not only because I know a lot of bloggers on the Blogspot host who want to look more professional, and also because the information is just lacking a lot on Google, I had to put the answer out there more clearly.
6. How To Revamp Your Blog Without a Redesign (Infographic!)
I loved writing this post, and I really enjoyed making my first infographic for it too, it was an experience, and all done with Picmonkey, my saving grace. The advice in this post was super close to my heart, because as somebody who loves changing things about a design, I know it's hard to ever develop a 'name' for yourself if you're always changing, but changing the small things can make a huge difference, and I plan on doing some changing myself with the New Year arriving, so it'll be fun and exciting to see if I can follow my own advice.
5. Stop Using Blogger Stats.. Use Google Analytics Instead
I was super ashamed when I confessed I hadn't been using Google Analytics from the start of my blogging journey, what a mistake that was, but I was really pleased to have brought the reason behind needing Google Analytics to people's attention. Blogger is great for free blogging, but it has it's issues, trust me, I know them well, but installing Google Analytics was the best thing I've ever done for my blog. Not only do I have the truth behind my blog statistics, but I have a better idea of the content you all love, and what I should write more of. In fact, if not for Google Analytics, I wouldn't have been able to cobble this post together like I have, so it's clearly a must.
4. How I Create My Blog Graphics | Part Two: Canva
I never really started creating blog graphics until March/April this year, and wow, what a mistake that was. I never really understood why you needed a separate graphic for every post, because nobody has time for that, right? Wrong. Blog graphics have not only helped bring my design together in ways I never thought it could, they're much more sharable, much more appreciate and allow me to add personality and fun to every post. Canva, in comparison to Picmonkey, is much easier to use and is great for people starting out, so it's not surprise really that this post is as year up in the ranks as it is. I've also learnt a new thing or two about Canva, and plan on delving deeper in Canva on it's other fabulous uses that can open doors to a world of possibility, and once again, prove that Adobe is not a must for bloggers.
3. 7 Reasons I Get Put Off You're Blog (+ First Impressions!)
I remember feeling really rather frightened before I posted this, and I still look back on that post and think 'wow, that was a risky one' because sure, controversial subjects can prove to be great content choices, actually talking about things I don't like on other blogs, knowing that somebody reading could be doing or have exactly that, it's a really odd feeling to shake. I'm really pleased the post got the responses it did - not everyone agreed with me, and that's a good thing, and not everyone was happy or pleased, and believe it or not, that's good thing too, because you're not always going to please everyone, and not everyone is going to like what you said, but if you're honest and stand by your decisions, people will respect you more for it, and respect is always a good thing.
2. How I Create My Blog Graphics | Part One: Picmonkey
Picmonkey graphics aren't the easiest to create when you compare them them to Canva, alas, they're the first graphics I created, and therefore the first I wanted to share with others. This post became my most popular tutorial in the history of my blogging journey, and it was probably the most eye opening too. I received so many thanks for sharing my process, and a few bloggers even attempted their own graphics after checking out the tutorial, and that's one of the highest compliments I've received.
1. My Co-Blogging Story and Why I Went Back Solo
Changing anything in relation to your blog or how you blog can be frightening, and taking the leap into co-blogging is no different. Leaving that co-blog behind to start all over again somewhere new again was just - crazy really, and yet it was the best thing I've ever done. I'd known plenty of bloggers who shared their leap into co-blogging, and yet I'd never seen somebody do the opposite, so sharing my story, what I went through, my experiences, my fears and what triggered the process was important to me. I wanted other bloggers to know they can fly the nest and do what's best for them, and it turns out, that's just what you wanted to know. That post was close to my heart, and the response was lovely, so thank you.
I'm really rather impressed and pleased with how well these posts have gone down, and I'm super pleased to see they've helped a lot of people, either in terms of advice or tutorials, so thank you for being here and being interested. Here's to even more awesome posts next year.
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