In addition to this blog, there are six others (newsfeeds and whatnot) that I update, four on a somewhat regular basis.
Each Monday I peak at the readership stats of the prior week. (It would more practical to monitor this monthly, but the stats program is readily conducive to weekly tracking).
I do this for a couple of reasons. One is to make sure that my entries are being read (they are). Another is to gauge the relative popularity of various topics and musings. Using weekly traffic stats to ascertain topic interest, however, is only somewhat helpful, as there is a long life of viability for any given entry. It is common for any particular posting to be frequently read weeks and even months after it’s initial appearance. Nevertheless, strong numbers for a given week are an encouraging discovery.
Blog readership does have seasonal fluctuations as patrons are seemingly distracted by holidays, vacations, and apparently bad economic news. If this is the case, there is much to celebrate as my blog traffic has been trending up for since the middle of January, taking a sharp increase last week.
In fact, four of my seven blogs set all time record highs in readership last week, with the combined total smashing the old record by 31 percent to reach 3,348 readers for the week!
Though it’s tempting to attribute this spike to compelling content and witty writing, I’d prefer to suggest that blog readership is a microcosm of the economy and consumer confidence.
If that is the case, then better times are fast approaching.
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book The Successful Author for insider tips and insights.